Tafsir of Surah al-‘Asr: Imam al-Sa’di

In the 103rd chapter of the Qur’an, Allah says:

وَالْعَصْرِ‌ * إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ‌ * إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

By time, * Indeed, mankind is in loss, * Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. [103:1-3]

Sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Sa’di wrote the following commentary on this surah in his well-known book of tafsir:

أقسم تعالى بالعصر، الذي هو الليل والنهار، محل أفعال العباد وأعمالهم . ـ

Allah swears by al-‘Asr [time], which is the night and the day; the location of the slaves’ actions and deeds.

أن كل إنسان خاسر، والخاسر ضد الرابح. والخسار مراتب متعددة متفاوتة: قد يكون خسارًا مطلقًا، كحال من خسر الدنيا والآخرة، وفاته النعيم، واستحق الجحيم ، وقد يكون خاسرًا من بعض الوجوه دون بعض .  ولهذا عمم الله الخسار لكل إنسان، إلا من اتصف بأربع صفات: ـ

He swears that every person is in a state of loss, and being in a state of loss is the opposite of being successful. Those in a state of loss fall into many different levels of loss. It could be that one is in a state of absolute loss, such as the condition of the one who loses both this worldly life and the hereafter and who misses out on the delight of paradise and who deserves the hell-fire. Or, it could be that one is in a state of loss in some ways but not in others.

And so, for this reason, Allah extended the label of being in a state of loss to every single person, except for those who are characterized by these four attributes:

The Respective Means of Destruction: Tafsir al-Shinqitee

Allah mentions some of the previous nations who were destroyed in surah al-‘Ankaboot with his words:

وَعَادًا وَثَمُودَ وَقَد تَّبَيَّنَ لَكُم مِّن مَّسَاكِنِهِمْ ۖ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَكَانُوا مُسْتَبْصِرِ‌ينَ * وَقَارُ‌ونَ وَفِرْ‌عَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ ۖ وَلَقَدْ جَاءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَاسْتَكْبَرُ‌وا فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَمَا كَانُوا سَابِقِينَ * فَكُلًّا أَخَذْنَا بِذَنبِهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَخَذَتْهُ الصَّيْحَةُ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ خَسَفْنَا بِهِ الْأَرْ‌ضَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَغْرَ‌قْنَا ۚ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّـهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَـٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

And [We destroyed] ‘Aad and Thamood, and it has become clear to you from their [ruined] dwellings. And Shaytaan had made pleasing to them their deeds and averted them from the path, and they were endowed with perception.* And [We destroyed] Qaaroon and Fir’awn and Haamaan. And Moosaa had already come to them with clear evidences, and they were arrogant in the land, but they were not outrunners [of Our punishment]. * So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a Haasiban, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allah would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves. [29:38-40]

Commenting on this briefly in his book of tafsir, Imam Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee wrote:

وقد أشار جل وعلا في هذه الآيات الكريمة إلى إهلاك عاد ، وثمود ، وقارون ، وفرعون ، وهامان ، ثم صرح بأنه أخذ كلا منهم بذنبه ، ثم فصل على سبيل ما يسمى في البديع باللف والنشر المرتب أسباب إهلاكهم ، فقال : فمنهم من أرسلنا عليه حاصبا ، [ ص: 160 ] وهي : الريح ، يعني : عادا ، بدليل قوله : وأما عاد فأهلكوا بريح صرصر عاتية [ 69 \ 6 ] ، وقوله : وفي عاد إذ أرسلنا عليهم الريح العقيم [ 51 \ 41 ] ، ونحو ذلك من الآيات . وقوله تعالى : ومنهم من أخذته الصيحة ، يعني : ثمود ، بدليل قوله تعالى فيهم : وأخذ الذين ظلموا الصيحة فأصبحوا في ديارهم جاثمين كأن لم يغنوا فيها ألا إن ثمود كفروا ربهم ألا بعدا لثمود [ 11 \ 67 – 68 ] . وقوله : ومنهم من خسفنا به الأرض ، يعني : قارون ، بدليل قوله تعالى فيه : فخسفنا به وبداره الأرض الآية [ 28 \ 81 ] . وقوله تعالى : ومنهم من أغرقنا ، يعني : فرعون وهامان ، بدليل قوله تعالى : ثم أغرقنا الآخرين [ 37 \ 82 ] ، ونحو ذلك من الآيات . ـ

In these noble ayaat, Allah has pointed to the destruction of ‘Aad, Thamood, Qaaroon, Fir’awn, and Haamaan, then He clarified that each of them were seized in destruction due to their respective sins, then He detailed the destructions in a manner which, according to the science of rhetoric, is called al-laff wa’l-nashr [literally “coiling and unfurling” – bringing several items together in brief and then expanding on each of them respectively later] order of arranging the means of their respective destructions. So He said:

فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا عَلَيْهِ حَاصِبًا

and among them were some on whom We sent Haasiban [29:40]

and that is a strong wind – referring to ‘Aad, according to His statement:

وَأَمَّا عَادٌ فَأُهْلِكُوا بِرِ‌يحٍ صَرْ‌صَرٍ‌ عَاتِيَةٍ

And as for ‘Aad, they were destroyed by a screaming, violent wind [69:6]

and His statement:

“The Disbelievers – they are the Thaalimoon”: Tafsir al-Sa’di

Allah commands the believers in surah al-Baqarah:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَ‌زَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ ۗ وَالْكَافِرُ‌ونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

O you who have believed, spend from that which We have provided for you before there comes a Day in which there is no exchange and no friendship and no intercession. And the disbelievers – they are the thaalimoon. [2:254]

Commenting on this ayah in his book of tafsir, Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di wrote:

وهذا من لطف الله بعباده أن أمرهم بتقديم شيء مما رزقهم الله، من صدقة واجبة ومستحبة، ليكون لهم ذخرا وأجرا موفرا في يوم يحتاج فيه العاملون إلى مثقال ذرة من الخير، فلا بيع فيه ولو افتدى الإنسان نفسه بملء الأرض ذهبا ليفتدي به من عذاب يوم القيامة ما تقبل منه، ولم ينفعه خليل ولا صديق لا بوجاهة ولا بشفاعة، وهو اليوم الذي فيه يخسر المبطلون ويحصل الخزي على الظالمين، وهم الذين وضعوا الشيء في غير موضعه، فتركوا الواجب من حق الله وحق عباده وتعدوا الحلال إلى الحرام، وأعظم أنواع الظلم الكفر بالله الذي هو وضع العبادة التي يتعين أن تكون لله فيصرفها الكافر إلى مخلوق مثله، فلهذا قال تعالى: { والكافرون هم الظالمون } وهذا من باب الحصر، أي: الذين ثبت لهم الظلم التام، كما قال تعالى: { إن الشرك لظلم عظيم } . ـ

And it is from the kindness of Allah to His slaves that He commanded them to send forward something of that with which Allah has provided them – out of the obligatory and recommended charity – in order that it may be stored-up, rewarded and paid back in full on the Day when the doer of deeds will be in need of (even) an atom’s worth of good deeds.

The Meaning of the Title “al-Maseeh”

In his book of tafsir, Imam al-Shawkaani brought the following discussion about the meaning of the term al-Maseeh (the Messiah). Imam al-Shawkaani generally borrowed heavily – even word for word – from Imam al-Qurtubi’s linguistic discussions, often summarizing and simplifying them into a list format. Some supplementary notes from al-Qurtubi will be mentioned here in brackets [] for the sake of clarity:

[والمسيح لقب لعيسى ومعناه الصديق ; قاله إبراهيم النخعي . ـ]

[al-Maseeh is a title for ‘Eesaa (Jesus) and its meaning is al-Siddeeq (“the truthful one”) – this is what Ibrahim al-Nakha’ee said.]

والمسيح اختلف فيه مماذا أخذ ؟ فقيل : من المسح ; لأنه مسح الأرض ; أي : ذهب فيها فلم يستكن بكن ، وقيل : إنه كان لا يمسح ذا عاهة إلا برئ ، فسمي مسيحا ، فهو على هذين فعيل بمعنى فاعل ، ـ

al-Maseeh – there is differing as to where it was derived. So it is said: (it was derived) from al-mash (wiping), for he swept over the earth, meaning he traversed over it and did not take residence in any dwelling place.

And it is said: It was the case that he would not touch someone with an infirmity except that they would be cured, so he was called Maseeh.

So according to these two meaning, it takes the form of an adjective with the meaning of an active participle.

Describing specific events with general wordings: Tafsir al-Sa’di

Allah describes one of the responses of Fir’awn and his people to Moosaa in surah al-Ghaafir where He says:

فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُم بِالْحَقِّ مِنْ عِندِنَا قَالُوا اقْتُلُوا أَبْنَاءَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ وَاسْتَحْيُوا نِسَاءَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا كَيْدُ الْكَافِرِ‌ينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ

And when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, “Kill the sons of those who have believed with him and keep their women alive.” But the plan of the disbelievers is not but in error. [40:25]

In part of his commentary on this ayah, Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di made the following remarks:

فما كيدهم إلا في ضلال، حيث لم يتم لهم ما قصدوا، بل أصابهم ضد ما قصدوا، أهلكهم الله وأبادهم عن آخرهم. ـ

So their plan was not but in error, such that they were not able to complete what they had intended. Rather, they were afflicted with the opposite of what they intended: Allah destroyed them and obliterated them even unto their last ones.

وتدبر هذه النكتة التي يكثر مرورها بكتاب الله تعالى: إذا كان السياق في قصة معينة أو على شيء معين، وأراد الله أن يحكم على ذلك المعين بحكم، لا يختص به ذكر الحكم . وعلقه على الوصف العام ليكون أعم، وتندرج فيه الصورة التي سيق الكلام لأجلها، وليندفع الإيهام باختصاص الحكم بذلك المعين. ـ

Reflect upon this subtle and wise wording which occurs frequently in the Book of Allah: when the context is dealing with a specific story or regarding a specific thing and Allah wishes to make a ruling on that specific thing, He does not make the mention of the ruling exclusive to only that thing. (Rather) He connects the ruling to the general characteristic in order that it would be more general. So this story which is the focus on the context is included therein (in the ruling), and this is also done in order to repel any false ideas of the ruling being limited only to that specific thing.

فلهذا لم يقل { وما كيدهم إلا في ضلال } بل قال: { وَمَا كَيْدُ الْكَافِرِينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ } ـ

So because of this He did not say, ‘and their plan is not but in error‘. Rather He said:

وَمَا كَيْدُ الْكَافِرِ‌ينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ

But the plan of the disbelievers is not but in error

[Taysir al-Kareem al-Rahman pg. 866]

See also: The Proper Place of Asbaab al-Nuzool in Understanding the Qur’an: Imam al-Sa’di

See also: Technical wordings for Asbaab al-Nuzool: Ibn ‘Uthaymeen

See also: A Principle to Dispel Specious Arguments and Doubts: Tafsir al-Sa’di

See also: Four Means of Attaining Allah’s Forgiveness: Imam al-Sa’di

See also: A Benefit of General Language in Surah al-Duhaa: Sheikh ibn ‘Uthaymeen

Allah does not forgive shirk but he forgives what is less than that: Tafsir al-Shinqitee

ee also: dImam Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee wrote in his tafsir:

قوله تعالى : إن الله لا يغفر أن يشرك به ويغفر ما دون ذلك لمن يشاء ومن يشرك بالله فقد افترى إثما عظيما [ ص: 243 ] ذكر في هذه الآية الكريمة أنه تعالى لا يغفر الإشراك به وأنه يغفر غير ذلك لمن يشاء وأن من أشرك به فقد افترى إثما عظيما . ـ

Allah’s statement:

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ‌ أَن يُشْرَ‌كَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ‌ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِ‌كْ بِاللَّـهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَ‌ىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin. [4:48]

In this noble ayah, Allah mentioned that He does not forgive associating partners with Him but that He does forgive other than that for whom He wills, and that whoever associates partners with Him then that person has fabricated a tremendous sin.

وذكر في مواضع أخر : أن محل كونه لا يغفر الإشراك به إذا لم يتب المشرك من ذلك ، فإن تاب غفر له كقوله : إلا من تاب وآمن وعمل عملا صالحا الآية [ 25 \ 70 ] ، فإن الاستثناء راجع لقوله : والذين لا يدعون مع الله إلها آخر [ 25 \ 68 ] ، وما عطف عليه ; لأن معنى الكل جمع في قوله : ومن يفعل ذلك يلق أثاما الآية [ 25 \ 68 ] وقوله : قل للذين كفروا إن ينتهوا يغفر لهم ما قد سلف [ 8 \ 38 ] . ـ

And elsewhere He mentioned that the status of His not forgiving association of partners with Him is in the case that the mushrik does not repent of that. So if he does repent, then Allah forgives him, just as in His statement:

Idle Wishing – Tafsir al-Sa’di

In surah al-Nisaa’, Allah addresses the believers by saying:

وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۚ لِّلرِّ‌جَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا ۖ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ ۚ وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّـهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

And do not wish for that by which Allah has made some of you exceed others. For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask Allah of his bounty. Indeed Allah is ever, of all things, Knowing. [4:32]

In his short book of miscellaneous tafsir-based benefits, Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Sa’di brought a point of benefit related to this ayah and then proceeded to outline its contents in light of that:

لا يمنع الله تعالى عبده شيئا إلا فتح له بابا أنفع له منه وأسهل وأولى ، قال تعالى : [وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۚ لِّلرِّ‌جَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا ۖ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ ۚ وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّـهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا ] <النساء 32> فمنع الله من تمني ما فضّل الله به بعض العبيد على بعض ، وأخبر أن كل عامل من الرجال والنساء له نصيب وحظ من كسبه ، فحض الصنفين على الاجتهاد في الكسب النافع ، ونهاهم عن التمني الذي ليس بنافع ، وفتح لهم أبواب الفضل والإحسان ، ودعاهم إلى سؤال ذلك بلسان الحال ولسان المقال ، وأخبرهم بكمال علمه وحكمته ، وأن من ذلك أنه لا يُنال ما عنده إلا بطاعته ، ولا تُنال المطالب العالية إلا بالسعي والاجتهاد ، والله الموفق لكل خير . ـ

Allah does not prevent a slave of his from anything except that he opens up a door for him which is more beneficial to him, easier and more appropriate. Allah said:

وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّـهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۚ لِّلرِّ‌جَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا ۖ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ ۚ وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّـهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

And do not wish for that by which Allah has made some of you exceed others. For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask Allah of his bounty. Indeed Allah is ever, of all things, Knowing. [4:32]

So Allah forbade wishing for that with which He has caused some of His slaves to exceed others. And He informed us that every doer of deeds – both male and female – has a share and a portion of their earnings due to them.

Will the Disbelievers speak on the Day of Judgement?: Imam al-Shinqitee

In his book written to respond to supposed contradictions and difficult passages of the Qur’an, Sheikh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqitee brought the following discussion under his treatment of surah al-Mursalat:

قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: هَذَا يَوْمُ لَا يَنْطِقُونَ وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ. هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ الْكَرِيمَةُ تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّ أَهْلَ النَّارِ لَا يَنْطِقُونَ وَلَا يَعْتَذِرُونَ. ـ

Allah’s statement:

هَذَا يَوْمُ لَا يَنْطِقُونَ * وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ

This is a Day they will not speak, * Nor will it be permitted for them to make an excuse. [77:35-36]

This noble ayah indicates that the people of the Hell-fire will neither speak nor proffer excuses.

وَقَدْ جَاءَتْ آيَاتٌ تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهُمْ يَنْطِقُونَ وَيَعْتَذِرُونَ، كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ [6 \ 23] ، وَقَوْلِهِ: فَأَلْقَوُا السَّلَمَ مَا كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ مِنْ سُوءٍ [16 \ 28] ، وَقَوْلِهِ: بَلْ لَمْ نَكُنْ نَدْعُو مِنْ قَبْلُ شَيْئًا [40] ، وَقَوْلِهِ: تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كُنَّا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَمَا أَضَلَّنَا إِلَّا الْمُجْرِمُونَ [26 \ 97 – 99] ، وَقَوْلِهِ: رَبَّنَا هَؤُلَاءِ أَضَلُّونَا [7 \ 38] ، إِلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ.ـ

But other ayaat have already come which indicates that they will speak and offer excuses, such as His statement:

وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ

[the disbelievers will say] “By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who committed al-shirk.” [6:23]

And His statement:

Benefits from the story of Moosaa and al-Khadr: Imam al-Sa’di

In his book of thematic tafsir, Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Sa’di devoted a section to briefly providing some context for the story of Moosaa and al-Khadr which occurs in surah al-Kahf and he then brought a full 32 unique points of benefit extracted from those ayaat: 

قصة الخضر مع موسى ومحلها في أثناء قصص موسى

The story of al-Khadr with Moosaa and its placement among the stories of Moosaa

وذلك أن موسى صلى الله عليه وسلم قام ذات يوم في بني إسرائيل مقاما عظيما، علَّمهم فيه علوما جَمَّة، وأعجب الناس بكمال علمه، فقال له قائل: يا نبي الله، هل يوجد، أو هل تعلم في الأرض أحدا أعلم منك؟ فقال: لا، بناء على ما يعرفه، وترغيبا لهم في الأخذ عنه، فأخبره الله أن له عبدا في مجمع البحرين عنده علوم ليست عند موسى، وإلهامات خارجة عن الطور المعهود، فاشتاق موسى إلى لقياه رغبة في الازدياد من العلم، فطلب من الله أن يأذن له في ذلك، وأخبره بموضعه وتزودا حوتا وقيل له: إذا فقدت الحوت فهو في ذلك المكان، فذهب فوجده، وكان ما قص الله من نبأهما في الكهف: {وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِفَتَاهُ لَا أَبْرَحُ حَتَّى أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا} [الكهف: 60] إلى قوله : {ذَلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِعْ عَلَيْهِ صَبْرًا} [الكهف: 82] . ـ

Its placement is that one day Moosaa (ﷺ) stood among the Banu Israa’eel with a great standing, during which he taught them a great amount of knowledge and amazed the people with the completeness of his own knowledge. So one person said to him, “O prophet of Allah! Is there anyone – or do you know of anyone – on the earth who is more knowledgeable than you?” So he replied, “No,” based on what he was aware of, and out of wanting to encourage them to take knowledge from him. So Allah informed Moosaa that He had a slave at a place of the meeting of two oceans who had knowledge which Moosaa did not possess, as well as intuition beyond ordinary bounds. So Moosaa yearned to meet this person out of a desire to increase in knowledge, so he besought Allah to allow him to do so and Allah informed him of that person’s location and to take fish as provisions. So it was said to him, “when you cease to have the fish, then he is in that place.” So he went and he found him, and that event is that which Allah informed us of their news in surah al-Kahf:

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِفَتَاهُ لَا أَبْرَحُ حَتَّى أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا

And (remember) when Moosaa said to his boy-servant: “I will not give up (traveling) until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and years in traveling.” [18:60]

until His statement:

ذَلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِعْ عَلَيْهِ صَبْرًا

That is the interpretation of those (things) over which you could not hold patience [18:82]

وفي هذه القصة من الفوائد والأحكام والقواعد شيء كثير ننبه على بعضه بعون الله، ونذكر المهمّ منه

And in this story there is something amazing in terms of benefits, legal rulings, foundational principles – some of which have been brought to our awareness by the aid of Allah, and we will mention the most important of them

فمنها: ما اشتملت عليه القصة من فضيلة العلم وشرفه، ومشروعية الرحلة في طلبه، وأنه أهم الأمور؛ فإن موسى رحل في طلبه مسافة طويلة، ولقي في ذلك النصب، وترك الإقامة عند بني إسرائيل لتعليمهم وإرشادهم، واختار السفر لزيادة العلم على ذلك. ـ

So from the benefits are: What the story contains regarding the excellence and honor of knowledge, as well as the lawfulness of traveling in search of it, and that it is the most important of issues. For Moosaa traveled a far distance in search of knowledge and he encountered exhaustion and fatigue in doing so; he left his position of teaching and guiding the Banu Israa’eel and chose to travel in order to increase in knowledge for the purpose of teaching and guiding them.