Miqat of Moses (a)
Mīqāt of Moses (a) was a forty-day period in which Prophet Moses (a) was summoned by the command of God to Mount Sinai for supplication and to receive the Tablets of the Torah. The Qur'an has dealt with this event in Sura al-A'raf. Before his departure, Moses (a) appointed Harun (a) as his successor among the Banu Isra'il and Quranic exegetes relate this issue to the Hadith of Manzila and consider it among the proofs for the immediate succession of Imam 'Ali (a) after the Prophet (s).
In the miqat, God's direct speaking with Musa, the request for the vision of God, and the revelation of the Shari'a took place. The disagreement among the Banu Isra'il and the story of calf-worship also occurred in this period, and Musa (a), upon returning, executed a severe punishment for those who misled his people.
It is said that the use of the expression forty nights instead of forty days and nights in the Qur'an is because the night is more suitable for worship and supplication. This miqat continued from the beginning of the month of Dhu l-Qa'da until the tenth of Dhu l-Hijja, and some Sufis and mystics call it the Mosaic Forty-Day Retreat and recommend it for Chilla-nishini (forty days of seclusion).
Forty Days in Mount Sinai
The Miqat of Moses (a) refers to the time when Prophet Moses (a) distanced himself from his people by the command of God and engaged in worship. This forty-day miqat,[1] occurred after the exodus of the Banu Isra'il from Egypt and their crossing of the sea.[2] Prophet Moses (a) was summoned to the miqat for supplication with God[3] and receiving the Torah.[4]
The beginning of revelation to Moses (a) is considered to be after his exit from Madyan and before his entrance to Egypt. However, the revelation of the Torah was in the miqat.[5] In this miqat, God spoke to Moses (a) directly[6] and without an intermediary[7] and his status was honored.[8] The expression "I have chosen you over the people with My messages, and My speaking [to you]" which is mentioned in Quran 7:144 was said to Moses (a) in this miqat.[9]
It is mentioned in Qur'an 7 that Prophet Moses (a) went to the miqat along with seventy chosen people from Banū Isra'il.[10] Some exegetes have considered this miqat to be the same as the forty-day miqat.[11] But some others believe Moses (a) had another miqat after the story of calf-worship.[12] The existence of two miqats has been considered in accordance with the content of the Torah.[13]
This forty-day miqat is also known as Chilla-yi Kalimiyya[14] and is placed among the documentary evidence of some groups for legitimizing Chilla-nishini.[15] It is said that the Kalīmī Chilla is the most famous Chilla-nishini[16] among the Sufis[17] which has faced the agreement[18] and opposition of some jurists.[19]
Succession of Harun
Before leaving, Moses (a) appointed his brother Harun (a) as his successor and had some recommendations for him.[20] Some Shi'a and Sunni exegetes, under the verses related to this issue, have referred to the Hadith of Manzila, which in Shi'a exegeses is presented as one of the proofs for the caliphate of Imam 'Ali (a).[21]
After returning from the miqat and observing the calf-worship of the people, Moses (a), in addition to rebuking Banu Isra'il and Samiri, angrily began to reprimand Harun (a), while he grabbed his beard and head and pulled. Quran 20:94 quotes Harun's argument: "I feared that upon your return you would say, 'Why did you cause division among the Banu Isra'il and not observe my word in my absence?'"[22]
Time and Place of the Miqat
According to Quran 7:142, Moses's miqat lasted thirty nights, and God extended it for another ten nights.[23] In Quran 2:51, only forty nights are mentioned.[24] They have corresponded it to the beginning of the month of Dhu l-Qa'da until the tenth of Dhu l-Hijja.[25]
According to Allama Tabataba'i, a Shi'a exegete, since the purpose of this miqat was proximity to God and supplication with Him, and the nights are more dedicated to worship, the Qur'an has used the expression of forty nights.[26]
Some exegetes have considered this miqat to be in Mount Sinai.[27] In the Torah it is mentioned, "Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain."[28]
The expression "miqat" is used for time and place (such as the miqats of Hajj).[29] But it is mostly used for time and means the time that is determined for doing something.[30] Some have considered miqat as an expression to state the time of proximity to the Lord.[31]
Extension of the Miqat Time
Scholars hold differing views concerning the addition of the ten nights to the miqat.[32] Some believe that God first invited Moses (a) for thirty nights to test the Banu Isra'il, and then extended it, so that the hypocrites of Banu Isra'il would be known.[33] It is narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a) that the ten-day extension of Moses's miqat was bada'.[34]
Request to See God
Some researchers have considered the most important issue of the miqat to be the request for the vision of God.[35] In Qur'an 7:143, it is mentioned that Moses (a) said to God: "My Lord, show [Yourself] to me, that I may look at You."[36] Based on Quran 4:153, some exegetes believe this speech was from a group of Banu Isra'il who persistently asked Moses (a) to see God; otherwise they would not believe.[37] Al-Tabrisi in Majma' al-bayan considers this opinion strong and famous among exegetes.[38] Some others believe that the claim that the request for vision was not from Moses (a) himself is incompatible with Moses's repentance, which is mentioned in verse 143 of Qur'an 7.[39] Also, it has been said that such a request from Moses (a) is a natural matter and is not incompatible with his status.[40]
God replied with the expression "Lan tarānī; You will never see Me" and said that Moses (a) does not have the tolerance to see Him.[41] Then He ordered Moses (a) to look at the mountain. If the mountain remained in its place, he would see God. When God manifested Himself to the mountain, the mountain was destroyed, and Moses (a) fell unconscious. After regaining consciousness, Moses (a) expressed regret.[42]
Revelation of the Sharia and Tablets
Moses (a) had promised Banu Isra'il that after being saved from enemies, he would bring them a heavenly book containing the Shari'a.[43] Based on this, he asked God for a book, and God ordered him to fast and go to the miqat.[44] At the end of the miqat[45] He revealed the shari'as and laws of his religion to Moses (a)[46] and declared that He had chosen him.[47]
According to the verses of the Quran, in the miqat, tablets were revealed to Moses (a)[48] Some exegetes, including 'Allama Tabataba'i, have considered these tablets to be the tablets of the Torah.[49] Some others believe these tablets were before the revelation of the Torah.[50] Rashid Rida in Tafsir al-Manar believes these tablets were the first part of the Sharia and, in a way, a brief Torah.[51]
Calf-Worship of Banu Isra'il
Some of the Banu Isra'il in the last ten days of Moses's miqat,[52] built a calf and worshipped it.[53] They were unaware of the ten-day extension of Moses's miqat, and according to some narrations, they thought Moses (a) had passed away.[54] Some have narrated that they said Moses (a) lied and ran away.[55] A person named Samiri[56] using the people's gold, built a calf[57] and along with his followers[58] invited the people to worship it.[59]
Prophet Moses (a) was informed of his people's calf-worship in the miqat.[60] After returning from the miqat and observing this act, he threw the tablets that had been revealed to him to the ground in extreme anger and broke them.[61] By God's command, Banū Isrāʾīl began killing each other for punishment[62] and this killing included relatives, family, and all members of Banu Isra'il.[63] Some believe those who had not become calf-worshippers killed the calf-worshippers.[64] With the killing of several thousand people[65] their repentance was accepted and the killer and the killed were forgiven.[66] This event is also mentioned in the Torah.[67]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 235.
- ↑ Ibyārī, al-Mawsūʿat al-qurʾāniyya, vol. 9, p. 80.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 9, p. 32.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 3, p. 391.
- ↑ Rashīd Riḍā, Tafsīr al-manār, vol. 9, p. 119.
- ↑ Ṭabarānī, al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, vol. 3, p. 192.
- ↑ Shubbar, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, p. 183.
- ↑ Malikī Miyānjī, Manāhij al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 233.
- ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 453.
- ↑ Qur'an 7, verse 155.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 342.
- ↑ Mullāḥuwaysh, Bayān al-maʿānī, vol. 1, p. 431.
- ↑ See: Sarshār, Mīqāt-i Mūsā (a) dar Qurʾān, ʿahd-i ʿatīq wa tafāsīr-i islāmī.
- ↑ Tawṣiyahā-yi yik ustād-i akhlāq barā-yi chilla-yi kalīmiyya, 'Aqiq website.
- ↑ Kāshānī Bīdukhtī, Chilla-nishīnī, p. 102.
- ↑ The word "Chilla" is derived from the Persian word "Chihel," meaning "forty"; "Nishini" refers to the person who performs the 40-day fast and remains seated in the circle of seclusion.
- ↑ Kāshānī Bīdukhtī, Chilla-nishīnī, p. 21.
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Ayatollah Jawadi Amoli: 'Arba'een-taking (the forty-day seclusion) is one of the best means of attaining divine effusions; there is no enemy worse than base desires, Hawzah information database.
- ↑ Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, Maʿārif-i dīn, vol. 3, p. 350.
- ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 10, p. 236.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 343.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 283.
- ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 5, p. 447.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 235.
- ↑ See: Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 239; Ibyārī, al-Mawsūʿat al-qurʾāniyya, vol. 9, p. 80.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 236.
- ↑ Marāghī, Tafsīr al-Marāghī, vol. 9, p. 56.
- ↑ Torah, Exodus, Chapter 34, verse 2.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 730.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 340.
- ↑ Mudabbirpūr, Mīqāt-i Mūsā dar Qurʾān, p. 149.
- ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-ghayb, vol. 14, p. 352.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 340.
- ↑ ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, vol. 1, p. 44.
- ↑ Mudabbirpūr, Mīqāt-i Mūsā dar Qurʾān, p. 167.
- ↑ Qur'an 7, verse 143.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 356.
- ↑ Ṭabirsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 730.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 3, p. 391.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 3, p. 391.
- ↑ Fayḍ Kashānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 2, p. 232.
- ↑ Ṭayyib, Aṭyab al-bayān, vol. 5, pp. 449-450.
- ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 151.
- ↑ Suhrawardī, ʿAwārif al-maʿārif, vol. 1, p. 227.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 239.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 362.
- ↑ Zamakhsharī, al-Kashshāf, vol. 2, p. 157.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 239.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 8, p. 250.
- ↑ Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 7, p. 289.
- ↑ Rashīd Riḍā, Tafsīr al-manār, vol. 9, p. 164.
- ↑ Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 3, p. 723.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 6, p. 371.
- ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 450.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 239.
- ↑ Qurashī, Qāmūs-i Qurʾān, vol. 6, p. 315.
- ↑ Qurashī, Qāmūs-i Qurʾān, vol. 6, p. 315.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 14, p. 192.
- ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-mubīn, vol. 16, p. 260.
- ↑ Qur'an 20, verse 85.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 2, p. 388.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qurʾān, p. 18.
- ↑ Jawādī Āmulī, Tasnīm, vol. 4, p. 455.
- ↑ Fayḍ Kashānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, vol. 1, p. 132.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 47.
- ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qurʾān, p. 18.
- ↑ Torah, Exodus, Chapter 32, verses 27-28.
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