Surah Al-Kahf 18:73
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 73 of 110
قَالَ لَا تُؤَاخِذْنِى بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلَا تُرْهِقْنِى مِنْ أَمْرِى عُسْرًۭا
Translation
Moses said, ‘Forgive me for forgetting. Do not make it too hard for me to follow you.’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Musa said: Do not blame me for what I forgot, and do not burden me with difficulty in my affair.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note Musa's humble recovery, he does not argue his objection was justified; he asks for pardon for his lapse and for the relationship to continue with ease, not harshness. Ask yourself: when Musa slips, he does not double down or defend himself; he acknowledges the failing and asks for gentleness. It models what to do after I break, not to justify my impatience with God's decree, nor to spiral in self-reproach, but to admit the lapse simply and ask to be borne with. There is grace in the request 'do not burden me with difficulty', a plea to be dealt with mercifully in my weakness. When I fail to trust, and catch myself protesting what I shouldn't, is my next move honest acknowledgement and a return, or defensiveness and despair?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:73 is discussed in 3 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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