Ṭā-Hā 20:39
The verse
Saying: Throw him into the ark, and throw it into the river, then the river shall throw it on to the bank, and there an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him. And I endued thee with love from Me that thou mightest be trained according to My will, — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
It is clear from this text that Pharaoh ordered the killing of children when Moses was young. Yet the Qur’ān also states that the command to kill was given when Moses was a prophet and spoke the truth (Q 40.23-25). (This contradiction is also addressed in the critical analysis of Q 7.12).
Q 20.39.The verse states “Hurl him into the ark, and hurl him into the sea.” This phrase is weak as the second pronoun “him” refers to the ark whereas the first “him” refers to Moses. This weakness of construction in the verse is admitted by al-Zamakhsharī, who said “some of it [meaning the pronouns] referring to him [Moses] and some to the ark are flawed.
Arabic text of this item
يتضح من هذا النص أن فرعون أمر بقتل الأولاد حينما كان موسى صغيراً. بينما يقول القرآن أن أمر القتل جاء حينما كان موسى نبيًا (غافر 40: 23 ـ 25). وقد تطرقنا لإشكالية هذا التناقض في التعليق على (سورة الأعراف 7: 127).
تقول الآية (39): <أَنِ اقْذِفِيهِ فِي التَّابُوتِ فَاقْذِفِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ>. في العبارة ضعف، إذْ أن الضمير في «اقذفيه» الثانية يرجِعْ إلى التابوت، وفي الأولى يرجع إلى موسى. وضعف بناء الآية اعترف به الزمخشري الذي قال: «رجوعُ بعضِها [أيْ: الضمائر] إليه [أيْ: موسى] وبعضِها إلى التابوت: فيه هجنة».
Sources cited
- al-Zamakhsharī 4: 81.
- الزمخشري، الكشاف 4: 81.