قَالَا رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَآ أَوْ أَن يَطْغَىٰ · قَالَ لَا تَخَافَآ إِنَّنِى مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَىٰ
Qālā rabbanā innanā nakhāfu an yafruṭa ʿalaynā aw an yaṭghā · Qāla lā takhāfā innanī maʿakumā asmaʿu wa arā · Fa'tiyāhu fa-qūlā innā rasūlā rabbika fa-arsil maʿanā banī isrāʾīla wa lā tuʿadhdhibhum, qad jiʾnāka bi-āyatin min rabbik, wa's-salāmu ʿalā mani'ttabaʿa'l-hudā · Innā qad ūḥiya ilaynā anna'l-ʿadhāba ʿalā man kadhdhaba wa tawallā
"They said: 'Our Lord! We fear that he will rush upon us or that he will grow more transgressing still.' · 'Do not fear; I am with you both, I hear and I see,' He said. · 'Go to him and say: We are two messengers of your Lord. Send the Children of Israel with us and do not torment them. We have come to you with a sign from your Lord. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. · It has been revealed to us that the punishment is upon whoever denies and turns away.'"
The root ف-ر-ط — is analysed here for the first time in the series. The concrete sense the lexicographers give: to get out in front of a thing, to dart ahead. Fāriṭ — the man who goes ahead of the caravan to find water. From this, two branches:
| Fear | Expression | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | An yafruṭa ʿalaynā | That he will strike at once — before the speech is finished |
| 2 | Aw an yaṭghā | That he will increase his transgression — after the speech |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the time of the two verbs: the first fears the cutting short of the message, the second its backfiring. That is, the fear is expressed not as fear for personal safety but as concern for the outcome of the work.
And the second verb is worth recording: yaṭghā — the same root as ṭaghā in the twenty-fourth and forty-third verses. That is, the two messengers fear that the addressee will transgress still further.
A point of word order: maʿakumā — dual. But the verbs asmaʿu and arā are first person singular. That is, the one who says "I am with you" and the one who says "I hear, I see" are the same subject.
And at al-Shuʿarāʾ on 26/15 the same reassurance was given in another pattern: innā maʿakum mustamiʿūn. The two verses can be set side by side:
| Place | Expression | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| al-Shuʿarāʾ 26/15 | Innā maʿakum mustamiʿūn | Plural of majesty + active participle |
| Ṭāhā 20/46 | Innanī maʿakumā asmaʿu wa arā | Singular + two imperfect verbs |
The difference is worth recording: in al-Shuʿarāʾ only hearing, in Ṭāhā hearing and seeing. And in Ṭāhā the verbs are imperfect — that is, a work in progress.
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the choice of the two verbs: the fear of the two messengers was about speech and about action (will the word be cut short, will he attack). The answer too gives two senses: the one that hears the word and the one that sees the action. That is, the reassurance answers the two items of the fear one by one.
The close of the speech they are commanded to say must be recorded, and it is striking: the peace is given not to the addressee but to an attribute.
The sentence does not say al-salāmu ʿalayka (peace be upon you); it says ʿalā mani'ttabaʿa'l-hudā — "upon whoever follows the guidance".
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the object of the preposition: the peace is neither given nor withheld — it is made conditional. And the condition stands open before the addressee.
The line treated at al-Qaṣaṣ on 28/55, al-Furqān on 25/63 and al-Zukhruf on 43/89 connects here — there too a parting was sealed with a greeting of peace. The difference in Ṭāhā: the peace seals not a parting but the end of an invitation.