Page 167
wa-lammā jāʾa mūsā li-mīqātinā wa-kallamahū rabbuhū qāla rabbi ʾarinī ʾanẓur ʾilayka qāla lan tarānī wa-lākini nẓur ʾilā l-jabali fa-ʾini staqarra makānahū fa-sawfa tarānī fa-lammā tajallā rabbuhū li-l-jabali jaʿalahū dakkan wa-kharra mūsā ṣaʿiqan fa-lammā ʾafāqa qāla subḥānaka tubtu ʾilayka wa-ʾana ʾawwalu l-muʾminīna
When Moses arrived at Our tryst and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show [Yourself] to me, that I may look at You!’ He said, ‘You shall not see Me. But look at the mountain: if it abides in its place, then you will see Me.’ So when his Lord disclosed Himself to the mountain, He levelled it, and Moses fell down swooning. When he recovered, he said, ‘Immaculate are You! I turn to You in penitence, and I am the first of the faithful.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-‘Araf – Verse 143
143 . “And when Moses came to Our appointed tryst and his Lord spoke with him, he said: ‘My Lord, show me (Yourself), that I may look towards You!’ He (Allah) said: ‘Never shall you see Me, but look towards the mountain: if it remains firm in its place, then you will see Me.’ So when his Lord manifested (His) glory to the mountain, He sent it crashing down, and Moses fell down senseless. Then when he recovered, he said: ‘Glory be to You! I turn to You (repentant), and I am the first of the believers’.”
The Qur’ānic word /dakkah/ means ‘a level land’, and, therefore, in this verse the text means that the mountain was turned into dust so that it became level as the land. That Divine Power, whatever it was, pounded the mountain into dust. Was it the great atomic power, or the power of waves, or some other mystic power? It is unknown. There were two times that observing Allah was asked for. One time Moses (as) himself asked Allah to see His True Essense. Then, in answer to him (as), this very current verse was revealed and manifested that Moses (as) had not its capacity. The verse says:
Another time was when the Children of Israel were seeking the pretext, and ignorantly asked Moses to see Allah by the eyes of head. This meaning has been referred to in verse No. 155 of the current Surah, which will be explained later. This fact should be noted that Allah can never be seen by the outword eyes, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter. As the verse says:
But He must be known by means of His effects, where His manifestations can be looked at. The verse says: