“The people of Pharaoh. Will they not fear Allah?” (11) Moses said, “My Lord, I fear that they will deny me, (12) that my breast will become constricted, and that my tongue will not speak freely; so send for Aaron. (13) Moreover, they have a charge against me, and I fear that they will kill me.” (14) He said, “No indeed. Go, both of you, with Our signs; We shall certainly be with you, listening. (15) Go to Pharaoh and say, ‘We are the messenger of the Lord of all worlds: (16) Let the Children of Israel go with us.’” (17)

“The people of Pharaoh. Will they not fear Allah?” That is, will they not ward off Allah’s punishment from themselves through obedience to Him?

“Moses said, ‘My Lord, I fear that they will deny me, that my breast will become constricted, and that my tongue will not speak freely.’” This was because of the impediment that was upon his tongue. Ya‘qub recited the two verbs in the accusative, meaning: “and that my breast become constricted, and that my tongue not speak freely.” The majority recited them in the nominative, as coordinated with his words, “I fear.” “So send for Aaron”—that he may assist and support me in conveying the message.

“Moreover, they have a charge against me”—that is, an allegation of wrongdoing, namely his killing of the Egyptian man—“and I fear that they will kill me,” that is, kill me on account of it.

Allah, exalted is He, said, “No indeed”: they will not kill you. “Go, both of you, with Our signs; We shall certainly be with you, listening”—that is, hearing what they say. He used the plural expression “with you,” although they were two, treating them as a group. It was also said that He meant: We shall be with both of you and with the Children of Israel, hearing how Pharaoh answers you.

“Go to Pharaoh and say, ‘We are the messenger of the Lord of all worlds.’” He did not say, “the two messengers of the Lord of all worlds,” because what is intended is the message itself; that is, each of us bears the message of the Lord of all worlds. As Kathir said:

“The tale-bearers have lied: I confided no secret to them, nor did I send them with a message.” (1)

That is, with a message. Abu ‘Ubaydah said: The word “messenger” may also denote two or more. The Arabs say: “This is my messenger and my agent; these two are my messenger and my agent; and these are my messenger and my agent,” just as Allah, exalted is He, says: “And they are enemies to you” (al-Kahf 50). It was also said that its meaning is: Each one of us is a messenger of the Lord of all worlds. (2)

“Let the Children of Israel go with us”—that is, with the command: “Send the Children of Israel with us to Palestine, and do not enslave them.” Pharaoh had enslaved them for four hundred years, and at that time they numbered six hundred and thirty thousand. Moses then set out for Egypt, where Aaron was, and informed him of this.