“Indeed, you are given the Quran from One who is All-Wise, All-Knowing. (6) When Moses said to his family, ‘I have perceived a fire. I will bring you some news from it, or I will bring you a flaming brand so that you may warm yourselves.’ (7) Then, when he came to it, he was called: ‘Blessed is whoever is at the fire and whoever is around it. And glory be to Allah, Lord of all worlds.’ (8)”

“Indeed, you are given the Quran”: that is, you are granted the Quran and taught it (1) “from One who is All-Wise, All-Knowing”: that is, as revelation from Allah, the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.

His saying, Exalted is He, “When Moses said to his family”: that is, remember, O Muhammad, (2) when Moses said to his family during his journey from Midian to Egypt: “I have perceived a fire”—that is, I have seen a fire. (3) “I will bring you some news from it”: that is, remain where you are; I shall bring you news of the road, for he had lost the way. “Or I will bring you a flaming brand”: the Kufan reciters read the expression with nunation, taking “firebrand” as an adjective describing “flame.” The others read it without nunation, as a possessive construction. This is an annexation of a thing to itself, since “flame” and “firebrand” are close in meaning: it is a stick with fire at one end, but not at the other.

Some said that a flame is something luminous, like a column; the Arabs call every bright, luminous white object a flame. A firebrand is a piece taken from the fire. “So that you may warm yourselves”: that is, so that you may seek warmth from the cold; this was during the severity of winter.

“Then, when he came to it, he was called: ‘Blessed is whoever is at the fire and whoever is around it’”: that is, “Blessing be upon whoever is at the fire,” or, “Blessed is whoever is at the fire.” The Arabs use such expressions as “May Allah bless him,” “may Allah grant blessing in him,” and “may Allah bestow blessing upon him,” with the same meaning.

A group said that the blessing refers to Moses and the angels. Its meaning is: blessing was bestowed upon the one who sought the fire—namely Moses, peace be upon him—and upon “those around it,” ⦗54/A⦘ namely, the angels around the fire. Thus, its meaning is: blessing be upon you, O Moses, and upon the angels around the fire. This was a greeting from Allah, Exalted is He, to Moses by means of blessing, just as He greeted Abraham through the tongues of the angels when they entered upon him and said, “May Allah’s mercy and His blessings be upon you, O people of the house.”

The view of most exegetes is that what is meant by the fire is light. It was referred to as fire because Moses thought it was fire. Those “at the fire” were the angels, for the light which Moses saw contained angels whose voices rose in declarations of Allah’s holiness and glorification,