and the one around it was Moses, for he was near it, though not within it. It was also said that both “whoever is at the fire” and “whoever is around it” refer to the angels. Another view is that “whoever is at the fire” was Moses, while “whoever is around it” were the angels. Although Moses was not within the fire, he was near it, just as one may say, “So-and-so has reached the dwelling,” when he has drawn close to it, even though he has not yet reached it.

Some held that the blessing refers to the fire itself. Mujahid related from Ibn Abbas that he said: Its meaning is, “The fire was blessed.” Said ibn Jubayr related from Ibn Abbas: “I heard Ubayy recite: ‘The fire and those around it were blessed.’” The relative pronoun man may carry the sense of ma (that which), as in His saying: “And among them are those that crawl on their bellies” (al-Nur 24:45). The particle ma may also occur as a supplementary particle in speech, as in His saying: “A host there” (Sad 38:11). Thus, its meaning is: blessing was bestowed upon the fire and upon those around it—the angels and Moses, peace be upon him. He described the fire as blessed just as He described the spot as blessed, saying: “At the blessed spot.”

It is related from Ibn Abbas, Said ibn Jubayr, and al-Hasan concerning His saying, “Blessed is whoever is at the fire,” that it means: “Sanctified is the One at the fire,” namely Allah Himself. By this, He meant that He called Moses from it and made him hear His speech from its direction. (1) As it is related that the Torah states: “God came from Sinai, rose from Seir, and shone forth from the mountains of Paran.” (2) His coming from Sinai refers to the mission of Moses there; His rising from Seir refers to the mission of the Messiah there; and His shining forth from the mountains of Paran refers to the mission of the Chosen One, Muhammad, from there. Paran is Mecca. (3)

It was said: That was His light, glorified and exalted is He. Said ibn Jubayr said: The fire was actual fire, and fire is one of the veils of Allah Most High, as stated in the hadith: “His veil is fire; were He to remove it, the radiance of His Face would burn up all of His creation that His sight reaches.” (4)

Then Allah—who is free of every evil and defect—declared His transcendence, saying, exalted is His mention: “And glory be to Allah, Lord of all worlds.”

“O Moses, indeed, it is I—Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” (9)

Then He made Himself known to Moses through His attributes, saying: “O Moses, indeed, it is I—Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” The pronoun in “indeed, it is I” is an emphatic pronoun, not a referential one. It was also said that it is