Surah 27. An-Naml, Ayah 11

I.e., by sincere repentance. Apart from its general significance, this may also be an allusion to the crime which Moses had committed in his youth bv slaying the Egyptian (see {28 :15-17}).

For my rendering of illa, in this context, as "and neither", see note [38] on 4:29 .

His slaying the Egyptian (n. 3146 to xxvi. 14), however defensible from certain aspects, was yet something from his past that had to be washed off, and Allah, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, did it out of His abounding Grace. Nay, more; he was given a pure, Radiant Hand, as a Sign from Allah, as stated in the next verse.