إِذۡ رَءَا نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهۡلِهِ ٱمۡكُثُوٓاْ إِنِّىٓ ءَانَسۡتُ نَارًا لَّعَلِّىٓ ءَاتِيكُم مِّنۡهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوۡ أَجِدُ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ هُدًى
When he saw a fire and said to his family, “Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance.”
The ayah begins with the words “when he saw a fire” and immediately places us right in the middle of a journey.
We, too, know only as much as a believer in Makkah listening to this surah would have known: Moses (peace be upon him) is on a journey, he sees a fire, and he calls out to his family.
An attentive listener can piece the context together in his own mind. Since he could see a fire from afar during the journey, it must have been night; for in the daytime a fire would not be noticed from afar. He is travelling with his family in the darkness of the night.
He tells them ٱمۡكُثُوٓاْ, that is, “stay here and wait.”
The word ٱمۡكُثۡ means to remain where you are, waiting for someone to return. He urges them to be patient until he comes back.
The ayah continues with a different verb for the act of seeing:
ءَانَسۡتُ
I have perceived.
This word comes from the root أُنۡس, which is associated with closeness and a keen ability to observe. The verb ءَانَسَ expresses observing clues very well and drawing careful conclusions from them.
It is night, there is a mountain, and he notices not the fire itself, but perhaps the orange glow reflected on the sky above it, that is, only a faint spark of light. The light appears, disappears, shows itself again for a brief moment, and then vanishes completely.
When he tells his family about it, they can no longer see anything. But he is certain: “I know I saw something.”
This is why the Qur’an uses the word ءَانَسۡتُ. Even though others cannot confirm what he saw, he is absolutely certain of it. Perhaps Allah brought this fire into being in such a way that only he could see it; for there is no one else who needs to go to that fire.
This is a divine meeting, decreed for Moses (peace be upon him) alone.
He explains his plan to his family: “Perhaps I can bring you a قَبَس (a borrowed flame).” A قَبَس is not a fire that one kindles oneself, but a flame taken from another source; just like lighting a torch from an existing fire in order to carry it with you.
“Or,” he continues, “perhaps I can find someone there at that fire to show the way.” If there is a fire there, there must also be people camping, and if they are camping there, they must know where they are. Since Moses (peace be upon him) and his family have lost their way, he can get directions this way.
This moment teaches us an important lesson: if you have lost your way, there is nothing wrong at all with seeking someone to guide you.
Moses (peace be upon him) tells his family to wait as he leaves them to get directions. There is no misplaced pride here, nor any refusal to ask for help.