28:16
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى فَٱغْفِرْ لِى فَغَفَرَ لَهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
He said, "My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me," and He forgave him. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Translation · Saheeh International
Tafsir
Ibn Kathīr (abridged)
How Musa killed a Coptic Man
Having described Musa's beginnings, Allah then tells us that when he reached maturity, and was complete in stature, Allah gave him Hukm and religious knowledge. Mujahid said that this means prophethood.
وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى الْمُحْسِنِينَ
(And thus do We reward the doers of good.) Then Allah describes how Musa reached the status that was decreed for him, that of Prophethood and speaking to Allah, as a direct consequence of killing the Coptic, which was the reason why he left Egypt and went to Madyan. Allah says:
وَدَخَلَ الْمَدِينَةَ عَلَى حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا
(And he entered the city when its people were unaware.) Ibn Jurayj narrated from `Ata' Al-Khurasani, from Ibn `Abbas, "That was between Maghrib and `Isha'." Ibn Al-Munkadir narrated from `Ata' bin Yasar from Ibn `Abbas, "That was in the middle of the day." This was also the view of Sa`id bin Jubayr, `Ikrimah, As-Suddi and Qatadah.