Qala faAAaltuha ithan waana mina addalleen (surah Shuara: 20)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(26:20) Moses answered, "I did it inadvertently; *16

Qaala fa`altuhaaa izanw wa ana minad daaaleen

*16) The word dalalat dces not always mean "straying away", but it is also used in the sense of ignorance, folly, error, forgetfulness, inadvertence, etc. As mentioned in Surah Al-Qasas, Prophet Moses had only given a blow to the Egyptian (Copt) when he saw him treating an Israelite cruelly. A blow dces not cause death, nor is it given with the intention of causing death. It was only an accident that the Egyptian died. As such, it was not a case of deliberate murder but of accidental murder. A murder was committed but not intentionally, nor was any weapon used, which is usually employed for murder, or which can cause murder.