قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى فَٱغْفِرْ لِى فَغَفَرَ لَهُۥٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Important Words:
ظلمت (I have wronged my soul) is derived from ظلم which means, he did wrong; he acted unjustly or tyrannically; he put a thing in a wrong place; he made one to suffer loss or detriment. ظلمه also signifies, he imposed upon him a burden that was beyond his power or ability to bear; he exposed himself to danger (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 2:36, 52 & 17:60.
Commentary:
Moses realized that in trying to help the poor Israelite he had happened to kill the Egyptian and thus had exposed himself to a great danger and had taken upon himself a burden which apparently he did not have the power to bear. So he prayed to God to protect him from the evil consequences that might flow from his accidentally killing a member of the ruling race.
Zalama-hu means, he imposed upon him a burden which was beyond his power or ability to bear; he exposed himself to danger (Lane & Mufradat). Moses realized that in trying to help the poor Israelite he had happened to kill the Egyptian and thus had exposed himself to a great danger and had taken upon himself a burden which apparently he could not bear. So he prayed to God to protect him from the evil consequences that might flow from his accidentally killing a member of the ruling race.