Appearance
Verses 96–99
This section of verses refers to the story of Moses, who spoke directly with God. He is the most mentioned prophet in the Qurʾan, his name being invoked in one hundred and thirty-three places across approximately thirty-two chapters. The Qurʾan takes great care to detail his story more than any other messenger, but God has summarized it beautifully in this chapter, being content to suffice with a general allusion to it.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِآيَاتِنَا وَسُلْطَانٍ مُبِينٍ ٩٦
(11:96) Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs (bi ayātinā) and a manifest authority …
The bi in bi ayātinā signifies accompaniment, meaning: ‘We sent Moses accompanied by Our signs.’ This is because of the prophets and messengers sent by God and supported by miraculous signs, there are those who were given the miraculous sign as their people demanded, like Ṣāliḥ, who God supported with the sign of the She-camel. Then, there are those who were supported with a miraculous sign at the beginning of their missions like Moses, Jesus, and Muḥammad. For example, God said to Moses Go ahead, you and your brother, with My signs (), and He said about Jesus a messenger to the Children of Israel, ‘I have certainly brought you a sign from your Lord’ (), and He said about Muḥammad: It is He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance ()—‘guidance’ in this last verse refers to the Qurʾan as evidenced by His saying, This is the Book, there is no doubt in it, a guidance to the Godwary (). God also said: and follow the light that has been sent down with him ().
Moses was sent with signs (āyāt) and a manifest authority (sulṭān mubīn), and it appears that the intended meaning of these signs are the miraculous events that occurred by his hand, as indicated by the context of his stories in the Qurʾan.
As for ‘authority’, it denotes the decisive proofs and logical arguments that overcome people’s minds and intellects. This includes both miraculous signs and the rational arguments, and in the context of the present verse, mentioning ‘authority’ after signs is akin to coupling the general with the specific.
It’s not far-fetched that sending Moses with ‘manifest authority’ meant that God gave him control over the circumstances that unfolded between him and the Pharaoh’s household, that tyrant that no messenger except Moses had been tested with. However, God Almighty made Moses triumph until He ultimately drowned Pharaoh and his armies and saved the Children of Israel by his hand. This meaning is alluded to by the verse, The two of them said, ‘Our Lord! We are indeed afraid that he will forestall us or will overstep the bounds.’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for I will be with the two of you, hearing and seeing () and His saying to Moses ‘‘Do not be afraid. Indeed you will have the upper hand.’ ().
These verses and their counterparts provide clear evidence that Moses’s mission was not limited to his people from the Children of Israel, but it included them and others as well.
إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ فَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ فِرْعَوْنَ ۖ وَمَا أَمْرُ فِرْعَوْنَ بِرَشِيدٍ ٩٧
(11:97) … to Pharaoh and his elite, but they followed Pharaoh’s dictates, and Pharaoh’s dictates were not right-minded.
God highlights that this message was specifically directed to Pharaoh and his establishment—who are the elites and leaders of the people, who fill their hearts with awe—rather than all of the people. This may be a hint that the masses were only followers with no opinion of their own except in accordance with whatever their leaders decreed for them.
… but they followed Pharaoh’s dictates: The apparent meaning of ‘dictates’ here is more general than just words or actions. This is illustrated in the verse in which God said of him, Pharaoh said, ‘I just point out to you what I see to be advisable for you, and I guide you only to the way of rectitude (sabīl al-rashād).’ (), which also refers the way and method that he adopted and commanded. The verse correlates with Pharaoh’s statement, and it appears that God rebutted him by saying, and Pharaoh’s dictates were not right-minded (rashīd).
This is further emphasized by the fact that the adjective rashīd (‘right-minded’) is a cognate of rashshād (‘rectitude’), both of which are derived from rushd, which is the opposite of ghayy (‘error’ or ‘perversity’). In other words, Pharaoh’s dictates were neither guided by nor led to the truth, rather they were marked by error and ignorance. Some say rashīd here means the one who guides. In the phrase, and Pharaoh’s dictates were not right-minded, God explicitly uses Pharaoh’s name instead of the pronoun ‘his’, when it would have made sense to say ‘his dictates’. Perhaps the reason for this is to imply his own lack of rectitude, something that can’t be inferred from using a pronoun.
يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَأَوْرَدَهُمُ النَّارَ ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْوِرْدُ الْمَوْرُودُ ٩٨
(11:98) On the Day of Resurrection he will lead his people and conduct them into the Fire: an evil goal for the incoming!
This verse means Pharaoh will lead his people into Hell because they followed his command in this world and thus he became their leader—one of the leaders of misguidance that God refers to in the verse: We made them leaders who invite to the Fire ().
… and conduct them into the Fire (fa awrada-hum al-nār) is the outcome of what was previously stated, in other words, he will lead them into the fire. The use of the past tense verb awrada (instead of the future-tense) is to affirm that this is something that will definitely come to pass.
Some might argue that this follows from His saying: but they followed Pharaoh’s dictates, meaning they followed him, and their following him led them to the Fire. They argue that this understanding is supported by His saying: while a terrible punishment besieged Pharaoh’s clan: The Fire, to which they are exposed morning and evening. And on the day when the Hour sets in Pharaoh’s clan will enter the severest punishment (), as the verses indicate that their punishment began at the time of their death, before the Day of Judgement. However, the verses clearly contradict this reading, as they describe their punishment before the Day of Judgement with the words morning and evening, and on the Day of Judgement with the phrase enter the severest punishment, which is Hellfire.
… an evil goal for the incoming! (wa biʾsa al-wird al-mawrūd)—the word wird refers to water which thirsty creatures, whether animal or human, seek out. Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī says in his Mufradāt: ‘The term wurūd originally meant “to seek water”, then it came to be used in other contexts. The transitive form awrada means “to lead to water.” See the verse, When he arrived at the well of Midian … (). Wird refers to the water that is sought out.’
Based on the above explanation, we can discern a subtle metaphor in the language of this passage. In it, God compares the ultimate goal a person seeks in life and with the effort a thirsty person expends to seek water. The happiness that a person seeks through his actions is like the water he seeks to quench his thirst. The ultimate happiness of a person is the pleasure of God and paradise. However, when the people of Egypt went astray by following the command of Pharaoh and strayed from the path of true happiness, their ultimate goal changed to the Fire. So, the Fire became the watering hole they sought, and what a terrible place to seek! This is because the place they sought was originally supposed to quench their burning thirst and satisfy their parched stomachs with sweet water from a pleasing source. But when the place they sought changes into the torment of the Fire, what a terrible place that is to seek!
وَأُتْبِعُوا فِي هَٰذِهِ لَعْنَةً وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۚ بِئْسَ الرِّفْدُ الْمَرْفُودُ ٩٩
(11:99) They were pursued by a curse in this and, on the Day of Resurrection, evil is the award conferred!
This means they followed the command of Pharaoh and therefore, a curse from God followed them in this world, which included distancing them from His mercy and expelling them from His proximity. The manifestation of this curse that followed them in this world was the fact that they drowned, or it was the divine decree that they would be driven out of His mercy, which was written in the record of their deeds, and among its outcomes was their drowning and punishment in the afterlife.
… on the Day of Resurrection, evil is the award conferred! (biʾs al-rifd al-marfūd): Rifd refers to a gift, and its original meaning is ‘help’ or ‘support’. A gift is called a rifd or marfūd (‘a thing conferred’) because it aids the recipient in the fulfilment of his needs. The meaning is: ‘what a terrible gift they will be given on the Day of Judgement, which is the Fire where they will prostrate.’ This verse is similar to His saying elsewhere: We made a curse pursue them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be among the disfigured ().
… on the Day of Resurrection might be understood as an adverb, in which case the phrase would relate to His saying: They were pursued … or His saying: a curse, in which case it parallels His saying: in this. This would render the meaning: ‘God has pursued them with a curse in this world and in the hereafter, or God has pursued them with a curse in this world and in the hereafter—what a wretched gift to be given!’ Where the gift is either the curse that pursued them, or the state of being pursued by a curse.