Appearance
Verses 127–137
وَ قالَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْ قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ أَ تَذَرُ مُوسى وَ قَوْمَهُ لِيُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ يَذَرَكَ وَ آلِهَتَكَ قالَ سَنُقَتِّلُ أَبْناءَهُمْ وَ نَسْتَحْيِي نِساءَهُمْ وَ إِنَّا فَوْقَهُمْ قاهِرُونَ ١٢٧ قالَ مُوسى لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَ اصْبِرُوا إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ يُورِثُها مَنْ يَشاءُ مِنْ عِبادِهِ وَ الْعاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ١٢٨ قالُوا أُوذِينا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَأْتِيَنا وَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ما جِئْتَنا قالَ عَسى رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَ يَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ ١٢٩ وَ لَقَدْ أَخَذْنا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ بِالسِّنِينَ وَ نَقْصٍ مِنَ الثَّمَراتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ١٣٠ فَإِذا جاءَتْهُمُ الْحَسَنَةُ قالُوا لَنا هذِهِ وَ إِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُوا بِمُوسى وَ مَنْ مَعَهُ أَلا إِنَّما طائِرُهُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَ لكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ ١٣١ وَ قالُوا مَهْما تَأْتِنا بِهِ مِنْ آيَةٍ لِتَسْحَرَنا بِها فَما نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٢ فَأَرْسَلْنا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوفانَ وَ الْجَرادَ وَ الْقُمَّلَ وَ الضَّفادِعَ وَ الدَّمَ آياتٍ مُفَصَّلاتٍ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا وَ كانُوا قَوْماً مُجْرِمِينَ ١٣٣ وَ لَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّجْزُ قالُوا يا مُوسَى ادْعُ لَنا رَبَّكَ بِما عَهِدَ عِنْدَكَ لَئِنْ كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَ لَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرائِيلَ ١٣٤ فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلى أَجَلٍ هُمْ بالِغُوهُ إِذا هُمْ يَنْكُثُونَ ١٣٥ فَانْتَقَمْنا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْناهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا بِآياتِنا وَ كانُوا عَنْها غافِلِينَ ١٣٦ وَ أَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ كانُوا يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَ مَغارِبَهَا الَّتِي بارَكْنا فِيها وَ تَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنى عَلى بَنِي إِسْرائِيلَ بِما صَبَرُوا وَ دَمَّرْنا ما كانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَ قَوْمُهُ وَ ما كانُوا يَعْرِشُونَ ١٣٧
- The elite of Pharaoh’s people said, “Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land, and to abandon you and your gods?” He said, “We will kill their sons and spare their women, and indeed we are dominant over them.”
- Moses said to his people, “Turn to Allah for help and be patient. The earth indeed belongs to Allah, and He gives its inheritance to whomever He wills of His servants, and the outcome will be in favor of the Godwary.”
- They said, “We were tormented before you came to us and [also] after you came to us.” He said, “Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then He will see how you act.”
- Certainly We afflicted Pharaoh’s clan with droughts and loss of produce, so that they may take admonition.
- So whenever the good came to them, they would say, “This is our due.” And if any ill visited them, they took it for an ill omen attending Moses and those who were with him. Look! Indeed the cause of their ill omens is with Allah, but most of them do not know.
- And they said, “Whatever sign you may bring us to bewitch us, we are not going to believe you.”
- So We sent against them a flood and locusts, lice, frogs and blood, as distinct signs. But they acted arrogantly, and they were a guilty lot.
- Whenever a plague fell upon them, they would say, “O Moses, invoke your Lord for us by the covenant He has made with you. If you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and let the Children of Israel go along with you.”
- But when We removed the plague from them until a term that they should have completed, behold: they would break their promise.
- So We took vengeance on them and drowned them in the sea, for they denied Our signs and were oblivious to them.
- We made the people who were abased the heirs to the east and west of the land which We had blessed, and your Lord’s best word [of promise] was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their patience, and We obliterated what Pharaoh and his people had built and what they used to erect.
Introduction
These verses provide a synopsis of the events that transpired between Moses and Pharaoh during Moses’ stay in Egypt among his people, after he had announced his mission, had called Pharaoh and his clan to God, and had demanded the freedom of the Israelites. He showed them several miracles, one after another, until God delivered him and his people. God drowned Pharaoh and his hosts, and made the Children of Israel inheritors to the east and west of the blessed land.
Commentary
وَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْ قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ أَتَذَرُ مُوسَىٰ وَقَوْمَهُ لِيُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَيَذَرَكَ وَآلِهَتَكَ ۚ قَالَ سَنُقَتِّلُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَنَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّا فَوْقَهُمْ قَاهِرُونَ ١٢٧
(7:127) The elite of Pharaoh’s people said, “Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land, and to abandon you and your gods?” He said, “We will kill their sons and spare their women, and indeed we are dominant over them.”
With this statement, the elite of Pharaoh meant to entice and encourage him to exterminate Moses and his people. But Pharaoh rejected this by saying: We shall not be concerned with killing them, because we are dominant over them anyway. Instead, we will re-establish our previous punishment on them: we shall kill their sons and spare their women.
… and indeed we are dominant over them: From this sentence we can deduce that their request was extermination in particular—and not any kind of punishment. Otherwise, this sentence would not quite fit the context.
… and to abandon you and your gods (ālihataka)…: By adding this, they wanted to emphasize their request further, and provoke Pharaoh more to kill the Israelites. The meaning is: Besides causing mischief in the land, Moses is disregarding the service of you and your gods.
This expression shows that even though Pharaoh had claimed to be a god himself, and had forced the people to serve him, he had other gods of his own whom he used to worship. There are other examples of this in the history of other nations. For example, the same behavior is narrated concerning the tribal leaders and the chiefs of communities in ancient Rome and elsewhere. Their subordinates in their families and clan used to worship them, while they would worship their ancestors and other idols in turn. Similarly, some gods of the idolaters were deemed to overlord one or multiple other lords. For instance, parent gods used to have lordship over their children [who were gods themselves].
Objection: We read elsewhere in the Qur’an that God narrates from Pharaoh: I am your supreme lord (); I do not know of any god for you other than me (). These verses apparently show that he had not adopted any god for himself, but had decreed that only he should be served. That is why some exegetes have suggested that Pharaoh was an atheist who did not believe in a creator for the world. Thus he had ordered his people to not worship any god whatsoever, but instead worship him alone. In this light, the word ālihatika (your gods) has also been recited as ilāhatika (your worship), where ilāhah rhymes with ʿibādah (service, worship) and is synonymous with it.
Response: It is more consistent to say that his claim to being an exclusive god—I do not know of any god for you other than me ()—pertained only to the general public in Egypt. He presented himself as the only god who directs their affairs in particular, not that there is no other god to manage his life. This was exactly the worldview of the polytheists: they believed in a separate lord for every part of the creation, such as the sky, the earth, the sea and the land; all different tribes of people; and various events such as peace, war, love and beauty. And every community adopted and worshiped their own pantheon according to their needs. For instance, people living on seashores would serve the lord of the sea and the lord of hurricanes.
The meaning is: “People of Egypt, your Lord is me, not the one assumed by Moses, whom he claims to be a messenger of.” This interpretation is confirmed by internal evidence from the very verse that has been drawn upon: Pharaoh said, “O [members of the] elite! I do not know of any god for you other than me. Hāmān, light for me a fire over clay, and build me a tower so that I may take a look at Moses’ god, and indeed I consider him to be a liar!” (). The verse apparently shows that Pharaoh was uncertain about him being a god for Moses. It should be noted that what he said—I do not know of any god for you other than me ()—is a negation, not an affirmation. He negated his knowledge about the existence of any other god; he did not affirm his knowledge of the non-existence of any other god. Overall, his statement does not deny gods other than himself.
The view that Pharaoh was an atheist can apparently be traced to al-Tafsīr al-kabīr by al-Rāzī, where he says:
What seems to me is that we cannot say Pharaoh was insufficient in intellect, because then it would not be wise for God to send a messenger to him. And if he was intelligent and rational, then he could not possibly believe—in himself—that he was the creator of the heavens and the earth. Likewise, a large community of rational people would not believe this about him. Any sound reason would undoubtedly realize the falsity of this view.
It is more plausible to say that he was an atheist who did not believe in a creator. Perhaps he believed that the stars [that is, astral spirits] determine the operation of the lower world [of nature]. But within this lower world, it is Pharaoh himself who is in charge of the affairs of all beings and his people. Hence, when he said: I am your supreme lord (), what he meant was that I am the one who is in charge of you, feeds you, and has given you whatever you have. Likewise, when he said, I do not know of any god for you other than me (), what he meant was that I do not know of anyone that you must worship except myself.
If we accept this as his religious world view, then it is possible to say that the had adopted the stars as his gods. He used to seek their favor by worshiping idols that represented them, just as star-worshipers do. This way, we can keep the apparent meaning of the phrase in this verse: to abandon you and your gods? (). This is what occurs to me with respect to the current discussion.
There are a few mistakes and confusions in al-Rāzī’s discussion: (1) What the star-worshipers and idol-worshipers meant by “god” or “lord” was not the same as the creator. Their gods and lords were deemed to be not the creators of the heavens and the earth, but the directors of some affairs in the universe. Al-Rāzī has pointed this out correctly in the last part of his discussion. (2) Atheists did not and do not worship the stars. (3) Star-worshipers and Sabeans do not deny the existence of a creator.
The right view, as we said above, is that Pharaoh considered himself to be the lord of Egypt and its people. His exclusivism was that there is no other lord who directs the affairs of his people at the grass roots, not that there is no God Who has created them and the universe.
… He said, “We will kill their sons and spare their women…”: Pharaoh assured his elite that he would reenact his previous punishment on the Children of Israel. That was killing their sons and sparing their women as maidservants.
… and indeed we are dominant over them”: By saying this, Pharaoh comforted the agitation that had aroused in the hearts of his elite, and soothed their anger.
قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُوا ۖ إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۖ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ١٢٨
(7:128) Moses said to his people, “Turn to Allah for help and be patient. The earth indeed belongs to Allah, and He gives its inheritance to whomever He wills of His servants, and the outcome will be in favor of the Godwary.”
Moses encouraged and provoked the Children of Israel to ask God to help them achieve their goal, which was liberation from their enslavement and bondage under Pharaoh’s clan. He further prompted them to be patient in the face of difficulties and all kinds of punishment threatened by Pharaoh. Patience is the guide to good and the vanguard of all relief.
… The earth indeed belongs to Allah, and He gives its inheritance to whomever He wills…: This is Moses’ justification and explanation for his previous order. The meaning is: Pharaoh does not own the earth to give it to whomever he wishes, and withhold whomever he wants from its enjoyments. It rather belongs to God, and He makes whomever He wants inherit it. God’s custom throughout history has been to only allow His Godwary servants to have a good end. In your case, having taqwá (Godwariness, self-restraint) means turning to God for help, and being patient in His way. If you demonstrate this, He will make you inheritors to the land which is now in the hands of Pharaoh’s clan.
… and the outcome (al-ʿāqibah) will be in favor of the Godwary”: Moses added this to clarify and complement his previous statement. ʿĀqibah (outcome, consequence, aftermath) is “what comes after (yaʿqibu) something,” just as bādiʾah (beginning, offset) is “what comes at the beginning of (yabdaʾu) something.” The unconditional form of al-ʿāqibah implies that good end exclusively belongs to muttaqīn (the Godwary, the self-restrained, the pious). This is a decree of divine custom in the universe. God has given the world such order that leads every species to the purpose of its existence and the happiness for which it was created. If a being pursues the path that it is hard-wired to pursue, and does not deviate from the direction that has been set for it, it will certainly reach its ultimate happiness. This is also applicable to humankind as one of the species. If humans follow the way that is required of them by their fiṭrah (primal nature, innate disposition, initial makeup), God will lead them to their good end, will make them live a good life, and will guide them to every good that they would wish. The key is that they must restrain themselves from transgressing and overstepping the boundaries of God’s path to any other path. They must avoid rejecting His signs and causing corruption in the land.
قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا ۚ قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَنْ يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ ١٢٩
(7:129) They said, “We were tormented before you came to us (taʾtiyanā, from ityān) and [also] after you came to us (jiʾtanā, from majīʾ).” He said, “Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then He will see how you act.”
Here the Children of Israel are complaining to Moses. Ityān and majīʾ are synonymous in this verse [where they both mean “coming”]. Using different terms here is for variety [as an eloquent technique]. Some exegetes have said that ityān is meant in its transitive sense (bringing), unlike majīʾ which is intransitive (coming), and the implied meaning is: “Before you brought us the miracles, and after you have come.” However, this interpretation implies some omission in the verse, for which there is no evidence. Furthermore, what they wanted to say was that the arrival of Moses did not have the effect which God had promised would have: saving them from the hardship and humiliation of bondage. Their pains and burdens continued to strain them despite Moses’ coming. This idea is clearly irrelevant to the miracles that he brought.
… He said, “Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then He will see how you act”: This is Moses’ response to what they said: We were tormented…. He comforts them and inspires them with hope. This statement is effectively a reiteration of what he said in the last verse: Turn to Allah for help and be patient. The earth indeed belongs to Allah… (). It is as though he said: What I ordered you—to be Godwary in the way of your goal—is a living and immutable instruction [which I insist on]. If you act upon it, we can hope that God would destroy your enemies and make you succeed them in the land as their inheritors. Meanwhile, God would not choose you without any basis, and would not honor you without any condition or stipulation. Rather, He would be testing you through this kingdom, dominion and succession. He would want to see how you will act. God says: and We make such vicissitudes rotate among mankind, so that Allah may ascertain those who have faith, and that He may take witnesses from among you ().
This is one of the instances where the Qur’an refutes Jewish beliefs. They hold that their high status with God is inviolable, and not subject to any condition or requirement. They view the descendants of Jacob as the chosen people of God, to whom the Holy Land has been given as if its ownership was transferred to them from God in a way that it cannot be transferred or revoked.
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ بِالسِّنِينَ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ١٣٠
(7:130) Certainly (la-qad) We afflicted Pharaoh’s clan with droughts (bil-sinīn, plural of sanah) and loss of produce, so that they may take admonition.
Sanah (lit. year) means “drought, famine.” It was originally called “the year of drought” (sanat al-qaḥṭ). Then people referred to that [notorious] year simply as “the year” (al-sanah, in a definite form). Later, through repeated usage, the word sanah became an established term for drought and famine.
The āl (clan, people, family) of Pharaoh were people who had some special connection to him, which would be the Egyptians [that is, the non-Israelites]. The letter lām at the beginning of the verse implies a vow for emphasis. God swears that He seized them with several years of drought and low yield of produce so that they may awaken. These were two miracles that God sent to Pharaoh’s clan. The context suggests that there was some pause and interruption between these droughts. That is why the word sinīn (droughts) is in the plural, because if there is a single drought that extends over several years, it would not be called “droughts” in the plural. In addition, the next verse—So whenever the good came to them ()—apparently refers to good times and bad times in sequence and cycles.
فَإِذَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْحَسَنَةُ قَالُوا لَنَا هَٰذِهِ ۖ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُوا بِمُوسَىٰ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّمَا طَائِرُهُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ١٣١
(7:131) So whenever the good came to them, they would say, “This is our due.” And if any ill visited them, they took it for an ill omen attending Moses and those who were with him. Look! Indeed the cause of their ill omens is with Allah, but most of them do not know.
Whenever they had a time of prosperity, abundance and wealth—after a drought and loss of produce—they would say, “This is our due,” meaning that they would give themselves the credit for that. We specified “after a drought and loss of produce” because this is human nature. We do not pay attention to a blessing and fortune as being a blessing and fortune, and we do not appreciate its value, until we experience a misfortune that is the opposite of it. Likewise, what instigated Pharaoh’s clan to notice their bounties and good things, and to ascribe them to themselves, was that they saw their opposites.
Hence, the order is that first they would face a new affliction that they had not seen before, which they would ascribe to the evil auspices of Moses and the people with him. Then, when the bad times were replaced by good times, they would ascribe it to their own merit. This is the order by which things occurred: first evil and ill augury, then good and vainglory.
Meanwhile, this can be traced to an opposite order that was inherent in them: the fact that they held Moses responsible for their misfortune reveals their preconception. Since they had grown up in comfort and were accustomed to abundance, fertility and plentitude, they had taken for granted that they were entitled to prosperity. If this notion is not deeply rooted in one’s heart, they would not blame others when it is their turn for misfortune. One would not be so resentful of discomfort and hardship if they are not so habituated to comfort and ease. This could explain the order and wording used in the verse:
So whenever (fa-idhā) the good (al-ḥasanah) came to them, they would say, “This is our due.” And if (in) any ill (sayyiʾah) visited them, they took it for an ill omen (yaṭṭayyarū, from taṭayyur) attending Moses and those who were with him…: There are a few subtle points here which confirm what we said in the last paragraph: (1) The order of events: God first mentions their conceited times of bounty, and then their afflictions for which they accused others. (2) The word idhā (when) shows that the good times were taken to be the norm and the default condition for them. Contrast this with the Arabic conditional particle in (if), which shows that the bad times were deemed to be conditional and uncertain. (3) The definite article al- in al-ḥasanah (“the” in the good) shows that goodness—as a genus—was something that was known to them [and they were accustomed to]. On the contrary, sayyiʾah is used in the indefinite form (nakirah), which implies rarity and coincidence.
Taṭayyur means “ascribing misfortune and ill luck to something.” It is derived from the word ṭayr (bird) based on having some relationship with that root. It was common to view some birds, like the crow, as portending evil. That is how the word taṭayyur was derived from this root, and was later generalized to beyond birds. It means “taking something as bad luck and portending evil.” Thus one of the established meanings of the word ṭāʾir (lit. bird) is “share” (naṣīb) in its general sense, or “share of evil and bad luck” in particular. We see this word in the last part of the verse:
… Look! Indeed the cause of their ill omens (ṭāʾiruhum) is with Allah, but most of them do not know: Their real ṭāʾir (bad luck) is their true share of evil, which would be their punishment, which lies at the hand of God. But most of them do not know because they think that what they acquire through their actions perish, disappear, and is not preserved against them.
Some exegetes have offered other interpretations for ṭāʾir in this verse, such as “the record of deeds,” which is called ṭāʾir elsewhere in the Qur’an. However, what we said is more consistent with the verse’s context.
وَقَالُوا مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِ مِنْ آيَةٍ لِتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٢
(7:132) And they said, “Whatever (mahmā) sign you may bring us to bewitch us, we are not going to believe you.”
The word mahmā is a conditional operator that means “whatever, anything.” They made this statement to disappoint Moses about their belief—regardless of any miracle that he may show them. Their expression also involves derision, because they equated his “signs” with “bewitchment.” They meant that Moses’ purpose in bringing miracles was to bewitch them. The implied meaning is: What you perform is magic, but you call it signs [of God and the truth].
فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوفَانَ وَالْجَرَادَ وَالْقُمَّلَ وَالضَّفَادِعَ وَالدَّمَ آيَاتٍ مُفَصَّلَاتٍ فَاسْتَكْبَرُوا وَكَانُوا قَوْمًا مُجْرِمِينَ ١٣٣
(7:133) So We sent against them a flood (al-ṭūfān) and locusts, lice (al-qummal), frogs and blood, as distinct signs. But they acted arrogantly, and they were a guilty lot.
According to al-Rāghib, ṭūfān is any event that besieges someone, but it is more commonly used for abundant water. According to Majmaʿ al-bayān, it is a flood that covers the land, and is derived from the word ṭawf (to circle, to circumambulate).
Two meanings have been suggested for qummāl: (1) large monkeys; (2) tiny flies. The word could also be qaml, which is well-known (lice). The other terms—locusts, frogs and blood—are also well-known.
… as distinct signs (mufaṣṣalāt, from tafṣīl)…: Tafṣīl means “to divide into separate parts that are distinct from one another.” This means that each member of the whole would be distinguished and observed by itself. Therefore, this expression shows that these signs were not sent to them together and all at once. Instead, they were separated and broken up into multiple distinct events that were clearly intended as punishment, and did not occur by mere chance or coincidence.
This interpretation of “distinction” can be confirmed by the following verse: Whenever a plague fell upon them, they would say… The verse suggests that each plague was warned of and forecasted by Moses. Then, when it actually occurred and befell them, they would resort to him and plead with him to pray that it may be lifted from them. They would promise him that if that plague were removed from them, they would believe in him and send the Children of Israel with him. But whenever their plague was removed, they would break their promise and breach their contract. The verse suggests such a recurrent sequence of events.
وَلَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّجْزُ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِنْدَكَ ۖ لَئِنْ كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ ١٣٤
(7:134) Whenever a plague (al-rijz) fell upon them, they would say, “O Moses, invoke your Lord for us by the covenant He has made with you. If you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and let the Children of Israel go along with you.”
Rijz means “punishment.” What is meant here is the punishment that accompanied each of the distinct signs (). After all, they were signs of punishment and wrath [not signs of blessing and mercy].
… by the covenant He has made with you…: Given the context, this means God’s commitment to not reject Moses’ prayers and requests. The meaning is: Call your Lord for us by the covenant that you have with Him.
… If (la-in) you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and let the Children of Israel go along with you: This is the ʿahd (covenant, promise, vow) that they made with Moses in exchange for the uplifting of the plague from them. The letter lām at the beginning of this segment implies a vow [for emphasis].
فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ هُمْ بَالِغُوهُ إِذَا هُمْ يَنْكُثُونَ ١٣٥
(7:135) But when We removed the plague from them until a term that they should have completed, behold: they would break their promise (yankuthūna, from nakth).
Nakth means “breaking a promise, breaching a contract.”
… until a term (ajal) that they should have completed…: This qualification pertains to when We had removed. It shows that their contract was time-bound. It is as though Moses told them: “God will remove the plague from you on the condition that you believe and send the Children of Israel with me, and you have until such-and-such a time to fulfill this.” Or perhaps Pharaoh and his clan stipulated such terms. But when We removed the plague from them and their given time was up, they would break their promise and breach the contract that they had made with God and Moses. The rest of the meaning should be clear.
فَانْتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُوا عَنْهَا غَافِلِينَ ١٣٦
(7:136) So We took vengeance on them and drowned them in the sea (al-yamm), for they denied Our signs and were oblivious to them.
Yamm is synonymous with baḥr (sea). The rest of the verse should be clear.
وَأَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبَهَا الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا ۖ وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنَىٰ عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا ۖ وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُ وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْرِشُونَ ١٣٧
(7:137) We made the people who were abased the heirs to the east and west of the land which We had blessed, and your Lord’s best word [of promise] was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of their patience, and We obliterated what Pharaoh and his people had built and what they used to erect.
The “land” in this verse apparently refers to the Levant. This can be inferred from its description as which We had blessed, because the only land that God has described to be blessed is the Holy Land, which is the region around Palestine. The Holy Kaʿbah is also blessed in the Qur’an. The meaning is: We made the Children of Israel—who were abased and abused—inheritors of the Holy Land, from its east to its west.
God describes the Israelites as people who were abased in order to show His amazing act of raising the abased and empowering the weak. It would take a strong and influential ruler, assisted by abundant means and supporters, to bring such expanse of land in their possession.
… and your Lord’s best word [of promise] was fulfilled…: God’s “word” here refers to His decree that He will make them inherit the land, and will destroy their enemy. This divine decree is what Moses had promised them before, when he comforted and encouraged them: Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land (). It is also stipulated in the verse: And We desired to show favor to those who were abased in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the heirs (). The “fulfillment” of a word [that is, the divine promise] is its development from a state of potentiality to actuality. God mentions their patience as the cause for this fulfillment.
… and We obliterated (dammarnā, from tadmīr) what Pharaoh and his people had built (kāna yaṣnaʿu) and what they used to erect (kānū yaʿrishūna): Tadmīr is synonymous with ihlāk (to destroy, to annihilate). Yaṣnaʿu refers to what they used to build and manufacture. Yaʿrishūna means “building roofs” for buildings and palaces, or “making trellised (maʿrūshah) gardens” of vine and so on.
Examining Narrations
- Majmaʿ al-bayān says: There are several accounts here, narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, Saʿīd b. Jubayr, Qatādah, Muḥammad b. Isḥāq b. Bashshār, and also from Imams al-Bāqir and al-Ṣādiq—as narrated by ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm, via his chain of transmission. These reports have been mixed with one other. They say:
When the magicians converted and Pharaoh was defeated [in the contest], it only made him and his people more insistent on disbelief. Hāmān [Pharaoh’s vizier] said to him, “The people have believed in Moses. Search for anyone who has converted to his religion, and imprison them.” Pharaoh imprisoned anyone who had believed in him [Moses] from the Children of Israel. Then God sent the signs upon them in sequence, and seized them with droughts and loss of produce. Then He sent the flood against them, which destroyed their houses and buildings, such that they moved outside the city and set up tents there. The Coptic houses were filled with water, but not even a drop of it entered the homes of the Children of Israel. Their farmlands were inundated, so that they could not cultivate the land. They told Moses, “Call your Lord for us, to remove the rain from us; then we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.” He prayed, and God removed the flood from them, but they did not believe. Hāmān said to Pharaoh, “If you leave the Children of Israel to themselves, Moses will defeat you, and your kingdom will perish” [and thus he prevented Pharaoh from fulfilling his promise]. In that year [after the flood], God caused the yields of their pastures, crops and produce to proliferate so that their towns flourished with abundance. They concluded, “That water was in fact a source of blessing and fecundity for us!” In the second year (according to ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm), or the second month (according to other exegetes), God dispatched locusts toward them. The locusts rendered their crops and trees naked, and even took away their hairs and beards. They ate their doors, their clothes and their furniture. Yet they did not enter the houses of the Children of Israel, who remained untouched by that calamity. They [the Coptics] clamored and lamented, and Pharaoh said to Moses: “Moses, call your Lord to remove the locusts from us; then I will set the Children of Israel free.” Moses called his Lord, and He stopped the locusts, which had been there for one week: from one Saturday to the next.
It is said that Moses went out to an open area, and waved his staff toward the east and the west. This made the locusts return from where they had come, as though they had never been. But again, Hāmān did not let Pharaoh set free the Children of Israel.
In the third year (according to ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm), or the third month (according to other exegetes), God sent off qummal, which are tiny grasshoppers without any wings. They are the worst and most destructive of all [pests]. They struck all their crops and plucked them from the root. Thus their crops were gone, and they licked the farmlands entirely.
It is said that Moses was ordered to walk to a sand dune in an Egyptian village called ʿAyn al-Shams. He went there, struck it with his staff, and that brought out the qummal against them. The insects would go into the clothes of the Coptics and bite them. Saʿīd b. Jubayr said, “Qummal is the lice that is found in grains.” When they wanted to eat, their dish would be filled with qummal. If they were to take ten saddlebags (sing. jarīb and jirāb) [of wheat] to the mill, they would come out with no more than three bushels (sing. qafīz) [of flour]. They had not been afflicted with any calamity more severe than qummal. It came on their hairs, eyes, eyelids and eyebrows. It struck their skins as though they had smallpox. It did not allow them to rest and sleep. They screamed and cried out, so Pharaoh said to Moses: “Call your Lord! If you take away the qummal from us, I will let go of the Children of Israel.” Moses prayed, and the qummal went away, which had been there for one week: from one Saturday to the next. Yet, they broke their promise.
In the fourth year—or the fourth month—God dispatched frogs against them. They entered their food and their drink. Their homes and buildings were filled with frogs. If they were to uncover any clothing, dishware, food or drink, they would find frogs in it. The frogs would jump into their pots and ruin whatever [food] was there. When they sat, they were immersed in frogs up to their chin. When they opened their mouth to speak, a frog would hop into their mouth. When they opened their mouth to eat, a frog would snatch away the food before it reached their mouth. Thus they suffered tremendously from that. When they saw that, they pleaded about it to Moses, “This time we will repent and will not revert. Call God to take away the frogs from us. We will believe in you and send off the Children of Israel with you.” Moses took several oaths and vows from them. Then he prayed to his Lord, Who removed the frogs from them, which had been there for one week: from one Saturday to the next. But they again breached their contract and reverted to disbelief.
The fifth year God sent blood against them: there was blood flowing in the Nile. The Coptics would see blood, but the Israelites would see water. When an Israelite wanted to drink from it, it was water; but when a Coptic wanted to drink from it, it was blood. A Coptic would tell an Israelite, “Take the water in your mouth, and then pour it into mine,” but as the water was being poured into the Coptic’s mouth, it would turn into blood. Pharaoh was pressed by thirst, so he resorted desperately to chewing on fresh vegetation. But as he would chew it, the water would transform to blood in his mouth. They suffered that for seven days, when they only drank and ate blood. Zayd b. Aslam said, “The punishment of blood for them was nose-bleeding.” They went to Moses and said, “Call your Lord for us to remove this blood from us. Then we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.” But when God uplifted the blood from them, they neither believed, nor released the Children of Israel.
- Concerning If you remove the plague (al-rijz) from us, we will certainly believe in you () Imam al-Ṣādiq said: “Rijz means thalj (snow).” Then he added, “The cities of Khurāsān are cities of rijz.”
Author’s comment: This narration does not quite correspond with the verse.
The meaning would be: “Are you going to let Moses and his people abandon you and your ʿibādah (service, worship)?” This paragraph is apparently a summary of al-Ālūsī’s Rūḥ al-maʿānī. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is a translation of dahrī, which can also be translated as “materialist.” (Trans.) ↩︎
There is no mention of Pharaoh’s gods or idols in the Qur’an. As some exegetes have suggested, it is likely that the verse refers to some statues of Pharaoh that he had raised across Egypt, so that the people in other cities could worship him through them. This can be supported by his claim: “O my people! Does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me?” (). (Trans.) ↩︎
Perhaps one difference is that atá (to go to) is used at the onset of moving toward something, while jāʾa (to come to, to arrive at) is used when one reaches there. (Trans.) ↩︎
See verse ; volume 25, pp. 69-70 of the English translation. (Trans.) ↩︎
In other words: “Pray to your Lord for us, based on the noble position that He has given you, and the high status that you have in His eyes.” (Trans.) ↩︎
Their promise included two clauses: (1) to believe; (2) to release the Israelites and let them go with Moses. The first clause did not require time to be fulfilled, but the second one did. (Trans.) ↩︎
The author’s interpretation is based on the word ajal meaning “a fixed and determinate term,” which is its technical meaning in Islamic jurisprudence. In the Qur’an, however, ajal often means “a limited but indeterminate term.” The apparent meaning of the verse is that they would be soft and lenient toward Moses and his people for a while, only for a limited duration (ajal), after which they would revert to their old cruelty and defiance. The verse could be better translated as follows: “Then, when We removed the plague from them, they would maintain up to some point, but then behold: they would break their promise.” (Trans.) ↩︎
It is noteworthy that jarād (locust) is a cognate of tajrīd (to bare, to make naked). The basis of this derivation should be clear. (Trans.) ↩︎
That is, the qummal left no vegetation on any land whatsoever. (Trans.) ↩︎
Jarīb and qafīz are defined differently in different places. A common ratio between them is , where a qafīz is approximately 230.76 kg, and a jarīb is about 923.04 kg. This means that their flour was only 7.5% of their wheat. The ratio is also defined as , which would make their yield only 3%. (Trans.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, on the authority of Muḥammad b. Qays. ↩︎