Tafsir of Yunus 10:90

(And We caused the Children of Israel to cross the sea): From jawaza a place, meaning to traverse and pass beyond it. It is transitive to the first object—which was originally the subject—by means of ba (in bi-Bani Isra'il), and to the second object directly. The meaning is: We caused them to be on the other side of the sea by making it dry land, and We protected them until they reached the shore. Al-Hasan read it as jawwazna with the tashdid, and a verb in the form of fa'ala that carries the meaning of fa'ila. It is thus derived from tajwiz, which is synonymous with mujawarah (crossing) in the aforementioned sense, rather than meaning "to penetrate through," because that would not require the ba for transitivity; instead, it would be transitive to the second object via fi (in), as in the saying: "And there must be a neighbor who lets her path pass," as one says "I allowed (jawwaztu) the traveler through the door." Thus, linguistically, it would have been more appropriate here to say: wa jawwazna Bani Isra'il al-bahr, meaning "we made them pass through it and enter it." The verse contains an indication of their separation from the sea and the accompaniment of divine care for them during the crossing, just as is famous regarding the distinction between adhhabahu (he made him go) and dhahaba bihi (he took him away).

(Then Pharaoh and his soldiers followed them): Al-Raghib said: It is said "he followed him" (tabi'ahu) and "he followed him" (atba'ahu) when one trails behind, whether physically, or by following a path or command. Apparently, the two verbs are synonymous. Some scholars said: One says "I followed him" (tabi'tuhu) until "I overtook him" (atba'tuhu) if he was ahead of you and you caught up to him. Thus, the meaning here is that he caught up to them and reached them.

(Out of tyranny and aggression): That is, injustice and transgression. Both are verbal nouns in the accusative case as a circumstantial qualifier (hal), interpreted as the active participle: that is, "tyrannical and aggressive," or as a causal object (maf'ul li-ajlih), meaning "because of tyranny and aggression."

Al-Hasan read it as 'adwan with a damma on the 'ayn and dal and tashdid on the waw. This is because when Allah the Exalted informed Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them both) that their supplication was answered, He commanded Moses (peace be upon him) to take the Children of Israel out of Egypt by night. They were, as stated by more than one, six hundred thousand. He led them out while Pharaoh and his nobles were unaware. When Pharaoh sensed this, he and his soldiers rushed out in pursuit. The people turned back and suddenly saw the great calamity behind them. They said: "O Moses! This is Pharaoh and his soldiers behind us, and this is the sea before us. How can we be saved?" Allah the Exalted revealed to Moses to strike the sea with his staff. He struck it, and it parted into twelve paths, each part like a massive mountain, and there was a path for every tribe. They traversed it, and Pharaoh and those with him reached the shore while they had emerged from the sea, and their path remained as it was. When the last of them entered, and they were the first of them in terms of exiting, the sea overwhelmed them with what it overwhelmed.

(Until when drowning overtook him): Meaning, it reached him. The intended meaning of it reaching him is his occurrence within it and becoming enveloped by its initial surges. It is said: The meaning of "overtook him" is "it nearly overtook him," just as one says, "Winter has come," meaning "prepare," for the reality of "overtaking" would prevent the statement that He, the Exalted, narrated regarding him: He said: "I believe..." etc. Some people kept the word "overtaking" in its literal sense and interpreted the "saying" as an internal psychological discourse, claiming that the verse is evidence for the existence of al-kalam al-nafsi (the internal speech of Allah). This was challenged on the grounds that the presence of such a possibility invalidates the argument. Regardless, the intent is not to report a prior belief—as has been claimed—but rather to initiate a belief: that there is no god except the One in Whom the Children of Israel believe (meaning: in Him). The preposition is omitted because faith—and likewise disbelief—is made transitive via the ba. Whether the place of the object after the omission of the preposition is in the genitive or accusative case is a famous dispute. Regarding it as being transitive by itself—meaning no estimation, because it is inherently so—is contrary to the famous usage of the word.

Hamza and al-Kisa'i read it as innahu with a kasra, implying an omitted "saying" (i.e., wa qala innahu), or as a new sentence to explain his belief, or as a substitution for the clause "I believe." An nominal sentence may be substituted for a verbal one. The new sentence as a substitution is based on the reported content, not the reporting itself, because the speech in the first is a new sentence, and the first clause in his speech is new; thus, the substitute for a new sentence is also new. The pronoun hu refers to the matter (sha'n). Allah expressed it using the relative pronoun (alladhi) and made its connective clause the faith of the Children of Israel in Him, the Exalted. He did not say, as the sorcerers said: "We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron," in order to signal his turning away from rebellion and his following of those he used to lead, out of greed for acceptance and to join them in the ranks of the saved.

(And I am of the Muslims): That is, those who have surrendered their souls to Allah the Exalted, meaning they have made them purely and safely for Him, the Exalted. By "them," He intended either the Children of Israel specifically, or the genus of believers, and at that time, they were the primary ones included. Apparently, the sentence in both estimations is conjoined to the sentence "I believe," and the preference for the nominal sentence is to claim permanence and continuity.

It is said: According to the first, it is conjoined, and according to the second, it also allows for the status of a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the pronoun of the speaker, meaning: "I believe, being sincere to Allah the Exalted, and joined in the rank of those who are firmly established in that." He repeated the same meaning with three expressions and emphasized it to the utmost extent out of eagerness for acceptance, which is what is required for salvation. Would that some of that had been when faith is of benefit—that is, before despair—for the faith of despair is not accepted, as held by the leading Imams.