Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:6

(And when Moses said): This is a commencement of the clarification of his exertion (peace be upon him) regarding what he was commanded concerning the reminding for the aforementioned deliverance.

(And): Idh (when) is accusative due to being the object of an implied verb, according to many, which is addressed to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The association of the remembrance with the time—even though the intended meaning is the remembrance of the events that occurred during it, as has passed more than once—means: "Remind them of the time of his statement (peace be upon him) (to his people)," whom we commanded him to bring out from darkness into light: (Remember the favor of Allah), the Almighty, the Majestic, (upon you).

He (peace be upon him) began with encouragement (targhib) because it is more receptive to the soul and the soul is more inclined toward it. It is also said: He began with this matter due to the increased connection between it and the end of the previous discourse. It is not hidden that this is only based on the assumption that he (peace be upon him) was commanded with both encouragement and warning (tarhib); if he were commanded only with encouragement, there would be no question.

The adverbial phrase is attached to the "favor" itself if it is treated as an infinitive noun (masdar) in the sense of "bestowing favor," or it is attached to an implied entity that serves as a state (hal) from it if it is treated as a substantive noun; i.e., "Remember His bestowal of favor upon you," or "His favor existing upon you."

(And) in His statement, the Sublime, (when He saved you from the people of Pharaoh): It is permissible for it to be attached to the "favor" as well, on the assumption that it is treated as an infinitive, i.e., "Remember His bestowing favor upon you at the time of your salvation." It is also permissible for it to be attached to the word (upon you) if it is a state and not an empty adverbial modifier for the favor, because the established adverbial modifier, due to its representing its operator, is permitted to perform its function; or, according to this, it is an object for its attachment, as if it were said: "Remember the favor of Allah, the Almighty, established upon you at the time of your salvation." It is also permissible for it to be an appositive of inclusion (badl ishtimal) for "the favor of Allah," intending by it the bestowing or the gift with which one has been favored.

(They were afflicting you): They were burdening you. One says of someone who imposed hardship (khasf) upon another: "He afflicted him," implying he subjected him to injustice. The root of sawm (afflicting), as Al-Raghib said, is moving in search of something; it is a term for a meaning composed of movement and seeking. Thus, it is treated in the sense of movement in their saying: "The camels are sa’imah (grazing/moving)," and in the sense of seeking in their saying: "I sought (sumtuhu) such and such."

(With the worst of the punishment): A second object for "they were afflicting you." Al-Su’ (the worst/evil) is an infinitive from sa’a, yasu’u (to be evil/worse). The intended meaning is the genus of evil punishment, or their enslavement, their employment in arduous labor, the humiliation of them, and so forth.

In Anwar al-Tanzil, it is stated that what is meant by "punishment" here is different from what is meant in Surah Al-Baqarah and Al-A’raf, because it is explained here by the slaughtering and killing. Then, it is followed by the conjunction of the slaughtering inferred by His statement, the Almighty: (And they were slaughtering your sons) here. There is an indication in this regarding the mode of conjunction and its omission, even though the story is one. The summary of this is that where the waw (and) was omitted, the intention was to explain and clarify the punishment, so it was not conjoined due to the complete connection between them. Where it was conjoined, that was not intended.

If the intended meaning of "punishment" is the genus, then the slaughtering—because it is the most severe of its types—is conjoined to it like the conjunction of Gabriel to the angels (peace be upon them), as an alert that due to its severity, it is as if it is not of that genus. If the intended meaning is something else, such as enslavement, then the two are distinct, and the context is one of conjunction. The scholars of rhetoric have permitted that they might have the same meaning in both instances, and the second is mentioned for explanation. The omission of the conjunction in the two surahs is apparent, and the conjunction here is for the purpose of avoiding mere explanation, as it is more fulfilling of the intent and holds a more apparent status of distinctness, which is also an excellent perspective.

The cause of this slaughtering was that Pharaoh saw in a dream, or the soothsayers told him, that there would be born to the Children of Israel one who would take away his kingdom, so they exerted themselves in that, but it did not avail them anything against the decree of Allah, the Almighty. Ibn Muhaysin recited: (wa yadhbahuna) as the imperfect of the triliteral dhabaḥa. Zayd ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) recited it similarly, except that he omitted the waw.

(And sparing your women): That is, keeping them alive with humiliation. For this reason, it is counted as part of the trial, or because keeping them alive instead of the sons is a tragedy in itself, as it is said: "And among the greatest of tragedies, as I see, is the survival of daughters and the death of sons."

These clauses are states (ahwal) describing the "people of Pharaoh," or describing the pronoun of the addressees, or both, because they contain the pronoun for each. There is no disagreement regarding the operator; although there is an operator in "people of Pharaoh" in the structure, it is in reality the word (He saved you). Restricting it to the first two possibilities here—while permitting all three in Surah Al-Baqarah, as Al-Baydawi (may Allah brighten his countenance) did—has no apparent justification.

(And in that): That is, in what we mentioned of the heinous actions, (was a trial from your Lord): That is, a testing from Him, the Almighty, for the trial is the very same actions. Unless, of course, you consider the "in" (fi) as a metaphor of stripping (tajridiyyah), so its attribution to Allah, the Almighty, is either from the perspective of creation—which is the apparent meaning—or from the perspective of decree and enabling. It is also permissible that what is referred to is the salvation from that, and the trial is the testing through favor, for that occurs through favor just as it occurs through affliction. The Almighty said: (And We test you with evil and with good as a trial). Zuhayr said: "May Allah reward with goodness what they did for you; for He tested them with the best of trials that He tests with." This is more appropriate for the beginning of the verse, and the allusion to the attribute of Lordship points toward it. According to the first interpretation, it is from the perspective of the outcome, which is the salvation, or from the perspective that the trial of the believer is a nurturing and, in reality, a benefit. (Great): Unbearable to carry, or great in status and majestic in worth.