Al-Isra: 104

"And We said after him..."

That is, upon the tongue of Musa—peace be upon him—"after him," meaning after Pharaoh. The meaning is after his drowning, or the pronoun refers to the drowning implied by the preceding verb; that is, after his drowning and the drowning of those who were with him.

"To the Children of Israel," whom Pharaoh intended to drive out from the land.

"Dwell in the land," which he intended to drive you out of, namely the land of Egypt. This is evident if it is established that they entered it after they had departed from it, and Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them and were drowned. If this is not established, then the meaning of "the Children of Israel" is the descendants of those whom Pharaoh intended to drive out. Many have chosen the view that "the land" refers to the Holy Land, which is the land of Ash-Sham (Greater Syria).

"And when the final promise comes," meaning the second encounter, or the resurrection, or the Hour, or the Hereafter. The intended meaning for all these is the establishment of the Hour.

"We will bring you together in a crowd (lafifa)," meaning you and them mixed together; then We shall judge between you and distinguish your fortunate ones from your wretched ones. "Lafif" originally signifies a group composed of various tribes; it is a collective noun like "al-jami'," having no singular form. Alternatively, it is an infinitive (masdar) inclusive of both few and many, as it is said "laffa laffan wa lafifan." The intended meaning is what has been indicated, and Ibn Abbas interpreted it as "altogether" (jami'an). Regardless, it is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) of the pronoun in the genitive case in "bikum" (you). Some have noted that in "bikum" there is an inclusion of the addressed (the Jews) and the absent (the others), and the intent is them and you—how subtle that is alongside "lafifa."