Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:77

"And indeed, We revealed to Moses"—this is a concise account of the conclusion of the affair of Pharaoh and his people. It omits the mention of what befell them after the sorcerers were overcome—specifically the detailed, manifest signs (miracles) wrought at the hands of Moses, peace be upon him, over the span of approximately twenty years, as detailed in Surah al-A'raf. Every time a sign arrived, Pharaoh would promise to release the Children of Israel once the affliction was lifted; yet, whenever it was lifted, he would break his promise. When the signs were complete, Allah, the Exalted, revealed to Moses, peace be upon him: "That you should travel with My servants"—the sentence is initiated with an oath to emphasize the importance and care given to its content.

The word "that" (an) is either explanatory of the meaning of speech contained in the revelation, or it is the infinitive particle (masdariyyah) with the preposition omitted. Expressing the Children of Israel under the title of "servitude to Allah" is intended to manifest mercy, show care for their plight, and call attention to the utter depravity of Pharaoh’s conduct toward them, as he enslaved those who were the servants of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic. He inflicted upon them various forms of oppression without any regard for their true Master, Glorified be His Majesty. The apparent meaning is that this revelation, and what follows it, occurred in Egypt. That is: "By Allah, indeed We revealed to him, peace be upon him, that you should travel with My servants—whom I sent you to rescue from the kingdom of Pharaoh—out of Egypt by night."

"Then strike for them"—with your staff—"a path in the sea"—the object of "strike" here is used in an extended sense (al-ittisa'), a metaphorical figurative speech. The original intended meaning is "Strike the sea so that it becomes a path for them."

"Dry"—that is, parched. Abu Haywah read it as yaban, treating it as a verbal noun (masdar) used as an adjective for "path" for the sake of hyperbole; it is used equally for singular masculine and others. Al-Hasan read it as yabsan with the ba quiescent (sukun). This is either the lightened form (dropping the vowel) making it a verbal noun, or an assimilated adjective like sa'b (difficult), or the plural of yabis (dry), like sa'b and sahib. It is described as such to emphasize the hyperbole, suggesting the path, due to its extreme dryness, was like many dry objects. This is similar to the saying regarding the verse of al-Qutami: "As if the wooden saddle-frames, when they tightened, were starving, emaciated intestines"—where he made the intestines, due to extreme hunger, seem like a collective of starved things. Or, it means every part of the path was made a dry path, just as one says "a drop of mixtures" (nutfa amshaj) or "a garment of rags" (thawb akhlaq). Or, perhaps "path" is intended as a generic noun, and since it was multiple—corresponding to the number of the tribes—and not a single path (according to the correct view), its description in the plural form is applied. It is also said it might be a collective noun.

The apparent meaning is that there is no difference in meaning here between yabas (with a vowel) and yabs (with sukun), as the essence of the two readings is consistent, even if one is considered shadh (irregular). In the Qamus, it states: yabs with sukun refers to that which was originally moist and then dried, whereas that which is inherently dry and never known to be moist is yabas with a vowel. Regarding the path of Moses, peace be upon him, in the sea, it was never known to be either moist or dry; rather, Allah, the Exalted, manifested it for them at that moment, created as such.

This contradicts what al-Raghib mentioned: that yabas (with a vowel) refers to that which had moisture that went away, and a place where there was water that then receded. It is narrated that when Moses, peace be upon him, struck the sea and it split until paths existed within it, Allah sent the east wind, which dried those paths until they became parched. Many scholars held that "strike" here means "to fashion" or "to set," as in the saying: "He struck for him a share in his wealth," or "He imposed tribute upon them," or it means "to take/establish," in which case it takes two objects: the first being "a path" and the second being "for them."

Abu Hayyan preferred keeping it to the well-known meaning, which is more consistent with the verse "Strike the sea with your staff." Abu al-Baqa' claimed that "a path" in this interpretation is the direct object and said: the estimate is "Strike for them a place for a path."

"Not fearing being overtaken"—this is in the position of a state (hal) from the pronoun in "strike," or it is a second adjective for "path," with the referent omitted—i.e., "in it." Or, it is a new sentence, as Abu al-Baqa' stated, and he prioritized this over other possibilities. Al-A'mash, Hamzah, and Ibn Abi Layla read "do not fear" (la takhaf) with a jazm (jussive) as a consequence of the command—meaning "travel." It is also possible it is an independent prohibition, as Sibawayh mentioned. Abu Haywah, Talha, and al-A'mash read darkan with the ra quiescent; it is a noun meaning "overtaking" or "catching up," like darak with the vowel. Al-Raghib said: darak (with the vowel) in the verse refers to the consequence that befalls a person—meaning "do not fear any consequence." The majority view is the first, meaning: "Do not fear that Pharaoh and his armies will overtake you from behind you."

"Nor be afraid"—that it will drown you from in front of you. This is a conjunction to "do not fear," and that is apparent according to the three possibilities in the nominative reading. As for the jazm (jussive) reading, it is said it is a new sentence—i.e., "and you are not afraid." It is also said it is a conjunction to the jussive, and the alif is brought for absolute termination (itlaq) to observe the ends of the verses, as in the Almighty's saying: "They led us astray from the way," and "And you thought about Allah the thoughts." Or, it is jussive by the omission of an implied vowel, as in the saying: "If the old woman gets angry, she becomes harsh, and you do not please her, and you do not flatter her." This is a rare dialect according to some, and a necessity for others, so it is not appropriate to derive the Exalted Revelation upon it, nor is it appropriate given the existence of the two previous possibilities, or at least the first of them.

Fear (khashyah) is more intense than fright (khawf). It seems this was chosen here because drowning is more severe than being overtaken by Pharaoh and his army, as the latter allows for the possibility of peace. This does not contradict that they initially mentioned what indicated their fear of him when they said: "Indeed, we are overtaken." Thus, it was hastened to remove this fear by presenting its negation first, as becomes clear upon reflection.