Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:78

"Then Pharaoh pursued them with his soldiers."

(Meaning: He followed them, and his soldiers were with him. This is based on the understanding that ittaba‘a (followed/pursued) is transitive to one object, and the ba (in bi-junudihi) signifies accompaniment, with the prepositional phrase serving as a state (hal). This is supported by the recitation of al-Hasan and Abu ‘Amr, in one narration, as fa-attaba‘ahum with a stressed ta’. It is also read as fa-atba‘ahum Fir‘awnu wa junuduhu.)

It is said that atba‘a here is transitive to two objects, as in the Almighty’s saying: "We made their descendants follow them" (atba‘nahum dhurriyyatahum). The second object is implied, meaning: he made the leaders of his state or his punishment follow them. It is also said that it refers to himself, with the prepositional phrase again serving as a state. Al-Azhari stated that the second object is junuduhu (his soldiers) and the ba is an additive tool (ziyadah), meaning he made his soldiers follow them and drove them behind them; he was with them, urging them to catch up. Another view allows for the second object to be junuduhu, and the ba is for transitivity, meaning the verb is transitive to one object by itself and the other through the preposition.

Regardless, the fa (in fa-atba‘ahum) is eloquent, implying a hidden matter omitted because of its utter obviousness, serving to signal the complete speed with which Moses (peace be upon him) complied with the command. It means: He did what he was ordered to do regarding traveling by night with My servants and striking the path for them, then Pharaoh pursued them with his soldiers. Some claim the command to strike [the sea] was given after Pharaoh had pursued them and the two groups had sighted one another, but the former interpretation is the apparent one.

It is narrated that Moses (peace be upon him) departed with them at the beginning of the night, heading toward the Qulzum (Red Sea). They had borrowed jewelry and mounts from the people of Pharaoh for a festival they were going to. They were 603,000, and there was not among them a man of sixty nor of twenty. In another narration, they were 670,000. They brought with them the body of Joseph (peace be upon him), as he had left them a covenant regarding this. An old woman guided them to his location, so Moses (peace be upon him) said to her, "Ask for what you desire." She said, "To be with you in Paradise."

The news reached Pharaoh, so he gathered his soldiers and went out with them. He had 70,000 black horses, and his vanguard—as it is told—consisted of 700,000 cavalry, and it is said, 1,500,000. He followed their tracks until the two groups sighted one another. The panic of the Children of Israel grew immense, so he (peace be upon him) struck the sea with his staff, and it parted into twelve paths, each like a great mountain. They entered, and Pharaoh and his soldiers reached the entrance. They saw the sea parted and deemed the matter overwhelming. Pharaoh said to them, "It only parted out of awe for me!" He entered on a stallion, and before him was Gabriel (peace be upon him) on a mare. The angels (peace be upon them)—who were thirty-three in number—cried out, "Enter!" So they entered. When they had all completed their entry, Moses (peace be upon him) emerged with those who were with him from the Tribes, safe, and none of Pharaoh’s soldiers emerged.

"So there covered them from the sea that which covered them."

(Meaning: That which was overwhelming and whose magnitude cannot be estimated or its true nature reached, rose over them and engulfed them.) It is said: "It covered them with what you have heard the story of." However, this is not the case, for the pivot of the tahwil (terrifying imagery) and tafkhim (magnification) is its departure from the limits of understanding and description, not the mere telling of a story.

The apparent meaning is that the two pronouns in the verb relate to Pharaoh and his soldiers. It is said they relate only to his soldiers, due to their proximity, and because he [Pharaoh] was cast onto the shore and was not covered by the sea, as indicated by the Almighty’s saying: "So today We will save you in your body." The response to this is that the salvation occurred after he had been covered by that which covered his soldiers, and the Children of Israel doubted his destruction. Proximity is not a strong enough reason for the restriction. Thus, it is said the first pronoun refers to Pharaoh and his soldiers, and the second refers to Moses (peace be upon him) and his people, with an elision in the discourse: "So Moses and his people were saved, and Pharaoh and his soldiers were drowned." This is "nothing" (i.e., invalid), as is self-evident.

A group, including al-A‘mash, recited: fa-ghashshahum min al-yamm ma ghashshahum (meaning: that which covered them, covered them). Here, the actor is also ma (that which), and the omission of the object adds to the ambiguity. It is said the object is min al-yamm (from the sea/some of the sea). It is also permissible that the actor is a pronoun referring to Allah (exalted is His state) and ma is the object. It is said [the pronoun] refers to Pharaoh, and the attribution is metaphorical, as he is the one who led them to destruction—though this is weakened by the explicit mention in the Almighty's saying...