Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:79

(Meaning: He led them along a path that brought them to ruin in both religion and worldly life, as they were drowned and then admitted into the Fire).

(Meaning: He did not direct them to a path leading to any religious or worldly objective).

The intention behind this is to mock him, as mentioned by more than one scholar. It was objected that mockery occurs when a phrase is used to imply its opposite through metaphor or similar devices—such as saying, "You are indeed the forbearing, the rightly guided one," when the purpose is to attribute the opposite of these two qualities to the person—whereas the statement "he did not guide" is simply a factual report of what is the case in reality.

It was answered that this is indeed the case; however, the convention in an expression like "Zayd did not guide Amr" implies that Zayd is knowledgeable of the path of guidance and is himself rightly guided, yet he failed to guide Amr. Pharaoh, however, was among the most astray himself; how then could it be imagined that he would guide another? This confirms that the first sentence is sufficient to report his failure to guide them—indeed, it carries the additional weight of his having led them astray, for one who does not guide might not necessarily lead astray. Since the first sentence suffices to inform of the matter in the most complete way, the second must necessarily serve another purpose: mockery.

The scholar al-Tibi stated: "The clarification of the meaning of mockery is that His saying, 'and he did not guide,' is of the category of talmih (allusion); it is a reference to the claim made by the accursed one regarding guiding his people, in his saying: 'And I do not guide you except to the path of right conduct.' He is like one who makes a claim and exaggerates it, and when the time comes for its fulfillment and he fails to produce it, it is said to him, 'You did not bring what you claimed,' by way of mockery and ridicule."

From what has been mentioned, the distinction between the two sentences becomes clear, and it is understood that there is no redundancy. It has also been said that the meaning is "and he did not guide them at any time," which establishes a distinction because the first sentence does not contain an indication of this generality; however, the first view is superior.

Others have said that hada (he guided) here means ihtada (he was guided), meaning "he led them astray and he himself was not rightly guided," but this is far-fetched. Some have interpreted the "leading astray" and "guidance" as being restricted to religious matters, but the context of the passage—which describes his leading them with his soldiers toward the path of worldly destruction—rejects this. To interpret them as referring to leading them astray into the sea and failing to save them from it is something that a sound nature cannot accept.

The Qadi (al-Baidawi) used this verse as an argument that Allah, Exalted is He, is not the Creator of disbelief, because He has condemned Pharaoh in this verse for his leading them astray, and whoever condemns another for a thing would also be condemned if he were to do it himself. This was answered by denying the universal application of that principle.