Surah Al-Furqan 25:36
ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ
And We said, "Go both of you to the people who have denied Our signs." Then We destroyed them with [complete] destruction.
Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:36
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 25:36
Al-Furqan: 36
"Then We said, 'Go both of you to the people who have denied Our signs.'" These are Pharaoh and his people. The apparent meaning is that the phrase "to Our signs" relates to "denied." By "signs," it is meant the proofs of monotheism deposited within the souls and the horizons, or the signs brought by the past messengers (peace be upon them), or the nine known signs. Expressing the denial in the past tense is clear regarding the first two possibilities. Regarding the last, it is said: it is to treat the future as the past because of its certainty. This has been countered by saying it does not befit the context. Allamah Abu al-Sa’ud said: The people were not described with this attribute when the two [Moses and Aaron] were sent to them, because the denial of the nine signs necessarily occurred after their manifestation, which took place after the command to go to them. Rather, they were described as such when the story was narrated to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to explain the reason for their worthiness of the destruction narrated thereafter. This point has been debated with some consideration. It is also permissible for the adverbial phrase to relate to "Go," and the meaning of "denied" is "they performed the act of denial."
"And We destroyed them with a [complete] destruction" ...a wondrous, formidable destruction, the extent of which cannot be estimated, and whose essence cannot be grasped. It refers to the most severe form of annihilation. Its origin signifies breaking something in a way that makes it impossible to mend. The *Fa* (in *fadamarnahum*) is *fasiha* (eloquent/explanatory), and the original meaning is: "We said, 'Go both of you to the people,' and they went to them and called them to faith, but they denied them and persisted in that, *so* We destroyed them." Thus, the narrative is limited to the two extremities of the story, as it is sufficient for the intended purpose. It is also said that the meaning of "We destroyed them" is "We decreed their destruction," so the sequence is in consideration of the decree, though there is little benefit in reporting that. It is also said that the *Fa* is merely for sequence, though it is as you see.
The conjunction "We said" is connected to "We made," which is connected to "Our signs" by the Waw (and), which, according to the correct view, does not necessitate order. Therefore, it is permissible for it to precede, along with what follows it, the giving of the Book. Thus, it cannot be objected that the giving of the Book—which is the Torah—was after the destruction of Pharaoh and his people, so the order would not be correct. Addressing this at the beginning of the story, despite it having no role in the destruction of the people, is to signify from the very beginning that he (peace be upon him) reached the pinnacle of perfection, which is the saving of the Children of Israel from the dominion of Pharaoh and guiding them to the path of truth through the rulings contained in the Torah, as through this, the confirmation of the promise of guidance is achieved in the manner mentioned previously.
Ali (may Allah honor his countenance), al-Hasan, and Maslamah ibn Muharib recited it as fadammira-hum (so you both destroy them), as a command to Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them). It is also reported from Ali (may Allah honor his countenance) the same, but emphasized with the heavy Nun. Also from him (may Allah honor his countenance) is fadam-mira amran (so you both destroy, an order to them) with the Ba of preposition. This is as if it were of the category of "You wound them in their heels with spears." It is also narrated in al-Kashshaf from him (may Allah honor his countenance) as fadammar-tum (so you destroyed them), with the Ta of the pronoun.