ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ
Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was of the corrupters.
Tafsir
Verse range: 28:4
This is a resumption of discourse that functions as an explanation for the aforementioned summary. It is introduced with the particle of emphasis (inna) to highlight the fulfillment of the content that follows. That is: Pharaoh behaved arrogantly and transgressed in the land of Egypt, exceeding the established limits of injustice and aggression.
{وجعل أهلها شيعا} Meaning: He divided them into sects that support him in every evil and corruption he desires, or sects that encourage one another in his obedience, or categories for his service; he utilized each category for a specific task—construction, agriculture, excavation, and other arduous labors. Those who did not labor were burdened with a tribute (jizyah), serving him through its payment. Alternatively, it means he divided them into disparate groups, inciting enmity and hatred between them so that their word would not unite.
{يستضعف طائفة منهم} Meaning: He rendered a group among them weak and subjugated. The intended group here is the Children of Israel. They are included among the "inhabitants of the land" either by way of preponderance or because they had dwelled there for a long time. This sentence is either a grammatical or explanatory resumption in response to the question, "What did he do after that?" It may also be a circumstantial clause (hal) referring to the subject of "he made" (ja‘ala), or to its object, or an adjective describing "sects" (shi‘an). The use of the present tense (yastad‘ifu) is to depict the past state vividly.
{يذبح أبناءهم ويستحيي نساءهم} This is a substitution (badal) for the preceding sentence—a substitution of inclusion—or an explanation, or a circumstantial clause from the subject of "he weakens" (yastad‘ifu), or an adjective for "group" (ta’ifah), or a circumstantial clause for it, as it is specified by the description. This action was taken by him because it was said to him that a child would be born among the Children of Israel at whose hands your kingdom would perish. Al-Suddi said: He saw in his dream that a fire came from Jerusalem until it encompassed the houses of Egypt, burning the Copts while sparing the Children of Israel. He asked the scholars, and they said: "A man will emerge from this land at whose hands the destruction of Egypt will occur." So he began doing what he did. It is not hidden that this is the height of foolishness; for if the soothsayer or the vision were true, what is the benefit of the killing? And if they were not true, what is the justification for it? The verse provides evidence that the killing of children to preserve a kingdom is a Pharaonic practice.
{إنه كان من المفسدين} Meaning: One who is firmly established in corruption. For this reason, he dared to commit such a monumental crime as killing the innocent descendants of the Prophets (peace be upon them) based on a corrupt imagination.
