Tafsir of At-Tahreem 66:11

"And Allah sets forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh." Meaning, He has made her state an example for the state of the believers, in that the connection to the disbelievers does not harm them, as she was in this world under the most hostile of the enemies of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, while she was in the highest chambers of Paradise. Her name is Asiya bint Muzahim.

"When she said..." This is an adverbial phrase for an implied meaning, that is: "And Allah sets forth an example for those who believe of the state of the wife of Pharaoh when she said..."

"My Lord, build for me near You..." It is said: meaning near Your mercy, as He, the Glorified, is exalted above having a location. It is also permitted that "near You" (indaka) serves as a state (hal) for the first-person pronoun, or as a state for His saying: "a house," as it would have been an adjective had it followed it. His saying: "in Paradise" is a substitute or an explanatory clarification for His saying: "near You," or it is attached to the verb "build." The phrase "near You" was placed first for a subtle point, which is—as mentioned in al-Fusus—an allusion to the saying: "The neighbor before the house." It is also permitted that what is intended by "near You" is the highest degree of those drawn near, because what is with Allah, the Exalted, is better, and because it may intend proximity to the Throne; thus "near You" is in the sense of "near Your Throne and the seat of Your Might." It remains, according to what has been said, possible for its grammatical parsing, and it is not required that it be strictly an adverb for the verb.

"And save me from Pharaoh..." Meaning, from the person of Pharaoh himself, his wicked essence, his oppressive authority, and his deeds. Specifically, his deeds, which are disbelief, the worship of other than Allah, the Exalted, and punishing without cause, among other abominations. The structure follows the style of "...His angels and Gabriel." It is also permitted that what is intended by "save me from Pharaoh's deeds" follows the style of "Zayd pleased me and his generosity." The first is more eloquent, as it indicates a request for distance from his wicked essence itself, as if his very substance were a torment from which she sought deliverance; then, she sought salvation from his deeds specifically, alerting that this is the greater calamity. Some specified his "deeds" as the act of torturing her. It is reported from Ibn Abbas that it refers to sexual intercourse, but what preceded is more appropriate.

"And save me from the wrongdoing people." From the Copts who followed him in wrongdoing; this was stated by Muqatil. Al-Kalbi said: From the people of Egypt; and it is as if he intended the Copts by them as well. The verse clearly demonstrates that she was a believer who affirmed the Resurrection. Some mentioned that she was the paternal aunt of Moses, peace be upon him; she believed when she heard about the swallowing of the staff, which was a falsehood, and consequently, Pharaoh tortured her.

Abu Ya'la and al-Bayhaqi recorded, with a sound chain of narration from Abu Hurayrah, that Pharaoh drove four stakes for his wife into her hands and feet. When they would leave her, the angels, peace be upon them, would shade her. She said: "My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise," so it was unveiled for her to see her house in Paradise, which was—as stated—made of a pearl. In a narration by Abd ibn Humayd from him: He drove four stakes for her and laid her on her back, placed a millstone on her chest, and turned her toward the eye of the sun. She raised her head to the sky and said: "My Lord, build for me..." until "...the wrongdoing people." Allah, the Exalted, uncovered for her her house in Paradise, and she saw it. It is said she was ordered to have a great rock cast upon her, but she prayed to Allah, the Exalted, so her soul was ascended, and the rock was cast upon a body without a soul. According to al-Hasan, Allah, the Exalted, saved her with the most noble of salvations, elevating her to Paradise, where she eats, drinks, and enjoys herself. The apparent meaning is that she was elevated with her body, but this is not correct.

The verse contains proof that seeking refuge in Allah, the Exalted, resorting to Him, the Exalted and Majestic, and asking for deliverance from Him during trials and calamities is among the ways of the righteous and the traditions of the prophets, which is abundant in the Quran.