Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:130

"And We certainly seized the people of Pharaoh with years [of famine]" — This is the commencement of detailing the precursors to the promised destruction, and an announcement that they were not granted respite until they transitioned from one state to another, until the punishment of total eradication befell them. The sentence is initiated with an oath to demonstrate the significance of its content. By "the people of Pharaoh," his followers among the Copts are intended. The term "family" (Al) is attributed to him—though it is only attributed to the noble—due to the apparent worldly prestige it implies, even if, in essence, it is base. Al-Khatib held that it refers to Pharaoh and his family.

Years (as-sinin) is the plural of sanah (year), and it here denotes years of drought. It has become so dominant in this usage that it functions almost like a proper noun for it, due to the frequency with which it is mentioned and used for dating, unlike a year of fertility. It does not have a waw or a ha at the end; they derived from it by saying: asnata al-qawm (the people suffered drought). They changed the lam to a ta to distinguish between this and their saying asna al-qawm (the people stayed in a place for a year). Al-Mazini said: This is irregular and not to be used as a standard for comparison. Al-Farra said: They imagined the ha was original—since they found it original elsewhere—so they changed it to a ta. It has been said: "A red sunayyatan (diminutive of sanah) afflicted us," meaning a severe drought, where the diminutive is used for magnification. Treating this plural like other sound plurals that are inflected with letters (i.e., as-sinin/as-sinun) is the most famous dialect. Another dialect, that of Banu Amir, treats it with the three vowel points along with tanween, while the Banu Tamim do not use tanween for the sake of lightness; in such a case, the nun is not dropped in the construct state (idafa). To this belongs the poet’s saying: "Leave me, O daughter of Najd, for its years (sininahu) have played upon us, turning us gray and turning the beardless old." From this also is the Prophet's saying (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace): "O Allah, make them years (sinin) like the years of Joseph." In another narration: "O Allah, aid me against them with years (sinin) like the years of Joseph," which follows the most famous dialect.

"And [with] deficiency in fruits" — through the abundance of blights upon the fruits and the emergence of only a meager amount, such that the palm tree bears no fruit, as has been narrated from Raja ibn Haywah. The drought, as narrated by Abd ibn Humayd and others from Qatadah, affected their wilderness and their livestock owners, and there was a deficiency in their cities and villages. Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi in Nawadir al-Usul and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "When Allah seized the people of Pharaoh with the years [of famine], everything dried up for them and their livestock perished, until the Nile of Egypt dried up. They gathered to Pharaoh and said to him: 'If you are as you claim, then bring us water in the Nile of Egypt.' He said: 'Tomorrow morning the water will come to you.' When they left his presence, he said: 'What have I done? I have no power over this, and tomorrow they will accuse me of lying.' In the depth of the night, he rose, performed ghusl, donned a woolen cloak, and went out barefoot until he reached the Nile. He stood in its bed and said: 'O Allah, You know that I know that You are able to fill the Nile of Egypt with water, so fill it with water.' Suddenly, he heard the roaring of the approaching water. He emerged, and the Nile came overflowing with water, as Allah willed for their destruction." If this is authentic, it indicates that the man was not a materialist (dahri) denying the Creator, as some have claimed.

"That perhaps they might remember" — meaning, so that they might take heed and abandon the state they are in, or so that they might remember Allah (the Exalted) and supplicate to Him, humbling themselves before Him out of desire for what He possesses. It is also said: So that they might remember that if Pharaoh were a god, he would have warded off that harm.

Al-Zajjaj says that they were seized with hardship because states of severity soften the hearts and create desire for what is with Allah (the Exalted). Do you not see His saying (the Exalted): "And when adversity touches man, he calls upon Us..."