Tafsir of Al Imran 3:11

Āl 'Imrān: (11) Ka-da'bi Āli Fir'awn...

Lexical Meaning of Da'b

It is said: Da'abta al-shay'a da'ban wa du'ban (I exerted myself in the matter) when you strive hard and toil in something. Allah the Exalted said: {Seven years, diligently} (Yusuf: 47), meaning with earnestness, effort, and continuity. It is also said: So-and-so traveled for a day dā'iban (diligently), meaning he exerted himself fully in traveling that entire day. This is its meaning in the language. Then, al-da'b became an expression for the state, the affair, and the habit. It is said: This is da'b So-and-so, meaning his habit. Some said: Al-du'b and al-da'b both mean continuity.

The Ways of Interpretation Regarding the Simile

Knowing this, we say: There are several ways to understand the nature of the simile:

The First Way: Interpreting al-da'b as diligence/effort, as is its original linguistic meaning. This is the view of al-Aṣamm and al-Zajjāj. The basis of the simile is that the diligence/effort of the disbelievers—that is, their earnest striving in rejecting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and their disbelief in his religion—is like the diligence of the people of Pharaoh in opposing Moses (peace be upon him). Then, We destroyed those [Pharaoh's people] because of their sins, and similarly, We will destroy these [disbelievers].

The Second Way: Interpreting al-da'b as state/action/practice. Within this, there are sub-points:

1. Interpretation 2a: {Ka-da'bi Āli Fir'awn} means the state and action of these people in rejecting Muhammad (PBUH) is like the state of the people of Pharaoh in rejecting Moses. There is no difference between this view and the previous one, except that in the first view, we interpreted the word as effort, while in this view, we interpret it as action and habit.
2. Interpretation 2b: The intended meaning of the verse is: Indeed, those who disbelieve, neither their wealth nor their children will avail them against Allah at all. Allah will make them fuel for the Fire, just as was His practice (sunnah) and action concerning the people of Pharaoh. When they rejected their Messenger, He seized them for their sins. The verbal noun (masdar) is sometimes attributed to the doer and sometimes to the receiver of the action. Here, the meaning is: like Allah's action concerning the people of Pharaoh, for when they rejected their Messenger, He seized them for their sins. Similar to this is the Exalted’s saying: {They love them as Allah loves} (Al-Baqarah: 165), meaning: their love for Allah. And His saying: {A practice established by Us for those We sent before you of Our Messengers} (Al-Isrā': 77), meaning: My practice concerning those I sent before you.
3. Interpretation 2c: Al-Qaffāl (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is possible that the verse encompasses both the habit attributed to Allah the Exalted and the habit attributed to the disbelievers. It is as if it is said: The habit of these disbelievers and their path in harming Muhammad (PBUH) is like the habit of those before them in harming their Messengers. And Our habit is also in destroying these people, just as Our habit was in destroying those previous disbelievers. Regardless of the interpretation, the objective is the victory of the Prophet (PBUH) over the harm inflicted by the disbelievers and the good tidings that Allah will take vengeance upon them.

The Third Way: Interpreting al-da'b and al-du'b as remaining, continuity, and prolonged dwelling in something. The meaning of the verse would be: And those [disbelievers] are the fuel of the Fire, ka-da'bi Āli Fir'awn, meaning their dwelling/duration in the Fire is like the dwelling/duration of the people of Pharaoh [in their punishment].

The Fourth Way: Al-da'b is diligence, as we mentioned. A consequence of diligence is toil and hardship, so the meaning becomes: Their toil and hardship from the punishment is like the hardship and toil of the people of Pharaoh due to their punishment. For Allah the Exalted clarified that their punishment occurred very soon—His saying: {They were drowned, then admitted to a Fire} (Nūḥ: 25)—and also that it was extremely severe—His saying: {The Fire, they are exposed to it morning and evening. And the Day the Hour appears [it will be said]: "Make Pharaoh's people enter the severest of the punishment"} (Ghāfir: 46).

The Fifth Way: The similarity lies in the fact that their wealth and children will not benefit them in removing the punishment. Thus, the simile with the people of Pharaoh is established in these two aspects. The meaning is: You [O disbelievers] have known the punishment that befell the people of Pharaoh and those before them who rejected the Messengers—the immediate punishment—against which neither wealth nor children availed them; rather, they were compelled by what descended upon them. Likewise is your situation, O disbelievers who reject Muhammad (PBUH): a similar fate will befall you, whether sooner or later, and your wealth and children will not avail you.

The Sixth Way: It is possible that the basis of the simile is that just as the immediate punishment of annihilation befell those before, so too will it befall you, O disbelievers against Muhammad (PBUH), which includes killing, captivity, confiscation of wealth. His saying: {Say to those who disbelieve, "You will be overcome and gathered together to Hell, and wretched is the resting place"} (Āl 'Imrān: 12) serves as an indication of this. It is as if Allah clarified that just as the immediate punishment befell those people, followed by their transition to the eternal punishment, two things will befall those who reject Muhammad (PBUH):

1. The immediate tribulations: killing, captivity, and humiliation.
2. Followed by the destination to the painful, eternal punishment. (These last two ways were mentioned by the Judge [al-Qāḍī], may Allah have mercy on him.)

Regarding His Exalted Saying: {And those who were before them}

The meaning is: And those who were before them from the rejecters of the Messengers.

And His saying: {They denied Our signs}

What is meant by the signs (āyāt) are the miracles. Whenever they deny the signs, they have inevitably denied the Prophets.

Then He said: {So Allah seized them for their sins}

He used the term "seizure" (akhadha) because whoever is afflicted with punishment becomes like one who is seized and imprisoned, unable to escape.

Then He said: {And Allah is severe in punishment}

This is clear.