Surah Al-A'raf 7:103
ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ
Then We sent after them Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his establishment, but they were unjust toward them. So see how was the end of the corrupters.
Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:103
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 7:103
| Al-A'raf: (103) Then We sent...
Know that this is the sixth story mentioned by Allah Almighty in this Surah. Allah mentioned in this story such explanation and detail that was not mentioned in the other stories, because the miracles of Moses (Musa) were stronger than the miracles of the other prophets, and the ignorance of his people was greater and more egregious than the ignorance of the other nations.
Know that the pronoun in His saying: {from after them} (min ba'dihim) may refer back to the prophets whose mention has passed, or it may refer back to the nations whose destruction was previously mentioned.
And His saying: {with Our signs} (bi-āyātinā) involves several discussions:
First Discussion: This verse indicates that a prophet must possess a sign and a miracle by which he is distinguished from others. For if he were not distinguished by this sign, accepting his word would not be preferable to accepting the word of anyone else.
Second Discussion: This verse indicates that Allah Almighty gave him many signs and numerous miracles.
Third Discussion: Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The first of his signs was the staff, then the hand. He struck Pharaoh's palace with the staff, and he was terrified by it, causing his hair to turn white. Then he felt shame and dyed it black, making him the first to dye his hair. He said: The last of the signs was the transformation (of the sea/drowning). He said: The staff had many benefits, some of which are mentioned in the Quran, such as His saying: {**“This is my staff; I lean on it, and with it I beat down leaves for my sheep, and I have other uses for it.”**} (Taha: 18). Allah mentioned some of these uses in the Quran, such as His saying: {**“Strike the rock with your staff,” and it burst forth, twelve springs.**} (Al-Baqarah: 60). Ibn Abbas mentioned other things, including: that he used to strike the earth with it, and plants would grow; that it used to fight thieves and wild beasts that targeted his sheep; that it used to ignite at night like a candle; and that it could become like a long rope to draw water from deep wells.
Know that the benefits mentioned in the Quran are established facts. As for the matters not mentioned in the Quran, whatever is supported by an authentic report is accepted, and whatever is not, is not. His statement that he used to strike the earth with it and plants would emerge is weak, because the Quran indicates that Moses (peace be upon him) resorted to the staff concerning the water emerging from the rock, and he did not resort to it in search of food.
As for His saying: {then they wronged by them} (fa-ẓalamū bihā), meaning they wronged themselves by rejecting the signs that came to them. This is because injustice (ẓulm) is placing something in a place other than its proper place. Since those signs were overwhelming and clear, yet they disbelieved in them, they placed denial where affirmation was due, and disbelief where faith was due; this was an injustice on their part concerning those signs.
Then He said: {So look} (fa-nẓur), meaning with the eye of your intellect, {how was the end of the corrupters} (kayfa kāna 'āqibatu al-mufsidīn) and what We did to them.