Al-A'raf: (127-128) And the chiefs of...

Know that after this incident occurred, Pharaoh did not confront Moses, nor did he seize or imprison him. Rather, he let him go. His people then said to him: {Will you leave Moses and his people to spread corruption in the land?}

Know that whenever Pharaoh saw Moses, he feared him intensely. For this reason, he did not confront him, except that his people were unaware of this, so they urged him to seize and imprison him.

And His saying: {to spread corruption in the land} means to corrupt the religion of the people upon which they were. If they corrupted their religions, they would use that as a means to seize the kingship.

As for His saying: {and leave you}, the famous recitation is with the accusative (Nasb): {ويَذَرَكَ} (wayadhara-ka).

The author of Al-Kashshaf mentioned three interpretations for this:

1. It is connected (conjoined) to His saying {to spread corruption} (li-yufsidū). Because if he leaves them and does not prevent them, it leads to him leaving Moses and Moses leaving his gods. So it is as if he leaves them for that reason.
2. It is the response to the interrogative particle waw (and), just as it can be answered with fa' (then), like the saying of Al-Hutay'ah:

   Did I not become your neighbor, and between us was Affection and brotherhood? The meaning is: Will you leave Moses and his people to spread corruption in the land, and (thus) leave you and your gods? Al-Zajjaj said: The meaning is: Will it be from you that you leave Moses, and Moses leaves you?

3. The accusative (Nasb) is due to an implied an (that), meaning: Will you leave Moses and his people to spread corruption, and (that) he leaves you and your gods?

The author of Al-Kashshaf said: And it was recited with the nominative (Raf'): {ويَذْرُكَ وآلِهَتُكَ} (wayadhruka wa-ālihatuka), connected to {أتَذَرُ} (atadhara), meaning: Do you leave him, and he leaves you? Meaning, let him go, and this is either a new sentence or a circumstantial clause (Hal) meaning: Do you leave him while he leaves you and your gods?

Al-Hasan recited it with the jussive (Jazm): {ويَذْرُك} (wayadhruk). And Anas recited: {وَنَذَرَكَ} (wa-nadhraka) with the nun (we) and the accusative (Nasb), meaning: He turns us away from your worship, so we abandon it.

As for His saying: {and leave you and your gods} (wa-ālihatuka): Abu Bakr Al-Anbari said that Ibn 'Umar rejected the common recitation and recited {إلاهَتَكَ} (ilahataka), meaning your worship, saying that Pharaoh was worshipped, not a worshipper.

Ibn 'Abbas said: As for the common recitation {وآلِهَتَكَ} (wa-ālihataka), it refers to the plural of ilah (god). Regarding this interpretation, they differed:

It was said that Pharaoh had set up small idols for his people and commanded them to worship them. He said: {I am your Lord, the Most High} and the Lord of these idols. This is the meaning of His saying: {I am your Lord, the Most High}. Al-Hasan said that Pharaoh used to worship idols.

I say: What comes to my mind is that if we say Pharaoh was not fully rational, it would not be fitting in God's wisdom to send a messenger to him. If he was rational, it would not be fitting for him to believe himself to be the Creator of the heavens and the earth, nor for the great assembly of rational people to believe that about him, because his corruption is known by necessity of intellect.

Rather, it is more likely that he was a materialist (Dahri) who denied the existence of a Creator, and he used to say that the administrator of this lower world is the stars, but the one who benefits creation in this knowledge, and the nurturer for that group, is himself. Thus, his saying: {I am your Lord, the Most High} means: I am your nurturer, your benefactor, and the one who feeds you. And His saying: {I know not for you any god other than Myself} (Al-Qasas: 38) means: I know of no one you must worship except me. If this was his doctrine, it is not far-fetched to say that he had taken idols in the form of the stars and worshipped them, drawing near to them according to the religion of the star-worshippers. Under this interpretation, there is no contradiction in taking the meaning of the Almighty's saying {and leave you and your gods} at its apparent sense. This is what I hold on this matter. And Allah knows best.

Know that, under all interpretations and possibilities, the people intended by mentioning this speech to compel Pharaoh to seize Moses (peace be upon him), imprison him, and inflict various torments upon him. Therefore, Pharaoh did not mention the reality of the situation, which was his fear of Moses (peace be upon him). Instead, he said: {We will kill their sons and keep their women alive, and indeed, we are overpowering over them.}

There are issues concerning this:

The First Issue: Nafi' and Ibn Kathir recited {سنقتل} (sa-naqtulu) with the nun having a fathah and being light (un-doubled), while the rest recited it with the nun having a dammah and being heavy (doubled), signifying multiplicity. Meaning, the sons of the Children of Israel and those who believed in Moses (peace be upon him).

The Second Issue: Moses (peace be upon him) can only spread corruption through his group and followers. So, we will strive to reduce the number of his group and followers by killing the sons of the Children of Israel and keeping their women alive. Then he clarified that he was capable of doing that by His saying: {and indeed, we are overpowering over them}. The purpose of this was to make them leave Moses and his people, not out of inability or fear. If he had intended to strike, he would have been able to. It is as if he was deceiving his people that he only refrained from seizing and preventing him due to not paying attention to him and not fearing him.

The exegetes differed: some said he did what he threatened, as he did initially at Moses' birth. Others said he was prevented from doing so. The exegetes agreed that this threat occurred after the initial time.

Then the Almighty recounted that Moses (peace be upon him) said to his people: {Seek help from Allah and be patient.} This indicates that what the chiefs said to Pharaoh, and what Pharaoh said to them, was known to Moses (peace be upon him) and reached him. Upon hearing this, he said to his people: {Seek help from Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah; He gives it as an inheritance to whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.}

Here, he commanded them with two things and gave them two glad tidings:

As for the two things Moses (peace be upon him) commanded them with:

1. Seeking help from Allah the Almighty.
2. Patience with Allah's trial.

He commanded them first with seeking help from Allah because whoever knows that there is no administrator in the universe except Allah the Almighty, his breast becomes enlightened with the light of knowing Allah the Almighty, and then the types of affliction become easy for him. Also, when affliction descends, he sees that it only happened by Allah's decree and predestination. Being prepared by witnessing Allah's decree lightens the various afflictions for him.

As for the two glad tidings:

1. His saying: {Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah; He gives it as an inheritance to whom He wills of His servants}. This is an encouragement from Moses (peace be upon him) to his people that Allah will make them inherit the land of Pharaoh after his destruction. This is the meaning of inheritance, which is making something for the successor after the predecessor.
2. His saying: {And the [best] outcome is for the righteous} (lil-muttaqīn). It was said that this refers only to the Hereafter. It was said that it refers only to this world: victory, triumph, and support over enemies. It was said that it refers to both matters combined. His saying {for the righteous} is an indication that whoever fears Allah the Almighty and stands in awe of Him, Allah will help him in this world and the Hereafter.

< { They said: "We were harmed before you came to us, and after you have come to us." He said: "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then He will look at how you will do." } >