Al-A'raf: (134-135) And when the plague befell them...

Know that We have already explained the meaning of al-Rijz (the plague/punishment) in the verse: {So We sent down upon those who did wrong a punishment from the sky} (Al-Baqarah: 59) in Surah Al-Baqarah. It is a name for torment.

They differed regarding what this Rijz specifically referred to:

1. Some said it refers to the five types of torment previously mentioned as having afflicted them.
2. Sa'id ibn Jubayr said al-Rijz meant the plague, which killed seventy thousand Copts in a single day, leaving their bodies unburied.

The first opinion is stronger because the word al-Rijz, being singular and definite (with al-), refers back to what is already known. Here, the previously known context is the five types of torment mentioned earlier. Anything else is doubtful, so interpreting the word based on the known context is preferable to interpreting it based on the doubtful.

Having established this, We say that the Almighty clarified the ugliness of their contradiction:

• At times, they denied Moses (peace be upon him).
• At other times, when severe hardship struck, they turned to him, seeking the nation's refuge in their Prophet. They asked him to supplicate his Lord to remove the torment. This implies they acknowledged his status as a Prophet whose supplications are answered.
• However, once the hardship passed, they reverted to denying him and criticizing him, claiming his requests were merely trickery. This clearly shows they contradict themselves in these claims.

Regarding His saying, recounting their words: {Pray to your Lord for us concerning what He has promised you}. The author of Al-Kashshaf states that the phrase {بما عهد عندك} (bi-ma 'ahida 'indaka) is a masdar (verbal noun construction), meaning: "by the covenant He has with you," which is prophethood. There are two interpretations for the preposition Bā' (ب) here:

1. First View: It is connected to the command {ادع لنا ربك} (Id'u lana Rabbaka - Pray to your Lord for us), meaning: "Pray for us, using as intercession the covenant He has with you."
2. Second View: The Bā' here is an oath, and its response is {لنؤمنن لك} (La-nu'minanna laka - We will surely believe you). The meaning is: "We swear by the covenant of God with you, if you remove the plague from us, we will surely believe you, and we will surely send the Children of Israel with you." They had subjected the Children of Israel to severe labor, so they promised Moses (PBUH), in exchange for his prayer to lift the torment, that they would believe in him, release the Children of Israel, and let them go wherever he wished.

His saying: {But when We removed the plague from them until a term they were to reach} means: We did not remove the torment from them permanently or in all instances. Rather, We removed the punishment until a specific term. When that term arrived, We did not remove the torment but rather destroyed them with it.

His saying: {they immediately broke their pledge} is the response to the condition. When We removed the plague from them, they suddenly and immediately broke their pledge, not delaying it, just as they broke their pledge when We removed the plague from them.

{Then We took vengeance upon them and drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.}