Tafsir of Ghafir 40:45-46

{فوقاه الله سيئات ما مكروا} God protected him from the evils of what they plotted: the hardships of their schemes and their intentions to inflict various types of torment upon those who opposed them. It is said: He was saved along with Moses.

{وحاق بآل فرعون سوء العذاب} The evil of what they intended—tormenting the Muslims—encompassed them, and their plot recoiled upon them.

{النار} This is an appositive (badal) for "the evil of the torment." Alternatively, it is the predicate of an omitted subject, as if someone asked, "What is the evil of the torment?" and the answer was, "It is the Fire." Or, it is a subject whose predicate is {يعرضون عليها}. In this latter interpretation, there is an intensification and terrorization regarding the Fire and its torment. Their being "exposed" to it means they are burned by it. It is said: "The commander exposed the captives to the sword," meaning he killed them with it. It is also recited as al-nāra (in the accusative case), which supports the final interpretation. Its estimation is: "They enter the Fire; they are exposed to it." It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative as a form of specification (ikhtiṣāṣ).

{غدوا وعشيا} They are tormented by the Fire at these two times. As for what happens in between, God knows best their state—whether they are tormented by another type of punishment or if they are given a respite. It is also possible that "morning and evening" is an expression for continuity, as long as the world exists. When the Hour is established, it will be said to them:

{أدخلوا آل فرعون أشد العذاب} The torment of Hell. It is also recited as adkhilū āla Firʿawn (imperative: "Make the people of Pharaoh enter..."), meaning it is said to the keepers of Hell: "Make them enter."

If you ask: The statement {وحاق بآل فرعون سوء العذاب} means that what they intended to plot against the Muslims recoiled upon them, like the Arab proverb: "Whoever digs a pit for his brother will fall into it face-first." If "the evil of the torment" is interpreted as the Fire of Hell, then their plot did not recoil upon them, because they did not intend to torment the Muslims with Hell.

I say: It is permissible for a person to intend to drown a group of people, only to be burned by fire, and this is called ḥayq (encompassing/recoiling), because he intended evil and was struck by that which bears the name "evil." It is not a condition for ḥayq that the recoiling evil be identical to the intended evil. It is also possible that Pharaoh, when he heard the warning of the believers regarding the Fire and the believer’s statement, {And that the transgressors are the companions of the Fire} (Ghafir: 43), intended to do what Nimrod did and torment them with fire; thus, the like of what he intended recoiled upon him through his own action.

This verse is used as evidence to establish the torment of the grave.

{And when they will argue within the Fire, the weak will say to those who were arrogant, "Indeed, we were your followers, so will you relieve us of a portion of the Fire?"}