Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:132

{مهما} (Whatever): It is the word mā (what) infused with the meaning of a conditional particle (jazā’), to which the extra mā has been added to emphasize the condition, as in your saying: "Whenever (matā mā) you go out, I go out." Similarly: "Wherever (aynamā) you may be, death will overtake you" (4:78), and "If (fa-immā) We take you away" (43:41). However, the alif was changed to a hā’ due to the heaviness of repeating identical letters; this is the sound Basran doctrine.

Some claim that mah is a sound used to silence someone, and mā is for the condition, as if to say: "Silence! Whatever sign you bring us to bewitch us, we will not believe you."

If you ask: What is the grammatical position of mahmā? I say: It is in the nominative case, meaning "Whatever thing you bring us..." or the accusative, meaning "Whatever thing you bring before us, you bring it to us." The phrase "of a sign" (min āyah) is an explanation of mahmā. The two pronouns in bihi (in it) and bihā (with it) refer to mahmā; one is masculine to match the word itself, and the other is feminine to match the meaning (as it refers to the "sign"). Zuhayr says: "And whatever character a man may possess, even if he thinks it hidden from people, it will be known."

This word is among those corrupted by those who have no grasp of Arabic grammar. They place it incorrectly, thinking mahmā means "whenever" (matā mā), saying "Whenever (mahmā) you come to me, I will give you." This is their own invention and has nothing to do with the language of the masters of Arabic. They then interpret "Whatever sign you bring us" as referring to time, thereby limiting the signs of Allah without realizing it. This and its likes are what necessitate sitting at the feet of those who study the book of Sibawayh.

If you ask: How did they call it a "sign" (āyah) and then say "to bewitch us with it"? I say: They did not call it a sign because they believed it was one; they used the term in deference to Moses’ own terminology, intending mockery and derision.

{الطوفان} (The Flood): That which surrounded and overwhelmed them, whether rain or torrent. It is said the water rose above their crops; they were rained upon for eight days in intense darkness, unable to see sun or moon, and none could leave their homes. It is said Allah sent the sky upon them until they nearly perished. The houses of the Israelites and the Copts were intertwined, yet the Copts' houses filled with water up to their throats—if they sat, they drowned—while not a drop entered the Israelites' houses. The water flooded their land and stagnated, preventing farming, building, or movement for seven days.

According to Abu Qilaba, the Tufan was smallpox—the first torment that befell them, which remained in the land. Others say it was a plague. They told Moses: "Pray to your Lord to remove this from us, and we will believe in you." He prayed, it was removed, but they did not believe. That year, their crops grew in abundance never seen before. They stayed for a month, then Allah sent locusts upon them. They ate their crops, fruits, and everything else, even doors, roof beams, and clothes, but nothing entered the Israelites' houses. They panicked and promised repentance. After seven days, Moses went to the open field, gestured with his staff toward the east and west, and the locusts returned to where they came from. They said: "We will not abandon our religion."

They stayed for a month, then Allah unleashed lice (al-qaml). Abu Ubayda says these are himnān (large ticks). Others say it was dabbā (young locusts before wings grow), or fleas. Sa'id ibn Jubayr says it was weevils; they ate what the locusts left, licked the earth clean, and would crawl between a man's garment and his skin to suck his blood. A man would eat food and it would fill with lice. Sa'id ibn Jubayr also says there was a mound of red sand nearby; Moses struck it with his staff and it turned into lice, which covered their skin, hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows, clinging to them like smallpox. They screamed and cried, fleeing to Moses. He prayed, and it was removed. They said: "Now we are certain you are a sorcerer; by the might of Pharaoh, we will never believe you."

After a month, Allah sent frogs. They entered their houses, filling their vessels and food. One could not uncover a garment, food, or drink without finding frogs. If a man tried to speak, a frog would jump into his mouth. Their beds were filled with them, preventing sleep. They would throw themselves into boiling pots and bubbling ovens. They complained to Moses: "Have mercy on us this time; we will repent sincerely and never return." He took their pledges and prayed, and Allah removed them. Then they broke their pledge.

Allah sent blood upon them, and their water turned to blood. They complained to Pharaoh, who said: "It is sorcery." A Copt and an Israelite would share a single vessel; the part near the Israelite would be water, and the part near the Copt would be blood. They would draw from the same water, and it would come out blood for the Copt and water for the Israelite. A Copt woman would tell her Israelite neighbor: "Put the water in your mouth and spit it into mine," and it would turn to blood in her mouth. Pharaoh grew so thirsty he nearly perished; he would suck on moist trees, but when he chewed them, their sweet water turned into bitter salt. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib says the Nile flowed with blood for them. Others say Allah afflicted them with nosebleeds.

It is narrated that Moses remained among them for twenty years after defeating the sorcerers, showing them these signs. It is also narrated that when he showed them the Hand, the Staff, and the loss of lives and fruits, he said: "O Lord, this servant of Yours has grown arrogant in the land; take him with a punishment that serves as a vengeance for him and his people, a lesson for my people, and a sign for those after me." Then Allah sent the flood, then the locusts, and the subsequent punishments.

Al-Hasan read al-qaml with a fatha on the qaf and a sukūn on the mim, meaning the well-known lice.

{مفصلات} (Distinct/Clear): In the accusative case as a state (hāl). It means "made clear and manifest," such that no rational person could doubt they are signs from Allah that none but He could perform, and that they are a lesson for them and a vengeance for their disbelief. Or, it means they were separated from one another by time, during which their conditions were tested to see if they would remain steadfast on their promises or break them, thereby establishing the argument against them.