The Heights, The Elevated Places — Verse 135

Allah punishes the People of Fir`awn because of Their Rebellion Allah describes the rebellion, tyranny, defiance of the truth and insistence on falsehood of the people of Fir`awn, prompting them to proclaim, مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِ مِن ءَايَةٍ لِّتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ("Whatever Ayat you may bring to us, to work therewith your sorcery on us, we shall never believe in you.") They said, `whatever miracle, proof and evidence you bring us, we will neither accept it from you nor believe in you or what you came with.' Allah said, فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوفَانَ (So We sent on them the Tufan) Ibn `Abbas commented; "It was a heavy rain that ruined the produce and fruits." He is also reported to have said that Tuwfan refers to mass death. Mujahid said it is water that carries the plague every where. As for the locust, it is the well-known insect, which is permissible to eat. It is recorded in the Two Sahihs, that Abu Ya`fur said that he asked `Abdullah bin Abi Awfa about locust. He said, "We participated in seven battles with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and we used to eat locusts." Ash-Shafi`i, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ibn Majah recorded from `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam that his father narrated from Ibn `Umar that the Prophet said, «أُحِلَّتْ لَنَا مَيْتَتَانِ وَدَمَانِ: الْحُوتُ وَالْجَرَادُ وَالْكَبِدُ وَالطِّحَال» (We were allowed two dead animals and two kinds of blood: fish and locust, and kidney and spleen.) Ibn Abi Najih narrated from Mujahid about Allah's statement, فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوفَانَ وَالْجَرَادَ (So We sent on them: the flood, the locusts ...) "Eating the nails on their doors and leaving the wood." As for the Qummal, Ibn `Abbas said that it is the grain bug, or, according to another view; small locusts that do not have wings. Similar was reported from Mujahid, `Ikrimah and Qatadah. Al-Hasan and Sa`id bin Jubayr said that `Qummal' are small black insects. Abu Ja`far bin Jarir recorded that Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "When Musa came to Fir`awn, he demanded, `Release the Children of Israel to me.' But, Fir`awn did not comply; and Allah sent the Tuwfan, and that is a rain which continued until they feared that it was a form of torment. They said to Musa, `Invoke your Lord to release us from this rain, and we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.' Musa invoked his Lord and He removed the affliction from them. However, they did not believe, nor did they send the Children of Israel with him. In that year, Allah allowed (the earth) to grow various types of produce, fruits and grass for them as never before. They said, `This is what we hoped for.' So Allah sent the locusts, and the locusts started to feed on the grass. When they saw the effect the locusts had on the grass, they knew that no vegetation would be saved from devastation. They said, `O Musa! Invoke your Lord so that He will remove the locusts from us, and we will believe in you and release the Children of Israel to you.' Musa invoked his Lord, and He removed the locusts. Still, they did not believe and did not send the Children of Israel with him. They collected grains and kept them in their homes. They said, `We saved our crops.' However, Allah sent the Qummal, grain bugs, and one of them would take ten bags of grains to the mill, but only reap three small bags of grain. They said, `O Musa! Ask your Lord to remove the Qummal (weevil) from us and we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.' Musa invoked his Lord, and Allah removed the Qummal from them. However, they did not send the Children of Israel with him. Once, when he was with Fir`awn, Musa heard the sound of a frog and said to Fir`awn, `What will you and your people suffer from this (the frogs)' Fir`awn said, `What can frogs do' Yet, by the time that night arrived a person would be sitting in a crowd of frogs that reached up to his chin and could not open his mouth to speak without a frog jumping in it. They said to Musa, `Invoke your Lord to remove these frogs from us, and we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.' Musa invoked his Lord, but they did not believe. Allah then sent blood that filled the rivers, wells and the water containers they had. They complained to Fir`awn, saying, `We are inflicted with blood and do not have anything to drink.' He said, `Musa has bewitched you.' They said, `How could he do that when whenever we look for water in our containers we found that it has turned into blood' They came to Musa and said, `Invoke your Lord to save us from this blood, and we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you.' Musa invoked his Lord and the blood stopped, but they did not believe nor send the Children of Israel with him." A similar account was attributed to Ibn `Abbas, As-Suddi, Qatadah and several others among the Salaf. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar said, "The enemy of Allah, Fir`awn, went back defeated and humiliated, after the sorcerers believed (in Musa). He insisted on remaining in disbelief and persisted in wickedness. Allah sent down the signs to him, and he (and his people) were first inflicted by famine. Allah then sent the flood, the locusts, the Qummal, the frogs then blood, as consecutive signs. When Allah sent the flood, it filled the surface of the earth with water. But the water level receded, and they could not make use of it to till the land or do anything else. They became hungry. This is when, قَالُواْ يَمُوسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِندَكَ لَئِن كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ (They said: "O Musa! Invoke your Lord for us because of His promise to you. If you remove the punishment from us, we indeed shall believe in you, and we shall let the Children of Israel go with you.") Musa invoked his Lord and He removed the affliction from them, but they did not keep their promises. So Allah sent locusts that ate the trees and consumed the nails on their doors, until the doors fell from their homes and residences. They again said what they said to Musa before, and he called on his Lord and He removed the affliction. Still, they did not keep their promises, and Allah sent the Qummal. Musa, peace be upon him, was commanded to go to a mound and strike it with his staff. So Musa went to a huge mound, struck it with his staff and the Qummal fell out of it in tremendous numbers, until they overwhelmed the houses and food reserves, ultimately depriving them of sleep and rest. When they suffered under this affliction, they said similar to what they said before, and Musa invoked his Lord and He removed the affliction. They did not keep their promise and Allah sent the frogs to them, and they filled the houses, foods and pots. One of them would not pick up a piece of clothing, or uncover some food, without finding frogs in it. When this affliction became hard on them, they made similar promises as before, Musa supplicated to his Lord and Allah removed the affliction. They did not keep any of the promises they made, and Allah sent the blood, and the waters of the people of Fir`awn turned to blood. Any water they collected from a well, a river, or a container, turned to blood."

But when We removed through the supplication of Moses the terror from them to a term which they should reach lo! they were already reneging breaking their covenant and persisting in their disbelief.

فلما رفع الله عنهم العذاب الذى أنزله بهم إلى أجلٍ هم بالغوه لا محالة فيعذبون فيه، لا ينفعهم ما تقدَّم لهم من الإمهال وكَشْفِ العذاب إلى حلوله، إذا هم ينقضون عهودهم التي عاهدوا عليها ربهم وموسى، ويقيمون على كفرهم وضلالهم.

كشف عنهم فلم يفوا له بشيء مما قالوا فأرسل الله عليهم الجراد فأكل الشجر فيما بلغني حتى إن كان ليأكل مسامير الأبواب من الحديد حتى تقع دورهم ومساكنهم فقالوا مثل ما قالوا فدعا ربه فكشف عنهم فلم يفوا له بشيء مما قالوا فأرسل الله عليهم القمل فذكر لي أن موسى عليه السلام أمر أن يمشي إلى كثيب حتى يضربه بعصاه فمشى إلى كثيب أهيل عظيم فضربه بها فانثال عليهم قملا حتى غلب على البيوت والأطعمة ومنعهم النوم والقرار فلما جهدهم قالوا له مثل ما قالوا له فدعا ربه فكشف عنهم فلم يفوا له بشيء مما قالوا فأرسل الله عليهم الضفادع فملأت البيوت والأطعمة والآنية فلا يكشف أحد ثوبا ولا طعاما إلا وجد فيه الضفادع قد غلبت عليه فلما جهدهم ذلك قالوا له مثل ما قالوا فسأل ربه فكشف عنهم فلم يفوا له بشيء مما قالوا فأرسل الله عليهم الدم فصارت مياه آل فرعون دما لا يستقون من بئر ولا نهر ولا يغترفون من إناء إلا عاد دما عبيطا. وقال ابن أبي حاتم: حدثنا أحمد بن منصور المروزي أنا النضر أنا إسرائيل أنا جابر بن يزيد عن عكرمة عن عبيد الله بن عمرو قال: لا تقتلوا الضفادع فإنها لما أرسلت على قوم فرعون انطلق ضفدع منها فوقع في تنور فيه نار يطلب بذلك مرضات الله فأبدلهن الله من هذا أبرد شيء يعلمه من الماء وجعل نقيقهن التسبيح وروي من طريق عكرمة عن ابن عباس نحوه: وقال زيد بن أسلم: يعني بالدم الرعاف. رواه ابن أبي حاتم.

ثم بين - سبحانه - موقفهم الجحودى فقال : ( فَلَماَّ كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرجز إلى أَجَلٍ هُم بَالِغُوهُ إِذَا هُمْ يَنكُثُونَ ) أى : فلما كشفنا عنهم العذاب مرة بعد مرة إلى الوقت الذى أجل لهم وهو وقت إغراقهم فى اليم ، إذا هم ينكثون أى : ينقضون عهدهم الذى التزموه ، ويحنثون فى قسمهم فى كل مرة .وينكثون : من النكث . وأصله فك طاقات الصوف المغزول ليغزل ثانيا ، ثم استعير لنقض العهد بعد إبرامه .قال الآلوسى : وجواب " لما " فعل مقدر يؤذن به إذا الفجائية لا الجملة المقترنة بها ، أى : فلما كشفنا عنهم ذلك فاجأوا بالنكث من غير توقف " .هذا ، وقد ساق بعض المفسرين آثارا متعددة فى كيفية نزول هذا العذاب بهم . ونم هذه الآثار ما رواه أبو جعفر بن جرير - بسنده - عن سعيد بن جبير قال :لما أتى موسى - عليه السلام - فرعون قال له : أرسل معى بنى إسرائيل ، فأرسل الله عليهم الطوفان وهو المطر فصب عليهم منه شيئا خافوا أن يكون عذابا . فقالوا لموسى : ادع لنا ربك أن يكشف عنا هذا المطر فنؤمن لك ونرسل معك بنى إسرائيل . فدعا ربه ، فلم يؤمنوا ولم يرسلوا معه بنى إسرائيل . فأنبت لهم فى تلك السنة شيئا لم ينبته قبل ذلك من الزروع والثمار والكلأ ، فقالوا : هذا ما كنا نتمنى ، فأرسل الله عليهم الجراد فسلطه على الكلأ فلما رأوا أثره فى الكلأ عرفوا أنه لا يبقى الزرع فقالوا : يا موسى ادع لنا ربك أن يكشف عنا الجراد فنؤمن لك ونرسل معك بنى إسرائيل ، فدعا ربه فكشف عنهم الجراد فلم يؤمنوا ولم يرسلوا معه بنى إسرائيل ، فداسوا وأحرزوا فى البيوت فقالوا : قد أحرزنا . فأرسل الله عليهم القمل وهو السوس الذى يرخج منه ، فكان الرجل يخرج عشرة أجربة إلى الرحى فلم يرد منها إلا ثلاثة أقفزة - والجريب والقفزير مكيالان للحبوب ، والجريب أربعة أقفزة - فقاولا : يا موسى ادع لنا ربك أن يكشف عنا القمل فنؤمن لك ونرسل معك بنى إسرائيل ، فدعا ربه فكشف عنهم فأبوا أن يرسلوا معه بنى إسرائيل . فبينما هو جالس عند فرعون إذ سمع نقيق ضفدع فقال لفرعون : ما تلقى أنت وقومك من هذا . فقال : وما عسى أن يكون كيد هذا ، فما أمسوا حتى كان الرجل يجلس إلى ذقنه فى الضفادع ، ويهم أن يتكلم فيثبت الضفدع فى فيه فقالوا لموسى ادع لنا ربك أن يكشف عنا هذه الضفادع فنؤمن لك ونرسل معك بنى إسرائيل فدعا ربه فكشف عنهم فلم يؤمنوا ، وأرسل الله عليهم الدم فكانوا ما استقوا من الأنهار والآبار ، وما كان فى أوعيتهم وجدوه دما عبيطا ، فشكوا إلى فرعون ، فقالوا إنا قد ابتلينا بالدم وليس لنا شراب ، فقال : إنه قد سحركم ، فقالوا : من أين سحرنا ونحن لا نجد فى أوعيتنا شيئا من الماء إلا وجدناه دما عبيطا؟ فأتوه وقالوا : يا موسى ادع لنا ربك يكشف عنا هذا الدم فنؤمن لك ونرسل معك بنى إسرائيل ، فدعا ربه فلم يؤمنوا ولم يرسلوا معه بنى إسرائيل " .قال ابن كثير : قد روى نحو هذا عن ابن عباس والسدى وقتادة وغير واحد من علماء السلف أنه أخبر بهذا .

القول في تأويل قوله : فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ هُمْ بَالِغُوهُ إِذَا هُمْ يَنْكُثُونَ (135)قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: فدعا موسى ربه فأجابه, فلما رفع الله عنهم العذاب الذي أنـزله بهم =(إلى أجل هم بالغوه)، ليستوفوا عذابَ أيامهم التي جعلَها الله لهم من الحياة أجلا إلى وقت هلاكهم (62) =(إذا هم ينكثون)، يقول: إذا هم ينقضون عهودَهم التي عاهدوا ربَّهم وموسى, ويقيمون على كفرهم وضلالهم. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:15040 - حدثني محمد بن عمرو قال، حدثنا أبو عاصم قال، حدثنا عيسى, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد في قول الله تعالى: (إلى أجل هم بالغوه)، قال: عدد مسمَّى لهم من أيامهم.15041 - حدثني المثنى قال، حدثنا أبو حذيفة قال، حدثنا شبل, عن ابن أبي نجيح, عن مجاهد, نحوه.15042 - حدثني موسى بن هارون قال، حدثنا عمرو بن حماد قال، حدثنا أسباط, عن السدي: (فلما كشفنا عنهم الرجز إلى أجل هم بالغوه إذا هم ينكثون)، قال: ما أعطوا من العهود, وهو حين يقول الله: وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ بِالسِّنِينَ ، وهو الجوع = وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ ، [الأعراف: 130].--------------الهوامش :(62) انظر تفسير (( الأجل )) فيما سلف 12 : 405 ، تعليق : 2 ، والمرجع هناك.

قوله - عز وجل - : ( فلما كشفنا عنهم الرجز إلى أجل هم بالغوه ) يعني : إلى الغرق في اليم ( إذا هم ينكثون ) ينقضون العهد .

وجملة { فلما كشفنا عنهم الرجز } دالة على أن موسى دعا الله برفع الطاعون فارتقع وقد جاء ذلك صريحاً في التوراة ، وحُذف هنا للإيجاز .وقوله : { إلى أجل هم بالغوه } متعلق ب { كشفنا } باعتبار كون كشف الرجز إزالة للموتان الذي سببه الطاعون ، فإزالة الموتان مغياة إلى أجل هم بالغون إليه وهو الأجل الذي قدره الله لهلاكهم فالغاية منظور فيها إلى فعل الكشف لا إلى مفعوله ، وهو الرجْز .وجملة : { إذا هم ينكثون } جواب ( لما ) ، و ( إذا ) رابطة للجواب لوقوع جواب الشرط جملة أسمية ، فلما كان ( إذا ) حرفاً يدل على معنى المفاجأة كان فيه معنى الفعل كأنه قيل فاجأوا بالنكث ، أي : بادروا به ولم يؤخروه . وهذا وصف لهم بإضمار الكفر بموسى وإضمار النكث لليمين .والنكث حقيقته نقض المفتول من حبل أو غَزْل ، قال تعالى : { ولا تكونوا كالتي نقضت غزلها من بعد قوة أنكاثاً } [ النحل : 92 ] واستعير النكث لعدم الوفاء بالعهد ، كما استعير الحبل للعهد في قوله تعالى : { إلاّ بحبل من الله وحبل من الناس } [ آل عمران : 112 ] ففي قوله : { ينكثون } استعارة تبعية .وهذا النكث هو أن فرعون بعد أن أذن لبني إسرائيل بالخروج وخرجوا من أرض ( جاسان ) ليلاً قال لفرعون بعضُ خاصته : مَاذا فعلنا حتى أطلقنا إسرائيل من خدمتنا فندم فرعون وجهز جيشاً للالتحاق ببني إسرائيل ليردوهم إلى منازلهم كما هو في الإصحاح الربع عشر من سفر الخروج .

فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ هُمْ بَالِغُوهُ أي: إلى مدة قدر اللّه بقاءهم إليها، وليس كشفا مؤبدا، وإنما هو مؤقت، إِذَا هُمْ يَنْكُثُونَ العهد الذي عاهدوا عليه موسى، ووعدوه بالإيمان به، وإرسال بني إسرائيل، فلا آمنوا به ولا أرسلوا معه بني إسرائيل، بل استمروا على كفرهم يعمهون، وعلى تعذيب بني إسرائيل دائبين.

فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ هُمْ بَالِغُوهُإلى أجل هم بالغوه يعني أجلهم الذي ضرب لهم في التغريق .إذا هم ينكثون أي ينقضون ما عقدوه على أنفسهم .

Moses performed his prophetic mission in Egypt for about forty years. There were two parts of his mission—one, to give the message of the oneness of God to Pharaoh and secondly, to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt, settle them in the Sinai Desert and give them religious training in that untainted atmosphere. The Children of Israel (the progeny of Joseph) at that time were in the the grip of the Copt ruler (Pharaoh). The Copts used to utilise them as labourers in their agricultural and construction works. So, the Copt rulers did not want the Israelites to leave Egypt. Initially, when Moses demanded that Pharaoh should allow the Children of Israel to leave Egypt along with him, Pharaoh and his courtiers gave his request a political colour and accused Moses of intending to remove the Copt from Egypt ( 7:110 ). This was absolutely meaningless, because Moses’s plan was to remove himself from Egypt. At that time Pharaoh and his companions had an inflated opinion of their power and that is why they saw even a straight proposition in a crooked way. But, in later stages, God subjected Pharaoh and his community to all types of calamities. For many years they had continuously to face famines; they had severe hail-storms with lightning and thunder; swarms of locusts invaded their country and ate up their crops and gardens and completely destroyed all greenery; lice so proliferated that clothes and beds became infested with them; and in the houses and on the pathways, frogs were hopping about everywhere; the water in the rivers and lakes became bloody. When Pharaoh and his community began to suffer these strange afflictions, they asked Moses to pray to his Lord to relieve them of these troubles, then they would allow the Children of Israel to leave with Moses. Moses’s demand, which had earlier appeared to the Copts as a political conspiracy to evict them, now appeared to them simply as a migration of the Children of Israel themselves.

The above verses relate the next part of the story of the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and the people of Pharaoh. According to historical reports, the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) stayed in Egypt for 20 years. He kept preaching consistently and conveyed the message of Allah to them. He was given nine miracles during his stay in Egypt which served as warnings to the people of Pharaoh. The Holy Qur'an has referred to the nine miracles in these words وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ تِسْعَ آيَاتٍ. "Surely, We gave him nine miracles." Out of the nine miracles, two were performed before Pharaoh and his people. The third miracle was of famine reported in verse 130. The above verses speak of the remaining six miracles. The verse 133 has mentioned five punishments coming to the people of Pharaoh. All these punishments have been termed as 'signs distinct from each other.' According to the comments of the respected Companion 'Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ each of these punishments lasted for a fixed period of time followed by a period of relief followed, by the next punishment. Ibn-al-Mundhir has cited from the Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ that each punishment lasted for seven days starting from Saturday, then they were given three weeks of relief. Imam al-Baghawi, citing the Companion 'Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that the first time when they were relieved of famine by asking the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) to pray Allah for their relief, they did not keep the promise of believing in Allah. The prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) prayed Allah that they may be inflicted with some painful punishment so that it serves as a lesson to his people and to their descendants. Allah first sent a storm upon them. According to great commentators, this was a flood. All the lands and houses of the people of Pharaoh were filled and surrounded by the water leaving for them no place for farming and living in their homes. The strange thing about it was that the lands and houses of the Israelites were not affected by the water of the flood. In a state of great distress they came to the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and requested him to pray Allah for their relief from this calamity. They promised that if they are relieved from the flood they would embrace faith in Allah and let the Israelites go with him from Egypt. The prayer of the prophet was acceded to and the storm subsided. It is reported that their fields were more fertile and productive than before. Again they did not keep their promise and said that the storm was not a punishment from Allah. Rather it came to their benefit and the increase in the produce was the result of the flood and that Musa (علیہ السلام) had nothing to do with it. A period of respite was given to them to reflect and realize their error. After a period of one month another punishment was sent to them in the form of locusts which ate up all the crops and fruits. Some reports say that the locusts devoured even their doors and roofs made of wood and other things of their houses. Again they were surprised to notice that the locusts did not do any harm to the houses and fields of the Israelites which were quite close to them. Once again they cried for help and implored to the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) to pray his Lord for taking away this punishment from them and that they make firm promise to believe in him and free the Israelites after their relief. The prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) prayed Allah for their relief again and they got rid of this chastisement. Seeing that they were left with enough grain to suffice them for one year, they turned against their promise and showed arrogance as before. Once again, a period of peace and relief followed. The third punishment came to them of 'Qummal' rendered here as pest. Qummal in Arabic is used for 'louse' as well as for an insect which eats up grain. It is possible that both kinds of insects were sent to them, that is, small pests started to eat up their grain while equally large number of lice ate up even their hair and eyelashes. Exasperated as they were, they came again to prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and asked him to pray Allah for their riddance, promising again their acceptance of the true faith and release of the Israelites. He prayed Allah for their relief and Allah relieved them of this punishment too. The fourth punishment was of the frogs. The frogs were created in such a large number in their houses that they covered them up to their necks. The frogs covered them in their beds when they came to sleep. All of their cooking pans and utensils and their household were full of frogs. Being highly disgusted with this situation they came again to prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) with all their old promises, and asked him to pray for their deliverance. This time also they were relieved of this punishment. They were given enough time to correct themselves but those who incur Allah's wrath are deprived of positive thinking. This time when they were in peace they said that they were sure that Musa (علیہ السلام) was a sorcerer and not a messenger of Allah. Those mishaps to them were the effect of his sorcery. After a month of relief the next punishment visiting them was that of blood. Everything of their use turned into blood. Their drinks, their food and their water became all blood before they could use them. As they took out water from the wells or tanks it turned into blood. History has reported it was strange that whenever the Egyptians and the Israelites sat together for meal the morsel of food taken by the Egyptian became all blood, while the one taken by an Israelite did not change. This punishment too lasted for seven days. They were relieved of this punishment through the prayer of the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) after their usual false promises. The people of Pharaoh were subjected to the above five punishments one after another but they persisted in their arrogance and showed no sign of taking lesson from these warnings.

(But when We did remove from them the terror) the punishment (for a term which they must reach) i.e. the drowning, (behold! they broke their covenant) they broke their pledge to Moses.