Surah Al-A'raf 7:127-129 - Quran Translation Commentary

127. And the nobles of Firaun’s people said to him : “Will you leave Moosa and his people to spread mischief in the land¹⁷⁹ and to renounce you and your gods?”¹⁸⁰ He said: “We will slay their sons¹⁸¹ and let live their daughters. Surely, we have overwhelming power over them.”

128. And Moosa said to his people: “Seek help in Allah and be patient.¹⁸² The earth is Allah’s, He makes those of His slaves its inheritors whom He chooses. And the (best) end is for those who fear Him.

129. “¹⁸³ They said: “We were oppressed before you came to us, and are oppressed after your coming.” He said: “Soon your Lord may destroy your enemy and make you ruler in the land,¹⁸⁴ so that He may see how you conduct yourselves.”¹⁸⁵

Commentary

179. Who can perform a greater work of reform than a prophet? But in the eyes of the infidels this work appears as mischief, although they themselves are great mischief-makers.

180. It is clear that Firaun himself had become a deity and also had established other idols as deities. In the ancient days. kings used to ‘make their subjects worship them. and so far as Firaun was concerned he had claimed to be a reincarnation of the Sun god. Besides, the Egyptian nation was the worshipper of stars and idols.

In Egypt in the ancient times of first Samaritan star worship of this kind was being practiced. The biggest god was sun. which in their language was called Ra, their capital was called ‘the City of the’ sun.’ which the Egyptians called ‘Un’. Here was situated the temple of the sun god. The king was thought to be the son of the sun god. For this reason his title was ‘Rameses,’ that is: son of the sun. This is why the kings of Egypt claimed to be gods – (Arazul Quran (Urdu) by Sayed Sulaiman Nadvi, Vol. II. Page 160.)

And from the following excerpts from the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics it will be clear that Ra, the sun god, was being worshipped in Egypt and the Pharaohs used to claim themselves to be descendents of god, Ra:

“Ra, the sun god, was specially worshipped at Heliopolis –Every king of Egypt afterwards had a Ra –name Ra was thus move constantly: recognised than any other god.” (Ency. of Religion & Ethics Vol. V. P. 248).

“Thenceforward the Pharaos regularly designated themselves as sons of Ra.” (Vol. VI. P. 278).

Moreover. the Egyptians also worshipped cow.

As regards the claim of Firaun:

“I am your Lord, Most High”– (An-Nazi’at 24), it was merely to disconcert prophet Moosa, because Moosa had stated that he was the messenger of the Lord of the worlds. it is the same kind of logic which Namrood (Nimrod) had employed in reply to prophet Ibrahim’s dawah of monotheism when prophet Ibrahim said:

“My Lord is He who gives life and death,” Namrood immediately said:

“I give life and death.” (Al-Baqarah – 258).

It is obvious that this reply was merely to disconcert prophet Ibrahim, otherwise how could he be expected to utter such foolish words when he had no power to control his own life and death. Firaun had not prohibited the worship of other gods and goddesses in the country, because this worship did not come in the way of his being worshipped as a god. But in accepting prophet Moosa‘s God as the True God, the godhood of all including Firaun was nullified, as it required the acceptance of only one God. It also envisaged the acceptance of all His commands, especially His command of letting Bani Israil leave Egypt with prophet Moosa. Therefore, he was neither prepared to accept Moosa’s God as the True God, nor did he allow his subjects to accept Him as ‘such. According to him, the greatest god of the time was the king of the country, who deserved to be worshipped as well as obeyed. This declaration of his:

“I do not know that you have any other god besides me” meant the same thing. Therefore, it is not correct to think that Firaun was an athiest or that he had claimed to be god because he considered himself as the creator of the heavens and the earth and that he ruled over them, but that his claim was that he ruled over Egypt, therefore, he deserved to be worshipped and also to be obeyed:

“And Firaun called to his people, and said: O my people ! Have I no power over Egypt. and are not these rivers flowing underneath me? Do you not see?” – (Az-Zukhruf - 51)

(For further explanation, please see Surah Nazi’at Notes Nos. 13 and 18).

181. For restricting the population growth of Bani Israil, Firaun had used this weapon earlier also, but he did not achieve the desired success. Now, he again expressed his desire to wield the same weapon. In the Bible it is stated:

“Then pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” (Exodus 1: 22)

182. If Muslims have to live under a tyrannical ruler, the most important work to be done by them is to strengthen their tie with Allah and to seek His help. The best way of achieving this is to establish prayers (salat), and then they should not be influenced by their environmental conditions and remain firm on their belief.

183. It is Allah who grants power and government, and He grants them according to His wisdom, to whomsoever He wills. If He has granted power to a tyrant, it does not mean that He is pleased with him, but that the purpose is to provide occasions for trial in this life, and after this is done the tyrants be brought to book finally, and the oppressed who have proved themselves to be His loyal slaves even after passing through all the trials and tribulations, be duly rewarded with everlasting bliss.

184. Means the land of Palestine.

185. If the people of faith are granted power, there is also an element of their trial in it, that whether with that power they become the grateful slaves of their Creator or not, and whether they use this power to enforce the commands and laws of Allah or whether they use it to work against His wishes and against His slaves.