Surah 26. Ash-Shu'ara

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Verses [Section]: 1-9[1], 10-33 [2], 34-51 [3], 52-68 [4], 69-104 [5], 105-122 [6], 123-140 [7], 141-159 [8], 160-175 [9], 176-191 [10], 192-227 [11]

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Quran Text of Verse 52-68وَ اَوْحَیْنَاۤAnd We inspiredاِلٰیtoمُوْسٰۤیMusaاَنْ[that]اَسْرِTravel by nightبِعِبَادِیْۤwith My slavesاِنَّكُمْindeed youمُّتَّبَعُوْنَ (will be) followed فَاَرْسَلَThen sentفِرْعَوْنُFiraunفِیinالْمَدَآىِٕنِthe citiesحٰشِرِیْنَۚgatherers اِنَّIndeedهٰۤؤُلَآءِtheseلَشِرْذِمَةٌ(are) certainly a bandقَلِیْلُوْنَۙsmall وَ اِنَّهُمْAnd indeed, theyلَنَا[to] usلَغَآىِٕظُوْنَۙ(are) surely enraging وَ اِنَّاAnd indeed weلَجَمِیْعٌ(are) surely a multitudeحٰذِرُوْنَؕforewarned فَاَخْرَجْنٰهُمْSo We expelled themمِّنْfromجَنّٰتٍgardensوَّ عُیُوْنٍۙand springs وَّ كُنُوْزٍAnd treasuresوَّ مَقَامٍand a placeكَرِیْمٍۙhonorable كَذٰلِكَ ؕThusوَ اَوْرَثْنٰهَاAnd We caused to inherit themبَنِیْۤ(the) Children of Israelاِسْرَآءِیْلَؕ(the) Children of Israel فَاَتْبَعُوْهُمْSo they followed themمُّشْرِقِیْنَ (at) sunrise 26. Ash-Shu'ara Page 370فَلَمَّاThen whenتَرَآءَsaw each otherالْجَمْعٰنِthe two hostsقَالَsaidاَصْحٰبُ(the) companionsمُوْسٰۤی(of) MusaاِنَّاIndeed weلَمُدْرَكُوْنَۚ(are) surely to be overtaken قَالَHe saidكَلَّا ۚNayاِنَّindeedمَعِیَwith meرَبِّیْ(is) my Lordسَیَهْدِیْنِ He will guide me فَاَوْحَیْنَاۤThen We inspiredاِلٰیtoمُوْسٰۤیMusaاَنِ[that]اضْرِبْStrikeبِّعَصَاكَwith your staffالْبَحْرَ ؕthe seaفَانْفَلَقَSo it partedفَكَانَand becameكُلُّeachفِرْقٍpartكَالطَّوْدِlike the mountainالْعَظِیْمِۚ[the] great وَ اَزْلَفْنَاAnd We brought nearثَمَّthereالْاٰخَرِیْنَۚthe others وَ اَنْجَیْنَاAnd We savedمُوْسٰیMusaوَ مَنْand whoمَّعَهٗۤ(were) with himاَجْمَعِیْنَۚall ثُمَّThenاَغْرَقْنَاWe drownedالْاٰخَرِیْنَؕthe others اِنَّIndeedفِیْinذٰلِكَthatلَاٰیَةً ؕsurely (is) a Signوَ مَاbut notكَانَareاَكْثَرُهُمْmost of themمُّؤْمِنِیْنَ believers وَ اِنَّAnd indeedرَبَّكَyour Lordلَهُوَsurely Heالْعَزِیْزُ(is) the All-Mightyالرَّحِیْمُ۠the Most Merciful

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Translation of Verse 52-68

(26:52) We revealed to Moses:⁴¹ "Set forth with My servants by night for you will be pursued."⁴²

(26:53) Then Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities (to mobilise troops)

(26:54) saying: "These (Israelites) are only a small band of people

(26:55) who have certainly provoked our wrath.

(26:56) But we are a numerous host, ever on guard."⁴³

(26:57) Thus did We drive them out of their gardens and springs

(26:58) and their treasures and excellent dwellings.⁴⁴

(26:59) This happened with them; (but on the other hand), We enabled the Children of Israel to inherit those bounties.⁴⁵

(26:60) At sunrise they set off in pursuit of them

(26:61) and when the groups came face to face, the companions of Moses cried out: "We are overtaken!"

(26:62) Moses said: "Certainly not. My Lord is with me; He will direct me."⁴⁶

(26:63) Then We revealed to Moses, (commanding him): "Strike the sea with your rod." Thereupon the sea split up, and then each became like the mass of a huge mount.⁴⁷

(26:64) We also brought the other party close to the same spot,

(26:65) and We delivered Moses and his companions, all of them,

(26:66) then We drowned the others.⁴⁸

(26:67) Surely there is a Sign in this,⁴⁹ but most of them would not believe.

(26:68) Verily your Lord is Immensely Mighty, Ever Compassionate.

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Commentary

41. The change in the narrative at this point in the Exodus story does not imply that right after the contest Moses was commanded to take the Israelites out of Egypt. In fact, several years passed before Moses was able to take his people out of bondage. The details of these years are mentioned in Surah al- A‘raf 7:127-41 and Surah Yunus 10:83-9. Some of these details can also be found in Surah al-Mu’min 40:23-46 and Surah al-Zukhruf 43:46-56. In the present context, the intent is to demonstrate Pharaoh’s eventual fate and the ultimate victory of Moses’ mission since he enjoyed God's support. The narrative here, therefore, is confined to a brief mention of the initial stages of the conflict and then goes on to the final scene.

42. It should be borne in mind that the Israelites were not concentrated in any one part of Egypt. Rather, they lived in all of its cities and towns. There was, however, a greater concentration of Israelites in the area between Memphis and Rameses which was known as Goshen. Therefore, when Moses was directed to take the Israelites out of Egypt, he must have sent a message to all the towns and must have appointed a particular night for the Exodus. The phrase, “you will be pursued”, refers to the fact that the time for departure was set for the night so that they would have a head start over Pharaoh’s army.

43. All this indicated Pharaoh’s deep-rooted fears which he was trying to hide under a facade of fearlessness. On the one hand, he was mobilizing forces from all parts of the country, and on the other, he was trying to hide the fact that a mighty king like himself was afraid of a nation which Had been suppressed and subjected to a life of degradation and misery, for ages. He was, therefore, sending his messages in terms which would suggest that while the Israelites were, practically speaking, an insignificant force, they Had angered him by a series of foolish and provocative acts and he, therefore, wanted to punish them.

Pharaoh: also tried to create the impression that he was not mobilizing his forces out of fear but only as a precautionary measure, that it was only a step dictated by prudence which required a state of preparedness to-deal with every possible eventuality, howsoever remote it might be.

44. Pharaoh’s plan which he Had attempted to carry out was to mobilize all his forces against the Israelites and to crush them once and for all, But God turned his plans upon him by bringing together Pharaoh’s nobles and courtiers as well as his armies at one place where they were destined to be drowned, sparing Pe none of them. Had they not pursued the Israelites, nothing would have happened except that a community of people, the Israelites, would have left Egypt and Pharaoh and his men would have continued their luxurious lifestyle as before.

But the cunning of the Pharaonites forced them to pursue the Israelites and to.

attempt their extermination. For this purpose, the Pharaonic princes and nobles and the king himself came out with all their might. The two-fold result of this apparently shrewd move was that the Israelites safely escaped from Egypt and the flower of Pharaoh’s tyrannical state was dumped in the sea.

45. Some Qur’anic commentators have interpreted this verse to mean that ‘the fabulous gardens, treasures, dwelling places and springs which were left behind by the drowned Egyptians were given to the Israelites. If we accept this interpretation, it means that the Israelites returned to Egypt after Pharaoh’s demise and that they took over his kingdom. However, this is neither corroborated by history nor by the statements of the Qur'an. The details mentioned in Surahs al-Baqarah, al-Ma’idah, al-A‘raf and Ta Ha (see al- Baqarah 2:49-50; al-Ma’idah, 5:20-6, al-A ‘raf 7:136-62 and Ta Ha 20:77- 80) make it abundantly clear that after Pharaoh’s drowning, the Israelites pursued their goal of reaching Palestine. The location of all the important events of their history which took place from the time of the drowning of the Pharaonites until the time of David (1031-973 B.C.) was the region now known as the Sinai tic Peninsula, northern Arabia, Transjordan and Palestine. Therefore, in our opinion, this verse does not mean that God gave the Israelites exactly the same gardens, springs and treasures and palaces which Pharaoh and his nobles Had left behind. Rather, it means that whilst God deprived Pharaoh and his people of all these bounties, He granted similar bounties to the Israelites so that they became the owners of gardens, springs, palaces and treasures in Palestine.

This is borne out by the following verses: “So We inflicted Our retribution on them, and caused them to drown in the sea because they gave the lie to Our signs and were heedless of them. And We made those who Had been persecuted inherit the eastern and western lands which We Had blessed” (al-A ‘raf7:136—7).

In the Qur’an, the word “blessed” has been juxtaposed with “land” only in respect of Palestine; whenever a place is mentioned with this epithet, without its name being specifically mentioned, it always refers to this land. For example, in the very first verse of Surah Bani Isra’il it is said: “Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (in Makka) to the farther Mosque (in Jerusalem) — whose surroundings We have blessed” (17:1); “... and We saved him and Lot and brought him to the land upon which We Had bestowed Our blessings for all the people of the world” (al-Anbiya’ 21:71); “And We subdued the strongly raging wind to Solomon which blew at his bidding towards the land We have blessed” (al-Anbiya’ 21:81); and “‘... the cities We Had blessed ...” (Saba’ 34:18). In all these instances, the attribute of “blessing” is attached to the land of Syria and Palestine.

46. That is, God will certainly show him the way out of this calamity.

47. In the Qur’anic phrase ka al-tawd al- ‘azim, the word fawd means a high mountain. According to Lisan al- ‘Arab, tawd means “a great mountain”. (Ibn Manzur, Lisan al- ‘Arab, q.v. T W D — Ed.) The use of the adjective ‘azim (great) with the word tawd (which itself means “a great mountain’) suggests. that the water stood on both sides like-two great mountains. When we reflect on the fact that the sea was split as a result of Moses’ striking it with his staff, and that this was done, on the one hand, to enable the whole caravan of Israelites-to pass through and, on the other, to drown the whole of Pharaoh’s army, we come to realize that with the strike of Moses’ staff, water stood apart and erect like two great cliffs. The water-remained in this state until several hundred thousand Israelites Had passed through the dried path, and the army of Pharaoh Had arrived in the middle. Quite obviously, this could not have been the work of tempestuous winds alone. For, howsoever violent they might be, they could not have caused the water to assume cliff-like formations for so long. Another verse “... and strike for them a dry path in the sea” (7a Ha 20:77), further explains that the effect of striking the sea with the staff was not just the splitting of water and its standing in the form of two huge cliffs, but also the opening of a path which was quite dry, devoid even of mud which could have hindered people from proceeding apace. Likewise, Moses was directed that after crossing, he should leave the sea in the same state: “... for, verily, they are a host destined to be drowned!” (al- Dukhan 44:24). This directive is also relevant, for it shows that if after reaching the other side Moses Had struck his staff again, the two sides of water would have rejoined. God, however, stopped Moses from doing so in order to let Pharaoh’s army come to a certain point along the same dry path and then be drowned. This is clearly the narrative of a miracle and it exposes the inaccuracy of the opinions of those who try to explain the incident simply in terms of the ‘laws of nature. (For details see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, Vol. V, Ta Ha 20: n. 53, pp. 206-7.)

48. That is, Pharaoh and his army.

49. The lesson for the Quraysh in this respect is that people who are stubborn and take no lesson even from miracles ultimately meet a woeful end: Pharaoh, his nobles and thousands of his people saw God’s signs for years but ignored them and acted as though they were blindfolded. Even in the very last moments before their anNuhilation, they could not discern the significance of the splitting of the sea and water standing on both sides of a dry path in the form of two huge cliffs. Even these clear signs did not fully convince them that Moses enjoyed God’s support and that by opposing him they were up against the power of God Himself. It was only when water Had inundated them and when they were fully surrounded by God’s Wrath that Pharaoh cried out: “I believe that there is no god but Allah in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am also one of those who submit to Allah” (Surah Yunus 10:90).

There is also a lesson in this narrative for the believers: no matter how powerful the forces of iniquity might appear to be, ultimately it is the Truth which triumphs with God’s help, and falsehood is always shown to be weak and eventually vanishes.