وَ لَقَدْ And certainly اَخَذْنَاۤ We seized اٰلَ (the) people فِرْعَوْنَ (of) Firaun بِالسِّنِیْنَ with years (of famine) وَ نَقْصٍ and a deficit مِّنَ of الثَّمَرٰتِ [the] fruits لَعَلَّهُمْ so that they may یَذَّكَّرُوْنَ receive admonition 7. Al-A'raf Page 166 فَاِذَا But when جَآءَتْهُمُ came to them الْحَسَنَةُ the good قَالُوْا they said لَنَا For us هٰذِهٖ ۚ (is) this وَ اِنْ And if تُصِبْهُمْ afflicts them سَیِّئَةٌ bad یَّطَّیَّرُوْا they ascribe evil omens بِمُوْسٰی to Musa وَ مَنْ and who مَّعَهٗ ؕ (were) with him اَلَاۤ Behold اِنَّمَا Only طٰٓىِٕرُهُمْ their evil omens عِنْدَ (are) with اللّٰهِ Allah وَ لٰكِنَّ but اَكْثَرَهُمْ most of them لَا (do) not یَعْلَمُوْنَ know وَ قَالُوْا And they said مَهْمَا Whatever تَاْتِنَا you bring us بِهٖ therewith مِنْ of اٰیَةٍ (the) sign لِّتَسْحَرَنَا so that you bewitch us بِهَا ۙ with it فَمَا then not نَحْنُ we لَكَ (will be) in you بِمُؤْمِنِیْنَ believers فَاَرْسَلْنَا So We sent عَلَیْهِمُ on them الطُّوْفَانَ the flood وَ الْجَرَادَ and the locusts وَ الْقُمَّلَ and the lice وَ الضَّفَادِعَ and the frogs وَ الدَّمَ and the blood اٰیٰتٍ (as) signs مُّفَصَّلٰتٍ ۫ manifest فَاسْتَكْبَرُوْا but they showed arrogance وَ كَانُوْا and they were قَوْمًا a people مُّجْرِمِیْنَ criminal وَ لَمَّا And when وَقَعَ fell عَلَیْهِمُ on them الرِّجْزُ the punishment قَالُوْا they said یٰمُوْسَی O Musa! ادْعُ Invoke لَنَا for us رَبَّكَ your Lord بِمَا by what عَهِدَ He has promised عِنْدَكَ ۚ to you لَىِٕنْ If كَشَفْتَ you remove عَنَّا from us الرِّجْزَ the punishment لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ surely we will believe لَكَ [for] you وَ لَنُرْسِلَنَّ and surely we will send مَعَكَ with you بَنِیْۤ (the) Children اِسْرَآءِیْلَۚ (of) Israel فَلَمَّا But when كَشَفْنَا We removed عَنْهُمُ from them الرِّجْزَ the punishment اِلٰۤی till اَجَلٍ a (fixed) term هُمْ (which) they بٰلِغُوْهُ were to reach [it] اِذَا then هُمْ they یَنْكُثُوْنَ broke (the word) فَانْتَقَمْنَا So We took retribution مِنْهُمْ from them فَاَغْرَقْنٰهُمْ and We drowned them فِی in الْیَمِّ the sea بِاَنَّهُمْ because they كَذَّبُوْا denied بِاٰیٰتِنَا Our Signs وَ كَانُوْا and they were عَنْهَا to them غٰفِلِیْنَ heedless وَ اَوْرَثْنَا And We made inheritors الْقَوْمَ the people الَّذِیْنَ those who كَانُوْا were یُسْتَضْعَفُوْنَ considered weak مَشَارِقَ (the) eastern (parts) الْاَرْضِ (of) the land وَ مَغَارِبَهَا and the western (parts) of it الَّتِیْ which بٰرَكْنَا We blessed فِیْهَا ؕ [in it] وَ تَمَّتْ And was fulfilled كَلِمَتُ (the) word رَبِّكَ (of) your Lord الْحُسْنٰی the best عَلٰی for بَنِیْۤ (the) Children اِسْرَآءِیْلَ ۙ۬ (of) Israel بِمَا because صَبَرُوْا ؕ they were patient وَ دَمَّرْنَا And We destroyed مَا what كَانَ used to یَصْنَعُ make فِرْعَوْنُ Firaun وَ قَوْمُهٗ and his people وَ مَا and what كَانُوْا they used to یَعْرِشُوْنَ erect 7. Al-A'raf Page 167 وَ جٰوَزْنَا And We led across بِبَنِیْۤ (the) Children اِسْرَآءِیْلَ (of) Israel الْبَحْرَ the sea فَاَتَوْا Then they came عَلٰی upon قَوْمٍ a people یَّعْكُفُوْنَ devoted عَلٰۤی to اَصْنَامٍ idols لَّهُمْ ۚ of theirs قَالُوْا They said یٰمُوْسَی O Musa اجْعَلْ Make لَّنَاۤ for us اِلٰهًا a god كَمَا like what لَهُمْ they have اٰلِهَةٌ ؕ gods قَالَ He said اِنَّكُمْ Indeed, you قَوْمٌ (are) a people تَجْهَلُوْنَ ignorant اِنَّ Indeed هٰۤؤُلَآءِ these مُتَبَّرٌ destroyed مَّا (is) what هُمْ they فِیْهِ (are) in it وَ بٰطِلٌ and vain مَّا (is) what كَانُوْا they used to یَعْمَلُوْنَ do قَالَ He said اَغَیْرَ Should other than اللّٰهِ Allah اَبْغِیْكُمْ I seek for you اِلٰهًا a god وَّ هُوَ while He فَضَّلَكُمْ has preferred you عَلَی over الْعٰلَمِیْنَ the worlds وَ اِذْ And when اَنْجَیْنٰكُمْ We saved you مِّنْ from اٰلِ (the) people فِرْعَوْنَ (of) Firaun یَسُوْمُوْنَكُمْ who were afflicting you سُوْٓءَ (with) worst الْعَذَابِ ۚ (of) torment یُقَتِّلُوْنَ they were killing اَبْنَآءَكُمْ your sons وَ یَسْتَحْیُوْنَ and letting live نِسَآءَكُمْ ؕ your women وَ فِیْ And in ذٰلِكُمْ that بَلَآءٌ (was) a trial مِّنْ from رَّبِّكُمْ your Lord عَظِیْمٌ۠ great
(7:130) We afflicted the people of Pharaoh with hard times and with poor harvest that they may heed.
(7:131) But whenever prosperity came their way, they said: 'This is our due.' And whatever hardship befell them, they attributed it to the misfortune of Moses and those who followed him. Surely, their misfortune had been decreed by Allah - but most of them do not know that.
(7:132) And they said to Moses: 'Whatever sign you might produce before us in order to enchant us, we are not going to believe you.'94
(7:133) Then We afflicted them with a great flood 95 and locusts, and the lice96 , and the frogs, and the blood. All these were distinct signs and yet they remained haughty. They were a wicked people.
(7:134) Each time a scourge struck them they, said: '0 Moses! Pray for us to your Lord on the strength of the prophethood He has bestowed upon you. Surely, if you remove this scourge from us, we will truly believe in you, and will let the Children of Israel go with you.'
(7:135) But when We removed the scourge from them until a term - a term which they were bound to reach - they at once broke their promise.
(7:136) 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.
(7:137) And We made those who had been persecuted inherit the eastern and western lands which We had blessed.97 Thus your Lord's gracious promise was fulfilled to the Children of Israel, for they had endured with patience; and We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and all that they had built.
(7:138) And We led the Children of Israel across the sea; and then they came upon a people who were devoted to the worship of their idols. They said: '0 Moses, make for us a god even as they have gods.'98 Moses said: 'You are indeed an ignorant people.'
(7:139) The way these people follow is bound to lead to destruction; and all their works are vain.
(7:140) Moses said: 'Should I seek any god for you other than Allah although it is He who has exalted you above all?'
(7:141) And call to mind when We delivered you from Pharaoh's people who perpetrated on you a terrible torment, putting your males to death and sparing your females. Surely in it there was an awesome trial for you from your Lord.
94. Pharaoh's courtiers obstinately persisted in branding Moses' signs as sorcery although they knew well that sorcery had nothing in common with the miraculous signs granted to Moses. Even a fool would not he ready to believe that the country-wide famine and the consistent decrease in agricultural output could have been caused by magic. It is for this reason that the Qur'an says:
But when Our signs, which should have opened their eyes, came to them they said: 'This is clear sorcery! And they rejected those signs out of iniquity and arrogance even though they were inwardly convinced of it' (al-Naml 27: 13-14).
95. This probably refers to the torrential rain accompanied by hailstorm. While we do not totally exclude the possibility of other kinds of storms, we are inclined to the view, that it probably signifies hailstorm since the Bible specifically mentions that. (See Exodus 9: 23-4 - Ed.)
96. The word used in the text - qummal - denotes lice, fleas, small locusts, mosquitoes, and weevil. This rather general term has been used in the Qur'an probably to suggest that while men were afflicted with lice and fleas, weevil destroyed the barns. (Cf. Exodus 7-12. See also Tafhim al-ur'an, (al-Zukhruf 43, n. 43.)
97. The Israelites were made the inheritors of Palestine. This has been interpreted by some commentators of the Qur'an to mean that the Israelites were made the rulers of Egypt as well. This view, however, is neither supported by, the Qur'an nor by any other historical and archaeological evidence. We have, therefore, serious reservations about the correctness of this opinion. (See Tafhim a]-Qur'an, (al-Kahf 18, n. 57), and (al-Shuara' 26, n. 45)
98. The point at which the Israelites probably crossed the Red Sea lies somewhere between the present Suez and Ismailia. After that they headed towards the south of the Sinai peninsula along the coastal route. The western and northern regions of the Sinai peninsula were then included in the Egyptian empire. In the southern part of the peninsula, in the area lying between the present towns of Tur and Abu Zanimah, there were copper and turquoise mines. Since these were of immense value to the Egyptians, a number of garrisons had been set up to ensure their security'. One such garrison was located at a place known as Mafqah, which also housed a big temple. The ruins of this temple can still be found in the south-western part of the peninsula. In its vicinity there was an ancient temple, dedicated to the moon-god of the Semites. Passing by these places the people of Israel, who had been subservient to the Egyptians for a long time and were thus considerably Egyptianized in their outlook, felt the desire to indulge in idol-worship.
The extent to which the Israelites had become degenerated as a result of their slavery may be gauged by Joshua's last address to the Israelites delivered seventy years after their exodus from Epypt:
Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24: 14-15).
This shows that even though the Israelites had been taught and trained by Moses for forty Years and by Joshua for twenty-eight years, they had still been unable to purge their minds of those influences which had warped their outlook and mentality during their period of bondage under Pharaoh. These Muslims had begun to look upon idol-worship as natural. Even after their exodus, the sight of a temple would incline them to indulge in the idolatrous practices which they had observed among their former masters.