Surah Ad-Dukhan, Ayah 23

The Story of Musa and Fir`awn, and how the Children of Israel were saved

Allah tells us, `before these idolators, We tested the people of Fir`awn, the copts of Egypt.'

وَجَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ كَرِيمٌ

(when there came to them a noble Messenger.) means, Musa, peace be upon him, the one to whom Allah spoke.

أَنْ أَدُّواْ إِلَىَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ

(Deliver to me the servants of Allah.) This is like the Ayah:

فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ وَلاَ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ قَدْ جِئْنَـكَ بِـَايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَالسَّلَـمُ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى

(So let the Children of Israel go with us, and torment them not; indeed, we have come with a sign from your Lord! And peace will be upon him who follows the guidance!") (20:47)

Commentary

وَإِنِّي عُذْتُ بِرَ‌بِّي وَرَ‌بِّكُمْ أَن تَرْ‌جُمُونِ "And I have sought refuge with my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me to death. (44:20) " The word rajm means 'to stone to death'. Another meaning of the word is 'to revile or to make a verbal assault or to heap up insults'. Both senses are possible here, but it seems more likely that the word is used here in the sense of stoning to death, because Fir'aun's people must have been threatening Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) with death.

The call for Truth is, in fact, a manifestation of God’s power in the shape of reasoning. In this way, God announces Himself through human beings, while He Himself remains unseen. The divine call, therefore, becomes a trial for its addressees. The truth seekers acknowledge it and bow down before it, while those who are enamoured of appearances consider it unimportant and ignore it. But after rejecting the call to accept the Truth, man cannot avoid facing the consequences. During the lifetime of the Prophet, these ruinous consequences became apparent in this world itself, just as had happened in the case of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Where there was no immediate evidence of such divine retribution, the deniers had to face the consequences of their actions after death.