Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 103

Story of Prophet Musa, upon him be Peace, and Fir`awn

Allah said,

ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِم

(Then after them We sent), after the Messengers whom We mentioned, such as Nuh, Hud, Salih Lut and Shu`ayb (may Allah's peace and blessings be on them and the rest of Allah's Prophets), We sent,

مُّوسَى بِـَايَـتِنَآ

(Musa with Our signs) proofs and clear evidences, to Fir`awn, who was ruler of Egypt during the time of Musa,

وَمَلإِيْهِ

(and his chiefs) the people of Fir`awn,

فَظَلَمُواْ بِهَا

(but they wrongfully rejected them), they denied and disbelieved in the signs, out of injustice and stubbornness on their part. Allah said about them in another Ayah,

وَجَحَدُواْ بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَآ أَنفُسُهُمْ ظُلْماً وَعُلُوّاً فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

(And they belied them (those Ayat) wrongfully and arrogantly, though they were themselves convinced thereof. So see what was the end of the evildoers.)27:14 The Ayah says, `those who hindered from the path of Allah and belied in His Messengers, look how We punished them, We caused them to drown, all of them, while Musa and his people were watching.' Public drowning added disgrace to the punishment that Fir`awn and his people suffered, while adding comfort to the hearts of Allah's party, Musa and those people who believed in him.

The verse 103, has said that after the prophets Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut and Shu'aib (علیہ السلام) ، We sent Musa with Our signs towards Pharaoh and his people. The 'signs' may refer to the verses of the Torah or to the miracles of the prophet Musa (علیہم السلام) . The word Pharaoh was the title of Egyptian kings. The Pharaoh of Musa's time is said to be Mernephtah. The phrase فَظَلَمُوا بِهَا ''they did injustice to them (signs) " here means that they showed indifference to the verses of Allah, instead of being grateful to Him and having faith in them they rejected His verses. The word ظلم rendered as wrong or injustice, in fact, signifies the use of something for a purpose opposite to what it was created for. Further it said فَانظُرْ‌ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ "So look how was the fate of mischief-makers." Again the people are invited to take lesson from these events and think of their own fate.

God has blessed man with the powers of observation, hearing and thinking, so that he may learn lessons and, with their help, may understand the signs of God. But when a man does not utilize these powers for the purpose for which they were intended, then it inevitably happens that the sensitivity of his heart starts waning until his feelings become blunted; the seal of insensitivity is thus fixed on his heart and mind. Now, his position becomes that of one who does not see in spite of having eyes, does not hear in spite of having ears and does not understand in spite of having a mind; and in spite of being a human being, he loses his humanity. The human race began with the followers of Adam. Thereafter, when they fell into wrong ways, the prophets of God came to admonish them. Now those who reformed themselves on the advent of the prophets were saved and those who refused to be reformed were destroyed. Again the following generations forgot the vows of submission to God made to their prophets, and they suffered the same consequences as those of the later generations of Adam’s followers. Such a state of affairs has occurred again and again, so much so that the history of the greater part of the human race has become that of disobedience and the breaking of pledges.