Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shu'ara' - Verse 60

Fir`awn's Pursuit and Expulsion of the Children of Israel, and how He and His People were drowned

More than one of the scholars of Tafsir said that Fir`awn set out with a huge group, a group containing the leaders and entire government of Egypt at that time, i.e., the decision-makers and influential figures, princes, ministers, nobles, leaders and soldiers.

فَأَتْبَعُوهُم مُّشْرِقِينَ

(So, they pursued them at sunrise.) means, they caught up with the Children of Israel at sunrise.

فَلَمَّا تَرَآءَا الْجَمْعَانِ

(And when the two hosts saw each other,) means, each group saw the other. At that point,

قَالَ أَصْحَـبُ مُوسَى إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ

(the companions of Musa said: "We are sure to be overtaken.") This was because Fir`awn and his people caught up with them on the shores of the Red Sea, so the sea was ahead of them and Fir`awn and his troops were behind them. Hence they said:

فَلَمَّا تَرَآءَا الْجَمْعَانِ قَالَ أَصْحَـبُ مُوسَى إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ - قَالَ كَلاَّ إِنَّ مَعِىَ رَبِّى سَيَهْدِينِ

("We are sure to be overtaken." (Musa) said: "Nay, verily with me is my Lord. He will guide me.") meaning, `nothing of what you fear will happen to you, for Allah is the One Who commanded me to bring you here, and He does not go back on His promise.' Harun, peace be upon him, was in the front, with Yusha` bin Nun and a believer from the family of Fir`awn, and Musa, peace be upon him, was in the rear. More than one of the scholars of Tafsir said that they stood there not knowing what to do, and Yusha` bin Nun or the believer from the family of Fir`awn said to Musa, peace be upon him, "O Prophet of Allah, is it here that your Lord commanded you to bring us" He said: "Yes." Then Fir`awn and his troops drew near and were very close indeed. At that point Allah commanded his Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, to strike the sea with his staff, so he struck it, and it parted, by the will of Allah. Allah says:

فَانفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرْقٍ كَالطَّوْدِ الْعَظِيمِ

(And it parted, and each separate part became like huge mountain.) meaning, like mighty mountains. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Muhammad bin Ka`b, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah and others. `Ata' Al-Khurasani said, "It refers to a pass between two mountains." Ibn `Abbas said, "The sea divided into twelve paths, one for each of the tribes." As-Suddi added, "And in it there were windows through which they could see one another, and the water was erected like walls." Allah sent the wind to the sea bed to make it solid like the land. Allah says:

فَاضْرِبْ لَهُمْ طَرِيقاً فِى الْبَحْرِ يَبَساً لاَّ تَخَافُ دَرَكاً وَلاَ تَخْشَى

(and strike a dry path for them in the sea, fearing neither to be overtaken nor being afraid) (20:77). And here He says:

وَأَزْلَفْنَا ثَمَّ الاٌّخَرِينَ

(Then We brought near the others to that place.) Ibn `Abbas, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, Qatadah and As-Suddi said:

وَأَزْلَفْنَا

(Then We brought near) means, "We brought Fir`awn and his troops near to the sea."

وَأَنجَيْنَا مُوسَى وَمَن مَّعَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ - ثُمَّ أَغْرَقْنَا الاٌّخَرِينَ

(And We saved Musa and all those with him. Then We drowned the others.) meaning: `We saved Musa and the Children of Israel and whoever followed their religion, and none of them were destroyed, but Fir`awn and his troops were drowned and not one of them remained alive, but was destroyed.' Then Allah says:

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لآيَةً

(Verily, in this is indeed a sign,) meaning, this story with its wonders and tales of aid to the believing servants of Allah is definitive proof and evidence of Allah's wisdom.

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لأَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُّؤْمِنِينَ - وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ

(yet most of them are not believers. And verily your Lord, He is truly the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful. ) The explanation of this phrase has already been discussed above.

Commentary

وَأَوْرَ‌ثْنَاهَا بَنِي إِسْرَ‌ائِيلَ

And We made the children of Isra it inherit all these. [ 59]

Apparently it is elucidated in this verse that Bani Isra'il were made the owners of all the material wealth and property left by the people of the Pharaoh after their drowning. But there is a historical issue involved in this statement. The issue is that many Qur'anic verses indicate the Bani Isra'il did not return to Egypt after the drowning of the Pharaoh's people. As a matter of fact they went back towards their original home, the holy land of Syria. There they were commanded to fight (wage jihad) with an infidel nation in order to enter their city. Bani Isra'il refused to comply with this command, as a punishment of which the open plain where they were camping was made a natural prison for them. They could not come out of that plain and spent forty years over there. It was in that place, which is also known as a valley of Tit (Sinai), where their two prophets, Sayyidna Musa and Harun (علیہما السلام) ، died. Even after these incidents it is not reported in the books of history that Bani Isra'il as a nation or in collective form had entered Egypt, which might prove that they had taken possession of the wealth and property of the Pharaoh's people. Tafsir Ruh ul-Ma` ani has reproduced two explanations on the authority of eminent commentators, Sayyidna Hasan and Qatadah ؓ . Sayyidna Hasan ؓ has explained that the verse in question does have a mention that Bani Isra'il were made the heirs of the property of the Pharaoh's people, but it does not say that this had happened immediately after the death of the Pharaoh. If the Bani Isra'il entered Egypt some forty or fifty years after the incident of the valley of Tih, there is no inconsistency in the verse. As for the argument that their collective entry into Egypt is not proved historically, it is not worth taking any notice, because the history of that period was written by Jews and Christians and is full of distortions. There is absolutely no need for interpreting the Qur'anic verse differently for bringing it in line with the history, whose authenticity itself is questionable.

Sayyidna Qatadah ؓ has explained the situation in another way. He says that although all the Qur'anic verses which have quoted this incident, for instance, verses 128 and 137 of Surah Al-A` raf, 5 of Surah Al-Qassas, 25 to 28 of Surah Ad-Dukhan, and the verse under reference of Surah Ash-Shu'ara', invite the attention to the point that Bani Isra'il were given the custody of that very wealth and property which the people of the Pharaoh had left in Egypt, for which it was necessary for the Bani Isra'il to return to Egypt to take possession. But all these verses can be interpreted to mean that Bani Isra'il were given the wealth and property equal and similar to that which was possessed by the Pharaoh's people. For this it was not necessary that the same lands and wealth of Egypt are given to Bani Isra'il. These bounties might have been granted in Syria. This interpretation is more likely in the verse of Surah Al-A` raf where the land possessed by Bani Isra'il is referred to by the words, الَّتِي بَارَ‌كْنَا فِيهَا (i.e. the land blessed by Us) because the word Barakna is used for the land of Syria in many verses of the Qur'an. Therefore, Sayyidna Qatadah ؓ has opined that it is not correct to attribute Qur'anic verses toward something which is in conflict with the history. The gist of the whole explanation is that if it is established through proved facts that Bani Isra'il did not occupy the land of Egypt at any time after the death of the Pharaoh, then according to explanation of Sayyidna Qatadah ؓ the land of Syria is purported for the wealth and property which was granted to Bani Isra'il. (Only God knows best)

Pursued by Pharaoh, the Children of Israel reached a place where before them was the sea, and behind them were Pharaoh and his army. Seeing this critical situation, the Children of Israel were terrified. According to the Bible, they said to Moses, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you have brought us from there to this deserted place to die?’ But Moses was sure that Almighty God would help them. So, in obedience to the commandment of the Almighty, Moses struck the sea-water with his rod. The water was thereupon split asunder. On both the sides, the water stood like high walls and in between there appeared a dry path. The Children of Israel traversed this path and reached the other side. On seeing this, Pharaoh thought that he too could cross over by this path. He did not know that, only seconds before, the path had miraculously appeared by the order of God. Pharaoh set foot upon it along with his whole army. No sooner had they reached the middle than the standing sea water gushed from both sides and rose to a uniform level. Pharaoh and his entire army were immdediately drowned. At one and the same time, deliverance was planned for one group, and death and destruction for the other.