Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 7 Al-A'raf, Ayat 130-136

وَلَقَدۡ اَخَذۡنَاۤ اٰلَ فِرۡعَوۡنَ بِالسِّنِيۡنَ وَنَقۡصٍ مِّنَ الثَّمَرٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿7:130﴾ فَاِذَا جَآءَتۡهُمُ الۡحَسَنَةُ قَالُوۡا لَـنَا هٰذِهٖ​ ۚ وَاِنۡ تُصِبۡهُمۡ سَيِّئَةٌ يَّطَّيَّرُوۡا بِمُوۡسٰى وَمَنۡ مَّعَهٗ​ ؕ اَلَاۤ اِنَّمَا طٰٓـئِرُهُمۡ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ وَلٰـكِنَّ اَكۡثَرَهُمۡ لَا يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿7:131﴾ وَقَالُوۡا مَهۡمَا تَاۡتِنَا بِهٖ مِنۡ اٰيَةٍ لِّـتَسۡحَرَنَا بِهَا ۙ فَمَا نَحۡنُ لَكَ بِمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ‏ ﴿7:132﴾ فَاَرۡسَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمُ الطُّوۡفَانَ وَالۡجَـرَادَ وَالۡقُمَّلَ وَالضَّفَادِعَ وَالدَّمَ اٰيٰتٍ مُّفَصَّلٰتٍ فَاسۡتَكۡبَرُوۡا وَكَانُوۡا قَوۡمًا مُّجۡرِمِيۡنَ‏  ﴿7:133﴾ وَلَـمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيۡهِمُ الرِّجۡزُ قَالُوۡا يٰمُوۡسَى ادۡعُ لَـنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِنۡدَكَ​ۚ لَـئِنۡ كَشَفۡتَ عَنَّا الرِّجۡزَ لَـنُؤۡمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَـنُرۡسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِىۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ​ۚ‏ ﴿7:134﴾ فَلَمَّا كَشَفۡنَا عَنۡهُمُ الرِّجۡزَ اِلٰٓى اَجَلٍ هُمۡ بٰلِغُوۡهُ اِذَا هُمۡ يَنۡكُثُوۡنَ‏ ﴿7:135﴾ فَانْتَقَمۡنَا مِنۡهُمۡ فَاَغۡرَقۡنٰهُمۡ فِى الۡيَمِّ بِاَنَّهُمۡ كَذَّبُوۡا بِاٰيٰتِنَا وَكَانُوۡا عَنۡهَا غٰفِلِيۡنَ‏ ﴿7:136﴾

(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.


Notes

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.)