Exegesis of the saying of the Exalted, "And Pharaoh, owner of the stakes," to His saying, "So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment," from Surat al-Fajr.
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
First: I apologize to you for my delay, because we have a guest who came from Riyadh, so we ask for your forgiveness. Now, you have the choice: if you wish, we can start with the questions, or if you wish, we can proceed as usual with the exegesis of whatever is facilitated of the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. What is your opinion?
The questioner : The exegesis is ten minutes.
The Shaykh : No, rather less than ten. We stopped at, yes, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:[Al-Fajr 89:6-9].
He said:[Al-Fajr 89:10] Pharaoh is: the one to whom Allah sent Moses (peace be upon him). He had humiliated the Children of Israel in Egypt, slaughtering their sons and keeping their women alive. The scholars differed regarding the reason that led him to this ugly act: why kill the sons and keep the women? Some scholars said: his soothsayers told him that a man would be born among the Children of Israel whose hands would bring about your destruction, so he began to kill the sons and keep the women.
And some of the scholars said: he did that in order to weaken the Children of Israel, because when a nation kills its men and keeps its women, it becomes humiliated without a doubt. The first is the explanation of the people of athar (narrations) and the second is the explanation of the people of reflection (intellect). It is not far-fetched that both matters became the cause of this action. But by the power of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, this man whose hands would bring about the destruction of Pharaoh was raised in the very house of Pharaoh. Indeed, the wife of Pharaoh picked him up and raised him in the house of Pharaoh. Pharaoh became arrogant in the land and exalted himself in the land and said to his people:[An-Nazi'at 79:24] And he said to them: And he said to them: meaning: Moses [Az-Zukhruf 43:52] Allah the Exalted said: [Az-Zukhruf 43:54] And you know that he said to his people, affirming it for them: [Az-Zukhruf 43:51] He boasted of the rivers, and they are ... so he was drowned by water, drowned by water.
[Al-Fajr 89:10] meaning: owner of power, because his soldiers were to him like stakes. And the stake, as we know, is what the ropes of the tent are tied to so that it settles and stands firm. So he had soldiers, great nations, among them were magicians, soothsayers, and others. But Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is above everything.
He the Exalted said:[Al-Fajr 89:11] Transgression: exceeding the limit. And from that is His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Haqqah 69:11] meaning: when the water increased, We carried you in the ship, meaning: in that ship which Noah (peace be upon him) built. So the meaning of [Al-Fajr 89:11] is: they exceeded their limit and transgressed against the servants of Allah.
[Al-Fajr 89:12] Corruption: is it physical corruption or moral corruption? The answer: it is moral corruption, and moral corruption is followed by physical corruption. Are you with us? Moral corruption is followed by physical corruption. And the evidence for that is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: [Al-A'raf 7:96] For this reason, some of the scholars said regarding His saying, the Exalted: [Al-A'raf 7:56] They said: do not corrupt it with sins. And on this basis, His saying: [Al-Fajr 89:12] means: moral corruption, but moral corruption is followed by physical corruption.
And it was the case with previous nations that Allah, the Exalted, would destroy these deniers completely. But for this nation, Allah lifted this type of punishment from them and made their punishment that their wrath be among themselves, that they destroy one another. And on this basis, what happened among the Muslims of fighting among themselves and destroying one another is only because of the sins and transgressions; Allah makes some of them dominate over others, and this becomes a punishment from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
For this reason, He said:[Al-Fajr 89:12-13] "Poured upon them": pouring is known to be from above. And the punishment that came to these people was from above, from Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And The scourge: it is the stick with which one strikes. And it is known that striking with a stick is a type of punishment. But is this scourge that Allah, the Exalted, poured upon 'Ad and Thamud and Pharaoh the known stick that we know, or is it a stick of punishment that destroyed them? The answer: the second, a stick of punishment that destroyed them and annihilated them.
We ask Allah, the Exalted, to make for us and for you a lesson from the previous nations, that we may be admonished and benefit from it, and that we be obedient to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and not transgressing. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.
And now to the questions ... what do you have?
The questioner : ... we greet you and that is all ... between ...
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. May Allah keep you. The question.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
First: I apologize to you for my delay, because we have a guest who came from Riyadh, so we ask for your forgiveness. Now, you have the choice: if you wish, we can start with the questions, or if you wish, we can proceed as usual with the exegesis of whatever is facilitated of the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. What is your opinion?
The questioner : The exegesis is ten minutes.
The Shaykh : No, rather less than ten. We stopped at, yes, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said:
(6) Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad - (7) [With] Iram - who had lofty pillars, (8) The likes of whom had never been created in the land? (9) And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley?
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ * إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ * الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلادِ * وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِHe said:
And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes? -
وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِAnd some of the scholars said: he did that in order to weaken the Children of Israel, because when a nation kills its men and keeps its women, it becomes humiliated without a doubt. The first is the explanation of the people of athar (narrations) and the second is the explanation of the people of reflection (intellect). It is not far-fetched that both matters became the cause of this action. But by the power of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, this man whose hands would bring about the destruction of Pharaoh was raised in the very house of Pharaoh. Indeed, the wife of Pharaoh picked him up and raised him in the house of Pharaoh. Pharaoh became arrogant in the land and exalted himself in the land and said to his people:
I am your most exalted lord."
أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَىI know of no god for you but Me.
مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِيOr am I better than this one who is lowly?
أَمْ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ هَذَا الَّذِي هُوَ مَهِينٌhardly makes himself clear?
وَلا يَكَادُ يُبِينُSo he bluffed his people, and they obeyed him
فَاسْتَخَفَّ قَوْمَهُ فَأَطَاعُوهُdoes not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me; then do you not see?
أَلَيْسَ لِي مُلْكُ مِصْرَ وَهَذِهِ الْأَنْهَارُ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِي أَفَلا تُبْصِرُونَAnd [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes? -
وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِHe the Exalted said:
[All of] whom oppressed within the lands
الَّذِينَ طَغَوْا فِي الْبِلادِIndeed, when the water overflowed, We carried your ancestors in the sailing ship
إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَا الْمَاءُ حَمَلْنَاكُمْ فِي الْجَارِيَةِoppressed within the lands
طغوا في البلادAnd increased therein the corruption.
فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَAnd if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning."
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَى آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ كَذَّبُوا فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَAnd cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation
وَلا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلاحِهَاAnd increased therein the corruption.
فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَAnd it was the case with previous nations that Allah, the Exalted, would destroy these deniers completely. But for this nation, Allah lifted this type of punishment from them and made their punishment that their wrath be among themselves, that they destroy one another. And on this basis, what happened among the Muslims of fighting among themselves and destroying one another is only because of the sins and transgressions; Allah makes some of them dominate over others, and this becomes a punishment from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
For this reason, He said:
(12) And increased therein the corruption. (13) So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.
فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ * فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍthe scourge of punishment
سوط عذابWe ask Allah, the Exalted, to make for us and for you a lesson from the previous nations, that we may be admonished and benefit from it, and that we be obedient to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and not transgressing. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.
And now to the questions ... what do you have?
The questioner : ... we greet you and that is all ... between ...
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. May Allah keep you. The question.