Topic: Ignominy Of

7:139; 20:78.

20:79; 26:61; 44:25.

Commentary:

The verse throws interesting light on an important political question. Islam enjoins Muslims to obey their rulers. If, however, the latter deny to them religious freedom and resort to compulsion in matters of faith, Muslims are enjoined to migrate from their country rather than offer resistance to the established authority. But what should they do if the authorities do not even permit them to migrate and force them to remain in the country and suffer persecution? The verse under comment supplies an answer to this question by saying that Pharaoh pursued the Israelites "wrongfully and aggressively," which means that in preventing the Israelites from migrating Pharaoh was doing a thing to which he had absolutely no right. Thus if rulers prevent an oppressed subject people from peacefully leaving a country, the latter would be justified in resisting and opposing them by all legitimate means and in that case defiance of the authority will not be held as a breach of the law or an act of rebellion. Just as nobody is allowed to defy and break the law of the land in which he lives, similarly no Government has a right to compel any person to live under it while denying him freedom of religion and conscience.

The words, He in Whom the children of Israel believe, spoken by Pharaoh at the time of his drowning, show the utterly abject state of his mind at that time. If he had said that he believed in the God of Moses, he might be considered to have had some sense of dignity left in him because, having been brought up in the royal household and being the leader of his people, Moses was entitled to respect even from worldly considerations; but to say that he believed in Him in Whom the children of Israel believed—the very children of Israel whom it was his pride to trample under foot—bespeaks the great depth of abasement to which the proud Pharaoh had fallen.

28:43.

Important Words:

رفد (gift) and المرفود (which will be given them) are both derived from رفد (rafada). They say رفدہ i.e. he gave him, or he gave him a gift; he aided, helped or assisted him; he aided or assisted him by a gift or by a good saying or by some other thing. رفد الحائط means, he propped up or supported the wall. رفد means, a gift or a gratuity; aid, help or assistance by a gift, etc.; a lot, share or portion. رافد means, giver of a gift; aider or helper. مرفود which is the passive participle from this root, means, he who is given a gift, etc.; or that which is given as a gift, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The word لعنة (curse) is not used here as a term of abuse, but in its original sense of "driving away" or "casting away by way of punishment" (Mufradat). The verse would therefore mean that, as these people remained away from God in the present life, so, as a punishment, they will be kept away from Him in the life to come. The moral of the verse is that by following in the footsteps of a wicked man, one is disgraced both in this life and the next.

The word رفد (lit. gift or support or aid) may also refer to Pharaoh. In this case the verse would mean that Pharaoh whom his people took as their means of support against God proved an evil support for them; for he not only landed them into Hell, but himself went into the Fire with them.

11:61,100.

Important Words:

مقبوحین (deprived of good) is the plural of مقبوح which is passive participle from قبح (qabaha). They say قبحه اللّٰه (qabbaha) i.e. God removed him or may God remove him far from good or prosperity or from all that is good, or God rendered him or may God render him foul, unseemly, unsightly, ugly or hideous or despised. مقبوح means, removed far from good or prosperity or from all that is good or from success or the attainment of that which he desires or seeks, or driven away like a dog or despised or rendered foul, unseemly, ugly or hideous. قبح (qabuha) which is intransitive form means, it was or became bad, abominable, ugly or hideous. قبیح which means, bad, ugly, abominable, etc. is formed from this verb (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Mark the pathos of these words! The ill-fated people of Pharaoh enjoyed all sorts of comforts and luxury. They had wealth, power and influence. A Prophet came to them. They rejected his Message and opposed his mission with the result that heavenly punishment came down upon them sudden and swift and they went to their doom unwept, unhonoured and unsung. The ill-fated monarch who, in his conceit and arrogance, called himself God, went to the depths of the sea (20:79), with the memorable words, "I believe that there is no God but He in Whom the Children of Israel believed," on his lips. He who wanted to have a peep at the God of Moses in the heavens (40:38) had a taste of His might in the depths of the sea.