Surah Al-A'raaf: Verse 136 - فانتقمنا منهم فأغرقناهم في اليم... - English

Tafsir of Verse 136, Surah Al-A'raaf

فَٱنتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَكَانُوا۟ عَنْهَا غَٰفِلِينَ

English Translation

So We took retribution from them, and We drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.

English Transliteration

Faintaqamna minhum faaghraqnahum fee alyammi biannahum kaththaboo biayatina wakanoo AAanha ghafileena

Tafsir of Verse 136

So We took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the sea, for that they cried lies to Our signs and heeded them not.

So We exacted retribution from them: We drowned them in the sea, because they rejected Our Signs and failed to take warning from them.

The sixth punishment has been mentioned in the Qur'an by the Arabic word: رِجز 'Rijz' which signifies plague or pestilence. The number of Egyptians killed in this plague is reported to have been more than seventy thousand. They were relieved of this punishment by the prayer of the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) . Again they broke their promise as before. Now, when they showed no sign of understanding they were finally caught by the last punishment - the death. Leaving behind all their lands, houses and possessions they chased the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and his people and were drowned in the sea.

The People of Fir`awn drown in the Sea; the Children of Israel inherit the Holy Land

Allah states that when the people of Fir`awn rebelled and transgressed, even though He inflicted them with consecutive signs, one after another, He took retribution from them by drowning them in the sea that Musa parted by Allah's power, and he and the Children of Israel passed through. In their pursuit, Fir`awn and his soldiers went in the sea chasing Musa and his people. When they all had gone inside the water, the sea closed in on them and they all drowned, because they belied the Ayat of Allah and were heedless of them. Allah said that He has granted the people who were considered weak, the Children of Israel, to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land. Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Qatadah commented that Allah's statement,

مَشَـرِقَ الاٌّرْضِ وَمَغَـرِبَهَا الَّتِى بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا

(...the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof which We have blessed.) refers to the Sham area (Greater Syria). Also, Mujahid and Ibn Jarir said that Allah's statement,

وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ الْحُسْنَى عَلَى بَنِى إِسْرءِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ

(And the fair Word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because of their endurance.) is explained by Allah's other statement,

وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ - وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَنُرِىَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـمَـنَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَحْذَرونَ

(And We wished to do a favor to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land, and to make them rulers and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land, and We let Fir`awn and Haman and their hosts receive from them that which they feared) 28:5-6. Further, Allah's statement,

وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُ

(And We destroyed what Fir`awn and his people produced,) meaning, We destroyed what Fir`awn and his people produced, such as agriculture and buildings.

وَمَا كَانُواْ يَعْرِشُونَ

(and what they erected.) Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid said that

يَعْرِشُونَ

(they erected) means, they built.

Verse 136 - Surah Al-A'raaf: (فانتقمنا منهم فأغرقناهم في اليم بأنهم كذبوا بآياتنا وكانوا عنها غافلين...) - English