Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:47
They said, "Should we believe two men like ourselves while their people are for us in servitude?"
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The Exalted says — exalted be His remembrance: Pharaoh and his entourage said: أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا — and then follow them? — وَقَوْمُهُمَا — of the Children of Israel — لَنَا عَابِدُونَ — that is to say: they are obedient and subservient to us, complying with our commands and submitting to us. The Arabs call everyone who submits to a king his "ʿābid" (servant/slave). Hence the inhabitants of al-Ḥīra were called "al-ʿIbād," because they were obedient to the Persian kings.
With what we have said the exegetes also agree.
*Mention of those who said this:*
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: Pharaoh said: أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا — the verse, [its meaning:] shall we raise them above us and ourselves come beneath them, while today we are above them and they are beneath us? How can we do that? That was when they came to them with the message. And he recited: وَتَكُونَ لَكُمَا الْكِبْرِيَاءُ فِي الأَرْضِ — he said: the exaltation upon the earth.
