Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:12
The people of Noah denied before them, and [the tribe of] 'Aad and Pharaoh, the owner of stakes,
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 statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: ( كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَعَادٌ وَفِرْعَوْنُ ذُو الأَوْتَادِ ) (12) ("Before them the people of Nūḥ denied, and ʿĀd, and Firʿawn, the lord of the tent-pegs") (12).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: before these polytheists (mushrikīn) of Quraysh, who said: "Has he made the gods into one god?", their messengers were denied by the people of Nūḥ, and ʿĀd, and Firʿawn, the lord of the tent-pegs (ذو الأوتاد).
The scholars differed concerning the reason why Firʿawn was called "lord of the tent-pegs." Some said: that was said of him because he possessed playthings of tent-pegs upon which playing was performed for him.
* Mention of who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of ʿAlī ibn al-Haytham, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: ( وَفِرْعَوْنُ ذُو الأوْتَادِ ), he said: they were playthings beneath which playing was performed for him.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His word ( وَفِرْعَوْنُ ذُو الأوْتَادِ ), he said: he possessed tent-pegs and ropes, and playthings upon which playing was performed for him.
And others said: no, that was said of him thus because of his torturing of the people with tent-pegs.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, His word ( ذُو الأوْتَادِ ), he said: he tortured the people with tent-pegs; he tortured them with four tent-pegs, and then he would raise up a boulder that was hauled up with ropes, which was then thrown down upon him so that it crushed him.
It was related to me on the authority of ʿAlī ibn al-Haytham, on the authority of Ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, he said: he tortured the people with tent-pegs.
And others said: the meaning of that is: lord of the edifices. They said: and the edifices are the "tent-pegs."
* Mention of who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of al-Muḥāribī, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: ( ذُو الأوْتَادِ ), he said: lord of the edifices.
