Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:103
Then We sent after them Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his establishment, but they were unjust toward them. So see how was the end of the corrupters.
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 explanation of the words of Allah: ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ مُوسَى بِآيَاتِنَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَإهِ فَظَلَمُوا بِهَا فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ (7:103) (Then We sent after them Mūsā with Our signs to Firʿawn and his eminent ones, but they dealt wrongfully with them. So look how the end of the workers of corruption was.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says: Then We sent, after Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Lūṭ and Shuʿayb, Mūsā the son of ʿImrān.
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And "the hāʾ and the mīm" which are in His words "after them (min baʿdihim)" are a reference to the prophets, peace be upon them, who have been mentioned from the beginning of this Sūrah up to this place.
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= "with Our signs (bi-āyātinā)", He says: with Our proofs and evidences = "to Firʿawn and his eminent ones", He means: to the people of Firʿawn among the men = "but they dealt wrongfully with them (fa-ẓalamū bihā)", He says: they were disbelieving in them. And "the hāʾ and the alif" which are in His words "with them (bihā)" refer to "the signs (al-āyāt)". And the meaning of that is: they dealt wrongfully with Our signs with which We sent Mūsā to them. And it is only permissible to say "but they dealt wrongfully with them (fa-ẓalamū bihā)" in the meaning of: they were disbelieving in them, because wrongdoing (al-ẓulm) is the placing of a thing in a place other than its own. And I have already demonstrated earlier that this is its meaning, in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat it.
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And disbelief in the signs of Allah is the placing of them in a place other than theirs, and the turning of them away from the intent for which they were intended = "so look how the end of the workers of corruption was", He, exalted is His praise, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Look, O Muḥammad, with the eye of your heart, how the end was of these who wrought corruption upon the earth = He means Firʿawn and his eminent ones, when they dealt wrongfully with the signs of Allah which Mūsā, peace be upon him, had brought them. And their end was that they were all drowned in the sea.
