Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz Amma - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (49)

Tafsir al-Uthaymin Juz AmmaIbn al-'Uthaymin

your supreme lord.” This means that no one is above me, for “supreme” is the comparative form derived from elevation. Consider how arrogantly this man behaved and how he claimed for himself what was not his when he said, “I am your supreme lord.” He used to boast of the rivers and his vast kingdom, saying to his people, among other things: “O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and do these rivers not flow beneath me? Can you not see? Am I not better than this contemptible man who can scarcely express himself clearly?” [al-Zukhruf:: 51, 52]. What then happened? Allah, Glorified and Exalted, drowned him in the very water of which he had boasted, and Allah gave the Children of Israel—whom he had oppressed—the kingdom of Egypt as their inheritance.

“So Allah seized him with an exemplary punishment in the Hereafter and this life.” Allah Most High seized him with the grasp of One Almighty and All-Powerful. “An exemplary punishment in the Hereafter and this life” means that He punished him in the Hereafter and in this life. He thus became a lesson in his own time and remained a lesson after his time until the Day of Resurrection. Everyone who reads the Book of Allah and learns what Allah did to Pharaoh takes it as a lesson and heeds its warning: how Allah destroyed him despite his mighty kingdom, tyranny, and transgression, until he became more insignificant before Allah Most High than anything deemed insignificant.

“Surely in this is a lesson for whoever fears Allah.” “Surely in this”—that is, in what transpired when Moses was sent to Pharaoh, in their exchange, in Pharaoh’s scorn for him, and in his arrogant refusal to submit to him—there is a lesson “for whoever fears Allah,” meaning whoever fears Allah, Glorified and Exalted. Anyone who fears Allah, reflects upon what occurred between Moses and Pharaoh, and considers the outcome that befell each of them will take heed and draw a lesson from it.

The story of Moses contains many lessons. It would be beneficial if someone undertook to compile the story from the verses in every surah and then derive the lessons contained in it. This could be done by bringing together the entire story from all the verses, because some surahs contain details not found in others, and then saying, for example, “The following lessons may be drawn from this magnificent story,” before listing them. How did Allah, Glorified and Exalted, send him to Pharaoh? How did He say to the two of them, “Speak to him gently” [Tā Hā: 44], even though he was

ربكم الأعلى﴾ يعني لا أحد فوقي لأن ﴿الأعلى﴾ اسم تفضيل من العلو، فانظر كيف استكبر هذا الرجل وادعى لنفسه ما ليس له في قوله: ﴿أنا ربكم الأعلى﴾ وكان يفتخر بالأنهار والُملك الواسع يقول لقومه في ما قال لهم ﴿يا قومِ أليس لي ملك مصر وهذه الأنهار تجري من تحتي أفلا تبصرون أم أنا خير من هذا الذي هو مهين ولا يكاد يبين﴾ [الزخرف:: ٥١، ٥٢] . فما الذي حصل؟ أغرقه الله ﷿ بالماء الذي كان يفتخر به، وأورث الله ملك مصر بني إسرائيل الذين كان يستضعفهم. ﴿فأخذه الله نكال الآخرة والأولى﴾ أخذه الله تعالى أخذ عزيز مقتدر، ﴿نكال الآخرة والأولى﴾ يعني أنه نكّل به في الآخرة وفي الأولى، فكان عبرة في زمنه، وعبرة فيما بعد زمنه إلى يوم القيامة، كل من قرأ كتاب الله وما صنع الله بفرعون فإنه يتخذ ذلك عبرة يعتبر به، وكيف أهلكه الله مع هذا الملك العظيم وهذا الجبروت وهذا الطغيان فصار أهون على الله تعالى من كل هين. ﴿إن في ذلك لعبرة لمن يخشى﴾ ﴿إن في ذلك﴾ أي فيما جرى من إرسال موسى إلى فرعون ومحاورته إياه واستهتار فرعون به واستكباره عن الانقياد له عبرة، ﴿لمن يخشى﴾ أي يخشى الله ﷿، فمن كان عنده خشية من الله وتدبر ما حصل لموسى مع فرعون والنتيجة التي كانت لهذا ولهذا فإنه يعتبر ويأخذ من ذلك عبرة، والعبر في قصة موسى كثيرة ولو أن أحداً انتدب لجمع القصة من الايات في كل سورة ثم يستنتج ما حصل في هذه القصة من العبر لكان جيداً، وذلك بأن يأتي بالقصة كلها في كل الايات، لأن السور في بعضها شيء ليس في البعض الآخر، فإذا جمعها وقال مثلاً يؤخذ من هذه القصة العظيمة العبر التالية ثم يسردها، كيف أرسله الله ﷿ إلى فرعون؟ كيف قال لهما ﴿فقولا له قولاً ليناً﴾ [طه: ٤٤] . مع أنه