So He sent the flood—water that overflowed across the face of the earth and then lay stagnant. They could neither go out nor do any work until hunger wore them down. When their plight became unbearable they said, “O Moses, pray to your Lord for us by virtue of the covenant He has made with you. If you lift this scourge from us, we will surely believe in you and we will surely let the Children of Israel go with you” (al-Aʿrāf 7:134). Moses, peace be upon him, prayed to his Lord and He removed it, yet they did not fulfill a single promise.

Thereupon Allah sent the locusts, and—so I have been informed—they devoured the trees, even eating the iron nails in the doors until houses and dwellings collapsed. They repeated the same plea; Moses prayed, the plague was lifted, but again they failed to keep their word.

Next Allah sent the lice. It has reached me that Moses, peace be upon him, was commanded to walk to a sand-hill and strike it with his staff. He went to a huge mound, struck it, and swarms of lice poured forth, overrunning the houses and the food, depriving them of sleep or rest. When the hardship overwhelmed them they said to him what they had said before; he prayed to his Lord, it was removed, and still they kept nothing of their pledge.

Then Allah sent the frogs. They filled the houses, the food, and the utensils; no one uncovered a garment or a meal without finding it swamped with frogs. When this tormented them they spoke as before, and he prayed to his Lord and it was taken away, yet they remained untrue to every word they had given.

Finally Allah sent the blood: all the water of Pharaoh’s people turned to blood. They could draw from neither well nor river, and whenever they scooped water from any vessel it became thick, undiluted blood.

Zayd ibn Aslam said that the blood here refers to nosebleed; this was related by Ibn Abī Ḥātim.

Allah, Exalted is He, says:
“When the punishment fell upon them they said, ‘O Moses, invoke your Lord for us through the covenant He has made with you. If you remove this punishment from us, we will surely believe in you and we will surely send the Children of Israel with you.’ Yet when We removed the punishment from them for a term they were bound to reach, they broke their word. So We took vengeance upon them and drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.” (al-Aʿrāf 7:134-136)

He—glorified be He—thus informs us of their disbelief, their obstinate rebellion, and their persistence in error and ignorance, and of their arrogance in refusing to follow Allah’s signs and believe His Messenger despite the magnificent, overwhelming proofs with which he was supported. Allah showed them these signs plainly as conclusive evidence against them. Each time they witnessed a sign that afflicted and distressed them, they swore and pledged to Moses that if it were removed they would believe and would send away those who were with him. But whenever the sign was lifted they returned to something worse than what they had been upon, turning away from the truth and giving it no heed. Allah would then send upon them another sign, harsher and more severe than the one before it. They would promise, lie, vow, and fail to fulfill:
“If you remove from us this punishment, we will surely believe in you and will surely send the Children of Israel with you.”
He would lift from them that grievous torment, then