Exegetes have said that when Pharaoh set out with his troops in pursuit of the Children of Israel, following hard on their tracks, he was accompanied by an enormous, overwhelming host. It is even reported that among his cavalry were one hundred thousand jet-black stallions, and that the total strength of his army topped one million six hundred thousand—Allah knows best. It is likewise related that the Children of Israel numbered roughly six hundred thousand fighting men, exclusive of women and children, and that the period between their departure from Egypt with Moses and their earlier arrival there with their forefather Israel was four hundred and twenty-six solar years.
Pharaoh overtook them at sunrise. The two hosts now confronted each other; any doubt or ambiguity vanished, for each side saw the other plainly and recognized what lay ahead—nothing remained but battle and defense. At that moment Moses’ companions, filled with dread, cried out, “We shall surely be overtaken!” They had been driven toward the sea, leaving them no route or escape except to enter and wade through it—something no one could possibly do. Sheer cliffs loomed to their right and left, while Pharaoh had already closed them in from the front with his forces, battalions, numbers, and arms. Remembering the humiliation and hardship they had endured under his rule, they were seized with extreme terror and appealed to the Prophet of Allah about what they were witnessing.
The truthful, ever-confirmed Messenger replied, “Never! My Lord is with me; He will guide me.” He had been at the rear of the column but now moved up to the front. Gazing at the sea, whose waves were surging and whose salty foam kept mounting higher and higher, he declared, “Here I have been commanded [to stand].” With him were his brother Aaron and Joshua son of Nun—on that day one of the foremost leaders, scholars, and great devotees of the Children of Israel; Allah would later grant him revelation and make him a prophet after Moses and Aaron, as will be mentioned, God willing. Also with them stood the Believer from Pharaoh’s household, while all the Children of Israel gathered round.
It is said that this Believer repeatedly urged his horse into the sea to test whether it could be crossed, but each time found no passage. He kept asking Moses, “O Prophet of Allah, is it here that you were commanded?” and Moses would answer, “Yes.”
When the situation became desperate, the crisis grew tighter, and the danger intensified—when Pharaoh and his troops drew nearer with their determination, weapons of iron, rage, and rancor; when eyes grew dazed and hearts leapt to the throats—the Forbearing, Tremendous, All-Powerful Lord of the Noble Throne revealed to Moses, the Speaker with Allah: “Strike the sea with your staff.” When he struck it, it is said he proclaimed, “Split by the permission of Allah!” and it is also said that he addressed the sea by the kunya “Abū Khālid.” Allah knows best.