“Whenever prosperity came to them, they said, ‘This is ours.’ But when adversity struck them, they regarded Moses and those with him as an evil omen. Surely their fate lies with Allah, but most of them do not know. (131) And they said, ‘Whatever sign you bring us in order to bewitch us with it, we will not believe in you.’ (132) So We sent against them the flood, locusts, lice, frogs, and blood as distinct signs; yet they acted arrogantly and were a wicked people. (133)”

“Whenever prosperity came to them,” meaning fertility, abundance, and well-being, “they said, ‘This is ours,’” that is, we are entitled to it and deserving of it, in accordance with the accustomed abundance of our provision. They did not regard it as a favor from Allah, for which they should give thanks. “But when adversity struck them”—drought, affliction, and what they disliked—“they regarded it as an evil omen,” that is, they considered Moses and those with him to be ill-omened. They said, “No affliction befell us until we saw them; this is due to the ill omen of Moses and his people.”

Sa‘id ibn Jubayr and Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said: Pharaoh’s reign lasted four hundred years, and he lived for six hundred and twenty years without ever experiencing anything unpleasant. Had he suffered hunger for a day, a fever for a night, or pain for an hour during that period, he would never have claimed lordship.

Allah Most High says, “Surely their fate lies with Allah,” meaning: their allotted share of prosperity and drought