“And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and they came upon a people devoted to idols of their own. They said, ‘O Moses, make for us a god like the gods they have.’ He said, ‘Truly, you are an ignorant people. Indeed, these people—the way of life to which they are devoted is doomed to ruin, and all that they do is futile.’ He said, ‘Should I seek for you a god other than Allah, when He has favored you above all peoples?’” (138–140)

“And We caused the people who had been oppressed”—subjugated and humiliated through the slaughter of their sons, the exploitation of their women, and enslavement; they were the Children of Israel—(1) “to inherit the eastern and western regions of the land,” meaning Egypt and Syria, “which We had blessed” with water, trees, fruits, fertility, and abundance. “And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel,” meaning: Allah’s word was fulfilled—namely, His promise to grant them victory and establish them in the land. This is His saying, exalted is He: “And We desired to show favor to those who had been oppressed in the land” [al-Qasas 28:5]. “Because of their patience”: that is, their patience in adhering to their religion and enduring Pharaoh’s torment. “And We destroyed”: that is, We annihilated “what Pharaoh and his people had been making” in the land of Egypt in the form of buildings, “and what they had been raising.” Mujahid said: They were building houses and palaces. Al-Hasan said: They were making trellises for trees, fruits, and grapevines. Ibn Amir and Abu Bakr recited it here and in al-Nahl with the letter r vowelled u, while the other reciters read it with the letter r vowelled i.

Regarding His saying, exalted is He: “And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea”: al-Kalbi said: Moses led them across the sea on the day of Ashura, after the destruction of Pharaoh and his people, so he fasted on that day in gratitude to Allah. “And they came upon”: that is, they passed by “a people devoted”—remaining constantly—“to idols of their own,” idols which they worshipped besides Allah. Hamzah and al-Kisa'i recited “devoted” with the letter kaf vowelled i, while the other reciters read it with the letter kaf vowelled u; both are valid linguistic forms.

Ibn Jurayj said: They were statues of cattle, and this was the beginning of the affair of the calf. Qatadah said: Those people were from