By this verse, Allah has cut off the hope of everyone who commits disobedience that the righteousness of another will benefit him.
“Allah sets forth an example for those who believe: Pharaoh’s wife, when she said, ‘My Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise; save me from Pharaoh and his deeds; and save me from the wrongdoing people.’ (11) And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity; so We breathed into it from Our Spirit. She believed in the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and she was among the devoutly obedient. (12)”
Allah then informed that another person’s disobedience does not harm one who is obedient. Thus He said: “Allah sets forth an example for those who believe: Pharaoh’s wife”—she was Asiyah, daughter of Muzahim.
The exegetes said: When Moses overcame the magicians, Pharaoh’s wife believed. When Pharaoh realized that she had embraced Islam, he fastened her hands and feet with four stakes and left her in the sun.
Salman said: Pharaoh’s wife was tortured in the sun, but whenever they left her, the angels shaded her. (1)
“When she said, ‘My Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise’”: Allah unveiled her house in Paradise for her, until she saw it.
It is related in the account that Pharaoh ordered a huge rock to be cast upon her. When they brought the rock to her, she said, “My Lord, build for me, near You, a house in Paradise.” She then saw her house in Paradise, made of a white pearl. Her soul was taken, and the rock was cast upon a body in which there was no soul; thus, she felt no pain.
Al-Hasan and Ibn Kaysan said: Allah raised Pharaoh’s wife to Paradise, where she eats and drinks.
“And save me from Pharaoh and his deeds.” Muqatil said: His deeds mean associating partners with Allah. Abu Salih narrated from Ibn Abbas concerning “and his deeds”: “His sexual intercourse.” “And save me from the wrongdoing people”—that is, the disbelievers.
“And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity; so We breathed into it”: that is, into the opening of her garment; hence, the masculine pronoun was used. “From Our Spirit. She believed in the words of her Lord”: that is, the laws which Allah prescribed for His servants through His revealed words. “And His Scriptures”: the people of Basra and Hafs recited it in the plural, “His Scriptures,” while the others recited it in the singular, “His Scripture.” The plural is intended in either case. By His Scriptures, He meant those sent down to Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus