“the Fire, to which they are exposed morning and evening. And on the Day the Hour arrives: ‘Admit Pharaoh’s people to the severest punishment.’”

This states that Pharaoh and his people were engulfed by a terrible punishment in the intermediate state, and that at the Resurrection they will enter the severest punishment. This verse is among those the scholars have cited as evidence for punishment in the intermediate state.

These ignorant people fell into confusion only because, when they heard “Pharaoh’s people,” they supposed that Pharaoh himself was excluded. This is a distortion of words from their proper meanings. Rather, Pharaoh is included among Pharaoh’s people, without any disagreement among those knowledgeable about the Quran and the Arabic language. This is evident in the following ways:

(The first of the two)

In the Quran and Sunnah, the expression “the family or people of so-and-so” includes that person himself. For example, Allah relates the words of the angels who were Abraham’s guests:

“We have been sent to a criminal people, except the family of Lot; we will surely save them all, except his wife.”

Then He says:

“When the messengers came to the family of Lot, he said”—meaning Lot—“You are people unknown to me.”

Likewise, He says:

“We sent against them a storm of stones, except the family of Lot; We saved them before dawn.”

Then He says further on:

“And warnings certainly came to Pharaoh’s people. They denied all Our signs, so We seized them with the seizure of One Almighty and All-Powerful.”

It is well known that Lot is included among the family of Lot in these passages. Likewise, Pharaoh is included among Pharaoh’s people, who denied the signs and were seized. Another example is the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Say: ‘O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon the family of Abraham.’”