Overview (Verses 52 - 59)

Divine Care for True Believers

Thereafter, God looked after his faithful servants, while Pharaoh began raising his army, seeking to put his plans into effect: Then We revealed to Moses: ‘Set forth with My servants by night, for you will be pursued.’ Pharaoh sent heralds to all cities, [saying]: ‘These are but a small band, and most certainly they have enraged us; but we are all united, and well prepared.’ (Verses 52-56) We have here a gap in the story during which certain events are omitted. Moses and the Israelites lived for a period in Egypt during which the signs mentioned in Sūrah 7, The Heights, took place. It was later that God instructed Moses to leave Egypt with his people. All these events are omitted here so that the historical account better serves the theme of the sūrah, delivering its message most clearly.

What we know is that God instructed His messenger, Moses, to leave with his people, starting their flight by night after making all the necessary preparations and planning their departure well. God also told Moses that Pharaoh and his host would pursue them. He further commanded him to lead his people to the sea, most probably to the point where the Gulf of Suez stretches into the lakes area. Pharaoh soon learnt of the Children of Israel’s night flight and he immediately ordered full mobilization of his troops, sending heralds and officials to other cities to enlist recruits, hoping to catch up with Moses and his people and undermine their efforts. Little did he realize that the plan he wanted to foil was God’s own!

Pharaoh’s agents went at full speed, recruiting and enlisting soldiers as they went. Yet Pharaoh also realized that such mobilization could give the impression of how worried he was, and that he recognized that Moses and his followers represented a serious threat. Otherwise, why would he, a king and a deity, need to initiate a full mobilization to counter their threat? Hence, he felt that he needed to assure his people that there was but little danger: “These are but a small band!” (Verse 54) This begs the question: why raise all this fuss, then? ‘Why give them so much importance and mobilize such a large force? Hence, he has to further justify his action: “Most certainly they have enraged us.” (Verse 55) They have perpetrated certain actions and made some inflammatory statements. However, “we are all united, and well prepared.” (Verse 56) We realize how they are plotting against us, and we are in full control of the situation to ensure that they can do us no harm. This is just an example of how falsehood always finds itself at a loss when it encounters faith.

Before portraying the last scene of this encounter, the sūrah gives us an account of the ultimate consequences of leading Pharaoh and his people away from their riches and property. It also shows how the previously persecuted Children of Israel were able to enjoy all these things: “Thus We drove them out of their gardens, springs, treasures and honourable positions. And We bequeathed it all to the Children of Israel.” (Verses 57-59) The Egyptians set out to pursue Moses and his people, but this was to be their last march. It was indeed an expulsion, driving them away from all the luxuries they had been enjoying, including their gardens, springs and treasures, never to return. This final outcome is mentioned here, ahead of sequence, in order to highlight the punishment meted out to those wrongdoers who perpetrate injustices. It is not known in history that the Children of Israel returned to Egypt after they had so departed, aiming for the Holy Land. Nor is it known that they inherited the kingdom of Egypt, Pharaoh’s treasures and seat of power. Hence, commentators on the Qur’ān explain this Qur’ānic statement by saying that they inherited something similar, which means that they inherited the type of things enjoyed by Pharaoh and his entourage.