26:52 Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets)

أوحى الله إلى موسى: أَنْ أَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي أي: اخرج ببني إسرائيل أول الليل, ليتمادوا ويتمهلوا في ذهابهم. إِنَّكُمْ مُتَّبَعُونَ أي: سيتبعكم فرعون وجنوده. ووقع كما أخبر, فإنهم لما أصبحوا, وإذا بنو إسرائيل قد سروا كلهم مع موسى.

لما طال مقام موسى عليه السلام ببلاد مصر وأقام بها حجج الله وبراهينه على فرعون وملئه وهم مع ذلك يكابرون ويعاندون لم يبق لهم إلا العذاب والنكال فأمر الله تعالى موسى عليه السلام أن يخرج ببني إسرائيل ليلا من مصر وأن يمضي بهم حيث يؤمر ففعل موسى عليه السلام ما أمره ربه عز وجل خرج بهم بعدما استعاروا من قوم فرعون حليا كثيرا وكان خروجه بهم فيما ذكره غير واحد من المفسرين وقت طلوع القمر وذكر مجاهد رحمه الله أنه كسف القمر تلك الليلة فالله أعلم وأن موسى عليه السلام سأل عن قبر يوسف عليه السلام فدلته امرأة عجوز من بني إسرائيل عليه فاحتمل تابوته معهم ويقال إنه هو الذي حمله بنفسه عليهما السلام وكان يوسف عليه السلام قد أوصى بذلك إذا خرج بنو إسرائيل أن يحتملوه معهم وقد ورد في ذلك حديث رواه ابن أبي حاتم رحمه الله فقال: حدثنا علي بن الحسين حدثنا عبدالله بن عمر بن أبان بن صالح حدثنا ابن فضيل عن يونس بن أبي إسحاق عن ابن أبي بردة عن أبيه عن أبي موسى قال: نزل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بأعرابي فأكرمه فقال له رسول الله "تعاهدنا" فأتاه الأعرابي فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "ما حاجتك ؟" قال ناقة برحلها وعنز يحتلبها أهلي فقال "أعجزت أن تكون مثل عجوز بني إسرائيل ؟" فقال له أصحابه وما عجوز بني إسرائيل يا رسول الله ؟ قال "إن موسى عليه السلام لما أراد أن يسير ببني إسرائيل أضل الطريق فقال لبني إسرائيل ما هذا ؟ فقال له علماء بني إسرائيل نحن نحدثك أن يوسف عليه السلام لما حضرته الوفاة أخذ علينا موثقا من الله أن لا نخرج من مصر حتى ننقل تابوته معنا فقال لهم موسى فأيكم يدري أين قبر يوسف ؟ قالوا ما يعلمه إلا عجوز من بني إسرائيل فأرسل إليها فقال لها دليني على قبر يوسف فقالت والله لا أفعل حتى تعطيني حكمي فقال لها وما حكمك؟ قالت حكمي أن أكون معك في الجنة; فكأنه ثقل عليه ذلك فقيل له أعطها حكمها قال فانطلقت معهم إلى بحيرة- مستنقع ماء - فقالت لهم انضبوا هذا الماء فلما أنضبوه قالت احفروا فلما حفروا استخرجوا قبر يوسف فلما احتملوه إذا الطريق مثل ضوء النهار; وهذا حديث غريب جدا والأقرب أنه موقوف والله أعلم:.

The Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt

After Musa stayed in Egypt for a long time, and the proof of Allah was established against Fir`awn and his chiefs, yet they were still arrogant and stubborn, then there was nothing left for them but punishment and vengeance. So Allah commanded Musa, peace be upon him, to take the Children of Israel out of Egypt by night, and take them wherever he would be commanded. So Musa, peace be upon him, did as he was commanded by his Lord, may He be glorified, and he led them forth after they had borrowed an abundance of jewelry from the people of Fir`awn. As more than one of the scholars of Tafsir have said, they left when the moon was rising, and Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, said that the moon was eclipsed that night. And Allah knows best. Musa asked about the grave of Yusuf (Prophet Joseph), peace be upon him, and an old woman from among the Children of Israel showed him where it was, so he took the remains with them, and it was said that they were among the things that were carried by Musa himself, may peace be upon them both. It was also said that Yusuf, peace be upon him, had left instructions in his will that if the Children of Israel ever left Egypt, they should take his remains with them. The following morning, when there was nobody to be found in the Israelite quarters, Fir`awn became angry and his anger intensified since Allah had decreed that he was to be destroyed. So he quickly sent his callers to all his cities, i.e., to mobilize his troops and bring them together, and he called out to them:

إِنَّ هَـؤُلآءِ

(Verily, these) meaning, the Children of Israel,

لَشِرْذِمَةٌ قَلِيلُونَ

(indeed are but a small band. ) meaning, a small group.

وَإِنَّهُمْ لَنَا لَغَآئِظُونَ

(And verily, they have done what has enraged us.) means, `every time we have heard anything about them, it has upset us and made us angry.'

وَإِنَّا لَجَمِيعٌ حَـذِرُونَ

(But we are a host all assembled, amply forewarned.) means, `we are constantly taking precautions lest they betray us.' Some of the Salaf read this with the meaning, "we are constantly forewarned and forearmed. And I want to destroy them to the last man, and destroy all their lands and property." So he and his troops were punished with the very things he sought to inflict upon the Children of Israel. Allah says:

فَأَخْرَجْنَـهُمْ مِّن جَنَّـتٍ وَعُيُونٍ - وَكُنُوزٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ

(So, We expelled them from gardens and springs, treasures, and every kind of honorable place.) meaning, they were thrown out of those blessings and into Hell, and they left behind the honorable places, gardens and rivers, wealth, provision, position and power in this world:

كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَـهَا بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ

(Thus and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit them.) This is like the Ayat:

وَأَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذِينَ كَانُواْ يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَـرِقَ الاٌّرْضِ وَمَغَـرِبَهَا الَّتِى بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا

(And We made the people who were considered weak to inherit the eastern parts of the land and the western parts thereof which We have blessed) (7: 137).

وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ

(And We wished to do a favor to those who were weak in the land, and to make them rulers and to make them the inheritors) The two Ayat thereafter: 28:5-6.

And We revealed to Moses after many years which he spent among them calling them to the truth with God’s signs but all of which only increased them in insolence saying ‘Journey with My servants the Children of Israel by night a variant reading for an asri is an isr from the verb sarā one form of asrā go with them by night in the direction of the sea for indeed you will be pursued’. Pharaoh and his armies will pursue you but when they enter the sea in pursuit of you I will deliver you and drown them.

قَالُوا لَا ضَيْرَ‌ ۖ إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ

They said, "There is no harm. We are to return to our Lord. (26:50)

When the Pharaoh threatened the magicians to kill them, and to cut their limbs and to crucify them, the magicians replied rather indifferently, the gist of their reply was, ` You do whatever you can. We shall lose nothing. Even if we are killed we will go back to our Lord, where there is nothing but comfort'.

It is worth noting here that the magicians who had involved all their lives practicing the sinful sorcery and who believed in the Pharaoh's claim to be a god, rather, used to worship him, pronounced faith in Allah before that tyrant and despotic king and the entire nation. This was in itself something most astonishing and courageous, but it was not just the pronouncement of faith in Allah, but a demonstration of such deep devotion as if they could see the Dooms Day and the Hereafter before their eyes. The blessings and bounties of the Hereafter were within their sight, for which they raised themselves over and above any punishment or torment of this world, and said فَاقْضِ مَا أَنتَ قَاضٍ that is ` You do whatever you are to do (20:72). We are not going back from our faith'. This in fact was also a miracle of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) which was no less than the miracle of the staff and the luminous hand. Many incidents of similar nature have also occurred with our Holy Prophet ﷺ . In one such incident a drastic change had occurred in a seventy years old infidel in that within a minute he not only converted to Islam, but was ready to lay down his life to become a martyr.