7:141 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

واذكروا - يا بني إسرائيل - نِعَمنا عليكم إذ أنقذناكم من أَسْر فرعون وآله، وما كنتم فيه من الهوان والذلة من تذبيح أبنائكم واستبقاء نسائكم للخدمة، وفي حَمْلِكم على أقبح العذاب وأسوئه، ثم إنجائكم، اختبار من الله لكم ونعمة عظيمة.

ثم ذكرهم بما امتن اللّه به عليهم فقال: وَإِذْ أَنْجَيْنَاكُمْ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ أي: من فرعون وآله يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ أي: يوجهون إليكم من العذاب أسوأه، وهو أنهم كانوا يُقَتِّلُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ وَفِي ذَلِكُمْ النجاة من عذابهم بَلاءٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ أي: نعمة جليلة، ومنحة جزيلة، أو: وفي ذلك العذاب الصادر منهم لكم بلاء من ربكم عليكم عظيم، فلما ذكرهم موسى ووعظهم انتهوا عن ذلك.

يذكرهم موسى عليه السلام نعم الله عليهم من إنقاذهم من أسر فرعون وقهره وما كانوا فيه من الهوان والذلة وما صاروا إليه من العزة والاشتفاء من عدوهم والنظر إليه في حال هوانه وهلاكه وغرقة ودماره وقد تقدم تفسيرها في البقرة.

And remember when We delivered you anjaynākum a variant reading has anjākum ‘He delivered you’ from Pharaoh’s folk who were inflicting upon you who were burdening you and making you taste terrible chastisement the worst kind of chastisement namely slaying your sons and sparing retaining your women; and therein in that deliverance or chastisement was a tremendous trial either a grace or a tribulation from your Lord so will you not heed the admonition and desist from what you are saying?

After the miraculous victory of the Israelites over Pharaoh and his people, and having a life of ease and comfort, they started to show the signs of ignorance as people of wealth show when given a life of luxury and opulence. The first impertinent request they made was to the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) to make for them a god like the gods of the people they saw being worshipped on their way. They (the Israelites) said, يَا مُوسَى اجْعَل لَّنَا إِلَـٰهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ آلِهَةٌ "0 Musa make a god for us like their gods." He said, قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ "You are really an ignorant people." The prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) was greatly annoyed by their ignorance and said that the labour of worship of those people was to go waste. How could he think of making for them a god other than Allah while he had given to them excellence over the people of all the worlds. That is, the people who believed in the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) were superior to all the people of that age.

The next verses remind them of their pitiable condition and their persecutions at the hands of Pharaoh when their sons were killed and their daughters were saved to serve them as their maid-servants. Allah relieved them of this disgraceful chastisement through His prophet. Shall they be as ungrateful to their Lord as to take the abject stones as gods and make them partners with Allah? They must repent to Allah for their transgression.