Surah Al-A'raf 7:129

Fir`awn vows to kill the Children of Israel, Who complain to Musa; Allah promises Them Victory

Allah mentions the conspiracy of Fir`awn and his people, their ill intentions and their hatred for Musa and his people.

(The chiefs of Fir`awn's people said), to Fir`awn,

("Will you leave Musa and his people"), will you let them be free,

("to spread mischief in the land"), spreading unrest among your subjects and calling them to worship their Lord instead of you Amazingly, these people were worried that Musa and his people would cause mischief! Rather, Fir`awn and his people are the mischief-makers, but they did not realize it. They said,

("and to abandon you and your gods") `Your gods', according to Ibn `Abbas, as As-Suddi narrated from him, "Were cows. Whenever they saw a beautiful cow, Fir`awn would command them to worship it. This is why As-Samiri, made the statue of a calf that seemed to moo for the Children of Israel." Fir`awn accepted his people's recommendation, saying,

("We will kill their sons, and let their women live") thus reiterating his previous order concerning the Children of Israel. He had tormented them killing every newly born male before Musa was born, so that Musa would not live. However, the opposite of what Fir`awn sought and intended occurred. The same end struck Fir`awn that he intended to subjugate and humiliate the Children of Israel with. Allah gave victory to the Children of Israel, humiliated and disgraced Fir`awn, and caused him to drown along with his soldiers. When Fir`awn insisted on his evil plot against the Children of Israel,

(Musa said to his people: "Seek help in Allah and be patient") and promised them that the good end will be theirs and that they will prevail, saying,

("Verily, the earth is Allah's. He gives it as a heritage to whom He wills of His servants; and the (blessed) end is for the pious and righteous persons." They said: "We suffered troubles before you came to us, and since you have come to us.") The Children of Israel replied to Musa, `they (Fir`awn and his people) inflicted humiliation and disgrace on us, some you witnessed, both before and after you came to us, O Musa'! Musa replied, reminding them of their present situation and how it will change in the future,

("It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy. ..") encouraging them to appreciate Allah when the afflictions are removed and replaced by a bounty.

Bani Israil mengeluh kepada Musa a.s, bahwa nasib mereka sama saja, baik sebelum kedatangan Musa a.s, untuk menyeru mereka kepada agama Allah dan melepaskan mereka dari perbudakan Firaun maupun sesudahnya. Mereka merasa tidak mendapat faedah dari kedatangan Nabi Musa as itu. Dahulu mereka diazab dan diperbudak oleh Firaun, anak-anak mereka dibunuh, mereka disuruh kerja paksa, sekarang pun demikian. Keluhan ini menunjukkan kekerdilan jiwa dan kelemahan daya juang dan tidak adanya kesabaran pada mereka.

Mendengar keluhan ini, maka Nabi Musa berkata, "Mudah-mudahan Allah membinasakan musuh kamu dan menjadikan kamu khalifah di bumi, maka Allah akan melihat bagaimana perbuatanmu," maksudnya: meskipun yang terjadi demikian akan tetapi harapan bahwa Allah akan membinasakan musuh-musuhmu, dan menjadikan kamu berkuasa di bagian bumi yang telah dijanjikan Tuhanmu harus tetap ada.

Di dalam ucapan kepada kaumnya, Nabi Musa as memakai ungkapan "mudah-mudahan." Ia memakai ungkapan tersebut untuk tidak memastikan datangnya pertolongan dan rahmat Allah kepada mereka. Sebab andaikata ia menggunakan ungkapan yang memastikan, boleh jadi umatnya akan mengabaikan kewajiban-kewajiban yang perlu mereka lakukan untuk memperoleh pertolongan Allah, karena pertolongan Allah kepada hamba-Nya tidaklah diberikan begitu saja, melainkan tergantung kepada usaha-usaha yang dilakukan umat yang bersangkutan, misalnya kesungguhan, disiplin, persatuan, dan sebagainya.