فَٱنتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَكَانُوا۟ عَنْهَا غَـٰفِلِينَ 136
Translations
So We took retribution from them, and We drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.
Transliteration
Faintaqamnā minhum fa-aghraaqnāhum fil-yammi bi-annahum kadhdhābū bi-āyātinā wa-kānū 'anhā ghāfilīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes Allah's retribution against Pharaoh and his people for their rejection and heedlessness of the divine signs. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that drowning in the sea was the appropriate punishment (istiwfā') for those who denied the clear miracles shown to them through Prophet Musa. The emphasis on their inattentiveness (ghāfilīn) indicates that their destruction resulted not merely from disbelief, but from willful negligence and arrogance despite witnessing manifest proofs.
Revelation Context
This ayah concludes the narrative of Pharaoh and the Children of Israel within Surah Al-A'raf, which recounts stories of prophets and their peoples. The context details how the Egyptians were given nine clear signs (the plagues) yet persisted in rejection and mockery, leading to their inevitable punishment. This narrative serves as a warning to the Meccan disbelievers of the consequences of rejecting prophetic messages.
Related Hadiths
The story of Pharaoh's drowning is referenced in various hadiths discussing the punishment of the arrogant. See Sunan Ibn Majah on the final state of Pharaoh's body being preserved as a sign. Additionally, hadiths in Sahih Muslim discuss how those who reject clear signs face swift punishment in this life.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that persistent rejection and willful neglect of divine guidance inevitably leads to ruin, while it encourages mindfulness (yaqẓah) and attentiveness to Allah's signs in creation and revelation. For modern readers, it serves as a cautionary reminder that ignorance or indifference toward truth is not an excuse, and that accountability before Allah is certain.
Related Ayahs
فَإِذَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ قَالُوا۟ لَنَا هَـٰذِهِۦ ۖ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُوا۟ بِمُوسَىٰ وَمَن مَّعَهُۥٓ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّمَا طَـٰٓئِرُهُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
But when good [i.e., provision] came to them, they said, "This is ours [by right]." And if a bad [condition] struck them, they saw an evil omen in Moses and those with him. Unquestionably, their fortune is with Allāh, but most of them do not know.
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا تَأْوِيلَهُۥ ۚ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى تَأْوِيلُهُۥ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ فَهَل لَّنَا مِن شُفَعَآءَ فَيَشْفَعُوا۟ لَنَآ أَوْ نُرَدُّ فَنَعْمَلَ غَيْرَ ٱلَّذِى كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ ۚ قَدْ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ
Do they await except its result? The Day its result comes, those who had ignored it before will say, "The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth, so are there [now] any intercessors to intercede for us or could we be sent back to do other than what we used to do?" They will have lost themselves, and lost from them is what they used to invent.
وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فِىٓ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْا۟ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّوا۟ قَالُوا۟ لَئِن لَّمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ
And when regret overcame them and they saw that they had gone astray, they said, "If our Lord does not have mercy upon us and forgive us, we will surely be among the losers."
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّۢا بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ ۚ وَنَادَوْا۟ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ
And between them will be a partition [i.e., wall], and on [its] elevations are men who recognize all by their mark. And they call out to the companions of Paradise, "Peace be upon you." They have not [yet] entered it, but they long intensely.