فَٱلْتَقَطَهُۥٓ ءَالُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا ۗ إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـٰمَـٰنَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا۟ خَـٰطِـِٔينَ 8
Translations
And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief. Indeed, Pharaoh and Hāmān and their soldiers were deliberate sinners.
Transliteration
Wal-taqatahu ālu fir'awna liyakūna lahum 'aduwwan wa hazanan. Inna fir'awna wa Hāmāna wa junūdahumā kānū khāti'īn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how the family of Pharaoh picked up the baby Musa from the river, intending to raise him as their own, yet Allah decreed that he would become their enemy and source of grief. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note the profound irony: Pharaoh's own household became the means of nurturing the one who would destroy his kingdom. The verse emphasizes that Pharaoh, Haman, and their soldiers were transgressors whose sinful plotting was ultimately futile against Allah's divine plan.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the narrative of Musa's birth and early life in Surah Al-Qasas (a Meccan surah). It contextualizes the miraculous preservation of Musa and illustrates the theme of Allah's protection of His messengers despite the plans of their enemies. The surah presents these stories as a consolation to the Prophet Muhammad during Meccan persecution.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly comments on this verse, the story is referenced in various hadith collections discussing the biography of Musa. See related discussions in Tafsir Ibn Kathir regarding the narrative of Musa's mother and the preservation of the prophets.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that Allah's plans transcend human understanding and schemes; what appears as a victory for the arrogant (Pharaoh gaining a child) becomes their ultimate downfall, reminding believers to trust in Allah's wisdom even when circumstances seem adverse.
Related Ayahs
وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَنُرِىَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـٰمَـٰنَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَحْذَرُونَ
And establish them in the land and show Pharaoh and [his minister] Hāmān and their soldiers through them that which they had feared.
قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أُوتِيتُهُۥ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ عِندِىٓ ۚ أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِن قَبْلِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا ۚ وَلَا يُسْـَٔلُ عَن ذُنُوبِهِمُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ
He said, "I was only given it because of knowledge I have." Did he not know that Allāh had destroyed before him of generations those who were greater than him in power and greater in accumulation [of wealth]? But the criminals, about their sins, will not be asked.
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِى مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ
Indeed, [O Muḥammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allāh guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
مَن جَآءَ بِٱلْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُۥ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن جَآءَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجْزَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَمِلُوا۟ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
Whoever comes [on the Day of Judgement] with a good deed will have better than it; and whoever comes with an evil deed - then those who did evil deeds will not be recompensed except [as much as] what they used to do.