فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ بِجُنُودِهِۦ فَغَشِيَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْيَمِّ مَا غَشِيَهُمْ 78
Translations
So Pharaoh pursued them with his soldiers, and there covered them from the sea that which covered them,
Transliteration
Fa-atba'ahum fir'awnu bijunudihi fa-ghashiyahum mina al-yammi ma ghashiyahum
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how Pharaoh pursued Moses and the Children of Israel with his armies, and the sea overwhelmed them (Pharaoh and his soldiers) with what it had overwhelmed them with—referring to their complete drowning. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that this verse demonstrates Allah's perfect justice: Pharaoh, who had arrogantly pursued the believers intending their destruction, met his own destruction in the same waters through which the believers had safely passed. The phrase 'what it had overwhelmed them with' underscores the symmetry of divine retribution.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Taha, a Meccan chapter that narrates the story of Moses and Pharaoh as a source of comfort to Prophet Muhammad during the early persecution in Mecca. The broader context describes the miraculous parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites and the subsequent drowning of Pharaoh's army, illustrating Allah's power to save His servants and punish the transgressors.
Related Hadiths
The story of Pharaoh's drowning is corroborated in Surah Al-Maidah (5:78) and other surahs. While no single hadith directly explains this ayah, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim contain hadiths about the final hour and signs of the Day of Judgment where similar themes of divine justice appear.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that those who oppress the faithful and rebel against Allah will ultimately face certain punishment, while the righteous will be protected and saved. It provides reassurance that no tyrant's power is beyond Allah's reach, and that justice, though sometimes delayed, is ultimately inevitable.
Related Ayahs
فَٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلْمُنذَرِينَ
Then look how was the end of those who were warned -
يَوْمَ يَغْشَىٰهُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ مِن فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِن تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ وَيَقُولُ ذُوقُوا۟ مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
On the Day the punishment will cover them from above them and from below their feet and it is said, "Taste [the result of] what you used to do."
وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَٱسْتَحَبُّوا۟ ٱلْعَمَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ فَأَخَذَتْهُمْ صَـٰعِقَةُ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ
And as for Thamūd, We guided them, but they preferred blindness over guidance, so the thunderbolt of humiliating punishment seized them for what they used to earn.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا سَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًا كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُم بَدَّلْنَـٰهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses - We will drive them into a fire. Every time their skins are roasted through, We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allāh is ever Exalted in Might and Wise.