Surah 40

Surah 40:26

"Pharaoh said, ‘Let me kill Moses, and let him call on his Lord. Surely I fear that he will change your religion, or that he will cause corruption to appear on the earth.’"
The Story of Musa and Fir'awn Verses 40:23-27
Show Full Scripture Context (40:23-27) — 5 Verses
Verse 23

وَلَقَدۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مُوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَسُلۡطَٰنٖ مُّبِينٍ

Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs and clear authority

Verse 24

إِلَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَهَٰمَٰنَ وَقَٰرُونَ فَقَالُواْ سَٰحِرٞ كَذَّابٞ

to Pharaoh, and Haman, and Qārūn, but they said, ‘A magician, a liar!’

Verse 25

فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم بِٱلۡحَقِّ مِنۡ عِندِنَا قَالُواْ ٱقۡتُلُوٓاْ أَبۡنَآءَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُۥ وَٱسۡتَحۡيُواْ نِسَآءَهُمۡۚ وَمَا كَيۡدُ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَٰلٖ

When he brought them the truth from Us, they said, ‘Kill the sons of those who believe with him, and keep their women alive.’ Yet the plot of the disbelievers always goes astray.

Verse 26

وَقَالَ فِرۡعَوۡنُ ذَرُونِيٓ أَقۡتُلۡ مُوسَىٰ وَلۡيَدۡعُ رَبَّهُۥٓۖ إِنِّيٓ أَخَافُ أَن يُبَدِّلَ دِينَكُمۡ أَوۡ أَن يُظۡهِرَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ ٱلۡفَسَادَ

Pharaoh said, ‘Let me kill Moses, and let him call on his Lord. Surely I fear that he will change your religion, or that he will cause corruption to appear on the earth.’

Verse 27

وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِنِّي عُذۡتُ بِرَبِّي وَرَبِّكُم مِّن كُلِّ مُتَكَبِّرٖ لَّا يُؤۡمِنُ بِيَوۡمِ ٱلۡحِسَابِ

Moses said, ‘I take refuge with my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one (who) does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.’

Allah consoles His Prophet Muhammad for the disbelief of his people and gives him the glad tidings of good consequences and victory in this world and the Hereafter, as happened to Musa bin 'Imran, peace be upon him, whom Allah sent with clear proof and definitive evidence. Allah says: {with Our Ayat, and a manifest authority}. Authority means proof and evidence. {to Fir'awn}, who was the king of the Copts of Egypt. {Haman} who was his adviser. {and Qarun} who was the richest trader among the people of his time. {but they called (him): "A sorcerer, liar!"} means, they rejected him and thought he was a sorcerer, a madman and an illusionist who was telling lies about having been sent by Allah. This is like the Ayah: {Likewise, no Messenger came to those before them but they said: "A sorcerer or a madman!" Have they transmitted this saying to these? Nay, they are themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds!} (51:52-53) {Then, when he brought them the Truth from Us,} means, with definite evidence that Allah had sent him to them, {they said: "Kill with him the sons of those who believe and let their women live;} This was a second command from Fir'awn to kill the males of the Children of Israel. The first command had been as a precaution against the emergence of a man like Musa, or an act intended to humiliate this people or reduce their numbers or both. The second command was for the second reason, to humiliate the people so that they would regard Musa as a bad omen, they said: {'We (Children of Israel) had suffered troubles before you came to us, and since you have come to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth, so that He may see how you act?"} (7:129). Qatadah said, this was one command after another. {but the plots of disbelievers are nothing but in vain!} means, their schemes and intentions - to reduce the numbers of the Children of Israel lest they prevail over them - were doomed to failure. It was reported in the Hadith narrated from Abu Musa, may Allah be pleased with him, that when the Messenger of Allah was afraid of some people, he would say: «O Allah, we seek refuge in You from their evil and we seek Your help in repulsing them.»

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Page 464-467)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.