﴿To Pharaoh﴾ the tyrant of the Copts ﴿and his elite﴾ meaning: the nobles of his people whom the followers pursue, because the greater aim is to lift their hands from the Children of Israel.

And when the one who advises himself is one who does not follow anyone except in what he knows to be right, he said, marveling at the elite, pointing to their quick denial of the clear signs and their following in what is clearly misguided to anyone who has insight: ﴿So they followed﴾ meaning: it resulted from this remarkable matter that Pharaoh disobeyed and his elite compelled themselves to follow our will in that (p-369) of them ﴿the command of Pharaoh﴾ [meaning: all that they understand from him that he desires and commands]. And the lowly followed them, and they all agreed on opposition except for whom Allah willed among them. ﴿And what﴾ meaning: while it is that ﴿the command of Pharaoh is not wise﴾ meaning: sound, although in this follow-up after mentioning Thamud there is a reminder with the two signs of the she-camel and the staff indicating the power over the resurrection mentioned at the beginning of the surah, which causes fear of every good, just as that was also one of the benefits of following the story of Ibrahim with the story of Salih, peace be upon them both. And he limited here to mentioning Pharaoh and his people because the purpose of these stories - as previously mentioned - is to strengthen in the struggle by conveying the warning, even if the hatred of the warners intensified and the followers among them decreased, and that nothing of it should be left out of fear of their persistence or their turning away, nor hope for their acceptance and the multitude of their believers. And this is the state of the family of Pharaoh. As for the Children of Israel, they did not stop except out of fear of Pharaoh at the beginning, then they all agreed on following, then after that, they gradually began to change not out of hatred for the warning but for other matters and the wonders of destiny as clarified in their stories; and the elite: the nobles whose awe fills the hearts when they are seen; and following: the second party seeking to act in accordance with the first in any direction taken, and it may be out of dislike contrary to obedience; and the command: the obligation in the form of 'do', which includes the will of what is commanded in general, and it may not be intended to comply with the exact (p-370) command; and the wise: the one who leads to good and guides to it.