And when Pharaoh was described by the greatness of his state, the multitude of soldiers, the wealth, and the vastness of the kingdom, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, belittled his world by belittling all the world that is part of it. He did this by mentioning it briefly, without establishing it as in the story of 'Aad, where He said: ﴿And they were followed﴾ by the building for the action; because what is meant to be condemned is the action itself, not its existence from a specific source ﴿in this﴾ meaning this despicable life ﴿is a curse﴾. They are cursed in it by every curser among the Muslims and others from the people of the religions. So, the curse of Allah is upon whoever beautifies their state and approves of their misguidance for misleading the servants from the people of heresy by the trial of union. ﴿And on the Day of Resurrection﴾ also, the cursers will curse them, even the friends of union on that day will be enemies to one another, except for the pious; then He clarified what is appropriate for the listener of that by saying: ﴿What a wretched provision is the provision provided﴾ meaning the following companion and the assistance (p-371) that is assisted. For indeed, the curse follows their punishment in this world and is followed [by the curse] in the Hereafter, and the punishment is a provision for it, and it is a provision for him. The root of 'rafada' revolves around following, or it may be intended that their curse is continuously intertwined, each one following the other. So, every curse is a follow-up to something of disgrace: punishment or curse, followed by an additional curse connected to it, and this is called a provision, which is the true meaning of assistance, as in their saying: 'A greeting among them is a form of interaction.'

And the meaning of ﴿They advance﴾ [Hud: 98] is that they will be ahead of them [without] a driver for them, rather they are closely following in his footsteps, so their entry into the Fire will be together; and the Resurrection: the standing from death for reckoning; and following: the second's pursuit to catch up with the first in how he acted; and the curse from Allah: being distanced from mercy by the ruling of that, and from the servants: the supplication for it.