His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So none believed in Moses except a few from his people, on account of fear of Pharaoh and their chiefs, lest he should cause them to be tried. And indeed, Pharaoh was high in the land, and indeed, he was of the transgressors." And Moses said, "O my people, if you have believed in Allah, then put your trust in Him if you are Muslims." They said, "Upon Allah we have put our trust. Our Lord, do not make us a trial for the wrongdoing people. And save us by Your mercy from the disbelieving people." The meaning: So none believed in Moses, and the word "believed" can be transitive with 'bi' or 'li', and in the context, the 'bi' is implied. The interpreters differed regarding the return of the pronoun in "his people." A group said: It refers back to Moses, blessings and peace be upon him. Another group said: It refers back to Pharaoh. Those who said that the return is to Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, said: The meaning of the verse describes the state of Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, at the beginning of his mission, that none believed in him except for a few youths and young men, most of whom were from families that were under fear from Pharaoh and from the chiefs of the Children of Israel. Thus, the pronoun in "the chiefs" refers back to the descendants. And the 'fa' in this interpretation would be a conjunction of sentence to sentence, not a sequential one. Some of those who said the pronoun returns to Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, stated that the meaning of the verse is that a group reached him, blessings and peace be upon him, and did not believe in him, and only their descendants believed after their destruction due to the long duration of time. This was said by Mujahid and Al-Amash, and this statement is not clear. If a people believe after the death of their fathers, there is no meaning in specifying them with the name of descendants. Also, what has been narrated from the news of the Children of Israel does not support this. The structure of his saying: "So none believed" indicates a reduction in the believers in him, for he denied belief and then affirmed it for some. If the majority were believers, he would have affirmed belief first and then denied it for the minority. On this basis, the statement of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, regarding the descendants is favored: "Indeed, it is the few," not that he intended that the word descendants means the few as thought by Makki and others. A group said: They were called descendants because their mothers were from the Children of Israel and their fathers were from the Copts. Thus, they were referred to as the descendants, just as the Persians of Yemen were called the sons, and they are the Persians who moved with Wahraz by the effort of Sayf ibn Dhiyazan, and the matter is complete in the histories. Al-Suddi said: They were seventy households from the people of Pharaoh. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And among what weakens the return of the pronoun to Moses, peace be upon him, is that the known from the news of the Children of Israel is that they were a people upon whom prophecies had preceded. They were in the time of Pharaoh subjected to extreme humiliation and they hoped for its removal through a child who would emerge among them to be a prophet. So when Moses, peace be upon him, came to them, they applauded him and followed him, and it has never been preserved that a group of the Children of Israel disbelieved in him. So how can this verse indicate that the least of them was the one who believed? What is more likely, based on this, is that the pronoun refers back to Pharaoh, and this is also supported by what has preceded from the dialogue of Moses, peace be upon him, and his response to them and his rebuke of them for their saying: 'This is magic.' Allah mentioned that about them, then said: 'And no one believed in Moses except a progeny from the people of Pharaoh, whose sayings are these.' It has been narrated in this regard that the wife of Pharaoh, his treasurer, the wife of his treasurer, and some youth from his people believed - this was said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them - and the magicians as well, for they are counted among the people of Pharaoh. The story, according to this interpretation, would be after the manifestation of the verse and the challenge with the staff, and the 'so' would be arranging the meanings that were mentioned.

And for the belief of Al-Farra' and others in the return of the pronoun to Moses, peace be upon him, they stumbled in the return of the pronoun in 'their assembly.' Some of them said: The mention of Pharaoh, who is the king, includes the group and the soldiers, as you say: 'The caliph has come, and the king has traveled,' and you mean his armies with him. Al-Farra' said: The meaning is 'out of fear from the family of Pharaoh and their assembly,' and it is from the same category as: 'And ask the town.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this analogy is not good because the omission of the added in his saying: 'And ask the town' is permissible due to what is understood that the town does not ask, so there is an apparent evidence for what is implied. As for here, the fear from Pharaoh is established and does not require implication. However, he might argue that the collective pronoun in 'and their assembly' necessitates that, and fear is only from the actions and events that relate to the body. But due to the frequent usage and the intention of brevity, it has been added to the individuals.

And his saying: 'That he may tempt them' is a replacement for 'Pharaoh,' which is a replacement of inclusion. So 'that' is in the position of genitive, and it is correct for it to be in the position of accusative for the sake of it. Al-Hasan and Al-Jarrah read: 'That he may tempt them' with the 'ya' being pronounced. Then he informed about Pharaoh's arrogance in the land, excess in actions, killing, and claims, so that the excuse of the fearful may be clarified.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And Moses said, O my people﴾ until ﴿the disbelievers﴾. This is the beginning of the narration of the words of Moses, peace be upon him, to the group of the believing Children of Israel, comforting them and urging them to rely on Allah, in whose hand is victory. The matter of reliance is complex for people, and what I say is that the reliance we have been commanded is accompanied by a beautiful cause according to the Shariah. This is what is meant in His saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Tie it and rely (on Allah)," for He made him rely while also tying it. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is the head of the reliant ones, and he caused throughout his entire life. Likewise, all the predecessors did the same. If a reliant person strays and completely abandons the cause, then it is a high rank as long as he does not overdo it to the extent of killing himself or destroying himself. Like one who enters a hidden cave relying on it, this and similar actions are disliked by a group of scholars. And what has been narrated about the daring of Amir ibn Qais against the lion and similar matters is weak. However, for the authentic parts of it, there are indications that facilitate it. And for all Muslims, Allah, exalted is He, said: ﴿There is no blame upon you for seeking bounty from your Lord﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 198]. And to them, He said: ﴿And upon Allah, let them rely﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 23]. And the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in praising the seventy thousand from his nation: "And upon their Lord, they rely" does not imply that they completely abandon the cause. Nor has it been preserved from Ukasha that he abandoned the cause, but he used to engage in battles and take his arrows. And by that, I mean abandoning the cause in food. As for abandoning the cause in medicine, it is easy, and many people are naturally inclined to it without intention or calculation. So how about one who intends? And he said to them: ﴿If you have believed﴾ while knowing their belief in order to establish the proof, awaken the souls, and stir the pride, as you say: "If you are a man, then fight," addressing a man in order to establish his own self. And His saying: ﴿If you are Muslims﴾ means: people of obedience added to the conditional belief. Thus, mentioning Islam in it adds meaning. Then he mentioned that he responded to the Children of Israel with the intention of relying on Allah and articulating that. Then they prayed that He does not make them a trial for the oppressors, and the meaning is: do not bring upon us a calamity by their hands or otherwise during our period of proximity to them, so they would be tried and believe that our destruction is intended by You due to the badness of our religion and the righteousness of their religion, and that they are the people of truth. This was said by Mujahid and others. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So this supplication - according to this interpretation - includes the removal of two separations. One of them is: the killing and the affliction that the believers anticipated, and the other is: the emergence of polytheism with its people believing that they are the people of truth. In that is the corruption of the earth. And a similar meaning is found in the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Wretched is the dead Abu Umamah for the Jews and the polytheists, they say: If he were a prophet, his companion would not have died." The wording can be interpreted in various ways, and a group has said: The meaning is: Do not tempt them and test them by killing us, so that You punish them for that in the Hereafter. And in this interpretation, there is clear anxiety.