His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"And We crossed with the Children of Israel the sea, so Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, transgressing and seeking to harm them, until when drowning overtook him, he said, 'I believe that there is no deity except that in which the Children of Israel have believed, and I am of the Muslims.'"

"Now? And you had disobeyed before and were of the corruptors?"

"So today We will save you in body, that you may be to those who come after you a sign. And indeed, many of the people are, of Our signs, unaware."

Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan read: "And We crossed" with a strong waw and without the alif. It seems to me that "crossed" was written in some copies without the alif. The saying regarding their crossing has already been mentioned in Al-Baqarah and Al-A'raf.

The majority of the people read: "And We crossed" because it is said: 'followed' and 'pursued' have the same meaning. Qatadah and Al-Hasan read: "so he followed them" with a strong ta. Abu Hatim said: The reading "pursued" with the cutting of the alif is because it implies reaching, and "followed" with a strong ta is the seeking of the trace whether it is reached or not.

It has been narrated that the Children of Israel who crossed the sea were six hundred thousand. And Jacob had initially settled in Egypt with more than seventy thousand of his descendants, and they multiplied until they reached the mentioned number at the time of Moses. It has been narrated that Pharaoh had eight hundred thousand dark horses, excluding the remaining colors of the horses. It has been narrated that these numbers are less than this.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is weak, and what the words of the Quran imply is that the Children of Israel had a large gathering in themselves, but little in comparison to the people of Pharaoh who were following.

And Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, the Kufans, and a group read: "seeking to harm" on the model of: 'raided a raid.' Al-Hasan and Qatadah read: "and seeking to harm" on the model of: 'rose a rise.' And His saying: "drowning overtook him" means in the sea. It has been narrated regarding this that when Pharaoh reached the sea and found it split, and the Children of Israel walked in it, he said to his people: 'It has only split by my command.' And he was on a male horse. So Allah, exalted and majestic is He, sent Gabriel, peace be upon him, on a female horse and a small horse, and he entered the sea with it. Pharaoh's horse followed behind him, and the troops urged on behind him. When he saw the split remaining for him, he continued. And Allah, exalted and majestic is He, sent Michael to drive the people until they all reached the sea, and it closed upon them at that time. When Pharaoh witnessed this, he said what is narrated about him in this verse.

And the majority of the people read: "Annahu" with a فتح (fatha) on the alif. It is possible that it is in the position of نصب (nasb), and it is possible that it is in the position of خفض (khabr) by dropping the باء (ba). Hamzah, al-Kisai, and Abu Amr read: "Innahu" with a كسر (kasra) on the alif, either based on the implied فعل (fi'l), meaning: "I believed, so I said: Innahu," or based on the completion of the speech in His saying: ﴿آمَنتُ﴾, then a new statement begins: "Innahu." It has been narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that "Jibril (Gabriel), peace be upon him, said: 'I have never hated anyone as much as I hate Fir'aun (Pharaoh), and I heard him say: ﴿آمَنتُ﴾ the verse, so I took from the state of the sea and filled his mouth out of fear that Allah's mercy would catch up with him.'" In some narrations: "Out of fear that he would say: There is no deity except Allah, and mercy would catch up with him."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So look at the words of Fir'aun, for in them is confusion and stuttering. There is no excuse for anyone in ignorance of this. The only excuse is for what there is no way to know, like the saying of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: "I declared the intention of pilgrimage as the Prophet ﷺ did, while the condition was mud." This is also in the strange compilation and others. The evidence for this is abundant, differing in wording but the meaning is one. The action of Jibril, peace be upon him, resembles that he believed in the permissibility of forgiveness for the repentant even if he witnessed, and he did not have prior knowledge from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, that repentance after witnessing is of no benefit.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Al-ān wa qad 'asayta﴾ the verse, Abu Ali said: Know that the لام (lam) of المعرفة (ma'rifah) when it enters upon a word whose first letter is همزة (hamzah), the همزة is softened. There are two ways to soften it; one is that it is omitted and its vowel is given to the لام, and the همزة of الوصل (wasl) is established in it, so it is said: "Al-Hamr." Sibawayh narrated this, and Abu Uthman narrated from Abu al-Hasan that some people say: "Lahmar," omitting the hamzah of wasl. From that is the saying of the poet:

And you used to hide the seed of the reddish one for a long time, So it has been revealed by that which you are selling.

Nafi' read in the narration of Warsh without disagreement: "Al-ān" with the lengthening of the hamzah and the opening of the lam. The others read with the lengthening of the hamzah and the sukoon (silence) of the lam and the hamzah of the second. A group read: "Alan" with the shortening of the hamzah and the opening of the lam and the softening of the second. The majority of the people read: "Al-ān" with the shortening of the first and the sukoon of the lam and the hamzah of the second.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the readings of the softening of the hamzah are arranged according to what Abu Ali said, so contemplate it. For the first (reading) is in the language of those who say: "Al-Hamr," and this is in the context of reproaching him and announcing the anger against him. This wording may have been heard by Fir'aun from a messenger angel from Allah and however Allah willed. It is possible that the meaning of this speech is the meaning of his state and the image of his disgrace. And this verse is a text in rejecting the repentance of the witness.

'And His saying, exalted is He: "So today We will save you"—this verse strengthens what we have mentioned about it being a depiction of the situation. This wording appears to have been said after his drowning. The reason for this statement, as has been narrated, is that the Children of Israel, after the drowning of Pharaoh and his destruction, found it hard to believe that Pharaoh would die. So he was saved on a piece of land until they all saw him dead, as if he were a red bull. They confirmed his drowning. A group read: "So today We will save you," while another group said its meaning is: from salvation, that is, from the waves of the sea and the water. A group said its meaning is: We will place you on a piece of land, which is what has risen from it. This is similar to the saying of Aws ibn Hujr:

"So whoever is on his back is like one who is on a piece of land, and the one who is hidden is like one who walks on the ground."

And Ya'qub read: "We will save you" with the noon being silent and the jeem being lightened. Ubayy ibn Ka'b read: "We will remove you" with a doubled ha from the meaning of removal. This is the reading of Muhammad ibn al-Samif'ah al-Yamani and Yazid al-Baridi. One group said the meaning of "with your body" is: with your armor. Another group said its meaning is: with your person. A group read: "with your call," meaning: with your words: "I have believed" until the end of the verse. It seems that "with your call" could be written without an alif in some copies of the Qur'an. The meaning of the verse is that We will make you a sign along with your call that does not benefit. A group read: "after you," meaning: those who come after you. Another group read: "behind you," and the meaning is that Allah will make you a sign for Him among His servants.

Then He, exalted and glorified, clarified to His servants with His saying: "And indeed, many of the people are heedless of Our signs." This is a report that contains a threat.