His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿And We inspired to Moses, 'Travel by night with My servants; indeed, you will be pursued.'﴾ ﴿So Pharaoh sent among the cities gatherers.﴾ ﴿Indeed, those are but a small band.﴾ ﴿And indeed, they are enraging us.﴾ ﴿And indeed, we are a cautious group.﴾ ﴿So We brought them out from gardens and springs.﴾ ﴿And treasures and a noble position.﴾ ﴿Thus, We inherited it to the Children of Israel.﴾ ﴿So they followed them at sunrise.﴾ ﴿And when the two companies saw each other, the companions of Moses said, 'Indeed, we are to be overtaken.'﴾ ﴿He said, 'No! Indeed, my Lord is with me; He will guide me.'﴾

Then, when Allah, exalted and glorified is He, intended to manifest His matter in the salvation of the Children of Israel and the drowning of Pharaoh and his people, He commanded Moses, peace be upon him, to leave with the Children of Israel at night from Egypt. He informed him that they would be pursued and commanded him to head towards the sea. He commanded him to borrow the jewelry of the Egyptians and their wealth, and to take as much of their property as they could. This is what some of the interpreters have narrated. He commanded him to prepare provisions, so he instructed him to take unleavened bread because it lasts longer and is more stable. It has been reported that the urgency made them neglect preparing provisions. Moses, peace be upon him, left with the Children of Israel at dawn. He left the road to the Levant on his left and headed towards the sea. A man from the Children of Israel would say to him about leaving the road, and Moses, peace be upon him, would say, 'This is what I was commanded.' When Pharaoh woke up and learned of Moses' departure with the Children of Israel, he went out in pursuit of them and sent to the cities of Egypt to gather the troops. It has been reported that he caught up with them and had with him six hundred thousand dark horses, besides other colors. It has been reported that the Children of Israel were six hundred thousand and seventy thousand, as said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. And Allah knows best about its authenticity. What is necessary from the verse that can be concluded is that Moses, peace be upon him, left with a great multitude among the Children of Israel, and that Pharaoh followed him with multiples of that number. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said that there were a thousand mighty men with Pharaoh, all of them wearing crowns, and all of them were commanders of cavalry.

And 'the small band' refers to a small, insignificant gathering. 'Small band' of anything is its worthless remainder. Abu Ubaidah recited:

؎ Striving in the small remnants of sandals.

And another said:

؎ Winter has come, and my shirt is torn, ∗∗∗ The remnants of which the longing one laughs at.

And His saying: 'enraging' means: contrary to them in the matter and by taking their wealth without permission and their fleeing from them that night, as it has been narrated. Abu Hatim said: And one who should not be taken from read: [a small band]. And this is not a stopping point.

Ibn Kathir and Abu Amr read: 'cautious,' which is the plural of 'cautious,' and it is here non-working. Likewise, it is in the words of Abu Ahmar:

؎ Has anyone ever forgotten a day other than it? ∗∗∗ Indeed, I am cautious, and indeed, I am careful.

And there was a difference regarding the action of (he acted), so Sibawayh said: It is an acting verb, and he recited:

؎ Cautious of matters that do not harm, and safe, ∗∗∗ What does not save him from fate.

And Al-Lahqi claimed that this verse is a distortion of Sibawayh. And Asim, Ibn Amir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "Hadhirun" which is the one who has begun to be cautious. And Abbas ibn Mirdas said:

'And I am cautious, I sharpen my weapon To the limbs of Dhiyal, made by hand.'

And Ibn Abi Ammarah and Sumait ibn Ajlan read: "Hadirun" with the dal unpointed, from their saying: "Ayn hadrah" meaning: filled. So the meaning is: filled with anger and pride.

And the pronoun in His saying, the Exalted, "So We brought them out" refers back to the Copts. And "the gardens and the springs" are at the banks of the Nile from Aswan to Rashid, as said by Ibn Umar - may Allah be pleased with them - and others. And "the treasures" (p-485) it is said: it refers to the wealth that they destroyed. Mujahid said: because they never spent it in obedience. And it is said: it refers to the treasures of Al-Maqattam and its demands, which remain to this day. "And the noble abode" Ibn Lahiah said: it is Al-Fayyum, and it is said: it means the pulpits, and it is said: the gatherings of the princes and rulers. And Al-Hasan said: the beautiful gatherings. And Al-A'raj and Qatadah read with a damm of the mim, from: "Aqama."

And the inheritance of the Children of Israel has two possible meanings: one is that Allah has inherited them this bank from the land of Ash-Sham, and the other is that He inherited them Egypt but after a long period of time, as Al-Hasan said, noting that the histories did not include the kingdom of the Children of Israel in Egypt. And "Mushriqin" means: at the rising of the sun, meaning: when they entered it. And it is said: it means: towards the east. And Al-Hasan read: "Fatab'uhum" with the connection of the alif and emphasis on the ta.

So when Pharaoh caught up with his army, the army of Musa, peace be upon him, and drew near to them, and the Children of Israel saw the strong enemy behind them and the sea before them, their thoughts became bad. And they said to Musa, peace be upon him - in a tone of reproach and rudeness -: "Indeed, we are surely overtaken." Meaning: this is your way. So he responded to their words and rebuked them, and mentioned Allah's promise, the Blessed and Exalted, to him of guidance and victory. And the majority read: "Indeed, we are surely overtaken," and Al-A'raj and Ubaid ibn Umair read: "Indeed, we are surely being overtaken" with emphasis on the dal and opening of the ra, meaning: it will continue to come upon us until we perish. And Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "Taree'u al-jam'ain" with a kasra of the ra with length then with a hamzah, and it was narrated similarly from Asim, and it was also narrated from him opened and lengthened. And the majority read it like (p-486) "Tara'a," and this is the correct one; because it is a mutual action. Abu Hatim said: and Hamzah's reading in this letter is impossible, and he criticized it and said: and what was narrated from Ibn Wathab and Al-Amash is a mistake.