Tafsir for verses: 51:38, 51:39, 51:40
وَفِي مُوسَىٰٓ إِذۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَٰهُ إِلَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنَ بِسُلۡطَٰنٖ مُّبِينٖ ٣٨ ﴿38 فَتَوَلَّىٰ بِرُكۡنِهِۦ وَقَالَ سَٰحِرٌ أَوۡ مَجۡنُونٞ ٣٩ ﴿39 فَأَخَذۡنَٰهُ وَجُنُودَهُۥ فَنَبَذۡنَٰهُمۡ فِي ٱلۡيَمِّ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٞ ٤٠ ﴿40
38And (We left a similar sign) in (the story of) Mūsā, when We sent him to Fir‘aun (Pharaoh) with a clear proof. 39So he turned away along with his chiefs and said, “ (Mūsā is) a magician or a madman!” 40So We seized him and his army, and cast them into the sea, as he was of culpable behaviour.
AI-Assisted Translation: This translation was produced by AI agents carefully trained over several months and thoroughly reviewed. It does NOT replace the scholarship of traditional scholars and is intended as a step in the right direction to make classical tafsir more accessible. There may still be inaccuracies—please report them promptly so we can improve the translation quality.

Commentary

And in Moses, it is an addition to 'And in the earth are signs' or to his saying 'And We left in it a sign' meaning: 'And We made in Moses a sign' as His saying: 'I fed it straw and cold water.' So he turned away with his support and became withdrawn and turned away, as His saying: 'And he moved away to the side.' It is said: 'He turned away with what he was strengthened by from his soldiers and his kingdom.' And it is read: 'with his support,' with the 'kaf' pronounced as 'kaf.' And he said: 'A sorcerer,' meaning he is a sorcerer. He brought what he could be blamed for of his disbelief and stubbornness, and the sentence with the 'wa' is a state of the pronoun in 'So We seized him.' If you say: How did the Prophet of Allah Jonah, blessings of Allah be upon him, get described with what Pharaoh was described with in His saying: 'The fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy'? I say: The reasons for blame differ, and according to their difference, the amounts of blame differ. The one who commits a major sin is blameworthy according to its measure, and likewise the one who commits a minor sin. Do you not see His saying: 'And they disobeyed His messengers,' and 'And Adam disobeyed his Lord'? Because the major and minor sins are encompassed by the name of disobedience, just as they are encompassed by the names of ugliness and evil.

Explore Other Scholars on This Verse

Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Adh-Dhariyat verse 38

Al-ZamakhshariAbū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
Learn more about Al-Zamakhshari
2613 / 2978