165 Page Notes

07 Surah Al-Araf (continued)

Page 165 - Related Hadith/Sunnah

7:121

7:122

7:123

7:124

7:125

7:126

7:127

7:128

7:129

7:130

Translation of the meaning by Sahih International.

Page 165 - Related Hadiths and Sunnah

Page 165 of the Quran covers Surah Al-A'raf (The Heights), verses 121 through 130.

This page records the immediate aftermath of the duel. Incensed by the public defection of his own magicians, Pharaoh launches into a tyrannical rage, threatening them with mass crucifixion and amputation. The newly enlightened magicians respond with absolute resilience, praying for steadfastness (Sabr). As Pharaoh turns his state apparatus to persecute the Children of Israel, Prophet Musa (Moses) consoles his people with reminders of ultimate divine victory. The page concludes by showing how Allah began breaking Egypt's hubris through agricultural failure, drought, and crop shortages.

The Sunnah and authentic Hadiths provide profound context regarding facing political tyranny, the prophetic legacy of patient endurance, and how environmental afflictions serve as structural warnings.

1. Tyranny, Crucifixion, and the Martyrdom of the Magicians

“[Pharaoh] said, 'You believed in him before I gave you permission... I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides; then I will surely crucify you all.' They said, 'Indeed, to our Lord we will return. And you do not resent us except because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as Muslims.'”

— Surah Al-A'raf (7:123–126)

Pharaoh introduced a brutal form of psychological and physical terror: cross-amputation (chopping off the right hand and left foot) followed by public display on palm trees. The magicians' transformation was absolute; in a single morning they went from seeking Pharaoh's petty payroll to welcoming martyrdom for Allah.

A. The Prophetic Parallel of Firmness Under Threat

The Sunnah documents that the true followers of the Prophets have always faced exactly what the magicians faced. The Prophet Muhammad comforted his early companions, when they were being tortured in Mecca, by citing this exact historical reality.

• Hadith: Khabbab bin Al-Arat narrated: "We complained to the Messenger of Allah while he was leaning against his cloak in the shade of the Kaaba. We said, 'Will you not ask Allah to help us? Will you not pray for us?' He sat up and said:
  'Among those who came before you, a man would be seized, a ditch would be dug for him, and he would be thrown into it. Then a saw would be brought and placed on his head, splitting him into two halves. His flesh would be scraped off his bones with iron combs—yet none of this would make him turn away from his religion. By Allah, this matter [Islam] will be completed until a rider can travel from Sana'a to Hadramaut fearing none but Allah... but you are being hasty.'"
  (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3612)

2. Musa’s Formula for Ultimate Victory

“Said Moses to his people, 'Seek help through Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [ultimate] outcome is for the righteous.'”

— Surah Al-A'raf (7:128)

As the state elders pressed Pharaoh to slaughter the newborn sons of the believers again (Verse 127), Musa didn't rally his people to physical arms or panic. He redirected their gaze to the cosmic reality: empires are temporary tenants, but God owns the soil.

A. How Allah Aids the Community Through the Vulnerable

Musa's strategy of relying on prayer and patience rather than standard military might is a core principle in the Sunnah. The Prophet explained that a community's true defense often comes from the spiritual resilience of its weakest members.

• Hadith: Mus'ab bin Sa'd narrated that his father, Sa'd, thought he was superior to those who were below him in status. The Prophet corrected him, saying:
  "Are you given victory and provided sustenance except because of the presence of the weak and vulnerable among you? [Through their sincerity and prayers]."
  (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2896)

3. The Divine Economic Weapon: Famine and Drought

“And We certainly seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and deficiency in fruit that perhaps they would be reminded.”

— Surah Al-A'raf (7:130)

Before sending the final physical plagues (which appear on the next page), Allah used economic and agricultural disruption to break the hubris of the Egyptian empire.

A. The Sunnah of Using Famine to Break Arrogance

Whenever a superpower became completely deaf to moral warnings and oppressed the weak, the Prophets used the exact structural template of Verse 130—praying for agricultural or economic hardship to force a reset in human consciousness.

• Hadith: Abdullah bin Mas'ud narrated that when the pagan elite of the Quraysh obstinately rejected the message and persecuted the early Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad invoked the historical precedent of Egypt:
  "O Allah! Help me against them by sending seven years of famine like the seven years of famine during the time of Joseph."
  A drought then struck them so severely that they were reduced to eating bones and hides out of sheer desperation.
  (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1007 / Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2798)