Licha ya dini yao ya kipagani, ujinga wao mkubwa, na uasi wao uliomwezesha Firauni kuwafanya wapumbavu, bado walikimbilia kwa Nabii Musa mara kwa mara, wakimsihi amwombe Mola wake kwa sababu ya agano alilokuwa nalo Naye. Walihisi hiyo ndiyo njia pekee ya tauni kuondolewa. Lakini wenye madaraka walikataa kutimiza ahadi zao, kwa sababu mamlaka yao yote yalijengwa juu ya dai lao kwamba Firauni ndiye Mola wa watu wake. Waliogopa yatakayotokea endapo Utawala wa Mungu ungetambuliwa. Hilo lingemaanisha kwamba mfumo mzima, uliompa Firauni mamlaka ya utawala na ya kutunga sheria, ungeanguka, nafasi yake ikichukuliwa na mfumo unaotambua mamlaka kuwa ni ya Mungu pekee.
Despite their pagan religion, their total ignorance, and their transgression which enabled Pharaoh to take them as fools, they still rushed to the Prophet Moses, time and again, beseeching him to pray to his Lord on account of the covenant he had with Him. They felt that was the only way for the plague to be lifted. But those in power refused to honour their promises because their whole authority was based on their claim that Pharaoh was the Lord of his people. They feared what would have happened if God’s Lordship was to be recognized. That would have meant that the entire system, which assigned sovereignty and legislative authority to Pharaoh, would collapse, giving way to a system which recognized sovereignty as belonging only to God.
Katika jāhiliyyah ya leo, Mungu anaweza kuruhusu wadudu waharibifu kutishia mavuno, lakini watu hawamrudii Mungu kabisa. Wakulima wanapopata hisia ya asili ambayo huwajia binadamu wote, hata makafiri, wakati wa shida, yaani hisia kwamba ni Mungu ndiye anayetuma mapigo haya, na wakimgeukia Mungu wakimwomba aondoe msiba huu, wanaopigia debe `sayansi' ya uongo huwaambia kwamba kitendo chao kimejikita sana katika ushirikina na mambo ya kimetafizikia. Wao huchukua msimamo wa kejeli mno ili kuwarudisha katika hali ya ukanushaji ambayo ni mbaya zaidi kuliko ile ya washirikina wa zamani.
In present-day jāhiliyyah, God may allow pests to threaten harvests, but people do not turn back to God at all. If the farmers experience the natural feeling which occurs to human beings, even unbelievers, in times of hardship, that it is God who sends these plagues, and if they turn to God praying to Him to lift this affliction, the advocates of false `science’ tell them that their action is deeply rooted in superstition and metaphysics. They adopt a very sarcastic attitude in order to turn them back to a state of rejection that is far worse than that of ancient pagans.
Mwisho basi hutokea kulingana na sheria ya Mungu ya kuwaadhibu makafiri baada ya kuwajaribu kwa mateso na kwa wingi wa neema.
The end then takes place in accordance with God’s law of punishing unbelievers after having tested them both with affliction and affluence.
Baada ya kuwapa Firauni na watu wake kila fursa, na baada ya kuweka kwa ajili yao muda ambao hakika wangeufikia, Mwenyezi Mungu aliwaangamiza Firauni na kundi lake. Pia alitimiza ahadi yake kwa wanyonge waliosubiri kwa subira katika dhiki: "Basi tukalipiza kisasi kwao, tukawazamisha baharini, kwa sababu walizikanusha ishara zetu na walikuwa wakizipuuza. Tukawarithisha watu waliodhulumiwa na kuonekana wanyonge kabisa mashariki na magharibi ya ardhi ambayo tuliyoibariki. Hivyo ndivyo ahadi njema ya Mola wako kwa Wana wa Israili ilivyotimia, kwa sababu walisubiri kwa subira; na tukaviangamiza yote aliyoyatengeneza Firauni na watu wake, na yote waliyoyajenga." (Aya 136-137)
Having given Pharaoh and his people every chance, and assigned for them a term which they were certain to reach, God destroyed Pharaoh and his clique. He also fulfilled His promise to the oppressed who remained patient in adversity: “So We inflicted Our retribution on them, and caused them to drown in the sea, because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them. We caused the people who were persecuted and deemed utterly low to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land which We had blessed. Thus your Lord’s gracious promise to the Children of Israel was fulfilled, because they were patient in adversity; and We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and all that they had built.” (Verses 136-137)
Sūrah hii inataja kwa ufupi sana hapa kuhusu kuzama kwa Firauni na watu wake. Maelezo yake hayatolewi hapa kwa mtiririko wa kina kama yanavyotolewa katika sūrah nyingine. Badala yake, kinachojitokeza hapa ni hisia ya adhabu ya haraka baada ya makafiri kupewa muda mrefu wa kutafakari. Kwa hiyo, maelezo yanaachwa kando. Kasi ya adhabu hiyo ina athari yake, inayotujaza hofu na mshangao. “Basi tukawalipiza kisasi, na tukawazamisha baharini.” (Aya ya 136) Ni pigo moja tu, nao wote wameangamizwa. Walikuwa wenye kiburi, wenye majivuno na wadhalimu, kisha ghafla wanazama hadi chini kabisa ya bahari. Hakika hiyo ni malipo yanayostahiki, “kwa sababu waliikanusha ishara zetu na kuzipuuza.” (Aya ya 136) Hapa kunadhihirishwa uhusiano kati ya msimamo wao wa kukanusha ishara za Mwenyezi Mungu, na kuchagua kuzipuuza, na hatima hii inayostahiki. Tunaambiwa wazi kwamba matukio hayatokei kwa bahati tu. Hayatokei kiholela, kama watu wa kawaida wanavyodhani.
The sūrah refers very briefly here to the drowning of Pharaoh and his people. The details are not given here in a relaxed pattern as they are given in other sūrahs. What happens here instead is to give an air of swift punishment after the unbelievers have had a long time to reconsider. Hence, the details are overlooked. The swiftness of the punishment has its effect which fills us with awe. “So We inflicted Our retribution on them, and caused them to drown in the sea.” (Verse 136) Just one strike and they are all destroyed. Proud, arrogant and despotic they certainly were, and suddenly they sink right to the bottom of the sea. It is certainly a fitting recompense, “Because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.” (Verse 136) The compatibility is made clear between their attitude of denying God’s signs, choosing to remain heedless of them and this fitting destiny. We are clearly told that events do not come as a result of coincidence. They do not just happen haphazardly, as simple people tend to think.
Ili kuongeza hali ya kasi na uamuzi thabiti, sūrah pia inaonyesha picha ya kinyume ya kuwapa madaraka walioonewa. Hili limetajwa mbele kwa sababu Wana wa Israili hawakupewa madaraka huko Misri, ambako Firauni na watu wake waliishi. Badala yake, walipewa madaraka walipokuwa katika hali yao bora ya kufuata mwongozo wa Mwenyezi Mungu, kabla hawajapotoka na kujipatia adhabu ya kudhalilishwa na kutawanywa. Ufalme wao ulikuwa Palestina, miongo kadhaa baadaye, wakati mfumo mzima uliompa Firauni mamlaka ya utawala na ya kutunga sheria ungeporomoka, ukatoa nafasi kwa mfumo uliotambua kwamba mamlaka ni ya Mungu peke yake.
To enhance the atmosphere of swiftness and decisiveness, the sūrah also portrays the opposite picture of giving power to the oppressed. This is brought forward because the Children of Israel were not given power in Egypt, where Pharaoh and his people lived. Instead, they were given power when they were at their best in following divine guidance, before they deviated and incurred the punishment of humiliation and dispersal. Their kingdom was in Palestine, several decades after theentire system, which assigned sovereignty and legislative authority to Pharaoh, would collapse, giving way to a system which recognized sovereignty as belonging only to God.
Katika jāhiliyyah ya leo, Mungu anaweza kuruhusu wadudu waharibifu kutishia mavuno, lakini watu hawamrudii Mungu kabisa. Wakulima wanapopata hisia ya asili ambayo huwajia binadamu wote, hata makafiri, wakati wa shida, yaani hisia kwamba ni Mungu ndiye anayetuma mapigo haya, na wakimgeukia Mungu wakimwomba aondoe msiba huu, wanaopigia debe `sayansi' ya uongo huwaambia kwamba kitendo chao kimejikita sana katika ushirikina na mambo ya kimetafizikia. Wao huchukua msimamo wa kejeli mno ili kuwarudisha katika hali ya ukanushaji ambayo ni mbaya zaidi kuliko ile ya washirikina wa zamani.
In present-day jāhiliyyah, God may allow pests to threaten harvests, but people do not turn back to God at all. If the farmers experience the natural feeling which occurs to human beings, even unbelievers, in times of hardship, that it is God who sends these plagues, and if they turn to God praying to Him to lift this affliction, the advocates of false `science’ tell them that their action is deeply rooted in superstition and metaphysics. They adopt a very sarcastic attitude in order to turn them back to a state of rejection that is far worse than that of ancient pagans.
Mwisho basi hutokea kulingana na sheria ya Mungu ya kuwaadhibu makafiri baada ya kuwajaribu kwa mateso na kwa wingi wa neema.
The end then takes place in accordance with God’s law of punishing unbelievers after having tested them both with affliction and affluence.
Baada ya kuwapa Firauni na watu wake kila fursa, na baada ya kuweka kwa ajili yao muda ambao hakika wangeufikia, Mwenyezi Mungu aliwaangamiza Firauni na kundi lake. Pia alitimiza ahadi yake kwa wanyonge waliosubiri kwa subira katika dhiki: "Basi tukalipiza kisasi kwao, tukawazamisha baharini, kwa sababu walizikanusha ishara zetu na walikuwa wakizipuuza. Tukawarithisha watu waliodhulumiwa na kuonekana wanyonge kabisa mashariki na magharibi ya ardhi ambayo tuliyoibariki. Hivyo ndivyo ahadi njema ya Mola wako kwa Wana wa Israili ilivyotimia, kwa sababu walisubiri kwa subira; na tukaviangamiza yote aliyoyatengeneza Firauni na watu wake, na yote waliyoyajenga." (Aya 136-137)
Having given Pharaoh and his people every chance, and assigned for them a term which they were certain to reach, God destroyed Pharaoh and his clique. He also fulfilled His promise to the oppressed who remained patient in adversity: “So We inflicted Our retribution on them, and caused them to drown in the sea, because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them. We caused the people who were persecuted and deemed utterly low to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land which We had blessed. Thus your Lord’s gracious promise to the Children of Israel was fulfilled, because they were patient in adversity; and We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and all that they had built.” (Verses 136-137)
Sūrah hii inataja kwa ufupi sana hapa kuhusu kuzama kwa Firauni na watu wake. Maelezo yake hayatolewi hapa kwa mtiririko wa kina kama yanavyotolewa katika sūrah nyingine. Badala yake, kinachojitokeza hapa ni hisia ya adhabu ya haraka baada ya makafiri kupewa muda mrefu wa kutafakari. Kwa hiyo, maelezo yanaachwa kando. Kasi ya adhabu hiyo ina athari yake, inayotujaza hofu na mshangao. “Basi tukawalipiza kisasi, na tukawazamisha baharini.” (Aya ya 136) Ni pigo moja tu, nao wote wameangamizwa. Walikuwa wenye kiburi, wenye majivuno na wadhalimu, kisha ghafla wanazama hadi chini kabisa ya bahari. Hakika hiyo ni malipo yanayostahiki, “kwa sababu waliikanusha ishara zetu na kuzipuuza.” (Aya ya 136) Hapa kunadhihirishwa uhusiano kati ya msimamo wao wa kukanusha ishara za Mwenyezi Mungu, na kuchagua kuzipuuza, na hatima hii inayostahiki. Tunaambiwa wazi kwamba matukio hayatokei kwa bahati tu. Hayatokei kiholela, kama watu wa kawaida wanavyodhani.
The sūrah refers very briefly here to the drowning of Pharaoh and his people. The details are not given here in a relaxed pattern as they are given in other sūrahs. What happens here instead is to give an air of swift punishment after the unbelievers have had a long time to reconsider. Hence, the details are overlooked. The swiftness of the punishment has its effect which fills us with awe. “So We inflicted Our retribution on them, and caused them to drown in the sea.” (Verse 136) Just one strike and they are all destroyed. Proud, arrogant and despotic they certainly were, and suddenly they sink right to the bottom of the sea. It is certainly a fitting recompense, “Because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.” (Verse 136) The compatibility is made clear between their attitude of denying God’s signs, choosing to remain heedless of them and this fitting destiny. We are clearly told that events do not come as a result of coincidence. They do not just happen haphazardly, as simple people tend to think.
Ili kuongeza hisia ya wepesi na uamuzi wa haraka, sūrah pia inachora picha kinyume ya kuwapa madaraka waliodhulumiwa. Hili linatajwa kwa sababu Wana wa Isrāīl hawakupewa madaraka huko Misri, alikokuwa Fir'awn na watu wake. Badala yake, walipewa madaraka walipokuwa katika hali yao bora ya kufuata mwongozo wa Mwenyezi Mungu, kabla hawajapotoka na kujipatia adhabu ya udhalilifu na kutawanyika. Ufalme wao ulikuwa Palestina, miongo kadhaa baada ya kuzama kwa Fir'awn, na muda mrefu baada ya Nabii Mūsā kuaga dunia, na hakika baada ya miaka arobaini yao jangwani, ambayo imetajwa mahali pengine katika Qur’ān. Lakini sūrah inapita juu ya matukio haya yote na kuhama kutoka kipindi kimoja cha wakati hadi kingine ili kusisitiza ukweli kwamba walianzishiwa na kupewa madaraka ya kuendesha mambo yao wenyewe kwa uhuru. Hili linatoa tofauti wazi na hali yao ya udhaifu walipovumilia mateso ya Fir'awn: “Tuliwarithisha watu waliodhulumiwa na kuonekana duni kabisa, sehemu za mashariki na magharibi ya ardhi tuliyoibariki. Hivyo ndivyo ahadi njema ya Mola wako kwa Wana wa Isrāīl ilivyotimia, kwa sababu walisubiri katika dhiki; nasi tukaiharibu yote aliyoyafanya Fir'awn na watu wake, na yote waliyoyajenga.” ({Aya ya 137})
To enhance the atmosphere of swiftness and decisiveness, the sūrah also portrays the opposite picture of giving power to the oppressed. This is brought forward because the Children of Israel were not given power in Egypt, where Pharaoh and his people lived. Instead, they were given power when they were at their best in following divine guidance, before they deviated and incurred the punishment of humiliation and dispersal. Their kingdom was in Palestine, several decades after the drowning of Pharaoh, and long after the Prophet Moses had passed away, and indeed after their forty years in the wilderness which is mentioned elsewhere in the Qur’ān. But the sūrah glides over all these events and shifts from one period of time to another in order to highlight the fact that they were established and given power to be free to conduct their own affairs. This provides a clear contrast with their state of weakness when they endured Pharaoh’s persecution: “We caused the people who were persecuted and deemed utterly low to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land which We had blessed. Thus your Lord’s gracious promise to the Children of Israel was fulfilled, because they were patient in adversity; and We destroyed all that Pharaoh and his people had wrought, and all that they had built.” (Verse 137)
Kwa kuwa sisi binadamu tumefungwa na mipaka ya wakati, tunazungumzia mpangilio wa nyakati kwa sababu tunarekodi matukio kulingana na yalivyotokea na wakati tunapoyaona yakitokea. Kwa sababu hii, tunasema kwamba nguvu aliyopewa wale waliokandamizwa ilikuja baada ya tukio la kuzama kwa Firauni. Huo ndio ufahamu wetu wa matukio. Ni nini maana ya "kabla" na "baada" kwa Mungu katika ujuzi wake usio na kikomo, hatuwezi kujua. Kila kinachotokea kinamdhihirikia wazi katika uoni kamili, bila chochote kufichwa kwa kiasi au kabisa na mipaka ya wakati na mahali.
Restricted by the limitations of time as we are, we, human beings, speak of a time order because we record events in accordance with their occurrence and the moment when we note their happening. For this reason, we say that the power that was given to those who were oppressed came after the event of Pharaoh’s drowning. That is our own understanding of events. What could “before” and “after” signify to God in His absolute knowledge, we cannot tell. All that takes place clearly appears to Him in full vision, with nothing partially or totally screened by limitations of time and place.
Kwake yote yanajulikana kikamilifu kabisa, ilhali elimu yetu bado ni finyu mno.
To Him everything is known absolutely perfectly, while our knowledge remains scanty indeed.
Hivyo ndivyo pazia linavyoanguka kwa onyesho la uharibifu kamili upande mmoja, na la nguvu mpya ya kujenga ustaarabu mpya upande mwingine. Firauni, dhalimu wa jana, amezama pamoja na watu wake. Yote waliyoyajenga katika maisha haya, na majengo yote na minara waliyoinua juu ya nguzo kubwa, na ujenzi wao wote, mashamba ya mizabibu na utajiri wao, yamebaki magofu. Haya yote yanatokea katika sehemu ya kitambo kidogo tu, na yote yanaelezwa kwa maneno machache mafupi.
Thus the curtain falls with the scene of total destruction on the one side and that of a new power to build a new civilization on the other. Pharaoh, yesterday’s tyrant, is drowned with his people. All that they had built in this life, and all the edifices and towers they raised on great pillars, and all their construction, vineyards and riches lie in ruin. All this takes place in a fraction of a moment, and all is portrayed in a few short words.
Hii ni mfano ambao Mwenyezi Mungu aliwapa kundi dogo la waumini huko Makkah ambao waliteswa na Waarabu washirikina. Pia inatoa mtazamo mpana zaidi kwa kila kundi la waumini wanaoteswa mikononi mwa mafarao wapya wa dunia hii. Wao daima wanaweza kuangalia dhuluma wanayoipata kwa mwanga ule ule ambao wale waumini waliteswa mikononi mwa Firauni. Walisimama imara na kuonyesha subira katika dhiki, hivyo Mwenyezi Mungu akawafanya warithi ardhi iliyobarikiwa ili kuona jinsi wangeenenda.
This is an example given by God to the small band of believers in Makkah who suffered persecution by the pagan Arabs. It also provides a wider perspective to every group of believers suffering persecution at the hands of the new pharaohs of this world. They can always look at the oppression they suffer in the same light as those believers suffered at Pharaoh’s hands. They remained steadfast and showed patience in adversity, so God caused them to inherit the blessed land to see how they would conduct themselves.