فَٱنتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَكَانُوا۟ عَنْهَا غَـٰفِلِينَ 136
Translations
So We took retribution from them, and We drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.
Transliteration
Faintaqamnā minhum fa-aghraaqnāhum fil-yammi bi-annahum kadhdhābū bi-āyātinā wa-kānū 'anhā ghāfilīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes Allah's retribution against Pharaoh and his people for their rejection and heedlessness of the divine signs. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that drowning in the sea was the appropriate punishment (istiwfā') for those who denied the clear miracles shown to them through Prophet Musa. The emphasis on their inattentiveness (ghāfilīn) indicates that their destruction resulted not merely from disbelief, but from willful negligence and arrogance despite witnessing manifest proofs.
Revelation Context
This ayah concludes the narrative of Pharaoh and the Children of Israel within Surah Al-A'raf, which recounts stories of prophets and their peoples. The context details how the Egyptians were given nine clear signs (the plagues) yet persisted in rejection and mockery, leading to their inevitable punishment. This narrative serves as a warning to the Meccan disbelievers of the consequences of rejecting prophetic messages.
Related Hadiths
The story of Pharaoh's drowning is referenced in various hadiths discussing the punishment of the arrogant. See Sunan Ibn Majah on the final state of Pharaoh's body being preserved as a sign. Additionally, hadiths in Sahih Muslim discuss how those who reject clear signs face swift punishment in this life.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that persistent rejection and willful neglect of divine guidance inevitably leads to ruin, while it encourages mindfulness (yaqẓah) and attentiveness to Allah's signs in creation and revelation. For modern readers, it serves as a cautionary reminder that ignorance or indifference toward truth is not an excuse, and that accountability before Allah is certain.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالُوا۟ مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِۦ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ لِّتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
And they said, "No matter what sign you bring us with which to bewitch us, we will not be believers in you."
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَآ ءَالَ فِرْعَوْنَ بِٱلسِّنِينَ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
And We certainly seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and a deficiency in fruits that perhaps they would be reminded.
وَٱلْبَلَدُ ٱلطَّيِّبُ يَخْرُجُ نَبَاتُهُۥ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِۦ ۖ وَٱلَّذِى خَبُثَ لَا يَخْرُجُ إِلَّا نَكِدًا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نُصَرِّفُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَشْكُرُونَ
And the good land - its vegetation emerges by permission of its Lord; but that which is bad - nothing emerges except sparsely, with difficulty. Thus do We diversify the signs for a people who are grateful.
وَإِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱسْكُنُوا۟ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْقَرْيَةَ وَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ وَقُولُوا۟ حِطَّةٌ وَٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْبَابَ سُجَّدًا نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطِيٓـَٔـٰتِكُمْ ۚ سَنَزِيدُ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when it was said to them, "Dwell in this city [i.e., Jerusalem] and eat from it wherever you will and say, 'Relieve us of our burdens [i.e., sins],' and enter the gate bowing humbly; We will [then] forgive you your sins. We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."