ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِم مُّوسَىٰ وَهَـٰرُونَ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَإِي۟هِۦ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا فَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ وَكَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا مُّجْرِمِينَ 75
Translations
Then We sent after them Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his establishment with Our signs, but they behaved arrogantly and were a criminal people.
Transliteration
Thumma ba'athna min ba'dihim Musa wa-Harun ila Fir'awn wa-mala'ihi bi-ayatina fa-stakbaru wa-kanu qawman mujrimin
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how Allah sent Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) to Pharaoh and his chiefs with clear signs (miracles), yet they responded with arrogance and rejection. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, despite witnessing the manifest proofs of Allah's oneness, Pharaoh and his court chose pride over submission, demonstrating that miracles alone do not guarantee belief when hearts are sealed by arrogance. Their criminal nature (qawm mujrimin) made them resistant to divine guidance, illustrating the Quranic principle that signs benefit only those who are willing to accept them.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Yunus's Meccan section, which repeatedly references the story of Musa and Fir'awn as a historical precedent and warning to the Quraysh during the early Meccan period. The surah uses this narrative to comfort the Prophet Muhammad and the believers facing rejection, assuring them that rejection of messengers is an ancient pattern, and that Allah's plan ultimately prevails.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (3415): The Prophet Muhammad mentioned that Musa performed nine miracles before Pharaoh and his people, yet they rejected him. This hadith directly illustrates the theme of this ayah—that clear signs do not benefit those determined in disbelief.
Themes
Key Lesson
Arrogance and heedlessness are greater barriers to faith than lack of evidence; Allah's signs are abundant, but their benefit depends on the sincerity and humility of those who witness them. For modern readers, this teaches that material success and worldly power do not exempt one from accountability, and that spiritual blindness stems from deliberate rejection rather than genuine doubt.
Related Ayahs
فَٱلْيَوْمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنْ خَلْفَكَ ءَايَةً ۚ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا لَغَـٰفِلُونَ
So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign. And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless.
أَلَآ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
Unquestionably, to Allāh belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth. And those who invoke other than Allāh do not [actually] follow [His] "partners." They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.
وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ وَأَخِيهِ أَن تَبَوَّءَا لِقَوْمِكُمَا بِمِصْرَ بُيُوتًا وَٱجْعَلُوا۟ بُيُوتَكُمْ قِبْلَةً وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And We inspired to Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt in houses and make your houses [facing the] qiblah and establish prayer and give good tidings to the believers."
وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَن تُؤْمِنَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَيَجْعَلُ ٱلرِّجْسَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
And it is not for a soul [i.e., anyone] to believe except by permission of Allāh, and He will place defilement upon those who will not use reason.