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
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِن كُنتُمْ فِى شَكٍّ مِّن دِينِى فَلَآ أَعْبُدُ ٱلَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِنْ أَعْبُدُ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى يَتَوَفَّىٰكُمْ ۖ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "O people, if you are in doubt as to my religion - then I do not worship those which you worship besides Allāh; but I worship Allāh, who causes your death. And I have been commanded to be of the believers
قُلْ هَلْ مِن شُرَكَآئِكُم مَّن يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ ۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ
Say, "Are there of your 'partners' any who begins creation and then repeats it?" Say, "Allāh begins creation and then repeats it, so how are you deluded?"
وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا۟ مَكَانَكُمْ أَنتُمْ وَشُرَكَآؤُكُمْ ۚ فَزَيَّلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ وَقَالَ شُرَكَآؤُهُم مَّا كُنتُمْ إِيَّانَا تَعْبُدُونَ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], the Day We will gather them all together - then We will say to those who associated others with Allāh, "[Remain in] your place, you and your 'partners.'" Then We will separate them, and their "partners" will say, "You did not used to worship us,
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.