Surah Al-A'raaf (7) — Ayah 133

(Ayah 133 to 136) {فَاَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوْفَانَ … :} When, despite famine and shortage of fruits, they persisted in disbelief and rebellion and attributed this calamity to the misfortune of Musa (peace be upon him) and his companions, then even harsher punishments from Allah began to descend upon them, which proved to be a prelude to the complete destruction and drowning of Pharaoh and his armies. After the famines, {’’ الطُّوْفَانَ ‘‘} that is, heavy rain and floods began, making their lives difficult, so they requested Musa (peace be upon him) to pray, saying that you should present your covenant and relationship with your Lord and pray to Him to remove this punishment from us. If you have this punishment removed from us, we swear that we will believe in you and will send the Children of Israel with you. (The "lam" of emphasis and "noon thaqeela" in Arabic indicate an oath.) Even now, the oppressors are calling the Lord of Musa (peace be upon him) as only his Lord. When this punishment was removed by the prayer of Musa (peace be upon him), the previously dry land produced abundant fodder and grain due to the plentiful water. This was a test along with their prosperity, in which they forgot all their promises and began to say that this flood was a blessing for them. Now Allah sent upon them the punishment of {’’ الْجَرَادَ ‘‘} (locusts), which devoured their trees, fodder, and even wood. Again, they requested Musa (peace be upon him) to pray for the removal of the punishment in the same words as mentioned above. When this punishment was removed, another period of prosperity came, and even from the remaining crops, abundant grain was produced, which they harvested and stored in their homes, thinking that at least for a year they were worry-free, and again forgot the promises made to Musa (peace be upon him). Now the punishment of {’’ الْقُمَّلَ ‘‘} descended upon them, that is, lice, ticks, small black insects, grain weevils, fleas, etc.—all these are referred to by the word {’’ الْقُمَّلَ ‘‘}. There was an onslaught of lice, fleas, and bedbugs on the bodies, clothes, and bedding of people and animals. The grain was infested with weevils; when they took sacks to the mill, only a single bag of flour would come out. Then, compelled, they again requested Musa (peace be upon him) to pray in the same way. When, by his prayer, that calamity was removed and a period of comfort and ease came, they again broke their promise as before. Now the punishment of { ’’ الضَّفَادِعَ ‘‘ }, that is, "frogs," came upon them, and they spread in such abundance that frogs were seen everywhere and in every vessel; while eating, a frog would jump into the mouth instead of a morsel, and when lying down, the bed and body would be filled with frogs. Compelled, they again requested Musa (peace be upon him) to pray for the removal of this punishment with the same promises, but when relief came, they again refused to believe and to free the Children of Israel. Now the punishment of blood came upon them; whatever food or drink they kept would turn into blood, and their water vessels and reservoirs took the form of blood. Some commentators have also mentioned the epidemic of nosebleeds in the punishment of blood. Upon their turning and request, when Musa (peace be upon him) prayed and this punishment was removed, they again broke their promise. Now the time for Allah's retribution had come, and all of them were drowned in the sea as a consequence of denying Allah's signs and miracles and deliberately neglecting them. The details of this drowning are not mentioned here; they are mentioned in Surah Yunus, Ash-Shu'ara, and Ta-Ha, etc., because the main purpose here is to warn the disbelievers of the outcome of insisting on disbelief regardless of trials of hardship and prosperity. {’’ اٰيٰتٍ مُّفَصَّلٰتٍ ‘‘} shows that these intervals of punishment and relief came one after another. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) has written that the confrontation between Pharaoh and Musa (peace be upon him) lasted for forty years over the issue of letting the Children of Israel return to their homeland, and in the end, these punishments came at intervals of one week each. (Mawdhih) In Tafsir Tabari, in some narrations from the Tabi‘in, the period of punishment is written as one week and the period of relief as one month, but we have no authentic means to confirm or deny any of these statements. For admonition, what Allah has told is sufficient.

133. 1. The flood refers to a deluge or excessive rain, in which everything was submerged, or a great number of deaths, which caused mourning in every house. The locust swarm is famous for the devastation of crops; these locusts would devour their grains and fruit crops completely. The water in ponds and pools, these frogs became so numerous that they were everywhere—in their food, in their beds, in their grains—so that everywhere and in every direction there were only frogs, making it impossible for them to eat, drink, sleep, or rest. By دم (blood) is meant the water turning into blood, thus making it impossible for them to drink water. Some have interpreted blood as the disease of nosebleeds, meaning that blood started flowing from every person's nose. These were clear and distinct miracles that came upon them at intervals.

So We sent upon them the flood, locusts, lice, frogs, and blood [129]—signs, one after another. Yet they remained arrogant, for they were a criminal people.

[129]
The Punishment of the Storm, Locusts, Lice, Frogs, and Blood:

After this drought, Allah sent upon them a heavy rain which took the form of a storm, and their crops began to be submerged and destroyed by the water. So they pleaded with Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) to pray to his Lord: if the rain stopped and their crops were saved, they would believe in him. Musa (peace be upon him) prayed, and the rain stopped and the crops were saved, but then they broke their promise. As a punishment, Allah sent swarms upon swarms of locusts onto their ripe and ready crops. When they saw that these locusts would devour all their crops, they again rushed to Musa (peace be upon him) and, as before, requested him to pray to Allah. Through his prayer, they were saved from this punishment as well, and they harvested the grain and stored it in their homes, but then they became arrogant again. Now, as a punishment, Allah sent the torment of weevils into their stored grain (the word "qummal" is used in the Quran, which refers to small creatures such as ticks, mosquitoes, lice, weevils, and other similar bugs), so that the stored grain became useless while lying there. Seeing this situation, they again came to Musa (peace be upon him) and requested prayer and made promises to believe. Then, when this punishment was removed through his prayer, they again broke their promise. So Allah sent this punishment that frogs became so abundant that whenever they sat down to eat, frogs would come from all sides—sometimes falling into the food, sometimes into the pot of curry, and sometimes into their open mouths as they ate. And when they drank water, it would turn into blood. In short, when their lives became unbearable, they again came to Musa (peace be upon him) and made the same pleas and promises. He again prayed, and this punishment was also removed from them, but still they became arrogant and considered all these warnings to be nothing but the tricks of magic.