Leave the Sea As It Is

Now Mūsā, on the other side, thinks that the stick can close it again. So he is hitting the water with his stick and splashing water, but it is not moving. Allah (swt) said: wa utruki al-baḥra rahwā — leave the sea alone. Allah told Mūsā: leave the sea alone. Why did Mūsā want to close the sea? To prevent Firʿawn from coming. He is planning — Mūsā is planning. Allah (swt) told him: leave the sea alone. Why?

Because they are going to drown. After all of Banū Isrāʾīl had passed, and Mūsā had passed, Firʿawn and his army went through the bed of the sea — all of them. And when all of the army of Firʿawn was on the bed of the sea — all of them, from Firʿawn to the last soldier — then Allah (swt) told the water to return to its natural state as water. And it closed over Firʿawn and his army, because the state of the water had changed for a temporary moment. Water is water, but Allah (swt) made it change for a while; Allah (swt) gave it different qualities. And then Allah (swt) told the water to return to its natural state of being water again.

And Allah (swt) destroyed Firʿawn with one of His soldiers — and that is an interesting soldier. Allah (swt) destroyed Firʿawn with the source of life. Water, which is the source of life, Allah (swt) can use as a soldier. So it destroyed Firʿawn. And it says in the tafsīr that the body of Firʿawn was turning up and down in the water in front of the eyes of Banū Isrāʾīl, so that they could see the fate of the enemy of Allah (swt), the tyrant Firʿawn. Firʿawn, who said ana rabbukumu al-aʿlā — I am your highest lord — and mā ʿalimtu lakum min ilāhin ghayrī — I do not know that you have any god but me — was drowning in front of their eyes.