Prophet Mūsā: Part 3 — The Signs, the Sea and the End of Firʿawn
Section 5 of 30 · Lives of the Prophets
The Flood
فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلطُّوفَانَ وَٱلْجَرَادَ وَٱلْقُمَّلَ وَٱلضَّفَادِعَ وَٱلدَّمَ ءَايَـٰتٍ مُّفَصَّلَـٰتٍ فَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ وَكَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا مُّجْرِمِينَ
“So We sent upon them the storm and locusts and lice and frogs and blood, as signs distinct from each other. Yet they showed arrogance, and they were a guilty people.” (7:133)
Allah (swt) says: so We sent upon them the flood. The next sign was the flood. Allah (swt) made the Nile flood. It would flood over the banks and cover their fields, and then the water would stay there, so they could not plant in the fields. The water would not go anywhere. It was an amazing flood — a miracle. The Nile flooded, the water went over the banks, and then the water stayed right there; it did not move. So all of the fields were covered, and they could not plant. So they went to Mūsā:
وَلَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلرِّجْزُ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰمُوسَى ٱدْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِندَكَ ۖ لَئِن كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا ٱلرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ ٱلرِّجْزَ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ هُم بَـٰلِغُوهُ إِذَا هُمْ يَنكُثُونَ
“Whenever a scourge befell them, they said, “O Mūsā, pray for us to your Lord by the covenant He has made with you. If you remove the scourge from us, we will truly believe in you, and will send the children of Isrā’īl with you.” But when We removed the scourge from them for a term they had to reach, in no time they started to break their promise.” (7:134–135)
And when the punishment fell on them, they said: O Mūsā, invoke your Lord for us because of His promise to you. If you remove the punishment from us, we shall indeed believe in you, and we will let the children of Israel go with you.
Mūsā wanted two things: he wanted them to believe, and he wanted Firʿawn to release Banū Isrāʾīl from slavery. Firʿawn said: I will give you the two things you want from me — I am going to believe, and I am going to release the children of Israel with you. Why was Firʿawn saying that? Because he needed Mūsā; otherwise his kingdom would be lost. They think in terms of their interest. Interest rules.
So they went to Mūsā and said: please ask Allah, your Lord, to release us from this punishment, and if you do so, we are going to believe in you and we are going to send Banū Isrāʾīl. Mūsā made duʿāʾ to Allah, and the water receded. Now they went to their fields and started planting again — and they said: we do not know who you are; we are not going to believe, and we are not going to believe in you.