Verse 32
So who is — in other words, none is — a greater wrongdoer than he who imputes falsehood to God, by ascribing partners and child to Him, and [who] denies the truth, namely, the Qur’ān, when it reaches him? Is there not a [fitting] abode in Hell for the disbelievers? Indeed, there is.
Verse 33
And he who brings the truth — and that is the Prophet (s) — and [those] who confirm it, namely, the believers (here alladhī, ‘he who’, has the significance of alladhīna, ‘those who’), those, they are the ones who guard themselves, against idolatry.
Verse 34
They shall have whatever they wish with their Lord. That is the reward of those who are virtuous, to their own souls through their [acceptance of] faith;
Verse 35
so that God may absolve them of the worst of what they did, and pay them their reward by the best of what they used to do (aswa’a and ahsana mean [simply] al-sayyi’, ‘bad’, and al-hasan, ‘good’).
Verse 36
Does God not suffice [as defender of] His servant?, the Prophet? Indeed, He does. Yet they would frighten you — the address is for him (s) — of those besides Him, namely, the idols, [by telling him] that these [idols] might kill him or render him insane. And whomever God leads astray, for him there is no guide.
Verse 37
But whomever God guides, there is no one [able] to lead him astray. Is not God Mighty, One Whose way [always] prevails, a Lord of Retribution?, against His enemies? Indeed, He is.
Verse 38
And if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say, ‘God.’ Say: ‘Have you considered then those on whom you call, [those whom] you worship, besides God, namely, the idols, if God should desire some harm to befall me, would they [be able to] remove the harm imposed by Him? No! Or if He should desire some mercy for me, would they [be able to] withhold His mercy?’ No! (a variant reading for the two clauses [kāshifātun durrahu and mumsikātun rahmatahu] has the genitive construction [kāshifātu durrihi and mumsikātu rahmatihi). Say: ‘God is sufficient for me. In Him do [all] the trusting put their trust’.
Verse 39
Say: ‘O my people! Act according to your situation, [according to] your circumstances, I [too] am acting, according to my circumstances. For you will [come to] know
Verse 40
to whom (man, introduces the relative clause that is the direct object of [the action of] ‘knowing’) will come a chastisement that will disgrace him and on whom there will descend a lasting chastisement’, an everlasting one, namely, the chastisement of the Fire. Indeed God [then] disgraced them at Badr.
Verse 41
Truly We have revealed the Book to you for [the sake of] mankind with the truth (bi’l-haqqi is semantically connected to anzalnā, ‘We have revealed’). So whoever is guided, then it, his being guided, is for [the sake of] his own soul, and whoever goes astray, goes astray only to the detriment thereof. And you are not [meant to be] a guardian over them, and so compel them to [embrace] guidance.
Verse 42
God takes the souls at the time of their death, and, He takes, those that have not died in their sleep, in other words, He takes them during sleep. Then He retains those for whom He has ordained death and releases the others until an appointed term, that is, until the time of their death. The one that is released is the soul [that possesses the faculty] of discernment, without which the soul [containing the force] of life is able to remain [temporarily] — but this cannot be the other way round. Truly in that, mentioned, there are signs, indications, for a people who reflect, and then realise that the One with the power to do this also has the power to resurrect — Quraysh, however, never reflected on this [fact].
Verse 43
Or have they — nay, but [they have] — taken besides God, idols, as gods [to act as], intercessors?, with God, as they [are wont to] allege. Say, to them: ‘What!, will they intercede, even though they have no power whatever, of intercession or otherwise, and are unable to comprehend?’, that you worship them or [to comprehend] anything else [for that matter]? Nay.
Verse 44
Say: ‘All intercession belongs [solely] to God, that is to say, He has exclusive control over it, and so none can intercede except with His permission. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; then to Him you will be brought back’.
Verse 45
And when God is mentioned alone, that is, without [the mention of] their gods, thereat shrink, they are repelled and they become constricted, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter; but when those [others] besides Him, namely, the idols, are mentioned, behold, they rejoice!
Verse 46
Say: ‘O God! (Allāhumma means yā Allāh) Originator of the heavens and the earth!, the Creator of them without precedent, Knower of the Unseen and the visible, [Knower of] what is hidden and what is witnessed, You will judge between Your servants concerning that wherein they used to differ’, in the matter of religion: guide me to the truth over which they are at variance.
Verse 47
And [even] if the evildoers possessed all that is in the earth, and as much of it besides, they would surely offer it to ransom themselves from the terrible chastisement on the Day of Resurrection. And there will appear, [there will become] manifest, to them from God that which they had never reckoned, [what they never] supposed [they would see].
Verse 48
And there will appear to them the evils of what they had earned, and they will be besieged by, there will descend [on them], that which they used to deride, in other words, the chastisement.
Verse 49
So when some distress befalls man (al-insān, here a generic), he supplicates Us. Then, when We bestow on him a grace from Us, he says, ‘I was given it merely by force of knowledge’, from God that I was deserving of it. Nay, but it, this saying, is a trial, a test by which servants are tested. But most of them do not know, that such bestowal [of grace] is a way of drawing [them] on and a test [of their faith].
Verse 50
Already the same was said by those who were before them, of communities, such as Korah and those of his people who were content with such [a saying]. But what they used to earn did not avail them.
Verse 51
So the evils of what they earned smote them, that is, the requital thereof [smote them]. And the evildoers among these, namely, [among] Quraysh, shall also be smitten by the evils of what they earned, and they will not be able to thwart it: [they will not] elude Our chastisement — thus they were made to suffer seven years of drought and [only] afterwards were they enriched [with provision from God].
Verse 52
Do they not know that God extends His provision, [that He] makes it abundant, for whomever He will, as a test, and restricts [it]?, for whomever He will, as a trial? Truly in that there are signs for a people who believe, in Him.
Verse 53
Say [that God declares]: ‘O My servants who have been prodigal against their own souls, do not despair (read taqnitū, taqnatū, or taqnutū), do not give up hope, of God’s mercy. Truly God forgives all sins, for those who repent from idolatry. Truly He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Verse 54
And turn, return, [penitently] to your Lord and submit, perform deeds sincerely, to Him, before the chastisement comes on you, whereupon you will not be helped, to ward it off, if you have not repented.
Verse 55
And follow the best of what has been revealed to you from your Lord — namely, the Qur’ān — before the chastisement comes on you suddenly while you are unaware’, of the time [of its arrival] until it has [actually] come;
Verse 56
so apply yourselves to this, before any soul should say, ‘Alas for me (yā hasratā is actually yā hasratī, meaning ‘O regret of mine’) for what I have neglected of my duty to God, in other words, [of] obedience to Him. Indeed (wa-in: in is softened in place of the hardened form, in other words [understand it as] wa-innī) I was among those who ridiculed’, His religion and His Book;
Verse 57
or [before] that it should say, ‘If only God had guided me, to obedience and I had become guided, I would have been among those who have feared’, His chastisement;
Verse 58
or [before] that it should say, when it sees the chastisement, ‘If only there had been a second chance, a return to this world, I would be among the virtuous’, the believers. It is then said to him by God:
Verse 59
‘Yes indeed! My signs came to you, the Qur’ān — which is the means to guidance — but you denied them and were arrogant, you disdained to believe in them, and you were among the disbelievers’.
Verse 60
And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who imputed lies to God, by ascribing partner and child to Him, with their faces blackened. Is there not in Hell a [fitting] abode for those who are [too] arrogant?, to believe? Indeed [there is].
Verse 61
And God will deliver, from Hell, those who fear, idolatry, because of their triumph, that is, on account of the place they have won in Paradise, by placing them in it. No evil will touch them, nor will they grieve.
Verse 62
God is the Creator of all things and He is Guardian over all things, disposing of them as He will.
Verse 63
To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, in other words, the keys to their storehouses of rain and vegetation and other things. And those who disbelieve in the signs of God, [such as] the Qur’ān — those, they are the losers (ūlā’ika humu’l-khāsirūna is semantically connected to His words wa-yunajjī’Llāhu’lladhīna ittaqaw, ‘and God will deliver those who guarded themselves …’ to the end [of that statement]; the intervening statements are parentheticals).
Verse 64
Say: ‘Is it [something] other than God that you bid me to worship, O you who are ignorant?’ (ghayra is in the accusative because of [the verb] a‘budu, ‘I worship’, which itself is operated by ta’murūnī, ‘you bid me’, read with one nūn on the basis of an implicit an; it [ta’murūnī] may also be read with two nūns assimilated [ta’murūnnī] or separated [ta’murūnanī]).
Verse 65
And certainly it has been revealed to you and to those before you [that], by God!, if you associate others [with God], O Muhammad (s) — hypothetically — your work shall surely fail and you shall surely be among the losers’.
Verse 66
Rather, worship God, alone, and be among the thankful, of His bestowal of graces on you.
Verse 67
And they do not esteem God as He should be esteemed, they do not understand His true nature, or [it means] that they do not exalt Him with the exaltation truly worthy of Him, when they associate others with Him. And the entire earth (jamī‘an is a circumstantial qualifier) in other words, the seven [earths], will be in His grasp, in other words, it shall be grasped by Him, meaning [that it will be] in His possession and at His disposal, on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled up, brought together, in His Right Hand, by His power. Glory be to Him! And exalted be He above what they associate!, with Him [of partners].
Verse 68
And the Trumpet will be blown, for the First Blast, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth will swoon, will die, except whomever God wills, such as the houris, the beautiful youths [of Paradise] and others. Then it will be blown again, and behold, they, that is, all creatures who are dead, will rise up, looking on, waiting to see what will be done with them.
Verse 69
And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord, when God reveals Himself for the passing of judgement, and the Book, of deeds, shall be set in place, for the Reckoning, and the prophets and witnesses, namely, Muhammad (s) and his community, will be brought, to bear witness that the messengers delivered [the Message to their respective communities]. And judgement will be made between them with truth, in other words, justly, and they will not be wronged, in a single thing.
Verse 70
And every soul will be paid in full for what it did, that is, [it will be paid] the requital thereof, and He is best aware of what they do, and has no need for any witnesses.
Verse 71
And those who disbelieve will be driven, violently, to Hell in troops, in separate groups, until, when they reach it, its gates are opened (futihat abwābuhā is the response to idhā, ‘when’) and its keepers will say to them, ‘Did there not come to you [any] messengers from among yourselves, reciting to you the signs of your Lord, the Qur’ān and otherwise, and warning you of the encounter of this day of yours?’ They will say, ‘Yes, indeed; but the word of chastisement — namely, the verse: Assuredly I will fill Hell … [Q. 11:119] — against the disbelievers has been fulfilled’.
Verse 72
It will be said, ‘Enter the gates of Hell to abide therein’ — decreed for you to abide [therein]. For evil [indeed] is the abode of the arrogant!’
Verse 73
And those who feared their Lord will be driven, gently, to Paradise in troops, until, when they reach it, and its gates are opened (wa-futihat: the wāw here indicates a circumstantial qualifier, implying qad, ‘already’) and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be to you! You are good! (tibtum, a circumstantial qualifier) So enter it to abide [therein]’ — [enter it] with the decree that you are to abide in it [forever] (the response to idhā, ‘when’, is implicit and is, in other words, dakhalūhā, ‘they enter it’). [The manner of] their being driven as well as the opening of the gates before their arrival is a way of honouring them; the driving of the disbelievers, however, and the opening of the gates only upon their arrival so that [all of] its heat is retained for them, is a means of humiliating them.
Verse 74
And they will say: (this is a supplement to the implicit [response] dakhalūhā, ‘they enter it’) ‘Praise be to God, Who has fulfilled His promise to us, of Paradise, and has made us inherit the land, the land of Paradise, that we may settle in Paradise wherever we wish’, for it is all [Paradise], and there is no spot that can be preferred to another. So how excellent is, Paradise [as], the reward of those who worked [hard]!
Verse 75
And you will see the angels encircling (hāffīna, a circumstantial qualifier) all round the Throne, from its every side, glorifying (yusabbihūn is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person [of the participle] hāffīn) with praise of their Lord, continuously proclaiming [His] praise — in other words, saying subhāna’Llāhi wa-bi-hamdih, ‘Glory, and praise, be to God!’ — and judgement will be made between them, that is, between all creatures, with truth, in other words, [with] justice, so that believers enter Paradise while the disbelievers enter the Fire, and it will be said, ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds!’ — the [final] establishing of both groups [in their respective abodes] is concluded with [this] angelic praise.
Verse 1
Hā mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].
Verse 2
The revelation of the Book, the Qur’ān (tanzīlu’l-kitābi is the subject), is from God (mina’Llāhi is its predicate), the Mighty, in His kingdom, the Knower, of His creatures.
Verse 3
Forgiver of sins, for believers, and Accepter of repentance, from them (al-tawb is the verbal noun), Severe in punishment, of disbelievers — in other words, One Who makes it severe for them — One of [abundant] bounty, bestower of abundant grace — God is eternally possessed of all of these attributes, and so the annexation construction using the derivatives [of these attributes] is for the purposes of characterisation, as in the case of the last. There is no god except Him; to Him is the journeying, the [ultimate] return.
Verse 4
None dispute the signs of God — the Qur’ān — except those who disbelieve, from among the people of Mecca, so do not be deceived by their bustle in the towns, [going about] seeking their livelihood in security, for the sequel for them will be the Fire.
Verse 5
The people of Noah denied before them and [also] the factions, such as ‘Ād, Thamūd and others, [who came] after them. And every community sought to seize their messenger, to slay him, and they argued falsely [thinking] to rebut, to eliminate, thereby the truth. Then I seized them, with punishment; so how [fitting] was My punishment!, of them — in other words, it was appropriate.
Verse 6
And thus was the word of your Lord — namely, the verse: Assuredly I will fill Hell … [Q. 11:119] — fulfilled against those who disbelieve: that they shall be the inhabitants of the Fire (annahum ashābu’l-nāri substitutes for kalimatu, ‘the word’).
Verse 7
Those who bear the Throne (alladhīna yahmilūna’l-‘arsha is the subject) and those around it (wa-man hawlahu is a supplement to that [subject]) glorify (yusabbihūna, is the predicate thereof) with praise of their Lord, continuously proclaiming praise, in other words, [continuously] saying: subhāna’Llāhi wa-bi-hamdihi, ‘Glory, and praise, be to God’; and they believe in Him, exalted be He, through their power of discernment, in other words, they affirm the truth of His Oneness, and they ask forgiveness for those who believe, saying: ‘Our Lord, You embrace all things in [Your] mercy and knowledge, that is to say, Your mercy embraces all things and Your knowledge [also embraces] all things. So forgive those who repent, of idolatry, and follow Your way — the religion of Islam — and shield them from the chastisement of Hell-fire, that is, the Fire.
Verse 8
Our Lord, and admit them into the Gardens of Eden, as [a place of] residence [for them], that which You have promised them, along with whoever were righteous (wa-man salaha is a supplement [either] to [the pronominal third person plural suffix] hum, ‘them’ in wa-adkhilhum, ‘and admit them’, or in wa‘adttahum, ‘You have promised them’) among their fathers and their wives and their descendants. Surely You are the One Who is the Mighty, the Wise, in what He does.
Verse 9
And shield them from evil deeds, that is, [from] the chastisement thereof; for whomever You shield from evil deeds that day, the Day of Resurrection, verily him You will have had been merciful to; and that is indeed the supreme triumph’.
Verse 10
Indeed to those who disbelieve it will be proclaimed [to them], from the part of the angels, as they [disbelievers] enter the Fire in utter loathing of themselves: ‘Surely God’s loathing, of you, is greater than your loathing of yourselves, as you were called, [during life] in this world, to faith but you used to disbelieve’.
Verse 11
They will say, ‘Our Lord, You have caused us to die twice, two deaths, and You have given us life twice — for they were lifeless drops of semen, then they were given life, then made to die, then brought back to life for the Resurrection. We [now] confess our sins, in having disbelieved in the Resurrection. Is there then any way to go out?’, out of the Fire and return to the world to be obedient to our Lord? The answer given to them will be: No!
Verse 12
That, namely, the chastisement which you find yourselves in, is because, during [the life of] this world, when God was invoked alone, you would disbelieve, in His Oneness; but if partners were ascribed to Him, you would believe, you would accept such idolatry. So the judgement, to chastise you, belongs to God, the Exalted, above His creation, the Great, the Tremendous.
Verse 13
He it is Who shows you His signs, the proofs of His Oneness, and sends down from the heaven for you provision, by way of rain. Yet no one remembers, [no one] is admonished, except him who returns penitently, [who] recants idolatry.
Verse 14
So supplicate God, worship Him, devoting [your] religion purely to Him, [free] from any idolatry, however much the disbelievers be averse, to its being free of such [idolatry].
Verse 15
Exalter of ranks, [either means] that God is One Whose attributes are majestic — or [it means] the raiser of the ranks of believers in Paradise — Lord of the Throne, in other words, the Creator thereof, He casts the Spirit, the Revelation, of His command, that is, [of] His words, upon whomever He will of His servants, that he, the one upon whom it is cast, may warn them of, [that he may] make people fear, the Day of Encounter (read yawma’l-talāqi, omitting the [final long] yā’, or yawma’l-talāqī), that is to say, the Day of Resurrection, [so called] because thereat the inhabitants of the heavens will encounter those of the earth, and the worshipper [will encounter] the one whom he worshipped, and the wrongdoer [will encounter] the person whom he wronged;
Verse 16
the day when they will emerge, [the day] they will exit from their graves; nothing about them will be hidden from God. ‘To whom does Sovereignty belong today?’ — God, exalted be He, asks this and Himself responds — ‘To God, the One, the All-compelling!’, over His creatures.
Verse 17
Today every soul shall be requited for what it has earned; there will be no injustice today. Indeed God is swift at reckoning’, reckoning with all of creation in the space of half a day of the days of this world — a hadīth states this.
Verse 18
And warn them of the Impending Day, namely, the Day of Resurrection (al-azifa, as in azifa al-rahīlu, ‘departure is very near’) when the hearts will, rising up in fear, reach the throats, choking with anguish, filled with [suppressed] anxiety (kāzimīna is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-qulūbu, ‘the hearts’, which is qualified by the [active animate participle] plural [kāzimīna] and referred to as though they were the very individuals themselves). The evildoers will not have any intimate [friend], [any] sympathiser, nor any intercessor who might be heeded — the adjectival qualification [‘who might be heeded’] has no [literal] significance, for they do not have intercessors in the first place: So [now] we have no intercessors … [Q. 26:100]. The first part, however, may [be said to] have significance if [understand] on the basis of their claim to have intercessors, and so, in other words, even if — hypothetically speaking — they [their intercessors] did intercede for them, they would not be heeded.
Verse 19
He, namely, God, knows the treachery of the eyes, when it steals a glance at what is prohibited [for it to look at], and what the breasts hide — [what] the hearts [hide].
Verse 20
And God decrees with truth, while those on whom they call, whom they worship, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca (read yad‘ūna, ‘they call’, or tad‘ūna, ‘you call’) besides Him — and these are the idols — do not decree by any means [at all]: so how can they be God’s associates? Truly God is the Hearer, of their sayings, the Seer, of their actions.
Verse 21
Have they not travelled in the land and beheld the nature of the consequence for those who were before them? They were more powerful than them (a variant reading has minkum, ‘than yourselves’) in strength and in [their] vestiges on earth, in the way of large structures and palaces. Yet God seized them, He destroyed them, for their sins and they had none to shield them from God, from His chastisement.
Verse 22
That was because their messengers used to bring them clear signs, manifest miracles, but they disbelieved. So God seized them. Indeed He is Strong, Severe in punishment.
Verse 23
And verily We sent Moses with Our signs and a clear warrant, an evident and manifest proof,
Verse 24
to Pharaoh and Hāmān and Korah, but they said — that he was — ‘A sorcerer, a [mere] liar!’
Verse 25
So when he brought them the truth from Us, they said, ‘Slay the sons of those who believe with him, and spare, keep alive, their women’. But the guile of the disbelievers is ever in error, in perdition.
Verse 26
And Pharaoh said, ‘Let me slay Moses — for they used to restrain him from slaying him — and let him call to his Lord, to defend him against me. Indeed I fear that he may change your religion, [involving] your worship of me, so that you will then follow him [in his religion], or that he may cause corruption to appear in the land’, by [initiating] killing and otherwise (a variant reading [for wa-an, ‘and that’] is aw-an, ‘or that’; a variant reading [for an yuzhira fī’l-ardi’l-fasāda] is [the impersonal construction] an yazhara fī’l-ardi’l-fasādu, ‘that corruption may appear in the land’).
Verse 27
And Moses said, to his people, after he had heard that [saying of Pharaoh]: ‘Indeed I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant one who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning’.
Verse 28
Then said a believing man from among Pharaoh’s folk — this is said to have been his paternal cousin — who had concealed his faith, ‘Will you slay a man for saying, “My Lord is God”, even though he has [also] brought you clear signs, manifest miracles, from your Lord? If he is lying, then his mendacity will be to his own detriment, that is, the harm resulting from his mendacity [will be to his own detriment]; but if he is truthful, then there will befall you some of that with which he is threatening you, in the way of chastisement, soon. Truly God does not guide one who is a prodigal, an idolater, a liar.
Verse 29
O my people! Today the kingdom is yours: [you are] dominant, prevailing (zāhirīna, a circumstantial qualifier) in the land, the land of Egypt. But who will help us against the might of God, [against] His chastisement, if you [resolve to] slay His friends, should it reach us?’ In other words, we would have no helper. Pharaoh said, ‘I only point out to you what I see [to be best], that is to say, I only suggest to you what I suggest to myself, and that is, to kill Moses [would be best]; and I am only guiding you to the path of rectitude’, [to] the correct way.
Verse 30
Then said he who believed, ‘O my people! Truly I fear for you [a day] like the day of the factions, in other words, the day of one faction [being destroyed] after another;
Verse 31
like the case of the people of Noah, and ‘Ād, and Thamūd, and those [who came] after them (mithla, ‘like’, substitutes for the previous mithla, ‘like’) in other words, the same requital as was customarily dealt to those who disbelieved before you, of their being chastised in this world, and God does not desire to wrong [any of] His servants.
Verse 32
And O my people! Truly I fear for you a day of [mutual] calling (read yawma’l-tanādi, omitting the [final long] yā’, or retaining it thus: yawma’l-tanādī) that is to say, the Day of Resurrection, in which repeated calls are made by those meriting Paradise to those meriting the Fire and vice versa, as well as calls [proclaiming] good fortune for those who merit the former and misery for those who merit the latter and [many] other such [calls],
Verse 33
a day when you will turn back to flee, from the site of the Reckoning [leading] to the Fire, not having anyone to defend you, to protect you, from God, in other words, from His chastisement, and whomever God leads astray, for him there is no guide.
Verse 34
And verily Joseph brought you, before, in other words, before Moses — according to one opinion, this Joseph is the son of Jacob, having been given life until the time of Moses; according to another opinion this is Joseph son of Abraham son of Joseph son of Jacob — clear signs, manifest miracles, but you continued to be in doubt concerning what he had brought you until, when he died, you said, without any evidence [to support such a claim]: “God will never send any messenger after him” — in other words, you will never cease to disbelieve in Joseph and others [that may come after him]. So, that is, just as you have been led astray, God leads astray one who is a prodigal, an idolater, a skeptic’, a doubter of that which the clear signs have certified.
Verse 35
Those who dispute the signs of God, His miracles (alladhīna yujādilūna fī āyāti’Llāhi, the subject) without any warrant, any evidence, that has come to them — greatly hateful [is that], disputing of theirs (kabura, the predicate of the subject) in the sight of God and in the sight of those who believe. So, just as they have been led astray, God sets a seal, of misguidance, on the heart of every arrogant tyrant (read qalbin, ‘the heart of’, with nunation, or without, qalbi). As the heart grows arrogant, so does the individual and vice versa (kulli, in both readings, is meant to indicate the totality of the misguidance of such hearts, not the totality of the hearts).
Verse 36
And Pharaoh said, ‘O Hāmān! Build for me a tower, a lofty edifice, that perhaps I may reach the routes —
Verse 37
the routes of the heavens — the paths that lead to it, and look upon (read [indicative] fa-attali‘u as a supplement to ablughu, ‘I may reach’; or read [subjunctive] fa-attali‘a, as the response to ibni lī, ‘build for me’) the God of Moses; for I truly think that he, that is, Moses, is lying’, about his having a god other than me — Pharaoh said this in order to disguise [the truth]. And that is how the evil [nature] of his conduct was made to seem fair to Pharaoh, and [that is how] he was barred from the [right] way, the path to guidance (read sadda, ‘[that is how] he barred [others]’, or sudda, ‘[that is how] he was barred’). And Pharaoh’s guile ended only in ruin, loss.
Verse 38
And he who believed, ‘O my people! Follow me (read ittabi‘ūnī, with the [final long] yā’, or ittabi‘ūni, without); I will guide you to the way of rectitude ([a similar statement] has already been mentioned [verse 29, above]).
Verse 39
O my people! Truly this life of the world is only an [ephemeral] enjoyment, [containing] comforts which will [eventually] disappear, whereas the Hereafter truly is the enduring abode.
Verse 40
Whoever commits an evil deed shall not be requited except with the like of it; but whoever acts righteously, whether male or female, and is a believer — such shall be admitted into Paradise (read [passive] yudkhalūna, or the opposite [active yadkhulūna, ‘they shall enter’) wherein they will be provided without any reckoning, an abundant provision, [given to them] unconditionally.