Indeed, We sent Moses with Our proofs, saying, ‘Bring your people out of darknesses into the light and remind them of the Days of Allah.’ Surely in that are proofs for every patient, thankful one. [Q 14: 5]
Mention - when Moses said to his people, ‘Remember Allah’s blessings on you when He saved you from Pharaoh’s people, who used to inflict grievous torment on you, slaughter your sons, and keep your daughters alive. In that, there was a great trial from your Lord.’ [Q 14: 6]
Remember – when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly increase you. And if you are ungrateful, indeed, My torment is severe.’ [Q 14: 7]
Moses said, ‘If you and all those on earth are ungrateful, Allah is indeed Self-sufficient, Praiseworthy.’ [Q 14: 8]
[Quran: Surah Ibrahim: Ayah: 5-8]
Relationship with the Previous Part
Allah says that He sent Messenger Muhammad [saw] to bring people out of darknesses of disbelief and ignorance to the light of belief in Him. Furthermore, Allah mentions that He, out of His bounty and mercy, sent Messenger Muhammad [saw] speaking the language of his people, Arabic language, to facilitate understanding the message of Islam for his people. Then Allah mentions stories of some messengers. He informs of how the reaction of their people was to their messages to console Messenger Muhammad [saw] in respect of the hardship he suffered from his people. The first story that Allah mentions is the story of Messenger Moses, the Children of Israel, and Pharaoh and his people.
Tafsir
Indeed, We sent Moses with Our proofs, saying, ‘Bring your people out of darknesses into the light and remind them of the Days of Allah.’ Surely in that are proofs for every patient, thankful one. [Q 14: 5]
Messenger Moses is the son of Imran. He was a descendant of Prophet Jacob.
The proofs refer to the miracles that Allah gave Messenger Moses. Some of them were his hand turned white, his rod turned into a snake, the famine that befell Pharaoh and his people, shortage of crops, the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood.
Just as Allah, Exalted be He, sent Messenger Muhammad [saw] to his people to bring them out of darknesses of disbelief and ignorance into the light of belief in the Oneness of Allah, He sent Messenger Moses to his people to invite them to believe in Allah and warn them of disbelief in Him.
Thus, the purpose of sending the messengers of Allah is one, namely, inviting people to believe in the Oneness of Allah, and warning them of worshipping other gods besides Him.
[…and remind them of the Days of Allah.]
The Days of Allah refer to the bounties of Allah that He gives His slaves, and the afflictions befall the disbelievers and the disobedient people.
Allah commanded Moses to admonish the Children of Israel by promising them a great reward if they believe in and obey Allah and threatening them with severe torment if they disbelieve in and disobey Allah. He commanded Moses to remind his people of His bounties and blessings on them. He also commanded him to tell them about the former nations that believed in Allah and obeyed their messengers as well as to the severe punishment that befell the disbelieving nations.
This reminding is to make the Children of Israel desire and hope to attain the reward of Allah by believing in Him and obeying His Messenger and fear and the punishment of Allah if they refuse to obey their messenger and insist on disbelief in Allah.
The Days of Allah in respect of Moses and his people refer to the time of comfort and blessings they enjoyed, such as when Allah saved them from Pharaoh and his people, and the time of afflictions that they suffered, such as the severe oppression they suffered at the hands of Pharaoh and his people.
Mujahed said, ‘[…and remind them of the Days of Allah.] This refers to the blessings that Allah granted the Children of Israel. He saved them from the people of Pharaoh, He caused the sea to split so that they could safely pass over it, He made the clouds over them to shade them, caused the manna and the quails to descend from the heaven so that they could eat them.’
Ibn Zayd said, ‘‘[…and remind them of the Days of Allah.] This refers to the days on which Allah punished the disbelieving people among the former nations. So the meaning will be, ‘Threaten the Children of Israel, reminding them that it would befall them what befell the former nations.’
[Surely in that are proofs for every patient, thankful one.]
‘In that’ refers to reminding of the Days of Allah.
Indeed, reminding of the blessings of Allah and the punishment that Allah inflicted on the disbelievers is clear evidence, denoting the Oneness of Allah, His ability, and His comprehensive knowledge, and wisdom for every patient and thankful person.
The patient person faces the afflictions that Allah may afflict him with patience, believing that the decrees of Allah are done for a wise purpose. A thankful person always thanks Allah for His blessings.
Patience and thankfulness are mentioned together to refer to the fact that circumstances of a believer involve either one of them.
Suhayb, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger [saw] said, ‘How amazing the conditions of a believer is! Indeed, all his conditions are praiseworthy, and this case is not for anyone except the believer. When a delighting matter happens to him, he is thankful, and it will be good for him. And when a distressing matter befalls him, he is patient, and it will be good for him.’
Patience is mentioned first in the ayah because it is the key to attaining thankfulness, or because it implies refraining from blameworthy matters, which should be done before attaining praiseworthy matters.
Mention - when Moses said to his people, ‘Remember Allah’s blessings on you when He saved you from Pharaoh’s people, who used to inflict grievous torment on you, slaughter your sons, and keep your daughters alive. In that, there was a great trial from your Lord.’ [Q 14: 6]
O Messenger! Mention to your people when Moses said to the Children of Israel, ‘O my people! Remember Allah’s blessings on you. He saved you from Pharaoh and his people, who used to inflict grievous torment on you. They used to slaughter your sons and keep your daughters alive to be slaves, servants, or rape them. Indeed, saving you from your enemy after suffering such afflictions is a great trial from your Lord. When attaining the blessings of Allah, you should thank Him, and when suffering from affliction, you should be patient, and refrain from sinning, which leads to punishment and humiliation.’
‘Slaughtering your sons’ refers to killing the male children of the Children of Israel. Killing adult males would be against the interest of Pharaoh and his people as they used to employ them in hard and degrading work. Moreover, if the intended meaning was killing adult males, the mother of Moses would not have thrown him in the river when he was a child to protect him from slaughtering.
‘Keeping alive the females’ was considered punishment to the Children of Israel. It was done to rape them and employ them as slaves and servants. Thus, keeping the females alive after killing the male children is considers painful psychological torment that noble souls cannot accept.
Messenger Moses kept on reminding his people of the bounties of Allah on them and the afflictions that He inflicted on the former nations, instructing them that the purpose behind salvation and torment is to be thankful for the blessings of Allah and be patient with the afflictions.
Then Messenger Moses informed his people about the result of gratefulness and ungratefulness.
Remember – when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly increase you. And if you are ungrateful, indeed, My torment is severe.’ [Q 14: 7]
Thankfulness and gratefulness are acknowledging the blessings of Allah and using them in a manner that pleases Him.
Ungratefulness of the blessings of Allah is not attributing them to their bestower, Allah, and using them in a manner that displeases Him.
O Children of Israel! Remember when Moses said, ‘Indeed, your Lord clearly and emphatically proclaimed, ‘If you thank Me for my blessings, I will certainly give you more. And if you are ungrateful for My blessings and use them in a manner that displeases Me, I will certainly deprive you of them. Indeed, My torment is severe, and My punishment is painful.’
Abdul-Allah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger [saw] said, ‘Whoever is inspired to be thankful will be given more since Allah says, [If you are grateful, I will certainly increase you.] [Q 14: 7]’
Thowban, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger [saw] said, ‘Indeed, a person may be deprived of sustenance because of a sin he committed.’
[‘If you are grateful, I will certainly increase you. And if you are ungrateful, indeed, My torment is severe.’
‘We face these great facts: thankfulness increases the blessings, and ungratefulness causes severe torment.
First, we face this great fact that our hearts immediately accept and are pleased with it because it is a promise from Allah, whose promise is truthful and shall be fulfilled.
Anyway, if we want to see its application in real life, and look for its causes that we may comprehend, then we need not go too far to understand the causes.
Thanking Allah for His blessings is evidence of righteousness in a human soul. The blessing should be met by thankfulness because it is the normal result, originating from a sound disposition.
Another fact is that the soul that thanks Allah for His blessings keeps on watching Him when making use of these blessings without being arrogant nor haughty with people, and without using these blessings in a harmful, wicked, debased, and corrupt manner.
Undoubtedly, both qualities elevate the soul, and motivate it to do righteous deeds, and use the blessings righteously in a manner that increases it. Furthermore, thankfulness makes people pleased with the blessed person and support him as well as it amends relationships in society, causing increase of wealth and security and so on, which are natural causes that we can discern in life. The promise of Allah is sufficient to reassure the believer, whether he understands the cause or not, as it is a truthful promise, and the promise of Allah will definitely be fulfilled.
Being ungrateful to the blessing of Allah may take many forms, such as not thanking Allah for it, denying that Allah is its bestower, and attributing its attainment to having knowledge, expertise, and personal effort and endeavor. It is as the ungrateful person believes that all those capacities are not blessings granted by Allah. Ungratefulness may also be by using the blessings arrogantly and haughtily with people and using them to satisfy whims and in a corrupt manner.
The severe punishment for ungratefulness to the blessings of Allah may be its annihilation either by physical eradication or by sentimental extermination. Many blessings may be a curse causing suffering to the extent that their owner may envy those who do not have them. Furthermore, the severe punishment may be deferred torment that will be inflected sometime in the future in the worldly life or in the Hereafter, as Allah may wish. However, it will definitely happen because ungratefulness for the blessings of Allah does not go unpunished.’ [Fi Zilal al-Quran, Sayyid
Qutub]
Then Moses told his people that they will suffer from the negative effect of their ungratefulness. Indeed, Allah is self-sufficient and He never needs any of His creatures.
Moses said, ‘If you and all those on earth are ungrateful, Allah is indeed Self-sufficient, Praiseworthy.’ [Q 14: 8]
Moses said to his people, ‘If you and all those on earth are ungrateful for the blessings of Allah, you will never harm Allah in the least. Allah is self-sufficient. You only harm yourselves by your ungratefulness. Indeed, Allah does not need your thankfulness. When you thank Him, you benefit yourself by attaining His bounty and mercy. Indeed, Allah deserves perfect praise.’
Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger [saw] said, ‘O My slaves! If the first of you, the last of you, all human beings, and the jinn had the heart of the most pious man, it would not increase My kingdom in the least. O My slaves! If the first of you, the last of you, all human beings, and the jinn had the heart of the most wicked man, it would not decrease My kingdom in the least. O My slaves! If the first of you, the last of you, all human beings, and the jinn were to stand together in one place and ask Me, and I were to give everyone his request, it would not decrease what I have except what decreases from the sea when a needle is dipped into it.’
Learned Lessons
• The purpose of sending the messengers of Allah is one. Allah sent them to bring people out of darknesses of disbelief in Allah and guide them to the light of worshipping Him alone.
• People should learn lessons from what happened to former nations. They should reflect on the blessings Allah granted those nations and fear of the punishment that befell them.
• The patient and thankful people learn from what happened to those who were before them whether bestowing blessings on them or inflicting punishment on them.
• The Children of Israel suffered great affliction at the hands of Pharaoh and his people. They killed their male children, and kept their female children alive for employment as slaves or servants, or raping them, which was a severe trial.
• Thanking the blessings of Allah increases them. On the other hand, ungratefulness for the blessings of Allah leads to their annihilation and severe punishment.
• Thanking the blessings of Allah is realized by acknowledging that Allah has given them and using them in a manner that pleases Him.
• Ungratefulness to the blessings of Allah is realized by denying that Allah is their bestower and using them in a manner that displeases Him.
• Allah is self-sufficient. He does not need anything from His slaves. Allah deserves perfect praise.
• Positive effects of thanking Allah and negative effects of ungratefulness for the blessings of Allah affect only doer. As for Allah is not affected in the least by people’s gratefulness or ungratefulness.
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