Translation
We [God] sent Moses with Our guidance and authority, fully manifest, to Pharaoh and his advisers but they all chose to follow Pharaoh’s rule and command and his rule was not based on good guidance. Pharaoh will lead his people on the Day of Resurrection and finally to its evil consequence [fire] and it will be an evil outcome [watering place] to which they will find themselves. They were rejected by God in this (life) and a similar fate on the Day of Resurrection; it is an evil gift they have earned [been given]. 506
These are the stories and lesson learned from towns that We [God] narrate to you—some of them are still standing (and visible to you) while others have disappeared [like a field mowed down]. We [God] did no injustice to them but they themselves were unjust. The gods they sought and worshipped besides God were of no help when God’s command (in consequence of their own conducts) overtook them. Their false belief added nothing (to their lives) but failure and ruins. Such is the accountability with your Sustainer God when He calls people to account who act corruptly and unjustly. His call to account is consequential and firm.
There are lessons in such narratives for those who comprehend the seriousness of the afterlife; it will be a day (event) when people will be brought together; an event to witness! We [God] do not delay but let it reach its term already prescribed. When the event [day] unfolds, no soul can speak expect with God’s permission; some will be joyous while others will be in dispair.507
Interpretation
506 This section concludes the long narrative of prophets, stories of whom are distributed throughout the Qur’an as pertaining to specific lessons to be learned and specific perspectives on life and realities of life to be developed and ascertained. The story of Moses and Pharaoh and the Children of Israel is one of most epic stories of human oppression, survival, and devotion to God and God’s manifest blessing through direct communication and His constant and visible presence. While Moses took his people to survival and to a path of recovery, Pharaoh, on the other hand, led his people down to destruction physically and spiritually. Such destruction will continue through the events to resurrection and final judgment, clearly laying out the natural law that what we do on in this life will carry its consequences with finality in the afterlife.
507 God’s justice and system of accountability surrounds us in every step of life, and its final sequel after resurrection will come without fail and is something that no human being can escape but witness. Human history and evidence of human failure as well as human success are preserved as a design by God for all posterity. False gods, failed states, lies, and conjecture to cover up truth and realities and false narratives are human creation and subjected to the values and principles of God’s creation and its eventual manifestation as to who is truly worthy of God’s blessing and His forgiveness, without which no life can attain its true purpose and success.
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REFLECTION
Personal and societal accountability is fundamental in the construct of this world and is part of the natural laws that God put in motion in our universe, whether we acknowledge it or not. True believers and people of goodness instinctively understand and acknowledge such a construct and take due caution to be mindful of God, His laws, and the consequences that follow.
ACTION
Our ability to link these laws and realities to our daily activities and long-term pursuits is essential for human success. One of the challenges that we face today is not only to clean up our understanding of God and our faith in Him but how to manifest such faith in terms of human goodness and goodness to the world that we live in. Our current debate on globalization is one such example, where we failed to bring the promised benefits to the average persons all over the world; instead, we fed the machine of income inequality, corporate greed, human indignity, and financial injustice, and the worst-ever disasters to our air, water, and soil in terms of pollution and global warming.