Tremendous Trial of Israelite

LESSON # 62 HOLY QUR’AAN

BAQARAH - 2

Tremendous Trial of Israelite

Verse –49 of 286, Section - 6

And (remember) when We did deliver you from Pharaoh’s folk, who were afflicting you with dreadful torment, slaying your sons and sparing your women. And that was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

Wa ‘iz najjay-naakum-min –Aali- Fir-‘awna yasuumuuna- kum suuu-‘al-‘azaabi yuzab-bihuuna ‘abnaaa-‘akum wa yas-tahyuuna nisaaa-‘akum.  Wa fii zaalikum balaaa-‘um-mir-Rabbikum ‘aziim.

Lesson

Aali- Fir-‘awna – (Folk, people, near relatives, religion fellows, servants and children of Pharaoh) Pharaoh was the title of the King of Egypt. Usually the people imagine a king of the Egypt who was named as Pharaoh. In fact it was not the name of a person. Moreover it was the surname of all the kings of Egypt as the title of the king of China was ‘Khaqaan’ (Emperor, Sovereign) and the King of Rome was surnamed as ‘Caesar’.

The Prophet Joseph (Peace be upon Him) brought and populated the Israelite in the Egypt. They lived in the Egypt hundreds of the years and their population reached in hundred thousands. The King of Egypt made them his slaves and treated them extremely disgracefully and contemptibly.

Once, the King dreamed at night. He gathered the soothsayers and asked them to interpret his dream in the morning, “I have seen a fire coming from the Temple of Jerusalem. It has besieged the Egypt and begun to burn the ‘Qabtees’ (Egyptians) choosing one by one”. Listening to it the soothsayers told the King that a child would bear in the Israelite that would become the cause of your death and fall of the Emperor.

The Pharaoh collected all the nurses and midwives of the country and ordered them, “Whenever any ‘son’ comes into the world by birth in the Israelite, kill him at once. However the girls be left alive.” Due to the orders of the King thousands of the sons of Israelite were killed. After all, the leaders of the Egypt thought, “If all the Israelite are killed in this manner, who will serve us?”

Listening to it, the Pharaoh commanded, “Carry on killing process for one year and stop it for the next year continuously”. The year in which killing process was postponed, in that year Prophet Aaron (peace be upon Him) was born and in the year killing process was in force, during that period Prophet Moses (Peace be upon Him) came in this world but the God, the Most High saved his life with His sound policy and he could not be killed.

The above mentioned verse points out towards this event. The nation of Pharaoh had put the children of Israel in to much difficult calamity and labour. Finally the God Almighty set them free from these troubles through His Prophet Moses (Peace be upon Him).        

Transliteration in Roman Script, English Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore and Paraphrase collected from Dars e Qur’aan published By Idara Islah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated by Muhammad Sharif Fauji) (http://hltsharif.blogspot.com)