The price for God’s intervention

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Then We thus inspired Moses: “Go forth with My servants by night, and strike out for them a dry path through the sea. Have no fear of being overtaken, and dread nothing.

Pharaoh pursued them with his hosts, but they were overwhelmed by the power of the sea. For Pharaoh had led his people astray and had not guided them aright.

Children of Israel! We saved you from your enemy, and then We made a covenant with you on the right flank of the Mountain. We sent down manna and quails for you. “Eat of the wholesome things which We have provided for you and do not transgress, lest you should incur My wrath. He that incurs My wrath has indeed thrown himself into utter ruin; but I certainly forgive all sins for anyone who repents, believes and does righteous deeds, and thereafter keeps to the right path.

(Ta Ha: 20: 77-82)

We mentioned last week how God intervened to conduct the battle between faith and tyranny when Pharaoh’s sorcerers declared their belief in God and rejection of all that Pharaoh and his host stood for. Pharaoh had threatened them with all sorts of persecution and a horrible fate, but they told him they would not care for any threats, because his authority did not extend a fraction beyond this world, which was inevitably bound to come to an end. At that point, with the two parties standing face to face, and the believers being no match to the physical might of Pharaoh and his powerful army, God intervened to save the believers, parting the sea for them to escape and drowning Pharaoh and his soldiers.

This is the first lesson we learn from this account of confrontation as related in this Surah. We also learn that when the Children of Israel accepted the humiliation imposed on them by Pharaoh, when he launched his campaign of persecution, killing their men and sparing their women, God did not interfere on their side. They simply accepted their subjugation, fearing Pharaoh and his power. But when faith was paramount in the hearts of those who believed in Moses and his message, and when they were ready to withstand the torture with their heads lifted high, declaring their rejection of Pharaoh and their belief in God, without any worry or hesitation, facing the consequences headlong, then God intervened and conducted the battle. Thus, victory was achieved in the battlefield, as it was earlier achieved within their hearts and souls.

Such is the lesson driven home in this Surah as it portrays the two scenes in quick succession, without dwelling on further details. This is what people of faith should understand, so that they would know when to expect God’s help to achieve victory in a situation of great disparity in numbers and armament in favor of the unbelievers.

Yet to those who were saved and given victory a reminder and a warning are given so that they may not forget or abandon their most important weapon which guaranteed their victory. “Children of Israel! We saved you from your enemy, and then We made a covenant with you on the right flank of the Mountain. We sent down manna and quails for you. Eat of the wholesome things which We have provided for you and do not transgress, lest you should incur My wrath. He that incurs My wrath has indeed thrown himself into utter ruin; but I certainly forgive all sins for anyone who repents, believes and does righteous deeds, and thereafter keeps to the right path.” They have passed the danger zone and surged forth toward Mount Sinai, leaving Pharaoh and his army drowned. Their deliverance was a recent event which they remembered well, but it is recorded here as a reminder, so that they may give thanks.

The appointment at the right-hand side of Mount Sinai is mentioned here as though it is an accomplished event, when it was an appointment given to Moses to come to the Mount after preparing himself over a period of 40 nights. He would then receive the tablets and the laws recorded therein. That was a law regulating the life of the people entrusted with a mission to fulfill in the holy land after their departure from Egypt.

The fact that they were given manna, a sweet type of food that gathers on leaves, and quails, a type of bird easy to catch and eat, was another aspect of God’s grace and taking care of them in the barren desert where they found themselves. In fact, God was looking after them, even to the point of providing them with their daily food, in an easy way that required no hard effort.

God reminds them of all these favors and warns them against transgression, in the form of indulgence in physical pleasure and neglecting the duties they left Egypt to fulfill. God is preparing for them an assignment which they must undertake. The Arabic word used here for transgression is the same word that signifies tyranny which they had experienced in their very recent past, enduring its might before seeing its end with their own eyes. Hence, they are warned: “Eat of the wholesome things which We have provided for you and do not transgress, lest you should incur My wrath. He that incurs My wrath has indeed thrown himself into utter ruin.” Pharaoh had thrown himself in such ruin only recently, falling off his throne and drowning in the sea. To experience such a ruin is to fall from high, which contrasts with tyranny that exalts the tyrant and assumes for him a high position of power. The Qur’anic style juxtaposes such contrasting elements in word and shades of meaning to achieve a heightened effect and perfect harmony.

With this warning against indulgence in easy pleasures and neglecting the task assigned for them, the door for repentance is left open for anyone who slips so that he may return to the proper path. “But I certainly forgive all sins for anyone who repents, believes and does righteous deeds, and thereafter keeps to the right path.”

Repentance is not merely a word we say with our mouths. It is a resolve in one’s mind that manifests itself in strong faith and good deeds, as well as practical behavior. So when faith is settled in a person’s heart, faith is purged of all alien traces, and confirmed by good deeds, then man sets himself on the right path, guided by his faith and benefiting by the guarantee provided by good action. Achieving guidance is shown here as the result of strong faith and determined action.

Thus ends the scene of victory and the comments the Surah has to make on it. The curtains fall and lift again to show us the second scene of an address made directly to God by the side of Mount Sinai.

We will be speaking about this scene next week, God willing.