Although Pharaoh and his followers saw the Divine Sign of the staff, and how the magicians were defeated with the tricks they presented, before their eyes, they insisted on their pride, arrogance, and disbelief. Thus, Allah the Almighty afflicted them with several calamities:
First: They were afflicted with drought for years, and this affected the economy in that kingdom negatively, but the people neither remembered Allah nor returned to Him in repentance. Therefore, Allah the Almighty turned that affliction into wellness, so that they might repent and show gratitude to their Lord for His Blessings. Yet, that wellness made them more persistent in disbelief. Not to mention, they claimed that they deserved well-being due to their “good deeds”, and that the drought was because of the bad luck which Moses and his followers brought to them.
Second: They said to Moses, peace be upon him: “No matter what sign you may bring to deceive us, we will never believe in you.” (Al-A’raf 7: 132) It included accusing Moses of witchcraft and falsehood. However, it also included their implied belief since they say “sign (Ayah)” which confirms that Moses, peace is upon him, told the truth. Consequently, Allah the Almighty sent them several successive Ayaat (Divine Signs in this context). They are as follows:
- “The Flood,” which is the abundant rain that drowns and destroys crops and fruits.
- “Locusts” are the well-known insects. The locusts ate their crops and fruits, leaving nothing for them. They even ate the nails of their doors, leaving them as pieces of wood.
- “Lice”: They are the mites that come out of the wheat seeds. They ate wheat seeds making Pharaoh’s followers unable to benefit but from a very little quantity of them.
- “Frogs”: Frogs showed up everywhere so that if one of them wanted to speak, the frog would jump to his mouth. Furthermore, they heard their noisy sounds wherever and whenever to such a point that the frogs prevented them from sleeping.
- “Blood”: Allah the Almighty plagued them with blood, if they took water from a river or well, they found it blood, not water.
After each calamity, they used to come to Moses, peace be upon him, and say to him: “O Moses! Pray to your Lord on our behalf, by virtue of the covenant He made with you. If you help remove this torment from us, we will certainly believe in you and let the Children of Israel go with you.” (Al-A’araf 7: 134)
6. Some scholars mentioned that Allah the Almighty afflicted them with the plague, but they were neither deterred nor did they return to their Lord. Allah the Almighty says: “Indeed, We afflicted Pharaoh’s people with famine and shortage of crops so they might come back ˹to their senses˺.* In times of prosperity, they said, “This is what we deserve,” but in adversity, they blamed it on Moses and those with him.1 Surely all is destined by Allah. Yet most of them did not know* They said, “No matter what sign you may bring to deceive us, we will never believe in you.”* So We plagued them with floods, locusts, lice, frogs, and blood—all as clear signs, but they persisted in arrogance and were a wicked people*When tormented, they pleaded, “O Moses! Pray to your Lord on our behalf, by virtue of the covenant He made with you. If you help remove this torment from us, we will certainly believe in you and let the Children of Israel go with you.”* But as soon as We removed the torment from them—until they met their inevitable fate1—they broke their promise.” (Al-A’araf 7: 130-135)
لما شاهد فرعون ومن معه آية العصا وانهزم السحر والسحرة أمام أعينهم، تكبروا وواصلوا كفرهم وعنادهم، فابتلاهم الله بجملة من البلايا
أولاً: أصابهم الجفاف والقحط لسنوات، وهذا يمثل عصب الاقتصاد في تلك المملكة، فلم يتذكر القوم ولم يرجعوا إلى الله، فحول الله بلاءهم إلى عافية لعلهم يتوبون ويشكرون ربهم على نعمه، لكن كانت هذه العافية تزيدهم إصرارا على الكفر، فكانوا يزعمون أنهم مستحقون للرخاء لحسن أفعالهم، وإنما أصابهم الجدب بشؤم موسى ومن معه.
ثانيًا: قالوا لموسى عليه السلام:” مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِ مِن آيَةٍ لِّتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ” (الأعراف 7: 132)، وهو يتضمن اتهام موسى بالسحر والتكذيب، كما يتضمن تصديقهم الباطن بصدق موسى لأنهم يقولون له (بآية) وهي العلامة على صدقه-عليه السلام-، فأرسل الله عليهم جملة من الآيات المتتابعة، وهي كالتالي
“الطوفان :” وهو الأمطار الكثيرة المغرقة للزروع والثمار والمتلفة لها
“الجراد: ” وهو الجراد المعروف المشهور، فكان الجراد يأكل زروعهم وثمارهم فلا يبقي لهم شيئًا، بل كانت تأكل مسامير أبوابهم وتدع الخشب
“القُمَّلَ : “وهو السوس الذي يخرج من الحنطة، فيأكل تلك الحنطة ولا يستطيعون أن ينتفعوا بها بشيء إلا قليل جدًّا
“الضفادع: “: كانت الضفادع تظهر لهم في كل مكان، حتى أن أحدهم إذا أراد أن يتكلم قفز الضفدع إلى فمه، ويسمعون أصواتها في كل مكان حتى منعتهم من النوم
“الدم : ” أرسل الله عليهم الدم فكانوا إذا أخذوا الماء من النهر أو البئر وجدوه دمًا وليس ماءً
وفي كل بلية يأتون موسى-عليه السلام- فيقولون له: ” يَا مُوسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِندَكَ لَئِن كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرَآئِيلَ “. (الأعراف 7: 134)
ذكر بعض العلماء أن الله-عز وجل- أرسل عليهم مرض الطاعون لكنهم لم يرتدعوا ولم يرجعوا إلى ربهم
قال الله تعالى: “وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا آلَ فِرْعَونَ بِالسِّنِينَ وَنَقْصٍ مِّن الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ (130) فَإِذَا جَاءتْهُمُ الْحَسَنَةُ قَالُواْ لَنَا هَذِهِ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُواْ بِمُوسَى وَمَن مَّعَهُ أَلا إِنَّمَا طَائِرُهُمْ عِندَ اللهُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ (131) وَقَالُواْ مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِ مِن آيَةٍ لِّتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ (132) فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ الطُّوفَانَ وَالْجَرَادَ وَالْقُمَّلَ وَالضَّفَادِعَ وَالدَّمَ آيَاتٍ مُّفَصَّلَاتٍ فَاسْتَكْبَرُواْ وَكَانُواْ قَوْمًا مُّجْرِمِينَ (133) وَلَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّجْزُ قَالُواْ يَا مُوسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِندَكَ لَئِن كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرَآئِيلَ (134) فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمُ الرِّجْزَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ هُم بَالِغُوهُ إِذَا هُمْ يَنكُثُونَ (135) فَانتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ فِي الْيَمِّ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُواْ عَنْهَا غَافِلِينَ”. (الأعراف 7: 130-135)