Surah Ta Ha (Ta Ha) 20 : 77

Overview (Verses 77 - 79)

The Drowning of Pharaoh and His Army
 
The curtains are drawn only to lift again on a new scene in Moses’ history. Now we see the triumph of faith and truth in practical life, after their victory as an idea and belief. What we have seen so far is the triumph of the sign given to Moses over sorcery, the new faith in the sorcerers’ hearts over their hopes of gain and fears of loss as well as over Pharaoh’s threats and punishment. Now we see a related victory for truth over falsehood, guidance over error, and faith over tyranny. All this takes place in real life after it has been achieved in people’s consciences. In fact advocates of the truth cannot openly demonstrate their high moral ground until they have triumphed within themselves over all temptation.
 
Truth and faith have a certain reality which, once materialized within one’s conscience, finds its way into real life. Should faith remain an outward appearance that does not touch the heart, and truth remain a raised slogan that has not sunk deep into people’s hearts and minds, then tyranny and falsehood may be victorious. They can achieve such a victory with the physical power under their command, one which cannot be matched by the mere appearance of faith and slogans of truth. It is only when the latter are truly established in hearts and minds that they become stronger than the physical might which falsehood and tyranny can muster. This is the fact which we clearly see in Moses’ attitude towards the sorcerers and their ploys, and later in the sorcerers’ attitude towards Pharaoh and his noblemen. This is the prelude to victory as we see in the next scene in the sūrah. 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. (Verses 77-79) The sūrah does not mention here what happened after the confrontation between faith and tyranny, nor what measures Pharaoh took against the sorcerers after they declared their belief in God, defying his power and tyranny, as well as all earthly temptation. It simply paints this scene of total victory so that the triumph in one’s own conscience is directly related to triumph in real life. We also see here how God provides total care for His servants. By the same token, the sūrah does not dwell on the scene of departure from Egypt, and the standing before the sea, as these are painted in detail in other sūrahs. In fact, it shows the victory scene here without preliminaries, because these concerned people’s hearts.
 
All we have here is the inspiration given to Moses to depart from Egypt at night with the Children of Israel, and to strike out for them a dry path across the sea. We see Moses with complete reassurance as he and his followers receive God’s care. Thus, he has no fear of his people being overtaken by Pharaoh or of being overwhelmed by the parted sea. God’s will which made the sea such a great volume of water with all its characteristics is able to part it for a while to give those believers a dry path through so as to continue their journey.
 
“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.” (Verses 78-79) Thus the sūrah sums up how Pharaoh and his host were overwhelmed by the sea. It gives no further details. In this way, it retains its total effect. We realize that Pharaoh had led his people into error in their way of life in the same way as he led them into error by pursuing the believers into the sea. In both cases, he led them to utter ruin.
 
We prefer not to dwell on the details of what happened to Pharaoh and his people, so that we move on with the sūrah as it relates the story. We will, however, reflect for a moment on the lessons that we can derive from this scene.
 
When God Intervenes
 
It was God who conducted the battle between faith and tyranny. The believers were not required to do anything other than follow the inspiration received by Moses and to move out at night. The believers were no match for the unbelievers in terms of material power. Moses and his men were weak and powerless, while Pharaoh and his army held all the material power. Hence, a battle between the two parties could not take place. Therefore, God took over, but only after the truth of faith was fully engrained in the hearts of those whose only strength was that which they derived from faith. Thus we see the tyrant delivering his threat and warning the believers of doom: “I shall most certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I shall most certainly crucify you on the trunks of the palm trees.” (Verse 71) To this, the believers, with their hearts full of faith, reply: “Decree, then, whatever you are going to decree. You can only decree on what pertains to this worldly life.” (Verse 72)
 
The simple truth of the matter is that when the battle between faith and tyranny reached this level in people’s hearts, God himself took up the banner of truth and hoisted it high, leaving the banner of falsehood trampled upon. All this took place without the believers exerting any effort whatsoever.
 
We also learn from this account that when the Children of Israel accepted the humiliation Pharaoh imposed on them, by virtue of his persecution campaign, 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 held high, declaring their rejection of Pharaoh and their belief in God, then God intervened and conducted the battle. Thus, victory was achieved on the battlefield as it was earlier achieved within their hearts and souls.
 
Such is the lesson driven home in this sūrah as it portrays the two scenes in quick succession, without dwelling on further detail. This is what people of faith should understand, so that they know when to expect God’s help to achieve their victory.