Transliteration:( Wa iz anjainaakum min Aali Fir'awna yasoomoo nakum sooo'al 'azaab, yuqattiloona abnaaa'akum wa yastahyoona nisaaa'akum; wa fee zaalikum balaaa'um mir Rabbikum 'azeem )
And remember when We delivered you (300) from the people of Pharaoh, who had inflicted you with severe punishment, slaughtering your sons and letting your daughters live (301). And therein (302) was the great bounty of your Lord.
This verse reminds either the Yahud of the Prophet’s time or the followers of Musa (peace be upon him) about how Allah rescued them from Pharaoh’s brutal oppression. Though it was Pharaoh’s officials and enforcers who executed the torment, the children of Israel were addressed collectively, showing that even spiritual descendants or disciples are included in divine narratives and reminders.
Pharaoh’s policy of slaughtering the sons and sparing the daughters was not out of mercy, but strategy. The daughters were left alive to serve as maids and laborers, exploited by the regime. This cruelty was part of Pharaoh's plan to weaken the community while benefiting from their women as lifelong servants.
The deliverance itself was a great bounty—whether seen as a divine rescue or as a test meant to strengthen them. This verse also hints at the context of Musa receiving the Torah, where he was ordered to fast for 30 days (Zil-Qadah). When he used a miswaak before presenting himself to Allah, he was told to add 10 more fasts, making it 40 days total, which is a spiritually significant number. He then received the Tablets of the Torah on the 10th of Zil-Hajj. This teaches that forty-day periods can be powerful for gaining divine closeness, and that miswaak does not invalidate a fast, as this ruling was specific only to Musa (peace be upon him) due to his unique encounter.
The tafsir of Surah Al-A’raf verse 141 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah A’raf ayat 140 which provides the complete commentary from verse 140 through 141.
(7:141) And call to mind when We delivered you from Pharaoh’s people who perpetrated on you a terrible torment, putting your males to death and sparing your females. Surely in it there was an awesome trial for you from your Lord.
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
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