al-Dukhān

فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي لَيْلاً إِنَّكُمْ مُتَّبَعُونَ

وَاتْرُكِ الْبَحْرَ رَهْواً إِنَّهُمْ جُنْدٌ مُغْرَقُونَ

23. [We said unto him:] “Depart you with My servants by night ¹² . Surely you will be pursued [the people of Pharaoh].”
24. “And traverse the sea ¹³ [and expect nothing since following your passage water will fill up the gap] since they are to be drowned.”

The nightly flight of the Children of Israel led by Moses (as) was a kind of velvet coup unbearable to Pharaoh hence dispatching a host to pursue them. The Verse implies that if you cannot attain to your goals in a land of disbelief emigrate from it and know that God bestows security and peace to his friends. According to Verses 23 and 24, Moses’ (as) prayer was answered and he was asked to depart from Egypt at night with his followers from among the Children of Israel. God let him know that following their flight, the people of Pharaoh would pursue you.

He commanded Moses (as) to strike the Nile with his stick and it would be cleaved so that they may traverse it safely, but he had to leave it as it was and entertain no worries since it had been ordained that Pharaoh and his host, i.e., the Copts, be drowned in it. Upon hearing the intelligence that Moses (as) and the Children of Israel departed from the city, he pursued them with his host and saw that the Nile was cloven asunder and learned that it was Moses’ miracle, but because of is vanity and arrogance he thought that he could traverse the Nile on their heels; however, when they reached half way, the cleft collapsed and they were all drowned.

All creatures are the Divine Host totally under His Command. They are the friends of God’s friends and the enemies of His enemies. They await the Call to take vengeance upon His enemies and cause their destruction.

Footnotes

1. 12. Asr is taken from isra’ “move from one location to another by night.
2. 13. Rahw means open, quiet, and vast road.