قَالَ فَمَا بَالُ الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَى ﴿۵۱﴾ قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ رَبِّي فِي كِتَابٍ لَا يَضِلُّ رَبِّي وَلَا يَنْسَى ﴿۵۲﴾ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ مَهْدًا وَسَلَكَ لَكُمْ فِيهَا سُبُلًا وَأَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِنْ نَبَاتٍ شَتَّى ﴿۵۳﴾ كُلُوا وَارْعَوْا أَنْعَامَكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِأُولِي النُّهَى ﴿۵۴﴾

﴾51﴿ Qaala famaa baalul quroonil oolaa
﴾52﴿ Qaala 'ilmuhaa 'inda Rabee fee kitaab, laa yadillu Rabbee wa laa yansaa
﴾53﴿ Allazee ja'ala lakumul arda mahdanw wa salaka lakum feehaa subulanw wa anzala minas samaaa'i maaa'an fa akhrajnaa biheee azwaajam min nabaatin shatta
﴾54﴿ Kuloo war'aw an'aamakum; inna fee zaalika la Aayaatil li ulin nuhaa

﴾51﴿ Pharaoh said, Then what is the case of the previous generations
﴾52﴿ Moses said, The knowledge of that is with my Lord in a Record. My Lord neither errs nor forgets anything
﴾53﴿ He is the one who made the earth a place of comfort for you and prepared it, and placed paths for you within it, and sent down water from the sky. Then, with it, We brought forth pairs of various plants
﴾54﴿ Eat and pasture your livestock. Indeed, in this are many signs for those of understanding

[51] In this verse, Pharaoh's second question is mentioned. The core of his question is: "If what you say is true, then what about the earlier generations who worshipped other than Allah?"
So, what is your judgment about them? This question from Pharaoh was actually a trick to trap Musa (peace be upon him).
His intent was: if Musa were to say that all those past generations were misguided, the people might become upset with him and reject his message.
[52] In this verse, the response of Musa (peace be upon him) is filled with wisdom—he entrusted the knowledge of that matter to Allah the Most High and did not pass any personal judgment about it.
This is a lesson in etiquette for those who call to the truth: even today, opponents raise similar questions, and the proper way to respond is in this manner—so that they are not dragged into unnecessary controversy or backlash.
In this verse, two rigid attributes (ṣalbiyyah) are negated from Allah: forgetfulness and ignorance—both of which are impossible for Him.
[53] In this verse, there is a rational proof for tawḥīd (the oneness of Allah), and this type of reasoning is known as tanwīr (illumination) through divine presentation (ṭarīqat al-idkhāl al-ilāhī).
Since Musa (peace be upon him) had already presented two ṣalbī (negating) attributes of Allah as a rational argument—namely, that He neither forgets nor is ignorant—Allah Himself then adds further clarity by mentioning additional proofs of His oneness through thubūtī (affirmative) attributes related to His actions.
In this verse, four demonstrations of Allah’s power are mentioned.
The word (azwājā) refers to pairs—male and female—even in trees and plants. Alternatively, azwāj can also mean various kinds or categories.
[54] In this verse, another rational proof is presented by mentioning some of the blessings bestowed upon humans and livestock.
This is expressed in the form of a command, because both benefiting from these blessings and fulfilling the rights of animals are obligations.
The purpose is to encourage the proper use of the things mentioned in the previous verse.
The word (an-nuhā) is the plural of nuhyah or derived from nuhwah, which refers to that faculty by which a person is protected from evil actions—that is, intellect and moral restraint, on the condition that it is used to prevent wrongdoing.