وَإِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَكَ وَلِقَوْمِكَ وَسَوْفَ تُسْأَلُونَ ﴿۴۴﴾ وَاسْأَلْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رُسُلِنَا أَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ دُونِ الرَّحْمَنِ آلِهَةً يُعْبَدُونَ ﴿۴۵﴾ وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَى بِآيَاتِنَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ فَقَالَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿۴۶﴾ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِآيَاتِنَا إِذَا هُمْ مِنْهَا يَضْحَكُونَ ﴿۴۷﴾ وَمَا نُرِيهِمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ إِلَّا هِيَ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ أُخْتِهَا وَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿۴۸﴾

﴾44﴿ Wa innahoo la zikrun laka wa liqawmika wa sawfa tus'aloon
﴾45﴿ Was'al man arsalnaa min qablika mir Rusulinaaa 'a ja'alnaa min doonir Rahmaani aalihatany yu'badoon
﴾46﴿ Wa laqad arsalnaa Moosaa bi aayaatinaaa ilaa Fir'awna wa mala'ihee faqaala innee Rasoolu Rabbil 'aalameen
﴾47﴿ Falamma jaaa'ahum bi aayaatinaaa izaa hum minhaa yadhakoon
﴾48﴿ Wa maa nureehim min aayatin illaa hiya akbaru min ukhtihaa wa akhaznaahum bil'azaabi la'allahum yarji'oon

﴾44﴿ And indeed, this Quran is a reminder for you and your people, and soon you will be questioned
﴾45﴿ And ask those whom We sent before you as Our messengers: Have We ever appointed gods besides the Most Merciful to be worshiped
﴾46﴿ And indeed, We sent Moses, peace be upon him, with Our signs to Pharaoh and the chiefs of his people, and he said, Indeed, I am the messenger of the Lord of the worlds
﴾47﴿ But when he came to them with Our signs, they laughed at him
﴾48﴿ But when he came to them with Our signs, they laughed at him

[44] This is the second reason for the command (فَاسْتَمْسِكْ)—“So hold firmly [to the Book].”
The phrase (وَسَوْفَ تُسْأَلُونَ)—“and surely you will be questioned”—means that you will be asked about the blessing of the Qur’an: regarding its recitation, its practice, and its explanation.
This verse indicates that the Qur’an is one of the greatest blessings of Allah the Exalted.
[45] This is a general transmitted (naqlī) proof from all the prophets (peace be upon them), as also found in Surah al-Naḥl (16:36) and Surah al-Anbiyā’ (21:25).
Its connection to the previous verse is that just as the Qur’an contains the message of tawḥīd (monotheism), likewise, the call of all the prophets was also to tawḥīd.
Therefore, the message of the Qur’an aligns with the message of all the messengers.
The phrase (وَاسْأَلْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا)—“Ask those We sent”—refers to the event of the Night Journey (Isrā’), in which the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) met with some of the prophets.
According to the narration reported by al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, and others, he was commanded to ask them, and two reports are mentioned:
1. He did ask them, and they replied that they were all sent with the message of tawḥīd.
2. He did not ask, saying, “I am certain,” and therefore there was no need to ask.
Alternatively, the “asking” could mean reflecting on their scriptures and teachings—like the Torah and the Gospel.
That is why, in the following verses, the stories of Mūsā (peace be upon him) and ʿĪsā (peace be upon him) are mentioned.
The phrase (أَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ دُونِ الرَّحْمَنِ آلِهَةً)—“Have We made gods besides the Most Merciful?”—with the word jaʿalnā (We made), implies that the disagreement between monotheists and polytheists is about the concept of gods other than Allah.
Even today, people refer to these beings as ʿaṭāʾī (endowed powers), and the common people say that Allah has granted specific powers to saints and pious figures—like the ability to give children, wealth, heal paralysis, remove pain, cure diseases, control things freely, or even know the unseen.
Although they don’t believe these figures are fully independent from Allah, this still constitutes the essence of shirk (polytheism).
[46,47] This is a detailed transmitted (naqlī) proof from Mūsā (peace be upon him), in which the outcome of rejection is mentioned through the incident of Pharaoh and his people.
It is also connected to verse 31—just as the polytheists of Makkah mocked the final Messenger (peace be upon him) for being poor and humble, similarly, Pharaoh objected to Mūsā (peace be upon him), who appeared poor and insignificant in comparison to Pharaoh.
The word (يَضْحَكُونَ) refers to their laughter—meaning ridicule and mockery.
Mentioning this characteristic highlights their extreme arrogance and rebellion, as those who mock do not reflect or think deeply.
[48] This indicates that their laughter was baseless and foolish, because these signs were not small or ordinary.
The phrase “greater” (أكبر) refers to each sign being considered great in the eyes of the observer—meaning all of them were significant and awe-inspiring.
Alternatively, it may mean that each successive sign was greater than the one before it, increasing in severity and impact.