They said: "We were oppressed before you came, and have been since you have come to us." He answered: "It may well be that soon God may destroy your enemy and make you inherit the land, and then see how you behave."
They said, “We have been oppressed before you came to us, and after you have come to us”; he said, “It is likely that your Lord may destroy your enemy and in his place make you the rulers of the earth, and then see what deeds you perform.”
They said, 'We have been hurt before thou camest to us, and after thou camest to us.' He said, 'Perchance your Lord will destroy your enemy, and will make you successors in the land, so that He may behold how you shall do.'
[But the children of Israel] said: "We have suffered hurt ere thou camest to us and since thou hast come to us!" [Moses] replied: "It may well be that your Sustainer will destroy your foe and make you inherit the earth: and thereupon he will behold how you act."
They said: oppressed we have been ere thou camest unto us and since thou hast come unto us. He said: belike your Lord will destroy your enemy and establish yougs in their stead in the land, thathe may see what wise ye act.
They said: "We (Children of Israel) had suffered troubles before you came to us, and since you have come to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth, so that He may see how you act?"
They said, “We were persecuted before you came to us, and after you came to us.” He said, “Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy, and make you successors in the land; then He will see how you behave.”
The people of Moses replied: 'We were oppressed before your coming to us and after it.' Moses said: 'Your Lord will soon destroy your enemy and make you rulers in the land. Then He will see how you act.'
They said: "We suffered troubles before you came to us, and since you have come to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors on the earth, so that He may see how you act"
They said: We suffered hurt before thou camest unto us, and since thou hast come unto us. He said: It may be that your Lord is going to destroy your adversary and make you viceroys in the earth, that He may see how ye behave.
They said, ‘We were tormented before you came to us and [also] after you came to us.’ He said, ‘Maybe your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then He will see how you act.’
They replied: 'We were hurt before you came to us, and after you came to us' He said: 'Your Lord may destroy your enemies and make you inheritors in the land. Then He will see how you conduct yourselves'
They said, "We have been harmed before you came to us and after you have come to us." He said, "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and grant you succession in the land and see how you will do."
His people said, "We suffered a great deal before you came and we are still suffering even after you have come." Moses (tried to encourage them) by saying, "There is hope that your Lord will destroy your enemies and make you (their) successors in the land. So consider how you act."
They said: We have been persecuted before you came to us and since you have come to us. He said: It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you rulers in the land, then He will see how you act.
Q<u>a</u>loo oo<u>th</u>een<u>a</u> min qabli an tatiyan<u>a</u> wamin baAAdi m<u>a</u> jitan<u>a</u> q<u>a</u>la AAas<u>a</u> rabbukum an yuhlika AAaduwwakum wayastakhlifakum fee alar<u>d</u>i fayan<i><u>th</u></i>ura kayfa taAAmaloon<b>a</b>
They replied, "We were being persecuted before you came to us, and we are still being persecuted." He said, "Your Lord may well destroy your enemy and make you successors to the land. Then He will see how you conduct yourselves."
They said: "We have had (nothing but) trouble, both before and after thou camest to us." He said: "It may be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you inheritors in the earth; that so He may try you by your deeds."
قَالُوٓا۟ أُوذِينَا مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ
The Children of Israel said to Moses (peace be upon him): 'We suffered at the hands of Pharaoh before you came to us and after you have come, with Pharaoh killing our sons and letting our women live.' Moses (peace be upon him) advised them giving them hope of release from their trial: 'It may be that Allah might destroy your enemy, Pharaoh and his people, and establish you on the earth after them, seeing whether you behave with thankfulness or ingratitude.'
The Children of Israel said to Moses (peace be upon him): 'We suffered at the hands of Pharaoh before you came to us and after you have come, with Pharaoh killing our sons and letting our women live.' Moses (peace be upon him) advised them giving them hope of release from their trial: 'It may be that Allah might destroy your enemy, Pharaoh and his people, and establish you on the earth after them, seeing whether you behave with thankfulness or ingratitude.'
<p>The Israelites who seemed to have no conception of such matters could not understand how patience alone could free them from Pharaoh's punishment and bring them success against him. They blamed the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) saying:</p><p>قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِن بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا</p><p>We have been persecuted before you came to us as well as after you came to us."</p><p>What they meant, perhaps, was that they were looking for a prophet to deliver them from the oppression of the Pharaoh, but their fate remained unchanged even after he came to them. The prophet Musa	answered to them:</p><p>عَسَىٰ رَ‌بُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ فَيَنظُرَ‌ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ</p><p>'It is likely that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the earth that He may see how then, you act.'</p><p>Sovereignty is a test</p><p>The last phrase of the verse has provided with a wise observation that sovereignty or dominion is not in itself an aim or objective but a means to achieve the objective of making peace and justice prevail in the land. Sovereignty or dominion is a sacred trust bestowed upon by Allah for making good prevail over evil. The verse has warned them that, in case they are bestowed this trust, they should not forget the ill fate of those who were before them.</p><p>Though the direct addressee of the verse are the Israelites, but indirectly the verse has thrown a warning to all those trusted with rule or dominion. Sovereignty or power, in fact, belongs to Allah alone. Allah has made man his deputy on the earth. He is the One who designates man with power and takes it away when He so wills. This is what the following verse means:</p><p>تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ</p><p>You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please." (3:26)</p><p>The power and rule, therefore, is a test for the rulers to see how far they have fulfilled their duty of establishing peace and justice and making good prevail over evil.</p><p>Abu Hayyan in his Tafsir Al-Bahr-al Muhit has included the following event under the comments on this verse: ` Amr ibn ` Ubaid once visited Mansur, the second caliph of the Abbaside dynasty, prior to his designation to caliphate and recited this verse: 'It is likely that Allah will destroy your enemy and make you successor in the earth.' This was a sort of prediction by ` Amr ibn ` Ubaid of his succession to the throne. Soon after Mansur succeeded to the throne and became the Caliph. ` Amr ibn ` Ubaid came to the Caliph again. Mansur reminded him of the prediction made by him. Amr ibn ` Ubaid instantly answered, "Well, the first part of the prediction has come true and you have become the Caliph, but the second part of it still remains unfulfilled. The verse also contains this phrase, فَیَنظُرَ کَیفَ تَعمَلُون "Then, He will see how you act." Amr ibn ` Ubaid suggested that gaining power is not a matter of pride because thereafter, Allah judges the acts of those in authority and sees how they make use of this trust.</p>
The Israelites who seemed to have no conception of such matters could not understand how patience alone could free them from Pharaoh's punishment and bring them success against him. They blamed the prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) saying:قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِن بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَاWe have been persecuted before you came to us as well as after you came to us."What they meant, perhaps, was that they were looking for a prophet to deliver them from the oppression of the Pharaoh, but their fate remained unchanged even after he came to them. The prophet Musa	answered to them:عَسَىٰ رَ‌بُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ فَيَنظُرَ‌ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ'It is likely that your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the earth that He may see how then, you act.'Sovereignty is a testThe last phrase of the verse has provided with a wise observation that sovereignty or dominion is not in itself an aim or objective but a means to achieve the objective of making peace and justice prevail in the land. Sovereignty or dominion is a sacred trust bestowed upon by Allah for making good prevail over evil. The verse has warned them that, in case they are bestowed this trust, they should not forget the ill fate of those who were before them.Though the direct addressee of the verse are the Israelites, but indirectly the verse has thrown a warning to all those trusted with rule or dominion. Sovereignty or power, in fact, belongs to Allah alone. Allah has made man his deputy on the earth. He is the One who designates man with power and takes it away when He so wills. This is what the following verse means:تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُYou give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please." (3:26)The power and rule, therefore, is a test for the rulers to see how far they have fulfilled their duty of establishing peace and justice and making good prevail over evil.Abu Hayyan in his Tafsir Al-Bahr-al Muhit has included the following event under the comments on this verse: ` Amr ibn ` Ubaid once visited Mansur, the second caliph of the Abbaside dynasty, prior to his designation to caliphate and recited this verse: 'It is likely that Allah will destroy your enemy and make you successor in the earth.' This was a sort of prediction by ` Amr ibn ` Ubaid of his succession to the throne. Soon after Mansur succeeded to the throne and became the Caliph. ` Amr ibn ` Ubaid came to the Caliph again. Mansur reminded him of the prediction made by him. Amr ibn ` Ubaid instantly answered, "Well, the first part of the prediction has come true and you have become the Caliph, but the second part of it still remains unfulfilled. The verse also contains this phrase, فَیَنظُرَ کَیفَ تَعمَلُون "Then, He will see how you act." Amr ibn ` Ubaid suggested that gaining power is not a matter of pride because thereafter, Allah judges the acts of those in authority and sees how they make use of this trust.