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 جِئْتَنَا
We 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 test
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.
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 تَشَاءُ
You 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.