According to Taberî, the word 'belâ' (trial/affliction) mentioned in this verse means a great trial and test from the Lord; this word can sometimes mean blessing, and sometimes mean the suffering that people face in hardship and calamity. Furthermore, the expression 'yesûmûnekum' means that Pharaoh's family caused the Children of Israel to taste severe punishment and subjected them to it, and 'sû'el-azâb' is explained by their killing of the sons and sparing of the women. Taberî also emphasizes that the actions attributed to Pharaoh's family belong to those who actually carried them out, that the action is attributed to the doer regardless of the power of the one who commanded it.

أي ابتلاء واختبار لكم من ربكم عظيم، وقد يكون البلاء في هذا الموضع نعماء، وقد يكون معناه: من البلاء الذي قد يصيب الناس في الشدائد وغيرها

Zemahşerî explains in this text that the expression 'يسومونكم' means 'they demanded/imposed severe punishment upon you', and that the verb 'سام' comes from the meaning of demanding something. He also notes that the sentence 'يسومونكم' is from an i'rab perspective an independent clause, and there is also the possibility of it being a circumstantial state (hal) from the addressees or from Pharaoh's family. He states that the indicator 'ذلكم' can refer to salvation or punishment, and that the word 'البلاء' can signify either blessing or trial (difficulty).

فإن قلت : ما محل يسومونكم ؟ قلت : هو استئناف لا محل له . ويجوز أن يكون حالا من المخاطبين أو من آل فرعون . و { ذالكم } إشارة إلى الإنجاء أو إلى العذاب . والبلاء : النعمة أو المحنة .

Râzî discusses the reason for the use of the letter vav (and) in the verse from Surat Ibrahim; by relating the view of most exegetes on whether the killing of sons refers to the elders or children, he prefers that it refers to children, not the elders. He also dwells on the meaning of the expression 'sûu'l-azâb' and the linguistic analysis of Pharaoh and the word 'âl'.

وأكثر المفسرين على أن المراد بالآية الأطفال دون البالغين

Kurtubî states in this verse that the expression 'Âl-i Firavun' (Family of Pharaoh) is not limited to those who descended from Pharaoh, but encompasses everyone who followed his religion and nation. By the same principle, he argues that the 'âl' of the Prophet refers to those who embraced his religion and nation, and that genealogical proximity alone is not sufficient. He uses this view as evidence against the Rafizites who limit the Ahl al-Bayt only to Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn.

وكذلك آل الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم من هو على دينه وملته في عصره وسائر الأعصار سواء كان نسيبا له أو لم يكن ومن لم يكن على دينه وملته فليس من آله ولا أهله وإن كان نسيبه وقريبه خلافا للرافضة حيث قالت : إن آل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فاطمة والحسن والحسين فقط

Ibn Kesîr conveys that the word 'belâ' in the verse means 'blessing', relating it through views transmitted from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Abu al-Aliyah, Abu Malik, and Suddî. He also notes that according to the majority view transmitted by Kurtubî, the reference in this verse is to evils such as the killing of children and sparing of women, and that 'belâ' here means trial/affliction. Ibn Kesîr mentions that both meanings (blessing and trial) may have been intended together.

وأصل البلاء الإختبار وقد يكون بالخير والشر

According to Beydâwî, this verse is a detailed explanation of the blessing mentioned in brief in the previous verse, and conveys that Pharaoh's family considered it permissible to inflict upon the Children of Israel the worst torture in the form of killing their sons and sparing their women, and that deliverance from this was both a great blessing and a trial. Pharaoh's tyranny occurred when he learned through his dream or through the information of the sorcerers that someone would be born who would destroy his kingdom; however, their effort could not avert anything from Allah's decree. The word 'bela' in the verse can refer to both trial and blessing, because Allah's test sometimes comes through hardship and sometimes through blessing.

فلم يرد اجتهادهم من قدر الله شيئا