Quran Universe
8:54

كَدَأۡبِ ءَالِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡۚ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِمۡ فَأَهۡلَكۡنَٰهُم بِذُنُوبِهِمۡ وَأَغۡرَقۡنَآ ءَالَ فِرۡعَوۡنَۚ وَكُلّٞ كَانُواْ ظَٰلِمِينَ

Kadabi ali firAAawna waallatheena min qablihim kaththaboo biayati rabbihim faahlaknahum bithunoobihim waaghraqna ala firAAawna wakullun kanoo thalimeena

[Theirs is] like the custom of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned the people of Pharaoh. And all [of them] were wrongdoers.

Word by word
  1. كَدَأۡبِLike (the) way
  2. ءَالِ(of) people
  3. فِرۡعَوۡنَ(of) Firaun
  4. وَٱلَّذِينَand those who
  5. مِن(were) from
  6. قَبۡلِهِمۡۚbefore them
  7. كَذَّبُواْThey denied
  8. بِـَٔايَٰتِ(the) Signs
  9. رَبِّهِمۡ(of) their Lord
  10. فَأَهۡلَكۡنَٰهُمso We destroyed them
  11. بِذُنُوبِهِمۡfor their sins
  12. وَأَغۡرَقۡنَآand We drowned
  13. ءَالَ(the) people
  14. فِرۡعَوۡنَۚ(of) Firaun
  15. وَكُلّٞand (they) all
  16. كَانُواْwere
  17. ظَٰلِمِينَwrongdoers
Al-Anfal · 8:54Madinah

They denied, so they were destroyed. All were wrongdoers.

The pattern stated a second time

The end of the pattern
deniedthe signs of their Lord
so
destroyedPharaoh's people drowned
because
wrongdoersall of them
What the repetition says
just repeatingheard it already
denying their Lordthe deeper root

This repeats 8:52 with a change. There, they rejected the signs of Allah. Here, they denied the signs of their Lord, the One who raised and provided for them. Ibn Kathir notes Allah did not wrong them, they wronged themselves. Pharaoh's people were drowned.

Denying a gift from a stranger is one thing. Denying the One who has fed you since birth is another. Ingratitude toward your Lord is where it starts. Notice how many of His gifts went unnoticed today.

I'm not denying anything. I just don't think about it much.

Forgetting my Lord's gifts is the first step toward denying them.

Try this

Before you sleep, name five things your Lord gave you today and say alhamdulillah for each.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 8:53)

That is so because Allah will never change a grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in themselves. And verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower (53)Similar to the behavior of the people of Fir'awn, and those before them. They belied the Ayat of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned the people of Fir'awn for they were all wrongdoers (54)

Allah affirms His perfect justice and fairness in His decisions, for He decided that He will not change a bounty that He has granted someone, except on account of an evil that they committed. Allah said in another Ayah,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ ۗ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ۚ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ

(Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of goodness) themselves. But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, and they will find besides Him no protector.)[13:11]

Allah said next,

كَدَأْبِ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ

(Similar to the behavior of the people of Fir'awn,) meaning, He punished Fir'awn and his kind, those who denied His Ayat. Allah destroyed them because of their sins, and took away the favors that He granted them, such as gardens, springs, plants, treasures and pleasant dwellings, as well as all of the delights that they enjoyed. Allah did not wrong them, but it is they who wronged themselves.