Overview (Verses 46 - 56)

The Same Old Argument

The surah continues to console the Prophet in the face of the objections raised about God's choice of him as the messenger by the chiefs of his people, people who upheld the false values of the present world. In this context, the surah relates an episode from Moses' history depicting how Pharaoh and his people also upheld the same values. The Quraysh elders said: "Why was not this Qur'an revealed to some great man of the two cities?" (Verse 31) In former times, Pharaoh took pride in his power and kingdom, arrogantly asking: "Is the kingdom of Egypt not mine, with all these rivers flowing at my feet? Do you not see?" (Verse 51) Proud and arrogant, he pointed to Moses, God's prophet and messenger, who had no great worldly wealth or position, and said: "Am I not better than this contemptible wretch who can hardly make his meaning clear?" (Verse 52) Pharaoh also made a suggestion similar to the unbelieving Quraysh: "Why have no bracelets of gold been given to him? Why have no angels come to accompany him?' (Verse 53) It sounds like a musical recording, played over and over again.

The surah shows how the deluded masses responded, despite the miracles shown by Moses and the tests to which they were subjected. Every time a hardship befell them, they would cry out to Moses to pray to his Lord to lift their affliction. The surah also explains the fate they suffered after they failed to heed the warning: "When they incurred Our anger, We inflicted Our retribution on them and drowned them all; and so We made them a thing of the past and an example for later generations." (Verses 55-56) Yet these later unbelievers still do not take heed.

Throughout this episode, the unity of the Divine message is clearly apparent. Similarly, the nature of the tyrannical elders and their reception of the message of the truth is the same. They all cling to the trivial values of this world. We also see the nature of the masses who are easily led astray by their leaders.

We sent Moses with Our message to Pharaoh and his nobles; and he said: 'I am a messenger of the Lord of all the worlds,' but when he presented Our signs to them, they laughed at them. (Verses 46-47)

The episode starts with a very brief reference to the first meeting between Moses and Pharaoh, as a prelude to the main point intended here, which is to portray the similarity of the objections made by Pharaoh and the pagan Arabs, as also their similar values. It sums up the nature of Moses' message in these words: "I am a messenger of the Lord of all the worlds." (Verse 46) It is the same truth stated by every messenger: that he is 'a messenger' sent by 'the Lord of all the worlds'. The surah then provides a very quick reference to the signs given to Moses, adding how the people received these: "When he presented Our signs to them, they laughed at them." (Verse 47) The arrogant and the ignorant always behave this way.

This is followed by a reference to the testing hardships God inflicted on Pharaoh and his people, which are detailed in other surahs:

Yet each sign We showed them was greater than the preceding one. We put them through suffering so that they might return Ito the right path]. They said: 'Sorcerer, pray to your Lord for us on the strength of the covenant He has made with you. We shall now follow the right way' Yet when We removed their suffering they still broke their word. (Verses 48-50)

The signs shown by Moses did not provide enough motivation for people to believe, yet each was greater than the one before it. This confirms what God says in several places that such signs do not provide guidance to a heart if it is not ready to listen, and that God's messengers cannot make the deaf hear or the blind see. What is most singular in what God describes of Pharaoh's and his people's attitude is that when they spoke to Moses, they said: "Sorcerer, pray to your Lord for us on the strength of the covenant He has made with you. We shall now follow the right way." (Verse 49) They appeal to him to do his best to lift their hardship, yet they address him as `sorcerer'. They also say, 'Pray to your Lord while he tells them that he is ' a messenger from the Lord of all the worlds,' not his own special Lord to whom only he and a few followers submit. Neither miracles nor God's messenger's words touched their hearts, despite their promise: "We shall now follow the right way." Such promises are often forgotten: "Yet when We removed their suffering they still broke their word." (Verse 50)

The masses may be influenced by miracles, and the truth may find its way to their hearts that have long been deceived. To forestall this, Pharaoh appeared before them in his full regalia, adorned in splendour. He tried to deceive them with a superficial argument, one that unfortunately appeals to those who have long endured tyranny:

Pharaoh proclaimed to his people, saying: My people, is the kingdom of Egypt not mine, with all these rivers flowing at my feet? Do you not see? Am I not better than this contemptible wretch who can hardly make his meaning clear? Why have no bracelets of gold been given to him? Why have no angels come to accompany him?' (Verses 51-53)

The kingdom of Egypt and the rivers flowing at Pharaoh's feet are there, before their very eyes. The masses are deluded by such apparent power and splendour. By contrast, the kingdom of the heavens and earth, and all that is between them, compared to which Egypt is no more than a little particle, requires believing hearts to perceive. Only such believers can draw the right comparison. Under the yoke of tyranny that has long subjugated them, the masses are dazzled by the glitter they see before them. They do not stretch their minds to reflect on the kingdom of the universe and to whom it belongs.

Pharaoh knew how to manipulate his people's hearts and delude them with his riches: "Am I not better than this contemptible wretch who can hardly make his meaning clear?" (Verse 52) What he meant by referring to 'this contemptible wretch' was that Moses was not a king, a prince, or a man of power or wealth. Or perhaps he meant that Moses belonged to the Israelites, a wretched and enslaved community in Egypt. His other description of Moses as one 'who can hardly make his meaning clear' refers to his speech impediment. By the time of this encounter with Pharaoh, however, Moses was cured of this by God in answer to his prayer: "My Lord, open up my heart [to Your light], and make my mission easy for me, and free my tongue from its impediment, so that people may understand what I say." (20: 25-28) Nothing now prevented him from making his meaning clear. In the eyes of the masses, Pharaoh, with his terrestrial kingdom, was better than Moses, even though he had the word of truth, was a prophet, and advocated the faith that ensured safety from hell.

"Why have no bracelets of gold been given to him?" (Verse 53) Is such a petty thing as a gold bracelet needed to confirm a Divine message? Is a mere trifling to be valued as greater than the miracles God gave to His messenger? Or, perhaps, Pharaoh meant that Moses should have been crowned as king to give him power as well as the message. "Why have no angels come to accompany him?" (Verse 53) This is yet another deceptive objection, one that is often levelled at God's messengers.

"Thus did he make fools of his people, and they obeyed him. They were people lost in evil." (Verse 54) That tyrants make fools of their people is a familiar story. First of all, they isolate their people from all sources of knowledge, withholding the facts until they are forgotten and no longer sought after. They use all types of influences until their minds are fully convinced of them. Thereafter, it is easy to make fools of them and lead them wherever they want them to go. Yet no tyrant can do this to his people unless they are transgressors, turning away from God's straight path after having abandoned the standards of His faith. Conversely, it is extremely difficult to try to delude believers or make fools of them. Hence, the Qur'an gives the reason for the response Pharaoh received from his people: "Thus did he make fools of his people, and they obeyed him. They were people lost in evil." (Verse 54)

The time of tests, warnings and education was over. God was fully aware that these people would not believe. The masses willingly obeyed Pharaoh, an arrogant tyrant, turning a blind eye to God's light and His clear signs. Therefore, the warning had to be fulfilled and God's word was issued: "When they incurred Our anger, We inflicted Our retribution on them and drowned them all; and so We made them a thing of the past and an example for later generations." (Verses 55-56)

Here, God is speaking about Himself in the context of retribution inflicted on people whom He destroyed. This is meant to highlight His limitless power. 'What the surah describes is a situation where these people were guilty of a great crime incurring God's anger. Therefore, "We inflicted Our retribution on them and drowned them alt , meaning Pharaoh, the notables among his people and his army. In this way did they meet their end when they tried to pursue Moses and his people. God made of them the ancestors of every erring generation. He also set them as "an example for later generations". (Verse 56) Hence, later communities should learn their story and benefit from the lessons it delivers.

Thus, this episode of Moses' story reflects similar attitudes to those of the pagan Arabs as they confronted God's last messenger. It is mentioned here so as to comfort and support the Prophet and those who believed with him. It warns the unbelievers against a fate similar to that of earlier people. This is one example of how the Qur'an uses a historical account as an edifying narrative. The surah then gives us an episode from Jesus' story against the backdrop of the Arabs' argument in defence of their worship of angels and the comparison they cite, as some Christians worship Jesus. This is given in the last passage of the surah.