The Story (Al-Qasas)
Verses 36-38 GROUP_1000 28.36-38
36
فَلَمَّا جَاءهُم مُّوسَى بِآيَاتِنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالُوا مَا هَذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّفْتَرًى وَمَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَذَا فِي آبَائِنَا الْأَوَّلِينَ
When Moses came to them with Our clear signs, they said, ‘This is nothing but contrived magic. We never heard of this among our forefathers.’
37
وَقَالَ مُوسَى رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِمَن جَاء بِالْهُدَى مِنْ عِندِهِ وَمَن تَكُونُ لَهُ عَاقِبَةُ الدَّارِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ
And Moses replied, ‘My Lord knows best who comes with guidance from Him and who will attain the heavenly abode in the hereafter. The wrongdoers shall never prosper.’
38
وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِي فَأَوْقِدْ لِي يَا هَامَانُ عَلَى الطِّينِ فَاجْعَل لِّي صَرْحًا لَّعَلِّي أَطَّلِعُ إِلَى إِلَهِ مُوسَى وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّهُ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ
Pharaoh said, ‘O nobles, I know of no god for you other than myself. So, Haman, burn me bricks of clay, and build me a high tower, so that I may have a look at the God of Moses, though I consider him to be one of the liars.’
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Commentary
(a) If an individual thinks highly of himself, and if someone of apparently ordinary status comes before him and voices outright criticism of him, he immediately flares up. He ridicules his critic and makes different types of derogatory statements with a view to undermining him. This is what Pharaoh did in the case of Moses. (b)Literally, ‘I do not know any being other than myself who is worth worshipping.’ This was not a serious statement. In uttering these words Pharaoh did not intend to state any fact. He only wanted to denigrate Moses. Similarly, when Pharaoh ordered his minister Haman to prepare fired bricks and construct a high tower so that he could peep into the sky and see Moses’s God, this was not a genuine order. Its sole purpose was to make a mockery of Moses.