Ornaments of Gold (Al-Zukhruf)
Verses 51-56 GROUP_1301 43.51-56
51
وَنَادَى فِرْعَوْنُ فِي قَوْمِهِ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَلَيْسَ لِي مُلْكُ مِصْرَ وَهَذِهِ الْأَنْهَارُ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِي أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ
Pharaoh called to his people, ‘My people, is the Kingdom of Egypt not mine? And these rivers that flow at my feet, are they not mine? Do you not see?
52
أَمْ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْ هَذَا الَّذِي هُوَ مَهِينٌ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُبِينُ
Am I not better than this contemptible man who can hardly make his meaning clear:
53
فَلَوْلَا أُلْقِيَ عَلَيْهِ أَسْوِرَةٌ مِّن ذَهَبٍ أَوْ جَاء مَعَهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ مُقْتَرِنِينَ
and why have not armlets of gold been bestowed on him and why is there not a train of angels accompanying him?’
54
فَاسْتَخَفَّ قَوْمَهُ فَأَطَاعُوهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ
In this way he fooled his people and they obeyed him: they were a rebellious people.
55
فَلَمَّا آسَفُونَا انتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
Then when they provoked Our wrath, We took revenge on them and drowned every one of them.
56
فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا وَمَثَلًا لِلْآخِرِينَ
We made them a precedent, an example for later peoples.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) The rejecters of Truth have always done so after looking at the ordinary position of the preacher of Truth. Pharaoh enjoyed a prominent position in Egypt. He was the ruler of the country. The canals flowing out of the River Nile did so at his behest. He was surrounded by all the paraphernalia of pomp and glory. As compared to this, Moses was to all appearances an ordinary person. Pharaoh so mislead his people by highlighting this difference, that they joined him in rejecting Moses. Apparently, on the basis of this reasoning, Pharaoh’s community supported him. But the real reason for this was the weakness of Pharaoh’s community rather than the strength of his arguments. At that time, supporting Moses meant the destruction of a well-settled life; and there are very few people who have the courage to take the side of Truth when it means sacrificing their well laid plans. Ultimately, the punishment of God afflicted Pharaoh as a result of his denial of Truth and his community was not spared either.