Pharaoh (Firawn)

Pharaoh as Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy mentions him in the series "Al Fawzu Al Moubeen": his dream and what his counsellors made of it, his arrogance in what he said, and a comparison between the sending of Musa to him and the sending of the prophets to their peoples. ¹

The Sheikh says that Pharaoh saw a dream, which his counsellors interpreted to mean that a boy from the Children of Israel would grow up and remove him from his kingdom. ¹

The Sheikh says that the Qur'an relates the stories of Qarun, Pharaoh, Musa and Shu'ayb in brief, and that its verses present images of tyranny, hoarding and injustice. ²

The Sheikh compares the sending of the prophets to their peoples with the sending of Musa to Pharaoh, and some sentences at this point are unclear (needs_source: the sentences are garbled in the recording). ³

The Sheikh criticises Pharaoh's arrogance and describes his saying that he sees only what he himself sees, and he notes that the prophets were sent to their peoples. The verse the Sheikh cites on Pharaoh's words ⁴

The Sheikh reports al-Shafi'i's explanation of God's command to Musa and Harun to speak gently, and he wonders why they were commanded to be gentle with one who claimed supreme lordship The verse on the command to speak gently (needs_source: the work of al-Shafi'i is not named in the recording). ⁵

The Sheikh presents Pharaoh's words to Musa reminding him of how he was raised, then applies the same point to someone who holds over his nephew the cost of what he spent on him. He speaks of treating orphans gently and cites a verse on that The verse on the treatment of the orphan. ⁶

The Sheikh holds that Hell lies in wait for the tyrants and watches them, and he notes that in the passage he is discussing God did not describe Pharaoh as a disbeliever but as a transgressor, saying that his disbelief is a matter between him and God, who will judge him on the Day of Resurrection ⁷.

He mentions that the sea is one of God's soldiers, standing beside some people and drowning others, that no one threw Pharaoh into the sea but that he entered it on his horse, and that the sea cast him out after he had drowned ⁸.

The Sheikh imagines what Pharaoh's media would have said had he vanished in the sea, for example claiming that he had gone to meet the ruling god and share the universe with him, or that he was resting from the strain of the battle ⁹.

He reports from French scientists that the mummy attributed to Pharaoh indicates death by drowning rather than by suffocation or cold, and then compares the rain at Badr, which firmed the sand under the Muslims' feet and made the ground slippery under the feet of the disbelievers: the rain was one and its effect different (needs_source) ¹⁰.

The Sheikh holds that Pharaoh loved spectacle, media and the distortion and embellishment of facts, and he mentions that Musa's staff became a serpent and that the magicians were gathered to face him ¹⁴.

The Sheikh poses the question of what connects the story of Musa to Surat al-Nazi'at and to the hereafter, and then gives his answer, saying that it is his view and God knows best ¹⁵.

He says that Musa came to the Pharaohs of Egypt when they had reached a remarkable civilisation, and that whoever visits the museums in Luxor and Aswan finds the throne of the deity as they drew it in their belief (needs_source) ¹⁶.

He states that this depiction goes back about seven thousand years and that in it the throne is carried by eight (needs_source) ¹¹.

He asks whether these people had a message, whether Idris was Egyptian, and how the Pharaohs knew that the Throne of the Merciful is carried by eight, given that Musa came thousands of years after them (needs_source) ¹¹.

He mentions that the Pharaohs believed in life after death and so buried the dead person's belongings with him, and he tells an anecdote of a former Japanese emperor who left a will that a video showing his favourite wrestler around the clock be placed in his tomb (needs_source) ¹⁷.

He notes that God mentioned Musa after speaking of the departure of the soul and the beginning of the hereafter, says that whoever God does not guide and enlighten should not be expected to do good, and then speaks of the Copts, the Egyptians and Bani Israel at that time ¹⁸.

He observes that God sent to Thamud, Madyan and Ad messengers who were brothers from among their own peoples, whereas Musa is sent to Pharaoh ¹⁹.

He says that each of those peoples was sent a single messenger, whereas Pharaoh sits in Egypt with a populous nation, so Musa is sent to the head of the order ²⁰.

The Sheikh holds that one method of calling to God is to approach the head of such a regime, for if he responds the whole people follow, and he describes Pharaoh as a criminal ²¹.

The Sheikh mocks Pharaoh and Haman over the building of the tower so that Pharaoh could climb up to Musa's God, and calls Pharaoh the first astronaut ¹².

He says that if Pharaoh had gone up into space and seen creation, he ought to have believed, calls him a criminal, and asks where he himself stands in relation to the other planets ¹³.