Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets)

16. “So go to Pharaoh and say: ‘Verily we (two) are the Messengers of the Lord of the worlds!”

17. “Send you with us the Children of Israel’.”

18. “Said (Pharaoh): ‘Did we not cherish you as a child among us, and you tarried among us for (many) years of your life?”

19. “And you did that your deed which you did, and you are one of the ungrateful.”

It is Allah’s will to rear Moses (as) in the house of Pharaoh. Allah’s friends do not get bound by ties of people’s hospitality, and society and environment have no effect on them.

It is not right to leave someone who is good with us alone and to accept, or ignore, his faults. (Moses (as) was helped and brought up by Pharaoh but Moses (as) did not leave him alone.)

In the previous verses, the first phase of Moses’ mission was stated, namely receiving revelation and asking means of achieving this great aim, ended.

Now, the second phase that is meeting Pharaoh and having a critical conversation with him is mentioned.

As an introduction, Allah, pointing to availability of everything for Moses and Aaron, commands them and says:

“So go to Pharaoh and say: ‘Verily we (two) are the Messengers of the Lord of the worlds!”

The Qur’anic phrase /fa’tiya/ (come together) shows that they must speak with Pharaoh himself at any price, and using the word /rasul/ (messenger) which is in the singular form, although they were two, refers to unity and oneness of their call, as if they were two souls in one body with one program and one aim.

After declaring their mission, they asked freedom of the Children of Israel, when they said:

“Send you with us the Children of Israel’.”

It is obvious that the purpose of this statement is to set them free in order to go with Moses and Aaron (as), and its purpose is not at all that they have asked Pharaoh to send them by himself.

Here, Pharaoh began to speak and, with calculated and, at the same time, wicked words, tried to deny their mission.

First, he addressed Moses (as), as the Qur’an announces:

“Said (Pharaoh): ‘Did we not cherish you as a child among us, and you tarried among us for (many) years of your life?”

Pharaoh wanted to say to Moses (as) that he rescued him from huge waves of Nile, called nut nurses for him, exempted him from the law of death sentence of the Children of Israel and reared him well in a secure, comfortable and luxurious environment, so that Moses (as) spent many years of his Life with them.

In the next verse Pharaoh found another fault with Moses, (as): (referring to killing one of the advocators of Pharaoh).

It says:

“And you did that your deed which you did, and you are one of the ungrateful.”

Pharaoh implied that Moses (as) has been fed with the hand of him and now how Moses (as) wanted to bite that hand.

As a matter of fact, he wanted to condemn Moses (as) with this argumentation, as he supposed.

The purpose of Moses’ wrong action mentioned in verse 14 is an event that is referred to in Surah Al-Qasas, verse 14 and it does not need that we repeat it.

Some commentators have said that the best form in the meaning of the verse is the content of the tradition of Imam Rida, the eighth Imam (as), who said Moses (as) had acted amphibological congruity.