Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets)

23. “Pharaoh said: ‘And what is the Lord of the worlds?’”

24. “He said: ‘(He is) the Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, if you have faith’.”

25. “Pharaoh said to those around him: ‘Do you not hear (what he says)?’”

26. “(Moses) said: ‘Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers of old’.”

The Qur’an implies that Prophets’ thesis against their opponents was around Allah’s lordship, that is Allah’s management and legislation and the necessity of the obedience of His orders, otherwise, prophets’ opponents accepted Allah as the creator of the world.

Nowadays some people say that religion is separated from politics. This statement is like the words of those who say the creation of the world by Allah is something other than management of the world; (Allah creates it and we govern it).

According to the holy Qur’an and intellect, the right of lordship, obligating and being obeyed belongs only to the One who is Creator, not others. One who has created knows what law to be enacted.

Moses (as) implied that Pharaoh’s question was not for understanding, but he was beating about the bush. If Pharaoh really sought the Truth, he would understand His unity and lordship by pondering over the current order and system of the creation.

Anyway, when Moses (as) answered Pharaoh’s words very decisively and strongly and Pharaoh got hopeless from this aspect, he changed the course of conversation.

He questioned Moses (as) who had said: his Lord, the Lord of the worlds, appointed him (as) one of the messengers; as the Holy Qur’an declares:

“Pharaoh said: ‘And what is the Lord of the worlds?’”

It seems very unlikely that Pharaoh has raised this question for understanding the matter, but it seems that he said it rather out of feigning ignorance and for the sake of scoffing.

In the second verse, like all aware and attentive discussers, Moses (as) had no way but to treat the matter earnestly and to answer it seriously.

In view of the fact that the Essence of Allah is out of reach of man's thoughts and perceptions, Moses (as) used His signs and effects that are everywhere in the universe and spoke about the extrovertive signs, as follows:

“He said: ‘(He is) the Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, if you have faith’.”

The heavens with their greatness, the earth with its vastness and its various creatures, before which Pharaoh’s kingdom is nothing, is the creation of the Lord of Moses (as). Such a Creator, Divisor and administrator, namely Allah (s.w.t), deserves worshipping, not a weak and tiny creature like Pharaoh.

Paying attention to this matter is also necessary that idol-worshippers believed that each creature of the world had got a certain lord, and counted universe as a mixture of scattered systems, but Moses' words refer to the fact that this united single system that governs the universe is an evidence that it has ‘a single Lord’ unique Allah.

The Qur’anic sentence /’in kuntum muqinin/ (if you have; faith) probably refers to this matter that Moses (as) implicitly wanted to make Pharaoh and his companions understand that the aim of their question was not for understanding the Trauth, but if they were really seeking the Truth and were the owner of wisdom and intellect, that argument that he uttered would be enough.

Moses (as) implied they should open their eyes for some time and see His signs in the vast heavens and the expanded earth in order to know what they must know and correct their world-view.

But Pharaoh did not rouse from ignorance sleep with this strong speech of the heavenly great teacher and continued ridiculing and scoffing. He used the ancient method of the conceited tyrants and addressed his companions when he spoke, as the Qur’an says:

“Pharaoh said to those around him: ‘Do you not hear (what he says)?’”

It is obvious who were the companions of Pharaoh. They were like Pharaoh himself; they were some oppressors and wealthy people who supported tyranny.

Ibn ‘Abbas says that his companions, who were attending there, were 500 persons who were some special and important persons of his nation.¹

Pharaoh’s aim was to render this logical and pleasant speech of Moses (as) ineffective on the dark heart of group, and to show that this speech was meaningless and its content was not understandable.

Then Moses (as) continued his logical and calculated words, while he feared no one:

“(Moses) said: ‘your Lord and the Lord of your fathers of Old’.”

As a matter of fact, Moses (as) who began with the extrovertive signs in the first stage, then in the second stage, he proceeded to introvertive signs and embarked on mysteries of creation in man himself and the signs of divine rearing and Allah's lordship in soul and body of man in order to make these ignorant conceited persons think about themselves and to know themselves a little and then to know their Lord.