We shall relate to you some of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, setting forth the truth for people who will believe. Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into castes. One group of them he persecuted, slaying their sons and keeping their women alive. For certain, he was one who sows corruption. But it was Our will to bestow Our favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and to make them leaders, and to make them the ones to inherit (the land), and to establish them securely on earth, and to let Pharaoh, Haman and their hosts experience at their hands the very things against which they were taking precautions. (Verses 4-6) (The Story, Al-Qasas: 28: 3-6)
We started our commentary on this surah last week by describing the scene it sets, showing where its events unfold. The opening verses give us more than the background of these events. It explains for us the purpose for which the story is told.
Thus the stage is set, and the hand that controls events is shown, together with the goal to be achieved. Declaring to whom this hand belongs right at the outset is intended and fits the drift of the story from beginning to end, serving its clear purpose.
We do not know for certain the identity of the Pharaoh in whose reign the events of the story take place. Defining the historical period is not an important issue in Qur’anic stories, as it does not contribute anything to their moral. It is sufficient that we should know that this story takes place long after Prophet Joseph’s time. It was Joseph who brought his father, Jacob or Israel, and his brothers to Egypt where they lived for several generations and became a large community.
When this Pharaoh took power, he gave himself too much personal power and divided the people of Egypt into groups and sections. The Children of Israel were the most oppressed group during his reign, because they followed a religion different from the one he and his own people followed. They believed in the faith preached by their first grandfather, Abraham, and his grandson, Jacob. Despite all the distortion that crept into their faith, they still retained their basic belief in the One God and denied Pharaoh’s claims of being a deity. They indeed rejected Pharaohnic polytheism altogether.
The tyrant felt that the presence of this community represented a threat to his throne. He could not expel them because of their large numbers, amounting to hundreds of thousands. They could side with some of his hostile neighbors. He, therefore, hit on a devilish plan to forestall the danger he was expecting from such a community that did not recognize him as a deity. His plan involved putting them to do the hardest and most dangerous of jobs, and ensure their suffering in a variety of ways. On top of all that, he slew their male children at birth, but he spared their female children. This ensured that their women will be much larger in number than their men, which would considerably weaken them. Furthermore, he subjected them to various other types of torture.
It has been reported that he appointed birth attendants to inform him of what children are born to the Israelites so as to slay their boys when they are born, showing no compassion for their tender age.
It was in such circumstances and such a time that Moses was born and his story began to unfold as related in the surah: “Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into castes. One group of them he persecuted, slaying their sons and keeping their women alive. For certain, he was one who sows corruption.” (Verse 4)
But God wanted and willed something totally different from what this tyrant wanted. Despotic rulers are often deceived by their own power and the means available to them. They forget God and His power and planning, thinking that they choose what they wish both for themselves and for their enemies. They believe that nothing can stop them from fulfilling such a choice.
God declares here what He wishes and challenges Pharaoh, Haman and their hosts, telling them that no precautions they might take could be of any avail: “But it was Our will to bestow Our favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and to make them leaders, and to make them the ones to inherit (the land), and to establish them securely on earth, and to let Pharaoh, Haman and their hosts experience at their hands the very things against which they were taking precautions.” (Verses 5-6)
Thus God wants to grant those oppressed people some of His gifts that He does not specify, and to change their situation making them leaders after they had to submit to other people’s leadership. He also wanted to give them the Holy Land (when they would prove later that they have attained a degree of faith and righteousness which made them worthy of it). He would give them power and security, thus He will foil all Pharaoh’s plans and render them useless. Thus the surah paints a clear picture of the existing situation and the future one before recounting the events so as to place Pharaoh’s boasting power, which appears in human eyes to be enormous, face to face with God’s infinite power to which nothing can stand.
The stage is then set and the audience interest is focused, as they are eager to know what line events will take in order to achieve this declared objective. This adds life to the story, as though it is being acted now, rather than a story of ancient times. Such is the general Qur’anic method of story telling.