Pharaoh said: ‘And what is that ‘Lord of all the worlds’?
(Moses) answered: ‘He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you want to be sure.’
(Pharaoh) said to those around him: ‘Do you hear?’
(Moses) said: ‘He is your Lord as well as the Lord of your forefathers of old.’
(Pharaoh) said: ‘Indeed, the messenger who has been sent to you is indeed a madman.’
(Moses) went on: ‘He is indeed the Lord of the east and the west and of all that is between them, if you would but use your reason.’
(Pharaoh) said: ‘If you ever serve a god other than me, I will most certainly have you imprisoned.’ (The Poets: Al-Shu’ara: 26: 23-29)
We are still looking at the scene at Pharaoh’s palace when Moses and Aaron put to him their demand that he should release the children of Israel so that they would be free to believe in the divine message given to Moses. Pharaoh had tried to dismiss Moses, reminding him of his past days as he was brought up in his palace and of the murder charge pressed against him. But Moses put that in its proper perspective, saying that he was only brought up in the palace as a result of Pharaoh’s tyranny that claimed the lives of too many children.
At this point, Pharaoh stops this line of argument and asks Moses about the central point in his claims, but his questioning carries overtones of ridicule and derision aimed at none other than God Himself. “Pharaoh said: And what is that ‘Lord of all the worlds’?”
How arrogant and insolent! He is saying: What is this Lord of the worlds whom you describe yourself as His messenger? Such a question can only mean a denial of the very point it relates to, and a ridicule of the statement and the person making it. He adopts the attitude of one who considers the whole situation impossible and should not be subject of discussion.
To this Moses replies pointing out God’s Lordship over the entire visible universe and all that there is in it: “(Moses) answered: He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you want to be sure.” Thus, the answer refutes Pharaoh’s attitude of denial and renders it worthless. He tells him that God is the Lord of the entire universe that neither Pharaoh’s power nor his knowledge can ever reach. The utmost that Pharaoh could boast of was that he was a deity over the people of the Nile Valley and its overall lord. But then this is a tiny little particle when compared to the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. We discern in Moses’ answer his dismissal of Pharaoh’s claims as vain boasts, turning his attention to the vast universe, inviting him to contemplate its size and who could be the Lord over it all. That is certainly the Lord of all the worlds. He concludes his answer with a comment inviting the people to work for the achievement of certainty: “If you want to be sure.”
Pharaoh turns to those around him, expressing amazement at this response. Or may be he wanted them not to be influenced by it. This is a typical attitude of all tyrants who fear that simple words of truth might influence the hearts and minds of the masses: “(Pharaoh) said to those around him: ‘Do you hear?’” Do you hear this singular statement which was never uttered by anyone we know.
Moses replies by stressing another attribute of God, the Lord of all creatures: “(Moses) said: He is your Lord as well as the Lord of your forefathers of old.”
This answer is directed at Pharaoh, his status and claims even more. He tells him that God, the Lord of all the worlds, is also his Lord, while Pharaoh is nothing more than one of His servants. He is certainly not a deity as he claims. His people are also subject to God, their true Lord, while Pharaoh has no lordship over them. Indeed God is the Lord of their forefathers of old, which means that the hereditary aspect on which Pharaoh’s claims rely is false. None other than God has ever been Lord of the worlds.
This hit hard at Pharaoh and he could not remain silent when his elders and noble men were listening. Hence, he derisively states that his adversary is mad: “(Pharaoh) said: ‘Indeed, the messenger who has been sent to you is, of a certainty, a madman.’ His derision is directed at the very issue of bearing a message from God so as to turn people away from it. He charges Moses with madness in order to nullify the effect of his statement that questions the very basis of Pharaoh’s political and religious position, as it aims to remind people of their Lord, the Lord of their forefathers.
Nothing of Pharaoh’s derision could weaken Moses and his resolve. Therefore, he continues to state the truth that hits hard at all tyrants: “(Moses) went on: He is indeed the Lord of the east and the west and of all that is between them, if you would but use your reason.” The Arabic words mashriq and maghrib, used for east and west, also denote the processes of planets and stars rising and setting. These are two great scenes which we see everyday, but our minds seldom reflect on them because of their familiarity. These two processes are great indeed, and neither Pharaoh nor any tyrant can claim to have any control over them. Who does, then, control them, setting them in a perfect order that ensures their continuity without fail or deviation from the times set for them? This answer by Moses shakes dormant hearts and awakens sleeping souls. Moses thus calls on them to reflect and contemplate, ‘if you would but use your reason.’
