Al-Qasas 28:41

The Arrogance of Fir`awn and His ultimate Destiny

Allah tells us of Fir`awn's disbelief and wrongdoing, and how he falsely claimed divinity for his evil self, may Allah curse him.

(Thus he fooled his people, and they obeyed him.) 43:54 He called on his people to recognize his divinity, and they responded, because of their weak and foolish minds. So, he said:

(O chiefs! I know not that you have a god other than me.) Allah tells us about Fir`awn:

(Then he gathered (his people) and cried aloud, saying: "I am your lord, most high." So Allah, seized him with punishment for his last and first transgression. Verily, in this is an instructive admonition for whosoever fears Allah.) (79:23-26) meaning: he brought his people together and called to them in a loud voice, shouting that, and they responded to him obediently. So Allah took revenge on him, and made him a lesson to others in this world and the Hereafter. He even confronted Musa with that, and said:

(If you choose a god other than me, I will certainly put you among the prisoners) (26:29).

(So kindle for me (a fire), O Haman, to bake (bricks out of) clay, and set up for me a Sarh in order that I may look at the God of Musa;) He commanded his minister and adviser Haman to bake bricks for him, i.e., to make bricks in order to build a Sarh, a exalted towering palace. This is like the Ayah,

(And Fir`awn said: "O Haman! Build me a Sarh that I may arrive at the ways -- the ways of the heavens, and I may look upon the God of Musa, but verily, I think him to be a liar." Thus it was made fair seeming, in Fir`awn's eyes, the evil of his deeds, and he was hindered from the path; and the plot of Fir`awn led to nothing but loss and destruction) (40:36-37). Fir`awn built this tower, which was the highest structure ever seen on earth, because he wanted to show his people that Musa was lying when he claimed that there was a God other than Fir`awn. Fir`awn said:

(and verily, I think that he (Musa) is one of the liars.) meaning, `when he says that there is a lord other than me.' The issue was not whether Allah had sent Musa, because he did not acknowledge the existence of the Creator in the first place. On the contrary, he said:

(And what is the Lord of Al-`Alamin) (26:23) and:

(If you choose a god other than me, I will certainly put you among the prisoners.) (26:29) and he said:

(O chiefs! I know not that you have a god other than me.) This was the view of Ibn Jarir.

(And he and his armies were arrogant in the land, without right, and they thought that they would never return to Us.) means, they were arrogant oppressors who spread much mischief in the land, and they believed that there would be no Resurrection.

(So, your Lord poured on them different kinds of severe torment. Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful (over them).) (89:13-14). Allah says here:

(So, We seized him and his armies, and We threw them all into the sea.) meaning, `We drowned them in the sea in a single morning, and not one of them was left.'

(So, behold what was the end of the wrongdoers. And We made them leaders inviting to the Fire) for those who followed them and took the same path as they did, rejecting the Messengers and denying the Creator.

(and on the Day of Resurrection, they will not be helped.) their humiliation in this world is combined with and connected to their humiliation in the Hereafter, as Allah says:

(We have destroyed them. And there was none to help them) (47:13).

(And We made a curse to follow them in this world,) Allah decreed that they and their king Fir`awn should be cursed by the believers among His servants who follow His Messengers, just as in this world they were cursed by the Prophets and their followers.

(and on the Day of Resurrection, they will be among disgraced.) Qatadah said, "This Ayah is like the Ayah,

(They were pursued by a curse in this (life) and on the Day of Resurrection. Evil indeed is the gift given.) (11:99)."

وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ‌ (And We had made them leaders who called (people) towards hell. - 28:41). Allah Ta` ala had elevated the courtiers of the Pharaoh as leaders of their people, but these wrong-doers were busy inviting the people towards fire - jahannam. Most commentators have taken the expression ` invitation to fire' as a metaphor. That is, by fire the allusion is toward evil deeds that will result in burning in the fire of Jahannam. But according to the work of my respected teacher Sayyidna Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri a (رح) the reward of the Hereafter is the deed itself. One's deeds in this world will change their forms first in barzakh and then in mahshar. The righteous deeds will change into flowers and gardens and take the shape of the bounties of paradise; and the evil deeds will turn into snakes and scorpions, ultimately manifesting themselves in various types of torments. Therefore, if someone invites any one in this world toward evil and infidelity, he in fact is bidding him to go into the fire. Although these evils do not manifest themselves in this world as fire, yet in reality they are fire. Thus there is no metaphor in the verse, and it rests with its true meaning. If this course of argument is adopted in explaining the verses of Qur'an, then many of them will get rid of dependence on metaphors; and it will make the reading easy and straightforward. For instance, وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرً‌ا (And they will find what they did all there - 18:49) or مَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّ‌ةٍ خَيْرً‌ا يَرَ‌هُ. (Whoever does good to the measure of a particle will see it. 99:7)mmmm48