Hūd

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَي بِاَيَاتِنَا وَسُلْطَانٍ مُبِينٍ

إِلى فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلإِيْهِ فَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَآ أَمْرُ فِرْعَوْنَ بِرَشِيدٍ

96. “And indeed We sent Moses with Our Signs and a manifest authority,”
97. “Unto Pharaoh and his chiefs; but they followed the command of Pharaoh, and the command of Pharaoh was not rightly guided.”

The Champion Against Pharaoh

After finishing the story of Shu‘ayb (as) and the people of Madyan, the Qur’an turns to part of the story of Musa bin Imran and his campaign against Pharaoh, which is the seventh story of the prophets referred to in this Surah. The story of Moses (as) is more frequently mentioned in the Qur’an than that of any other prophet. In over thirty suras, the adventures of Moses, the Pharaoh and the Children of Israel have been mentioned more than one hundred times.

The special aspect of the story of Moses, when compared to that of the other prophets, is that while the other prophets launched their campaigns against misguided and seduced people, Moses, apart from campaigning against them, also had to fight against the Pharaonic system, the oppressive, as well. However, we must keep in mind that in this part of the story, we focus on one aspect of Moses’ story, which, though small, yet carries an important lesson for all mankind.

At first, the verse implies that Allah (s.w.t.) sent Moses (as) empowering him with the performance of miracles and endowing him with a powerful argument. The verse says:

“And indeed We sent Moses with Our Signs and a manifest authority,”

Moses was sent armed with impressive miracles and a powerful argument to Pharaoh and his people. However, the followers of Pharaoh, who felt that their illegitimate interests were being jeopardized, were not ready to submit themselves to him, and accept his miracles and his logic. Thus, they followed Pharaoh’s command. However, Pharaoh’s command could never have guaranteed their happiness and was not conducive to their development and their salvation.

The verse says:

“Unto Pharaoh and his chiefs; but they followed the command of Pharaoh, and the command of Pharaoh was not rightly guided.”