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ʾam ʾana khayrun min hādhā lladhī huwa mahīnun wa-lā yakādu yubīnu
Am I not better than this wretch who cannot even speak clearly?
— Ali Quli Qarai
43Az-ZukhrufالزخرفVerse 52 of 89
The Gold Ornaments
Am I not better than this wretch who cannot even speak clearly?
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Zukhruf - Verses 51 - 52
51. And Pharaoh proclaimed among his people: “O my people! Is not mine the dominion of Egypt and these rivers flowing underneath [my palace]? See you not [my greatness]?”
52. “Am I not better than this one who is despicable and can scarcely express himself clearly?”
As mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, the clause:
is uttered by Iblis and Pharaoh. These two Verse clearly reveal fear, vainglory, despotism, vanity, false belief, reliance on worldly possessions, and the use of adornments which are characteristics of tyrants. Having premonitions, tyrants make attempts at propaganda:
Lacking logicality, tyrants rely on their palaces and worldly possessions;
The blessed Verse 51 says that when Pharaoh with his great power and glory failed to resist Moses (as) and noticed that Moses’ (as) followers are on the increase, resorted to hypocrisy and ordered his men to gather people so that he may deceive them by his sovereignty and worldly possessions and make himself greater in their eyes. Addressing the believing Children of Israel he said:
It is reported from some exegets in Atyab al-Bayan and Majma’ al-Bayan that when God Almighty send Moses (as) to Pharaoh, he removed his stuttering, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:
to whom God Almighty answered thus:
Pharaoh meant to remind people of former times and reveal Moses’ (as) speech defect.
Footnotes