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thumma baʿathnā min baʿdihim mūsā bi-ʾāyātinā ʾilā firʿawna wa-malaʾihī fa-ẓalamū bihā fa-nẓur kayfa kāna ʿāqibatu l-mufsidīna
Then after them We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his elite, but they wronged them. So observe how was the fate of the agents of corruption!
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-‘Araf – Verse 103
103 . “Then, after them, We sent Moses with Our Signs unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they wronged (and disbelieved) in them. Consider then how the end of the mischief makers was! ”
The name of Moses (as) has been repeated more than 130 times in the Qur’ān. No other name has been mentioned therein as numerous as his name. As it is cited in Al-Mizān, the, the Qur’ān has referred to the divine miracles concerning no prophet as many as it has mentioned for Moses (as). The story of Moses (as), mentioned in the Qur’ān, can be staged into five steps:
1) The birth and childhood of Moses.
2) His escape from the city of Madyan and living with Shuaib (Jethro).
3) His mission and his problems with Pharaoh.
4) His own deliverance and that of his people from Pharaoh, and returning to Palestine.
5) His conflicts with the Children of Israel.
This Surah, Al-’A‘rāf, is the first Meccan Surah which has referred to the story of Moses (as). One of the philosophies of the mission of prophets is standing against false deities. For general improvement of a society, the chiefs and great members of that society should be referred to first, because water must be purified from its head-source, as the verse says:
People’s faith in the truth usually causes their society to be improved, while disbelief and heresy draw it towards corruption. The verse continues saying: