Egypt in the Holy Quran

Egypt in the Holy Quran

Authored by: Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ABOUT THIS BOOK:  

BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

CHAPTER I: Political Life in Ancient Egypt as Seen through the Quranic Verses

Firstly: the word (Egypt/Misr) in the Quranic text. Secondly: Quranic indications about features of the Ancient Egyptian State during the era of Joseph. Thirdly: Quranic indications about the Egyptian State during the era of Moses: between the king of the Hyksos and Moses' Pharaoh. Fourthly: Moses' Pharaoh retinue/people. Fifthly: Moses' Pharaoh's internal policies

CHAPTER II: Religious Life in Ancient Egypt

Firstly: Ancient Egyptians knew God. Secondly: the Israelites were influenced by the religion of the Ancient Egyptians

CHAPTER III: Some Features of the Egyptian Ancient Civilization Mentioned in the Quran. Intellectual and scientific aspects Architecture and monuments aspects. Economic aspects

CHAPTER IV: Lessons to Be Drawn

Firstly.  Secondly.  Thirdly. Fourthly

CONCLUSION

ANNEXES:

ANNEX I: The Egyptian Sinai in the Quran : Foreword: Introduction: Firstly: a general word on the importance of Sinai in God's religion: Secondly: Sinai and the divine revelation given to Moses: Thirdly: the divine revelation between Al-Aqsa Mosque in Mount Al-Tur in Sinai and the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca: Fourthly: Sinai the less-known blessed land of purification and sacredness: Fifthly: the blessed olive tree in Mount Al-Tur in Sinai:

ANNEX II: Quranic Stories and Archeological Discoveries

BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK:

1- This book has been printed and published before in Cairo, Egypt, by Akhbar Al-Yom Press, in April, 1990, within a monthly series called Kitab Al-Yom, No. 306. It was never easy that this public, state-owned foundation like Akhbar Al-Yom would publish a book authored by ourselves; especially that printing and distribution circle of Akhbar Al-Yom Press was controlled by disciples of M. M. Al-Shaarawy (the most famous Wahabi Egyptian Azharite televangelist, imam, clergyman, and author who died in the late 1990s) led by Ahmed Zayn, as those disciples made lots of profits from reprinting many editions of books authored by Al-Shaarawy on interpreting the Quran, as Al-Shaarawy was a star in his gold age and whose power, authority, and wealth attracted many publishers and newspapers and magazines to publish his photos, statements, words of 'wisdom', fatwas, etc. At the time, Akhbar Al-Yom Press had the lion's share of publishing and printing many editions of books written by Al-Shaarawy. The Head Manager and Chairman of Akhbar Al-Yom Press and Akhbar Al-Yom Newspaper was a Coptic Christian man named Mr. Saeed Sonbol. His religious affiliation led him to leave religious affairs, books, articles, and topics printed by Akhbar Al-Yom Press and its newspaper to Ahmed Zayn, thus making him in charge of any religious material published in all publications of Akhbar Al-Yom Press books, magazines, and newspapers in sections and columns of religious thought. Ahmed Zayn controlled distribution and printing of published books tackling religious issues and topics. It was rumored at the time that Al-Shaarawy had waived his copyright as an author to his disciples in Akhbar Al-Yom Press; this caused them to fight any other religious thought that contradicts (or even that does not follow) that of Al-Shaarawy; let alone our school of thought (Quranism) that refutes Al-Shaarawy and his Wahabi thought using the Quranic text itself. Thus, an intellectual struggle of power and will took place inside Akhbar Al-Yom Press because of our book "Egypt in the Quran'' before it was actually published. The two adversaries/foes of that battle of opposing wills are two men: one good man representing the side of goodness and freedom of thought, Mr. Abdel-Warith Al-Disouky, and one evil man representing the side of obscurantist, fossilized Wahabi thought, Dr. Abdel-Moneim Al-Nimr, the former minister of religious endowments in Egypt.

2- Shortly before the first wave of arrest inflicted upon Quranists in Cairo, we were preaching in many mosques, moving from one pulpit to another, along with our fellow Quranists. Sunnite troublemakers typically chased us and caused as much trouble and problems as they could. Meanwhile, State Security Apparatus men were behind the scene, watching us closely, waiting for the orders to arrest us anytime. For nearly a year, we settled at one time at one mosque under construction in Zamalek District in Cairo, overlooking the Nile, to deliver the Quranist sermons of the Friday congregational prayers. This posh district was populated with upper-class citizens who are well educated and cultured. Among the frequenters of this mosque on Fridays was Mr. Al-Disouky. We did not get acquainted with him at the time, because we have not been accustomed to seek to know people; once we finished sermons prayers, we would return at once to our house in the Cairene (poor-class) Matariyya district. Months later, we settled in another mosque that Quranists had built in the Cairene (middle-class) Agouza District. Soon enough, Sunnite fanatics drove us out of it by force and occupied this mosque, aided by State Security Apparatus men, and we were arrested, along with some of our fellow Quranists in Dec. 1987. An article was written to defend us during our incarceration in Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper, and later on, the journalist/writer of this article wanted to meet us in 1989; he was Mr. Al-Disouky. Soon enough, we got to know that he used to listen to our Quranist sermons in Zamalek District and that he was a leading, famous journalist in Egypt, and his intellectual school of journalism trained many budding and promising journalists in the 1970s and the 1980s, but Mr. Al-Disouky always preferred to remain away from spotlights and the struggle for positions and stature as he never liked to obsequiously flatter political authority figures. He remained as a supervisor of editors in Akhbar Al-Yom and rarely wrote articles. Indeed. Mr. Al-Disouky witnessed many of his students get promoted and many became editors-in-chef to other newspapers, but he remained happy and content in his post and faithful to his philosophy in life, loved and respected by all as their God father because of his generous nature, his fatherly nurturing attitude, and his honesty, integrity, tolerance, and dignity. We met him in his office upon his request, and he gave us a column named "People's Opinion" to write as a freelancer in 1989. This column was stopped later on as we have been banned from writing in Akhbar Al-Yom by decrees issued from 'superior bodies' that controlled everything in Egypt during the Mubarak regime days. Later on, we knew that the head sheikh of Al-Azhar at the time, sheikh Gad Al-Haq, interfered to stop us from writing our column in the newspaper by filing a complaint against us at Superior State Security Police, because we have written an article proving, using the Quran, that interests of banks are permissible and not prohibited as Wahabis claimed at the time, whereas the Wahabi investment companies are prohibited as they are a fraudulent, swindling business to steal money of the gullible masses, but this is another painful story in our life. Mr. Al-Disouky gave us the chance to write a column every now and then, not on a regular basis, and we knew later on that he fought many battles inside Akhbar Al-Yom to make this available to us, as many opposed our writing in the newspaper. Our freelance articles were for free; we were not paid and we accepted this, and it was not expected that people controlling Akhbar Al-Yom would pay us when they condescendingly allowed Mr. Al-Disouky to publish our articles. People who were close to authority circles were paid handsomely for their meaningless pieces, whereas our articles calling for enlightenment and reform were never paid. We accepted this unfairness so that we dismantle obscurantist religious thought that oppose the Quran. We were very impecunious at the time, and our shabby clothes showed it, despite the rumors spread about us that we took large sums of money from 'outside' powers aiming to 'destroy' Islam! Mr. Al-Disouky (like a charitable father) realized how penniless we were, and he generously proposed a governmental post to us, but we refused politely, asserting that we need not any job that would hinder our reform endeavors. Indeed, he offered to give us remuneration from his own pocket but we refused politely again. As he wanted to help us financially by any possible way, we proposed to him an excellent idea; we would author a book to be published by Akhbar Al-Yom series of monthly books. Mr. Al-Disouky welcomed the idea very much but he advised us to choose a topic that would not stir any troubles against him or us. We chose the title "Egypt in the Quran", and he admired it immensely. We have written the book in one night, and we have given Mr. Al-Disouky a copy next day, and for his sake, we avoided controversial issues under this topic of this book, such as our deduction that Mount Al-Tur in Sinai (where Moses was talked to by God as per the Quran) was the real place/mosque to which Muhammad was carried in the Night-Journey, mentioned in the Quran in 17:1, to receive the whole of the Quran inside his heart at one time when he met arch-angel Gabriel. What we have decided not to mention has been added to this book that you are reading now. But at the time, have been careful so as not to cause any sort of troubles to Mr. Al-Disouky, and we have alleviated the tone of our book and diluted its writing style as much as possible. Yet, troubles did occur despite all this carefulness and cautiousness; days later, we heard about the battle inside Akhbar Al-Yom to stop our book from being printed and published, and our journalist Coptic friend Mr. Philip Gallab asserted this fact about such struggle/fight between Mr. Al-Disouky and his and our Wahabi foes, especially Dr. Al-Nimr. Inside Al-Hilal Magazine, Cairo, the journalist Ghoneim Abdou has written an article about the struggle inside Akhbar Al-Yom, and he criticized Dr. Al-Nimr who opposed a book about Egypt in the Quran, and so did Mr. Gallab in his article in Al-Ahaly newspaper, in his column called ''Secrets'', asserting that a famous Azharite sheikh (Dr. Al-Nimr) was behind stopping a book from being published, by the State-owned Akhbar Al-Yom Press, authored by a great Muslim Azharite thinker.                                        

3- Dr. Al-Nimr and the disciples of Al-Shaarawy, led by Ahmed Zayn, were the agents of evil who stood behind stopping our book titled ''Egypt in the Quran'' from getting published or a while, and the authority of Al-Shaarawy reinforced their tyranny.  We have discovered at the time that Dr. Al-Nimr hated us so much or a reason that we forgot all about, but he did not forget it; years before, there was a silent struggle between the dean of Al-Azhar University and his cronies on one side and Dr. Al-Nimr on the other side. Within stages of such ongoing struggle, we have been contacted by a third party to return to our post as an assistant professor in order to help 'reform' Al-Azhar University, but the real reason was to embarrass the dean and other personnel, as driving us to tender our resignation to end the persecution and inquisition-like interrogations was a grave error in terms of moralistic level and the legal level. The Al-Azhar Law stipulates that Azharite professors must undertake the mission to clarifying and elucidating facts of Islam to differentiate between facts and myths, and we did just that and was penalized for it, and we have been accused of defaming Al-Azhar by committing errors unfit for an Azharite scholar. Our persecutors were the ones who deserved this accusation because they hated innovative thinking and punished free thinkers like us who applied Al-Azhar law by assuming the role imposed by this law. They had inflicted upon us inquisition-like interrogation and stripped us from our financial rights and prevented us from teaching at Al-Azhar University. Indeed, they manipulated their authority to cause us as many troubles as possible as they hated us and our thought. the third party assured us that our victorious return to Al-Azhar University will make the case of our persecution be reopened to have our revenge against our previous persecutors. However, after deep thought, we refused to return; those who wanted us back do not share our faith (i.e., Quranism) and they wanted to use us as a tool to win their battle against another group for transient worldly gains; this would have been very insulting to our person. Dr. Al-Nimr was infuriated by our refusal to return to our post at Al-Azhar, and what infuriated him more was our refusal of the request of an Egyptian youth who was a journalist in a Gulf newspaper (named Al-Muslimoon, as far as we can remember) to who wanted us as a guest in a forum on Sunna and Azharite sheikhs (including Dr. Al-Nimr) would debate issues revolving around it with us. After months of negotiations, we adamantly refuse to travel to this Gulf State to attend such forum, because the journalist failed to guarantee that our statements will not be modified and changed upon writing about the forum in his newspaper. The Azharite sheikhs (including Dr. Al-Nimr)  felt furious because they wanted to get the large sums of money paid by this newspaper as remuneration to those who will participate in this forum, which was cancelled because of our refusal to attend it. the journalist told us that they cared not about the topic as much as they cared to get the money, and how they were disappointed as the forum got cancelled. They felt that we have arrogantly insulted them by not accepting to engage into a debate in a forum with them, and Dr. Al-Nimr sought to take revenge from us by stopping the publishing of our book at Akhbar Al-Yom Press.                           

4- Mr. Al-Disouky stood against the group of our and his foes, insisting on publishing our book titled "Egypt in the Quran". Mr. Al-Disouky was supported by Mr. Sonbol, and this drove the infuriated Dr. Al-Nimr to be so insulting toward Mr. Sonbol by accusing him (as a Coptic Christian) of desiring to destroy 'Islam' by allowing the chance of publishing a book authored by a denier of Sunna and hadiths. Mr. Sonbol withdrew his support, left the entire affair to Mr. Al-Disouky, and leaned toward safety! During the month of Ramadan, we went to the office of Mr. Al-Disouky at Akhbar Al-Yom to enquire about the book, and he advised us to keep a low profile and keep quiet so as not to give our foes the chance to find pretexts to oppose us the more, assuring us that he will defeat them eventually and impose on them publishing our book. The book was printed actually, and the government asked to copies to be delivered for a committee of Azharite scholars, deemed to be 'moderate' ones, to decide if the book would be distributed or not and if it contains any 'anti-Islam' remarks as asserted by Dr. Al-Nimr. Among the members of that committee was a former friend of ours; namely, Dr. Sayed Risk Al-Taweel, to whom we were a deputy in the early 1980s within the leadership of the Salafist Islamic Call Group in Cairo, and we were its leading preacher in it, before we left this group in 1985 as they rejected our Quranism. The report written by the committee members was fair enough; they found in the book no 'anti-Islam' remarks at all (i.e., they meant sentences and phrases ridiculing and denying the so-called hadiths), as asserted by our foe, Dr. Al-Nimr, who attacked the book without reading it. hence, the book was distributed in Cairo and Mr. Al-Disouky and ourselves emerged victorious.                  

5- Another stage of conspiring began, of course. Typically, journalists and writers of Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper write about the new book within the series of monthly books, as part of propaganda; this never happened in the case of our book. Typically, every new book of this series of Akhbar Al-Yom Press monthly books should be distributed and put in prominent locations within newsstands and kiosks; yet, our book never received such distribution policies honored by Akhbar Al-Yom Press, as complaints were received about how newsstands and kiosks owners had hidden copies of our book and to never sell any copy unless the potential buyer ask for it by the title itself after insisting on buying it! We have discovered that the distribution office of Akhbar Al-Yom Press had dictated such orders on all kiosk and newsstands owners and all Akhbar Al-Yom Press vending outlets and bookshops in Cairo! They had hidden copies of the book intentionally, and we ascertained this fact ourselves when we have bought some copies.  

6- Thus, it seemed impossible at first that our book would be a best seller or be distributed a lot. Yet, the impossible occurred; Akhbar Al-Yom Press has printed several thousands of copies of our book (we were not sure at the point about the exact number), each copy was sold in return for 1 L.E. (one Egyptian pound), and the contract stipulated that we would receive 10 piasters from each copy sold from this edition. When Akhbar Al-Yom Press gave us a check of L.E. 2000, we deduced that the copies sold were at least more than 20 thousand copies within less than one week of distribution. This proved a grave shock to disciples of Al-Shaarawy inside Akhbar Al-Yom Press, who used to reprint several editions of each of the books of Al-Shaarawy, with which people got bored, and selling rates of such books dwindled. Indeed, propaganda for books of Al-Shaarawy was ever-increasing to no avail; as piles of his books remained untouched at kiosks, newsstands, and bookshops. It was rumored at the time that reprinting of such non-selling books was a way to steal money from Akhbar Al-Yom Press, which lost money that entered into the pockets of the disciples of Al-Shaarawy. People who got bored with books of Al-Shaarawy at the time showed this by buying the new book authored by us that gives new perspective and information; they liked the fact that the author of ''Egypt in the Quran" never copied sentences and notions of traditional books of hadiths, fiqh, Quran interpretation, historians' accounts, etc. about Egypt, but has derived all ideas of the book from the Quran directly and compare them to what is known about Ancient Egypt of the pharaohs in an intellectual way with a refreshing new outlook, while avoiding jargon and difficult terminology. Our book thus proved a great success and everyone asked for a copy. The disciples of Al-Shaarawy were enraged by the prospect of losing their source of ill-gotten money and they were afraid to lose their stature and that their sheikh might lose ground  and collapse. Indeed, at the time, the book market in Cairo, and other governorates and cities, were saturated with many titled of Al-Shaarawy and his speeches and sermons on Egyptian radio stations and his shows on Egyptian TV channels. The disciples of Al-Shaarawy had to react fast before losing more grounds as they were defeated and proven wrong by ourselves and Mr. Al-Disouky; they re-collected all the rest of distributed copies from all kiosks, newsstands, and bookshops as well as outlets and venues of Akhbar Al-Yom Press, thus, they confiscated thousands of copies and threw them into basements/storehouses inside vaults of Akhbar Al-Yom Press. Thus, those 'trusted' cronies confiscated a book that brought profits to Akhbar Al-Yom Press and books of Al-Shaarawy remained stacked in piles all over the capital and the other cities despite their being unsold and causing financial losses to Akhbar Al-Yom Press. This is always the evil ways of 'trusted' cronies when they control anything, any location, and any people, in a corrupt country. Months later, a sheikh related to those disciples of Al-Shaarawy has published another book using the same title "Egypt in the Quran", as if to make use of a title that was catchy and sold before. Of course, the book failed to sell much; its author filled it with narratives and accounts of historians and theologians from traditional books. Months later, the confiscated copies of our book began to appear within the Cairo International Book Fair, held annually for three weeks in January-February, and we managed to buy few copies, and within the main bookshop of Akhbar Al-Yom Press in Cairo that opens all year. Soon enough, all copies of the first (and last) edition in print of our book sold out.

7- Thus, our book ''Egypt in the Quran'' was resisted and fought before and after it got printed, published, and distributed, but it has emerged victorious over its haters despite their power, wealth, and authority. This victory asserts the following facts.

* If Quranists would be allowed the chance of having 1/100 of the tools, facilities, venues, different media, and financial aid available to Sunnites/Wahabis,  the history of Arabs and 'Muslims' will change for the better and the same applies to history of the modern world. Let us imagine that Quranists one day would own a media institution (like Akhbar Al-Yom Press), with an institute to qualify Quranist preachers, plus a satellite channel, and a great, big website that reaches millions of people and attracted high traffic daily. If such dreams come true one day, Quranists will be influential enough to show real Islam (i.e., Quranism) to the whole world, and they will play a great rule in establishing international or global peace and security of the planet.

* Earthly religions, like the Sunnite Wahabism, cannot stand by themselves; they always need power and authority of people to protect it against criticism and refutation and to impose them on citizens as if they were 'Islam', and to make people buy it and accept it, clergymen confiscate nay new thought, especially the school of thought of Quranism that debunks Sunnite Wahabism, Sufism, and the Shiite religion from within Islam itself (the Quran alone). This explains why Quranists are persecuted, quelled, and suppressed in many countries and they rarely declare their faith in public in the Arab world, despite their being too impecunious to reach the general public, as they have but one website within cyberspace.     

* Another problem is that rarely there would be real humane, courageous persons (like Mr. Al-Disouky) who will readily stand for and defend the higher Quranic values of Islam (justice, truth, human rights, human dignity, absolute freedom of speech, thought, expression, and religion, etc.) despite the might, wealth, and authority of foes of the Quran. The good people like Mr. Al-Disouky are distinguished by their dignity and honesty as well as their ability to do without transient possessions and ambitions of this world to preserve their integrity, self-respect, freedom of action and thought, and dignity. Mr. Al-Disouky was a great example of honest writer within an environment that was up to its ears in corruption and seeped with falsehoods spread in order to intentionally corrupt and control minds of citizens: the press or journalism. Very few of his students followed his example; most of them moved their conscience aside in order to be promoted and gain a measure of wealth, stature, fame, and authority. They got rid of all higher values in return to transient worldly possessions and posts, while they are morally bankrupt. They fell into the trap of devils based on their own choice and free will, whereas Mr. Al-Disouky chose to live honestly and respectfully, while disdaining money and tyrants. Egyptian tyrants never force anyone to dance in their processions and glorify them; the likes of such mean, base, vile people are so many; a dime a dozen. Sadly, in third-world countries, the likes of such are given leeway to control and shape the minds of masses and distort their collective memory and awareness; indeed, many generations of Egyptians fell victim to them and lost their identity and their reasoning abilities.          

8- After decades of such a battle fought against this book by our foes, we re-publish it here on our website. Mr. Abdel-Warith Al-Disouky passed away, Philip Gallab and Saeed Sonbol died, and Al-Shaarawy, Dr. Al-Nimr, and Ahmed Zayn perished, but our book has remained and will remain. 

9- "Do you not see how God presents a parable? A good word is like a good tree-its root is firm, and its branches are in the sky. It yields its fruits every season by the will of its Lord. God presents the parables to the people, so that they may reflect. And the parable of a bad word is that of a bad tree-it is uprooted from the ground; it has no stability. God gives firmness to those who believe, with the firm word, in this life, and in the Hereafter. And God leads the wicked astray. God does whatever He wills." (14:24-27). We begin below to publish the book, which was published and printed before in Cairo, Egypt, beginning with its Dedication and Foreword.  

DEDICATION:

   We dedicate this book for the Egyptian magicians of Moses' Pharaoh; those Egyptians who served as an excellent example of sacrifice for the sake of the Truth and God, when they had said to Moses' Pharaoh who ordered their being put to death: "… "We will not prefer you to the proofs that have come to us, and Him who created us. So issue whatever judgment you wish to issue. You can only rule in this lowly life. We have believed in our Lord, so that He may forgive us our sins, and the magic you have compelled us to practice. God is Better, and more Lasting."" (20:72-73) 

FOREWORD:                

  The Quran is God's Word, the divine book given to human beings essentially as a source of guidance; it is not a book on history or sciences, but within its methodology and discourse of guidance, it contains different styles: Quranic stories of past peoples and prophets, parables, and some scientific facts. Hence, such styles are not the end in themselves; rather, they are means to achieve one purpose, which is guidance to the Truth. Hence, the Quranic stories do NOT follow the historical narratives methodology of historical accounts and books, past and present, adopted by various historians in all eras. Any historian would mention details, about any historical fact, that include time, location, succession of events, agents/heroes, date, people involved, repercussions and impact, etc., and they rarely care to draw lessons or moral of this or that historical incident or fact, leaving it for readers to deduce for themselves. The Quran differs a great deal in that respect; the drawn lesson is the goal and focus of all Quranic stories, which disregard most details that historians care about so much. God says the following in the last verse of the Quranic Chapter 12, that focuses mainly on the story of Joseph: "In their stories is a lesson for those who possess intelligence. This is not a fabricated tale, but a confirmation of what came before it, and a detailed explanation of all things, and guidance, and mercy for people who believe." (12:111).  Drawing moral lessons is assured when the historical stories in the Quran is free from details of time, place and most names, so as to make them abstract and a general issue/case that may apply and reoccur within any eras and locations as well as within certain circumstances and conditions. The great Quranic stories, for instance, never mentions the names of the disbelievers of Qorayish, or even names of believers, as these Quranic stories talk about their descriptions and deeds in order to generalize the moral to make us learn about what to avoid and what to apply and adopt; thus, the Quranic text talks about ''disbelievers'', ''polytheists'', ''the pious'', ''the righteous'', ''the hypocrites'' etc. so that such descriptions fit any who would adopt and apply them in all eras and any locations. "Or have they chosen intercessors other than God? Say, "Even though they have no power over anything, and are devoid of reason?" Say, "All intercession is up to God. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. Then to Him you will be returned." When God alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with resentment. But when those other than Him are mentioned, they become filled with joy." (39:43-45).  Therefore, the Quranic text turns the polytheistic tenet of Qorayish in the 7^th century A.H. into a case generalized to indicate any sort of disbelief in any era or location, that is why little details of their polytheistic tenet are mentioned in the Quran, thus making the verses general and apply to all those, in any eras, would disbelieve in the same manner and deny the Hereafter (for instance, as per 39:45). Despite the fact that the Quranic text tells us a lot of events that took place during the era of the revelation of the Quran, and comments on them, the Quranic methodology turns the specific historical event into generalized case. This is why the word Qorayish is never mentioned in the Quranic text except once in the Quranic Chapter 106, titled "Qorayish", that consists only of four verses: "For the Protection of Qorayish. Caravans set forth safe in winter and summer journeys. Therefore, let them worship the Lord of this House. Who has fed them against hunger, and has secured them against fear." (106:1-4). In this book titled "Egypt in the Quran", we attempt to follow all Quranic verses talking about Egypt in order to deduce and discern details that will sketch a picture of conditions and circumstances of Egypt on both the social and political aspects, during the era of the occupiers, named the Hyksos, and during the era of the Ramses dynasty of Pharaohs. It is natural and expected that these Quranic verses about Egypt do NOT reflect the whole and complete picture about Ancient Egyptian life. But we can say the same about books of Egyptology and history of Ancient Egypt, though archeologists and historians tell us a great deal, but many of their findings lacking and do not say a final word in most things related to that field in a comprehensive, integral way at all, though this is their domain, field, and specialty and their main aim and purpose. The Quran is not a book of history at all; we must bear this in mind as we read ''Egypt in the Quran", and therefore, no historical research methodology typical of historians is adopted in the Quranic text at all, not this was expected or required in the first place. Yet, the Quranic revelation, that descended on earth 14 centuries ago, contains indications about certain facts ascertained by discoveries made recently by archeologists. Let us also bear in mind that Quranic facts of historical nature are absolute truths, and must never be doubted by real believers in the Quran. In contrast, findings of historians and archeologists relative and put into question. Let us also bear in mind that archeologists have discovered recently that some Pharaonic rulers would readily remove names of their predecessors and ascribe their heroic, historic deeds and monuments to themselves; this indicates that human history may be distorted and falsified, even when written in hieroglyphics. This is NOT the case for the Quranic stories, and we read the following about them in the Quran: "In their stories is a lesson for those who possess intelligence. This is not a fabricated tale, but a confirmation of what came before it, and a detailed explanation of all things, and guidance, and mercy for people who believe." (12:111). 

CHAPTER I: Political Life in Ancient Egypt as Seen through the Quranic Verses

Firstly: the word (Egypt/Misr) in the Quranic text:

(A) The word ''Egypt'' (or Misr in Arabic) is mentioned five times in five different verses in the Quranic text as follows:-

[1] "And We inspired Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt/Misr, and make your homes places of worship, and perform the prayer, and give good news to the believers."" (10:87).

[2] "The man who bought him said to his wife in Egypt/Misr, "Take good care of him; he may be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son." We thus established Joseph in the land, to teach him the interpretation of events. God has control over His affairs, but most people do not know." (12:21). 

[3] "Then, when they entered into the presence of Joseph, he embraced his parents, and said, "Enter Egypt/Misr, God willing, safe and secure."" (12:99). 

[4] "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt/Misr, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?" (43:51). 

[5] "And recall when you said, "O Moses, we cannot endure one kind of food, so call to your Lord to produce for us of what the earth grows: of its herbs, and its cucumbers, and its garlic, and its lentils, and its onions." He said, "Would you substitute worse for better? Go down to Egypt/Misr, where you will have what you asked for." They were struck with humiliation and poverty, and incurred wrath from God. That was because they rejected God's revelations and wrongfully killed the prophets. That was because they disobeyed and transgressed." (2:61).

   Personally, we think that the first four quoted verses refer to Egypt in the geographical sense as a country; moreover, we do not believe that in the last quoted verse, 2:61, that ''Misr'' meant the geographical Egypt per se, but the Quranic term ''Misr'' in 2:61 means any civilized city anywhere. The Arabic grammatical grounds for this view is that the term ''Misr'' in 2:61 used with different Arabic grammatical inflection, making it an indefinite Arabic word not the definite foreign word ''Egypt'' itself. As for the rest of the four quoted verses, the term ''Misr'' is without grammatical inflection at all, because it is a non-Arab word as far as its linguistic root or etymological origin is concerned, and it definitely means the country called Egypt. This linguistic differentiation shows that the word ''Misr'' has two meanings as follows.       

* ''Misr'' as a foreign, non-Arabic geographical proper name indicating a homeland situated in Africa (and therefore, without being grammatically inflected) in the Quran means the country or homeland where Egyptians live, and this meaning is repeated in four Quranic verses: 10:87, 12:21, 12:99, and 43:51. 

* "Misr" as mentioned in 2:61 means any civilized big city or town, because it is inflected as an Arabic singular noun. Most old lexicons and dictionaries of the Arabic tongue written during the Middle Ages assert that the Arabic word ''Misr'' is a singular noun that indicates a big town that is outstanding in comparison to nomad environment or communities and in comparison to small towns and villages, and its plural form is the word "Amsar": big towns, city-states, or civilized governorates within an empire or caliphate, and its dual form is ''Misran'', the term used to describe the two biggest cities in Iraq at the time: Basra and Kufa. This linguistic information indicates the historical fact that Egypt is the mother of world civilization; civilized communities began for the first time in Egypt, before the rest of the world. This is why the Arabic word ''Misr'' means a civilized big city. Even this is indicated in the words of Joseph when he said to his family after he made them come to Egypt in safety from the wilderness or Bedouin environment: "…Father, this is the fulfillment of my vision of long ago. My Lord has made it come true. He has blessed me, when he released me from prison, and brought you out of the wilderness…" (12:100). This means that the civilized cities of Egypt were so great in comparison to all other areas in the Levant, Arabia, Iraq, and in North Africa, during the era of Joseph. This means that the borders of the East of Egypt (after Sinai) was a desert environment of Bedouin primitive nature and lifestyle that raised and grazed animals and cattle etc. This is also indicated in the words of Moses when he addressed his people in 2:61, as he said to them "… Would you substitute worse for better? Go down to Egypt/Misr, where you will have what you asked for …". Though he meant probably any big cities, linguistically, to call big cities by the term Mist shows the importance and magnificence of Egypt and its location and influence all over the ancient world during the era of Moses, as the most ancient civilization of the whole planet. This indicates that the term ''Egypt'' or ''Misr'' means the great, big state or country as well. This is why Arabic words used the name of this great country to denote civilization and civilized societies in general, even in other locations away from River Nile, as we deduce from the inflected noun (hence, it is not a proper name)''Misr'' in the Quranic verse 2:61.               

(B) The Quranic text refers to Egypt as "the earth":-

   Another importance to Egypt and its stature and prominence in the ancient world is added by the Quranic text, as Egypt is referred to in Quranic stories as ''the earth''; this description is used with other locations in other Quranic stories, denoting that the powerful, mighty people in a given country, homeland, or area imagined themselves as the controllers of earth and no one on the planet was mightier than they were. We discern this from this Quranic verse about the Aad people: "As for Aad, they turned arrogant on earth, and opposed justice, and said, "Who is more powerful than us?" Have they not considered that God, who created them, is more powerful than they?…" (41:15). Thus, Egypt is likewise described and referred to as ''the earth'' because it remained a very mighty and powerful ancient country/nation for centuries, feared by the rest of the nations, especially during the era of the Ramses dynasty pharaohs, the one that probably witnessed the story of Moses. Let us quote other Quranic verses supporting our view; let us begin with the Quranic Chapter 28: "Pharaoh exalted himself on the earth…" (28:4); "But We desired to favor those who were oppressed on the earth…" (28:5); "And to establish them on the earth…" (28:6); "…You only want to be a bully on the earth, and do not want to be a peacemaker." (28:19); "He and his troops acted arrogantly on the earth…" (28:39). Let us quote verses from the Quranic Chapter 7 tackling the Quranic story of Moses, and we see how Egypt is referred to as ''the earth'' again: "…Will you let Moses and his people cause trouble on the earth…" (7:127); "Moses said to his people, "Seek help in God, and be patient. The earth belongs to God. He gives it in inheritance to whomever He wills of His servants…" (7:128); "…"Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy, and make you successors on the earth; then He will see how you behave." (7:129); "And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the earth, which We had blessed…" (7:137). In 7:137, we see the greatest description of Egypt by God as a blessed land, prominent among all locations on the planet. Likewise, within the Quranic story of Joseph, we see Egypt referred to as the earth yet again: "…"Put me in charge of the storehouses of the earth…" (12:55); "And thus We established Joseph on the earth…" (12:56). This means that  Egypt was the storehouses of the whole ancient world at the time, and that the high stature of Joseph as a powerful governor of Egypt, granted to him by God via the Hyksos king at the time, made him control the neighboring countries, or most of them in the ancient world. Hence, the Quran reflects how the ancient Egyptians felt  regarding their homeland as the center location of the whole earth at the time and the center of civilization and civilized world in general, at the time when European people lived in caves within primitive ways. Another reference to Egypt as the earth, denoting control of the ancient world at the time, is found in this verse as well that contain the warning words of the believing man among the retinue of Moses' Pharaoh: "O my people! Yours is the dominion today, supreme on the earth; but who will help us against God's might, should it fall upon us?…" (40:29). Moses' Pharaoh felt that the call of Moses would cause the collapse of the Egyptian civilization: "Pharaoh said, "Leave me to kill Moses, and let him appeal to his Lord. I fear he may change your religion, or spread corruption on the earth."" (40:26). The Quranic text reflects how Egyptians loved their homeland very much and took pride in it, as they said the following about Moses and Aaron: "They said, "These two are magicians who want to drive you out of your earth with their magic, and to abolish your exemplary way of life." (20:63), and the following about Moses: "…Did you come to us to drive us out of our earth with your magic, O Moses?" (20:57). We notice here that the ancient Egyptians had said that their country is the earth (in the sense of one's turf, territory, and homeland), as they loved their country very much and saw it as dominating over the whole planet, or all countries around them in the ancient world. Finally, we assert here that when the Quran describes Egypt as ''the earth'', this shows another miraculous feature of the Quranic text in its meticulous recording of some facts of history, in addition to other miracles of cosmic verses that refer to scientific facts and to its eloquence in style in the Arabic tongue. Hence, the Quran registers in its text, revealed by God to Muhammad many centuries before Egyptologists could tell us about Ancient Egypt through hieroglyphics, how ancient Egyptians loved their homeland and took pride in it as the greatest nation and country in the ancient world. Egyptologists who deciphered the symbols and characters of hieroglyphics tell us that the ancient Egyptians named their country as "Tumeri" in hieroglyphic language, which means "The Beloved Land", and using this term to refer to Egypt means that they loved it very much; another hieroglyphic term was the one referring to deserts and unknown territories that were never interesting to them: "Akhet", which means the far horizon or the wilderness. We hope that one day Egyptologists and archeologists be guided in their discoveries and researches by what the Quran tells us about ancient Egypt.                   

Secondly: Quranic indications about features of the Ancient Egyptian State during the era of Joseph:

1- We have written above about the greatness, power, and influence of the Ancient Egyptian State millennia ago, and how the Quran registers this aspect of Ancient Egypt by referring to it by the term ''the earth''. It I natural that this worldly glory was manifested basically in the political ruling system that gave the Ancient Egyptian State its supreme power and might. This Ancient Egyptian State (3200-2250 BCE) began by uniting the Egyptian lands and territories that shared a common language, by a great Pharaoh called Menes or Narmer who founded the first Pharaonic dynasty in history. Of course, the Egyptian State during the Pharaonic Era for centuries flourished and collapsed many times, and within times of collapse that were followed by flourishing times later on, no outside enemy forces dared to occupy Egypt during internal degeneration periods (before the Hyksos kings). It is a consensus now that Joseph entered Egypt during the Hyksos occupation, because in the Quranic Chapter 12, titles "Joseph", the ruler of Egypt at the time is described using the word ''King'' five times and is NEVER referred to by the word ''Pharaoh''. In contrast, within the Quranic story of Moses, the word ''Pharaoh'' is mentioned 74 times to describe ruler of Egypt at the time, and he is never described by the word ''King''.   

2- Historians of Ancient Egypt assert that the Hyksos never left any monuments in Egypt that could be studied to know about how the Hyksos ruled Egypt as occupiers; the Quranic reference to the ''King'' in the Quranic Chapter 12 within the story of Joseph is the only reliable source that assert the fact that Hyksos kings were no pharaohs. We bear in mind that the Quran as God's Word tells the Absolute Truth, and this include all historical events and words of characters/figures of history recorded in it, of course. We can draw features of the character and type of rule of the Hyksos king from the Quranic story of Joseph in the Quranic Chapter 12; he was a king that had his retinue of councilors for consultation, but such retinue or group of trusted followers/advisors were never like the very close relation and dependence that existed between Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue/feudal soldiers; as Moses' Pharaoh expected and found full support and blind obedience from his retinue, whereas the Hyksos king in the story of Joseph did find any enthusiasm from his retinue members when he told them about his dreams/visions that needed to be interpreted: "The king said, "I see seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green spikes, and others dried up. O people, explain to me my vision, if you are able to interpret visions." They said, "Jumbles of dreams, and we know nothing of the interpretation of dreams."" (12:43-44). By studying closely the Quranic verses mentioning the very close relation between Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue members, we see the contrast between them and the retinue members of the Hyksos king; if Pharaoh were the one to tell them about a dream/vision, they would have readily vied for offering their interpretations with full zeal and enthusiasm, in a way that would please Pharaoh, or would have brought into the palace all magicians, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to help Pharaoh at once. In contrast, retinue members of the Hyksos king told him languidly in 12:44 that they know nothing about interpretation of dreams. Yet, the Hyksos king was not weak in character or in reasoning, as he had good sense, true insight, intuition, and discernment about how to judge and know statures of erudite men: as he chose Joseph to appoint him in his retinue as a powerful man or deputy, after he thought it over and tested him, as per the Quranic story. The Hyksos king felt disappointed when his retinue failed to help him interpret his visions; when the king's wine cup-bearer told him about his prison cell inmate, Joseph, as they both were imprisoned together at one time, with the cup-bearer released and Joseph remained imprisoned up to this point, the cup-bearer was sent to Joseph in his cell to know from him the interpretation of the king's dreams. Undoubtedly, the Hyksos king realized that the interpretation conveyed to him by the cup-bearer from Joseph indicated no mere empty words; rather, they were serious warnings about future times that will bring famine and needs firm plans to face such hard years and feed the entire population as well as to help the neighboring countries. This wise Hyksos king thought the matter over and realized that the best solution was to bring Joseph in his place, after releasing him from prison, so as to benefit from his advice and consultation. This was a very positive aspect in the character of the Hyksos king; he consulted experts in all serious matters and issues that were of vital importance to the people he ruled. We discern from the Quran that the Hyksos king sent a special messenger/envoy to Joseph in prison, an action denoting his being honored in prison by the king, which was something unexpected by any prisoner in such ancient times. Yet, Joseph apparently insisted on leaving his prison cell only after clearing his name and be declared innocent of the guilt of which he was unjustly accused. This piqued the interest of the Hyksos king more about the true character of Joseph; no doubt that the cup-bearer told the king more about Joseph and why he was imprisoned. Hence, the Hyksos king was resolved to investigate himself the case of Joseph and why he was put to prison years ago; the king sent for the women and interrogated them by accusing them first of making sexual advances to Joseph, and this indicates that the king never accused Joseph of trying to seduce the women, as he defended him in fact. Of course, we know from the Quran that the women has cleared Joseph's name before their king and even the Potiphar's wife did the same and confessed that she was the guilty party in the whole affair. After this unique situation and as joseph was declared innocent, he was brought willingly before the king in his palace, after being asked to attend an audience with the king, and Joseph agreed after he was proven innocent as he desired. The dialogue that the king wished for with Joseph had eventually took place, and before it the king had said: "…Bring him to me, and I will reserve him for myself…" (12:54). After the dialogue between Joseph and the Hyksos king, the king was more convinced of Joseph and admired his character immensely, granting him a high position and stature in his palace. Joseph asked to be appointed as the higher supervisor and controller of all storehouses of the Egyptian kingdom, as he had the required expertise to assume such a position within the critical years to come. Thus, we deduce such historical facts about the Hyksos king from the Quranic Chapter 12, facts never mentioned in books and accounts of human history at all.                                                 

3- Historians of Ancient Egypt surmise that the Hyksos kings adopted cruelty and violence in dealing with Egyptians, but they found no evidence to support this view so far; yet, the Quran provides evidence to support such point: an innocent person like Joseph was thrown into prison cell to cover up or to hush the scandal of the Potiphar's wife and the other affluent women who admired and desired Joseph, whose only 'guilt' was that he adhered to chastity, despite being threatened by imprisonment: "Then it occurred to them, after they had seen the signs, to imprison him for a while." (12:35). Hence, the Hyksos authority might have forgotten all about Joseph in prison for the rest of his life, if it had not been for Providence when a succession  of events took place to the Hyksos king. Moreover, we discern that poorer classes in Egypt at the time paid the heavy price/bill of the affluent, profligate, degenerate class of Hyksos rulers; Joseph who preserved his chastity and never obliged the carnal lusts of the Potiphar's wife and the rest of the rich aristocratic women lost his freedom as a result. We discern as well another situation that assert how the Hyksos treated Egyptians unkindly and unjustly; the story of the two men imprisoned in the same cell with Joseph, as they were imprisoned at the same time like him. One of both men was a baker and the other was a wine cup-bearer, and they befriended their cell inmate Joseph, as we deduce from the following verse: "Two youths entered the prison with him. One of them said, "I see myself pressing wine." The other said, "I see myself carrying bread on my head, from which the birds are eating. Tell us their interpretation - we see that you are one of the righteous."" (12:36). This means that both men had seen visions/dreams derived from their original jobs, and the succession  of events makes us discern they belonged to two different classes; the wine cup-bearer was pardoned soon enough and appointed at the king's palace and became nearer to him that he participated in the king's discussion with his retinue about the visions. This means that he had high stature and belonged to the upper classes in the Hyksos society, and once he returned to his familiar affluent world, he forgot all about his promise to joseph to intercede on his behalf to the king to release him because he was innocent. The cup-bearer knew of course that Joseph was innocent and that he could have helped him as he saw the king on a daily basis. Yet, the cup-bearer forgot about Joseph and prison life once he retrieved his former life of palaces, upper classes, and affluence. This cup-bearer remembered Joseph only when the occasion came up and he felt that Joseph was urgently needed to serve the Hyksos king. "The one who was released said, having remembered after a time, "I will inform you of its interpretation, so send me out." (12:45). Hence, the cup-bearer that belonged to the ruling classes was released soon from prison and found an excellent job in the royal palace, whereas the poor baker was put to death by crucifixion; this baker, as per his job, belonged to the lower classes and his 'crime might be that he stole some flour or bread, as we may discern from his dream that reflected his guilt: "…I see myself carrying bread on my head, from which the birds are eating…" (12:36). Yet, he was put to death for theft because he was a poor person with no one to help him from the upper classes.                  

4- Being imprisoned was the first stage for the poor baker before he was crucified. It is noteworthy that prisons had special importance throughout the history of Ancient Egypt; the words ''prison'' and its related words derived from it are mentioned in the Quranic text only in relation to events that had occurred in Egypt. We know that the Potiphar's wife had threatened to imprison Joseph on two separate occasions: before her husband: "…"What is the penalty for him who desired to dishonor your wife, except imprisonment or a painful punishment?"" (12:25); and before the affluent aristocratic women: "…But if he does not do what I tell him to do, he will be imprisoned, and will be one of the humiliated ." (12:32). We know from the Quran, of course, that Joseph preferred being imprisoned to committing a major sin with those women and the Potiphar's wife: "…My Lord, prison is more desirable to me than what they call me to…" (12:33). This strong influence of prison life was inside the psyche of Joseph, as we discern from the way he addressed his inmates inside the prison cell: "O My fellow inmates, …" (12:39). We deduce from the Quran as well that the influence of the imprisonment experience remained engraved inside Joseph's memory, even when he was on top of all authority and power as the governor of Egypt: "…Father, this is the fulfillment of my vision of long ago. My Lord has made it come true. He has blessed me, when he released me from prison…" (12:100). The Egyptian prison at the time was associated with physical torture and psychological suffering, as we discern from the words of the Potiphar's wife: "… except imprisonment or a painful punishment?" (12:25); "…he will be imprisoned, and will be one of the humiliated." (12:32). The cruelty of the prison life in Ancient Egypt at the time made Joseph urge the cup-bearer who will be released to plead his case to the king and tell him that he was innocent and should be released: "…Mention me to your master…" (12:42), but the cup-bearer forgot all about Joseph and he lingered more years in his prison cell: "…so he remained in prison for several years." (12:42). We know for sure from the Quran that the Egyptian prison in Ancient Egypt remained for long eras a source of terror and used as a threat by those in power; within the story of Moses, Pharaoh threatened to imprison Moses: "…If you accept any god other than me, I will make you among the prisoners." (26:29).    

5- Apart from the Hyksos king, we notice that a high-rank position was the governor of Egypt. The title ''Potiphar'' is mentioned twice in the Quran when tackling the Potiphar's wife seducing joseph, and twice more about Joseph as he became himself the Potiphar of Egypt, and he assumed this highest position in the Egyptian government headed by the Hyksos king. The Quran expresses in the following verses how the Potiphar, who cared for Joseph in his house, was dwarfed and overshadowed by his lustful wife, indicating that he had a weak character: "Some ladies in the city said, "The Potiphar's wife is trying to seduce her servant…" (12:30); "…The Potiphar's wife then said, "Now the truth is out…" (12:51). In contrast, the Quran expresses how Joseph had a strong character when he assumed the position of governor of Egypt, as his brothers never knew him when they were brought before him: "And Joseph's brothers came, and entered into his presence. He recognized them, but they did not recognize him." (12:58). These brothers were taken aback with the awe of Joseph as they pleaded him to spare their youngest brother from being taken from them by force: "They said, "O Potiphar, he has a father, a very old man, so take one of us in his place…" (12:78). Their being submissive to him as the Potiphar, without knowing he was their brother, is mentioned in this verse as well: "…"O Potiphar, adversity has befallen us, and our family. We have brought scant merchandise. But give us full measure, and be charitable towards us-God rewards the charitable."" (12:88). Reading about acts done by Joseph the Potiphar of Egypt, we discern that his missions includes the complete and full supervision of Egypt agricultural and economic affairs, and thus, God had established Joseph on the earth, participating in the rule of the Egyptian kingdom at the time, as we discern from this verse, when Joseph thanked the Lord: ""My Lord, You have given me authority…" (12:101). The position of the Potiphar/governor of Egypt is mentioned in the Quran as: (Aziz Misr), (literally, the Honored One of Egypt) and it might be the title even in the ancient Egyptian language used at the time. This is similar to the title of honor in the Turkish language in Egypt centuries ago: (izzetlu) which meant literally ''the honorable one'', and it is similar to the term used in classical Arabic tongue in the 19^th and 20^th centuries: (Sahib Al-Izzat), which meant literally also "'the honorable one''. 

6- We discern as well from the Quranic text that Egypt during the era of the Hyksos had its eastern borders in Sinai heavily guarded; this was a vital unprecedented step in Ancient Egypt, introduced by the Hyksos occupiers so as to welcome certain Asian guests (like Jacob's sons and the whole family later on) and to ward off unwanted raids of nomads and any foreign belligerent tribes coming from Asia. We discern from the following verse, that quotes Jacob, that crossing this Sinai borders was a matter that needed preparation: "…"O my sons, do not enter by one gate, but enter by different gates. I cannot avail you anything against God. The decision rests only with God. On Him I rely, and on Him let the reliant rely."" (12:67). The sons of Jacob applied to the letter the advice of their father: "And when they entered as their father had instructed them, it did not avail them anything against God; it was just a need in the soul of Jacob, which he carried out…" (12:68). Thus, we know that the eastern Egyptian borders had many gates and they were heavily guarded, and Jacob feared that his sons might arouse the suspicion of these guards who might harm his sons; this was the reason behind his advice to them. Later on, when Joseph told his brothers: "…And bring your whole family to me." (12:93), he traveled to wait for their arrival, with their families, at the Sinai borders, and he met his parents, his relatives, as well as his brothers and their wives, and they traveled to Egyptian capital without being afraid, as there was no cause or room for fear like the fear of Jacob over his sons when they crossed the borders in the first time: "Then, when they entered into the presence of Joseph, he embraced his parents, and said, "Enter Egypt, God willing, safe and secure."" (100:99). This means that the Egyptian capital at the time was named ''Egypt'', in the way Egyptians, in their vernacular Egyptian dialect of Arabic, until now refer to their present capital, Cairo, as ''Egypt''. The heavily guarded borders used to keep off any possible threat or danger coming from Bedouins and their raids and troops, as anyone coming from the desert would be suspected for a while, and guards had to make sure before letting anyone inside Sinai, the Eastern gate of Egypt within all eras. Hence, upon the safe arrival, Joseph was thankful to the Lord: "…Father, this is the fulfillment of my vision of long ago. My Lord has made it come true. He has blessed me, when he released me from prison, and brought you out of the wilderness…" (12:100). Indeed, this indicates that Egypt has been the mother of the civilized world and the most prominent country in the ancient world. The sons of Jacob/Israel lived inside Egypt, and came to be called as the Hebrews and the Israelites, forming twelve tribes, until the exodus with Moses. By the way, those Israelites has nothing to do (in terms of race and origin) with the white Jews in modern Israel now, as the white Israelis of today have descended from the Khazar tribes that embraced Judaism during the Middle Ages and immigrated to Europe for a while before their descendants would come to Palestine in the 20^th century.                  

Thirdly: Quranic indications about the Egyptian State during the era of Moses: between the king of the Hyksos and Moses' Pharaoh:

1- We derive the notion from the Quran that the Hyksos rulers cared for the family and sons of Jacob/Israel, as Joseph met them at the eastern borders in Sinai and "…embraced his parents, and said, "Enter Egypt, God willing, safe and secure."" (12:99). This means that even after the death of Jacob/Israel and Joseph, the Hyksos kings later on nurtured and cared for the Israelites who came from the east into Egypt, and both the Israelites and the Hyksos were foreigners who were hated by Egyptian nationals. In the Old testament, we read the following about how the Hyksos king cared for the family of Joseph: (And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years…) (Genesis 47:27-28) [Source: KJV online on this link: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(King_James)]; (And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house…) (Genesis 50:22); (And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.) (Exodus 1:6-7).   

2- Historians of Ancient Egypt tell us that the Egyptians at one point in time revolted against the Hyksos rule, defeated them militarily, and drove them out of Egypt until beyond the Levant. Thus, it was expected that the fortune of the Israelites would change drastically; after riches and lands they owned during the Hyksos rule, they were deprived of every right and persecuted by the Pharaonic Egyptian rulers, who were bent on taking revenge from all those who aided the foreign occupiers. We find that change of status and conditions echoed in the Old Testament: ( Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.)  (Exodus 1:8).   

Who was Moses' Pharaoh?

1- Historians never agree on defining and naming Moses' Pharaoh; some of them surmise that he might have been either Thutmose I, Seti I, Amenhotep I, Ramses II, or Ramses III. Such conjectures lack proofs of course. Some other historians claim that the Pharaoh who persecuted the Israelites might have been Ramses II, while the one drowning in the Red Sea might have been his successor Merneptah. Yet, there is a consensus that Moses' Pharaoh was one ruler among the ones within three centuries from Thutmose I (1539-1501 BCE) and the exodus of the Israelites (circa 1213 BCE). Until now, no historian is definite about the identity of Moses' Pharaoh and no one has come with evidence or proof to support their view about who was Moses' Pharaoh within the Pharaonic rulers of these three centuries.  

2- It is a fact known about the Pharaohs that the never liked to record in writing any setbacks and defeats, while the Pharaonic rulers used to remove names of their predecessors and ascribe their feats and achievements to themselves. This casts doubts upon how Pharaonic history was registered by the Pharaonic Era scribes; this applies in particular to the story of Moses' Pharaoh and how he was drowned in the lifetime of Moses. Hence, the Quran records a historical fact never mentioned by historians at all; namely, the Israelites inherited for a while the rule of Egypt after the death of Moses' Pharaoh, the collapse of his dynasty, and the destruction of all edifices and monuments that he erected: "So We took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the sea-because they rejected Our signs, and paid no heed to them. And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the land, which We had blessed. Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance. And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:136-137).  This rule over Egypt by Israelites was temporary and for a short time; as they had to obey the divine command to go into the East. God says the following about Moses' Pharaoh and his family, henchmen, followers, and soldiers: "How many gardens and fountains did they leave behind? And plantations, and splendid buildings. And comforts they used to enjoy. So it was; and We passed it on to another people." (44:25-28). The ''people'' mentioned in 44:28 was the Israelites. We conclude also the fact that despite the tyranny and self-deification of Moses' Pharaoh, he turned Egypt into a place of gardens, fountains plantations, splendid buildings, and other enjoyable comforts, and the temporary inheritors of that who ruled Egypt for a while after the death of Moses' Pharaoh were the Israelites as per the Quran: "So We drove them out of gardens and springs. And treasures and noble dwellings. So it was. And We made the Israelites inherit them." (26:57-59). It is natural that scribes of the Pharaonic Era would ignore recording such events, but eh Quran asserts and registers them.     

3- The question about the real identity of Moses' Pharaoh will be debated for a long time, and the Quran never mentions his name. we have asserted before that the Quranic methodology in narrating history is to disregard and omit most names in the Quranic stories. Even some of the names of evil/disbelieving figures mentioned in the Quranic text have been turned into symbols to make Quran-believing people, in all eras and locations, learn useful lessons to avoid the evil ways; for instance, Abou Lahab (mentioned in the Quranic Chapter 111, and ancient interpreters assume that this was the name of Muhammad's paternal uncle, who died as disbeliever in the Quran) and Azar (mentioned in the Quranic text in 6:74 and ancient interpreters assume that this was the name of Abraham's father) are symbolic names of losers and disbelievers who will descend into Hell, despite being relatives of prophets. By the way, this refutes the claim of some Shiites and Sunnites that they are 'holy' untouchable and infallible descendants of Muhammad's daughter Fatima, who was wife of Ali. Moses' Pharaoh's name is never mentioned in the Quran, and the term "Pharaoh" was a political title and never a proper name. this historical figure is a symbol in the Quran of any tyrannical self-deified ruler that goes the whole way against God until his miserable death and waiting for his fate in Hell for eternity, as a well-deserved punishment. The Quranic indications may help about deciding who was the real Moses' Pharaoh; by the way, we assert here the Quranic fact that Moses' Pharaoh was one person who raised the child Moses in his palace, persecuted the Israelites, and drowned in the Red Sea, and not two phrenic rulers as the Old Testament suggests and some historians. We discern this Quranic fact from these Quranic verses; the Israelites said to Moses and he replied as follows: "They said, "We were persecuted before you came to us, and after you came to us." He said, "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy, and make you successors in the land; then He will see how you behave."" (7:129). God says the following about Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue and followers: "Pharaoh exalted himself on the earth, and divided its people into factions. He persecuted a group of them, slaughtering their sons, while sparing their daughters. He was truly a corrupter. But We desired to favor those who were oppressed on the earth, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land; and to show Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops, the very thing they feared. " (28:4-6); "Pharaoh's household picked him up, to be an opponent and a sorrow for them. Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops were sinners." (28:8). Hence, we conclude from this Quranic context that the very same Pharaoh who persecuted the Israelites was the one who cared for the child Moses and the one who was drowned along with his vizier Haman, family members, soldiers, and retinue members in the Red Sea. Moses' Pharaoh said to Moses: "…Did we not raise you among us as a child, and you stayed among us for many of your years?" (26:18). Thus, it should never be expected or surmised that Ramses II might be Moses' Pharaoh, as Ramses II was the great Pharaoh who defeated the Hittite Empire in the battle of Kadesh, in the Levant, forcing them to sign  peace treaty, assumed to be the first one in ancient history. Why are we asserting here based on the Quran, that Ramses II was NOT Moses' Pharaoh? Because Ramses II controlled the Levant, and we know from the Quran that Moses fled Egypt for a while, after killing an Egyptian man, to Madian, located near the Levant, and how come that Moses would flee to a territory controlled by Pharaoh? Hence, Moses fled to Madian when the Levant was not occupied by the Egyptians, and since Ramses II occupied the Levant at the time, he cannot possibly be Moses' Pharaoh. This indicates that if Moses' Pharaoh might be one of the Ramses dynasty, he could never have been Ramses II, but rather one of his descendants that lost control over the Levant, and hence, Moses felt safe while hiding in Madian, located south of the Levant and north-west of Arabia. We conclude also that Moses' Pharaoh never engaged himself into outside expansions or military conquests; we understand from the Quran that Moses' Pharaoh was preoccupied with internal affairs that included using his army and troops to quell weak faction inside Egypt, the Israelites, and to stop them from increasing in number, and he kept busy delivering speeches in his conferences (more on that later in this book). This indicates that Moses' Pharaoh was never busy conquering nations outside Egypt or waging military wars, as he focused only in internal affairs, and the Quran shows nothing about any activities of him outside Egypt, and no archeological evidence support that the Ramses dynasty successors engaged into outside wars after Ramses II. Let us remember that the Israelites refused to obey Moses to enter Palestine because it had tyrannical people: "They said, "O Moses, there are tyrannical people in it; we will not enter it until they leave it. If they leave it, we will be entering." Two men of those who feared, but whom God had blessed, said, "Go at them by the gate; and when you have entered it, you will prevail. And put your trust in God, if you are believers."" (5:22-23). This means that there was a strong state in the Levant, with gates, walls, guards, strong rulers, etc. that had nothing to do with Egyptian rule, and the Israelites feared to leave Sinai to enter Palestine. This means that this strong state in the Levant became mightier after the collapse of the Pharaonic rule and regime. Thus, the pharaohs that succeeded Ramses II probably allowed a measure of autonomy to their occupied regions in the Levant, whose people gained full control over their lands and achieved self-rule later on. Such indications show that Moses' Pharaoh (if he might have been one of the descendants of Ramses II) did not care about the fact that people of the Levant achieved  autonomy and got rid of Egyptian control. Because the Israelites were reluctant to enter Palestine, God punished them by wandering for 40 years in the deserts until this corrupt disbelieving generation would die and a new one would emerge that deserved to enter Palestine. Moses died before the end of this 40-year period, or so we are told in the Old testament. We know from the Quran that after the era of Moses, God sent another prophet/messenger (whose name is not mentioned in the Quran) to the Israelites, who was inspired by God to choose for them a king named Talut in the Quran: "When Talut set out with the troops … And when they confronted Goliath and his troops … And they defeated them by God's leave, and David killed Goliath, and God gave him sovereignty and wisdom, and taught him as He willed …" (2:249-251). The kingdom of the Israelites was thus established in the Levant by David. We conclude then that the Egyptian Empire outside Egyptian borders was no longer there in the era of Moses and after him as the Israelites made their kingdom and no longer feared Egyptians on their borders in Sinai. Hence, we ourselves surmise that the Moses' Pharaoh might have been a descended of Ramses III, who was in his turn murdered by one of his wives. After the death of Ramses III, there were successive rulers in the same dynasty named Ramses, and little is mentioned about them, as per what historians of Ancient Egypt tell us. Moses' Pharaoh might have been one of those eight rulers named Ramses. What reinforces this surmise is the fact that in the era after Moses, weak Egyptians rulers ruled Egypt and collapse, divisions, and degeneration dominated, and even later on Nubians and Libyans ruled Egypt and then later on Assyrians and Persians. This means that Moses' Pharaoh was most probably the last strong Pharaonic ruler, and after he was drowned, the curse had befallen his successors who followed his footsteps of tyranny. The Quran asserts this as Moses and Aaron invoked God's wrath against Pharaoh and God granted him his wish: "Moses said, "Our Lord, you have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the worldly life. Our Lord, for them to lead away from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth, and harden their hearts, they will not believe until they see the painful torment." He said, "Your prayer of both of you has been answered, so go straight, and do not follow the path of those who do not know."" (10:88-89). Hence, God punished the Pharaohs and made their rule and kingdom collapse; and this might have been repeated in the subsequent Pharaonic history if another ruler had emerged and proclaimed himself as a self-deified being: "…I am your Lord, the most high." (79:24).                                                            

Moses' Pharaoh: features of his character:

1- The proclaimed self-deification of Moses' Pharaoh is the most prominent feature in his character, and from which he derived his absolute power and hegemony over the Egyptians. This very feature drove him to persecute the Israelites and their religion that contained no deification, sanctification, and worship of Pharaoh. It is certain that Moses' Pharaoh had imposed his being worshipped, as a deity most high, on the Israelites, and he and his family, soldiers, retinue members, seniors, nobles, and followers were surprised by the call of Moses and Aaron because the Israelites were forced to worship Pharaoh as a deity: "They said, "Are we to believe in two mortals like us, and their people worship us?"" (23:47). Undoubtedly, Moses' Pharaoh had bragged before Moses of this and reminded him that the Israelites were merely his slaves, and Moses had said to him: "Is that the favor you taunt me with that you have enslaved the Israelites?" (26:22). The call of Moses drove Pharaoh to fear that his religion of worshipping Pharaoh as god, on which his absolute power was based, would be lost, and he told his retinue: "… I fear he may change your religion or spread corruption on the earth." (40:26). Indeed, Moses' Pharaoh used to hold conferences and the masses were mobilized to attend them along with his retinue members, and he would proclaim himself as their supreme god: "And gathered and proclaimed. He said, "I am your Lord, the most high."" (79:23-24). Moses' Pharaoh went on in his hubris in the religion he fashioned and declared in public the following: "… O nobles, I know of no god for you other than me. So fire-up the bricks for me, O Haman, and build me an edifice, that I may ascend to the God of Moses…" (28:38). Because all Egyptians at that era worshipped Pharaoh as a deity, they used to mention his name to gain benediction before they perform any important task, as the magicians did to confront Moses with their magic in the palace of Pharaoh: "So they threw their ropes and their sticks, and said, "By the majesty of Pharaoh, we will be the winners."" (26:44).            

2- What we read in the Quran about ancient Egyptians gaining benediction from Moses' Pharaoh's name is discovered by Egyptologists, who assert in their books that Egyptians in tournaments mentioned the name of any pharaoh as a deity or a demi-god. One rival would say, for instance, ''We stand before the great, almighty Pharaoh, for him long life and power!'', and another would say, "By the might of our good Pharaoh, I will smash you into pieces before his sight!" or "Pharaoh the great, my lord, is with me against you! For him long life and power forever!".     

3- God says the following about the stance of Moses' Pharaoh when the magicians believed in God because of the miracle of Moses: "Pharaoh said, "Did you believe in Him before I have given you permission? …" (7:123); "He said, "Did you believe in Him before I have given you permission? …" (26:49). This means that Moses' Pharaoh considered himself as a lord/god dominant over hearts of his subjects, to the extent that they were not to believe in any creed except after asking for his permission! This shows to us how Moses' Pharaoh used to hold both political/temporal and religious authority, as an owner of land/earth and people on it. this is the highest level possible of tyranny typical of self-deified mortals. Historians of ancient Egyptian civilization mention that the Pharaonic Modern Era – especially the Ramses dynasty – had witnessed centralized dominance, power, and authority in the hands of Pharaoh. Those historians maintain that this tradition began earlier by the pharaoh named Ahmose I, in the 18^th Pharaonic dynasty, who conspired against feudal lords and confiscated their possessions and lands as Pharaoh's property. Hence, within the era of the 18^th Pharaonic dynasty, it became a tradition to make all wealth, power, and authority in the hands of any pharaoh in a central system of administration, and this enabled Egyptians to form a modern, well-trained, strong military troops at the time. Thus, the era of feudal lords owning lands inside Egyptian regions/governorates within de-centralized system came to an end, and a centralized mighty and powerful government in the Egyptian capital controlled and dominated over everything. What historians have explained in volumes has been expressed briefly in verses about Moses' Pharaoh, especially the one about the speech delivered by him to his people, showing his self-deification and absolute power and dominance: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?" (43:51). This verse shows how all power was in the hands of Moses' Pharaoh on top of the centralized ruling system at the time, and as the owner of the whole of Egypt. This verse shows that the basis of political tyranny of pharaoh as an assumed owner of lands is the River Nile, which gushes forth in its way through the desert and makes Egyptians dwell at its fertile banks to seek shelter, irrigation, agriculture, and stability. A long river like the Nile entailed a centralized powerful government to oversee irrigation and agricultural processes and a very strong military army to defend the Nile Valley against any invasion. The Egyptians as residents of the Nile Valley Egypt were used to live in peace while enjoying excellent climate and rich bounties of the lush gardens and fruitful and plentiful farms; this led them to accept easily to bear patiently with tyranny and injustices of any pharaoh/ruler as long as he undertook the supervision and overseeing of all internal affairs and the defense of Egypt against any marauders and invaders. Hence, Moses' Pharaoh controlled the Nile and residents of the Nile Valley and all of their life aspects Egypt (as an assumed deity), and this was the source of his dominance and arrogance we perceive in 43:51. The one controlled and owned the River Nile was controlling all of Egypt, as Egypt was the gift of the Nile, as the Greek historian Herodotus used to assert.                    

4- Political, historical, and geographical factors were combined together to make absolute despotism of any pharaoh as the main feature of Ancient Egypt, and pharaoh became symbol of the Egyptian State; thus, any opposing stance or view would threaten the regime and centralized authority that might collapse as a result. This entailed that Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue members and his soldiers, cronies, and family members would side wholeheartedly with any views adopted by Pharaoh against any opposing views. This was the reason that led Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue stand against Moses and his call, which posed a threat to their existence and a challenge to their authority, as we discern from these verses containing words of Moses' Pharaoh: "He said, "Did you come to us to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses?" (20:57); "He said to the retinue members around him, "This is a skilled magician." He intends to drive you out of your land with his magic, so what do you recommend?" (26:34-35). The same sentiments were repeated and echoed by the retinue of Moses' Pharaoh: "They disagreed among themselves over their affair, and conferred secretly. They said, "These two are magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic, and to abolish your exemplary way of life. So settle your plan, and come as one front. Today, whoever gains the upper hand will succeed."" (20:62-64). Even after the Egyptian magicians followed the faith in God with Moses after watching in amazement the miracles of God through Moses, Moses' Pharaoh said to them: "…"Did you believe in Him before I have given you permission? This is surely a conspiracy you schemed in the city, in order to expel its people from it. You will surely know."" (7:123). This shows that the logic of Moses' Pharaoh and his men that lived off him, with him, and for him that the earth/land was theirs and their control, dominance, and hegemony over it were based on certain social and political norms as well as religious notions that assert the superiority and dominance of Moses' Pharaoh and his opinions; any opposing views would be threatening to the regime and all its figures and cronies. Therefore, Moses' Pharaoh hated any opposition and could never stand it when being talked to, and 26:34-35 shows that he never consulted his retinue members, as their existence was directly linked to his and he knew that very well. This shows that when he condescendingly said to his retinue members: "…so what do you recommend?'' (26:35), he was not consulting anyone; rather, he wanted them to flatter him by saying what he desired and expected to hear, and they proposed what he himself had proposed earlier anyway. Moses' Pharaoh was indeed a dictatorial tyrant, and this is showed in the Quran when Moses' Pharaoh ignored to talk to the believing man among the Pharaonic people/retinue who used to hide his faith had advised them, but Moses' Pharaoh addressed the rest of the retinue with his point of view instead of talking/responding to the believing man: "O my people! Yours is the dominion today, supreme in the land; but who will help us against God's might, should it fall upon us?" Pharaoh said, "I do not show you except what I see, and I do not guide you except to the path of prudence."" (40:29). This shows that Moses' Pharaoh never could stand any opposing views and that he expected unanimous agreement from anyone around him.          

5- The main feature of the Egyptian character throughout history has been inclined to make ample use of ridicule and mocking. Moses' Pharaoh was no exception to his rule while he talked to Moses, in his court and before his retinue, but he would threaten Moses readily in earnest and seriously once the dialogue turned toward the religion of self-deified Pharaoh. The Quran depicts a vivid image or portrait of such dialogue/repartee between Moses and Pharaoh in these verses: "Pharaoh said, "And what is the Lord of the Worlds?" He said, "The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and everything between them, if you are aware." He said to those around him, "Do you not hear?" He said, "Your Lord and the Lord of your ancestors of old times." He said, "This messenger of yours, who is sent to you, is crazy." He said, "Lord of the East and the West, and everything between them, if you understand." He said, "If you accept any god other than me, I will make you a prisoner."" (26:23-29). The Ancient Egyptians knew God/Allah – more details on this topic are mentioned later on in this book – and this means that when Pharaoh said to Moses: "…"And what is the Lord of the Worlds?"" (26:23), he meant to mock Moses, and he mocked him the more when he said to his retinue: "…"Do you not hear?"" (26:25). At such a question aiming to deride Moses, we assume that the retinue in court laughed loudly in order to flatter and gratify Pharaoh. When Moses responded to Pharaoh seriously, Pharaoh taunted Moses by asserting to his retinue that Moses was crazy. Moses defied everyone and Pharaoh by repeating the same response, while asserting that they did not want to understand. This means that Moses' defiance was to urge them to be reasonable and not to deny God. at that point, Pharaoh stopped ridiculing Moses and began to threaten him with imprisonment, as Moses posed a veritable threat or danger to Pharaonic rule. The ridicule of Moses by Pharaoh went on in conferences/gatherings, as Pharaoh compared between his high stature, supreme power and dominance, and eloquence and Moses who was poor, humble, and inarticulate: ""Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?" Am I not better than this miserable wretch, who can barely express himself? Why are bracelets of gold not dropped on him, or the angels would come with him in procession?"" (43:51-53). The query raised now is as follows: since this self-deified Pharaoh thought himself superior to everyone else, why he made a comparison between himself and Moses? The answer might be that Pharaoh wanted to remind his people/retinue of his high stature and that he owned them and owned the lands/earth and all riches and rivers on it, in contrast to Moses who owned nothing at all. Such a reminder was needed by Pharaoh because his kingdom and dominance were based on certain social and political norms as well as religious notions to which Egyptians adhered and that were threatened by Moses as he defied Pharaoh's authority. Thus, as long as people at the time adhered to the notion that Pharaoh as a deity, this made him deserved his high stature and political/religious power that enabled him to own Egypt. As the call of Moses opposed all this, this posed a veritable threat to the very foundations of the kingship and kingdom of Pharaoh. Hence, Pharaoh had to ridicule and deride Moses so as not to allow his call to God to spread among the Egyptians if they saw him being mocked and belittled. Indeed, retinue of Pharaoh echoed and imitated Pharaoh as they derided Moses and his call and actually laughed at him: "But when he showed them Our signs, they started laughing at them." (43:47). This shows that Pharaoh controlled the minds, mentality, and norms of his people at the time, and the Quran tells us the following about Pharaoh's retinue and people: "Thus he fooled his people, and they obeyed him. They were wicked people." (43:54).   

6- The dictatorial tendency of a despot like Moses' Pharaoh was asserted the more within the military aspect of his kingdom. Historians of Ancient Egypt assert that the Ramses dynasty pharaohs were heads of state and the military armies as well simultaneously. This means that each pharaoh used to be the military leader of all Egyptian troops in all battles and in all military councils. Indeed, the Quranic verses link Moses' Pharaoh to a military context as a leader followed by his soldiers and troops, when he chased the Israelites: "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea, Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively…" (10:90), and when he was too arrogant because of his military might and troops: "He and his troops acted arrogantly on the earth with no justification. They thought they would not be returned to Us." (28:39). Moreover, the Quran tells us that Haman was Moses' Pharaoh's grand vizier and a higher military leader as well, as we discern from this context: "And to establish them on the earth; and to show Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops, the very thing they feared… … Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops were sinners." (28:6-8). We read also the following about the death of Moses' Pharaoh and his troops: "So We seized him, and his troops, and We threw them into the sea. Observe, therefore, what was the end of the oppressors." (28:40). In the following verse, God describes Moses' Pharaoh as one of the warring military soldiers: "And cross the sea quickly; they are an army to be drowned."" (44:24); this is repeated in these verses: "Has there come to you the story of the soldiers? Of Pharaoh and Thamood?" (85:17-18). Thus, this means that the case of Moses' Pharaoh was of religious despotism coupled with military tyranny that drove him to proclaim self-deification as a supreme deity; he was made as an example to warn nations against submitting to all sorts of tyranny, as tyrants are bad omens for their followers as they re-trace and follow the footsteps of Moses' Pharaoh into perdition and into Hell.             

Fourthly: Moses' Pharaoh retinue/people:

1- After Ahmose I removed the system of local feudal lords in Egyptian regions and cities, a new class of aristocrats emerged that included royal employees and officials who were atop of the military, managerial, and administrative systems in Egypt. Pharaohs used to grant those high-rank employees and officials money, gifts, farms, etc., and any Pharaoh was declared as the sole owner of the land, while peasants would cultivate it for the benefit of Pharaoh, overseen and supervised by these royal employees and officials, who formed the retinue of Pharaoh. Those retinue members were very much loyal to Pharaoh and were directly linked to him in terms of authority and wealth; this is discerned from the Quranic verses that always associate them directly to Moses' Pharaoh. These verses that we quote below assert the fact that the call of Moses and Aaron was not addressed to the unarmed and impecunious Egyptian nation or peasants at all; rather, it was addressed to the Israelites as well as Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue members: "Then, after them, We sent Moses with Our miracles to Pharaoh and his retinue…" (7:103); "…We sent Moses and Aaron with Our proofs to Pharaoh and his retinue…" (10:75); "And We sent Moses with Our signs…to Pharaoh and his retinue…" (11:96-97); " Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron, with Our signs and a clear authority…to Pharaoh and his retinue…" (23:45-46); "…These are two proofs from your Lord, to Pharaoh and his retinue. They are truly sinful people." (28:32); "We sent Moses with Our Signs to Pharaoh and his retinue…" (43:46); "But none believed in Moses except some children of his people, for fear that Pharaoh and his retinue members would persecute them. Pharaoh was high and mighty in the land. He was a tyrant." (10:83). These retinue members used to be leaders on top of the hierarchical pyramid of followers of Pharaoh's people, as we conclude from these two verses: "The retinue among Pharaoh's people said,…" (7:109); "The retinue among Pharaoh's people said,…" (7:127). The Quran has named to us two chief persons who were within this retinue of Moses' Pharaoh: Haman and Quaroon. By studying and analyzing all what the Quran says about both of them, we can get to know how a person would be among the closest cronies/chiefs among this nearest circle of retinue of Moses' Pharaoh or indeed any Pharaoh in his palace court.              

2- Haman used to have high and supreme military authority, second only to Moses' Pharaoh, and also he had civil authority. We deduce this from God's ascribing soldiers to both Moses' Pharaoh and Haman in this verse: "…Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops were sinners." (28:8). This means that Moses' Pharaoh was the supreme military leader of the armed troops while Haman was the highest military general under Pharaoh. As for the civil authority of Haman, it is inferred from these verses: "And Pharaoh said, "O Haman, build me an edifice , that I may reach the pathways of the heavens…" (40:36-37); "…So fire-up the bricks for me O Haman, and build me an edifice, that I may ascend to the God of Moses…" (28:38). Hence, we conclude that Haman's high military rank allowed him to undertake civil construction projects; indeed, in military regimes, military men perform most tasks in the civil society. We deduce as well that the military prowess was the most important criterion to reach the top class/rank of the retinue of Moses' Pharaoh or any Pharaonic palace court.         

3- Another criterion to reach the top class/rank of the Pharaonic retinue among the non-military people was the economic and political prowess as well; for instance, Quaroon reached the highest class of the retinue of Moses' Pharaoh despite his being among the persecuted minority of the Israelites. In the Quran, we notice that Quaroon is mentioned in two verses linked with Haman and Pharaoh, and this means that Quaroon was a high-rank retinue member in the Pharaonic palace court and he disbelieved in the message of Moses: "And Quaroon, and Pharaoh, and Haman - Moses went to them with clear arguments…" (29:39); "We sent Moses with Our signs, and a clear authority. To Pharaoh, Haman, and Quaroon. But they said, "A lying sorcerer."" (40:23-24). This means that Quaroon is included, without mentioning his name, in the words uttered by the retinue of Pharaoh: "Then, when he came to them with the truth from Us, they said, "Kill the sons of those who have believed with him, and spare their daughters." But the scheming of the unbelievers can only go astray." (40:25). Quran is mentioned in the following verse, for he oppressed the Israelites as well: "Quaroon belonged to the people of Moses, but he oppressed them…" (28:76). This means that Quaroon the Israelite man betrayed his people and thus became a powerful retinue member in the palace court of Moses' Pharaoh. This is why we perceive from the previous Quranic verses that Quaroon sided wholeheartedly with Haman and Pharaoh against Moses and the Israelites. The Quran mentions that Quaroon had assumed the same stance as Moses' Pharaoh, when he and Haman advised Pharaoh to kill those who believed with Moses, but Quaroon – as any traitor of his people – thought only of himself, as he preferred not to follow his master, Pharaoh, when he chased Moses and Israelites, leaving Pharaoh and his retinue members and soldiers drown in the Red Sea while he remained behind in the Egyptian capital. Hence, Quaroon was not drowned with them, and he was saved only from the fate of Moses' Pharaoh, only for a while. After the collapse of the Pharaonic rule, Quaroon made advantage of the situation as he knew the hiding places of treasures of the Egyptians who drowned, and he confiscated all such immense wealth to himself. Such unimagined wealth led Quaroon to be too proud and he never heeded the advice of Israelite believers and some of the Israelites who had little faith envied Quaroon, tempted by his immense wealth and power, and they wished to be in his shoes, until Quaroon was punished by God as earth gulped him down, along with his mansion and treasures. Some of the Israelites drew a useful lesson of these events, as we read in the Quran: "Quaroon belonged to the people of Moses, but he oppressed them. We had given him treasures, the keys of which would weigh down a group of strong men. His people said to him, "Do not exult; God does not love the exultant. But seek, with what God has given you, the Home of the Hereafter, and do not neglect your share of this world. And be charitable, as God has been charitable to you. And do not seek corruption in the land. God does not like the seekers of corruption." He said, "I was given all this on account of knowledge I possess." Did he not know that God destroyed many generations before him, who were stronger than he, and possessed greater riches? But the guilty will not be asked about their sins. And he went out before his people in his splendor. Those who desired the worldly life said, "If only we possessed the likes of what Quaroon was given. He is indeed very fortunate." But those who were given knowledge said, "Woe to you! The reward of God is better for those who believe and do righteous deeds." Yet none attains it except the steadfast. So We caused the earth to cave in on him and his mansion. He had no company to save him from God, and he could not defend himself. Those who had wished they were in his position the day before were saying, "Indeed, it is God who spreads the bounty to whomever He wills of His servants, and restricts it. Had God not been gracious to us, He would have caved in on us. No wonder the ungrateful disbelievers never prosper." That Home of the Hereafter-We assign it for those who seek no superiority on earth, nor corruption. And the outcome is for the pious." (28:76-83). Undoubtedly, Quaroon was very intelligent, and this helped him to join retinue of Pharaoh despite his being an Israelite/ a Hebrew and he was one of the tools used by Pharaoh to oppress and tyrannize over the weak Israelites. Once Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue members/soldiers are out of the picture, the sharp intelligence of Quaroon allowed him to confiscate all their treasures and possessions, and when the wise believing ones among the Israelites advised him, he proudly told them that he obtained such immense wealth through the knowledge he possessed (see 28:78). Indeed, Quaroon boasted of his knowledge and wealth in pride and hubris, while disregarding God as he did when he joined forces with the unjust ones and oppressed his weak people. This is why he was cursed by God and punished; hence, when Moses and Aaron invoked God's wrath against Pharaoh and his retinue members, God granted them their wish in two stages: "Moses said, "Our Lord, you have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the worldly life. Our Lord, for them to lead away from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth, and harden their hearts, they will not believe until they see the painful torment." He said, "Your prayer of both of you has been answered, so go straight, and do not follow the path of those who do not know."" (10:88-89). Their prayers were answered in two stages: firstly when Pharaoh and his cronies and retinue member drowned in the Red Sea, and secondly, when Quaroon was punished as he vanished into the earth that opened an orifice on its surface and gulped him down along with his stolen Pharaonic treasures.                              

4- Hence, Quaroon used to talk while adopting the same logic of Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue members in the Pharaonic Palace, by asserting his reliance on ''knowledge'', a word that meant in those ancient times as ''magic'' or ''sorcery''. Let us not forget that Moses' Pharaoh felt the urgency to face miracles of God made through Moses by fetching every ''learned'' magician, as knowledge at the time means the adroitness and skill/ability to deceive with talents of sorcery, and being experienced in such things was the gate to be nearer to Pharaoh and his retinue members. Hence, those retinue members had advised Pharaoh this way: "They said, "Delay him and his brother, and send recruiters to the cities. To bring you every experienced learned magician."" (26:36-37). And when those ''learned'' ones or sorcerers came to stand before Pharaoh in his palace, they desired at first to join the retinue to get nearer to power and authority circles: "When the magicians arrived, they said to Pharaoh, "Is there a reward for us, if we are the winners?" He said, "Yes, and you will be among those favored."" (26:41-42). When the magicians let Pharaoh down and believed with Moses in the message he brought, Pharaoh had them killed. This means that those near Moses' Pharaoh who incurred his fury would suffer dire consequences; this was part of the religion to which adhered retinue members of Pharaoh. Thus, only the talented and gifted ones could get nearer to the inner circle around Pharaoh, or wriggle their way inside it while worshipping Pharaoh as a supreme deity, and if they had bad luck anytime, they were doomed to be killed.  

5- The Quranic word ''retinue'' comes only one time in the Quranic Chapter 12 in the story of Joseph, when the Hyksos king failed to get interpretations for his visions/dreams from his retinue members who were ignorant and reluctant to help him. In contrast, in the story of Moses and Pharaoh, the term ''retinue'' is often synonymous with the word ''Pharaoh'', in a Quranic indication that the retinue members were natural extensions to Moses' Pharaoh; his views were theirs and their views were his. Indeed, the expressions "his retinue'' (mentioned six times) and ''his retinues'' (mentioned once) in the Quranic text come only in association with Moses' Pharaoh, and this shows how he actually owned and fully controlled his retinue members. The term ''his retinues'' is mentioned in the following verse: "But none believed in Moses except some children of his people, for fear that Pharaoh and his retinues would persecute them. Pharaoh was high and mighty in the land. He was a tyrant." (10:83). We infer from this verse that the retinue of Moses' Pharaoh had its own classes and groups, like the many circles of power that vary in degree and nearness to the tyrannical ruler, with tails of every circle in all cities and villages to control and oversee everything. Thus, when Moses killed the Egyptian man, news spread fast to the local circle of retinue, who conspired and plotted to have Moses killed. No doubt that this local circle of retinue watched closely everything that occurred in the capital of Egypt at the time of Pharaoh, while Pharaoh himself did not know about this in the same day, and when a man in the outskirts of the capital got news of such plotting to get rid of Moses, he came to warn him: "And a man came from the farthest part of the city running. He said, "O Moses, the authorities are considering killing you, so leave; I am giving you good advice."" (28:20). If those members of this local retinue circle had been near Pharaoh, they would have told him about the matter immediately and would have arrested and murdered Moses in the same day, before news of such plotting would come to this man who came from the outskirts of the city to warn Moses. This indicates that retinue of Moses' Pharaoh had its hierarchy and classes that vary in ranks and nearness to Pharaoh, but all of its members were fully controlled by commands of Pharaoh, and obeying him led them to their perdition in this world and the next: "To Pharaoh and his retinue members, but they followed the command of Pharaoh, and the command of Pharaoh was not wise. He will precede his people on the Day of Resurrection, and will lead them into the Fire. Miserable is the place he placed them in." (11:97-98).             

6- The Quranic text has its unique way of showing the exact similarity between views of Pharaoh and those of his retinue members, by showing how those members echo and copy the same views of Pharaoh, like parrots, and how they only voiced views that would please Pharaoh and his whims; hence, the same views are ascribed to both Pharaoh and his retinue members together, or to each side by itself. Hence, the retinue members were natural extensions to Moses' Pharaoh himself. God says in the Quran: "The retinue members of Pharaoh's people said, "Will you let Moses and his people cause trouble on earth and forsake you and your gods?" He said, "We will kill their sons, and spare their women. We have absolute power over them."" (7:127). We see here how the retinue members were more keen than Pharaoh on preserving their power by retaining Pharaoh as a ruler and keeping his power/monarchy that served their purposes and interests; thus, they were more 'royalist' than the 'king', as the idiomatic expression goes. They indeed voiced this very view of Pharaoh, mentioned in 7:127, as we read in the following verse: "Then, when he came to them with the truth from Us, they said, "Kill the sons of those who have believed with him, and spare their daughters."" (40:25). Hence, such a type of retinue members pave the way to their own perdition and that of any tyrannical/Pharaonic ruler as well.         

Moses' Pharaoh's soldiers were his people as well:

1- We should bear in mind that the Quranic term ''people of Moses' Pharaoh" was not confined to retinue members (courtiers), as it included them along with soldiers, high-rank officials, dignitaries,  and notables, viziers, officers, overseers, spies, employees, and scribes in the Egyptian capital at the time and in other cities all over the  regions/governorates of Egypt.  Of course, the soldiers/troops were the herd being gathered from all cities and villages to follow Pharaoh and his retinue members in any battle. Hence, both troops/soldiers and retinue members were drowned in the Red Sea when they chased Moses and the Israelites. God says the following in the Quran about the people of Moses' Pharaoh: "Thus he fooled his people, and they obeyed him. They were wicked people. And when they provoked Our wrath, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them all." (43:54-55). This means that all Pharaoh's people (i.e., retinue members + soldiers/troops) were drowned in the Red Sea. God says the following in the Quran about the troops of Moses' Pharaoh: "He and his troops acted arrogantly on the earth with no justification. They thought they would not be returned to Us. So We seized him, and his troops, and We threw them into the sea. Observe, therefore, what was the end of the oppressors." (28:39-40). This means that all Pharaoh's troops/soldiers were drowned in the Red Sea as well, as they were part of Pharaoh's people.     

2- Historians of the Ramses dynast era assert in their writings that troops of soldiers of that era never learned or were ever trained in anything but to carry arms and use them, as a job traditionally bequeathed to them from their fathers, and all of them owned vast stretches of lands in Egypt, and this means that they were also feudal lords who supervise Egyptian peasants who cultivated lands for Pharaoh, who was deemed as a supreme deity owning lands and all people living on it as well.    

The military feudal system in Pharaonic Egypt:

1- This means that in Pharaonic Egypt at the time, a military feudal system was based on making military leaders and soldiers of the troops of Pharaoh oversee the cultivation of agricultural lands of Egypt, while imposing unpaid forced labor (i.e., corvée) on Egyptian peasants, who received only food barely enough to make them able to work. Indeed, this military feudal system went on in Egypt in later eras, such as the Mameluke Era (1250-1517 A.D.). we know from history that the military feudal system went on for a long time in Europe during the Middle Ages as well, but its first time in human history was during the Ramses dynasty era.

2- The Quran sheds light on this military feudal system within the agricultural lands of Pharaonic Egypt; this is shown in the use of the verb ''mobilize'' several times as related to Moses' Pharaoh. This verb refers to the fact that Pharaoh used to easily and swiftly mobilize and gather all his followers, soldiers, and troops from everywhere all over Egypt to come to him at a certain time and location as per his commands. We read in the Quran how God describes this Pharaonic military mobilization that includes all cities and villages: "Pharaoh sent heralds to all cities, to mobilize and gather. "These are a small gang. And they are enraging us. But we are a vigilant multitude."" (26:53-56). This means that Moses' Pharaoh sent his written decrees to all military leaders all over Egyptian cities and villages to mobilize their troops and gather before the sight of Pharaoh in his capital city, asserting that the small gatherings of the Israelites who fled were enraging Pharaoh and he urged all leaders to be vigilant and gather to chase them. Of course, these soldiers and military leaders left their verdant, fertile gardens in their feudal lands they oversaw and supervised, as well as all their wealth and treasures, to follow Pharaoh and obey his commands: "So We drove them out of gardens and springs. And treasures and noble dwellings. So it was. And We made the Israelites inherit them." (26:57-58). This meaning is repeated elsewhere in the Quran: "How many gardens and fountains did they leave behind? And plantations, and splendid buildings. And comforts they used to enjoy. So it was; and We passed it on to another people." (44:25-28).    

3- Such swift military mobilization was unique and unprecedented at the time, coming from all over Egyptian cities and villages to converge in one central point: Moses' Pharaoh and his capital city. One may surmise that such an established system of military mobilization existed even since long time before the Ramses dynast era; as princes of provinces, regions, and governorates in Egypt used to share a measure of rule alongside with pharaohs of Egypt in  decentralized rule system in Egypt, but the new element here in the story of Moses' Pharaoh is that centralized rule system that made Pharaoh a self-deified despot/tyrant dominating and controlling everything related to rule, as governors were his loyal minions and followers (and Pharaoh could appoint, dismiss, or even murder them). Another new element here on which the Quran sheds light is the Pharaoh ensured that there was a strong, flexible means of communication between him and those feudal lords/military leaders, so that they are mobilized in no time at the capital upon Pharaoh's command. Hence, this was the case in Egypt, like in any other centralized power/authority of tyrannical regimes that control fully even the peripheries of the State. Hence, there are Quranic indications from which we infer this feature regarding excellent, swift means of communications in Pharaonic Egypt, within steady, firmly established, ongoing means of contact between Pharaoh and all troops and military leaders all over Egyptian soil to be mobilized in no time once Moses' Pharaoh would wish them at his command. This is what happened when Pharaoh decided at once to chase Moses and the Israelites. The Quran provides us with two examples of the meticulousness, distinction, and minuteness of the Pharaonic system of mobilization and gathering; within the civil aspect, all magicians gathered from all over Egypt to attend at a certain time the confrontation with Moses: "He said to the retinue members around him, "This is a skilled magician. He intends to drive you out of your land with his magic, so what do you recommend?" They said, "Delay him and his brother, and send recruiters to the cities. To bring you every experienced learned magician." So the magicians were gathered for the appointment on a specified day. And it was said to the people, "Are you all gathered? That we may follow the magicians, if they are the winners."" (26:34-40). This means that heralds and messengers of Pharaoh went to all cities and villages to gather all skilled and learned magicians/sorcerers to make them convene at the capital at a certain time and location, while other secret groups loyal to Pharaoh were commanded to make people attend this confrontation and support the potential winners, as we infer from the sense of competition inculcated into people in 26:40. God says the following in the Quran about Moses' Pharaoh after he saw miracles of God through Moses: "He said, "Did you come to us to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses? We will produce for you magic like it; so make an appointment between us and you, which we will not miss-neither us, nor you-in a central place." He said, "Your appointment is the day of the festival, so let the people be gathered together at mid-morning." Pharaoh turned away, put together his scheming plan, and then came back." (20:57-60). We notice here how Pharaoh talked in over self-confidence, asking Moses to set the date, time and place beforehand, and because Moses knew of the mobilizing ability and means of swift communications of Pharaoh, he said what we read in 20:59. Indeed, Pharaoh acted speedily using all his abilities to gather people and making them convene, as we discern from 20:60. Hence, the Quran describes Pharaoh's way of influencing the masses and controlling them in mobilization as ''scheming plan'', and this shows the idea of secret agents/apparatuses that serve fully a dominant, absolute despot. The other example of mobilization and gathering was within the military aspect; as per the military feudal system in Pharaonic Egypt explained above, all soldiers of Pharaonic troops oversaw cultivation of lands on behalf of Pharaoh in all governorates, and all of them were in direct contact with Pharaoh within advanced, swift means of communications, by levels of these ancient times, with the palace of Pharaoh as the center of all these communications. It is natural to assume that the military mobilization was the most important type and done to perfection and swifter in time; once Moses' Pharaoh got news of the exodus of the Israelites, he mobilized his troops, soldiers, and military leaders, and his retinue members from all over Egyptian governorates so swiftly that they almost caught up with the Israelites to massacre them, if it had not been for the divine intervention, as the Israelites passed the Red Sea and their chasers drowned in it. "And We inspired Moses: "Travel with My servants by night. You will be followed." Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities. "These are a small gang. And they are enraging us. But we are a vigilant multitude." So We drove them out of gardens and springs. And treasures and noble dwellings. So it was. And We made the Israelites inherit them." (26:52-59).                    

4- There is an element that is absent, yet always present, in the topic within the story of Moses' Pharaoh: namely,  the secret apparatuses serving Pharaoh. It is natural that a ruler like Pharaoh would have secret agents serving him, but history never tells us this, and the only indications about that are found in the Quran as the only source of this piece of information, as far as we know. We infer from the Quran the work of such secret apparatuses, as had to influences the masses (see 26:40 and how we explain it above). One may surmise that among the secret agents was the man in the outskirts of the capital that knew of the plot to have Moses murdered and came to Moses to warn him and to advise him to flee: "And a man came from the farthest part of the city running. He said, "O Moses, the authorities are considering killing you, so leave; I am giving you good advice."" (28:20). Maybe this man was a secret agent serving under the local retinue members of lower ranks. Maybe this man was an Israelite who feared that those murderous elite retinue members would scheme to get rid of Moses, and he readily warned Moses. Moreover, we never exclude the possibility that Quaroon was an agent serving Pharaoh within the secret apparatuses that used to spy and watch the Israelites closely. But the most dangers secret agents indeed were those police officers, overseers, and those military soldiers whose job was to terrorize ordinary Egyptians (i.e., peasants) and the enslaved Israelites. Hence, those secret agents and spies used to watch every single person among the Israelites during the era of Moses, and yet, the Israelites (including Moses and Aaron) never felt the existence of, or the spying done by, those secret agents of this Pharaonic secret apparatuses; this is why we read in the Quran that God inspired Moses to be warned against those spies before the timing of their exodus from Egypt to the East: "And We inspired Moses: "Travel with My servants by night. You will be followed."" (26:52); ""Set out with My servants by night-you will be followed." (44:23). We infer from these two verses that the Israelites were followed by agents/spies of Pharaoh wherever they went, despite the fact that they began their flight by night, and yet, the secret agents of Pharaoh speedily found out about the exodus and notified Pharaoh who swiftly mobilized and gathered his forces by his decree from all over Egyptian cities and villages: "And We inspired Moses: "Travel with My servants by night. You will be followed." Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities." (26:52-53). We deduce from the Quran as well that this secret espionage apparatus of Pharaoh had its varying degrees of secrecy: "And We inspired Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt, and make your homes places of worship, and perform the prayer, and give good news to the believers."" (10:87). This means that God commanded the Israelites to specify secret houses for the sake of worship and prayers in Egypt, and we infer that this indicates how they were too frightened from Pharaoh to pray in peace and piety, as a previous verse in the same Quranic Chapter 10 show that few Israelites believed truly in the message of Moses and trusted him, seeking to rely on God to bear the severe persecution inflicted by Pharaoh: "But none believed with Moses except some children of his people, for fear that Pharaoh and his retinues would persecute them. Pharaoh was high and mighty on the earth, and he was an absolute tyrant." (10:83). We thus conclude that secret agents of Pharaonic terror surrounded the Israelites as well as overt police officers known to them and preventing them from praying devoutly (or from praying at all), and even when they performed prayers in secret houses, secret agent watched them closely. This is why God had warned Moses against such diabolical secret apparatuses. Eventually, the scheming of God was mightier and quicker than that of Pharaoh who drowned and died in the Red Sea.                    

5- Because the Pharaonic rule regime was a too-much centralized one, especially regarding the military feudal system that made soldiers as landlords who supervise cultivation of lands and oversee all the military, civil, and economic aspects of Egyptian life while serving Pharaoh, all of them (military leaders, soldiers, retinue members, members of Pharaoh's family, viziers, courtiers, etc.) had followed Moses' Pharaoh in his 'nice military journey' to discipline and punish the Israelites for trying to flee from his terrorism and tyranny. Hence, we can assert that all members of the Pharaonic ruling regime/system were drowned in the Red Sea, while the Egyptian peasants remained behind working in farms and fields, and also remained with them Quaroon the shrewd one who knew the hiding places of all treasures of those who drowned, and he confiscated the treasures to himself.    

Does the Quranic term "Pharaoh's people" include all Egyptians at the time?:

1- The answer is no. Pharaoh's people did not include ordinary Egyptian peasants who never got near circles of rule like the retinue members, notable landlords, nobility, and dignitaries. We discern from the Quran Pharaoh's people are his followers, retinue members, viziers, feudal landlords, and military leaders and soldiers, as those were the ones attending Moses' Pharaoh's conferences and to be gathered and mobilized under commands and by decrees of Pharaoh to chase and fight foes, and all of them drowned, leaving behind the fertile, verdant, lush lands of Egypt, with its vast gardens and its treasures. This means that Egyptian peasants did not have anything to do with Pharaonic politics. It is never plausible that those peasants would leave their cultivated fields to attend Pharaoh's conferences in his capital, and they were never qualified or trained to engage into military operations. Thus, they could have never chased the Israelites along with Moses' Pharaoh; indeed, the Egyptian peasants at the time (and sadly in all eras until now) were persecuted, oppressed, and suppressed and suffered forced labor, tyranny, and many injustices (like the Israelites), and they agreed to such humiliation willingly and felt content (!), and thus, they never drowned like Pharaoh and his followers, because they did not participate in the chase after Moses and the Israelites in the first place.         

2- Historians of the Ramses dynasty era assert that peasants were the at the base of the hierarchy in the Pharaonic society at the time and that peasants suffered harsh, despicable conditions and harm inflicted by their masters, and many of them died while toiling in the land. Indeed, peasants at the time suffered many injustices as they were manipulated by their masters the landlords as well as by tax-collectors, and the latter would readily take the peasants' wives and children as hostages until taxes would be paid, and such an unjust system was always imposed by any tyrannical regime in many eras and many countries later on. As per many historians, during the Ramses dynasty era (and later on, the Mameluke and Ottoman eras, and maybe until recently in modern times), peasants at harvest times would see scribes, tax-collectors, police officers, etc. gathered to measure and weigh the harvested crops and confiscate them as due taxes for the State, while punishing peasants who had hidden any measure of crops to himself. All confiscated crops would be stored in pyramidal storehouses.     

3- During all the past eras, Egyptian peasants had chosen to bear patiently with injustices, and this made them immortalized within worldly existence as symbolic figures along with the immortal River Nile and the Egyptian fertile soil, whereas the tyrannical Pharaonic  rulers paid a heavy price (from their authority, wealth, and lives) for their injustices, but any worldly loss is never comparable to their real loss as they will be cursed and dwell in Hell for eternity: "And We sent Moses with Our signs and a clear mandate. To Pharaoh and his retinue members, but they followed the command of Pharaoh, and the command of Pharaoh was not wise. He will precede his people on the Day of Resurrection, and will lead them into the Fire. Miserable is the place he placed them in. They were followed by a curse in this, and on the Day of Resurrection. Miserable is the path they followed." (11:96-99). Hence, Moses' Pharaoh ruled with absolute tyranny and terrorism and he persecuted the weaker parties, as part of the main features of his internal policies. This means that Egyptians in the era of Moses' Pharaoh had no middle class; rather, they were divided into two classes (excluding Israelite/Hebrew slaves): the first class comprised Pharaoh, his viziers, retinue members, agents, land lords, etc. and the second class was the toiling Egyptian peasants in cultivated fields and poor penniless workers in peripheries and outskirts of cities and villages, while creating events, activities, and changes, causing much ado, and committing injustices came from Pharaoh and his people/retinue circles, whereas the rest of the Egyptian population remained submissive, oppressed, and toiling for the sake of producing all crops and goods, to Pharaoh and his retinue members. We venture to assert here that such state of affairs remains the same until now.         

Fifthly: Moses' Pharaoh's internal policies (tyranny and terrorism + the motto: divide and conquer):

1- It is clear that Moses' Pharaoh focused only on internal affairs, not outside conquests, expeditions, and expansions beyond Egyptian borders. This means that he used his military mighty armies and troops to fully control Egypt and Egyptians and to terrorize the weaker parties or anyone whom he distrusted inside Egypt. It is clear that Moses' Pharaoh used elements of his power and authority to the fullest degree, especially regarding mobilizing his troops and holding conferences, as we deduce from Quranic verses about him. we discern from these verses as well that Moses' Pharaoh fully understood and controlled the Egyptian population. When he mocked Moses, he knew that Egyptians forget pains of toil and humiliation when the unjust ruler would jest or tell a joke, as we discern from these verses: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see? Am I not better than this miserable wretch, who can barely express himself? Why are bracelets of gold not dropped on him, or they angels came with him in procession?" Thus he fooled his people, and they obeyed him. They were wicked people." (43:51-54). Moses most probably felt keenly that Pharaoh's eloquence and ability to debate verbally were so great that he felt afraid of stammering and stuttering before him, and that is why he implored the Lord to help him by sending Aaron with him as a prophet. We surmise that Moses' long years of staying in Madian might have diminished his linguistic abilities regarding the Pharaonic Egyptian tongue, apart from his deep fear from the tyranny and cruelty of Pharaoh. We read the following verses in the Quran in relation to the above: "He said, "My Lord, I have killed one of them, and I fear they will kill me. And my brother Aaron, he is more eloquent than me, so send him with me, to help me, and to confirm my words, for I fear they will reject me."" (28:33-34); "He said, "My Lord, I fear they will reject me. And I become stressed, and my tongue is not fluent, so send Aaron too. And they have a charge against me, so I fear they will kill me."" (26:12-14); "He said, "My Lord, put my heart at peace for me. And ease my task for me. And untie the knot from my tongue. So they can understand my speech. And appoint an assistant for me, from my family. Aaron, my brother. Strengthen me with him. And have him share in my mission." (20:25-32).   

2- Indeed, Moses' Pharaoh found ideal circumstances and conditions to go to extremes regarding reinforcing and fortifying his internal power and authority, by strengthening his military troops that is steadfastly and staunchly loyal to him, along with the retinues that think obsequiously only of what would satisfy him and address his pride. God says the following about the power and authority of Moses' Pharaoh in Egypt: "Pharaoh exalted himself on the earth, and divided its people into factions. He persecuted a group of them, slaughtering their sons, while sparing their daughters. He was truly a corrupter." (28:4). We notice in 28:4 that the Quran makes the Israelites dwelling in Egypt at the time as a faction of its population and among the Egyptian people, because Hebrews lived inside Egypt for centuries before the coming of Moses' Pharaoh as ruler. We discern from 28:4 that it was part of Pharaoh's internal policies to divide the Egyptian population into groups/classes and that he persecuted the weaker ones among them.     

3- Moreover, we infer from 28:4 that Moses' Pharaoh planned and executed many ways and means to oppress and weaken the Israelites using all his might, so that his might would be increased from their being weakened as his slaves. This means that he would murder many of their men and spared their women. Had the Hebrews been stronger, Pharaoh would not dare to think to do such heinous crime; tyrants usually persecute only the weaker, helpless party, with no one at all that would be able to stop him at all in such grave injustice and transgression. When Moses' Pharaoh persecuted, enslaved, and weakened the Israelites for long, God had lent victory to those weak, wronged ones over the unjust tyrant, and they inherited his wealth, treasures, lands, and rule, for a while: "And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the earth, which We had blessed. Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance. And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:137). Later on, the Israelites committed the same sin as they considered Aaron as weak person and oppressed him during the absence of Moses by worshipping the calf made of gold. We discern this from what the Quran tells us about how Aaron excused himself to Moses: "…Son of my mother, the people have overpowered me, and were about to kill me…" (7:150).     

4- Moses' Pharaoh's persecution of the Israelites continued even after Moses was sent to him, and to the Hebrews, by God: "Moses said to his people, "Seek help in God, and be patient. The earth belongs to God. He gives it in inheritance to whomever He wills of His servants, and the future belongs to the righteous." They said, "We were persecuted before you came to us, and after you came to us."…" (7:128-129). Indeed, the message of Moses incited Pharaoh to increase his persecution of the Israelites: "Then, when he came to them with the Truth from Us, they said, "Kill the sons of those who have believed with him, and spare their daughters."…" (40:25). This severe persecution resulted in the fact that most of the Israelites feared to join Moses or to get near him in public: "But none believed in Moses except some children of his people, for fear that Pharaoh and his chiefs would persecute them…" (10:83).  

5- But the query raised here is as follows: did Moses suffer persecution as he moved against Pharaoh inside the country owned by Pharaoh? We infer from the Quran that Moses, in the first place, feared very much the idea of returning to Egypt and to meet Pharaoh to try to call him to follow guidance of God and to set free the Israelites. This expression of his fear to face Pharaoh is repeated in the Quran: "He said, "My Lord, I fear they will reject me." (26:12); "And they have a charge against me, so I fear they will kill me." (26:14); "He said, "My Lord, I have killed one of them, and I fear they will kill me. And my brother Aaron, he is more eloquent than me, so send him with me, to help me, and to confirm my words, for I fear they will reject me."" (28:33-34).  Even after God has sent Aaron as a prophet with Moses, both brothers were overpowered by fear and they supplicated God, Who brought to them glad tidings that He will be always with both of them: "Go to Pharaoh. He has tyrannized. But speak to him nicely. Perhaps he will remember, or have some fear." They said, "Lord, we fear he may persecute us, or become violent." He said, "Do not fear, I am with you, I hear and I see." (20:43-46). These verses show how Pharaoh was such a criminal cruel tyrant very much feared by everyone, but God guarded Moses and Aaron and made Pharaoh fear both of them; Pharaoh desired to have Moses murdered, but could not, as he suggested to his retinue members, and he, the terrible and mighty Pharaoh, 'feared' that Moses would change religion of the people. after expressing his desire and fear, we read about the believing man among the retinue members who opposed Pharaoh: "Pharaoh said, "Leave me to kill Moses, and let him appeal to his Lord. I fear he may change your religion, or spread corruption on the earth." Moses said, "I have sought the protection of my Lord and your Lord, from every tyrant who does not believe in the Day of Account." A believing man from Pharaoh's people, who had concealed his faith, said, "Are you going to kill a man for saying, `My Lord is God,' and he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? …" (40:26-28). Moses sought refuge in God to be protected from the tyranny and evil of Pharaoh, and God preserved and protected Moses and Aaron, as He promised them, from the evil scheming and harm of Pharaoh: "He said, "We will strengthen your arm with your brother, and We will give you authority, so they will not touch you…" (28:35). This divine promise was fulfilled, as Pharaoh could not harm both brothers despite his deep hatred toward them and his tyranny and might and in spite of the fact that Moses challenged him inside his country that he owned and controlled, posing a threat to his dominance. "God has control over His affairs, but most people do not know." (12:21).     

6- The terrorism caused by Pharaoh and his authorities and cronies was widespread all over Egyptian cities and villages, and he imposed himself as a supreme deity to all Egyptians. We infer such dominance of terror in how the figures in the story of Moses moved and talked. For instance, God tells us the following about Moses' mother and sister after the infant Moses was found in the River Nile near the palace of Pharaoh: "She said to his sister, "Trail him." So she watched him from afar, and they were unaware." (28:11). This means that Moses' sister kept watch over the basket that contained the baby Moses as it moved through the River Nile, while making sure no one was seeing her, especially that the basket reached Pharaoh's palace, and she had to hide so as not to allow anyone inside or near this palace see her. Of course, this story ends in Pharaoh's wife adopting Moses as her own son, whereas the biological mother became his wet-nurse: "Thus We returned him to his mother, that she may be comforted, and not grieve, and know that God's promise is true. But most of them do not know. And when he reached his maturity, and became established, We gave him wisdom and knowledge. Thus do We reward the good ones. Once he entered the city, unnoticed by its people…" (28:13-15).  We discern from these verses that Moses was brought up by his own folks until he reached the primes of youth, under the care and protection of the palace of Pharaoh and Pharaoh's wife. Later on, Moses entered the city of Pharaoh, or rather moved stealthily into it unnoticed by its people. We deduce that Moses, as a young man, never lived inside the Palace of Pharaoh, or else, he would enter the city of Pharaoh as a prince with flourish and in public, or as a man with some measure of authority as a well-known figure. We infer from 28:15 that the city of Pharaoh was like a military barrack that would not be entered by any stranger unless in stealth, and those who stealthily entered it from among the non-Egyptians would be persecuted or punished severely. Accordingly, when Moses witnessed a quarrel inside the city between one of Pharaoh's men, their enemies, and the Israelite man of Moses' faction who lived with Moses in the same district where Israelites lived, Moses interfered. The Egyptian man of this quarrel represented the Pharaonic authority that enabled him to persecute and inflict harm/injustice on the Israelite/Hebrew man. Hence, Moses acted in legitimate self-defense, and when Moses used all his might and was driven by his hatred of injustice, he dealt just one blow to his foe, who died as a result: "Once he entered the city, unnoticed by its people. He found in it two men fighting-one of his own sect, and one from his enemies. The one of his sect solicited his assistance against the one from his enemies; so Moses punched him, and put an end to him…" (28:15). Thus, Moses knew from the very first moment who was from his sect/faction and who was his foe, and we deduce here that this killed Egyptian was among the retinue ranks/classes who specialized in harming and persecuting the Israelites. This is why the other retinue members plotted to have Moses murdered, after the news of Moses killing that Egyptian man spread in the city. Perhaps these retinue members investigated the matter and heard the words of another Egyptian man who shouted at Moses the next day: "…O Moses, do you intend to kill me, as you killed someone yesterday? …" (28:19). Thus, another man came to warn Moses, and we surmise that he was an Egyptian man who knew about the plot to have Moses murdered: "And a man came from the farthest part of the city running. He said, "O Moses, the authorities are considering killing you, so leave; I am giving you good advice."" (28:20).         

7- In eras of tyranny, oppression, and injustices, very few real men are fond among human males in a given society. The Quran describes this warner of Moses as a ''man'', without mentioning his name, so as to turn him into a symbol of manhood (in the sense of chivalry and heroism). The Quran does the same with another ''man'', within another Quranic story, who uttered the word of truth and was harmed and persecuted because of saying it: "Then a man came running from the remotest part of the city. He said, "O my people, follow the messengers." (36:20). The Quran describes the real believers as ''men'', who were around Muhammad during the ordeal of the disbelieving confederates that attacked early believers: "Of the believers are men who are true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their vows; and some are still waiting, and never wavering." (33:23). Whereas the Quran describes males among the people of Lot as lacking ''one reasonable man'', as not all male humans are ''real men'': "…So fear God, and do not embarrass me before my guests. Is there not one reasonable man among you?" (11:78).  

8- Hence, this manly chivalrous Egyptian man who warned Moses deserved the fact that the Quran records his heroic stance. We conclude then that Egyptians never lacked real men even in the worst eras of tyranny. Moses stealthily got out of the city, which was like military barracks by Pharaonic terror, after being warned by the Egyptian man, and the city of the unjust ones and the frightened Moses are described in this verse: "So he left, fearful and vigilant. He said, "My Lord, deliver me from the unjust people."" (28:21). This means that the Egyptian killed accidentally by Moses (i.e., within  manslaughter) was among the unjust people, who were tools serving the unjust, tyrannical Pharaoh as part of the unjust retinue  members. This killed Egyptian was using his unjust authority in public to attack a weak person, and this weak person tried to defend himself and could not, and this was why he sought Moses' help. It is not a crime to resist injustice and to engage into self-defense; it is not a crime that Moses helped the  wronged party who suffered injustice at such a situation and tried to defend himself, even if this self-defense resulted into the killing of the unjust person, like what happened to the unjust person at the hands of Moses.          

9- Fear is contagious as we all know; the circle of fear widened at that era because of the terror caused by Pharaoh, even to those who were near him in his palace court within the retinue members; the believing man was manly enough to defend Moses, but he was hiding his faith/belief in God before that, as he feared the tyranny of Pharaoh: "A believing man from Pharaoh's people, who had concealed his faith, said, "Are you going to kill a man for saying, `My Lord is God,'…" (40:28). Despite his earlier fear, he preached to his people a long speech, whose details are mentioned in the Quran, to urge them to accept the Truth. The Quran tells us that the high-stature of this man as retinue member of the highest class (since he was in the palace court of Pharaoh) did not prevent the other retinue members to plot and scheme conspiracies against him, but they failed to harm him because God had protected him; at the end of his long speech, he told them in despair: "You will remember what I am telling you, so I commit my case to God. God is Observant of the servants."" (40:44). "So God protected him from the evils of their scheming, while a terrible torment besieged Pharaoh's people." (40:45). This means that we see here a model of another good Egyptian  man who was not among the marginalized ones of the outskirts or peripheries of the city, but from inside the palace of Pharaoh.     

10- The circle of deep-seated fear of the Pharaonic terror included the wife of Pharaoh herself, as we read how she sought refuge in God to deliver her from the evil injustice of Pharaoh: "…the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, "My Lord, build for me, with you, a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his works, and save me from the unjust people."" (66:11).

11- Eventually, the circle of fear was completed by the frightened Pharaoh himself; the unjust rulers like him harbor the worst deep-seated fear of the consequences of the injustices committed by them, and the more they feel frightened, the more they increase their injustices to protect themselves from illusions and phantoms dominating their minds and imagination, as the memories of the victims continue to haunt them, until the unjust ones die or get killed. Moses' Pharaoh feared very much the peaceful call of Moses that entailed the Israelites being allowed a safe exist from Egypt. If Pharaoh were reasonable, he would have realized that there would be no danger/threat at all to get rid of those whom he hated and were made weak by his oppression. Yet, Pharaoh's illusions and fears that the Israelites might take revenge from him one day, after long years of Pharaonic oppression and tyranny inflicted on them, led him to refuse to let them go and to consider the peaceful call of Moses as a plot threatening his regime which was based on terror and absolutism. Pharaoh thought that the remedy to allay his fears was to murder more victims to that he might feel safe: "Pharaoh said, "Leave me to kill Moses, and let him appeal to his Lord. I fear he may change your religion, or spread corruption on the earth.""  (40:26). Thus, this deep-seated fear inside Moses' Pharaoh drove him to feel enraged and furious as the Israelites fled his hell and took flight to the east; see 26:53-56. Moses' Pharaoh's persecution and tyranny reached the extremes of chasing the Hebrews seeking to massacre them, until his hubris and tyranny made him meet his end.          

12- Fear inside the wronged persons who suffered injustices turns into deep faith, as they rely on God and feel safe eventually. In contrast, dear inside the unjust ones make them enslaved to the devils, feeling incessantly frightened till they die; God says in the Quran: "We will throw terror into the hearts of those polytheists who disbelieve, because they attribute to God partners for which He revealed no proof. Their lodging is the Hell-Fire. Miserable is the lodging of the evildoers." (3:151). God teaches us in the Quran to fear no one but God so that we feel safe; otherwise, the devils will make us fear anyone and indeed anything: "That is only Satan frightening his partisans; so do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are believers." (3:175). Therefore, the devils controlled Moses' Pharaoh and made him needlessly fear the Israelites and exceed all limits in oppressing and persecuting them and to remain a disbeliever: "…Thus Pharaoh's evil deeds were made to appear good to him, and he was averted from the Path. Pharaoh's guile resulted only in defeat." (40:37).

13- We know from the Quran the means that Moses' Pharaoh adopted to persecute his foes. Imprisonment and crucifixion were punishments used by the Hyksos kings in Egypt as we know from the Quranic Chapter 12 in the Quranic story of Joseph. Moses' Pharaoh added to these two punishments cutting off the victims' limbs, when he wanted to prove the magicians that his punishment and his reign/rule would be more enduring than those of the God of Moses: "He said, "Did you believe in him before I have given you permission? He must be your chief, who has taught you magic. I will cut off your hands and your feet on alternate sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of the palm-trees. Then you will know which of us is more severe in punishment, and more lasting."" (20:71). We conclude then that Moses' Pharaoh was keen on torturing the magicians in a most painful manner while they were punished by being put to death, because he wanted to assert his own godhead and, tyranny, and absolutism, as he tried to defy God. in addition to these punishments, Moses' Pharaoh used to imprison people and to stone them to death, and he murdered males and spared females of the Israelites. "He said, "If you accept any god other than me, I will make you a prisoner."" (26:29). Moses feared very much being stoned and he said the following to the Pharaoh's retinue members: "I have taken refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me. But if you do not believe in me, keep away from me."" (44:20-21); thus, Moses indeed felt very much that their mere leaving him alone was a dear wish to him. Moses' Pharaoh persecuted and tortured the Israelites in many ways that included murdering males and sparing females to make them serve Pharaoh and his people. indeed, Pharaoh weakened the Israelites and lessened their progeny by that most cruel way, beside torturing and tormenting them in various ways of persecution, as we infer from the following verse: " Moses said to his people, "Remember God's blessings upon you, as He delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who inflicted on you terrible suffering, slaughtering your sons while sparing your daughters…" (14:6).

14- Undoubtedly, Moses' Pharaoh felt that he was wrong in not to exterminate each one of the Israelites, and this drove him to chase them while they were running away, hoping to massacre them all, but he realized how he was wrong all his life while he was dying, after it was too late for him to repent: "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively. Until, when he was about to drown, he said, "I believe that there is no God except the One the Israelites believe in, and I am of those who submit." Now? When you have rebelled before, and been of the corrupt mischief-makers? Today We will preserve your body, so that you become a sign for those after you. But most people are heedless of Our signs." (10:90-92).       

15- "… But most people are heedless of Our signs." (10:92). Indeed, God says nothing but the Truth.

CHAPTER II: Religious Life in Ancient Egypt:

Firstly: Ancient Egyptians knew God:

1- Within the Quranic story of Joseph, we have asserted before in this book that Egyptians of Ancient Egypt knew God, and this fact is shown clearly in the Quran within the context of the story about the Hyksos royal council investigating the unjust accusations leveled at Joseph that caused his being imprisoned for years: "He said, "What was the matter with you, women, when you tried to seduce Joseph?" They said, "God forbid! We knew of no evil committed by him." The Potiphar's wife then said, "Now the truth is out. It was I who tried to seduce him, and he is telling the truth." "This is that he may know that I did not betray him in secret, and that God does not guide the scheming of the betrayers." "Yet I do not claim to be innocent. The soul commands evil, except those on whom my Lord has mercy. Truly my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."" (12:51-53). In these verses, the Arab word ''Allah'' is used to denote God. we can use these verses as an introduction to tackling the nature of religious life in Ancient Egypt; it is clear that those women in 12:51-53 knew God/Allah and uttered His name in times of surprise, hardship, and alarm, and even to express amazement, as those affluent women mentioned the name of God, Allah, when they saw Joseph for the first time: "…They said, "Good God, this is not a human, this must be a generous angel!" (12:31).   

2- What we read here as registered in the Quranic text 1400 years ago has been discovered by many Egyptologists. For instance, the German Egyptologist Adolf Erman in his book titled "Die aegyptische Religion"(1905), which tackles the Pharaonic religion of Ancient Egypt, asserts that (…"… it is surprising that Ancient Egyptians, despite their so many deities, talked about a general God, as we read in their literature when the Supreme Power controlling fates of people is mentioned. For example, they would say 'what is going on is the Decree of God', '…God did not grant him success', '…What you sow, plant, and harvest is the bounty of God', 'The one beloved by God must be obedient to Him', '…God knows the evil ones and will punish them', 'When you feel happy, you must thank God for it'… … We read in an ancient papyrus scroll that contain wisdom that God is Unseen and people must sanctify and glorify Him …… Indeed, if these were such sentiments of Ancient Egyptians, they were very near to the true religion, but at the same time, they had adhered as well to the traditional religious heritage that made them faithful to their ancient deities as well…"…).  

3- Indeed, we assert here that phrases mentioned by Erman are still being uttered by Egyptians until now, in Egyptian colloquial dialect of Arabic instead if hieroglyphics. Apparently, we can surmise that the Quran has preserved some Ancient Egyptian words in the Quranic Chapter 12, within the story of Joseph, words that entered Arabic language later on because of the influence of the Quran as a linguistic authority in later eras. For instance, the expression uttered by Potiphar's wife in 12:23 is in the Quranic tongue: "hait lak" , which literally translates as ''I'm yours'' or ''I'm here for you'', when she tried to seduce Joseph. Indeed, some people in Siwa oasis in Egypt whose dialect has retained some hieroglyphic words still say the term ''hait'' until now, to mean the command: ''Come!''. The expression "God forbid!" mentioned in 12:51 is in the Quranic tongue "hasha lillah", still used by Siwa oasis people as well as the other expression/term in 12:51 ''Has-Has'', which in their dialect means literally to make sure or to affirm something as true.      

4- Hence, in the Quranic Chapter 12, we see the only Quranic story that is not scattered in many chapters, but has the one and only narrative of Joseph in the Quran, continuously depicted in its events and scenes, to remain for centuries as an endless source of wisdom as well as historical, human, and linguistic wonders. We are given so many indications in the Quranic Chapter 12 that Joseph, as a prophet, had enriched the Egyptian life in terms of the moralistic, religious, spiritual, literary, and humanistic levels, not just saving Egyptians and many parts of the ancient world during the time of a general famine.     

5- Within the literary field, we see the influence of the life-story and experience of Joseph in the pieces of advice written in the papyrus of Ani, who was an ancient Egyptian wise scribe, addressed to his son, Khenso-Hotep, during the Pharaonic era of the 22^nd dynasty: (…do not let your heart as a toy in the hands of women by loving them too much, s this will weaken your religiousness, lower your manners, and dishonor your name … Women are very cunning and the feminine charm and influence are stronger than the evil plans of the devils …) Within the same Pharaonic era, we read the following words of another wise scribe called Ptah-Hotep, influenced by the story of Joseph as well: (… To fabricate sex slanders about anyone, to betray one's trust after being trusted by someone, to betray a friend or an ally, and to cause corruption are big crimes punished severely by God the Omnipotent…). One feels that these moralistic pieces of advice may be ascribed to any imams/preachers, without noticing any difference at all in terms of style, tone, or words. Hence, we are never surprised when the Potiphar's wife would speak in public and declare her repentance and express her remorse before the Hyksos king, his retinue, and the affluent women, using these words: "… The Potiphar's wife then said, "Now the truth is out. It was I who tried to seduce him, and he is telling the truth." "This is that he may know that I did not betray him in secret, and that God does not guide the scheming of the betrayers." "Yet I do not claim to be innocent. The soul commands evil, except those on whom my Lord has mercy. Truly my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."" (12:51-53). This means that she knew God/Allah and His Holy Names or Epithets, and this sincere stance of her repentance is honored by God by being mentioned in the Quran, God's Word and the last divine message to humanity.   

   The question posed now is as follows: Did the knowledge of God by the Ancient Egyptians diminished during the era of self-deified Moses' Pharaoh who persecuted the innocent weak ones?

1- The Quran denies this; such knowledge of God by the Ancient Egyptians remained pretty much the same. The stubbornness of Moses' Pharaoh and his people/retinue had hidden a belief in God never shown by the because of their pride, hubris, vanity, and being keen on owning the transient world and being superior in it. God says about their reaction to miracles of God through Moses: "And they rejected them, although their souls were certain of them, out of wickedness and pride…" (27:14). When God sent them plagues as a test and a warning, they used to resort to Moses, asking him to implore God to remove the plagues, and this had shown them to know God and His Might: " Whenever a plague befell them, they would say, "O Moses, pray to your Lord for us, according to the covenant He made with you. If you lift the plague from us, we will believe with you and let the Israelites go with you."" (7:134). Another Quranic proof that Ancient Egyptian knew God is when the Quran tells us about Moses when he began his preaching them, and he reminded them of the name of God/Allah Whom they revered and honored: "Saying, "Hand over God's servants to me. I am an honest messenger to you." And, "Do not exalt yourselves above God. I come to you with clear authority." (44:18-19). In another situation, God Moses invokes God to make them never think of stoning him to death: "I have taken refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me." (44:20); this means that they knew that God/Allah was their God and Moses' God as well.    

2- In the same vein of reminding Moses' Pharaoh and his retinue members of God/Allah, the believing man inside the palace of Pharaoh sermonize them in his long speech, using the name of God and the belief in the Last Day: "A believing man from Pharaoh's retinue, who had concealed his faith, said, "Are you going to kill a man for saying, 'My Lord is God,' and he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? If he is a liar, his lying will rebound upon him; but if he is truthful, then some of what he promises you will befall you. God does not guide the extravagant imposter. O my people! Yours is the dominion today, supreme in the land; but who will help us against God's might, should it fall upon us?"… " (40:28-29); "The one who had believed said, "O my people, I fear for you the like of the day of the confederates. Like the fate of the people of Noah, and Aad, and Thamood, and those after them. God wants no injustice for the servants." (40:30-31). Indeed, the masses and the vast majority of Ancient Egyptians used to believe in the Last Day in a vague manner, and only few of them (like this believing man in the retinue) believed in the Last Day in true faith. "O my people, I fear for you the Day of Calling Out. The Day when you will turn and flee, having no defender against God. Whomever God misguides has no guide."" (40:32-33); ""O my people, the life of this world is nothing but fleeting enjoyment, but the Hereafter is the Home of Permanence. Whoever commits a sin will be repaid only with its like. But whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, and is a believer-these will enter Paradise, where they will be provided for without account." (40:39-40). This believing man knew the real faith devoted and dedicated entirely to God, and he knew that disbelief is to cover one's innate nature by polytheism: the worship of other deities/gods and allies/saints as partners of God, as we discern from his words to his people: "O my people, how is it that I call you to salvation, and you call me to the Fire? You call me to disbelieve in God, and to associate with Him what I have no knowledge of, while I call you to the Mighty Forgiver. Without a doubt, what you call me to has no say in this world, or in the Hereafter; and our turning back is to God; and the transgressors are the inmates of the Fire. You will remember what I am telling you, so I commit my case to God. God is Observant of the servants."" (40:41-44). Indeed, the speech delivered by this believing man indicates elevated, high degree of religious and moralistic level of sublimity, provided only for the chosen ones who are true to their Lord. Adolf Erman has expressed his surprise in his book about phrases containing the word ''God'' uttered by Ancient Egyptians; what would he have done if he read words of this believing Pharaonic man, whose memory and wise words are immortalized in the Quran? Indeed, this believing man inside the palace of Moses' Pharaoh was among the few monotheistic persons among a vast majority of polytheistic Egyptians at the time, who knew and worshipped God alongside with Pharaonic deities. This believing man refused polytheism: "You call me to disbelieve in God, and to associate with Him what I have no knowledge of, while I call you to the Mighty Forgiver" (40:42). Hence, within the vast majority of polytheists in a given society, who believes in other deities/gods and saints beside God, there is a small minority that believed in God within monotheism, and this minority in that story of Moses was represented by this believing man among the retinue of Moses' Pharaoh.          

3- Among this small minority of monotheistic believers was the wife of Pharaoh herself, and God in the Quran makes her a model and an excellent example of true faith to be followed by all believers of both genders: "And God illustrates an example of those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, "My Lord, build for me, with you, a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his works, and save me from the unjust people."" (66:11). This good woman was the one to take care of Moses with motherly affection since his infancy, and she begged his husband till he agreed to make her save and rear the baby: "Pharaoh's wife said, "An eye's delight for me and for you. Do not kill him; perhaps he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son."…" (28:9).   

4- We can deduce that the presence of the baby Moses inside the palace of Pharaoh had influenced Pharaoh's wife to a great extent and she later on declared herself as a believer in God, and the existence of the believing man inside the retinue of Pharaoh later on shows that there were true believers' movement/trend in the hiding at the time of Moses' Pharaoh in Egypt, inside and outside the Pharaonic palace. We deduce then that among this trend of believers at the time that man from the outskirts of the city that came to Moses to warn him and urge him to flee Egypt to escape being murdered. This minority of real believers at the time included later the magicians who came in the first place to attempt to defeat Moses and desired to get nearer to Pharaoh in his palace-court retinue, but they were struck with awe and knew by the miracle done before them that Moses was indeed a prophet sent by God and they declared their faith before Pharaoh and all people present. Hence, they rejected their older wish to get nearer to Pharaoh and never cared about threats of Pharaoh who had them killed brutally (crucified and dismembered). In fact, they responded to the Pharaonic threats by the best possible statement uttered by true believers in times of distress and fearful ordeal: "They said, "No problem. To our Lord we will return. We are eager for our Lord to forgive us our sins, since we are the first of the believers."" (26:50-51); "They said, "It is to our Lord that we will return." "You are taking vengeance on us only because we have believed in the signs of our Lord when they have come to us." "Our Lord! Pour out patience upon us, and receive our souls in submission."" (7:125-126); "He said, "Did you believe in him before I have given you permission? He must be your chief, who has taught you magic. I will cut off your hands and your feet on alternate sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of the palm-trees. Then you will know which of us is more severe in punishment, and more lasting." They said, "We will not prefer you to the proofs that have come to us, and Him who created us. So issue whatever judgment you wish to issue. You can only rule in this lowly life. We have believed in our Lord, so that He may forgive us our sins, and the magic you have compelled us to practice. God is Better, and more Lasting." Whoever comes to his Lord guilty, for him is Hell, where he neither dies nor lives." (20:71-74).    

5- Despite the above-mentioned facts that most Ancient Egyptians knew God and that few of them were true monotheistic believers. Most of them adhered to the worship of other gods/deities beside Him as well as tombs. They liked to create names and epithets to these deities to sanctify them, and this sanctification influenced the collective memory of the Egyptian nation. Let us remember that Joseph was a prophet to all Egyptians as well; he began his call/ministry in the prison cell with both of his inmates that asked him about the interpretation of their dreams/visions. Joseph talked to them first about monotheism and refuting polytheism, as we know from the following verses of the Quranic Chapter Twelve: "Two youth entered the prison with him. One of them said, "I see myself pressing wine." The other said, "I see myself carrying bread on my head, from which the birds are eating. Tell us their interpretation-we see that you are one of the righteous." He said, "No food is served to you, but I have informed you about it before you have received it. That is some of what my Lord has taught me. I have forsaken the tradition of people who do not believe in God; and regarding the Hereafter, they are deniers." "And I have followed the faith of my forefathers, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. It is not for us to associate anything with God. This is by virtue of God's grace upon us and upon the people, but most people do not give thanks. "O My fellow inmates, are diverse lords better, or God, the One, the Supreme?" "You do not worship, besides Him, except names you have named, you and your ancestors, for which God has sent down no authority. Judgment belongs to none but God. He has commanded that you worship none but Him. This is the right religion, but most people do not know." (12:36-40). Joseph went on in his ministry after being appointed as a governor of Egypt with power and authority of his own, but most Egyptians at the time rejected his call and preaching and had adhered to their gods and deities. Indeed, this is deduced from the words of the believing retinue member inside Pharaoh's palace, when he reminded the rest of those present how they rejected the call of Joseph when he tried to convince them of dedicating their religion and worship to God alone: "Joseph had come to you with clear revelations, but you continued to doubt what he came to you with. Until, when he perished, you said, "God will never send a messenger after him."..." (40:34). We notice here that despite their earlier rejection of the call of joseph, they knew he was a prophet/messenger of God, and they were relieved by his death and hoped no prophet would come after him. this reminds us of the words of Erman, when he mentions in his book that though the Ancient Egyptians knew God, as the Creator of the universe, they had clung to the gods/deities and all religious traditions inherited from their forefathers.         

6- Hence, the Ancient Egyptians knew God, and they also knew about the angels; we infer this from these two verses: the affluent women had said the following on seeing Joseph: "..."Good God, this is not a human, this must be a generous angel."" (12:31). When Pharaoh ridiculed Moses, he had said the following, mentioning angels as well: "Why are bracelets of gold not dropped on him, or they angels came with him in procession?" (43:53). This shows that Ancient Egyptians knew God and the angels, but they also adhered to the worship of other deities/gods beside Him, like the vast majority of human beings in all locations and eras, who declare themselves as believers in God; God says in the Quranic Chapter Twelve: "And most of them do not believe in God unless they associate others beside Him." (12:106).    

Secondly: the Israelites were influenced by the religion of the Ancient Egyptians:

1- This talking about such an influence might seem surprising at first, because the Israelites were the descendants of great prophets: Abraham. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the prophets/messengers of the tribes, and certainly, they have witnessed God's miracles within the lifetime of Moses, unlike any other nations at the time. Yet, their being influenced to a larger extent by the Ancient Egyptians' religion, and we infer this from many Quranic verses. But such influence never included deification of Pharaoh, and this incurred his wrath on them and was one of the causes of his severe persecution of the Israelites. Later on, history tells us a positive thing in the faith tenets of the Israelites: they never deify prophets/messengers of God, and this is a good thing, as most people still deify mortals, past and present, but some of the Jews had committed the sin of murdering some prophets/messengers of God, and they distorted the divine revelation.      

2- We know from the Quran how the Israelites felt nostalgic toward Egyptian temples and the idols inside them soon enough, once Moses passed with them the Red Sea. God says in the Quran: "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea. And when they came upon a people who were devoted to some statues of theirs, they said, "O Moses, make for us a god, as they have gods." He said, "You are truly such ignorant people." " (7:138). This means that sooner than we might expect, the Israelites forgot the miracles and the bounties of God and how they were delivered and how God took revenge from the tyrant Pharaoh and his troops, and once they saw a Pharaonic temple in Sinai, they readily asked to build them a temple containing idols/gods like the one they saw.   

3- When Moses left the Israelites temporarily to receive the tablets of the Ten Commandment from God, he returned to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf, similar to Apis, the bull-god of the Pharaonic mythology. We know from the Quran that a man called Al-Samiri urges the Israelites to gather all pieces of gold jewelry they inherited as well as the pieces they stole from the Egyptians, and he melted all this to make a statue of a golden calf, and all Israelites worshipped this statue, the way they used to do when they worshipped Ancient Egyptians' idols at the Pharaonic temples. When Aaron tried to stop such polytheism, they threatened to kill him. upon the return of Moses, he knew of all that occurred and became so furious that he threw the tablets containing the Torah (the Ten Commandments), and he was about to quarrel with Aaron, who excused himself and explained what really happened during the absence of Moses. In his turn, Moses destroyed the golden calf and threw it into the sea, while expelling Al-Samiri from the group; yet, God's wrath upon them was so enormous: "In his absence, the people of Moses adopted a calf made from their ornaments-a body which bellowed. Did they not see that it could not speak to them, nor guide them in any way? They took it for worship. They were in the wrong. Then, when they regretted, and realized that they had erred, they said, "Unless our Lord extends His mercy to us, and forgives us, we will be among the losers." And when Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, he said, "What an awful thing you did in my absence. Did you forsake the commandments of your Lord so hastily?" And he threw down the tablets; and he took hold of his brother's head, dragging him towards himself. He said, "Son of my mother, the people have overpowered me, and were about to kill me; so do not allow the enemies to gloat over me, and do not count me among the unjust people."" (7:148-150). "So Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed. He said, "O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Was the time too long for you? Or did you want wrath from your Lord to descend upon you, so you broke your promise to me?" They said, "We did not break our promise to you by our choice, but we were made to carry loads of the people's ornaments, and we cast them in. That was what Al-Samiri suggested." So he produced for them a calf-a mere body which bellowed. And they said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses, but he has forgotten." Did they not see that it cannot return a word to them, and has no power to harm them or benefit them? Aaron had said to them before, "O my people, you are being tested by this. And your Lord is the Merciful, so follow me, and obey my command." They said, "We will not give up our devotion to it, until Moses returns to us." He said, "O Aaron, what prevented you, when you saw them going astray. From following me? Did you disobey my command?" He said, "Son of my mother, do not seize me by my beard or my head. I feared you would say, `You have caused division among the Israelites, and did not regard my word." He said, "What do you have to say, O Samiri?" He said, "I saw what they did not see, so I grasped a handful from the Messenger's traces, and I flung it away. Thus my soul prompted me." He said, "Be gone! Your lot in this life is to say, 'No contact.' And you have an appointment that you will not miss. Now look at your god that you remained devoted to-we will burn it up, and then blow it away into the sea, as powder." Surely your God is Allah, the One besides whom there is no other gods. He comprehends everything in knowledge." (20:86-98). We know from the Quran as well that worshipping the golden calf – representing the predominance of the Pharaonic religion on the Israelites – had filled their hearts, and this shows how their tenets were distorted because of this Egyptian impact on them: "And We made a covenant with you, and raised the Mount above you: "Take what We have given you firmly, and listen." They said, "We hear and disobey." And their hearts became filled with the love of the calf because of their disbelief. Say, "Wretched is what your faith commands you to do, if you are believers."" (2:93). Another example of another Ancient Egyptians' deity worshipped by the Israelites at one time is Osir/Osiris, the god of death, thought by some Jews at a certain time that he was the son of God: "The Jews said, "Osir is the son of God," and the Christians said, "The Messiah is the son of God." These are their statements, out of their mouths. They emulate the statements of those who blasphemed before. May God assail them! How deceived they are!" (9:30). This verse shows to us that the idea of Osir was taken by some Jews from other nations, and this indicates that centuries of living inside Ancient Egypt made the Israelites adopt some ideas from the Pharaonic religious tenets; hence, the phrase "...They emulate the statements of those who blasphemed before..." may refer to the Ancient Egyptians, whose faith tenets included ascribing sons and daughters to God.      

4- This Osir mentioned in 9:30 is the Osiris, the god of death in the Pharaonic religion, whom Ancient Egyptians considered to be the son of the Most High Supreme God, and Israelites adopted for a while this blasphemous, polytheistic notion. Erman says the following about Osiris: (... the god Osiris was the pivot of the Ancient Egyptian religion in the Pharaonic Era, ... It is his relation to life and death that made this god a supreme one among the other gods and goddesses, as he was the god of death controlling the dead as their master ...). By the way, Ancient Egyptians never pronounced the name of this god as in the way Europeans did: "Osiris"; rather, they pronounced it like ''Osir'', just as the way his name is written and pronounced in the Quran. Let us remember that the myth of Osiris and Isis spread all over Europe centuries before Christianity, first by the Greeks, and the names of the god Osiris and the goddess Isis are the European names spread by later on Egyptologists as well; the Pharaonic pronunciations of Isis through the centuries were Izzit, Izzah, and Uzza (this last one spread in Arabia and is mentioned in the Quranic chapter 53), while Osiris was pronounced in hieroglyphics as Osir. The Israelites for a while worshipped and deified Osir as a son of God, a blasphemous notion in monotheistic religion of Abraham, of course. Since we have proven, using the Quran, that the Ancient Egyptians knew God, this was the basis of their making Osir as a supreme deity and son of God, who takes souls of dead people on behalf of God as well and judge them in their tombs/graves as well. Of course, the Israelites had added their Hebrew linguistic features to the name Osir; they had named it as "Azrael", and the suffix –el means God or a god, and even the name Israel means originally either the servants of God or those who walk in the path of God. as for the name Azrael (which is the Hebrew variant of Osir/Osiris) in modern Egyptian Arabic tongue and culture, it is the assumed name of the angel of death in the Egyptian folklore, which has nothing to do with Islam, because the name ''Azrael'' is never mentioned in the Quran.           

CHAPTER III: Some Features of the Egyptian Ancient Civilization Mentioned in the Quran

1- Intellectual and scientific aspects: religion is the cornerstone of the Egyptian character, the ever-present factor, even when concealed, in all Egyptian activities and endeavors past and present. The Hyksos authority was not so great and powerful because the ruler was merely a king/leader, whereas any Pharaoh as a ruler was seen as a supreme power with limitless authority because of the notion of deifying pharaohs as progeny of the gods; this was an integral part of the Ancient Egyptian religion. Of course, social mores and morals as well as social life revolved at the time around the axis of religion, as Ancient Egyptians build so many houses of worship, monuments, temples, royal graves/tombs, etc. that centered on their religion. Thus, it is natural that sciences of Ancient Egyptians were derived from, and closely linked to, their inherited religion, within the most ancient civilization on earth that lasted for millennia. This is why it is expected that the Ancient Egyptians would reject the call of Moses because it opposed what they had inherited from their forefathers: "But when Moses came to them with Our signs, clear and manifest, they said, "This is nothing but fabricated magic, and We never heard of this from our ancestors of old."" (28:36). The religion of the Ancient Egyptians was behind their excellence in sorcery and magic, and this expertise was the perspective thought which they perceive the miracles performed by Moses; they thought him an expert sorcerer and did not realize that these miracles were the work of God through Moses. Hence, the Ancient Egyptians thought that they can outwit the magic of Moses if Pharaoh would gather all learned magicians from all over Egyptian cities: "They said, "Put him off, and his brother, and send heralds to the cities. And let them bring you every knowledgeable, learned magician." (7:111-112). In fact, Erman dedicates in his book a whole chapter to sorcery/witchcraft and skills of magicians in relation to the Ancient Egypt and its religion, but the few Quranic verses are concise and to-the-point, and yet more telling, when talking about magicians of Moses' Pharaoh: " He said, "You throw!" And when they threw, they beguiled the eyes of the people, and intimidated them, and produced a mighty magic." (7:116). We conclude here that the works of magicians were confined to visual effects to dazzle the eyes of spectators, while depending on the power of suggestion as every Egyptian at the time would be eagerly and readily believe what magicians would do as true. Hence, such is the context of 7:116 when the gathered people thought that ropes and sticks of magicians turned into snakes that move, while indeed they were thrown to the ground as lifeless objects. Thus, we infer from 7:116 that the skills of those magicians was to control the sensory perception of the Egyptians who believed in certain religious notions that placed magic/sorcery in high esteem and as something holy; this was the mentality that made the minds unable to see things as they were and that made charlatans as ''learned'', ''knowledgeable'' people at the time. The Quranic verses about this aspect hardly need comments after them: "They said, "O Moses, either you throw, or we will be the first to throw." He said, "You throw." And suddenly, their ropes and sticks appeared to him, because of their magic, to be crawling swiftly. So Moses felt apprehensive within himself. Now throw down what is in your right hand-it will swallow what they have crafted. What they have crafted is only a magician's trickery. But the magician will not succeed, no matter what he does."" (20:65-69). God says the following in the Quran about Moses' Pharaoh and his people: "And they rejected them, although their souls were certain of them, out of wickedness and pride...." (27:14). This means that they knew the limits of sorcery and magic and that Moses was never a magician, but a true prophet sent from God Who made these miracles, not Moses himself, but they had hidden this truth inside them to maintain their being superior on earth. As for true knowledge within Ancient Egypt, we can take the believing man among the retinue members of Pharaoh's palace court as a model of true religious knowledge, as his long speech mentioned in the Quran shows him to be knowledgeable in history of ancient nations and peoples from the era of Noah and eras after it: "The one who had believed said, "O my people, I fear for you the like of the day of the confederates. Like the fate of the people of Noah, and Aad, and Thamood, and those after them..." (40:30-31); "Joseph had come to you with clear revelations, but you continued to doubt what he came to you with. Until, when he perished, you said, "God will never send a messenger after him."..." (40:34). We can deduce here that some of the Ancient Egyptians had historical periodicals or chronicles that recorded history of past nations and royal families of Egypt; even during the era of Moses, some of the Egyptians used to cast doubts on the call of Joseph and many debates revolved around it. This believing retinue member was brilliant and clever in calm logical intellectual reasoning, as we discern from his debating his people who proposed to have Moses murdered: "... Are you going to kill a man for saying, `My Lord is God,' and he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? If he is a liar, his lying will rebound upon him; but if he is truthful, then some of what he promises you will befall you..." (40:28). This means that he used their belief in God as an evidence to support his argument against their proposal to have Moses murdered, and he urged them to fear God if they wanted really to preserve their authority and power: "O my people! Yours is the dominion today, supreme in the land; but who will help us against God's might, should it fall upon us?"..." (40:29). Indeed, his speech reflects how the Ancient Egyptians believed in the Hereafter, but this man believed in it truly based on divine revelation, not as per the Ancient Egyptian religious traditions, and he fears for his people because of his knowledge: "O my people, I fear for you the Day of Calling Out. The Day when you will turn and flee, having no defender against God. Whomever God misguides has no guide."" (40:32-33). This knowledgeable believer debated in the best, calmest, most clever manner, and he hated the worst ways of debating: "Those who argue against God's revelations, without any proof having come to them, commit a heinous sin in the sight of God, and in the sight of those who believe. Thus God seals the heart of every proud tyrant." (40:35). Indeed, every Egyptian and every believer should take pride in the stance of the believing magicians and this believing man whose culture, knowledge, and dialogue were elevated and sublime.                                        

2- Architecture and monuments aspects: we are not going to tackle here all aspects of Pharaonic monument, temples, and ruins that dazzle the whole world until now, as this aspect fills so many books, tomes, and volumes. We focus here only on indications mentioned in the Quran about them. Indeed, the Quran gives us some indications about how the Pharaonic architecture and erected buildings and monuments in Ancient Egypt were magnificent; the word ''cities'' is never used in the Quran except to describe Egyptian cities: "They said, "Put him off, and his brother, and send heralds to the cities." (7:111); "They said, "Delay him and his brother, and send recruiters to the cities." (26:36); "Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities." (26:53). Countless Egyptology books focus on temples, ruins, relics, and monuments related to religious life in Ancient Egypt, whereas the Quran focus on many advanced, huge, erected buildings in Egyptian cities, which were in fact megacities, filled with residence, magicians, soldiers, masons, workers, overseers, peasants,  etc., spread all over Egyptian soil. By the way, the singular word "city", or ''medina'' in Arabic and in the Quranic tongue, is mentioned in the Quranic text 14 times; 4 times to indicate Yathreb, 5 times to indicate five different cities, and 5 times to refer to Egyptian cities in the eras of Joseph and Moses, apart from the plural form ''cities'' pertaining only to Quranic stories about Egypt, indicating how megacities with huge magnificent buildings filled Egyptian soil at the time in the Ancient Pharaonic Era. The term ''edifice'' is mentioned only four times in the Quran, and they may have been like skyscrapers of today; a thing hardly expected to exist in ancient times. This term is mentioned twice within the Quranic story of Solomon, as Jinn at his command used to build him edifices that never any human power could perform. The word ''edifice'' is mentioned always twice within the story of Moses and Pharaoh, as the latter commanded his vizier, Haman, to build him a towering edifice that would reach the clouds in order to 'see' the God of Moses: "Pharaoh said, "O nobles, I know of no god for you other than me. So fire-up the bricks for me O Haman, and build me an edifice, that I may ascend to the God of Moses, though I think he is a liar."" (28:38); "And Pharaoh said, "O Haman, build me an edifice, that I may reach the pathways. The pathways of the heavens, so that I may glance at the God of Moses; though I think he is lying."..." (40:36-37). Apart from the disbelief of Moses' Pharaoh, but these two verses show to us how advanced the architecture was in Ancient Egypt, more than any place in the ancient world at the time, and Pharaoh would never have asked Haman in public to build him that towering edifice unless he had known that he had the means to do it. Perhaps, this power, might, authority, wealth, and means of Moses' Pharaoh were behind his disbelieving comment about the towering edifice. The term ''edifice'' is not used elsewhere in the Quran except in the story of Solomon, as the Jinn built him the edifice made of glass the dazzled the Queen of Sheba: "It was said to her, "Go inside the palace." And when she saw it, she thought it was a deep pond, and she bared her legs. He said, "It is a palace paved with glass." She said, "My Lord, I have done wrong to myself, and I have submitted with Solomon, to God, Lord of the Worlds."" (27:44). The term ''edifice'' is used again in relation to Moses' Pharaoh, indicating the advanced knowledge, power, and wealth of Ancient Egypt, but this time, the edifice is not made of glass, but red brick, and this means that brickmaking was known in Ancient Egypt, thousands of years ago: "…So fire-up the bricks for me, O Haman, and build me an edifice, that I may ascend to the God of Moses…" (28:38). Furthermore, the term "pegs" is mentioned three times in the Quran; one time to describe mountains as pegs to fixate the earth surface so as not to move: "Did We not make the earth with paved routes. And the mountains as pegs?" (78:6-7). The same term is used twice more in relation to Moses' Pharaoh: "Before them the people of Noah denied the Truth; as did Aad, and Pharaoh of the Pegs" (38:12); "And Pharaoh of the Pegs" (89:10). This means that many edifices, towers, and buildings erected by Moses' Pharaoh were like mountains in heights and widths. Elements of such locations had influenced Pharaoh's wife who believed in the message of Moses and believed in God, as she invoked the Lord by saying: "" (66:11). This invocation shows how the first thing that occurred to her mind was a house in Paradise without Pharaoh in it: this shows that building one's abodes were among the priorities of Egyptian people and that Pharaoh was as much interested in building so many architectural edifices as he eagerly loved to frighten everyone in Egypt, including his own wife. 

   Are there any remaining monuments of Moses' Pharaoh? The answer is no; as we know from the Quran as well: "...And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:137). This means that all edifices, buildings, towers, etc. of Pharaoh, his family members, his retinue members, his troops, and his feudal landlords were destroyed by God, as happened to the people of Thamood: "So note the outcome of their planning; We destroyed them and their people, altogether. Here are their homes, in ruins, on account of their iniquities. Surely in this is a sign for people who know." (27:51-52). Pharaoh and his people never paid heed to the advice of the believing man among the retinue members of Pharaoh palace court, when he told them the following: "O my people, I fear for you the like of the day of the confederates. Like the fate of the people of Noah, and Aad, and Thamood, and those after them. God wants no injustice for the servants." (40:30-31). Thus, God had destroyed all things built by Moses' Pharaoh and his people, but God preserves the Nile Valley with its verdant lush gardens and fields, etc., as we infer from these Quranic verses: "How many gardens and fountains did they leave behind? And plantations, and splendid buildings. And comforts they used to enjoy." (44:25-27).

3- Economic aspects: the Quran contains scattered but rich indications of some details of the economic aspect of Ancient Egypt, as we show in the following points.  

A- Agriculture and cultivation of lands in Egypt are as old as human existence on Planet Earth; and the process of agriculture used to be influenced by the amount of water available by the Nile flood. The Hyksos king's vision was interpreted by Joseph this way: "He said, "You will farm for seven consecutive years. But whatever you harvest, leave it in its spikes, except for the little that you eat." Then after that will come seven difficult ones, which will consume what you have stored for them, except for the little that you have preserved. Then after that will come a year that brings relief to the people, and during which they will press." (12:47-49). Eventually, the Hyksos king had appointed Joseph as the governor who would supervise and control agriculture and provisions in Egypt: "He said, "Put me in charge of the storehouses of the land; I am honest and knowledgeable." And thus We established Joseph on the earth, to live therein wherever he wished..." (12:55-56). We deduce from these verses that large storehouses of all harvested crops and grains had been built to store large amounts to prepare for the years of famine to come after seven years, and this entailed strict and accurate processes of supervision, collection, preservation, distribution, marketing, selling, calculation, weighing, shipping, etc. as per what we know from Egyptologists and historians of Ancient Egypt. Joseph had to be cautious and calculate everything for the 14-year plan that the vision of the Hyksos king predicted, especially that Egypt would save other neighboring nations as well.      

B- There are other Quranic indications about trade mentioned in the Quranic Chapter Twelve that narrates the story of Joseph; namely, selling and buying were via the coin/currency of dirham and within bartering system (i.e., exchange of goods, without involving monetary currency). Thus, Joseph himself when thrown into the bottom of the well, a caravan of traders took him and sold him into slavery in return for few dirhams to a man of Egypt, the Potiphar: And they sold him for a cheap price-a few dirham coins-they considered him to be of little value." (12:20). This shows that there was no fixed prices at the time for enslaved boys; a pretty young lad like Joseph was sold for so little as the traders of the caravan wanted to get rid of him at any cost. as for bartering, the brothers of Joseph during the time of the famine used to come to Egypt with their merchandise that they exchanged in return for food/grains. Let us remember that the word ''merchandise''  is never mentioned in the Quran except in the Quranic Chapter Twelve that contain the story of Joseph. Joseph was himself ''merchandise'' for the caravan traders: " A caravan passed by, and they sent their water-carrier. He lowered his bucket, and said, "Good news. Here is a boy." And they hid him as merchandise. But God was aware of what they did." (12:19). Joseph wanted his brothers to return to him so often to get grains/food, and he commanded his men under him to return the merchandise of bartering to his brothers; he gave them the grains/food for free: " He said to his servants, "Put their merchandise in their saddlebags; perhaps they will recognize it when they return to their families, and maybe they will come back."" (12:62); "And when they opened their baggage, they found that their goods were returned to them. They said, "Father, what more do we want? Here are our merchandise, returned to us..." (12:65). From within the same story of Joseph, we know that grains were weighed by certain units of measure; see 12: 70-72 and 12:88, within the events when Joseph planned to keep his younger brother with him upon false accusation of theft. We infer also that the unit of bartering was the load of one camel, as the measure unit to those who wish to get grains in return for merchandise to offer. This was very similar to any other modern rationing systems in times of crises. We have surmised this from this Quranic verse: "And when they opened their baggage, they found that their goods were returned to them. They said, "Father, what more do we want? Here are our merchandise, returned to us. We will provide for our family, and protect our brother, and have an additional camel-load. This is easy load." (12:65). Hence, the recurrent coming of the brothers of Joseph to him in Egypt to get grains/food indicates that the famine was not suffered in Egypt alone, but also in all the neighboring countries that used to engage with Egyptians in trade exchange; within the Eastern borders of Egypt in Sinai, rest-houses, inns, and taverns were established to serve merchants, traders, and buyers who came from other regions. Of course, all things in Egypt at the time were under direct control of Joseph, including the luxurious inns/villages, like the one in which Joseph had installed his brothers, as we infer from this verse in which he coaxed them to bring him a brother of theirs: "When he provided them with their provisions, he said, "Bring me a brother of yours from your father. Do you not see that I fill up the measure, and I am the best of hosts?"" (12:59).  Of course, inns/villages at the borders of Egypt would be filled with guests and they would exchange news and made acquaintance, and sons of Jacob/Israel told him to go to that inn/village to ascertain their true news about the arrest of their younger brother who was accused of theft: ""Go back to your father, and say, 'Our father, your son has stolen. We testify only to what we know, and we could not have prevented the unforeseen." "Ask the village where we were, and the caravan in which we came. We are being truthful."" (12:81-82).

C- As for the story of Moses and Moses' Pharaoh, we can deduce from it some features of economic life in Ancient Egypt during the Ramses dynasty era; the chief feature is economic welfare, described in the best way possible by the Quran after the drowning of Pharaoh and his troops and men: "So We drove them out of gardens and springs. And treasures and noble dwellings." (26:57-58); "How many gardens and fountains did they leave behind? And plantations, and splendid buildings. And comforts they used to enjoy." (44:25-27). We read here how the Quran describes Egyptian cultivated fields and the plentiful water that used to cover them like fountains, yielding rich harvests like treasures, which were comforts of life enjoyed by Egyptians at the time. Moses' Pharaoh, instead of being thankful to God for such bounties, tyrannized, made himself superior on earth, deified himself, and committed crimes of persecution and terror. God had sent him and his people many plagues as ordeals to make them repent, but they never did that: "And We afflicted the people of Pharaoh with barren years, and with shortage of crops, that they may take heed." (7:130). We infer from this verse that ''the people of Pharaoh'' or his family members, retinue members, troops, and cronies etc. used to own power, authority, lands, wealth, harvests, cattle, peasants, etc. and when any shortage had occurred, they had suffered it and felt it keenly. This shows that Egyptian workers and peasants did not own anything at all; they were mere tools owned by Pharaoh and his people.         

D- At the same time when these Egyptian peasants (as per written by Erman) were flogged and punished if discovered to hide part of the harvest, owned along with the lands and people on it by Pharaoh, Moses' Pharaoh and his people used to wear the precious stones and ornaments and they would take them along in their tombs. Historians of the Ramses dynasty era assert that Ramses III had a special official bearer of victuals in a three-liter golden container. Hence, it is no longer surprising that Moses' Pharaoh had mocked Moses by saying: "Why are bracelets of gold not dropped on him..." (43:53); as Pharaoh used to deem wearing gold as a sign of high stature and rank, and all his people and retinue members used to think in the same way. We surmise here that Pharaoh and his people, retinue members, landlords, viziers, soldiers, and troops chased Moses and the Israelites while wearing all their rich, precious jewels and ornaments made of gold, as if they were going on a journey of pleasure or a reception party! We surmise further that when the waves had thrown their drowned bodies, some of the Israelites had stolen that gold, and Al-Samiri coaxed them to gather all such ornaments of gold to help him fabricate the golden calf for them to worship as their god, similar to the Pharaonic god Apis. God says in the Quran: "In his absence, the people of Moses adopted a calf made from their ornaments..." (7:148). The Israelites said this when they tried to apologize to Moses: "They said, "We did not break our promise to you by our choice, but we were made to carry loads of the people's ornaments, and we cast them in. That was what Al-Samiri suggested."" (20:87). Since the wealthy Pharaoh and his affluent retinue members ornamented themselves with gold and jewel's, very clever craftsmen used to make such ornaments in the best possible artistic ways, as we see from the samples found in museums that bear witness to that type of art. Hence, we discern here that the Egyptian society at the time – that seemed inactive overtly as far as influence is concerned – had left its imprint on the Israelites by influencing them in terms of social, economic, and religious aspect. When the Israelites left the Egyptian society for good, they carried inside their hearts the deepest feelings of nostalgia (the calf-god, Osir, their passage at a temple in Sinai, their carrying gold ornaments of the Egyptians) as well as the acquired behavior of most Egyptians of relying entirely on governments and rulers to get everything. Hence, the Israelites in the exodus used to ask Moses to provide everything for them and demanded from him to invoke God to provide all their needs, and when God had granted them manna and quail, they got bored soon enough and longed much for Egyptian food and crops, to which they got used to eat for years: "..."O Moses, we cannot endure one kind of food, so call to your Lord to produce for us of what the earth grows: of its herbs, and its cucumbers, and its garlic, and its lentils, and its onions." He said, "Would you substitute worse for better? ..." (2:61). In fact, they remained very dependent on Moses and his God, and they adamantly refused to enter into the Levant by fighting their way in it: "They said, "O Moses, there are tyrannical people in it; we will not enter it until they leave it. If they leave it, we will be entering."" (5:22). Hence, the Egyptian influence was too much on that generation of the Israelites, who forgot the miracles they had witnessed. Their only remedy was to wander the desert for forty years until this generation would perish and another generation would be fit to enter into the Levant, a generation born in the years of wandering which was never influenced by the Egyptian mentality of dependence. One might wonder about the following: how many years would it take Egyptians of our modern times to get rid of the dependence, postponement, accepting failure as fate, and other negative social qualities, norms, and traits that cause our backwardness and never help in bringing about renaissance?!                   

 The Quranic stories are never meant for entertainment of readers, but to be pondered and reflected upon to draw lessons from them. However great the historical indications in the Quranic stories, we must never forget that the main aim of the Quranic stories is to contemplate them and learn useful lessons, and this is the same higher aim, by the way, of history as a branch of science, and it should be the supreme aim as well of the Quranic stories. Let us recall this in the very last verse of the Quranic Chapter 12 that contains the story of Joseph: "In their stories is a lesson for those who possess intelligence..." (12:111). Furthermore, God says the following in the Quran about Moses' Pharaoh and his demise: "In this a lesson for whoever fears." (79:26). It is high time or all of us to fear God in piety and heed many lessons.

Firstly:

1- The story of Moses' Pharaoh tackles an important issue, among others, which is meritocracy: who deserves or merits to rule. Each powerful country aims at controlling regions around it, or maybe to control and dominate the whole planet. At the era of Moses' Pharaoh, the known ancient world was Ancient Egypt and regions around it, and this is the context in which we understand how Moses' Pharaoh made himself superior on earth: "Pharaoh exalted himself on the earth…" (28:4). Of course, Moses' Pharaoh turned ins might, power, and authority into tyranny, persecution, and injustices, thus he paved to himself the way to his own ruin and perdition. The Israelites said to Moses: "They said, "We were persecuted before you came to us, and after you came to us." He said, "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy, and make you successors in the land; then He will see how you behave."" (7:129). This prophecy of the destruction of Pharaoh and to lend victory to the weaker party was fulfilled: "But We desired to favor those who were oppressed on the earth, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them on the earth..." (28:5-6). God says the following about this fulfillment: "And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the earth, which We had blessed. Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance. And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:137).

2- Therefore, we conclude that God had allowed the existence of many empires on earth, but most of the used their power, might, and authority to commit many injustices, and this led to the fact that might turned into many weaknesses and downfall factors that led to the eventual collapse of such empires. This is the most important lesson to be drawn from the downfall of empires. But the story of Moses' Pharaoh remains still to be the most important story of such collapse, mentioned in the Quran as a warning to all humanity against injustices. The reason: the mighty, unjust, tyrannical part was so severe in persecution and punishments against a weaker party that was very weak indeed, and the Divine Will and Might had sided with the weak, persecuted party that faced tyranny with patience and prayers. Hence, elements of Pharaonic might, power, and authority turned later on into factors of weakness, dilapidation, and collapse that led to the downfall of Pharaoh and his perdition eventually. Facing the tyranny and severe persecution of Pharaoh, Moses commanded his unarmed, weakened people to adhere to patience and prayers and to rely on God the Omnipotent: "Moses said to his people, "Seek help in God, and be patient. The earth belongs to God. He gives it in inheritance to whomever He wills of His servants, and the future belongs to the righteous."" (7:128). When Moses' Pharaoh went into furthest extremes in persecuting and causing harm to the Israelites to the extent that the vast majority of them feared to side with Moses or to join him overtly, Moses performed prayers with his people inside secret houses, continuing the endeavor to adhere to patience and reliance on Almighty God: "Moses said, "O my people, if you have believed in God, then put your trust in Him, if you have submitted. They said, "In God we have put our trust. Our Lord, do not make us victims of the oppressive people. and deliver us, by Your Mercy from the disbelieving people." (10:84-86). They had performed prayers in groups and glad tidings of deliverance was brought from God to the believers: "And We inspired Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt, and make your homes places of worship, and perform prayers, and give good news to the believers." (10:87). During these congregational prayers in secret houses, Moses and Aaron invoked God's wrath against the evil tyrant Pharaoh and his people and God answered their prayers: Our Lord, you have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the worldly life. Our Lord, for them to lead away from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth, and harden their hearts, they will not believe until they see the painful torment." He said, "Your prayer of both of you has been answered, so go straight, and do not follow the path of those who do not know."" (10:88-89). Hence, victory was lent by God to the Israelites against Pharaoh, using patience and prayers: "... Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance..." (7:137). Hence, the divine advice or command to the Israelites was as follows : "And seek help through patience and prayers, but this is difficult, except for the devout ones." (2:45). God tell us, Quran-believing people, the same advice/command in the same Chapter: "O you who believe! Seek help through patience and prayers; God is with the patient ones." (2:153). When God had delivered the Israelites from the tyrant Pharaoh, they returned to their faulty, corrupt tenets, and God commanded the death of this generation during the 40-year period of wandering into the deserts.       

3- As for Moses' Pharaoh, god granted him so many bounties, but instead of this making him thankful, he used these bounties and riches to tyrannize. For instance, Pharaoh felt superior on earth as he owned Egypt and the Nile River: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?"" (43:51). But God made the River Nile water work against Pharaoh, when it carried the casket containing the enfant Moses toward the Pharaoh's palace, ironically making Pharaoh the one to care for Moses' upbringing. The River Nile continued working against Pharaoh, as it carried by god's command the nine plagues against Pharaoh and his people, and when Pharaoh never took heed of all these warnings, another water drowned him to his death, that of the Red Sea. We notice that the Red Sea and the River Nile  are not mentioned by their names in the Quran, but indeed, the term "Yam" (literally, water area) is used to indicate both water areas within the Quranic story of Moses, to indicate the river and the sea. The word ''Sea'' in the Quran is also used to indicate salt water of seas and drinking water of rivers: "The two seas are not the same. One is fresh, sweet, good to drink, while the other is salty and bitter...." (35:12). As for the Quranic term ''Yam'', it is used to describe the River Nile and the Red Sea within the story of Moses: "Put him in the casket; then cast him into the river/yam. The river/yam will bring him to shore, where an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his will pick him up..." (20:39); "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea/yam. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively. Until, when he was about to drown..." (10:90). We might surmise here that there is a chance that Pharaoh and his troops and people might have drowned in one of the River Nile branches, especially when we know from history that the Nile had many branches in that ancient time, and one of them reached Sinai. This means that there were so many branches that made the River Nile seemed like many rivers, not just one river: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?"" (43:51). Yet, it is commonly assumed that the drowning of Pharaoh and his troops and people was most probably in the Red Sea, and this probability is reinforced by Pharaoh and his soldiers chasing the Israelites during exodus to the East, as mentioned in the Quran: "And they pursued them to the East. When the two groups sighted each other, the followers of Moses said, "We are being overtaken." He said, "No; my Lord is with me, He will guide me." We inspired Moses: "Strike the sea with your staff." Whereupon it parted, and each part was like a giant hill." (26:60-63). We surmise that Egypt had witnessed  flood at the time of the exodus, and this means that the River Nile (of which Pharaoh bragged as his own) had participated in the process of destroying the tyrannical Pharaoh along with his retinue members, troops, soldiers, landlords, and all erected monuments, towers, and edifices. We infer this from this verse: "...And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:137); hence, the River Nile that had been a bounty and source of wealth to the tyrannical Pharaoh and his people had turned against them; it was transformed into a scourge of the Lord to punish all of them until their demise by drowning. Indeed, the denying to be thankful and grateful to God because of His bounties makes one lose the bounties easily and sooner that one thinks; it is a bad habit of people in all eras to forget such a lesson, as we deduce from this verse: "Have you not seen those who exchanged the blessing of God with disbelief and landed their people into the house of perdition?" (14:28).   

4- Hence, ironically, God had ridiculed Moses' Pharaoh by making him, out of all people in Egypt, to rear, bring up, and care for Moses, his enemy! We are to draw another lesson, related to those who rely on the Lord and trusting Him and that He will fulfill his promises, from the story of Moses' mother; when she feared over the fate of her baby son, God inspired her about what to do, and she obeyed, trusting her Lord: " We inspired the mother of Moses: "Nurse him; then, when you fear for him, cast him into the river, and do not fear, nor grieve; We will return him to you, and make him one of the messengers." Pharaoh's household picked him up, to be an opponent and a sorrow for them. Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops were sinners." (28:7-8). We deduce that the River Nile was flooding at the time, and its current carried the baby Moses in the casket to Pharaoh, and God promised the believing mother who was worried about the fate of her son that Moses will return to her and will be made a prophet/messenger. The River Nile carried this casket entrusted to it to the palace of Pharaoh, where his wife picked him up, making her husband care for the infant with her. This is irony of ironies indeed; God had ridiculed and mocked the villain proud tyrannical Pharaoh in the best way possible.  To rely on God does NOT mean that one is allowed to be lazy, passive, and dependent; rather, it means that one should never be afraid or saddened by any mortals or circumstances and to never stop seeking, endeavoring, and persevering as much as one's capacity would allow, while trusting that God will help one to succeed. Thus, after obeying the divine command of throwing the casket containing her baby into the River Nile, the mother of Moses told her daughter to follow the casket moving with the current and her heart filled with longing for her baby son: "The heart of Moses' mother became vacant. She was about to disclose him, had We not steadied her heart, that she may remain a believer. She said to his sister, "Trail him." So she watched him from afar, and they were unaware." (28:10-11). Eventually, God fulfilled his promise to the believing mother, by making the baby Moses refuse all wet-nurses until he was breastfed by his biological mother, to be reared by her inside the palace, with his Israelite people, but cared ad provided for at the same time by Pharaoh and his wife: " We forbade him breastfeeding at first. So she said, "Shall I tell you about a family that can raise him for you, and will look after him?" Thus We returned him to his mother, that she may be comforted, and not grieve, and know that God's promise is true. But most of them do not know." (28:12-13). Indeed, "...but most people do not know" (12:21); Almighty God says nothing but the Truth.         

5- By the way, the Quran mentions the word ''Pharaoh'' 74 times throughout the Quranic text; this indicates that Moses' Pharaoh is the most talked-of personage among the disbelieving figures mentioned in the Quran; indeed, he was made by God to be  leader/imam of all polytheistic aggressive tyrants, and such a position entails further explanation in the following lines. We have to bear in mind that Pharaoh and his people were the last ones to be smitten and destroyed by God, the last ones after the people of Noah, Aad, Lot, Thamood, etc. and later on the Torah was revealed as insights to people. hence, since Pharaoh and his people/troops were the last ones to be destroyed by God, Pharaoh, their leader, was made the imam/leader of all tyrants who would emerge after his era: "He and his troops acted arrogantly on the earth with no justification. They thought they would not be returned to Us. So We seized him, and his troops, and We threw them into the sea. Observe, therefore, what was the end of the oppressors. And We made them leaders/imams calling to the Fire. And on Resurrection Day, they will not be saved."  (28:39-41); "We gave Moses the Scripture after We had annihilated the previous generations; as an illumination for humankind, and guidance, and mercy, so that they may remember." (28:43). We know from the Quran that Pharaoh, despite his might and transient worldly glory, had asked Moses about the ancient nations: "He said, "What about the early generations?" He said, "Knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in a Book. My Lord never errs, nor does He forget."" (20:51-52). The believing man inside retinue of Pharaoh reminded Pharaoh of the fates of previous nations of disbelievers, but Pharaoh never paid heed and went on in his tyranny and disbelief until he was destroyed like them, and became the imams of all aggressive disbelievers who would emerge after him. In fact, Moses' Pharaoh deserves such a position because he went into the furthest unprecedented extremes of tyranny, violation, and aggression, especially when he proclaimed himself a deity and denied God, and later on, he insisted on being stubborn to the last when he chased those who fled the country to avoid his tyranny, this means that his life ended while he was committing the sin of chasing the wronged persecuted party of the believers, and with two prophets of God with them, aiming to annihilate them        

6- We know from the Quran that Pharaoh occupies the special position, after his demise, as imam/leaders of sinners who followed his footsteps. God preserved the body of this dead Pharaoh to make him an example to be avoided and people would draw lessons from his fate as a sinner. God told the dying Pharaoh the following words: "Today We will preserve your body, so that you become a sign for those after you. But most people are heedless of Our signs." (10:92). The lifeless human body, or cadaver/corpse, is an unsightly thing that must be hidden away from the living people by burying it; even the murderous son of Adam was taught how to bury the corpse of the brother he murdered: "Then God sent a raven digging the ground, to show him how to cover his brother's corpse. He said, "Woe to me! I was unable to be like this raven, and bury my brother's corpse." So he became full of regrets." (5:31). Hence, it is God's command that human corpses be buried to honor human beings, but Pharaoh's corpse is deprived from such honor, as his corpse/cadaver is shown now in a museum to be seen by people. of course, Pharaoh's soul left its body and entered into the metaphysical place called Barsakh in the Quran (where all souls of the dead enter into a state of timelessness and sleep until Doomsday), but the souls of Pharaoh and his people are being tortured until the Day of Resurrection, and after it severe punishment in Hell for eternity is their fate: "...a terrible torment besieged Pharaoh's people. The Fire: they are exposed to it morning and evening. And on the Day the Hour takes place: "Admit the people of Pharaoh to the most intense agony."" (40:45-46). Other disbelievers and polytheists feel timelessness and deep slumber in Barsakh, until the Day of Resurrection: "Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back. That I may do right in what I have neglected." By no means! It is just a word that he utters. And behind them is the barrier of Barsakh, until the Day they are resurrected." (23:99-100); they will wake up in Doomsday in fear and amazement, asking in wonder how long they have been asleep, for they will feel it as such a short time: "The Trumpet will be blown, then behold, they will rush from the tombs to their Lord. They will say, "Woe to us! Who resurrected us from our resting-place?" This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the messengers have spoken the truth."" (36:51-52); "On the Day when the Hour takes place, the sinners will swear they had stayed but an hour. Thus they were deluded. But those endowed with knowledge and faith will say, "You remained in God's Book until the Day of Resurrection. This is the Day of Resurrection, but you did not know."" (30:55-56). Pharaoh and his people are deprived of such deep slumber in Barsakh; they are there alive and tortured until the Day of Judgment. There is another Quranic indication that Pharaoh and his people in Barsakh feel regrets over what occurred after their demise: "But We desired to favor those who were oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land; and to show Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops, the very thing they feared." (28:5-6). Moses' Pharaoh, during his lifetime as supreme ruler and despot, feared that the Israelites would not believe in him as a supreme deity and would revolt against him and his tyranny, and this was why he made sure they are being tormented and persecuted under his commands. After he drowned, and his soul entered the Barsakh, he saw his fears being realized: the Israelites inherited rule in Egypt after his demise; he had wasted and lost his life for the sake of the devil while chasing weak people that included believers and two prophets. In contrast, there are believers who die in God's sake while serving His cause, and God commands us to consider them as alive, not dead, as they are in Barsakh Paradise enjoying sheer bliss until the Day of Resurrection: "And do not say of those who are killed in the cause of God, "Dead." Rather, they are alive, but you do not perceive." (2:154); "Do not consider those killed in the cause of God as dead. In fact, they are alive, at their Lord, well provided for. Delighting in what God has given them out of His grace, and happy for those who have not yet joined them; that they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve." (3:169). Hence, those residing in Barsakh Paradise feel their brethren in the transient world, wishing them that they may join in their bliss in the Hereafter, whereas Pharaoh and his people are living in Barsakh torment within interminable regrets that all their cunning scheming brought about their downfall and eternal suffering. Apart from those in Barsakh Paradise and those in Barsakh torment, the rest of humanity will wake up upon the Day of Resurrection while feeling they slept temporarily for a short while, because Barsakh for their souls is a timelessness mode of deep slumber: "On the Day when He rounds them up-as if they had tarried only one hour of a day-they will recognize one another..." (10:45); "On the Day when they witness it-as though they only stayed an evening, or its morning." (79:46).            

Secondly:

1- Pharaoh is the precedent (or Salaf (ancestor/forefather), in Quranic terminology) for all evil polytheists and disbelievers who commit violations and aggressions. The term ''Salaf'' does not occur in the Quran except for once in relation to Pharaoh and his people: "And when they provoked Our wrath, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them all. Thus We made them a precedent/Salaf and an example for the others." (43:55-56). It is noteworthy that the Quran describes Arab disbelieving polytheists who committed aggression against early believers as following the footsteps of Pharaoh and his people: "Like the behavior of the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They rejected the signs of God, so God seized them for their sins..." (8:52); "Such was the case with the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We annihilated them for their wrongs, and We drowned the people of Pharaoh-they were all evildoers." (8:54); "Like the behavior of Pharaoh's people and those before them. They rejected Our signs, so God seized them for their sins. God is Strict in retribution." (3:11).  

2- Leadership of Pharaoh in disbelief and polytheistic aggression is exemplified in his going further into an extreme in stubbornness, to the extent of his denying God in public and inside his heart, contrary to human innate nature and instinct of feeling the existence of the Omnipotent Creator, and his self-deification when he proclaimed himself as a supreme, most-high god. Pharaoh's people used to believe in the assumed godhead of Pharaoh beside the Pharaonic deities; and even the self-deified Pharaoh used to worship these Pharaonic gods, as we infer from this verse containing words of his retinue members addressed to Pharaoh: "..."Will you let Moses and his people cause trouble in the land, and forsake you and your gods?"..." (7:127). Later on, Pharaoh went to a further extreme to face Moses and his call, by trying to remove the belief in the Creator from the minds and hearts of his people; as he proclaimed his self-deification while denying God, in one of his conferences: "Pharaoh said, "O nobles, I know of no god for you other than me..." (28:38). In another conference of his, he proclaimed himself as the supreme most high god: "And gathered and proclaimed. He said, "I am your Lord, the most high."" (79:23-24). Yet, when mighty waves surrounded Pharaoh and he realized that he drew nearer to his death, he returned to the innate nature or instinct inside every human beings that recognizes that there is no other deities/gods beside God/Allah the Creator, but it was too late for him, as this was the moment of his death after a life filled with sins and without repentance and belief: "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively. Until, when he was about to drown, he said, "I believe that there is no god except the One the Children of Israel believe in, and I am of those who submit." Now? When you have rebelled before, and been of the mischief-makers?" (10:90-91). Following the footsteps of Pharaoh are many people who are stubborn in disobedience and sinning until angels of death come to take their souls, and they would try in vain to repent while dying, when it is too late: "But repentance is not available for those who commit evils, until when death approaches one of them, he says, "Now I repent," nor for those who die as disbelievers..." (4:18). Following the footsteps of Pharaoh are many people who are stubborn in denying God's existence, though they never have the authority, power, and might of Pharaoh or his fate, and when they are faced with calamities, ordeals, or severe ailments, they would remember God and invoke Him faithfully, and once delivered, they return to their disbelief in God: "Whenever adversity touches the human being, he prays to Us-reclining on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have relieved his adversity from him, he goes away, as though he had never called on Us for trouble that had afflicted him..." (10:12). In fact, human beings cannot, inside their hearts, minds, souls, instinct, and innermost nature, deny the Creator's existence, even if they express, write, or utter such sentiments: "... the natural instinct God has instilled in humankind. There is no altering God's creation..." (30:30).

3- Hence, the natural instinct that God has created inside human beings is that He is God, the Creator of the universe, with no other gods/deities beside Him; yet, Satan and the devils would cover, change, and distort this natural instinct by urging people to associate deified mortal partners to God: this is polytheism (Shirk) and disbelief (Kufr), two terms that are synonymous in the Quranic text. It is noteworthy that the Quranic/Arabic term for disbelief (i.e., Kufr) is phonetically similar to the English word/noun ''cover''; this indicates its meaning: to shut off, hide, or cover this innate natural instinct of monotheism and one's innermost the feeling of God's existence. The other synonymous term in the Quran is (Shirk), which literally means polytheism. Why both terms are in fact synonymous in the Quran? because even those who deny God in their writings or uttered words cannot cancel the feeling of God's existence from their instincts or deny the Creator's existence, however stubborn they are in expression of such denial, whereas polytheists acknowledge God's existence as the Creator, but associate with Him other deified creatures (e.g., prophets, male and female 'saints', angels (the Holy Spirit: Gabriel, among others), etc.) deemed by polytheists as immortal beings. Hence, disbelief exists alongside with belief inside minds/hearts of disbelievers and polytheists; yet, such belief is little and nullified on the Day of Resurrection, because God accepts only complete belief devoted and confined entirely (i.e., 100%) to Him. this is why God says in the Quran that the little belief of disbelievers is of no use to them on the Last Day, when the Truth will prevail and emerge victorious over falsehoods: "Say, "On the Day of Victory, the faith of those who disbelieved will be of no avail to them..." (32:29). Most people are polytheists who ascribe divinity to other mortal creatures, as we know from the Quran: "And most of them do not believe in God unless they associate others beside Him." (12:106). Hence, disbelief (Kufr) is synonymous with polytheism (Shirk) because both contains little faith and deification of mortals (deifying one's body, sexual desires, worship of self, worship of bodies and tangible things/items, etc.). The believing man among retinue members of Pharaoh had said the following to his people: "You call me to reject God, and to associate with Him what I have no knowledge of..." (40:42). This shows that Kufr and Shirk are exact synonyms in the Quran; moreover, God says in the Quran: "It is not for the polytheists to attend God's places of worship while professing their disbelief..." (9:17). This is another valuable lesson that we may draw from the story of Moses' Pharaoh; the innate natural instinct (or some may call it: the God gene) inside humans regarding God and His existence is far bigger than anyone trying to delete, omit, or cancel it, but it can be stifled, changed, rammed deep down, ignored on purpose within Kufr and/or Shirk, but deep down inside each human being, it is there, firmly settled, even if untapped or intentionally overlooked. Hence, little faith/belief of such type is never acceptable on the Day of Judgment. This lesson had been understood fully by the believing man within retinue members of Pharaoh (see 40:42), whereas Pharaoh had remembered this lesson while dying, in vain because it was too late for him, and he lost his soul to eternal perdition.        

Thirdly:

1- When Pharaoh realized that he was drowning and on the verge of death, he screamed the words: "...I believe that there is no God except the One the Israelites believe in, and I am of those who submit." (10:90), and the expression ''those who submit'' means ''Muslims'' literally. This means that when he was dying, Pharaoh declared himself a Muslim or converted to Islam. The question raised now is as follows: was Islam the religion to which Moses had called? The answer is yes: it was ''Islam'' in its literal sense of total submission to God and adherence to peace. Let us be reminded of the fact that Islam, God's religion, is the one revealed in all divine, celestial messages of God by different tongues of prophets and messengers to their people. God says the following in the Quran: "Religion with God is Islam (i.e., submission to God alone)..." (3:19); "Whoever seeks other than Islam (i.e., submission to God alone) as a religion, it will not be accepted from him..." (3:85). Hence, Islam is total submission to God alone, in terms of deification, reverence, worship, devoutness, sanctification, and piety, not to submit to any human beings. Of course, this was the message, preaching, and call of all prophets and messengers in all their tongues/languages: "We never sent a messenger before you without inspiring him that: "There is no God but I, so worship Me."" (21:25). Hence, Islam was preached within hieroglyphic language in the era of Moses: "We never sent any messenger except in the language of his people, to make things clear for them. God leads astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. He is the Mighty, the Wise. We sent Moses with Our signs..." (14:4-5).     

2- Before Moses, each prophet declared his Islam (i.e., his submission only to God in terms of faith and worship) using the language of his people amongst whom he lived. For example, Noah declared it: "... I was commanded to be of those who submit. (i.e., Muslims)" (10:72); and so did Abraham "When his Lord said to him, "Submit!" He said, "I have submitted to the Lord of the Worlds."" (2:131). Abraham used to exhort his progeny this way: "And Abraham exhorted his sons, and Jacob, "O my sons, God has chosen this religion for you, so do not die unless you have submitted. (i.e., Muslims)"" (2:132)

3- What is the share of Egypt in all of the above? The historical reality of Egypt and its prominent position in the ancient world necessitate the fact that Egyptians received prophets whose names the Quran does not mention, apart from the ones mentioned in the Quran linked to Egypt: Joseph, Jacob, Aaron, and Moses. Let us remember that Jacob/Israel lived his last years inside Egypt, and his progeny, heads/leaders of the Israelite tribes gathered around him while he was dying, and he exhorted them to adhere to Islam; it is an Islamic virtue that a dying father would advise his progeny to adhere to Islam: " Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, and he said to his sons, "What will you worship after me?" They said, "We will worship your God; the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac; One God; and to Him we submit. (i.e., Muslims)"" (2:133). Likewise, Joseph was a prophet of God who preached Islam in the ancient Egyptian language, as he said while he was in full authority as the governor of Egypt: ""My Lord, You have given me some authority, and taught me some interpretation of events. Initiator of the heavens and the earth; You are my Protector in this life and in the Hereafter. Receive my soul in submission (i.e., Islam), and unite me with the righteous."" (12:101). The magicians who believed with Moses uttered their declaration of faith, and indifference to threats of Pharaoh, in their  hieroglyphic language, not in Arabic of course, when they had said the following: ""You are taking vengeance on us only because we have believed in the signs of our Lord when they have come to us." "Our Lord! Pour out patience upon us, and receive our souls in submission." (i.e., Islam)" (7:126). Of course, Moses spoke to his people, in the Egyptian language they understood, to encourage them to face the Pharaonic persecution by reliance on God: "..."O my people, if you have believed in God, then put your trust in Him, if you have submitted. (i.e., Muslims)"" (10:84). The same language of Moses was used by Pharaoh when he declared his Islam while dying by being drowned in the Red Sea: "...Until, when he was about to drown, he said, "I believe that there is no god except the One the Children of Israel believe in, and I am of those who submit." (i.e., Muslims)" (10:90). Within the last celestial  message (i.e., the Quran) conveying God's religion (i.e., Islam), the Arabic language is used.             

Fourthly:

1- Other lessons are to be drawn from the Quranic story of Joseph, the prophet who had tasted injustice and imprisonment and he adhered to patience and faith until God had granted him bounties and rewards fit to the really pious ones. We notice that the Quranic story of Joseph is based on several dreams/visions. The issue raised here is the one about true visions/dreams; who would see them and interpret them? Of course, Joseph saw a real, true vision: "When Joseph said to his father, "O my father, I saw eleven planets, and the sun, and the moon; I saw them bowing down to me."" (12:4); it was fulfilled later on in his lifetime: "And he elevated his parents on the throne, and they fell prostrate before him. He said, "Father, this is the fulfillment of my vision of long ago. My Lord has made it come true..." (12:100). Later on, the two inmates inside the prison cell saw visions and Joseph interpreted them and both visions came true, and he interpreted the one, that came true later on, of the Hyksos king that appointed Joseph as the governor of Egypt to supervise the planning of saving everyone from the coming famine. Both the Hyksos king and the two inmates were not believers (nor even good people), at least at the time when they saw their dreams/visions; this shows that anyone can see visions/dreams, this is not confined to prophets or to the pious persons. 

2- Visions/dreams are symbolic and entail interpretation, as we see in the Quranic Chapter 12 how dreams of Joseph, the Hyksos king, and the cell inmates entailed interpretations and how they were fulfilled. Yet, the question remains: who can interpret true visions/dreams? We mean by ''true visions'' the ones predicting unseen, future events; some are indeed miraculous, as the ones given to some prophets, and Joseph was granted the gift of interpreting dreams as a sign indicating he was a true prophet inspired by God; God says the following about Joseph: "... Thus, We established Joseph on the earth and taught him the interpretation of dreams..." (12:21). Joseph thanked God for His bounties: ""My Lord, You have given me some authority, and taught me some interpretation of dreams..." (12:101). Hence, the ability to interpret dreams is a gift from God; Joseph was inspired to give true interpretation. As for other ordinary people, past and present, no one could claim to be able to interpret accurately any dream/vision, as their views are bound to be subjective and are conjectures that might be right or wrong. By the way, Joseph worked under the Hyksos king who was a disbeliever; in our modern times in Egypt, some Wahabis / Salafists issue fatwas that it is prohibited to work with the Egyptian 'infidel' government that raise the motto "There is no God but Allah"! How utterly wrong those Wahabis / Salafists are!

3- In conclusion, we assert here that of course, there are so many lessons to be drawn from the Quranic stories of Moses and Joseph in Egypt, but there is no room in this book for more lessons, and besides, no human brain might be able to glean all the treasures of wisdom from the Quran, however intelligent and wise a person may be; the intellectual and spiritual treasures of the Quran are endless and boundless and will continue to be discovered in all eras. There will be people who will see more treasures than we have done here in this book. Indeed, the Quran is book that has not yet been read carefully with enough pondering and contemplation by all those who believe in it, because – sadly – most of us have been busy with many other things. "God has sent down the best of discourses: a Scripture consistent and paired. The skins of those who reverence their Lord shiver from it, then their skins and their hearts soften up to the remembrance of God. Such is God's guidance; He guides with it whomever He wills..." (39:23). As always, God says nothing but the Truth.

CONCLUSION:

(1) Human beings have learned distortion, falsification, and twisting facts since they have learned to record and register history. Since the beginning of the era of writing down history, it has been deemed a habit done by historians and scribes who were commanded by rulers/leaders to do so, and such historians and scribes in all eras obsequiously sought to please and gratify the victorious ones who rule, dominate, and reign and made them earn their living. Hence, history worldwide is never accurate 100%. Some claim that formal documents, scrolls, etc. might be nearer to the Truth, but they never fill all gaps and rarely narrate things that occurred before they were written and they never reveal what have occurred after they were written; besides, we never know the conditions and circumstances of their writing and thus, we cannot verify their being truthful and/or authentic. It is a sad fact worldwide in the history of any part of the planet that there will always be a huge gap between 'real' and 'true'  history (i.e., events that really took place overtly and covertly) on the one hand and written history passed down to us while showing the biased viewpoints and sentiments of historians of course. Hence any 'truths' or 'facts' in historical writings o all human beings remain relative: they might be true or false and cannot be verified in most cases. For instance, an Arab historian might write the following statement: (...The Sultan sent an epistle to the King...), when we analyze this statement, we may say that this historian was among the retinue of this sultan, thus knowing many of his secrets and/or decisions taken in the palace court or divan; yet, we may also say we have the right to cast doubts on the statement of the historian who might side with the sultan or be biased for him because he relied on this sultan for his living; thus, he would choose what to record and what he would not and how he would twist certain facts to serve the sultan this way. Another possibility is that this historian was away from the circles of authority and power, and what he has written might be rumors spread at the time, and this cast doubts on his accounts; the sultan might not have sent any messages to any king, or such message was indeed sent as a ploy/maneuver to trick and deceive some people, or ... or ... etc., in endless games of conjecture and surmise. Hence, no mortal can bridge the huge gap between real history and written one, and such gap widens more in cases of writing historical accounts of political conspiracies and intrigues, successful ones or otherwise. Indeed, political history is filled mostly with intrigues, plots, secret communications, clandestine relations, maneuvers, secret movements, etc. and the recorded history shows only of them what were revealed on the surface for some reason or the other, but most of their details are not known by most historians, if we indeed can imagine omniscient historians who claim to have written the whole 'truth'. All readers of historical accounts should always question the honesty of historians and their political, religious, and social stances as well as their sentiments toward certain topics and historical figures within certain historical events. This makes doubt as the basis and the foundation of any tackling of historical accounts, periodicals, chronicles, and books, and to bear in mind that 'facts' in them are, and will always be regarded as, relative ones.                 

(2) The opposite is true regarding Quranic stories as far as Quran-believing people are concerned. To real Muslims, the Quran is God's Word that represents the Absolute Truth about the unseen, the unknown, the future, and about historical events mentioned in the Quranic stories of ancient eras. Let us give some examples to illustrate this point; somewhere at some point in time, the brothers of Joseph held their secret conference to conspire against him as they envied him very much because Jacob/Israel their father loved him more. Jacob never knew about such a conference and its results, but God, the Omniscient Lord, knew all details about such conspiracy to get rid of Joseph; see 12:7-10. After telling us about the story of Joseph in the Quranic Chapter Twelve, God has addressed Muhammad by telling him the following about Joseph's brothers: "This is news from the past that We reveal to you. You were not present with them when they plotted and agreed on a plan." (12:102). This means that what the Quran tells us about these people of the past (and the conspiracy against Joseph) was unknown and Muhammad never witnessed it himself of course; God's Omnipresence and Omniscience are asserted elsewhere in the Quranic text: "Do you not realize that God knows everything in the heavens and everything on earth? There is no secret counsel between three, but He is their fourth; nor between five, but He is their sixth; nor less than that, nor more, but He is with them wherever they may be. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. God has knowledge of everything." (58:7). Thus, the real history of any human being, or any nation or group of people, is the one recorded by God about them. Indeed, copies of such histories for each nation and each individual will be shown to each of them on the Day of Judgment to remember what was forgotten: "On the Day when God resurrects them all, and informs them of what they did. God has kept count of it, but they have forgotten it. God is Witness over everything." (58:6). Thus, from such history recorded by God come the Quranic stories, which were part of things unseen and unknown before except to God/Allah, Our Omniscient Lord. Somewhere at some point in time, Moses' Pharaoh's wife lifted her head heavenward and implored the Almighty, saying: "..."My Lord, build for me, with you, a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his works, and save me from the unjust people." (66:21). Moses' Pharaoh did not know anything about this and about the innermost feelings inside the heart of his own wife, but God, the Omniscient, knows and records the feelings and words of this believing woman, immortalizing her remembrance inside the Quranic text until the end of days. This is the aspect of the Quranic stories that can never be imitated in all accounts of human historians who write only the overt things that appear on the surface.    

(3) The Quranic stories tell us about deeds, events, and words, and feelings that were never expressed verbally by the characters/figures of the Quranic stories. For instance, the Quran follows the development of the sentiments of the Potiphar's wife: when her husband saw her at the gate of the house, she was torn between 1) the desire to revenge her being repulsed by Joseph, which hurt her pride, 2) her fear of her husband, and 3) her desire/love for Joseph by saying to her husband: "...What is the penalty for him who desired to dishonor your wife, except imprisonment or a painful punishment?" (12:25); this shows that she loved Joseph very much, as she asked for his being imprisoned or punished, not put to death. Of course, she wanted to take revenge for her being rebuffed and her hurt dignity, femininity, and pride, and she said to the affluent women she had invited in her palace: "... Here he is, the one you blamed me for. I did try to seduce him, but he resisted. But if he does not do what I tell him to do, he will be imprisoned, and will be one of the despised." (12:32). Eventually, she repented in the best possible manner by declaring the truth before the gathering of the affluent ones and the retinue members inside the palace court of the Hyksos king who investigated the matter to know about Joseph and verify the truth about his being innocent: "...The Potiphar's wife then said, "Now the truth is out. It was I who tried to seduce him, and he is telling the truth." "This is that he may know that I did not betray him in secret, and that God does not guide the scheming of the betrayers." "Yet I do not claim to be innocent. The soul commands evil, except those on whom my Lord has mercy. Truly my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."" (12:51-53).      

(4) The Quranic stories have another unparalleled quality: that of the meticulous choice of words or diction. For instance, when Joseph as the governor of Egypt made a play to accuse his younger brother of stealing to make him remain with him, the elder brothers commented on that accusation by saying: "...If he has stolen, a brother of his has stolen before..." (12:77); this statement of theirs refer to Joseph, of course, and it shows (by the choice of words) that they felt deep-seated hatred toward Joseph even after many years of forcing him to get out of their sight; they even liked very much to speak ill of him to tarnish his memory. Another example from the same Quranic Chapter is when the brothers in the same situation told Joseph –  without knowing his real identity yet – the following: "...he has a father, a very old man, so take one of us in his place. We see that you are a good person. He said, "God forbid that we should arrest anyone except him in whose possession we found our property; for then we would be unjust."" (12:78-79), we see the choice of diction in words of Joseph when he asserted his intention not to arrest except the one in whose possession he found the lost item; he did NOT say to arrest ''the thief'' or ''the one who stole'', because actually his brother did not steal anything, of course. The deep-seated hatred and envy of the other brothers toward Joseph went on until shortly before the end of the story when reconciliation occurs, as they rebuked their father, Jacob, who remembered his long-lost son Joseph in 12:95 as follows: "...their father said, "I sense the presence of Joseph, though you may think I am senile." They said, "By God, you are still in your old errant ways."" (12:94-95). Hence, they uttered such harsh rebuke addressed to their blind, grieved father. This means that whenever Jacob expressed love to the long-lost son, Joseph, their hatred and envy toward Joseph increased. Even when they conspired secretly to get rid of Joseph as a boy, they had described their father as being astray in errant ways: "...Joseph and his brother are dearer to our father than we are, although we are a whole group. Our father is obviously in the errant ways." (12:8). This means that their negative view of their father persisted until shortly before the reconciliation, which comes in these verses: "Then, when the bearer of good news arrived, he laid it over his face, and he regained his sight. He said, "Did I not say to you that I know from God what you do not know?" They said, "Father, pray for the forgiveness of our sins; we were indeed at fault." He said, "I will ask my Lord to forgive you. He is the Forgiver, the Most Merciful."" (12:96-97). Another wisdom behind the choice of diction is in many cases understood between the lines; we read the following about Joseph feigned accusation of theft leveled at his brother: "So he began with their bags, before his brother's bag. Then he pulled it out of his brother's bag. Thus We devised a plan for Joseph..." (12:76); hence, this devised plan of Joseph seem to be part of the divine intervention in the course of events to make the Israelites come to Egypt, and this plan of joseph included feigning and playing a trick by making his brothers (see 12:70) face an accusation of theft leveled at them, though they did not steal anything.

(5) The choice of diction and Quranic precise, concise style by God emerge in the Quranic stories also when there are stylistically omitted ideas or words that can inferred from the Arabic context of certain verses by certain words found in these verses. To illustrate this point, let us quote the example of this verse: "And when she heard of their gossip, she invited them, and prepared for them a banquet, and she gave each one of them a knife. She said, "Come out before them." And when they saw him, they marveled at him, and cut their hands. They said, "Good God, this is not a human, this must be a generous angel."" (12:31). We read here that the Potiphar's wife surprised the affluent women of her class when she invited them to her palace; this verse depicts concisely this surprise as she made them see Joseph, and the element of surprise is heightened and maintained in this verse by successive scenes that do not mention useless details that can be inferred from the context. We read in 12:31 the she gave each one of them a knife, leaving the readers of the Quran to imagine the scene of a banquet with those affluent women of the Egyptian high class sitting at a large table, chatting, laughing, and eating while unaware of the great surprise waiting for them. The scene that comes next is inside the palace where the Potiphar's wife commands Joseph to move before their sight. The scene that comes next at once is the affluent women marveling at the physical beauty of Joseph, while omitting to mention Joseph walking before them, so as not to lessen the effect of the surprise. The very next scene depicted with words is how the affluent women were amazed by the beauty of Joseph to the extent that the knives, instead of cutting the fruit, cut their soft hands, and the women expressed verbally their feelings by saying that Joseph was like an angel. Hence, details of the scene never mentioned in 12:31 are left to the imagination of the readers. Indeed, there are so many examples of such style in many Quranic verses, and our explaining them would entail a whole book filled with many pages to show the rich style in which the Quran is written and phrased by Almighty God. We urge readers to read the Quran if they please, so that they attain the Mercy of God!

Signature:

Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour

ANNEXES:

N.B.: The following two annexes were not included in the edition of this book, titled "Egypt in the Quran", printed in Cairo, Egypt, by Akhbar Al-Yom Press. As readers have been told in the section titled BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK about the circumstances surrounding the publishing of this book, we did not wish at the time, when we were living in Cairo, to cause trouble to Mr. Al-Disouky who helped us to bring this book to the light, and we felt urged to omit parts of the book that cover controversial issues. Now, after circumstances have changed and we can write freely while in exile, we have rewritten and added the omitted parts in the following two annexes in this online version of the book, published on our website. 

ANNEX I: The Egyptian Sinai in the Quran:

Foreword:

  Sinai is the land where the Sacred Valley of Tuwa (see 20:12) is located, where Moses heard the voice of the Lord God in Mount Al-Tur (i.e., the one called ''Mount Sinai'' in the Bible's Old Testament, in the Book of Exodus). There are many Quranic facts about Sinai that have been overlooked by 'Muslims' in general and the Egyptians in particular.

Introduction:

1- The Sinai peninsula is one of the few location on Planet Earth about which the Quran talks that has existed before and after its revelation. It is the Egyptian peninsula that has a special importance to all Egyptians past and present, and it also has a vital importance in God's religion, before the advent of Islam (i.e., the Quran), during the revelation of the Quran, and after its completion, and this importance of Sinai in God's religion (i.e., Islam) will go on until the end of days. 

2- Sinai is located geographically in Asia, whereas the rest of Egypt is located in Africa. Sinai is linked to the history of many prophets from Palestine (or the Levant) to Egypt, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Jacob, who passed into Egypt through Sinai and Moses who went out of Egypt through Sinai to Madian, a region north of Arabia, and then passed through Sinai again to return to Egypt with his wife, where he received the divine revelation and God spoke to him, and Moses passed through Sinai in the exodus, and he died and was buried in it. Joseph was brought into Egypt through Sinai with the caravan men who found him in a well and desired to sell him into slavery. The Quran mentions as well that Joseph went again to Sinai at the eastern borders of Egypt, and he said to his parents and brothers: "..."Enter Egypt, God willing, safe and secure."" (12:99).

3- Very little is mentioned about Sinai in the Bible (in the Old Testament), and despite the importance of these few pieces of information, they are nothing in comparison to the vital important position of Sinai in the Quranic text. This vital importance of Sinai is manifested in the Quranic story of Moses as well as the parallelism of Moses' receiving the Torah tablets in Sinai and Muhammad's receiving the Quranic text wholly inside his heart at Mount Al-Tur, in Sinai, called also as "Al-Aqsa Mosque" and the Sacred Valley of Tuwa in the Quran, as we explain and show below.   

Firstly: a general word on the importance of Sinai in God's religion:

1- We infer the vital importance of Sinai in Islam, that is, in the Quran, from the Quranic Chapter 95, whose all verses are the following: "By the fig and the olive. And by Mount Al-Tur of Sinai. And by this safe city. We created man in the best design. Then reduced him to the lowest of the low. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds; for them is a reward without end. So why so you still reject the religion? Is God not the Wisest of the wise?" (95:1-8). We read in the Quranic Chapter 95 that God in the first verse swears by the fig and the olive, and both are produced in Sinai as we know, and then He swears by Mount Al-Tur while ascribing it to Sinai itself in the second verse. God swears in the third verse by the safe city, which is Mecca of course. We notice here that Sinai comes here BEFORE the city of Mecca, within a topic that God swears by Mount Al-Tur of Sinai that He created human beings in the best design, but they descend into lower depths, with the exception of those who adhere faithfully to the divine revelation of the Quran, descended down on Mount Al-Tur of Sinai and then in Mecca. Hence, this high status of Sinai in the Quran is focused only on one place: Mount Al-Tur; this is why we read in the Quranic Chapter 95 that Sinai is ascribed to Mount Al-Tur in 95:2, and this is repeated in another verse: "And a tree springing out of Mount Sinai, producing oil..." (23:20). We infer from 95:4 that this vital importance of Sinai is international/worldwide because it is linked to the creation of human beings and how the saved ones among them in the Hereafter are those who follow the divine revelation descended in Sinai: the Torah (or rather the Ten Commandments in the tablets given to Moses) and the Quran. God swears by Mount Al-Tur of Sinai and then Mecca as both locations received the divine revelation of the Quran: at one time wholly in the heart of Muhammad, when he made the Night Journey to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai (see 17:1), and it was revealed intermittently in Mecca for years.

2- The word ''Al-Tur'' is mentioned in the Quran ten times, and it is never mentioned except to refer to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai. The term ''Al-Tur'' is mentioned in verses talking about 1) the first time Moses received divine revelation or inspiration by God, Who Himself talked directly to Moses, 2) the covenant with the Israelites and how Al-Tur was raised high above them, 3) the importance of Mount Al-Tur in Sinai and the blessed olive tree in it, and 4) the linking of Mount Al-Tur to Al-Aqsa Mosque, in Sinai, and the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca.  

3- God calls Mount Al-Tur in the Quran by another name: "Tuwa", or the Sacred Valley of Tuwa: "I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (20:12); "Has the story of Moses reached you? When His Lord called out to him in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (79:15-16).

4- It is noteworthy that the word ''mount'' is mentioned in the Arabic Quranic text seven times: 3 times with the indefinite article and 3 times with the definite article. The 3 ones with the definite article refer only to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai, as understood from the context without mentioning its name. The ones with the indefinite article refer to any mountains elsewhere without naming them. The three verses that contain the word ''mount'' with indefinite article that refer to any mountains are as follows: 1) when Abraham asked God to show him how the dead are resurrected: "And when Abraham said, "My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead." He said, "Have you not believed?" He said, "Yes, but to put my heart at ease." He said, "Take four birds, and incline them to yourself, then place a part on each on top of a mount, then call to them; and they will come rushing to you. And know that God is Powerful and Wise."" (2:260), 2) when Noah in the ship, during the deluge/flood, tried to make his son join them, but the disbelieving son adamantly refused to join his father and arrogantly said to him: "...I will take refuge on a mount that will protect me from the water..." (11:43), and 3) within a verse talking about the Quran itself: "Had We sent this Quran down on a mount, you would have seen it trembling, crumbling in awe of God. These parables We cite for the people, so that they may reflect." (59:21). As for the Quranic term ''the Mount'', with the definite article, it refers three times to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai without mentioning its name, as it is a very well-known Mount in a location known to most people. Those three times are located in the two verses in the Quranic Chapter Seven as follows: "And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, allow me to look and see You." He said, "You will not see Me, but look at the mount; if it stays in its place, you will see Me." But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mount, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, "Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers."" (7:143); "And when We suspended the mount over them, as if it was an umbrella, and they thought it would fall on them: "Hold fast to what We have given you, and remember what it contains, so that you may be saved."" (7:171). Thus, among all mountains on the surface of the earth, it is just one Mount that is blessed and sacred and known to all people, and it witnessed the divine revelation and inspiration to Moses as well as the revelation of the Quran, the last divine celestial message before the end of the world, into the heart of Muhammad. We must take pride in the fact that this Mount is in Egypt.     

5- The Quran specifies a certain side of the Mount Al-Tur, the right side, as the one that witnessed many events like the covenant with the Israelites and God's dialogue with Moses, and we are to remember always that this blessed place is an Egyptian land: "O Israelites! We have delivered you from your enemy, and promised you by the right side of Al-Tur..." (20:80); "When Moses had completed the term, and departed with his family, he noticed a fire by the side of Al-Tur. He said to his family, "Stay here, I have glimpsed a fire. Perhaps I can bring you some information from there, or an ember from the fire, that you may warm yourselves." When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree: "O Moses, it is I, God, the Lord of the Worlds." (28:29-30). We are also to bear in mind how Al-Tur is the name of the Quranic Chapter 52 and how Mount Al-Tur is referred to as "the Mount" three times in the Quran as we have mentioned above and how the right side is called the Sacred Valley of Tuwa, and that blessed spot is within an Egyptian land: "Has the story of Moses reached you? When he saw a fire, he said to his family, "Stay; I have noticed a fire; Perhaps I can bring you a torch therefrom, or find some guidance by the fire." Then, when he reached it, he was called, "O Moses. I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (20:9-12). Hence, we notice how Mount Al-Tur has a special status in God's religion, as we read in the Quran.  

6- Furthermore, in the Quranic Chapter 52, titled Al-Tur, God swears again with this blessed mount in Sinai: "We swear by Al-Tur. And a Book inscribed. In a scroll spread open. And the frequented House." (52:1:4); "The punishment of your Lord is coming." (52:7); "Woe on that Day to the deniers." (52:11). We notice here that God swears by many things to assert the Day of Resurrection that will come with punishment or disbelievers who deny the divine revelation descended on earth (i.e., Torah on Moses and the Quran on Muhammad). Muhammad saw arch-angel Gabriel at Al-Tur in the Night-Journey in Ramadan in the Night of the Decree (see 71:1), as per our explanation in detail in our book titled: "The Night-Journey Is the Same Night of Decree in Ramadan". We notice in the verses quoted from the Quranic Chapter 52 that swearing by Al-Tur precedes that by the Kaaba (i.e., referred to as the frequented House), and this parallels the fact that Al-Tur is mentioned before Mecca again in the Quranic Chapter 95 that we have quoted above; see 95:1-3. This order of making Al-Tur precedes Mecca is not haphazard or random; it refers to the fact that Al-Tur witnessed the revelation of the Torah to Moses first and then the Quran to Muhammad, and the Quranic verses were recited by Muhammad, intermittently as per events, to people in Mecca. This shows again that Mount Al-Tur has a special status in Islam, God's religion. 

Secondly: Sinai and the divine revelation given to Moses:

1- Of course, Sinai was the big scene or theater within the Quranic story of Moses, in which it played a major role; Moses crossed Sinai when he fled Egypt to avoid the Pharaonic authorities and he settled in Madian for a while, and then, he crossed Sinai again on his way back with his wife. Later on, after events in Egypt and the drowning of Pharaoh and his retinue members and troops in the Red Sea, Moses lived the rest of his life in Sinai, with the Israelites who wandered for 40 years in the deserts, and he died and was buried in Sinai as well, in an unknown location within the peninsula, and he never made it to the Levant with the rest of the Israelites after 40 years of wandering.   

2- Moses had a unique feature in his life as a prophet; God held a dialogue directly with him in Sinai, by the right side of Al-Tur: "...And God spoke to Moses directly" (4:164). We are to remember always that this direct speech with Moses occurred only within Egyptian land, within the first time in Al-Tur on his return to Egypt, then within the divine inspiration inside the Pharaonic capital and the palace of Pharaoh, and then after the exodus again in Sinai and when Moses received tablets of the Torah also by Al-Tur, making the covenant with God within the presence of 70 Israelite men on behalf of the rest to seek repentance after they worshipped a golden calf, and when Al-Tur was made to suspend high above them to make them fear God in piety. Thus, for instance, God talked directly to Moses in Egypt by telling him to make secret houses of worship for the persecuted Israelites, with the glad tidings of their salvation: "And We inspired Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt, and make your homes places of worship, and perform the prayer, and give good news to the believers."" (10:87).

3- As far as the Quranic stories of prophets are concerned, Moses is the first prophet to receive divine inspiration and revelation from God Himself without the usual mediator, arch-angel Gabriel. Moses heard the voice of the Lord for the first time by the right side of Mount Al-Tur, on his way back to Egypt with his wife: "When Moses had completed the term, and departed with his family, he noticed a fire by the side of Al-Tur. He said to his family, "Stay here, I have glimpsed a fire. Perhaps I can bring you some information from there, or an ember from the fire, that you may warm yourselves." When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree: "O Moses, it is I, God, the Lord of the Worlds." (28:29-30). And then, the speech of the Lord with Moses went on: "Throw down your staff." And when he saw it wiggling, as if it were possessed, he turned his back to flee, and did not look back. "O Moses, come forward, and do not fear, you are perfectly safe. Put your hand inside your pocket, and it will come out white, without blemish. And press your arm to your side, against fear. These are two proofs from your Lord, to Pharaoh and his dignitaries. They are truly sinful people."" (28:31-32). Moses spoke to the Lord as well: "He said, "My Lord, I have killed one of them, and I fear they will kill me. And my brother Aaron, he is more eloquent than me, so send him with me, to help me, and to confirm my words, for I fear they will reject me."" (28:33-34), and God said to him: "He said, "We will strengthen your arm with your brother, and We will give you authority, so they will not touch you. By virtue of Our signs, you and those who follow you will be the triumphant."" (28:35). Hence, we see here a dialogue between the Creator of the universe and one of His creatures, Moses, and not a monologue of divine inspiration to a prophet who did not talk to God. Let us remember that this dialogue occurred in Egypt, in Sinai. The special status of Tuwa/Al-Tur is reflected in the special stature and prominence of Moses among all God's prophets, as we infer from these verses: "And mention in the Book Moses. He was dedicated. He was a messenger and a prophet. And We called him from the right side of Al-Tur, and brought him near in communion. And We granted him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron, a prophet." (19:51-53). We discern here how God loved Moses and made him the only person to whom He talked directly and how the Almighty cared for him and made his brother a prophet to help Moses.   

4- We know of course that Moses received the tablets of the Ten Commandments, or the Torah, by Mount Al-Tur, as God made Moses wait there alone for 40 days and nights to prepare spiritually for the great event of receiving God's Word, as we know from the details mentions in the Quran; see 7:142-147.

5- Mount Al-Tur witnessed another event in which Moses received divine inspiration as God talked to him directly the same way as before: when he returned to Al-Tur with 70 men of the Israelites so that the covenant is made with them. When Moses descended from Al-Tur to go back to the Israelites carrying the tablets of the Torah, or the Ten Commandments, he found out that they had worshipped a stature of a calf made of gold, as they imitated the Pharaonic god named Apis (the bull-god), as they were influenced by the ways of the Egyptians, and Moses was so furious that he threw the tablets that were smashed as a result, and he was about to vent his anger on Aaron, who was deputized to take care of the Israelites during his absence at Al-Tur: "And when Moses returned to his people, angry and disappointed, he said, "What an awful thing you did in my absence. Did you forsake the commandments of your Lord so hastily?" And he threw down the tablets; and he took hold of his brother's head, dragging him towards himself. He said, "Son of my mother, the people have overpowered me, and were about to kill me; so do not allow the enemies to gloat over me, and do not count me among the unjust people."" (7:150). "When the anger abated in Moses, he took up the tablets. In their transcript is guidance and mercy for those in awe of their Lord." (7:154). To express their repentance, Moses chose 70 men who went with him to Mount Al-Tur to witness the covenant with God, and Al-Tur trembled in their presence as God wanted to warn them against incurring His wrath again: "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When the tremor shook them, he said, "My Lord, had You willed, You could have destroyed them before, and me too. Will you destroy us for what the fools among us have done? This is but Your test-with it You misguide whomever You will, and guide whomever You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are the Best of Forgivers."" (7:155).      

6- Thus, Mount Al-Tur witnessed the covenant with the Israelites and how God made them tremble with fear as Al-Tur was made to suspend above their heads as if it would fall on their heads, and God commanded them to adhere to the Scripture of the Torah for their own salvation in the Hereafter: "And when We suspended the mountain over them, as if it was an umbrella, and they thought it would fall on them: "Hold fast to what We have given you, and remember what it contains, so that you may be saved."" (7:171).

Thirdly: the divine revelation between Al-Aqsa Mosque in Mount Al-Tur in Sinai and the Sacred Kaaba Mosque in Mecca:

  Al-Aqsa Mosque is the name given to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai in the Quran, in 17:1, in relation to Muhammad's Night-Journey to this spot, Tuwa, to receive the Quran wholly inside his heart via Gabriel the arch-angel, in the same spot where Moses received the Torah tablets containing the Ten Commandments. One of the reason why such facts were ignored by Arabs after the death of Muhammad is a political conspiracy plotted by the Umayyad caliph Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik, who built a very grand mosque in Jerusalem, a city never mentioned in the Quran at all, while naming it Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., literally, the farthest mosque) and claimed to everyone in the Umayyad Empire that this mosque is Al-Aqsa Mosque mentioned in the Quran! this caliph made such claims for political reasons as his rivals/opponents who coveted the caliphate throne centered in Yathreb (where polytheistic Arabs performed pilgrimage to a mausoleum ascribed to Prophet Muhammad as his tomb/grave, considering Yathreb a holy city and political capital of pre-Umayyad caliphs) and he desired to make a 'holier' location (replacing Yathreb whose name had changed and it came to be known as 'Al-Medina' [literally: 'The City'] ) near his capital Damascus to make people perform pilgrimage to it, resulting in making the Umayyad dynasty more powerful in terms of linking them to something spiritual or religious, and this caliph claimed that Muhammad had performed the miraculous Night-Journey to Jerusalem, which was not true. We are to remember that based on the Quranic verses, we deduce that the real location of the Night-Journey was Mount Al-Tur, as Muhammad was transferred miraculously from Mecca to Al-Tur to receive the whole of the Quranic text inside his heart in the Night of Decree. We are to remember that after the covenant between God and the 70 Israelite men with Moses at Al-Tur, Moses was told by God about the coming of Prophet Muhammad, within the context of Moses asking God to pardon the Israelites and to accept their repentance from their sin of worshipping a golden statue of a calf: "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When the tremor shook them, he said, "My Lord, had You willed, You could have destroyed them before, and me too. Will you destroy us for what the fools among us have done? This is but Your test-with it You misguide whomever You will, and guide whomever You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are the Best of Forgivers." "And inscribe for us goodness in this world, and in the Hereafter. We have turned to You." He said, "My punishment-I inflict it upon whomever I will, but My mercy encompasses all things. I will specify it for those who act righteously and practice regular charity, and those who believe in Our Verses." Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet of the Nations, whom they find mentioned in the Torah and in the Gospel in their possession. He directs them to righteousness, and deters them from evil, and allows for them all good things, and prohibits for them wickedness, and unloads the burdens and the shackles that are upon them. Those who believe in him, and respect him, and support him, and follow the light that came down with him-these are the successful." (7:155-157). This means that Moses was commanded to tell the Israelites about the glad tidings of the coming of Muhammad so that their progeny would believe in his message coming from God when it is revealed one day. Hence, Muhammad was sent as a mercy to the humankind: "We did not send you except as mercy to humankind." (21:107); as this forgiveness and mercy are not granted except to those who believed in God and His Scripture and performed good deeds and acts of righteousness and followed the Light of the Quran. Hence, this promise and prophecy about Muhammad told by God to Moses was fulfilled centuries later, as Muhammad was transferred miraculously from Mecca to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai within the Night-Journey (see 17:1) in the Night of Decree (see the Quranic Chapter 97), and Muhammad was made to receive the Quranic text wholly inside his heart, in the same spot where Moses received the tablets of the Torah. Let us contemplate these facts as we read these verses: "Glory to Him who journeyed His servant by night, from the Sacred Mosque, to Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose surrounding areas We have blessed, in order to show him of Our Signs. He is the Listener, the Beholder. And We gave Moses the Scripture..." (17:1-2). We see here how the Quran links the Night-Journey of Muhammad to Moses who received the Scripture/Torah. Hence, the location of Mount AL-Tur in Sinai is the link between both events. Hence, Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the names given to Mount Al-Tur in Sinai, just like the other appellation: the Sacred Valley of Tuwa. This is the most purified, blessed, and sacred spot on earth that witnessed God's direct speech to Moses as well. The link between the Quran descended wholly inside the heart of Muhammad in Sinai and the story of Moses in Sinai is further established in the Quran in the Quranic Chapter 27: "You are receiving the Quran from an All-Wise, All-Knowing. When Moses said to his family, "I have glimpsed a fire. I will bring you some news from it; or bring you a firebrand, that you may warm yourselves." Then, when he reached it, he was called: "Blessed is He who is within the fire, and those who are around it, and glorified be God, Lord of the Worlds." (27:6-8). Hence, the same blessing/benediction of the location/spot in 27:8 parallel the one in 17:1. This means that Al-Aqsa Mosque is another name indicating Mount Al-Tur in Sinai. In 17:1, Muhammad saw miraculous signs of the Lord as he saw how he was transported in no time from Mecca to Al-Tur and he saw arch-angel Gabriel (as we infer also from 53:5-18 about Gabriel meeting Muhammad for the first time) who conveyed the Quran to his heart, and the Quran is the Supreme Sign and Miracle of the Lord;, whereas Moses saw in the same spot other miraculous signs like the tree on fire by never consumed, God talking to him directly without mediators, and other miracles/signs given to him to show to Pharaoh later on in his palace court: "Throw down your staff." But when he saw it quivering, as though it were a demon, he turned around not looking back..." (27:10); "Put your hand inside your pocket, and it will come out white, without blemish..." (27:12).               

Fourthly: Sinai the less-known blessed land of purification and sacredness:

1- God describes in the Quran Mount Al-Tur many times, as the site or divine revelation, as a blessed spot, as it is made pure by witnessing the sacred speech of God to Moses, and this sacredness of the place is shown as God ordered Moses to take off his shoes: " When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree..." (28:30); "Has the story of Moses reached you? When he saw a fire, he said to his family, "Stay; I have noticed a fire; Perhaps I can bring you a torch therefrom, or find some guidance by the fire." Then, when he reached it, he was called, "O Moses. I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa." (20:9-12). In the same blessed site of Mount Al-Tur, Moses stayed for 40 nights and days to prepare his soul to receive the tablets of the Torah; see details in 7:142-147. During that event, in the dialogue between Moses and God, an unparalleled occurrence in that Egyptian soil, the blessed Mount Al-Tur, occurred for the very first and last time: God manifested Himself to the Mount Al-Tur, as we know from the following verse "And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, allow me to look and see You." He said, "You will not see Me, but look at the Mount; if it stays in its place, you will see Me." But when his Lord manifested Himself to the Mount, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, "Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers."" (7:143). We, as Egyptians, must take pride in the fact that God never manifested Himself anywhere on earth (or indeed anywhere in the universe) except in Egypt and never talked directly to any prophet except Moses only in Egypt. Arabian historians of Muhammad's lifetime have ignored such events and never mentioned them at all because they never heeded or reflected upon the Quran at all, and they kept busy with falsehoods of Hebrew narratives and the mosque built by caliph Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik, allegedly replacing the ruins of the so-called temple of Solomon, while fabricating stories about Jerusalem (a city never mentioned in the Quran), and their fabricated narratives ridiculed the Night-Journey and added a mythical story of Muhammad ascending to Heavens while riding a talking mule! Such distracting tales and falsehoods diverted people and never allowed them a chance to ponder and reflect on the Quranic text deeply. The Quranic facts about Egypt mentioned in this book of ours "Egypt in the Quran" and its annexes are divine, celestial facts from our Lord in which every Egyptian must take pride.          

2- We notice how the Quran reminds the Israelites of the 7^th century several times of special situations of their ancestors in Sinai: how they broke the covenant with God and how in their hearts they worshipped gold/money represented by the golden calf statue: "And recall when We received a pledge from you, and raised Al-Tur above you: "Take what We have given you earnestly, and remember what is in it, that you may attain righteousness."" (2:63); "And We made a covenant with you, and raised Al-Tur above you: "Take what We have given you firmly, and listen." They said, "We hear and disobey." And their hearts became filled with the love of the calf because of their disbelief. Say, "Wretched is what your faith commands you to do, if you are believers."" (2:93). Hence, the Israelites forgot all about Mount Al-Tur and events occurring near it to their ancestors, while focusing only on the alleged temple of Solomon (if it indeed existed) that represented power, authority, and wealth. Sadly, as the Israelites forgot about Mount Al-Tur/Tuwa/Aqsa Mosque, Sinai, the Burning Tree, etc. the same occurred to the Muhammadans who forgot all about such great events in Sinai and focused instead on Jerusalem and its assumed Umayyad-built mosque made to be 'holy' by narratives and falsehoods (about Muhammad ascending to Heavens from Jerusalem from a mosque in it) authored, fabricated, and concocted by impious authors/scribes.       

Fifthly: the blessed olive tree in Mount Al-Tur in Sinai:

1- This site is made blessed and sacred by god, as we know from the Quran, and God specifies the spot of the blessed tree: "When he reached it, he was called from the right side of the Valley, at the Blessed Spot, from the tree, "O Moses, it is I, God, the Lord of the Worlds." (28:30). We discern from the Quranic Chapter 95 that this tree was an olive tree that God swears by it in the Quran: "By the fig and the olive. And by Al-Tur of Sinai." (95:1-2). We deduce that God made the olive trees blessed with its financial and health benefits for human beings; this is affirmed in these verses that link God's creations on earth to the olive tree and its oil in Sinai, near Mount Al-Tur: "And We sent down water from the sky in proper quantity, and settled it in the ground, and We are Able to take it away. With it We produce for you gardens of palms and vines, yielding abundant fruit for you to eat. And a tree springing out of Mount Al-Tur of Sinai, producing oil, and seasoning for those who eat." (23:17-20). This equates the olive tree with other previously mentioned bounties that God created for human beings, and this bounty called olive tree is originally coming from Mount Al-Tur in Sinai. We notice that the present continuous tense is used in 23:20, and this indicates the economic and health benefits of olive trees in Sinai, as Sinai contains the most important site among blessed spots on earth: Mount Al-Tur that witnessed great events such as God talking to Moses, manifesting Himself on earth, and the descent of Torah and the Quran. Hence, olive trees of Sinai with its fruit and oil is very beneficial to all human beings and will continue to be so. We should ponder deeply on the Quranic fact that Mount Al-Tur turned into dust when God manifested Himself to it and that it was made to suspend over the Israelites in their presence near in in Sinai, to make them fear the might of the Lord, but it still stand until now and will remain the same until the end of day; this is another miracle in itself.   

2- It is also noteworthy that oil of the olive tree of Sinai, in the location of Mount Al-Tur, is mentioned in the verse about the parable about the divine light of guidance given to the humankind: "God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The allegory of His light is that of a pillar on which is a lamp. The lamp is within a glass. The glass is like a brilliant planet, fueled by a blessed tree, an olive tree, neither eastern nor western. Its oil would almost illuminate, even if no fire has touched it. Light upon Light. God guides to His light whomever He wills. God thus cites the parables for the people. God is cognizant of everything." (24:35). Hence, we read here the link between the unseen, figurative light of guidance and the seen light derived from olive oil. We feel here that God shows to us, Egyptians, that the olive oil from the olive trees of Sinai should be scientifically studied to see how it may be used as a source of energy: this may be another cosmic verse of a miracle that will be shown in the future, showing the unique sacredness of Sinai, its olive trees, and its Mount Al-Tur.   

ANNEX II: Quranic stories and archeological discoveries:

1- The Quranic stories are thematically divided into two types: one type mentioned in the Old Testament in the Bible, with so many differences in the methodology of narration and in many details (as we have mentioned before in many of our articles), and the second type is the stories mentioned in the Quran and never mentioned at all in the Old Testament, like Arabian prophets Saleh, Hud, and Shueib and their tribes/peoples Thamood, Aad, and Madian, respectively. Those lost tribes were destroyed by God, and their ruins are still there in Arabia and bear witness to the authenticity of God's narratives / discourse about them in the Quran; Arabs used to see these ruins in their trade caravans routes, and God has commanded them to draw lessons from such tribes. The Quran commands all believers in general to roam the earth and draw lessons from monuments and relics left by ancient people, and this implies the order to excavate and dig for such ruins and relics to take heed. This is in contrast to the backward Salafist/Wahabi ideas about hating, destroying, and disowning monuments and ancient works of art (e.g., ancient statues, paintings, murals, etc.) as if they were Satan's impure fashioning that must be discarded. We assert here that the Quranic command to roam the earth includes certainly to discover, dig, explore, and excavate. In our modern times, scientific advances made such discoveries, explorations, digging and excavations easier than before; why scientists would not use high-tech tools and equipment to survey Arabian deserts to get to know more about tribes/peoples mentioned in the Quran as destroyed by God: Aad, Thamood, and Madian. If it had not been for the Quran, no one would knew about such tribes; the Quran tells us that the peoples of Aad and Thamood used to live luxuriously and their civilizations flourished, and amidst Arabian deserts, they had verdant, lush gardens with water wells, palaces, factories, and high buildings, all of which buried under desert sands now. Satellites and remote sensors can be used to discover them. Indeed, if oil-rich Arabs in Gulf monarchies would finance such discoveries and excavations, thrilling results will be found when scientists look for remnants of locations of Madian, Thamood, and Aad peoples.              

2- Of course, there is a huge gap between Quranic stories and those of the Old Testament, and a larger gap between Biblical and Quranic stories on the one hand and the discoveries of digging and excavations on the other hand. Those who like to cast doubts on the Quranic stories would pose questions like the following ones: are there any archeological evidence that prove Moses/Joseph was in Egypt? Why there are no signs of their being in Egypt as far as Egyptology and archeological digging are concerned? Hence, the major problem now is that archeological excavations and diggings in Egypt suffer three main features of failure: 1) randomness, 2) forgery, and 3) destruction.     

2/1: Randomness: those who like to cast doubts on Quranic stories base their undermining of them on the fact that until now, there are no tangible relics found by archaeological diggings and excavations to prove the existence of Moses and Joseph at one time in Egypt. Excavations in Egypt are being done at random; they are not done methodologically in an organized manner as per the Egyptian historical stages/phases in their chronological order with their details; besides, little efforts are being made to spot forgeries and to recognize true details of real authentic relics related to any stage/phase of the Egyptian long history that stretches for seven millennia. If organized excavations would be done all over Egyptian soils, leaving no areas without diggings, signs of the Moses and Joseph eras may be found. Sadly, excavations are being undertaken randomly and individually, without being based on true research, and some who assume them are imposters who aim to cause sabotage, especially those who hide their findings to smuggle relics abroad to sell such priceless pieces in return for huge fortunes (indeed, some adventurers are thieves who know potential buyers, or ''collectionneurs", who are willing to pay a king's ransom in return for authentic pieces of the Pharaonic Era), and history provides us with many painful stories of some Egyptians, Arabs, and non-Arabs who specialized in hunting Pharaonic treasures to steal and sell elsewhere, without the lax Egyptian authorities at the time knowing anything at all about such thefts. When men of the European renaissance sent expeditions to explore geography and history of the region that came to be known later on as the Middle East, they focused on excavating Egypt and the Levant within areas mentioned in the Bible, and all adventurers, archeologists, and scientists would always feel amazed at the richness of Egyptian monuments, ruins, and relics, and they often found gold in Pharaonic mummies they excavated. Hence, later on, some European thieves and gangs specialized in stealing relics, statues, coins, amulets, and mummies and all gold pieces and other remains and remnants of Pharaonic treasures and tombs, to sell them to amateurs, imposters, and adventurers who collect such pieces in the West. At the Ottoman times, smuggling was not deemed as a crime, especially that the Ottomans never cared for history and archeology (despite the existence of countless monuments) at all, or indeed for any sciences at all, as they cared to spread ignorance, obscurantism, backwardness, and tyranny, whereas Europe at the time began its scientific advances and discoveries. Apart from explorations and excavations based on the religious interest in the Bible, the European greed for riches and wealth as well as secular interest in history, archeology, and arts led many Europeans to feel passionate about the Pharaonic civilization, and Egyptology and Egyptomania spread all over Europe, especially France. Information, data, and maps accumulated about Egypt and its ancient civilization, and technologies, excavation tools, and scientific advancement increased and got more sophisticated, and hence, the passion with Egyptology increased the more. Yet, thieves of relics and rare pieces never stopped smuggling and selling them within worldwide until now. Sadly, some Egyptian traitors in the higher governmental posts and ministries help those thieves and betray Egypt and the Egyptians in return for money; as if stealing public money is not enough to fill their bottomless pockets and to satisfy their ever-increasing greed. Another element of randomness is that some excavations discover findings by mere chance or luck, not based on prior thorough studies. Many diggings sadly end in failure and disappointment after spending lots of money to seek fame and glory.                           

2/2: Forgery: throughout the Egyptian history that lasted for seven millennia until now, most of the Egyptian and non-Egyptian rulers of all phases, dynasties, and stages were tyrants who had this bad habit of seeing themselves as the best rulers in comparison to their predecessors; even some Pharaonic rulers used to remove names of their predecessors from monuments, temples, pyramids, reliefs, murals, etc. and to put their own names instead, to prove their ownership to certain glory. This is outright forgery of history, a crime done thousands of years ago before common era. Some other monuments of historical values had been sabotaged on purpose; many blocs of tens of small pyramids (that  are vanished now, but were erected throughout Egypt in ancient times) were taken by some Muhammadan rulers to be used in other buildings such as: the huge spacious Mameluke mosques, the citadel of Saladin, the irrigation megaprojects of Al-Qanatar (an area in the Egyptian Nile Delta) built by Muhammad Ali Pacha. Hence tyranny is linked directly to forgery in monuments and relics of history; each tyrant would forcibly ascribe feats of his predecessors to himself, and this has been a crime of intentional falsification of history, until now. Even in the 20^th century, Abdel-Nasser has removed names of the Muhammad Ali Pacha royal dynasty from many buildings and palaces and so on after the 1952 coup that has turned Egypt into a republic. Likewise, Sadat has removed the name of Nasser from the High Dam, Lake Nasser into ''the High Dam Lake'' (but the name was retrieved later by Mubarak), hundreds of schools that were named after him (and named now after Sadat and his wife). Later on, Mubarak gave his name to many schools and other projects done by him or by his two predecessors.          

2/3: Destruction: most excavations are undertaken in desert areas inside Egypt, whereas it is more logical to dig under the locations within the two banks of the River Nile, where one will certainly discover so many findings; sadly, this is rendered impossible because of the densely populated cities and villages along the Nile Valley, and one cannot possibly move whole cities elsewhere, with all modern buildings and residents. For instance, between two East Delta cities in Egypt that have retained their Pharaonic names, Bilbeis and Faqoos, there was a city located that had been the most famous one during the Pharaonic Era as the center of the worship of the cat-goddess Bastet or Baset, which was revered by the Ancient Egyptians, but this ancient city was transformed gradually into ruins covered with thick layers of dust, except for some ruins of the temple of the goddess Baset. The modern city built over the ancient one is now named Zagazig, the capital of Al-Sharqiyah Governorate, as the government built this city as a center to gather peasants to send them to dig the Suez Canal, in the mid-19^th century. At the time, the ruins were surrounded by swamps and marshes that were filled with a type of small fish, called Zagazig, in the colloquial terms at that time, and the name of that fish gave the modern city its name. The ruins that remained, after destroying most of them to pave the land to build the new city, were called Tal Al-Basta (literally, with distortion, the hill of Baset, the goddess). Those ruins remained deserted for decades, until Sadat, with his Open-Door policy (or infitah, in Arabic, i.e., allowing private investments to flourish), made people stretch their areas of building new houses everywhere over the fertile lands and over ruined, barren areas as well. Tal Al-Basta began to be populated with residents in new houses, while building a wall surrounding the dusty ruins of Tal-Al-Basta, as no one cared about them at the time. This means that the modern city of Zagazig has been built over a large collection of ruins and monuments buried under the soil for tens of centuries. We ourselves lived in Zagazig for a while, until we moved to Cairo to study at Al-Azhar University. Moving to Cairo, we lived in the densely populated low-class Al-Matariyya district since 1974. Nearer to our house was an area called Al-Masalla (literally, the obelisk), and it was named as such because the ruins there had an obelisk in their midst, and that area was situated within the borders of other Cairene districts like Ain Shams and Al-Zaytun. Sadly, we witnessed in the late 1970s how the ruins were demolished and destroyed in order to pave the area to build houses and apartments. No one cared at the time that there were countless relics buried under the sand and dust there, a whole ancient city, we think, that might contain relics that were unnoticed by European treasure-hunters and thieves who spread all over Egypt during the Ottoman Era. What a regrettable negligence indeed! In fact, relics and monuments covered with sand in deserts can be easily excavated, as we see many digging areas in desert areas in Giza, near the Great Pyramid and Saqqara Pyramid, as there are no residential buildings there. The major problem is how to dig under Cairo, Giza, and other small and big cities all over the Nile Valley. Dr. Zahi Hawass, the renowned Egyptian archeologist and Egyptologist, asserts in his books that the district near the Great Pyramid, called Nazlet Al-Simman District, is located above many strata of buried Pharaonic treasure trove of relics and monuments, but sadly, the government cannot possibly force thousands of people living there to re-locate in order to dig the whole district. In fact, many other archeologists and Egyptologists assert that there are strata of relics all over the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta under all agricultural cultivated fields. It is hard and costly to make people desert their areas to start digging and turn whole cities into archeological sites. In 595 A.H., the philosopher and medical doctor Abdul-Latif Al-Baghdadi visited Egypt and had written a book about his journey there, titled "Al-Ifada wa Al-Etibar", and one of the best passages of this book are his description in detail of many Pharaonic monuments, relics, and ruins and how they were being destroyed at the time. It is very strange that such destruction went on until modern times in the 20^th century. This author/traveler mentions in his book that the area around the Giza pyramids had a complete city filled with relics and monuments in the east of the three pyramids, and how this city of ruins were filled with intersecting labyrinths and serpentine passages that even some of them consisted of three layers/levels and one cannot explore all of them in one day. This author asserts further in his book that the three pyramids had deciphered writings on them that would fill at least 10 thousand pages/parchments and he describes the blocs used in the erection of the three pyramids in detail; hem talks a great deal about the Sphinx and how its body was entirely buried under the sand, except for its head. This means that after that era, many thieves searched for treasures and confiscated them, thus showing the rest of the body of the Sphinx because of their diggings there after stealing unknown pieces!  The author writes in 595 A.H. that he witnessed part of such destruction of ruins and relics; as the governor of Egypt at the time, named Al-Aziz Othman the Ayyubid, commanded the defragmentation of a smaller pyramid for eight months, one bloc a day, to build himself a castle and a fortress, and thus, leaving the of the pyramid partially destroyed after getting enough material! In later eras, other historical writings assert that tens of smaller pyramids in Giza, to the south, and to the north till Abou Seir ( a district now in Alexandria) were dismantled to use their blocs and rocks for other castles and citadels and other building projects, as when Qaraqosh, a grand vizier of Saladin, built a huge wall surrounding Cairo and the citadel as well as irrigation project in Giza, while leaving lots of destroyed rocks and blocs aside. Furthermore, Abdul-Latif Al-Baghdadi describes in his book in detail the wondrous relics and monuments in Memphis, and many things that he describes do not exist now! What a shame to have lost such rare pieces forever because of negligence at the time! This author writes pages and pages to express his deep admiration of such rare pieces, metal coins, beautiful murals, grand statues, and wonderful monuments that remained for millennia; he never knew that they will be destroyed within hundreds of years after he left Egypt! He even writes about the sad fact that unknown and unnamed thieves used to steal so many treasures of gold and precious stones, while destroying many mummies in their search for gold amulets and so on. Hence, within such Middle Ages, no one cared about such Pharaonic heritage, and many thought that statues were related to idolatry and paganism and it was OK to destroy them! They forgot that no one at the time worship deities/gods of the ancient forefathers any longer in the abandoned temples, especially after the advent of Christianity in Egypt long before Arabs conquered Egypt. All thieves at the time sought gold, silver, and precious stones. It was strange that religious scholars at the time despised the abandoned temples of paganism in Egypt, with their murals, paintings, statues, etc. that no one revere or worship at them anymore as source of benediction, while they practiced and encouraged deification and sanctification of 'holy' tombs, mausoleums, and male and female 'saints' to gain the supposed benediction and blessings. Apart from the book of Abdul-Latif Al-Baghdadi, no other author at the time cared to write anything scientifically in detail about the monuments and relics that filled Egyptian soil at the time. Even the greatest Egyptian historian at the time, Al-Makrizi, never wrote anything about them except few paragraphs that are indeed like fabricated tales of little value at all; this reflects how many generations never got interested in the naturally open museums all over Egyptian soil at the time that told many stories of the development of human civilization. Indeed, excavations must be done all over Egypt to dig layers filled with ancient secrets and relics; the Pharaonic history and civilization are the oldest and most important ones on the whole planet; there are no history courses or curricula worldwide in any school or university that do not include chapters on Pharaonic civilization. Pharaonic monuments are the main topic of most archeologists worldwide until now; all the world takes great interests in the Pharaonic Era and all its aspects, except for the Egyptians of the 20^th century, who seem to inherit the same indifference typical of the Middle ages generations! It is a sad fact that discovered mummies, relics, and other pieces show how many thieves in the Middle Ages destroyed so many of them in their search for precious tones and items made of gold and silver; this is not to European thieves in the 18^th and 19^th centuries that stole countless relics and rare pieces, statues, etc. Another sabotage to be regretted is when people find Pharaonic writings in many monuments built in the Mameluke, Fatimid, and Ayyubid eras as many rulers used blocs and rocks from Pharaonic ruins too build their madrassas and mosques. Until our modern age, smuggling of rare pieces to be sold for the affluent collectionneurs is part of organized crime worldwide, and we fear that our great-grand-children would one day blame our generation for more negligence in the 20^th century, as we blame Egyptians of the Middle Ages now!                                                              

3- With all destruction, ruin, damage, and smuggling that occurred to Pharaonic monuments, relics, ruins, and remains of antiquity, there are so many gaps in the Pharaonic history and we may never know anything about such missing links, unless the archeological endeavors would spread all over Egyptian soil to dig and discover more and more. Another sad fact is that many intentional distorted, fabricated, and forged narratives and historical accounts exist in hieroglyphics that might mislead readers desiring to know real history of the Pharaonic Era from monuments and relics found by archeological digs and excavations; thus, with random excavations and conflicting narratives and theories, the field of Egyptology remains one of surmise, relative knowledge, and speculation and not a field of ascertained verified facts.    

4- To apply the above on the Quranic stories of Joseph, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron, we are to remember the following points.

4/1: These prophets emerged within eras that were never source of pride to the Pharaohs who ruled Egypt within the eras that followed. Those Pharaohs had probably destroyed any traces of such eras of collapse/degeneration and/or foreign occupation. For instance, Joseph lived in Egypt at the time when the Hyksos occupied Egypt, and the Egyptians during the rule of the Pharaohs who drove out the Hyksos had certainly destroyed all traces related to such foreign occupiers, and these traces included what were linked to the history of Joseph and the Israelites inside Egypt. Another example is within the story of Moses in the Quran; the lifetime of Moses witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian State and the death of Pharaoh and his people by drowning in the Red Sea. Pharaohs in general used NOT to write or record anything about their being defeated by anyone, and it is expected that they had never written anything about the Hebrews and the death of Moses' Pharaoh and his soldiers, family, and retinue members by drowning in the Red Sea and to ignore totally the historical fact, mentioned only in the Quran, that the Israelites at one point controlled and ruled Egypt for a while.       

4/2: The Quran preceded everyone by asserting that God had destroyed completely all edifices, towers, buildings, and monuments erected by Moses' Pharaoh, and this means there are no traces of them at all that could ever be found; the whole world never know anything about Moses' Pharaoh in any other sources with the exception of the Old Testament and the Quran. Lastly, let us ponder deeply upon the following Quranic verses: "So We took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the sea-because they rejected Our signs, and paid no heed to them. And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the land, which We had blessed. Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance. And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:136-137). As always, God says nothing but the Truth.