23. PHARAOH’S FAITH WAS NOT ACCEPTED
At the time when pharaoh was drowning in the river along with his army, he proclaimed faith thrice, but his faith was not accepted and he died in the state of Kufr (unbelief). Therefore, the people who said that he died as a believer are wrong.
At the time of drowning, pharaoh said. I have embraced faith. Second time, he said there is no other god except Allah, in Whom the Bani Israel believe. And third time, he said. I am a Muslim.
It is narrated that by the command of Allah, Sayyiduna Jibra`eel filled the mouth of pharaoh with mud and he could not pronounce the article of faith.
Another parable is also reported: When pharaoh used to claim to be a god whilst sitting on his throne, once Sayyiduna Jibra`eel went to him in the guise of a man to seek verdict about:
- What do you say about such a bondsman who was nourished through the livelihood and blessings of his master, then he became ungrateful to his master and violated his rights by claiming himself to be the master and even claimed to be god?
Pharaoh wrote in reply
- A bondsman who became rebellious to his master showing ingratitude, should be drowned into some river in punishment.
Therefore, at the very instant of his death whilst drowning, Sayyiduna Jibra`eel showed him the same verdict that he had signed. After this, pharaoh died.
Allah has mentioned this event in the glorious Quran and said:
And we transported the descendants of Israel across the sea, consequently Fir’awn (pharaoh) and his army pursued them out of rebellion and injustice; until when the drowning overcame him he said, ‘I believe that there is no true god except the One in Whom the descendants of Israel believe, and I am a Muslim.’ ‘What Now? Whereas, you were disobedient from the start and you were mischievous! This day we shall salvage your body so that you may be a sign for those after you; and indeed people are negligent of our signs.’
Even after the drowning of pharaoh, Bani Israel were still under his influence and were doubting the death of pharaoh. Therefore, Allah brought the corpse of pharaoh to the surface and waves of the river brought it to the bank so that people may believe in his death by looking at his corpse and also take heed from his tragic end. It is famous that it was since then the water stopped accepting corpses and it either makes them float on surface or throws them at the bank.
Moral:
Even though pharaoh proclaimed his faith thrice, but still it was not accepted, so what was the reason behind it? In this context, the commentators of the Holy Quran have described three reasons:
1. Pharaoh proclaimed embracing of faith at the time when the torment from Allah and the agonies of death had caught him and Allah has said:
So their accepting of faith did not benefit them when they saw our punishment.
As pharaoh embraced faith at the time when the torment and agonies of death had been inflicted upon him, Allah did not accept his faith. Moreover, Allah ordered Sayyiduna Jibra`eel to fill the mouth of pharaoh with mud and to ask him why he was embracing faith at that time, since he would reject embracing the true faith before that and kept causing havoc by misguiding the people.
2. The second interpretation is: Along with the oneness of Allah, it is also mandatory to believe in the Prophethood of His Prophet. Pharaoh said he proclaimed belief only in the oneness of Allah and did not proclaimed belief in the Prophethood of Sayyiduna Musa. Therefore, he could not become a believer.
3. Third reason is that pharaoh did not pronounce the article of faith with the intention of embracing the faith, but did so to get saved from drowning. It was his habit to incline towards Allah by supplicating with deep devotion whenever he would get struck by any calamity or torment. But when calamities would get over, he would start proclaiming to be a god again saying
So we learnt that in order to become a true believer, it is not sufficient to just pronounce the words of embracing the true faith when the intention is not to embrace the faith, but just to save life. Therefore, pharaoh’s embracing of faith was not accepted. The correct verdict is that pharaoh died of drowning in the state of Kufr. It is proven from different verses of Holy Quran and Ahadees. That’s why, ‘Allamah Saawi has mentioned in his exegesis that all those who say that pharaoh died in the state of faith, are at wrong.
Source: (QURANIC WONDERS) by ‘ABDUL MUSTAFA A’ZAMI.
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