فَكَذَّبَ وَعَصىٰ

ثُمَّ أَدبَرَ يَسعىٰ

فَحَشَرَ فَنادىٰ

فَقالَ أَنا رَبُّكُمُ الأَعلىٰ

But he denied, and disobeyed.

Then he turned back, walking swiftly,

and mustered [the people] and proclaimed,

saying: ‘I am your exalted lord!’

EXEGESIS

In verse 22, adbara is from idbār, which means to turn away from something. Yasʿā is from saʿī, which is to strive towards something. Hence, verse 22 tells of how Pharaoh turned away from the divine invitation and became vehemently engaged in opposing Prophet Moses’ (a) prophetic movement.^{‎[1]Mizan‎, 20/188.}

Ḥashara in verse 23 comes from ḥashr, which is to gather while causing upheaval and strain.^{‎[2]Mizan‎, 20/188.} The choice of this word reflects the strain and pressure that Pharaoh imposed on his people in the course of his opposition to Prophet Moses (a).  

EXPOSITION

By claiming to be the exalted lord Pharaoh meant that he was the supreme lord and caretaker of the people, and was superior to all the other heathen gods of his people.^{‎[3]Mizan‎, 20/188.} After all, he also worshipped the heathen gods of his people. This is confirmed by the verse in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf which reports the question of the elite in the society saying: Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land, and to abandon you and your gods? (7:127).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Abū Baṣīr reported from Imam al-Bāqir (a) that he said: ‘The Messenger of God (s) said that Gabriel said: “O Lord, do You leave Pharaoh saying: ‘I am your exalted lord’?” God replied: “It is only those like you, who fear that if they do not retaliate immediately it will be too late, who say this.”’^{‎[4]Tabrisi.J, 5/432.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some exegetes have taken the mustering in verse 23 to refer to the assembling of the magicians or heralds^{‎[5]Safi, 5/281.} to face Prophet Moses (a) (26:53, 20:60).^{‎[6]Zamakhshari, 4/696.} However, there is little evidence that the mustering refers only to the gathering of magicians or heralds as referred to in 26:53 and 20:60.^{‎[7]Mizan‎, 20/188.} To begin with, he also would have had to summon his people to claim divinity before them. More abstractly, the verse could be taken to mean that he rallied all his support or mustered all his might, be it military, economic, political, or other.

Some exegetes have taken Pharaoh’s claim of being his people’s exalted lord as asserting himself to be their supreme ruler and to be above all other persons of authority in his kingdom.^{‎[8]Mizan‎, 20/188.} They support this understanding by referring to the words of Pharaoh as reported by the Quran: O my people! Does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me and these rivers that run at my feet? Do you not perceive? (43:51). However, the apparent meaning of the verses reveals that Pharaoh’s claim of supremacy was higher and was with respect to deification as supported by other verses in the Quran (see 28:38 and 26:29).

[1] Mizan‎, 20/188.
[2] Mizan‎, 20/188.
[3] Mizan‎, 20/188.
[4] Tabrisi.J, 5/432.
[5] Safi, 5/281.
[6] Zamakhshari, 4/696.
[7] Mizan‎, 20/188.
[8] Mizan‎, 20/188.