What Advice Was Given to Pharaoh to Get Rid of His Problem After Losing to Moses? What Is the Guidance in Facing This Affliction?
ما الذي أشار به ملأ فرعون على فرعون ليتخلص من المشكلة التي وقع فيها بعد خسارته للمناظرة والمباراة؟
Allah the Almighty says:
(The chiefs of Pharaoh’s people protested, “Are you going to leave Moses and his people free to spread corruption in the land and abandon you and your gods?” He responded, “We will kill their sons and keep their women. We will completely dominate them.” Moses reassured his people, “Seek Allah’s help and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah ˹alone˺. He grants it to whoever He chooses of His servants. The ultimate outcome belongs ˹only˺ to the righteous.” They complained, “We have always been oppressed, before and after you came to us ˹with the message˺.” He replied, “Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land to see what you will do.”) Al-A’raf 7:127-129
After Moses won the contest and the magicians believed, Moses’ cause became known and six hundred thousand of the Children of Israel followed him (Note: al-Qurtubi mentions this figure only as something “it is said”; it is not established by the Quran or authentic hadith, and the Quran states that at first only a few youths of his people believed in Moses, Yunus 10:83). Pharaoh’s people and followers feared that people would believe in Moses and follow the truth he brought, so they said to Pharaoh, inciting and provoking him to harm Moses and those with him: Will you leave Moses to ruin your kingdom by corrupting your slaves and servants, and by making the people abandon your worship, so that you are neither served nor worshipped? So Pharaoh threatened the people with killing the sons and keeping the women alive, as he had done before.
The guidance in the face of this great trial: the command to seek the help of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and to trust in Him, to be patient with the harm, and to be optimistic that relief and victory are near (seeking Allah’s help and trusting in Him, patience in trial, establishing prayer, optimism that victory is near).
After this severe persecution, Allah inspired His Prophet Moses that they should pray much and that their homes should be the places where they prayed, since they were unable to go to the places of worship to pray there, as Allah the Almighty says:
(But no one believed in Moses except a few youths of his people, while fearing that Pharaoh and their own chiefs might persecute them. And certainly Pharaoh was a tyrant in the land, and he was truly a transgressor. Moses said, “O my people! If you do believe in Allah and submit ˹to His Will˺, then put your trust in Him.” They replied, “In Allah we trust. Our Lord! Do not subject us to the persecution of the oppressive people, and deliver us by Your mercy from the disbelieving people.” We revealed to Moses and his brother, “Appoint houses for your people in Egypt. Turn these houses into places of worship, establish prayer, and give good news to the believers!”) Yunus 10:83-87
When the people persisted in harming Moses, peace be upon him, and his followers, he supplicated against Pharaoh and those with him: (“Our Lord! You have granted Pharaoh and his chiefs luxuries and riches in this worldly life, ˹which they abused˺ to lead people astray from Your Way! Our Lord, destroy their riches and harden their hearts so that they will not believe until they see the painful punishment.”) Yunus 10:88
قال الله تعالى: (وَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ أَتَذَرُ مُوسَىٰ وَقَوْمَهُ لِيُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَيَذَرَكَ وَآلِهَتَكَ قَالَ سَنُقَتِّلُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَنَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّا فَوْقَهُمْ قَاهِرُونَ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّـهِ وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّـهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِن بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ) الأعراف 7: 127-129
بعد انتصار موسى في المباراة وإيمان السحرة ظهر أمر موسى واتبعه ستمائة ألف من بني إسرائيل (ملاحظة: هذا العدد يذكره القرطبي بصيغة “قيل”، ولا يثبت في القرآن ولا في السنة الصحيحة، والقرآن يذكر أنه لم يؤمن لموسى أولا إلا ذرية من قومه، يونس 10:83)، وخاف قوم فرعون وأتباعه من إيمان الناس بموسى، واتباعهم ما جاء به من الحق، فقالوا لفرعون على وجه التحريض والتحريك ليؤذي موسى ومن معه: أتترك موسى ليفسد عليك مملكتك من خلال إفساد العبيد والخدم؟ ومن خلال ترك الناس عبادتك، فلا تُخدم ولا تُعبد؟ فتوعد فرعون القوم بقتل الأبناء وإبقاء النساء، كما كان يفعل سابقًا.
التوجيه أمام هذا البلاء العظيم: الأمر بالاستعانة بالله عز وجل والتوكل عليه، والصبر على الأذى، والتفاؤل بقرب الفرج والانتصار (الاستعانة بالله والتوكل عليه، الصبر على البلاء، إقامة الصلاة، التفاؤل بقرب الانتصار).
وقد أوحى الله إلى نبيه موسى بعد هذا الاضطهاد الشديد أن يكثروا من الصلاة وأن تكون بيوتهم هي الأماكن التي يصلون فيها لعدم قدرتهم على الذهاب إلى دور العبادة لإقامة الصلاة فيها، كما قال تعالى:
(فَمَا آمَنَ لِمُوسَىٰ إِلَّا ذُرِّيَّةٌ مِّن قَوْمِهِ عَلَىٰ خَوْفٍ مِّن فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِمْ أَن يَفْتِنَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ لَعَالٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الْمُسْرِفِينَ وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ يَا قَوْمِ إِن كُنتُمْ آمَنتُم بِاللَّـهِ فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّسْلِمِينَ فَقَالُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةً لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ وَنَجِّنَا بِرَحْمَتِكَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ وَأَخِيهِ أَن تَبَوَّآ لِقَوْمِكُمَا بِمِصْرَ بُيُوتًا وَاجْعَلُوا بُيُوتَكُمْ قِبْلَةً وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ) يونس 10: 83-87
ولما أمعن القوم بإيذاء موسى عليه السلام وأتباعه قام بالدعاء على فرعون ومن معه: (وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ آتَيْتَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَأَهُ زِينَةً وَأَمْوَالًا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا رَبَّنَا لِيُضِلُّوا عَن سَبِيلِكَ رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَىٰ أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّىٰ يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ) يونس 10: 88
1. Renewed Persecution Advised by His Own Chiefs | اضطهادٌ متجدد بمشورة بلاطه
Once the magicians’ conversion made Musa’s call public, Pharaoh’s own advisors pushed him to act, warning that leaving Musa unchecked would mean losing both his subjects and his claimed divinity. His response, reviving the exact same infanticide policy from before Musa’s own birth, shows the persecution had come full circle: the child once targeted for killing was now, as a grown prophet, provoking the identical response against his people.
بعد أن ذاع أمر موسى عقب إيمان السحرة، دفع مستشارو فرعون إياه إلى التحرك، محذرين من أن ترك موسى دون رادع يعني خسارة رعاياه وألوهيته المزعومة معا. وردة فعله، بإحياء سياسة قتل الأطفال نفسها التي سبقت مولد موسى نفسه، تُظهر أن دورة الاضطهاد قد اكتملت: الطفل الذي استُهدف بالقتل يوما ما بات الآن، وهو نبي بالغ، يستفز الرد نفسه ضد قومه.
2. Musa’s Guidance: Seek Allah’s Help and Be Patient | توجيه موسى: الاستعانة بالله والصبر
Facing renewed persecution, Musa does not offer a military or political solution, but a spiritual one: seek Allah’s help, be patient, and remember the earth belongs to Him alone to grant as He chooses, with the outcome ultimately belonging to the righteous. This response reframes present suffering within a much larger picture of who actually controls the land in question.
في مواجهة الاضطهاد المتجدد، لا يقدم موسى حلا عسكريا أو سياسيا، بل حلا روحيا: الاستعانة بالله والصبر، وتذكر أن الأرض لله وحده يورثها من يشاء، وأن العاقبة في النهاية للمتقين. ويعيد هذا الرد صياغة المعاناة الحاضرة ضمن صورة أوسع بكثير لمن يملك السيطرة الفعلية على هذه الأرض.
3. A Weary People and a Conditional Promise | شعبٌ منهك ووعدٌ مشروط
The people’s honest complaint, that they had suffered both before and after Musa’s arrival, is met not with denial but with a real promise: Allah might destroy their enemy and make them successors in the land, “to see what you will do.” That final clause matters: the promise of relief comes bundled with an expectation of how they would then behave, not an unconditional reward.
يُقابَل تذمر القوم الصادق، بأنهم عانوا قبل مجيء موسى وبعده على حد سواء، لا بالإنكار بل بوعد حقيقي: أن يهلك الله عدوهم ويستخلفهم في الأرض “فينظر كيف تعملون”. وهذه الجملة الأخيرة مهمة، فوعد الفرج يأتي مقترنا بتوقع لكيفية تصرفهم بعد ذلك، لا مكافأة غير مشروطة.
4. Only a Few Believed, and Even They Were Afraid | قلة آمنوا وحتى هم كانوا خائفين
Surah Yunus is candid that only a small number of young people among Musa’s own community believed him, and even they did so in fear of persecution from Pharaoh and their own chiefs. This detail shows that those who believed faced a real risk of persecution.
تصارح سورة يونس بأن عددا قليلا فقط من الشباب داخل قوم موسى نفسه آمنوا به، وحتى هؤلاء فعلوا ذلك خوفا من اضطهاد فرعون وملئهم. ويُظهر هذا التفصيل أن من آمنوا واجهوا خطرا حقيقيا من الاضطهاد.
5. Turning Homes Into Places of Worship | تحويل البيوت إلى أماكن للعبادة
When public worship became too dangerous, Allah’s instruction to Musa and Harun (peace be upon them) was practical: establish houses for the people in Egypt and turn those homes into places of prayer. This adaptation shows worship continuing under persecution not by abandoning it, but by relocating it somewhere safer.
حين أصبحت العبادة العلنية بالغة الخطورة، جاء توجيه الله لموسى وهارون عمليا: أن يتخذا لقومهما بيوتا في مصر ويجعلا هذه البيوت أماكن للصلاة. ويُظهر هذا التكيف أن العبادة استمرت تحت الاضطهاد لا بتركها، بل بنقلها إلى مكان أكثر أمانا.
6. A Striking Prayer Against Pharaoh’s Wealth and Hearts | دعاءٌ لافت على أموال فرعون وملئه وقلوبهم
As the persecution intensified, Musa prays specifically that Allah destroy the wealth of Pharaoh and his chiefs and harden their hearts until they see the painful punishment. This unusual dua names the very tool, riches used to lead people astray, that had made Pharaoh’s tyranny possible, asking for it to be stripped away at its source.
مع اشتداد الاضطهاد، يدعو موسى تحديدا بأن يطمس الله على أموال فرعون ويشد على قلوب فرعون وملئه حتى يروا العذاب الأليم. ويسمي هذا الدعاء غير المعتاد الأداة نفسها، الثروة المستخدمة لإضلال الناس، التي جعلت طغيان فرعون ممكنا، طالبا انتزاعها من مصدرها.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What advice did Pharaoh’s chiefs give him after his loss?
To act against Moses and his people, fearing Moses would corrupt the kingdom.
What guidance did Moses give his people facing this renewed persecution?
To seek Allah’s help, be patient, and trust that the earth belongs to Allah alone.
How many of the Israelites actually believed Moses at first?
Only a small number of young people, and even they were afraid of persecution.
What did Allah command Moses and Harun to do about worship?
To establish homes for their people in Egypt and turn those homes into places of prayer.
What did Moses pray against Pharaoh?
That Allah destroy his wealth and harden the hearts of Pharaoh and his chiefs until they saw the painful punishment.