The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Moses: The Ash`abite Imaginations of The Pharaoh

Sacred Texts Islam Index Previous Next

The Ash`abite Imaginations of The Pharaoh Ash`ab, and he is the one that was famous for his silly imaginations and his bad opinions, and one of his stories as it was mentioned that once he kept some children away from him by lying at them, and he told them there is a wedding some where and they give some money in that wedding for the children, so the children went away from him trying to reach that wedding for the money, so when they went away he followed them hoping that what he did say is true and get something from that money that is distributed in that wedding! When the pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron about their Lord by saying: who is your Lord O Moses? He said: the Lord of the earth and heavens and what is between them, so he thought from Moses' speech that their Lord is found some where in heaven because the Almighty that can be up never comes down, and he made his people think that he is able to fight him and kill him as well and that climbing to the sky is something that he can do, so he issued a command to his minister, Haman, to build for him a tower reaching the sky to see the Lord of Moses, and then mentioned his thought about the lies of Moses. When Haman built the tower and made it so tall so that the pharaoh can reach the Lord of Moses, a wind came and knock it down from its base so it was ruined and the idea of the the pharaoh did fail and he was never guided, then he commanded to make an ark and on all of its corners some tightened pillars, then he (Haman) brought lot of hungry eagles and tightened them by the legs to the pillars and hanged on each pillar some meat, then both of them (the pharaoh and Haman) went into the ark and it went flying high because of the eagles and their hunger and the meat upon the pillars, so they flew with the ark all daytime and the pharaoh were asking Haman from time to time about what was upon them and what was beneath them, until they reached so high and he (the pharaoh) thought that he would be dead, he then commanded to be back to earth so he (Haman) got the meat down for the eagles and they all came down to earth in safe, for a wisdom only God knows.
In the chapter of Al-Qasas: And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I know not that ye have a god other than me, so kindle for me (a fire), O Haman, to bake the mud; and set up for me a lofty tower in order that I may survey the god of Moses; and lo! I deem him of the liars(Al-Qasas:38). Kindling the fire is supposed to make the bricks from the mud to build the tower with after burning it with fire, so that he (the pharaoh) can reach the Lord of Moses and solve the problem with Him by an agreement or by killing each other, and this is only because of his Ash`abite imaginations. In the chapter of Ghâfir: And Pharaoh said: O Haman! Build for me a tower that haply I may reach the roads, The roads of the heavens, and may look upon the god of Moses, though verily I think him a liar. Thus was the evil that he did made fairseeming unto Pharaoh, and he was debarred from the (right) way. The plot of Pharaoh ended but in ruin(Ghâfir:36-37).
So Moses insisted on the pharaoh to believe in God while he was among his own people and this is something that breaks off his picture and get his place among his people down and it opposes the tyranny of the pharaoh, the one who owns the necks and the power over all the land and worshipped by the people, and who can compete with him and he is the one that said "I (Pharaoh) am your Lord the Highest" and "I know not that ye have a god other than me," and for this God did say to his messanger Moses (PUH): Go, both of you, unto Pharaoh. Lo! he hath transgressed (the bounds), And speak unto him a gentle word, that peradventure he may heed or fear(TaHa:43-44). Moses then did not leave any gentle way unless he had used and no door of guidance he did not enter for make the pharaoh happy with his people, but they do not like people that give advices. Some interpreters say that Haman did build the tower for the pharaoh until he reached an end that he could not continue building and then the pharaoh went upon it and directed an arrow to the sky and the arrow came back with some blood so then the pharaoh said: I killed the god of Moses, but this narration is full of doubt and it is but lies, for the pharaoh knows clearly that he is lying about what he claimed to himself and most of his followers did know that but because of his power they could not say it frankly, as it is for all the people in every time and every place, except those that God did make them succeed and happy.

Next: The Pharaoh Wants to Kill Moses and The Believing Man From The Pharaoh Family Defending Him