Page 58 - The Evil Called Mockery

56 THE EVIL CALLED MOCKERY

and clear authority, to Pharaoh and his ruling circle. But
they were a proud and haughty people. (Surat al-
Mu'minun, 45-46)
Pharaoh tried to misguide his people just as he denied the
truth. He impudently made special arrangements to belittle the
Prophet Moses (as) and mock him in front of everybody. But in real-
ity, he was the one who was brought low. One day he brought his
sorcerers to challenge the Prophet Moses (as), supposing they
would be superior and thus demean the prophet. But the outcome
was not what he expected: Allah enabled the Prophet Moses (as) to
defeat their magic and thereby embarrass Pharaoh and his en-
tourage. In the Qur'an Allah describes it in the following words:
He [Moses] said, "You throw [first]." And when they threw,
they cast a spell on the people's eyes and caused them to
feel great fear of them. They produced an extremely power-
ful magic. We revealed to Moses, "Throw down your staff."
And it immediately swallowed up what they had forged.
So the Truth took place and what they did was shown to be
false. (Surat al-A`raf, 116-118)
All of the traps set by Pharaoh failed, and Allah tells us that
what happened to him is an example for everybody to ponder:
We brought the tribe of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh
and his troops pursued them out of tyranny and enmity.
Then, when he was on the point of drowning, he [Pharaoh]
said: "I believe that there is no deity but Him in Whom the
tribe of Israel believes. I am one of the Muslims." "What,
now! When previously you rebelled and were one of the cor-
rupters? Today We will preserve your body so you can be a
sign for people who come after you." (Surah Yunus, 90-92)