7. Al-A'raaf

In Egypt, the mission of Moses continued for about forty years. This competition with the magicians took place in the last stage of this period. We can imagine from this that the magicians must have been aware of Moses’ message. However, the veil covering their eyes had not fallen away. When they saw Moses’ superiority in the field in which they specialised, then all the veils were torn apart. They could see that this was not a case of magic but of Divine prophethood. They voluntarily and spontaneously prostrated themselves before God. When the sticks and ropes were thrown down by the magicians, they appeared to the people to be moving snakes, due to an optical illusion. But when Moses’ staff turned into a snake and started moving along the ground, the magician’s sticks and ropes turned back into sticks and ropes. The magicians knew the limits of magic. In this event, the magicians realised actually how insignificant were man’s devices, even in their most perfect forms, and how Great and all-Powerful was God. Thereafter, Pharaoh—with all his authority—appeared valueless to them. The same magicians who, before witnessing God’s greatness, were desirous of rewards from Pharaoh, ignored Pharaoh’s threat of the worst punishment as if it were of no account.

In Egypt, the mission of Moses continued for about forty years. This competition with the magicians took place in the last stage of this period. We can imagine from this that the magicians must have been aware of Moses’ message. However, the veil covering their eyes had not fallen away. When they saw Moses’ superiority in the field in which they specialised, then all the veils were torn apart. They could see that this was not a case of magic but of Divine prophethood. They voluntarily and spontaneously prostrated themselves before God. When the sticks and ropes were thrown down by the magicians, they appeared to the people to be moving snakes, due to an optical illusion. But when Moses’ staff turned into a snake and started moving along the ground, the magician’s sticks and ropes turned back into sticks and ropes. The magicians knew the limits of magic. In this event, the magicians realised actually how insignificant were man’s devices, even in their most perfect forms, and how Great and all-Powerful was God. Thereafter, Pharaoh—with all his authority—appeared valueless to them. The same magicians who, before witnessing God’s greatness, were desirous of rewards from Pharaoh, ignored Pharaoh’s threat of the worst punishment as if it were of no account.

To sacrifice one’s life for the sake of Truth amounts to bearing the final testimony to the Truth as the Truth. With the help of God, the magicians were enabled to make this sacrifice. The magicians, by offering themselves for the worst punishment, proved that their faith in Moses was not a matter of excuse or conspiracy, but a genuine acknowledgement of the truth. But, this supreme action of the magicians stung Pharaoh’s pride. Supporting Moses against him amounted to insulting Pharaoh before the whole community. So, Pharaoh was enraged at them. He, therefore, decided to take stern action against the magicians, as any haughty person in a position of power would do. Both the magicians as well as Pharaoh were defeated in the field of arguments. But the magicians, by admitting their defeat, became entitled to God’s eternal rewards, while Pharaoh made it a prestige issue. In order to satisfy his false egotism, he could do little but oppress truth-loving individuals and in the Hereafter be himself consigned to God’s eternal punishment. Pharaoh considered the question of acceptance or non-acceptance of Moses’ call as one involving his ‘permission’, while the magicians treated it as a ‘sign’ (from God). It is always the attitude of a haughty person that his opinion overrides arguments and proofs. Such people never receive inspiration to accept the Truth. At this critical juncture, the strength shown by the magicians was entirely due to God’s help, and the prayer which fell from their lips was entirely inspired. When a subject of God surrenders himself body and soul to God, he becomes so close to Him that he starts receiving special blessings from God. He utters such words as are God-inspired in the full sense. The magicians’ prayer, ‘Our Lord, pour patience upon us, and cause us to die in a state of submission to You,’ meant ‘We have entirely surrendered to You, O God. Now, we have done whatever it is in our power to do, and we leave the rest to You.’ When a subject of God prays like this from the bottom of his heart, certainly God is sufficient for him to solve all his difficulties.

To sacrifice one’s life for the sake of Truth amounts to bearing the final testimony to the Truth as the Truth. With the help of God, the magicians were enabled to make this sacrifice. The magicians, by offering themselves for the worst punishment, proved that their faith in Moses was not a matter of excuse or conspiracy, but a genuine acknowledgement of the truth. But, this supreme action of the magicians stung Pharaoh’s pride. Supporting Moses against him amounted to insulting Pharaoh before the whole community. So, Pharaoh was enraged at them. He, therefore, decided to take stern action against the magicians, as any haughty person in a position of power would do. Both the magicians as well as Pharaoh were defeated in the field of arguments. But the magicians, by admitting their defeat, became entitled to God’s eternal rewards, while Pharaoh made it a prestige issue. In order to satisfy his false egotism, he could do little but oppress truth-loving individuals and in the Hereafter be himself consigned to God’s eternal punishment. Pharaoh considered the question of acceptance or non-acceptance of Moses’ call as one involving his ‘permission’, while the magicians treated it as a ‘sign’ (from God). It is always the attitude of a haughty person that his opinion overrides arguments and proofs. Such people never receive inspiration to accept the Truth. At this critical juncture, the strength shown by the magicians was entirely due to God’s help, and the prayer which fell from their lips was entirely inspired. When a subject of God surrenders himself body and soul to God, he becomes so close to Him that he starts receiving special blessings from God. He utters such words as are God-inspired in the full sense. The magicians’ prayer, ‘Our Lord, pour patience upon us, and cause us to die in a state of submission to You,’ meant ‘We have entirely surrendered to You, O God. Now, we have done whatever it is in our power to do, and we leave the rest to You.’ When a subject of God prays like this from the bottom of his heart, certainly God is sufficient for him to solve all his difficulties.

To sacrifice one’s life for the sake of Truth amounts to bearing the final testimony to the Truth as the Truth. With the help of God, the magicians were enabled to make this sacrifice. The magicians, by offering themselves for the worst punishment, proved that their faith in Moses was not a matter of excuse or conspiracy, but a genuine acknowledgement of the truth. But, this supreme action of the magicians stung Pharaoh’s pride. Supporting Moses against him amounted to insulting Pharaoh before the whole community. So, Pharaoh was enraged at them. He, therefore, decided to take stern action against the magicians, as any haughty person in a position of power would do. Both the magicians as well as Pharaoh were defeated in the field of arguments. But the magicians, by admitting their defeat, became entitled to God’s eternal rewards, while Pharaoh made it a prestige issue. In order to satisfy his false egotism, he could do little but oppress truth-loving individuals and in the Hereafter be himself consigned to God’s eternal punishment. Pharaoh considered the question of acceptance or non-acceptance of Moses’ call as one involving his ‘permission’, while the magicians treated it as a ‘sign’ (from God). It is always the attitude of a haughty person that his opinion overrides arguments and proofs. Such people never receive inspiration to accept the Truth. At this critical juncture, the strength shown by the magicians was entirely due to God’s help, and the prayer which fell from their lips was entirely inspired. When a subject of God surrenders himself body and soul to God, he becomes so close to Him that he starts receiving special blessings from God. He utters such words as are God-inspired in the full sense. The magicians’ prayer, ‘Our Lord, pour patience upon us, and cause us to die in a state of submission to You,’ meant ‘We have entirely surrendered to You, O God. Now, we have done whatever it is in our power to do, and we leave the rest to You.’ When a subject of God prays like this from the bottom of his heart, certainly God is sufficient for him to solve all his difficulties.

To sacrifice one’s life for the sake of Truth amounts to bearing the final testimony to the Truth as the Truth. With the help of God, the magicians were enabled to make this sacrifice. The magicians, by offering themselves for the worst punishment, proved that their faith in Moses was not a matter of excuse or conspiracy, but a genuine acknowledgement of the truth. But, this supreme action of the magicians stung Pharaoh’s pride. Supporting Moses against him amounted to insulting Pharaoh before the whole community. So, Pharaoh was enraged at them. He, therefore, decided to take stern action against the magicians, as any haughty person in a position of power would do. Both the magicians as well as Pharaoh were defeated in the field of arguments. But the magicians, by admitting their defeat, became entitled to God’s eternal rewards, while Pharaoh made it a prestige issue. In order to satisfy his false egotism, he could do little but oppress truth-loving individuals and in the Hereafter be himself consigned to God’s eternal punishment. Pharaoh considered the question of acceptance or non-acceptance of Moses’ call as one involving his ‘permission’, while the magicians treated it as a ‘sign’ (from God). It is always the attitude of a haughty person that his opinion overrides arguments and proofs. Such people never receive inspiration to accept the Truth. At this critical juncture, the strength shown by the magicians was entirely due to God’s help, and the prayer which fell from their lips was entirely inspired. When a subject of God surrenders himself body and soul to God, he becomes so close to Him that he starts receiving special blessings from God. He utters such words as are God-inspired in the full sense. The magicians’ prayer, ‘Our Lord, pour patience upon us, and cause us to die in a state of submission to You,’ meant ‘We have entirely surrendered to You, O God. Now, we have done whatever it is in our power to do, and we leave the rest to You.’ When a subject of God prays like this from the bottom of his heart, certainly God is sufficient for him to solve all his difficulties.

For the Children of Israel Pharaoh’s rule created a problem, and they asked their prophet to solve it for them. But the solution suggested by the Prophet was that they should turn towards God. This indicates the difference in the way of thinking of worldly leaders and that of the Prophet regarding communal problems. Worldly leaders seek the solution to such problems at the government level, either by way of compromise with the government or by a clash with the government. But the solution offered by the Prophet was that whatever was happening should be tolerated and God’s help should be solicited; without expecting anything from the powers that be, one should turn to God.

Then the prophet also explained why he was presenting a solution which was against the general way of thinking of the community; though these problems apparently stemmed from the ruling authority and were resolvable only by that ruling authority, the more important point for consideration was how power and authority came to be wielded. Nobody wields power simply as a result of strategies; power is bestowed or taken away directly by God. This being so, it follows that the solution to the problem also lies in God. Then, this power, regardless of whoever it is bestowed upon, is in fact a test for the recipient. In this world, being powerful is as much of a test as being powerless. Today, if one has received power, it is because he is being tested on whether he will become haughty and tyrannical, or will behave with justice and modesty. If empowerment is conferred upon others, even then the purpose will be to test others. If, due to its incompetence, one group has power taken away from it and handed over to another group, and if this other group also proves incompetent, power will likewise be taken away from it and given to yet another group. The prosperity and power for which a man pines in this world are in fact, assets that are attainable in the real sense only in the Hereafter: thus in the world these things are conferred on human beings solely to put them to the test, while in the Hereafter they will be given to the righteous people as rewards.

Then the prophet also explained why he was presenting a solution which was against the general way of thinking of the community; though these problems apparently stemmed from the ruling authority and were resolvable only by that ruling authority, the more important point for consideration was how power and authority came to be wielded. Nobody wields power simply as a result of strategies; power is bestowed or taken away directly by God. This being so, it follows that the solution to the problem also lies in God. Then, this power, regardless of whoever it is bestowed upon, is in fact a test for the recipient. In this world, being powerful is as much of a test as being powerless. Today, if one has received power, it is because he is being tested on whether he will become haughty and tyrannical, or will behave with justice and modesty. If empowerment is conferred upon others, even then the purpose will be to test others. If, due to its incompetence, one group has power taken away from it and handed over to another group, and if this other group also proves incompetent, power will likewise be taken away from it and given to yet another group. The prosperity and power for which a man pines in this world are in fact, assets that are attainable in the real sense only in the Hereafter: thus in the world these things are conferred on human beings solely to put them to the test, while in the Hereafter they will be given to the righteous people as rewards.

Words have necessarily to be used to pronounce a thing right or wrong or to label a man innocent or guilty. But, the user of the words is man and in this present world of trial, he has been given the power to use these words in any way he pleases. The most critical part of the freedom given to him is his having the ability to justify his calling the Truth falsehood or falsehood the Truth. He can classify as magic what is clearly a miracle wrought by a prophet, and then ignore it. If God gives him some blessing, he can express this in a way which suggests that whatever he received was due solely to his own capabilities and efforts. If God sends some warning as a punishment to him for his ignoring the Truth, he is free to say that it was due to the inauspicious presence of those very God-worshipping servants whom he had ill-treated and on whose account he had been sent that warning. Everything flows from God so that man should learn a lesson from it. But by using certain words, man gives the opposite meaning to every admonition and thus remains deprived of its inherent lesson. ‘Whatever sign you might bring, we will not embrace the Faith.’ This statement made by Pharaoh shows that in spite of the Truth being apparent in an abundantly clear and perfect shape, only that person becomes a recipient of it who is open to it. In other words, the reality of Truth reveals itself only to that person who is serious about the Truth; who has the inclination and willingness to receive and accept the Truth, wherever and in whatever form it is offered. Unlike him, one who is not serious about this matter; whose mental condition is such that he is satisfied with the statusquo will not be capable of seeing the Truth as such; so he will not be able to accept it. Being happy with the condition in which a man finds himself makes him unaware of the things outside himself; he is ignorant in spite of having knowledge; he does not hear in spite of having ears. Man will certainly find the Truth if his mind is free from negatively conditioned thinking. But, mostly people have been subjected to such mental conditioning and that is why the Truth eludes them.