Overview (Verses 49 - 53)

Calling on a Tyrant to Believe
 
The sūrah does not mention how Moses and Aaron were admitted into Pharaoh’s presence, but nonetheless they were. For certain, their Lord was with them hearing and seeing what took place, and no doubt guiding their communication. But what power, and what authority was at the disposal of Moses and Aaron to enable them to communicate to Pharaoh, great as he might have been, what God, their Lord, commanded them to convey to him? The sūrah paints a vivid picture of the dialogue between Moses and Pharaoh, starting with this question and answer: “[Pharaoh] said: ‘Who, now, is this Lord of you two, Moses?’ He replied: ‘Our Lord is He who gives everything its distinctive nature and form, and further guides them.’” (Verses 49-50) It is clear that Pharaoh does not wish to acknowledge God’s Lordship, which the two prophets had made clear to him saying they were ‘the emissaries of your Lord.’ Pharaoh realized that Moses was the main advocate of the message. Hence, he puts his question to him: “Who, now, is this Lord of you two, Moses?” (Verse 49) In whose name are you addressing me to demand the release of the Israelites?
 
Moses replies emphasizing God’s attributes of creation, initiation and providing guidance and balance: “Our Lord is He who gives everything its distinctive nature and form, and further guides them.” (Verse 50) Thus it is: our Lord is the one who has given everything its existence in the form and the nature it has. He then guides each and everyone to fulfil their respective roles, providing them all with the means for such fulfilment. The Arabic text of this verse uses the conjunctive, thumma, or then, separating the creation of everything and imparting guidance to it. This conjunctive is rendered in the translation as ‘further’ to indicate the true meaning of the verse. There is no lapse of time between creating a creature and giving it guidance. The conjunctive is used to indicate the difference in rank between the mere creation of something and giving it the necessary knowledge to fulfil its role. Providing such guidance is more elevated than leaving creatures to their own devices.
 
This description of God given by Moses sums up the highest and most perfect attributes of God the Creator who controls everything in the universe. It is He who gives every creature its form, nature and role. When man casts his eye and contemplates as best he can this endless universe, he sees the results of what the great power of God makes of every existence, great or small, starting with the minute atom up to the largest creature, spanning life between a one-celled creature to the most sophisticated form of life, i.e. man.
 
The great universe is made up of countless atoms, cells, substances, creatures and living things. Every atom in the universe interacts, every cell has a life, every living being moves, and every creature influences and is influenced by others. But all work, individually and collectively, within the boundaries of the laws God has planted in their natures and constitutions, without conflict, defect, or slackening at any moment. Yet every individual creature is, on its own, a complete world: its cells, organs and systems work in accordance with its nature, within the overall law God operates in the universe, in perfect order and perfect complementarity.
 
Let us leave aside the great universe and look for a moment at each creature on its own. Human knowledge and endeavour is limited in its ability to study and understand such a creature. We are talking here of studying the characteristics, role, illnesses and treatment of creatures in our world. We are not speaking about creating these creatures or guiding them to fulfil their respective roles. This is something totally beyond man’s knowledge or ability. Man himself is one of God’s creatures. God has given him existence in the form he has, and assigned to him his role like all other creatures. The One who gives every creature its nature and form and further guides them to perform their roles is God, the only deity in the universe.
 
Here Pharaoh puts another question: “And what of all the past generations?” (Verse 51) Where have all those past generations gone? Who was their Lord? What happened to them since they died unaware of the Lord Moses spoke about?
 
“[Moses] answered: Knowledge of that rests with my Lord alone, recorded in a Book. My Lord does not err, and neither does He forget.” (Verse 52) Thus Moses refers all this unknown matter to his Lord whose knowledge is perfect, encompassing every single detail of every little creature, and who never forgets anything. It is He alone who knows about all those generations, their past and future. The realm that lies beyond the reach of human perception belongs totally to God, who alone determines the eventual outcome of mankind and their life.
 
Moses continues to draw Pharaoh’s attention to some of the results of God’s action in the universe and how these results affect human life. He selects results which could be seen close by, and which were well-known in Egypt with its rich soil, abundant water, and plentiful crops and cattle: He it is who has made the earth your cradle, and has traced on it paths for you to walk on, and who sends down waters from the sky with which We bring forth diverse pairs of plants. Eat, then, and graze your cattle. In all this there are signs for those who are endowed with reason. (Verses 53-54)