Surah Az-Zukhruf (43) — Ayah 52

(Ayah 52) ➊ The meaning of {اَمْ اَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْ هٰذَا الَّذِيْ هُوَ مَهِيْنٌ: ’’ مَهُنَ يَمْهُنُ مَهَانَةً ‘‘} (ka) is {’’حَقُرَ وَضَعُفَ۔‘‘ ’’ مَهِيْنٌ ‘‘} on the pattern of {’’فَعِيْلٌ‘‘}, lowly, weak. Before {’’ اَمْ ‘‘} there is a sentence consisting of the interrogative hamzah, which here would mean: "Is this person, that is, Musa (peace be upon him), better or am I better...?" {’’ اَمْ ‘‘ ’’ بَلْ‘‘} also comes in the meaning of "rather," in which case the meaning would be: "Rather, I am better... ."

➋ Pharaoh used every word he could to belittle Musa (peace be upon him) as much as possible. Among these, the word {’’ هٰذَا ‘‘} is also for expressing contempt, meaning "from this person who is lowly." He called Musa (peace be upon him) lowly because he did not possess wealth, power, or kingdom like him, rather he was a member of his slave nation, and a slave is always considered lowly. But this was a strange lowly person whom even Pharaoh was extremely afraid of, who would plead and beg him for supplication at every calamity, who, despite all his pomp, power, authority, and mighty armies, could not prevent him from entering his court, while he had neither an army nor weapons, only a staff in his hand, and whenever he wished, he would reach right up to him. And this was a strange lowly person about whom he would say to his chiefs: "Leave me so I may kill Musa." (See Al-Mu’min: 26) Even though no one had stopped him from killing, and Pharaoh did not have the courage to even touch him. The truth is that the wealth or power of the world is not the measure of contempt or greatness, nor was Musa (peace be upon him) lowly, rather it was the oppressor himself who was lowly and disgraced, who, being arrogant over the temporary possessions of the world, persisted in denying the truth. The disbelievers of the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also were not ready to accept the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) because he did not possess worldly wealth.

➌ {وَ لَا يَكَادُ يُبِيْنُ:} Some commentators have written that this refers to the stammer that was found in the tongue of Musa (peace be upon him), but this is not correct. After the supplication of Musa (peace be upon him), that stammer was removed, as Allah Almighty said: "O Musa! Your supplication has been accepted." (See Ta-Ha: 36) In the Qur'an, there are several debates of Musa (peace be upon him) with Pharaoh, in which he expressed his point in the most eloquent and articulate words and left Pharaoh speechless on every occasion. Although he had asked for the help of Harun (peace be upon him) because he was more eloquent, yet nowhere did he need Harun (peace be upon him) to express his purpose. As for Pharaoh saying about him, "He can hardly make his meaning clear," the reason for this was that the words of the prophets are not understood by the disbelievers and polytheists, as the people of Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him), who was a great orator, said to him: « يٰشُعَيْبُ مَا نَفْقَهُ كَثِيْرًا مِّمَّا تَقُوْلُ وَ اِنَّا لَنَرٰىكَ فِيْنَا ضَعِيْفًا» [ ھود : ۹۱ ] "O Shu‘ayb! We do not understand much of what you say, and indeed we see you weak among us." Pharaoh was making the same two taunts against Musa (peace be upon him) that the people of Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) had made before: that their words were not understood, and that in their eyes he was lowly and weak. The words of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were also not understood by the polytheists, nor were they ready to accept him as a prophet in the presence of their own wealthy people. It is said: « وَ عَجِبُوْۤا اَنْ جَآءَهُمْ مُّنْذِرٌ مِّنْهُمْ وَ قَالَ الْكٰفِرُوْنَ هٰذَا سٰحِرٌ كَذَّابٌ (4) اَجَعَلَ الْاٰلِهَةَ اِلٰهًا وَّاحِدًا اِنَّ هٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌ (5) وَ انْطَلَقَ الْمَلَاُ مِنْهُمْ اَنِ امْشُوْا وَ اصْبِرُوْا عَلٰۤى اٰلِهَتِكُمْ اِنَّ هٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ يُّرَادُ (6) مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهٰذَا فِي الْمِلَّةِ الْاٰخِرَةِ اِنْ هٰذَاۤ اِلَّا اخْتِلَاقٌ (7) ءَاُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ مِنْۢ بَيْنِنَا بَلْ هُمْ فِيْ شَكٍّ مِّنْ ذِكْرِيْ بَلْ لَّمَّا يَذُوْقُوْا عَذَابِ (8) اَمْ عِنْدَهُمْ خَزَآىِٕنُ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ الْعَزِيْزِ الْوَهَّابِ» [ صٓ : ۴ تا ۹ ] "And they were amazed that a warner has come to them from among themselves, and the disbelievers said: This is a terrible lying sorcerer. Has he made all the gods into one God? Indeed, this is a very strange thing. And the leaders among them went forth, saying: Go on, and remain constant to your gods. Indeed, this is a thing intended. We have not heard of this in the last religion; this is nothing but an invention. Has the reminder been sent down to him out of all of us? Rather, they are in doubt about My reminder. Rather, they have not yet tasted My punishment. Do they have the treasures of the mercy of your Lord, the Mighty, the Bestower?"

52. 1. This is a reference to the stutter of Prophet Musa ؑ as mentioned in Surah Taha.

52. Am I not better than this man, who is contemptible [51] and can hardly express himself clearly?

[51]
Pharaoh's Propaganda Among His People:

From this declaration of Pharaoh, it is clearly evident that the roots of the call of Sayyiduna Musa (Moses) ؑ had become quite strong from within. And he was afraid of this call, but wanted to maintain his prestige among his subjects. And he sought the opinion of his people in the same way that candidates, during election days, mention their own virtues and the faults of their rivals. Presenting a comparison between himself and Sayyiduna Musa ؑ, he said: Look! How strong is my rule in the land of Egypt. The irrigation system is excellent, upon which your economy depends. We have laid out many canals throughout the country from the Nile River. All of this is happening under my system. Then why are you following a person who is, in comparison to me, a man of very low status? He has neither wealth nor power, and he cannot even speak openly and clearly. You should use some thought and consideration.