سُوْرَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ
Surah Ghafir (40) — Ayah 26
وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ ذَرُونِىٓ أَقْتُلْ مُوسَىٰ وَلْيَدْعُ رَبَّهُۥٓ ۖ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ أَن يُبَدِّلَ دِينَكُمْ أَوْ أَن يُظْهِرَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلْفَسَادَ ﴿26﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Fir‘aun (Pharaoh) said: "Leave me to kill Mûsâ (Moses), and let him call his Lord (to stop me from killing him)! I fear that he may change your religion, or that he may cause mischief to appear in the land!"
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَقَالَ
waqāla
And said
فِرْعَوْنُ
fir'ʿawnu
Firaun
ذَرُونِىٓ
dharūnī
Leave me
أَقْتُلْ
aqtul
(so that) I kill
مُوسَىٰ
mūsā
Musa
وَلْيَدْعُ
walyadʿu
and let him call
رَبَّهُۥٓ ۖ
rabbahu
his Lord
إِنِّىٓ
innī
Indeed, I
أَخَافُ
akhāfu
[I] fear
أَن
an
that
يُبَدِّلَ
yubaddila
he will change
دِينَكُمْ
dīnakum
your religion
أَوْ
aw
or
أَن
an
that
يُظْهِرَ
yuẓ'hira
he may cause to appear
فِى
fī
in
ٱلْأَرْضِ
l-arḍi
the land
ٱلْفَسَادَ
l-fasāda
the corruption
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
26. And Pharaoh said, "Let me [34] kill Moses, and let him call upon his Lord. I fear that he may change your religion [35] or cause corruption [36] to appear in the land."
[34]
Pharaoh’s Empty Threat:
One meaning of this is that when, instead of decreasing, the number of those who believed in Sayyiduna Musa ؑ kept increasing, Pharaoh thought that now there was only one solution to this problem, and that was to kill Sayyiduna Musa ؑ. But his courtiers, who had become aware of the real situation, forbade him from doing this, fearing that a major rebellion might break out in the country. So Pharaoh may have replied to these courtiers that now there was no other option left except to do this. Therefore, do not stop me from doing this. And another meaning could be that no one stopped him, but he was saying this merely to show off his bravery. However, since he himself was frightened and anxious in his heart, he was speaking in this manner. Otherwise, if he himself had not been afraid and had decided to do this, who was there to stop him?
[35]
By “Deen” is Meant Civilization and the State System:
Here, by “deen” is not meant only the worship of the sun god or Hubal, but the entire system of government and civilization. That is, Pharaoh’s real fear was that the rule of this country might be snatched away from him. But he presented this matter in the style of cunning political leaders, saying that your “deen,” which you love, might be changed. Just as political leaders here keep making statements that the public wants new elections to be held as soon as possible, whereas the poor public is already fed up with frequent elections.
[36] That is, even if he cannot change this system, there is still the danger that civil war will break out in the country. Therefore, for the protection of public order, it is necessary that, by whatever means possible, Musa should be killed to put an end to these impending troubles.
[34]
Pharaoh’s Empty Threat:
One meaning of this is that when, instead of decreasing, the number of those who believed in Sayyiduna Musa ؑ kept increasing, Pharaoh thought that now there was only one solution to this problem, and that was to kill Sayyiduna Musa ؑ. But his courtiers, who had become aware of the real situation, forbade him from doing this, fearing that a major rebellion might break out in the country. So Pharaoh may have replied to these courtiers that now there was no other option left except to do this. Therefore, do not stop me from doing this. And another meaning could be that no one stopped him, but he was saying this merely to show off his bravery. However, since he himself was frightened and anxious in his heart, he was speaking in this manner. Otherwise, if he himself had not been afraid and had decided to do this, who was there to stop him?
[35]
By “Deen” is Meant Civilization and the State System:
Here, by “deen” is not meant only the worship of the sun god or Hubal, but the entire system of government and civilization. That is, Pharaoh’s real fear was that the rule of this country might be snatched away from him. But he presented this matter in the style of cunning political leaders, saying that your “deen,” which you love, might be changed. Just as political leaders here keep making statements that the public wants new elections to be held as soon as possible, whereas the poor public is already fed up with frequent elections.
[36] That is, even if he cannot change this system, there is still the danger that civil war will break out in the country. Therefore, for the protection of public order, it is necessary that, by whatever means possible, Musa should be killed to put an end to these impending troubles.
