TORAH and the Gospel, both Divine Books, had given the glad tidings of the advent of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the land of Hejaz. The Jews and the Christians both had come to Madina and Makkah. Madina was inhibited at that time by the Jewish tribes Bani Qurayzah and Bani Nadir. They were expecting the last Prophet from the progeny of Ishaq (Isaac), son of Jacob. But when they found the Prophet from the progeny of Ismail (Ishmael), Isaac's elder brother, they both denied him.They were involved in underhand intrigues against Islam and left no stone unturned whenever they could find a chance to belittle Islam and did not hesitate to change the version of their Divine Books, which clearly portrayed the Prophet (peace be upon him). They denied him though they recognized him as they recognized their own sons. (Qur'an, 2:146) However, when the Qur'anic revelation about the deliverance of Pharaoh's body from the sea was revealed they all joined to deny the Qur'an and said that their Books say that Pharaoh was drowned with all his hosts. It will be befitting to sketch the brief history of Pharaoh to apprise the reader of the perspective of this historical event. The pyramids of Egypt are the living examples of the civilization of the Pharaonic times. One among them was known as the Pharaoh of Exodus. Exodus is the second Book of the Old Testament. The Pharaoh of the Biblical Exodus is Minpetah. He was the son of Ramses II. The Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was sent to him. * God aided him with His signs, which were more than nine. But number nine is particularly mentioned as these were shown to Pharaoh and his people to establish the truth of Moses' prophethood. The signs were Moses' staff that could change into a big serpent, his radiant hand, the years of drought, the dearth of fruits, the hailstorm, the locusts, the vermin, the frogs and the water turning into blood.After every sign Moses demanded Pharaoh to let the Jews go with him from Egypt. And everytime Pharaoh falsely promised that he would let Israelites go if Moses prayed his God to remove the calamity coming out of the miracles given to him. It may be noted that Prophet Joseph had ruled Egypt (Qur'an, 40:34), before Pharaoh, and the most of the Israelites were settled during his rule.However, Moses arranged the exodus of Israelites during a night. They numbered about six hundred thousand. Pharaoh and his army pursued them by sunrise till they saw facing each other by the Red Sea. Israelites thought they would be overtaken, but Moses said: Nay, verily with me is my Lord. He will guide me. (Qur'an, 26:62). Then We revealed to Moses saying: “Strike the sea with your staff.” And it parted and each separate part became like a huge mountain. (Qur'an, 26:63) And We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh with his hosts followed them in oppression and enmity, till when drowning overtook him he said, “I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He in whom the children of Israel believe and I am one of the Muslims. (Qur'an, 10:90)(It was said to him): “Now! When hitherto you have rebelled and been of the wrong doers?” (Qur'an, 10:91) But this day, We give deliverance to your body that you may be a sign to those who come after you.' (Qur'an, 10:92) Here the Qur'an used the imperative mood and declared that the body of Pharaoh would be a sign (of the Greatness of God) for those who come after him. It may be recalled that the Pharaoh of the Exodus lived in the 12th century B.C. The Qur'an declared that his corpse was saved as a sign for the coming generation. This declaration of the Qur'an came to light in the 7th century of the Christian Era, i.e. after 1900 years of the death of Pharaoh.In saying “who come after him”, the Qur'an did not restrict the time and kept it open to an indefinite period for generations coming after the Pharaoh. However, the opponents never failed to criticize the revelations saying, “ If God gave deliverance to his body, the body should have been unharmed. They held, “The truth is with Bible which declared that Pharaoh with all his hosts was drowned.” But the Muslims kept to their faith in the Qur'an because it is the Book of God, “Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it.” (Qur'an, 41:42)Napoleon Bonaparte launched a military expedition to Egypt in 1798. After the French expedition an era of study of ancient Egypt began. Napoleon brought a commission of scholars who worked hard to record many of its ancient monuments. The Antiquities Board of Egypt was founded in 1858 and the French scholar Auguste Mariette served as its first director. Sir Flinders Petrie started work in 1880. He established a school of excavators. Loret in the Royal Valley of Taibah discovered the mummy of Pharaoh of Mosaic period, Merneptah in 1898. His body is still intact among the Royal Mummies of the Cairo Museum. Merneptah's mummy was taken to Cairo to be eventually unwrapped by Dr. G. Elliot Smith on July 8, 1907. (Encyclopedia Britannica)How strange! How amazing! How wonderful! The Qur'anic truth was upheld all over the world after about more than 3,000 years. The Pharaoh's body was examined, no symptoms of long submersion or deterioration were found. It seemed his body was thrown off onto the beach by some strong wave. The Judeo-Christian Scriptures had long before lost their intrinsic value. Theirs is a Book containing hearsay evidence and only mentions the drowning of Pharaoh and his people whereas the Qur'an along with the incident of drowning mentions very precisely the saving of the Pharaoh's body. ** It is said why Pharaoh after acknowledging the faith was not taken as Muslim. The answer is in Allah's statement: “But their faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment. (Like) this has been the way of Allah in dealing with His slaves... (Qur'an, 40:85)Pharaoh's declaration of faith came only when he saw his doom. Even then God saved him in his body and made him a sign for those who would come after him.Notes: * ‘Pharaoh' literally means ‘the offspring of the sun-god.' The ancient Egyptians called the sun ‘Ra,' worshipped it as their supreme deity, and Pharaoh – Ra's physical manifestation and representative – was named after it. It was for this reason that all Egyptian rulers claimed their authority on the basis of their association with Ra, and every ruler who mounted the Egyptian throne called himself Pharaoh, trying thereby to assure his people that he was their supreme deity. It may be noted that the Qur'anic narrative regarding Moses refers to two Pharaohs. The first of these was one during whose reign Moses was born and in whose palace he was brought up. The second Pharaoh to whom reference is made is the one whom Moses invited to Islam and who was asked to liberate the Israelites. It is this latter Pharaoh who was finally drowned. Modern scholarship is inclined to the view that the first Pharaoh was Rameses II who ruled over Egypt from 1292 B.C. to 1225 B.C. while the second Pharaoh was Minpetah, his son who had become a co-sharer in his father's authority during the latter's lifetime and who, after his death, became the fully-fledged ruler of Egypt. This, however, is not fully established since Moses, according to the Egyptian calendar, died in 1272 B.C. In any case these are merely historical conjectures. It is quite difficult to establish a clear chronological framework owing to discrepancies in the Egyptian, Israeli and Christian calendars.** Even to this day the exact place where Pharaoh's dead body was found afloat on the surface of the sea is known. Lying on the western coast of the Sinaitic peninsula, it is presently known as the Mount of Pharaoh (Jabal Fir'awn). A warm spring, situated in its vicinity, is also still called the Bath of Pharaoh (Hammam Fir'awn) after Pharaoh. Located a few miles away, Abu Zanimah is identified as the precise spot at which Pharaoh's dead body was found. If the name of the Pharaoh who died by drowning was Minpetah, as has been established by current research, his embalmed body still lies in the museum of Cairo. In 1907 when Sir Grafton Elliot Smith removed bandages from the mummified body of this Pharaoh, it was found to be coated with a layer of salt. This is clear proof of his death by drowning at sea. __
