RECORD OF MÛSA’S—U. W. B. P.—ARRIVAL IN EGYPT IN CONCERT WITH HARÛN; HIS INVITING FARA’ÛN TO THE STRAIGHT PATH, AND THE PERSISTENCE OF THE LATTER IN SIN.

It is recorded in several histories, that when Mûsa approached the country of Egypt, a revelation reached Harûn, whereby he was informed of Mûsa’s circumstances and ordered to hasten to meet him. Harûn accordingly made his preparations and left the city, meeting his brother on the banks of the river Nile. They recognised each other, and went to Fara’ûn’s palace before going to their own home. The majority of historians affirm that Mûsa per­formed the journey, arrived in Egypt, and secretly alighting in the night at his mother’s house, was not recognised by her on account of his long absence. She asked him, however, various questions, and Mûsa replied: ‘I am a stranger, and have come from a distant journey. This night I shall be a guest here.’ As hospitality to strangers was by the virtuous and the excellent considered to be a religious duty, the mother of Mûsa performed the office of waiting upon him, and asked Harûn to keep him company, and to converse with him. As they were talking with each other Harûn recognised Mûsa, informed his mother, and after having deplored his loss for a long time, her grief was now turned into pleasure and rejoicings. During the same night Mûsa communicated to Harûn and to the family the office with which he had been entrusted, and announced that his brother Harûn had likewise been promoted to the dignity of a prophet. All who were present listened with acquiescence to his invitation, followed it, and attained the happiness of being guided.

According to another tradition Mûsa rested himself three days from the fatigues of the journey, and from the perilous toils which he had undergone; and on the fourth day he proceeded to invite Fara’ûn [to follow his advice]. It is related that the castle of Fara’ûn was surrounded by seventy [enclosing] walls, and that between every two walls there were villages, cultivated fields, and rivers; seventy thousand warriors were quartered there. Around the city of Fara’ûn, where his castle was, there were also waters, trees, wild beasts, and rapacious lions. That castle had one road, by means of which the people could reach the gates of the city, and anyone who deflected from the straight path fell into the grasp of lions, furious like mad elephants. When Mûsa arrived with Harûn at the first wall and gate they found the latter closed; Mûsa, however, struck it with his staff, whereon it flew open. This he did at all the gates, and when they arrived near the trees where the abode of the lions was, all of them fled for fear of Mûsa and dispersed. When Mûsa arrived at the private castle of Fara’ûn, and threw the rod of permanency upon the ground, the fear and apprehensions that the men of Fara’ûn entertained towards him hindered them for some time from venturing to inform him of the arrival of the two brothers.

Wuhub Bin Munia states that Mûsa reached the gate of the castle on the fourth of the month Zil-Hejjah, and that Fara’ûn knew nothing about him for several days. Muhammad Bin Esahâq has reported that his lordship the speaker [with God] had been two years in the castle, but that no one dared to give the news to Fara’ûn, until a man who enjoyed the post of sorcerer at his court, and had become acquainted with some of the qualities of Mûsa, asked the brothers: ‘Do you know what place this is, and for what purpose you have entered it?’ They replied: ‘This is the castle of Fara’ûn, who is with his followers and all the inhabitants of the world, a servant of the Lord of heaven and earth. We are the ambassadors of the God of the universe to Fara’ûn.’ The said magician then entered the place where Fara’ûn was, and said: ‘O king, to-day I have seen something wonderful, so that I forgot the calamity of the men-devouring lions.’ Fara’ûn then elicited from him also the following statement: ‘I have seen two individuals at the gate of thy castle, for fear of whom the lions fled like foxes. Probably they have bewitched them, and when I conversed with these men I heard big words.’ Fara’ûn then asked what these men had said, and the sorcerer continued: ‘They imagine there is another God besides thee, who is the Creator of heaven and earth, as well as the Nourisher of the inhabitants of the world.’ When Fara’ûn heard these words he was overpowered by rage, and forth­with summoned Mûsa and Harûn to his presence. Hâmân and the grandees of the nation were present in the assembly, but many other persons had also congregated to see what would take place. When Fara’ûn had cast a glance at Mûsa, and saw a man dressed in a woollen garment, with sandals on his feet and a staff in his hand, he immediately recognised him, and asked: ‘What is thy name?’ He replied: ‘My name is Mûsa, the son of E’mrân.’ Fara’ûn rejoined: ‘I do not ask thee about this.’ Mûsa continued: ‘I am one of the servants of God, who has created me of loam, into which I shall again be transmuted at last.’ Fara’ûn said: ‘As to thy name and connections, it would be better for thee to confess that thou art one of my servants, and brought up by my favour; because thou hast been a long time with us, and wast educated in my house, until thou hast perpetrated what thou hast perpetrated. Thou hast, namely, killed one of my people, and hast been ungrateful. Thou hast fled from my country. After having been mean and despised, thou hast become poor and a hired servant, and now hast come pretending to be a prophet.’ Mûsa replied: ‘I struck the man with my fist, and knew not that the blow would be fatal to his life; consequently I am not amenable to punishment. But as thou hast, on account of thy innate aversion towards me, constantly striven to injure me, I fled for fear of thee; “and flight is not against the ordinances of inspired messengers.” When I left your country, and submitted to the hardships of travel, to fear, to astonishment, and to perils, the Lord God Almighty pardoned my transgressions, and has pro­moted me to the exalted dignity of a prophet and inspired messenger, has sent me on this mission, and has appointed Harûn, my brother, to be my partner in this matter. How canst thou upbraid me with having killed an infidel, whereas for four hundred years you have persecuted the sons of Esrâil, who are descendants of prophets, with various chastisements, and murdered them without provocation? And you have changed their lives into an existence of misery and affliction. Now, it will be thy duty to acknowledge the unity of the Lord of lords, and the truth of my prophetic office, and to abandon the sons of Esrâil to my guidance, and to let alone their affairs.’ It is related that when the disputations took place between Fara’ûn and Mûsa, some of which are mentioned in the glorious Qurân, he refuted his opponent; whereon Fara’ûn said: ‘O Mûsa, if thou wilt adore another besides me, and wilt serve Him, I shall imprison thee, and cause thee to despair of attaining dignity, and being saved.’ Mûsa rejoined: ‘How couldst thou prevail over me, since the Lord of Grandeur—w. n. b. pr—has vouchsafed me a powerful argument, and satis­factory evidence [to the contrary].’ Fara’ûn continued: ‘Bring, then, forth [an argument], if thou art one of the truthful.’ Mûsa then threw his staff to the ground, and it became immediately a great dragon and powerful serpent, vomiting fire from its throat and smoke from its nostrils. Its eyes glared like two torches, and attracted the attention of all present. From the teeth, which it was grinding upon each other, a fearful noise issued, which made the ears of those who heard it tingle; and it was like the roar of a furious lion. Whatever this monster encountered it broke, whatever it breathed upon it burnt; so that the assembled people took to their heels, and Wuhub Bin Munia states that twenty-five thousand persons were crushed to death in that crowd. The dragon then approached the throne of Fara’ûn, intending to swallow it. When the tyrant beheld this terrible sight he fell down from his seat, and answered during one night and day the calls of his wicked nature forty times, whereas before that event he had done so only once in forty days. It is related that on the said occasion Fara’ûn grasped the supports of his throne, cried for mercy, and besought the Lord Mûsa to remove this affliction, pledging himself to follow the law, and to withdraw the hand of tyranny from the children of Esrâil. Then Mûsa touched, by divine command, with his blessed hand the dragon, which immediately recovered its original form, and became a staff again.

After the prodigy of the staff, Mûsa said: ‘I have another argument in favour of the truth of my prophetic dignity.’ Fara’ûn asked: ‘What is it?’ Then Mûsa put his hand in his bosom, and when he drew it forth again it dazzled every eye by its splendour, and all the people fell upon their faces, because they had not the power to look at his bright hand; wherefore they craved pity from Mûsa, imploring him to remove it.

Verses:

Wonder not that the purblind His beauty could not see, For the eye of the nocturnal bird cannot behold the sun. He who has attained certainty may safely approach, For envy’s eye sees not this power even in a dream.

Then Fara’ûn said: ‘Return to-day, that I may consider the [propriety of] following thee.’ When Mûsa again came, Fara’ûn said to him without the knowledge of his people, secretly: ‘O Mûsa, thou hast killed twenty-five thousand persons; perhaps thou hast been sent for that purpose?’ Mûsa replied: ‘In reality they have been killed by thyself, because thou believest not in God the Most High, and hast forced these people to become infidels and idolaters.’ Then Mûsa admonished and invited him to adore the Lord God, whose word be glorified; but Fara’ûn asked: ‘What will be my reward if I comply with thy demand?’ Mûsa replied: ‘I desire thee to do one thing, that I may give thee four in return for it.’ Fara’ûn asked: ‘What is thy desire?’ Mûsa continued: ‘Thou must wor­ship God, besides whom there is no other.’ Fara’ûn queried: ‘What are the four things?’ Mûsa said: ‘I shall beseech the inscrutable Creator to grant thee youth which is not followed by old age, and to bestow upon thee a royalty which cannot be wrested from thee; to give thee health not interrupted by disease, and eternal paradise in the next world.’ Fara’ûn said: ‘I shall give thee a reply after having consulted some wise men.’ Then he entered his house, and informed Asia of what had taken place. She said: ‘No intelligent person would refuse these bless­ings, and thou must without delay act according to the words of Mûsa.’ Fara’ûn then left Asia and consulted Hâmân;* but the latter heedlessly said: ‘Wouldst thou, after having reposed for many years on the glorious throne of deity, now descend to the humiliation of slavery? Wouldst thou, after having been for a long time worshipped by others, now worship another? The kingdom is thy kingdom, and no one can wrest it from thy grasp. If thou actest according to the advice of skilled physicians, thou wilt always enjoy health. Dye thy hair and beard like Mûsa, thou wilt always appear to be young; and as for paradise, I do not believe there is one besides these gardens of bliss, which thou [already] possessest.’ After having thus succumbed to the deceitful and flattering words of Hâmân, Fara’ûn refused to obey Mûsa; he assembled the grandees and councillors of his realm, and said: ‘What is your opinion about the removal of these two sorcerers, who desire to expel you by the aid of their witchcraft from this country, in order to obtain it for themselves?’ The grandees of the land being of opinion that dexterous magicians could resist Mûsa Fara’ûn issued orders that all the countries of the earth be searched, and that wherever a sorcerer was dis­covered he should be produced. The number of these magicians is variously set down by the Emâms of history, but the most correct tradition is that it consisted of seventy-two individuals. Fara’ûn promised them royal favours, and appointed a certain festival and holiday of the Qabats, on which everyone was to display his skill, so that the con­queror might be discerned from the conquered, and truth from falsehood. When the time of respite had elapsed, on their New Year’s Day, which was the tenth of the month Muharram, immense crowds of people, which the plains and mountains could scarcely hold, assembled in the space set apart for the festival. The assembly of magicians, skilled in playing various tricks upon each other, and gladdened by the largesses of the accursed Fara’ûn, were expecting the arrival of Mûsa and of Harûn, who soon made their appearance, and began to admonish and to instruct the magicians, who were quickly undeceived, by the con­versation, circumstances, freedom, and demeanour of the two brothers, in the opinion that they were sorcerers like themselves, and exclaimed in great astonishment and appre­hension, [addressing Mûsa as follows]: ‘If thou conquerest us, we shall become thy followers; but if we are victors, Fara’ûn will know what he has to do. By his favour and aid, however, we hope to become the conquerors.’ They accordingly begged leave of Mûsa, and drew themselves up on the plain, whereon their staffs, which were hollow and full of quicksilver, began to move from the heat of the sun. The people took them to be real serpents, and began to run. Mûsa, perceiving this, was grieved at the vileness of the comparison, and said to Harûn: ‘It must not be that these people take us also for sorcerers and remain under this impression.’ Then the divine allocution reached him: ‘Fear not, for thou shalt be superior; therefore cast down [the rod] which is in thy right hand’ (to the end of the verse).* When Mûsa threw his staff it became a great dragon, and swallowed all their figures, which were [only] semblances;* then it hastened towards the pavilion of Fara’ûn, for the purpose of devouring it likewise. In this dreadful predica­ment Fara’ûn preferred flight to permanency; all the people hustled each other and ran away; great confusion took place in the plain, in so disastrous a manner that, according to tradition, six hundred thousand persons were crushed to death. When Mûsa touched the dragon, it again reverted to its former state and became a staff; but the instruments of sorcery could not be found, and the magicians concluded that the Lord Mûsa had been working with the aid of heaven, because they knew that if he had been a sorcerer their utensils would have returned to their original state. On that day Mûsa invited the people to follow the law of God and the religion of Ebrahim. Seventy-two tribes of the Qabats believed, and when the truth of Mûsa and Harûn’s pretensions to prophecy became evident to the sorcerers, they immediately hastened to his lordship the speaker [with God] and obtained the felicity of [the religion of] Islâm. Fara’ûn, having been informed that the magicians had become believers, summoned them to his presence, reproached and threatened to cut them to pieces, or to crucify them, to make them renounce the bright religion; but they selected the dignity of martyrdom, pre­pared themselves for death, and implored the Lord of Glory to vouchsafe them a firm mind, and a patient disposition, to endure the trials and afflictions of martyrdom. After Fara’ûn had issued orders for the execution of these believers, Asia, the daughter of Mûrâhum, also openly made her profession of the faith, disputed with Fara’ûn, and endeavoured to convince him of the verity of the claims of Mûsa and of Harûn to prophecy. On this occasion Fara’ûn gave vent to the ill-feeling which he had a long time harboured against her for having educated Mûsa; and when he was punishing her severely, she besought the beneficent Lord and Granter of requests, saying: ‘O Lord, my house is with Thee in paradise! Save me from Fara’ûn and his works! Save me from the unrighteous people!’ Then a legion of exalted angels met her soul, and conveyed her victorious spirit in a howdah of light to the mansions of joy and tranquillity. When Fara’ûn perceived that a great multitude of Qabats had believed the words of Mûsa, as well as that the Esrâilites were boasting of him and rejoiced, the tyrant commanded the other Qabats to persecute the children of Esrâil, and to oppress them more than ever; therefore the latter took refuge with Mûsa, and said: ‘O prophet of Allah, before thou camest we were afflicted by the tyranny of this people, and were compelled to obey them; but according to the injunctions of our fathers and ancestors, we consoled ourselves with the expectation that thou wouldst arise to be our prophet, and we prognosticated deliverance and joy from thy presence. Now, however, when the age is adorned by the resplendent happiness of thy mission, we are suffering the insults of the Qabats as before; they persecute us now more intensely, and the hand of their infidelity and wickedness has become even more strong than formerly; hence we are greatly distressed, and can no longer bear our misery. Either allow us to flee or to disperse in the world, or give us permission to fight our enemies, or to devise some other plan to ensure our tran­quillity.’ Mûsa consoled them much, and said: ‘Perhaps your Lord will destroy your foes, and will cause you to inherit the earth.’ When Mûsa, after all his preachings and admonitions, despaired that Fara’ûn and his adherents would obey, and make profession of the religion, he uttered an invocation with reference to those people, whereon the Lord and Creator of beings afflicted them with many plagues.* The first of these was famine, which distressed the people of Fara’ûn during three years; then came the plague, by which many perished; with reference to this, however, people differ, some alleging that it was a deluge of water, and some that it consisted of hailstones and dews, whilst others are of opinion that it was a pestilence, by which, according to some, boils and sores are meant. It is said that the appearance of the small-pox in the world dates from that time. According to our opinion, that plague lasted seven days, when locusts made their appearance, and their depredations lasted seven days, during which they devastated all the harvests and fields. After the locusts the people were for seven days afflicted with the plague of lice, in such a way that all their ploughed fields, plants, trees and flowers, houses, rooms, beds, vessels, eatables, beverages, the limbs of their bodies, their fountains, and even their eyes were filled with them, so that the endurance and patience of the infidels became exhausted. With refer­ence to this plague, also, different opinions are current, but the prevalent one is that it was an affliction by lice. After this they were tormented by the plague of frogs, and when, after the removal of these troubles, their infidelity and obstinacy again increased, the Most High transmuted the water of the Nile into blood for the Qabats, so that they tasted on one side fresh blood, whilst the sons of Esrâil drank pure water on the other, and it was impossible to avoid this calamity. This plague also lasted seven days, and when one of these afflictions appeared, the Qabats waited upon Mûsa, begging him to remove it, promising him to make profession of the religion after being delivered therefrom, and to leave the children of Esrâil alone. When, however, the Lord Mûsa had prayed, and the plague ceased, they relapsed into their former aberration and con­tinued to injure the children of Esrâil. After Mûsa had for the seventh time invoked the Almighty, the rapacious animals of the desert attacked the Qabats during seven days, after the expiration whereof an epidemic attacked their cattle and quadrupeds for seven days more. Then the atmosphere became dark three days and nights, con­trary winds were also blowing, and on this occasion the divine revelation was communicated to Mûsa to announce to his people the approach of the time when their foes would be destroyed, and that he should make a census, and lead out his whole nation from Egypt, to remain stationary on the seashore, until the Omnipotent Sovereign and Granter of requests would cause them to pass unscathed across the waves of the sea, in which Fara’ûn and his hosts would be destroyed.

Some have stated that Mûsa dwelt among the Qabats twenty years after the magicians had made their profession of the Faith, during which period of time he performed nine miracles. The learned assure us that all these plagues took place within the time of eleven months, and that they first afflicted the people during the month of Aiâr, and last in Adhâr, at the end of the eightieth year of the age of Mûsa. The most prevalent opinion, however, among historians is that these signs took place during three years and eleven months.

It is related that, at the instigation of Hâmân, Fara’ûn intended to kill Mûsa. When the latter heard of this intention, he prayed to the Omnipotent to frustrate this design, to harden the hearts of the people, and to seal up their breasts, so that they might incur a sore chastise­ment. Several commentators inform us that all the substances possessed by the Qabats were transmuted into stones, so that on the occasion when the Lord Mûsa uttered the request, all the bread that a woman was just baking became petrified. The Qabats then again went to Mûsa and pledged themselves that they would all follow his law if he were to beseech the Lord Most High to grant them all blessings as in former times. Mûsa prayed, and his orison was responded to; those obdurate wretches, however, per­sisted in their contumacy and rebellion, saying: ‘We shall not believe unless thou performest some miracle for the purpose of converting us from our religion; nor shall we have any faith in thy prophetic dignity.’ It is said that every time Mûsa displayed a miracle Fara’ûn was inclined to become his follower, but that the misguided seducer Hâmân dissuaded him, exclaiming: ‘Wilt thou become a slave after having been a master; and wilt thou be a servant after having been a lord?’ Accordingly Fara’ûn was, by the words of that accursed one, led astray from the right path, turned to the abyss of perdition, and incurred eternal damnation:

Distich:

The company of fools is empty like a pot. Within it is empty, and without black.