THE TROUBLES WHICH AFFLICTED PHARAOH
AND THOSE AROUND HIM
Pharaoh and those people close to him were so devoted to their polytheistic system and pagan beliefs that not even message of the Prophet Musa (as), armed with wisdom and spectacular miracles, could soften their hearts and thus turn them away from baseless superstitions. They also openly stated this fact:
They said, "No matter what kind of Sign you bring us to bewitch us, we will not believe in you." (Qur'an, 7:132)
Because of their haughty attitude, Allah sent to them afflictions, described as "Signs, clear and distinct" in one verse, in order to punish them for their haughtiness. (Qur'an, 7:133) The first of these was drought. As a result, there was a fall in production. The relevant verse of the Qur'an states:
We seized Pharaoh's people with years of drought and scarcity of fruits so that hopefully they would pay heed. (Qur'an, 7:130)
The Egyptians' agricultural systems depended on the River Nile and changes in natural conditions did not therefore generally affect them. However, Pharaoh and those around him suffered greatly because of their pride and refusal to recognise Allah's Messenger. Yet instead of "paying heed," they regarded these events as bad luck caused by the Prophet Musa (as) and the Tribe of Israel. Following that, Allah sent a series of tribulations. We are told of these in the Qur'an:
So We sent down on them floods, locusts, lice, frogs and blood, Signs, clear and distinct, but they proved arrogant and were an evildoing people. (Qur'an, 7:133)
In the early 19th century a papyrus dating back to the Middle Kingdom was discovered in Egypt. The papyrus was taken to the Leiden Museum in Holland and translated by A.H. Gardiner in 1909. The entire text appears in the book Admonitions of an Egyptian from a Hieratic Papyrus in Leiden, and describes major changes in Egypt; famine, drought, the slaves’ flight from Egypt with their assets, and death all over the nation. The papyrus was written by an Egyptian called Ipuwer and it appears from its contents that this individual personally witnessed the disasters that struck Egypt. This papyrus is a most significant hand-written description of the catastrophes, the death of Egyptian society and the destruction of Pharaoh.
The details in the papyrus regarding the disasters that struck the people of Egypt are just as described in the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, we are told about these catastrophes. This Islamic account of this period of human history has been confirmed by the discovery in Egypt, in the early 19th century, of the Ipuwer papyruses dating back to the Middle Kingdom. After the discovery of this papyrus, it was sent to the Leiden Dutch Museum in 1909 and translated by A. H. Gardiner, a prominent scholar of ancient Egypt. In the papyrus were described such disasters in Egypt as famine, drought and the fleeing of the slaves from Egypt. Moreover, it appears that the writer of the papyrus, one Ipuwer, had actually witnessed these events. This is how the Ipuwer papyrus refers to these catastrophes described in the Qur'an:
Plague is throughout the land. Blood is everywhere.205
The river is blood.206
Forsooth, that has perished which yesterday was seen. The land is left over to its weariness like the cutting of flax.207
Lower Egypt weeps... The entire palace is without its revenues. To it belong (by right) wheat and barley, geese and fish.208
Forsooth, grain has perished on every side.209
The land-to its whole extent confusion and terrible noise… For nine days there was no exit from the palace and no one could see the face of his fellow… Towns were destroyed by mighty tides… Upper Egypt suffered devastation… blood everywhere… pestilence throughout the country… No one really sails north to Byblos today. What shall we do for cedar for our mummies?… Gold is lacking…210
Men shrink from tasting-human beings, and thirst after water.211
That is our water! That is our happiness! What shall we do in respect thereof? All is ruin!212
The towns are destroyed. Upper Egypt has become dry.213
The residence is overturned in a minute.214
The chain of disasters which struck the people of Egypt, according to this document, conforms perfectly with the Qur'anic account of these matters.215 This papyrus, which closely parallels the catastrophes which struck Egypt in the time of Pharaoh, once again demonstrates the Qur'an to be divine in origin.
As we shall see later on, Pharaoh regarded himself as a deity and responded with slanders and threats to Prophet Musa's (as) calls for him to believe in Allah. This arrogant attitude lasted until he was faced with the threat of death through drowning. The Qur'an relates that Pharaoh immediately turned to belief when faced with Allah's punishment:
We brought the tribe of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his troops pursued them out of tyranny and enmity. Then, when he was on the point of drowning, he [Pharaoh] said: "I believe that there is no god but Him in Whom the tribe of Israel believes. I am one of the Muslims." (Qur'an, 10:90)
However, this last-minute conversion was not accepted, for it was not sincere. According to the Qur'an, Allah exclaimed:
"What, now! When previously you rebelled and were one of the corrupters? Today we will preserve your body so you can be a Sign for people who come after you. Surely many people are heedless of Our Signs." (Qur'an, 10:91-92)
The information that Pharaoh's corpse would serve as a sign for later generations may be regarded as an indication that his body would not decay. On display in the Royal Mummies Chamber of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a mummified body believed to be that of this tyrant. In all likelihood, Pharaoh's body floated to shore after being drowned, was found and mummified by the Egyptians, and then carried to a previously prepared burial chamber.182
In papyruses from the time of Pharaoh, the Prophet Musa (as) is regularly referred to as a magician. (The papyruses in question are held in the British Museum.) Despite all the best efforts of Pharaoh and his supporters, they were never able to get the better of the Prophet Musa (as) in their all-out war against him and the Children of Israel.
This is written on the second day of the seventh month of Payni during the reign of Ramses, the elder brother of Ammon, the Sun's son who is the administrator of justice, and who lives eternally like his father, the Sun… When you receive this letter, rise, set to work and undertake the supervision of the fields. When you hear the news of a new misfortune such as a flood ruining the entire cereals, think. Hemton destroyed them by consuming them greedily, granaries are cracked, rats are clumped in fields, fleas are like hurricane, scorpions are eating up greedily, wounds caused by little flies are too many to count. And these grieve the people… The Scribe [probably referring to the Prophet Musa (as)] fulfilled the purpose to destroy the total amount of cereals… Sorceries are like their bread. Scribe… is the first of men in the art of writing.
The reference to the Prophet Musa (as), and the "magician" accusations hurled at him, can be found in the following verses:
They said, "Magician, invoke your Lord for us by the contract He has made with you and we shall certainly follow the guidance." (Qur'an, 43:49)
They said, "No matter what kind of Sign you bring us to bewitch us, we will not believe in you." (Qur'an, 7:132)
Many centuries ago, the community of Saba was one of the four biggest civilisations which lived in South Arabia.
Ruins of the Temple of Ma’rib
Historical sources relating to Saba usually say that this was a culture akin to that of the Phoenicians. It was particularly involved in commercial activities. The Sabaeans are recognised by historians as a civilised and cultured people. In the inscriptions of the rulers of Saba, words such as "restore," "dedicate" and "construct" are frequently used. The Ma'rib Dam, which is one of the most important monuments of this people, is an important indication of the technological level this people had reached.
The Sabaean state had one of the strongest armies in the region and was able to adopt an expansionist policy thanks to its potent army. With its advanced culture and army, the Sabaean state was without question one of the "super powers" of the region at the time. This extraordinarily strong army of the Sabaean state is also described in the Qur'an. An expression of the commanders of the Saba army related in the Qur'an, shows the extent of the confidence this army had in itself. The commanders call out to the female ruler (Queen) of the state:
… "We possess strength and we possess great force. But the matter is in your hands so consider what you command." (Qur'an, 27:33)
Because of the Ma'rib Dam which had been constructed, with the help of quite advanced technology for that particular era, the people of Saba possessed an enormous irrigation capacity. The fertile soil they acquired by virtue of this technique and their control over the trade route permitted them a splendid lifestyle, full of well-being. However, instead of giving thanks to Allah for all this, the Qur'an informs us that they actually "turned away from Him." Furthermore, they refused to heed the warnings and reminders issued to them. Because of these poor moral values, they merited punishment in the sight of Allah and their dams collapsed and the flood of Arim ruined all their lands.
The Ma’rib Dam (shown in the pictures above and to the side) was one of the major works of the people of Saba. The dam collapsed in the flood of Arim, mentioned in the Qur’an, and the Sabaean state was weakened economically and eventually collapsed.
The capital city of the Sabaean state was Ma'rib, which was extremely wealthy thanks to its advantageous geographical position. The capital city was very close to the River Adhanah. The point where the river reached Jabal Balaq was very suitable for the construction of a dam. Making use of this condition, the Sabaean people constructed a dam at this location at the time when their civilisation was first established, and they began irrigation. As a result, they reached a very high level of economic prosperity. The capital city, Ma'rib, was one of the most developed cities of the time. The Greek writer Pliny, who had visited the region and greatly praised it, also mentioned how green this region was.232
The height of the dam in Ma'rib was 16 metres, its width was 60 metres and its length was 620 metres. According to the calculations, the total area that could be irrigated by the dam was 9,600 hectares, of which 5,300 hectares belonged to the southern plain. The remaining part belonged to the northern plain. These two plains were referred to as "Ma'rib and two plains" in the Sabaean inscriptions.233 The expression in the Qur'an, "two gardens to the right and to the left," points to the imposing gardens and vineyards in these two valleys. Thanks to this dam and its irrigation systems, the region became famous as the best irrigated and most fruitful area of Yemen. The Frenchman J. Holevy and the Austrian Glaser proved from written documents that the Ma'rib dam existed since ancient times. In documents written in the Himer dialect, it is related that this dam rendered the territory very productive and was the heartbeat of the economy.
The dam that collapsed in 542 led to the flood of Arim and caused enormous damage. The vineyards, orchards and fields cultivated for hundreds of years by the people of Saba were completely destroyed. Following the collapse of the dam, the people of Saba appear to have entered a period of rapid contraction, at the end of which the Sabaean state came to an end.
When we examine the Qur'an in the light of the historical data above, we observe that there is very substantial agreement here. Archaeological findings and the historical data both verify what is recorded in the Qur'an. As mentioned in the verse, these people, who did not listen to the exhortations of their Prophet and who rejected faith, were in the end punished with a dreadful flood. This flood is described in the Qur'an in the following verses:
There was, for Saba, aforetime, a Sign in their home-land-two Gardens to the right and to the left. "Eat of the Sustenance [provided] by your Lord, and be grateful to Him: a territory fair and happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving!" But they turned away [from Allah], and We sent against them the Flood [released] from the dams, and We converted their two garden [rows] into "gardens" producing bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few [stunted] Lote-trees. That was the Requital We gave them because they ungratefully rejected Faith: And never do We give [such] requital except to such as are ungrateful rejecters. (Qur'an, 34:15-17)
In the Qur'an, the punishment sent to the Sabaean people is named as "Sayl al-Arim" which means the "flood of Arim." This expression used in the Qur'an also tells us the manner in which this disaster occurred. The word "Arim" means dam or barrier. The expression "Sayl al-Arim" describes a flood that came about with the collapse of this barrier. Islamic commentators have resolved the issue of time and place being guided by the terms used in the Qur'an about the flood of Arim. For example, Mawdudi writes in his commentary:
As also used in the expression, Sayl al-Arim, the word "arim" is derived from the word "arimen" used in the Southern Arabic dialect, which means "dam, barrier." In the ruins unearthed in the excavations made in Yemen, this word was seen to be frequently used in this meaning. For example, in the inscriptions which was ordered by Yemen's Habesh monarch, Ebrehe (Abraha), after the restoration of the big Ma'rib wall in 542 and 543 AD, this word was used to mean dam (barrier) time and again. So, the expression of Sayl al- Arim means "a flood disaster which occurs after the destruction of a dam." "… We converted their two garden [rows] into gardens producing bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few [stunted] Lote-trees" (Qur'an, 34:16). That is, after the collapse of the dam-wall, all the country was inundated by the flood. The canals that had been dug by the Sabaean people, and the wall that had been constructed by building barriers between the mountains, were destroyed and the irrigation system fell apart. As a result, the territory, which was like a garden before, turned into a jungle. There was no fruit left but the cherry-like fruit of little stumpy trees.234
The Christian archaeologist Werner Keller, writer of "Und Die Bible Hat Doch Recht" (The Holy Book Was Right), accepted that the flood of Arim occurred according to the description of the Qur'an and wrote that the existence of such a dam and the destruction of the whole country by its collapse proves that the example given in the Qur'an about the people of the garden was indeed realised.235
After the disaster of the Arim flood, the region started to turn into a desert and the Sabaean people lost their most important source of income. Their lands, which had been agricultural havens of prosperity and financial strength, disappeared. The people, who had not heeded the call of Allah to believe in Him and to be grateful to Him, were in the end punished with this disaster.
232. Hommel, Explorations in Bible Lands (Philadelphia: 1903), 739.
233. "Marib", Islam Ansiklopedisi: Islam Alemi, Tarihi, Cografya, Etnografya ve Bibliyografya Lugati (Encyclopedia of Islam: Dictionary of Islamic World, History, Geography, Ethnography, and Bibliography,) 7, 323-339.
234. Mevdudi, Tefhimül Kuran (An Honoring of the Qur’an) 4, Insan Yayinlari (Istanbul), 517.
235. Keller, Und die Bibel hat doch recht, 230
Did you know that the first verse of chapter "Human" (الانسان) is the 46th verse from Quran's beginning that contains the word "Human" (الانسن). Humans have 46 choromosomes, a scientific fact established in 1955!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks