Every Pharaoh Must Fall

Every Pharaoh Must Fall

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The most frequently mentioned story in the Qur'an. The most epic saga. For a reason, for a wisdom only Allah knows — the story of Musa and Fir'aun. Not just a historical tale, but the reason it was so frequently repeated was because it's so relevant to us, and will be relevant specifically to the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ until we return to Allah.

Now, the question really lies in understanding — the title of this talk is Every Fir'aun Must Fall. But what is it that led to the fall of the Fir'aun? What was the technique? What was the tool? What was the story? What was the path that led to the falling of the Fir'aun? Because that's where we can extract our guidance.

The Making of Musa

At the inception of this story — the story of Musa ﷺ — there is so much to take. But there's an important piece that I want to start with. The Fir'aun cannot fall unless there is a Moses. This much is clear from the story. But the making of Moses, the making of Musa ﷺ, is so important. The development, the tarbiyah, the nurturing of this young man who will eventually be the man to topple Fir'aun.

I want to just zoom into one part of his development. Suratul Qasas in the Qur'an — if you want to go and look at really his development, where he started and where he reached, there's a lot there. I just want to pause on one part of the development of Musa ﷺ, which is the part in his story when he stands in front of the burning bush and he receives his first revelation.

Allah introduces himself to Musa ﷺ. Does Musa ﷺ already know Allah? Does he know who He is? How do we know he knows who Allah is? What if it's the first time he heard? How do we know that Musa already knows who Allah is at this point in time? What evidence do we have? What's the dalil?

When Musa arrives in Madyan, after he escapes Egypt, he makes du'a, he speaks to Allah. And in fact this is only the third or fourth or fifth instance in which he's speaking to Allah and making du'a to Him. So he knows Allah. So why is Allah reintroducing himself to Musa? Doesn't he already know? Why the reintroduction?

This is all in the context of the development of Musa — the man who would topple the pharaoh. Why is Allah reintroducing himself to somebody who knows Allah already?

It's not really a reintroduction to Musa per se. Before he gets handed the job description — remember, what's he in for? Is he in for a bed of roses? No, he's going to walk through the fire. Before he walks through the fire, he needs to know why he's walking through the fire. The most important part of the making of Musa, the most important piece, is the deep knowledge of who Allah is.

You cannot topple the pharaoh unless you know Allah. It doesn't matter what techniques you have. It doesn't matter what army you've got. It doesn't matter what ammunition you think you have, what support you have. It doesn't matter — if you don't know Allah, you will not topple anything.

Allah reintroduces himself to Musa to give him the why and the whom for.

Now Musa ﷺ is standing there. He's realized that Allah has selected him for something special. But Allah is about to teach him something which will stay with him until the moment he splits the sea — and it will stay with him in the palace of Pharaoh, in the duel with the sorcerers.

The Stick — Letting Go and Trusting Allah

Allah is going to teach him now the ABCs of something extremely important. "What's that in your right hand, Musa?" Does Allah know it's his stick? Why is Allah asking him the question then? He can just say, "Throw whatever is in your right hand." He's clarifying the basics, setting the baseline. But also, He wants Musa ﷺ to talk to Him.

What's in your right hand? What's the one-word answer? "Stick." But what's Musa's answer? "Oh Allah, it's my stick. I rely on it. I do so many things with it." Why is he prolonging the answer? It's a one-word answer. Why is Musa prolonging the answer? He wants to keep talking to Allah. He's enjoying the conversation. He's not in a rush to cut the line.

"Musa, you rely on the stick, you do all these things with the stick — I'm telling you, throw it away now." Why is Allah asking him to throw away the thing he trusts most and relies on for so many day-to-day needs? Allah wants Musa ﷺ to let go of the tool, and to let go of reliance in the sabab, in the physical tool, so Allah can then teach him to trust the creator of the tool.

Now Musa chucks the stick. Now I have nothing to rely on. Now who do I have left? I only have Allah left. What happens?

He throws the stick and it turns into a snake. What happens to Musa ﷺ at this point? The stick turns into a snake — he's shocked, but he does something specific. He turns around and he runs, not to return. Is that the conduct of a prophet? How will this man stand up in front of Fir'aun? He can't even stand in front of a snake. He turns and he runs out of fear.

But think about what he did — he just did what Allah asked him to do. Now when you do what Allah asks you to do — Allah tells you pray salah, give zakah, fast — you think, "I'll do all these things Allah is asking me to do and everything will be fine and dandy." But sometimes that's not the case, right? You do everything and then you still have a snake looking at you. That's what Allah is teaching Musa ﷺ: you may fulfill every commandment I ask you to do, Musa. You may go and step where I tell you to step and say what I tell you to say. But you better be ready that the snake might still come back to bite you. Be ready for the unexpected. Do not expect that it's all going to be roses, even if you listen to me. You will still be tested. Be ready for that.

This is the mental preparation. Be ready for hardship, be ready for unexpected fear. Now Allah is going to ask him something even more difficult than telling him to throw the stick — He says grab the snake. "Grab the snake and don't be scared of the snake." Grabbing the snake is probably easier than "don't be scared of the snake."

What's Allah teaching Musa ﷺ now? Trust in Allah. More specifically — Allah is going to ask you to do some things, and they are going to be terrifying. In your right wits you would never do this. If you were paid to do it, you would never do it. But grab the snake. The scary fangs with the venom and the eyes. Just hold it. Overcome your fear of what you don't understand. Why? Because I told you I'll look after you. I want you to trust me.

"I will turn it back to what it was." When Allah says "grab this" — that's a commandment. When Allah says "I will turn it back to its original form" — what's this? It's a promise. Allah is promising him: grab the snake and I will turn it back to its original form. This is the promise of Allah.

It's a small promise, this one here. But what's Allah training Musa to do? To trust that the promise of Allah will always come true. The promise of Allah comes true. Musa grabs the snake. It turns back into the stick. Allah is teaching him to overcome his fear. Allah is teaching him trust. Allah is teaching him in one line: let go, and leave it to me.

If you don't have this, Musa, it doesn't matter what you have. You will not be able to overcome the Pharaoh.

Musa's Fears and Allah's Reassurance

Musa's first instinct is to express his fear. He's terrified of this task. He said, "My Lord, I fear that they will reject me. My chest will be strained and my tongue will not be able to speak. And maybe when I get to Pharaoh, after all the build-up, I'll just freeze — I won't be able to speak."

"Please send my brother to help me."

"And these people — I'm a criminal in their eyes. They might even murder me." How many fears does Musa ﷺ relate to Allah? Three times he says he's scared. He's terrified. Are you ready? What does Allah say to reassure him?

"Go with my signs."

"With my signs, you will always be victorious." Not with your armies. Not with your strategies. Not with your tools. If you are attached to my ayaat, my signs, my revelation — listen to me, Musa, you will be fine. Just keep the earpiece in your ear. We'll tell you what to do. That's what Allah is saying. Don't worry. I know you have nothing but a stick, but just listen to me. Tune into my ayaat — I will show you the way.

This is the training, the crash course that Musa ﷺ needs. And anybody who is intending to deal with any injustice and any oppression — often today we have social movements built on Marxism, social movements built on some foreign ideology, with this idea that we will disrupt the status quo, we will do X, we will do Y, and we will use these methods and tools and techniques and philosophies we've learnt. Nothing will work if it is not built on the bedrock of knowing Allah, of trusting Allah, of listening to the revelation of Allah. Any activism not grounded in the Qur'an is a waste, because it is not an activism that is on the template of the activism of Musa ﷺ.

Musa Stands Before Fir'aun

Now Musa ﷺ goes and he stands in front of Fir'aun. Fir'aun tries to manipulate him, tries to guilt him, tries to remind him of his crimes, remind him of his childhood, of his favours. He's a manipulation expert, a blackmail expert. But then Fir'aun asks Musa the first question — who is your Lord? Who is this Allah?

Wasn't this the first thing Allah taught him? Now it's going to pay its dividends. Allah is the one who gave everything its shape and then showed it the way. In another part of the Qur'an, Musa ﷺ gives a much more prolonged response. But the fact is this: if Musa does not know Allah, how can he stand in front of the injustice? He cannot. And so Musa ﷺ — the bedrock of his activism and his repelling of oppression is his knowledge of who Allah is, and his trust in Allah.

The Characters of This Story

In this story — the story of Musa and Fir'aun — there are a number of characters. You have the Pharaoh of Egypt. You have the close advisors, the state apparatus that surrounds this Pharaoh. You have the media — al-hashara — the people that Pharaoh sends out to spread messages amongst his audience, amongst his population. You have the magicians, whose role it is to make black look white to the public and white look black — the PR specialists. And then you have the upper class, and the enslaved class of people, Banu Israel.

These five characters — they repeat in our ummah again and again and again in cycles. The oppressor and the oppressed. The oppressor with all of his resources and his armies and everything he has at his disposal, and the miskeen oppressed who have nothing. This repeated template in the Qur'an has repeated so many times because it is a repeated template in the past, present and future. But the message is very clear — those who are oppressed, with the promise of Allah, will eventually receive liberation. That's the promise of Allah.

The Impatience of Banu Israel

You see, Banu Israel eventually get impatient. They get tired. "You have all these nice miracles, Musa, but we're still stuck here. We're still enslaved. Where's the liberation? We want to see action. We want to see results." And they even said to him: "Before you came, Musa, we were being harmed, and now we're still being harmed. You haven't made any tangible difference to our lives."

He said, "Guys, maybe Allah will destroy your enemy one day, and then He will give you power — and then we'll see how you deal with power. Be careful what you wish for, Banu Israel. You want results? They may be coming. But don't be too eager for the power. What happens when you get power? Maybe you'll become corrupted. Maybe you'll cause more corruption. Maybe you'll worship the cow — the golden cow. Maybe you'll fight between each other. Maybe you'll be left to wander the land. Maybe you'll become lazy. Maybe you'll become ungrateful. Be careful what you wish for, my friends."

"Be patient. All this time that we are waiting for the relief of Allah — it's to develop you, so that you are fit for when Allah gives you the keys to power. Don't think that Allah is going to give you the keys to power tomorrow. That's not my job. My job is to prepare you. And there is nothing better to purify any substance than to put it through fire or a furnace. You guys don't like the furnace? The whole point of the furnace is to purify you, so you are ready for the blessing of power. Don't be in a rush."

The Lesson of Khabbab ibn al-Aratt

One day Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, the Prophet's ﷺ companion, came to him. Now Khabbab ibn al-Aratt used to get tortured by his mistress — she used to take iron, put it in a scalding hot furnace, and press it into his back until it melted through his skin and you could see his bones. One day he came to the Messenger ﷺ while the Prophet ﷺ was sat in front of the Ka'bah with a shawl, a cloak wrapped around him, and he said, "Ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, how long are we going to keep up with this? How long is our oppression going to last? It's been 13 years. When is the result? When are you going to ask Allah to destroy and wipe these people off the face of the earth? I'm tired of waiting. I've got no skin on my back. Are you not going to make du'a for us? Do something."

The Prophet ﷺ looks at him and says, "There will come a day when somebody will cross the Arabian Peninsula in safety, and from east to west, Islam will stretch." That's the promise of Allah.

"Stop being in a rush." Why do you want results tomorrow? This is a process, and the process is governed by Allah. Resist, persist, show your patience — because this is the time for patience. The Muslims in those days were not allowed to do jihad. They were not allowed to even repel. They were tortured but they were not allowed to do anything about it. The order to fight, to defend themselves, only came much later. So they were supposed to silently take the torture and the persecution. It's part of the process, it's part of the test, it's part of your development.

So Musa ﷺ is giving the same tarbiyah, the same mindset to Banu Israel. Stop being hasty. Rome was not built in a day, and the Pharaoh will not fall in a day. He will not. And just as Allah develops Musa, so too Allah is developing the children of Israel. They need to be ready for what's about to happen. Because if they're not ready, the Pharaoh will fall, there will be a vacuum in his wake, and these people will not be ready to do anything with that vacuum. They will not be fit for power. So they need to first be ready. And that might take ten years, it might take a hundred years. But it is the timeline of Allah. That's the pattern of Allah — His law in which He governs societies — and you will not find that Allah's law changes.

The falling of the Pharaoh always takes decades. This is the sunnah of Allah. You can't speed it up more than it's supposed to be sped up. You can't slow it down more than it's supposed to be slowed down. But patience, gratitude, development, resistance, being vocal — all of this helps. But be patient, because the result is with Allah, it is not with you.

The Lesson of Uhud and the Battle of Badr

One of the lessons that the Muslims learnt in the Battle of Uhud is that it is not your resources and tools that will bring you victory. You should have them, and you should absolutely wield them, but victory will not come from them. Remember when you were given victory at Badr, even though you were few and you were humiliated.

If you want success, if you want victory, if you want to overcome this injustice — you don't need an army, you don't need tools and techniques. You need the consciousness of Allah. That's going to get you through the other end.

There's a balance. On the one hand Allah is telling the Messenger ﷺ to prepare his tools and techniques:

"O Muhammad, be well prepared for battle." You can't slack and aim to win. At the same time, Allah is telling the Prophet ﷺ — battles are not won by tools, by sticks. They are won only through the help and assistance of Allah. But what have you done to earn His assistance? Have you done enough to earn His assistance? Or are your doings going to result in your humiliation? The humiliation of Uhud was to teach the believers that you may be larger in number, and the numbers will grow, but the numbers are not going to help you win.

Between the Sea and the Army

Musa ﷺ has a large number of believers behind him. Allah commands Musa ﷺ to set out in the darkness of the night. And as Musa ﷺ prepares to leave, Fir'aun sends his army after him. Now Musa ﷺ finds himself in front of the sea. Behind him — an army with clattering hooves, with clashing swords, as far as the eye can see. Dusts, mountains of sand gathering. As Banu Israel realize, their doom is just inevitable.

This is the moment — after all the miracles that they saw — that Allah is going to test Banu Israel. He's going to test their mettle. Do you have what it takes? At this point in time, as the army of the Pharaoh draws near and they find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place, Banu Israel give up completely. And this is just the trailer for all the fumbles that happened after they crossed the sea. If you weren't able to remain committed and loyal to Allah in that moment of hardship, then how are you going to worship Him in ease?

As they stand there they say:

"We are finished." But Musa ﷺ says — and this is all the training of Musa ﷺ, it comes to fruition in this moment:

"I'm not going to give up, because Allah is with me. He's showing me the way."

The significance of this moment cannot be underrated and underestimated. This sentence that Musa ﷺ says — inna ma'iya Rabbi, "Allah is with me" — this sentence is the salvation of Musa and all of Banu Israel. It is the realization: be where you may be, regardless of how dark the place, how difficult the situation, how impossible the odds — that state of being where you believe, "Allah is with me."

The Cave of Thawr — The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr

Do you know another time in the life of our Messenger ﷺ where the Prophet ﷺ remembered this moment — the idea that Allah is with us? Another pivotal moment in Islamic history — the whole of Islamic history could have ended in this moment. During the hijrah, in the cave of Thawr. What happens to Abu Bakr? As he looks up, he sees the assassins from Mecca stood over the cave, and he says, "If they look down, we are finished." But the Prophet ﷺ says in this moment:

"Abu Bakr, don't despair. Allah is with us." This mindset is the mindset of the Prophets. This mindset alone will topple all the pharaohs. The belief — the concrete belief — that Allah is with us, and nobody can come in between me and Him.

This got the Prophet ﷺ through the hijrah, through the migration. This got Musa ﷺ past the sea. This got Ibrahim ﷺ past the fire. This got Yunus ﷺ out of the whale.

Ibrahim in the Fire — HasbunAllah wa Ni'mal Wakil

As Ibrahim ﷺ is cast into the fire, Jibreel descends to ask him, "Can I help you out?" Ibrahim ﷺ says, "No. Not from you, go back — Allah will help me."

And what does Ibrahim ﷺ say inside the fire?

Allah is enough, and He is the best wakil. What's a wakil? An agent — in today's world, a travel agent. Why do you go to the agent instead of going to Skyscanner? Because he does everything for you, he sorts everything out for you. Allah is al-Wakil — He is the ultimate owner, and He will take care of everything.

What Ibrahim ﷺ says in the fire, and what Yunus ﷺ says in the whale, and what Musa ﷺ says at the sea — there is a pattern.

The Du'a of Distress — Praising Allah Without an Ask

Let me extend the pattern. One day Abu Bakr as-Siddiq asks the Prophet ﷺ, "When I hit rock bottom, what do I say?" — du'a ul-karb, the du'a in distress. The Prophet ﷺ says to him:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6346; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2730)

"Oh Abu Bakr, when you are in the peak of your distress, when everything has caved in and you've given up, say: La ilaha illa Allah al-Azim al-Haleem. La ilaha illa Allah Rabb al-Arsh al-Azim. La ilaha illa Allah Rabb al-Samawat wa Rabb al-Ard wa Rabb al-Arsh al-Karim." — "There is none worthy of worship but Allah, the Great and the Tolerant. There is none worthy of worship but Allah, Lord of the Glorious Throne. There is none worthy of worship but Allah, Lord of the Heavens, Lord of the Earth, and Lord of the Generous Throne."

Something is missing. I'm in distress and I have to say this — but where is the ask? Where is the ask? Isn't this supposed to be a du'a? The du'a ul-karb — the du'a in distress, the du'a when you've lost all tools. Why does the du'a have no ask?

Because you don't need to ask — Allah knows. But there is something more deeper here. This statement — my description of Allah — what is this? It's a form of praise. And there is a level of contentment with the decree of Allah. You see why is it that the Prophet ﷺ is teaching Aisha and Abu Bakr — there are two ahadith, one in Abu Dawud and one elsewhere — when you are in the darkest of depths, praise Allah and describe Him. Because the Prophet ﷺ related to us that Allah conveyed to him:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2926; classified as Hasan by al-Tirmidhi)

"Whoever is too busy praising me to ask me for something — I will give them more than I give those who are demanding of me." Praise me, and I will surprise you. Remember me — because when you remember me, you remember the one who put you in this dungeon, in this difficulty that you're in.

It's not easy being the oppressed. It's painful being the oppressed. We see the images and the videos from Rohingya, from Burma, from Gaza, from China, from the Uyghurs. We see what's happening. It's painful. But Allah is teaching them — when you're in that rock bottom and you are helpless — I made you helpless to realize: only I can help you.

Why did I put Yunus in the belly of the whale? So he could say, "Oh Allah, nobody can get me out but You. Glory to You." Why did I put Ibrahim in the fire? So he could say حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ. Why did I put Musa in front of the sea? So he could say, "Allah is with me." This is the mindset of steel. The mindset of every messenger, of every oppressed people that saved them. It was the mindset, the trust, the blind faith in the promise of Allah — while taking whatever means was available to them.

The Splitting of the Sea

"I then revealed to Musa: strike the sea with your stick." It split, and both sides of the sea were like two mountains. "I saved the rest of the believers with him, and I drowned his opposition."

The Drowning of Fir'aun — It Is Never Too Late, Until It Is

But hold on a second — there's one final piece to the drowning of the Pharaoh. As the Pharaoh is drowning, something very strange happens. The Pharaoh, in a last desperate attempt, tries to acknowledge Allah. What does he say?

Pharaoh says, while drowning, "I believe in the one Banu Israel believe in." Pay attention — something's missing. Does he have a name? Why couldn't Pharaoh say His name? He doesn't know Allah. That's why he drowned. He can't even say the name of Allah. Allah would never honor him with that privilege. "And I now submit."

One of the very personal lessons we can take from the drowning of the Pharaoh — you know how they say it's never too late? It can be too late. What's Allah's response?

"Now? Now you repent to me? After all the options and opportunities I gave you, now you repent to me?"

"Now, I will not give you that opportunity — because it's too late." There will be a time for all of us when returning to Allah will become too late. There will be a time when we cannot change our ways. There will be a time when we cannot repent. But Allah is teaching us through the drowning of Pharaoh that before you and me are taken from this world, we have to return to Him — because there comes a time when there's no going back.

"O believers, make a sincere U-turn to Allah. Make a sincere U-turn to Allah."

A Message of Hope — The Mercy of Allah

I want to end on this point of hope. The Prophet ﷺ informed us that Allah informed him: "Son of Adam, daughter of Eve — even if your sins were to extend from here up until the galaxies, but you came to Allah sincerely asking His forgiveness, Allah would forgive every one of those sins without a care."

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3540; classified as Hasan by al-Tirmidhi)

"Child of Adam, if your sins reached the sky, and you then turned to me with sincerity and monotheism, I would forgive everything you did and I wouldn't care."

Fir'aun — he had his expiry date. And you and me will have our expiry date. The secret to success is not always in the tools, but it is in the heart that wields the tools. And in the one who created the tools. And our attachment to Him is what allows us to endure.

Endurance comes from:

Endurance comes from:

And those in Gaza, those in China, those in Burma — those oppressed — the vast majority of them are just enduring. They are the ones who teach us iman. They are the ones who teach us trust. But if we don't learn that trust, the test will come for us as well.

Fir'aun drowned. But in each of us there is a small Fir'aun. We all have our egos, we all have our tempers, we all have our pride. We all have our moments. But Fir'aun was a moment too late. Don't be a moment too late.