A few young men, despite the fear of the Pharaoh, embraced the true faith and became the followers of Prophet Musa^-AS .The dreadful Pharaoh was indeed an extremely cruel and vicious person, who could go to any limit in inflicting pain on people. It was, therefore, only natural for people to fear him and his chieftains. Nevertheless, the urge to seek the light of faith has its own influence despite all odds. So Prophet Musa^-AS told his followers that after being blessed with faith in Allah^-SWT, they should also have trust in Him^-SWT , for faith is just another name of trust and reliance. And if He^-SWT plans to protect someone, no harm can come to him even if the opponent is as powerful as the Pharaoh.

 

Collective Prayer Must Precede a Task

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So all the believers obeyed and declared their trust in Allah^-SWT and raised their hands in prayer. They beseeched: “O’ Allaah^-SWT ! Protect us from being overpowered by this cruel folk and by Your^-SWT Grace, prevent the disbelievers from harming us. And also deliver us from them forever."

 

Houses of Worship

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The Pharaoh had already demolished the houses of worship of his oppressed subjects. Prior to Islam, every nation could worship only in the places specified for the purpose. It is a singular honour of the Holy Prophet^-SW that the entire expanse of earth has been declared a masjid. So when the Pharaoh conceived the idea of razing the houses of worship to ground, Allaah^-SWT instructed Prophets Musa^-AS and Harun^-AS to construct a few houses facing the Qiblah as masaajid for worship. This is the present situation in Europe and other non-Muslim countries, where it is not permitted to build a masjid. Hence declaring any house, where worship in the direction of Qiblah is possible, as masjid is considered appropriate. It is also evident from these Ayat that for all the nations prior to Islam it was mandatory to turn to Qiblah in Salat. Likewise to provide obligatory coverings to the body and to perform ablution is also proved. Though the entire land has been declared a masjid for the Holy Prophet^-SW but offering obligatory Salat, in congregation, in a proper masjid is highly meritorious. The Holy Prophet^-SW, however, used to offer Sunnah and Nawafil at home. So Prophet Musa^-AS is commanded to inform the faithful that if they face any problem in offering Salat at a specified place, they can offer it wherever possible and it shall be accepted by Allaah^-SWT . No one can deprive them of Allaah^-SWT ’s worship, which indeed ensures eternal success.

 

Prophet Musa’s^-AS Imprecation

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After being totally disappointed with the Pharaoh, Prophet Musa^-AS prayed to Allah^-SWT : "O’ Allah! You^-SWT have showered unlimited bounties in the form of affluence and power but these arrogant people, instead of showing gratitude, are employing that wealth to delude Your^-SWT Creation. O' Allah^-SWT ! Destroy the riches of the Pharaoh and his chieftains and harden their hearts further so that they fail to become believers until they witness the doom”. This, in fact, was a reflection of the inevitable outcome of their actions and conduct. So if one is not given the honour of obeying the saints, he must at least refrain from opposing them lest his heart is hardened and deprived of faith.

 

Thus Allah^-SWT accepted the imprecation of Prophets Musa^-AS and Harun^-AS declaring that if these unfortunate people had rejected His^-SWT Prophets^-AS, He^-SWT , too, would reject them Nevertheless, both the Prophets^-AS were commanded to remain steadfast on Allah^-SWT's obedience and teachings and not to be influenced by any ritual of these ignorant people.

 

Resemblance with non-Believers is Prohibited

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Although the Prophets^-AS are addressed directly, yet the purpose is to convey the Message to their nation that the destruction of the Pharaoh and his lot is conditional upon their followers maintaining an Islamic identity. And if they are influenced by the Pharaoh and his chieftains and adopt some of their traits, then the non believers shall not be destroyed. Afterall there must be some fundamental difference to invoke different treatment. This is so true of the Muslim of today who resembles in his dress, outlook and life style, the Christians, the Jews and the Hindus; hence Allah^-SWT shall not humble them against such Muslims according to the principle stated above.

 

So the Bani Israil safely crossed the sea, and the Army of the Pharaoh in hot pursuit was drowned. Witnessing death, the vainglorious Pharaoh forgot all his arrogance. As he saw the Angels of Death, he exclaimed: "I believe in the Rabb^-SWT of Bani Israil. I accept that He^-SWT Alone is worthy of worship and declare myself as a Muslim.” Allaah^-SWT replied: "You accept now when the time has lapsed and you had rebelled before" When a non believer witnesses death and the Barzakh and the punishment flashes before his eyes, acceptance of faith is of no consequence, for these signify the end of his worldly life. Even if a believer utters any heretic word at that stage it will be ignored, and he will be deemed a believer. This has the support of sayings of the Holy Prophet^-SW that Allah^-SWT accepts the repentance of people until the signs of death overtake.

 

Allah^-SWT decreed that the body of Pharaoh would be retrieved from the sea to be made as a symbol of admonition for the coming generations. Instantly the sea threw out his corpse so that the Bani Israil could also witness his end. Later it was discovered in a preserved condition from the Valley of Shahan. Today it lies in Cairo Museum. When his dead body was discovered, the Christian archaeologists were pressurized by their priests to declare that this was not the body of the Pharaoh who had perished while chasing Prophet Musa^-AS people. However, they declined, and said that there was no choice but to accept it, as any other scientist investigating elsewhere could easily find out that only that particular body contained traces of oceanic salts and none else. It is thus proved that his death was caused by drowning and it is a living Quranic miracle that his corpse has been preserved as a sign of admonition for all times to come.