The Fate of Pharaoh

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

According to the Biblical account, Pharaoh personally pursued Moses and the Israelites and was drowned in the Red Sea with all of his military forces.

"When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to YHVH … The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; all of the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left." [Exodus 14:10; 28-29]

The Qur'an also records that Pharaoh was swept into the red sea, but that his body was miraculously preserved (mummified) as a warning to future generations.

"We carried the Children of Israel across the sea, whereat Pharaoh and his troops pursued them out of defiance and aggression. When overtaken by drowning, he called out, 'I believe that there is no god except Him in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of those who submit [to Him]!' [He was told,] 'What! Now? When you have been disobedient heretofore and were among the agents of corruption?! So today We shall deliver your body so that you may be a sign for those who come after you.' Indeed many of the people are oblivious to Our signs." [Surat Yunus 10:90-92]

Current scholarship believes that Ramesses II is the most likely candidate for the Pharaoh of the Exodus. One thing to note is that Pharaoh is a title, similar to King; not a personal name. However, the Qur'an is very specific when it mentions Firaun (Pharaoh). In the Qur'an, Pharaoh is a title only applied to a single person. It is nearly unanimous that this person is Ramesses II. His mummy was discovered in the year 1898 and is currently on display at Cairo's Egyptian Museum.

What I find so fascinating about the parallel stories in the Bible and the Qur'an is that they both record the exact same event in much the exact same way. However, the Qur'an adds an additional tidbit of information. This information is something that could not have possibly appeared in anybody's most wild dreams in the 7th century Arabia. The only logical conclusion is that this event (the preservation of Pharaoh's body) is a divine event and that the revelation to Muhammad (sawa) was also a divine event. The odds of his prediction being correct are astronomically unlikely.

في أمان الله