قَالَ آمَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ فَلَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَاباً وَأَبْقَى

71. (The Pharaoh) said: "Do you believe in Him before I give you permission? I see that he (Moses) is your master who taught you sorcery! I will surely have your hands and feet cut off alternately, and have you crucified on the trunks of palm-trees, and you will certainly come to know which of us (– the Lord of Aaron and Moses or I –) is more severe in punishment and (whose punishment is) more lasting!"¹³

13. The Pharaoh's reaction is the reaction of all dictators throughout history. Nimrod and his men showed the same reaction before the Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace; when they were defeated in an intellectual argument, they threw him into fire. The sorcerers who began to show their skills by declaring that they would triumph by the Pharaoh's honor and might (26: 44) were able to distinguish between sorcery and the truth. They saw that what the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, did was not sorcery, and that the Pharaoh's honor and might were of no avail, so they came to believe. Yet the Pharaoh refused to believe, even in the face of the truth which showed itself in utter clarity. The event had taken place before a crowd, so it was quite probable that some among those, too, would believe, and some others would feel a light in the name of belief appearing in their heart. This was what the Pharaoh feared. He could not bear defeat, and he felt that his sovereignty was at stake if people were to believe. So he resorted to threats and massacres.

This verse discloses another aspect of dictatorship. Dictators want people to do whatever they order them to do. They see themselves as the one and only authority to decide for people what to believe and what not to believe in, as well as what to think and what not to think. That is, they try to command even their minds and hearts.

The miracles granted to each Prophet were of the same kind as the science and crafts which had developed in his time; each Prophet surpassed the level of that science and those crafts through the miracles he worked. Moses' experience with the Pharaoh also revealed that in addition to having outstanding virtues, the representatives and preachers of Islam also should excel others in knowledge.