Knowledge of the past · Prophecies

'The king' in Joseph's story, 'Pharaoh' in Moses' story

Quran 12:43, 12:54; 7:103-104Quran

And [subsequently] the king said, "Indeed, I have seen [in a dream] seven fat cows being eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry. O eminent ones, explain to me my vision, if you should interpret visions."Quran 12:43, Sahih International

Then We sent after them Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his establishment, but they were unjust toward them. So see how was the end of the corrupters. And Moses said, "O Pharaoh, I am a messenger from the Lord of the worldsQuran 7:103-104, Sahih International

What happened

The Quran calls Egypt's ruler 'the king' (al-malik) throughout the story of Joseph (peace be upon him) and 'Pharaoh' (Fir'awn) throughout the story of Moses (peace be upon him). The Bible uses 'Pharaoh' in both stories. Egyptologists note that the Egyptian per-aa ('great house') was a name for the palace and came to be used for the king himself mainly from the New Kingdom (from about the 15th century BC).

The Muslim case

Islamic Awareness and Sh. Mohammad Elshinawy (Yaqeen Institute) argue that the Quran's usage fits this history: Joseph is usually placed earlier than the New Kingdom, often in the Hyksos period of foreign rulers, and Moses later. Elshinawy quotes Maurice Bucaille on the knowledge of hieroglyphs having been lost until the 19th century.

Scope

The dates of Joseph and Moses are not settled in Egyptology, and per-aa appears in earlier texts as a name for the palace. The Muslim case is a consistent pattern in the Quran that fits Egyptological findings.

'The heaven and earth wept not for them'

Quran 44:29Quran

How much they left behind of gardens and springs And crops and noble sites And comfort wherein they were amused. Thus. And We caused to inherit it another people. And the heaven and earth wept not for them, nor were they reprieved.Quran 44:25-29, Sahih International

What happened

The ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, carved in Old Kingdom royal tombs and first uncovered at Saqqara in 1880 to 1881, describe the sky and the earth responding to the king's death and ascent. James P. Allen's translation renders lines in which the sky weeps or the earth trembles for him.

The Muslim case

Muslim writers (for example Islam365 and Quran and Science in Harmony) argue that the verse, said of Pharaoh and his people, answers an Egyptian royal belief that heaven and earth mourned the king.

Scope

The Pyramid Texts wording is not identical to the verse, and Arabic also uses 'the heavens wept' as a figure of speech, as the tafsir of al-Jalalayn explains. This is presented as a striking parallel, not a quotation.