Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:49

(He said): Meaning Pharaoh, after they came to him and conveyed what they were commanded to convey. The mention of this was omitted for the sake of brevity, signaling that as soon as they were commanded to do so, they hastened to comply without delay, and because the fact itself is so manifest that there is no need to make it explicit. It has been related from Ibn Abbas that when they were commanded to go to him and say what they were told to say, they both came to his gate and remained there for a while without being granted permission. Then, after being held back by severe barriers, they were permitted to enter, and what God, the Exalted, related took place.

Ahmad and others narrated from Wahb ibn Munabbih that when God, the Exalted, commanded Moses, peace be upon him, with what He commanded, he went to Pharaoh in a city around which lions had been placed in a thicket he had planted. The lions were kept there with their keepers, and if they were unleashed upon anyone, they would devour him. The city had four gates within the thicket. Moses, peace be upon him, approached from the main road that Pharaoh could see. When the lions saw him, they shrieked like foxes. The keepers were distressed by this and feared Pharaoh. He continued until he reached the gate and struck it with his staff, wearing a wool cloak and trousers. When the gatekeeper saw him, he was amazed at his boldness, so he left him and did not grant him permission. He said, "Do you know whose door you are knocking? You are only knocking at the door of your master!" He said, "You, I, and Pharaoh are slaves to my Lord, and I am a helper of His." The gatekeeper informed the one next to him, and it was relayed through the gatekeepers until it reached the lowest of them, even though seventy chamberlains were below him, each having as many soldiers under his command as God, the Exalted, willed. Finally, the news reached Pharaoh, and he said, "Bring him in to me." When he came to him, Pharaoh said to him, "I recognize you." He said, "Yes." He said, "Did we not raise you among us as a child?" Moses, peace be upon him, responded to him with what he responded. Pharaoh said, "Seize him!" The Prophet, peace be upon him, hastened and threw his staff, and behold, it was a serpent clearly visible. It charged at the people, and they fled from it; twenty-five thousand of them died, some killing others. Pharaoh stood up, fleeing until he entered his house. He said, "O Moses, set an appointment between us and you that we may consider." Moses said, "I was not commanded to do that. I was only commanded to confront you, and if you do not come out, I will enter upon you." So God, the Exalted, inspired him to set an appointment between himself and him, and to say to him, "You set it." Pharaoh said, "Set it for forty days." He did so, and he would not go to the privy except once every forty days, so that day was deferred forty times. Moses, peace be upon him, left the city, and when he passed by the lions, they bowed their tails to him and walked with him, escorting him, neither harming him nor any of the Children of Israel. It is apparent that Aaron was with him during these two signs, and perhaps he was not mentioned in this report because mentioning Moses, peace be upon him, was sufficient.

It is said that when they presented the message to Pharaoh, he consulted Asiya. She said, "It is not fitting for anyone to reject that to which they have been called." He then consulted Haman, and he would not resolve any matter without his opinion. He said to him, "I used to believe that you were a man of intellect who owns, yet you would become owned; a lord who would become a subject." So he refused to accept what Moses, peace be upon him, had presented to him. The surface meaning of this is that the consultation occurred before the dialogue, but it is possible it was after it. The best practice in such stories is to suffice with what is in the Revelation and not turn to anything else unless its authenticity is verified or there is nothing in the Revelation that contradicts it. However, the previous report is contradicted by the fact that Pharaoh set the time, as it conflicts with what will come later, God willing, regarding Moses’ statement when Pharaoh asked him to set an appointment: "Your appointment is the Day of the Festival." It is apparent that the incident did not happen multiple times. The sentence is an explanatory initiation as if it were said, "What did he say when they came to him and said what they said?" It was said, "He said, (Then who is the Lord of you two, O Moses?)"

He did not attribute the "Lord" to Himself—not even by way of quoting what is in the words of God, the Exalted: "We are the messengers of your Lord," and His, the Exalted’s, words: "We have come to you with a sign from your Lord"—due to the extremity of his arrogance and the end of his tyranny. Rather, he attributed it to the two of them, because the Sender must be the Lord of the messenger. It is also said that it is because they had already made explicit the Lordship of the Exalted over everything by saying, "We are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds," as occurred in Surat ash-Shu'ara'. Limiting the mention here to the Lordship of the Exalted over Pharaoh is sufficient for the intended purpose. The fa (then) is for the logical ordering of the question upon what preceded it, namely, that they were both messengers of their Lord. That is: "Since you are both messengers of your Lord who sent you, inform me: who is the Lord of you both who sent you?"

The specification of the address to Moses, peace be upon him, while directing the speech to both of them, is because it became clear to him that he was the primary figure in the message and Aaron was his minister. It is also possible that it was to insinuate that He is his Lord, as he said, "Did we not raise you among us as a child?" It is said that this is more consistent with his deception according to his foolish methodology. It is also said that it is because he knew that he, peace be upon him, had a speech impediment, so he wanted to silence him. This is based on the position of many exegetes that a lingering impediment remained in his tongue, peace be upon him, to some extent, and this matter has already been discussed.