Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:23

Pharaoh said—interrogating concerning the Sender, Glorified be He—"And what is the Lord of the worlds?"

The verification of this, according to the eminent scholar al-Tibi, is that when He, Exalted and Majestic, commanded them with His saying, "Then go to Pharaoh and say, 'Indeed, we are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds, to send with us the Children of Israel,'" they necessarily had to be compliant in delivering that very message to the accursed one. When it was delivered in his presence, he objected first by saying, "Did we not raise you among us as a child?" to the end of the verse. Then he objected secondly by saying, "And what is the Lord of the worlds?" For this reason, the conjunctive particle waw (and) was brought, and the word "said" was repeated due to the length of the intervening text. It is as if he said: "Are you a messenger? And what is the Lord of the worlds?"

Al-Zamakhshari said: When the accursed one was told by his gatekeeper, "There is someone here who claims to be the messenger of the Lord of the worlds," he said to him upon his entry, "And what is the Lord of the worlds?" This has been objected to on the grounds that it is an incoherent structure due to the prior interaction between them, as he himself indicated in his previous discourse. The author of al-Kashf defended him, saying: He meant that the Exalted mentioned [the instruction] once as, "Say, 'Indeed, we are the messengers of your Lord, to send...'" and another time as, "Say, 'Indeed, we are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds.'" Since the event is one and the session is one, he construed the second [question] as that which the gatekeeper relayed on behalf of his peace be upon him, and the first as that with which Moses, peace be upon him, addressed him directly. Thus, the accursed one began first by disparaging him, implying that one like him, accused of base morals, is not qualified for a lofty position, let alone what he claimed. Secondly, he inquired mockingly about the nature of the One from whom he claimed messengership. From this, it is evident that the prior interaction does not indicate an incoherence in the structure as he suggested. End quote.

Some have permitted the possibility that the matter occurred twice, and that Pharaoh asked first by saying, "Who is the Lord of you two, O Moses?" and asked secondly by saying, "And what is the Lord of the worlds?" God Almighty explicitly stated the first in what He revealed first, which is Surah Taha, and the second in what He revealed second, which is Surah Ash-Shu'ara. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that Surah Taha was revealed first, then Al-Waqi'ah, then Tasm (Ash-Shu'ara).

Another said: It is possible that they only said, "Indeed, we are the messengers of the Lord of the worlds," and the limitation in Surah Taha to mentioning His Lordship over Pharaoh was sufficient for the intended purpose. According to the view that the event occurred twice, it is said that Pharaoh asked the first time, "Who is the Lord of you two?" seeking a specific description, as the literal meaning of the answer necessitates—contrary to al-Sakkaki’s claim that it was a question regarding the genus (as if he had asked, "Is he a human, an angel, or a jinn?"), and that the answer was of the "wise style" (uslub hakim). The second time, he asked "And what is the Lord of the worlds?" seeking the essence and reality, moving to what is more difficult to reach, in order to arrive at some of his corrupt objectives, as God Almighty related thereafter.

"What" (ma) is used to inquire about essence absolutely, whether the one being asked about is endowed with knowledge or not. Therefore, one should not imagine that the correct phrasing should have been "Who is the Lord of the worlds?" such that it would be interpreted as the accursed one’s denial of Him, Exalted be He; rather, he used "what" because questioning about the essence is not befitting to His Majesty, Glorified be He.