Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:23

"Pharaoh said: 'And what is the Lord of the Worlds?'"

When his gatekeeper told him that there was someone here claiming to be a messenger from the Lord of the Worlds, Pharaoh said to him upon his entry: "And what is the Lord of the Worlds?"

He means: "What thing is the Lord of the Worlds?" This question must be one of two things:

1. He meant: "What is He among the things that have been witnessed and whose categories are known?" In this case, Moses answered him by citing the evidence of His unique actions, so that he might know that He is not any of the things that have been witnessed or known—whether substances or accidents—and that He is something distinct from all things: "There is nothing like unto Him" (Ash-Shura: 11).

2. He meant: "What is He in an absolute sense?" He was probing for the reality of His essence. Moses answered him with what is accessible and sufficient for knowing Him: establishing His existence through His attributes, inferred from His unique actions. As for probing the specific reality of His essence—which is beyond the capacity of human intellects—that is a search for what is unattainable, and the one who asks it is being obstinate, not a seeker of truth.

The most appropriate interpretation regarding Pharaoh’s state, which the discourse indicates, is that his question was a denial that the worlds had any Lord other than himself, due to his claim of divinity.

• When Moses answered as he did, his people were astonished that he attributed Lordship to someone else.
• When Moses followed up by confirming his statement, Pharaoh mocked him before his people and ridiculed him by calling him "your messenger."
• When Moses followed up with a third confirmation, Pharaoh became enraged and heated, saying: "If you take a god other than me..." (Ash-Shu'ara: 29). This confirms the validity of this final interpretation.

"He said: 'The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, if you were to be certain.'"