The Quranic stories are never meant for entertainment of readers, but to be pondered and reflected upon to draw lessons from them. However great the historical indications in the Quranic stories, we must never forget that the main aim of the Quranic stories is to contemplate them and learn useful lessons, and this is the same higher aim, by the way, of history as a branch of science, and it should be the supreme aim as well of the Quranic stories. Let us recall this in the very last verse of the Quranic Chapter 12 that contains the story of Joseph: "In their stories is a lesson for those who possess intelligence..." (12:111). Furthermore, God says the following in the Quran about Moses' Pharaoh and his demise: "In this a lesson for whoever fears." (79:26). It is high time or all of us to fear God in piety and heed many lessons.

Firstly:

1- The story of Moses' Pharaoh tackles an important issue, among others, which is meritocracy: who deserves or merits to rule. Each powerful country aims at controlling regions around it, or maybe to control and dominate the whole planet. At the era of Moses' Pharaoh, the known ancient world was Ancient Egypt and regions around it, and this is the context in which we understand how Moses' Pharaoh made himself superior on earth: "Pharaoh exalted himself on the earth…" (28:4). Of course, Moses' Pharaoh turned ins might, power, and authority into tyranny, persecution, and injustices, thus he paved to himself the way to his own ruin and perdition. The Israelites said to Moses: "They said, "We were persecuted before you came to us, and after you came to us." He said, "Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy, and make you successors in the land; then He will see how you behave."" (7:129). This prophecy of the destruction of Pharaoh and to lend victory to the weaker party was fulfilled: "But We desired to favor those who were oppressed on the earth, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them on the earth..." (28:5-6). God says the following about this fulfillment: "And We made the oppressed people inherit the eastern and western parts of the earth, which We had blessed. Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance. And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:137).

2- Therefore, we conclude that God had allowed the existence of many empires on earth, but most of the used their power, might, and authority to commit many injustices, and this led to the fact that might turned into many weaknesses and downfall factors that led to the eventual collapse of such empires. This is the most important lesson to be drawn from the downfall of empires. But the story of Moses' Pharaoh remains still to be the most important story of such collapse, mentioned in the Quran as a warning to all humanity against injustices. The reason: the mighty, unjust, tyrannical part was so severe in persecution and punishments against a weaker party that was very weak indeed, and the Divine Will and Might had sided with the weak, persecuted party that faced tyranny with patience and prayers. Hence, elements of Pharaonic might, power, and authority turned later on into factors of weakness, dilapidation, and collapse that led to the downfall of Pharaoh and his perdition eventually. Facing the tyranny and severe persecution of Pharaoh, Moses commanded his unarmed, weakened people to adhere to patience and prayers and to rely on God the Omnipotent: "Moses said to his people, "Seek help in God, and be patient. The earth belongs to God. He gives it in inheritance to whomever He wills of His servants, and the future belongs to the righteous."" (7:128). When Moses' Pharaoh went into furthest extremes in persecuting and causing harm to the Israelites to the extent that the vast majority of them feared to side with Moses or to join him overtly, Moses performed prayers with his people inside secret houses, continuing the endeavor to adhere to patience and reliance on Almighty God: "Moses said, "O my people, if you have believed in God, then put your trust in Him, if you have submitted. They said, "In God we have put our trust. Our Lord, do not make us victims of the oppressive people. and deliver us, by Your Mercy from the disbelieving people." (10:84-86). They had performed prayers in groups and glad tidings of deliverance was brought from God to the believers: "And We inspired Moses and his brother, "Settle your people in Egypt, and make your homes places of worship, and perform prayers, and give good news to the believers." (10:87). During these congregational prayers in secret houses, Moses and Aaron invoked God's wrath against the evil tyrant Pharaoh and his people and God answered their prayers: Our Lord, you have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendor and wealth in the worldly life. Our Lord, for them to lead away from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth, and harden their hearts, they will not believe until they see the painful torment." He said, "Your prayer of both of you has been answered, so go straight, and do not follow the path of those who do not know."" (10:88-89). Hence, victory was lent by God to the Israelites against Pharaoh, using patience and prayers: "... Thus the fair promise of your Lord to the Israelites was fulfilled, because of their endurance..." (7:137). Hence, the divine advice or command to the Israelites was as follows : "And seek help through patience and prayers, but this is difficult, except for the devout ones." (2:45). God tell us, Quran-believing people, the same advice/command in the same Chapter: "O you who believe! Seek help through patience and prayers; God is with the patient ones." (2:153). When God had delivered the Israelites from the tyrant Pharaoh, they returned to their faulty, corrupt tenets, and God commanded the death of this generation during the 40-year period of wandering into the deserts.       

3- As for Moses' Pharaoh, god granted him so many bounties, but instead of this making him thankful, he used these bounties and riches to tyrannize. For instance, Pharaoh felt superior on earth as he owned Egypt and the Nile River: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?"" (43:51). But God made the River Nile water work against Pharaoh, when it carried the casket containing the enfant Moses toward the Pharaoh's palace, ironically making Pharaoh the one to care for Moses' upbringing. The River Nile continued working against Pharaoh, as it carried by god's command the nine plagues against Pharaoh and his people, and when Pharaoh never took heed of all these warnings, another water drowned him to his death, that of the Red Sea. We notice that the Red Sea and the River Nile  are not mentioned by their names in the Quran, but indeed, the term "Yam" (literally, water area) is used to indicate both water areas within the Quranic story of Moses, to indicate the river and the sea. The word ''Sea'' in the Quran is also used to indicate salt water of seas and drinking water of rivers: "The two seas are not the same. One is fresh, sweet, good to drink, while the other is salty and bitter...." (35:12). As for the Quranic term ''Yam'', it is used to describe the River Nile and the Red Sea within the story of Moses: "Put him in the casket; then cast him into the river/yam. The river/yam will bring him to shore, where an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his will pick him up..." (20:39); "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea/yam. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively. Until, when he was about to drown..." (10:90). We might surmise here that there is a chance that Pharaoh and his troops and people might have drowned in one of the River Nile branches, especially when we know from history that the Nile had many branches in that ancient time, and one of them reached Sinai. This means that there were so many branches that made the River Nile seemed like many rivers, not just one river: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, "O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see?"" (43:51). Yet, it is commonly assumed that the drowning of Pharaoh and his troops and people was most probably in the Red Sea, and this probability is reinforced by Pharaoh and his soldiers chasing the Israelites during exodus to the East, as mentioned in the Quran: "And they pursued them to the East. When the two groups sighted each other, the followers of Moses said, "We are being overtaken." He said, "No; my Lord is with me, He will guide me." We inspired Moses: "Strike the sea with your staff." Whereupon it parted, and each part was like a giant hill." (26:60-63). We surmise that Egypt had witnessed  flood at the time of the exodus, and this means that the River Nile (of which Pharaoh bragged as his own) had participated in the process of destroying the tyrannical Pharaoh along with his retinue members, troops, soldiers, landlords, and all erected monuments, towers, and edifices. We infer this from this verse: "...And We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people had built, and what they had harvested." (7:137); hence, the River Nile that had been a bounty and source of wealth to the tyrannical Pharaoh and his people had turned against them; it was transformed into a scourge of the Lord to punish all of them until their demise by drowning. Indeed, the denying to be thankful and grateful to God because of His bounties makes one lose the bounties easily and sooner that one thinks; it is a bad habit of people in all eras to forget such a lesson, as we deduce from this verse: "Have you not seen those who exchanged the blessing of God with disbelief and landed their people into the house of perdition?" (14:28).   

4- Hence, ironically, God had ridiculed Moses' Pharaoh by making him, out of all people in Egypt, to rear, bring up, and care for Moses, his enemy! We are to draw another lesson, related to those who rely on the Lord and trusting Him and that He will fulfill his promises, from the story of Moses' mother; when she feared over the fate of her baby son, God inspired her about what to do, and she obeyed, trusting her Lord: " We inspired the mother of Moses: "Nurse him; then, when you fear for him, cast him into the river, and do not fear, nor grieve; We will return him to you, and make him one of the messengers." Pharaoh's household picked him up, to be an opponent and a sorrow for them. Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops were sinners." (28:7-8). We deduce that the River Nile was flooding at the time, and its current carried the baby Moses in the casket to Pharaoh, and God promised the believing mother who was worried about the fate of her son that Moses will return to her and will be made a prophet/messenger. The River Nile carried this casket entrusted to it to the palace of Pharaoh, where his wife picked him up, making her husband care for the infant with her. This is irony of ironies indeed; God had ridiculed and mocked the villain proud tyrannical Pharaoh in the best way possible.  To rely on God does NOT mean that one is allowed to be lazy, passive, and dependent; rather, it means that one should never be afraid or saddened by any mortals or circumstances and to never stop seeking, endeavoring, and persevering as much as one's capacity would allow, while trusting that God will help one to succeed. Thus, after obeying the divine command of throwing the casket containing her baby into the River Nile, the mother of Moses told her daughter to follow the casket moving with the current and her heart filled with longing for her baby son: "The heart of Moses' mother became vacant. She was about to disclose him, had We not steadied her heart, that she may remain a believer. She said to his sister, "Trail him." So she watched him from afar, and they were unaware." (28:10-11). Eventually, God fulfilled his promise to the believing mother, by making the baby Moses refuse all wet-nurses until he was breastfed by his biological mother, to be reared by her inside the palace, with his Israelite people, but cared ad provided for at the same time by Pharaoh and his wife: " We forbade him breastfeeding at first. So she said, "Shall I tell you about a family that can raise him for you, and will look after him?" Thus We returned him to his mother, that she may be comforted, and not grieve, and know that God's promise is true. But most of them do not know." (28:12-13). Indeed, "...but most people do not know" (12:21); Almighty God says nothing but the Truth.         

5- By the way, the Quran mentions the word ''Pharaoh'' 74 times throughout the Quranic text; this indicates that Moses' Pharaoh is the most talked-of personage among the disbelieving figures mentioned in the Quran; indeed, he was made by God to be  leader/imam of all polytheistic aggressive tyrants, and such a position entails further explanation in the following lines. We have to bear in mind that Pharaoh and his people were the last ones to be smitten and destroyed by God, the last ones after the people of Noah, Aad, Lot, Thamood, etc. and later on the Torah was revealed as insights to people. hence, since Pharaoh and his people/troops were the last ones to be destroyed by God, Pharaoh, their leader, was made the imam/leader of all tyrants who would emerge after his era: "He and his troops acted arrogantly on the earth with no justification. They thought they would not be returned to Us. So We seized him, and his troops, and We threw them into the sea. Observe, therefore, what was the end of the oppressors. And We made them leaders/imams calling to the Fire. And on Resurrection Day, they will not be saved."  (28:39-41); "We gave Moses the Scripture after We had annihilated the previous generations; as an illumination for humankind, and guidance, and mercy, so that they may remember." (28:43). We know from the Quran that Pharaoh, despite his might and transient worldly glory, had asked Moses about the ancient nations: "He said, "What about the early generations?" He said, "Knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in a Book. My Lord never errs, nor does He forget."" (20:51-52). The believing man inside retinue of Pharaoh reminded Pharaoh of the fates of previous nations of disbelievers, but Pharaoh never paid heed and went on in his tyranny and disbelief until he was destroyed like them, and became the imams of all aggressive disbelievers who would emerge after him. In fact, Moses' Pharaoh deserves such a position because he went into the furthest unprecedented extremes of tyranny, violation, and aggression, especially when he proclaimed himself a deity and denied God, and later on, he insisted on being stubborn to the last when he chased those who fled the country to avoid his tyranny, this means that his life ended while he was committing the sin of chasing the wronged persecuted party of the believers, and with two prophets of God with them, aiming to annihilate them        

6- We know from the Quran that Pharaoh occupies the special position, after his demise, as imam/leaders of sinners who followed his footsteps. God preserved the body of this dead Pharaoh to make him an example to be avoided and people would draw lessons from his fate as a sinner. God told the dying Pharaoh the following words: "Today We will preserve your body, so that you become a sign for those after you. But most people are heedless of Our signs." (10:92). The lifeless human body, or cadaver/corpse, is an unsightly thing that must be hidden away from the living people by burying it; even the murderous son of Adam was taught how to bury the corpse of the brother he murdered: "Then God sent a raven digging the ground, to show him how to cover his brother's corpse. He said, "Woe to me! I was unable to be like this raven, and bury my brother's corpse." So he became full of regrets." (5:31). Hence, it is God's command that human corpses be buried to honor human beings, but Pharaoh's corpse is deprived from such honor, as his corpse/cadaver is shown now in a museum to be seen by people. of course, Pharaoh's soul left its body and entered into the metaphysical place called Barsakh in the Quran (where all souls of the dead enter into a state of timelessness and sleep until Doomsday), but the souls of Pharaoh and his people are being tortured until the Day of Resurrection, and after it severe punishment in Hell for eternity is their fate: "...a terrible torment besieged Pharaoh's people. The Fire: they are exposed to it morning and evening. And on the Day the Hour takes place: "Admit the people of Pharaoh to the most intense agony."" (40:45-46). Other disbelievers and polytheists feel timelessness and deep slumber in Barsakh, until the Day of Resurrection: "Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back. That I may do right in what I have neglected." By no means! It is just a word that he utters. And behind them is the barrier of Barsakh, until the Day they are resurrected." (23:99-100); they will wake up in Doomsday in fear and amazement, asking in wonder how long they have been asleep, for they will feel it as such a short time: "The Trumpet will be blown, then behold, they will rush from the tombs to their Lord. They will say, "Woe to us! Who resurrected us from our resting-place?" This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the messengers have spoken the truth."" (36:51-52); "On the Day when the Hour takes place, the sinners will swear they had stayed but an hour. Thus they were deluded. But those endowed with knowledge and faith will say, "You remained in God's Book until the Day of Resurrection. This is the Day of Resurrection, but you did not know."" (30:55-56). Pharaoh and his people are deprived of such deep slumber in Barsakh; they are there alive and tortured until the Day of Judgment. There is another Quranic indication that Pharaoh and his people in Barsakh feel regrets over what occurred after their demise: "But We desired to favor those who were oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land; and to show Pharaoh, Haman, and their troops, the very thing they feared." (28:5-6). Moses' Pharaoh, during his lifetime as supreme ruler and despot, feared that the Israelites would not believe in him as a supreme deity and would revolt against him and his tyranny, and this was why he made sure they are being tormented and persecuted under his commands. After he drowned, and his soul entered the Barsakh, he saw his fears being realized: the Israelites inherited rule in Egypt after his demise; he had wasted and lost his life for the sake of the devil while chasing weak people that included believers and two prophets. In contrast, there are believers who die in God's sake while serving His cause, and God commands us to consider them as alive, not dead, as they are in Barsakh Paradise enjoying sheer bliss until the Day of Resurrection: "And do not say of those who are killed in the cause of God, "Dead." Rather, they are alive, but you do not perceive." (2:154); "Do not consider those killed in the cause of God as dead. In fact, they are alive, at their Lord, well provided for. Delighting in what God has given them out of His grace, and happy for those who have not yet joined them; that they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve." (3:169). Hence, those residing in Barsakh Paradise feel their brethren in the transient world, wishing them that they may join in their bliss in the Hereafter, whereas Pharaoh and his people are living in Barsakh torment within interminable regrets that all their cunning scheming brought about their downfall and eternal suffering. Apart from those in Barsakh Paradise and those in Barsakh torment, the rest of humanity will wake up upon the Day of Resurrection while feeling they slept temporarily for a short while, because Barsakh for their souls is a timelessness mode of deep slumber: "On the Day when He rounds them up-as if they had tarried only one hour of a day-they will recognize one another..." (10:45); "On the Day when they witness it-as though they only stayed an evening, or its morning." (79:46).            

Secondly:

1- Pharaoh is the precedent (or Salaf (ancestor/forefather), in Quranic terminology) for all evil polytheists and disbelievers who commit violations and aggressions. The term ''Salaf'' does not occur in the Quran except for once in relation to Pharaoh and his people: "And when they provoked Our wrath, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them all. Thus We made them a precedent/Salaf and an example for the others." (43:55-56). It is noteworthy that the Quran describes Arab disbelieving polytheists who committed aggression against early believers as following the footsteps of Pharaoh and his people: "Like the behavior of the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They rejected the signs of God, so God seized them for their sins..." (8:52); "Such was the case with the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We annihilated them for their wrongs, and We drowned the people of Pharaoh-they were all evildoers." (8:54); "Like the behavior of Pharaoh's people and those before them. They rejected Our signs, so God seized them for their sins. God is Strict in retribution." (3:11).  

2- Leadership of Pharaoh in disbelief and polytheistic aggression is exemplified in his going further into an extreme in stubbornness, to the extent of his denying God in public and inside his heart, contrary to human innate nature and instinct of feeling the existence of the Omnipotent Creator, and his self-deification when he proclaimed himself as a supreme, most-high god. Pharaoh's people used to believe in the assumed godhead of Pharaoh beside the Pharaonic deities; and even the self-deified Pharaoh used to worship these Pharaonic gods, as we infer from this verse containing words of his retinue members addressed to Pharaoh: "..."Will you let Moses and his people cause trouble in the land, and forsake you and your gods?"..." (7:127). Later on, Pharaoh went to a further extreme to face Moses and his call, by trying to remove the belief in the Creator from the minds and hearts of his people; as he proclaimed his self-deification while denying God, in one of his conferences: "Pharaoh said, "O nobles, I know of no god for you other than me..." (28:38). In another conference of his, he proclaimed himself as the supreme most high god: "And gathered and proclaimed. He said, "I am your Lord, the most high."" (79:23-24). Yet, when mighty waves surrounded Pharaoh and he realized that he drew nearer to his death, he returned to the innate nature or instinct inside every human beings that recognizes that there is no other deities/gods beside God/Allah the Creator, but it was too late for him, as this was the moment of his death after a life filled with sins and without repentance and belief: "And We delivered the Israelites across the sea. Pharaoh and his troops pursued them, defiantly and aggressively. Until, when he was about to drown, he said, "I believe that there is no god except the One the Children of Israel believe in, and I am of those who submit." Now? When you have rebelled before, and been of the mischief-makers?" (10:90-91). Following the footsteps of Pharaoh are many people who are stubborn in disobedience and sinning until angels of death come to take their souls, and they would try in vain to repent while dying, when it is too late: "But repentance is not available for those who commit evils, until when death approaches one of them, he says, "Now I repent," nor for those who die as disbelievers..." (4:18). Following the footsteps of Pharaoh are many people who are stubborn in denying God's existence, though they never have the authority, power, and might of Pharaoh or his fate, and when they are faced with calamities, ordeals, or severe ailments, they would remember God and invoke Him faithfully, and once delivered, they return to their disbelief in God: "Whenever adversity touches the human being, he prays to Us-reclining on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have relieved his adversity from him, he goes away, as though he had never called on Us for trouble that had afflicted him..." (10:12). In fact, human beings cannot, inside their hearts, minds, souls, instinct, and innermost nature, deny the Creator's existence, even if they express, write, or utter such sentiments: "... the natural instinct God has instilled in humankind. There is no altering God's creation..." (30:30).

3- Hence, the natural instinct that God has created inside human beings is that He is God, the Creator of the universe, with no other gods/deities beside Him; yet, Satan and the devils would cover, change, and distort this natural instinct by urging people to associate deified mortal partners to God: this is polytheism (Shirk) and disbelief (Kufr), two terms that are synonymous in the Quranic text. It is noteworthy that the Quranic/Arabic term for disbelief (i.e., Kufr) is phonetically similar to the English word/noun ''cover''; this indicates its meaning: to shut off, hide, or cover this innate natural instinct of monotheism and one's innermost the feeling of God's existence. The other synonymous term in the Quran is (Shirk), which literally means polytheism. Why both terms are in fact synonymous in the Quran? because even those who deny God in their writings or uttered words cannot cancel the feeling of God's existence from their instincts or deny the Creator's existence, however stubborn they are in expression of such denial, whereas polytheists acknowledge God's existence as the Creator, but associate with Him other deified creatures (e.g., prophets, male and female 'saints', angels (the Holy Spirit: Gabriel, among others), etc.) deemed by polytheists as immortal beings. Hence, disbelief exists alongside with belief inside minds/hearts of disbelievers and polytheists; yet, such belief is little and nullified on the Day of Resurrection, because God accepts only complete belief devoted and confined entirely (i.e., 100%) to Him. this is why God says in the Quran that the little belief of disbelievers is of no use to them on the Last Day, when the Truth will prevail and emerge victorious over falsehoods: "Say, "On the Day of Victory, the faith of those who disbelieved will be of no avail to them..." (32:29). Most people are polytheists who ascribe divinity to other mortal creatures, as we know from the Quran: "And most of them do not believe in God unless they associate others beside Him." (12:106). Hence, disbelief (Kufr) is synonymous with polytheism (Shirk) because both contains little faith and deification of mortals (deifying one's body, sexual desires, worship of self, worship of bodies and tangible things/items, etc.). The believing man among retinue members of Pharaoh had said the following to his people: "You call me to reject God, and to associate with Him what I have no knowledge of..." (40:42). This shows that Kufr and Shirk are exact synonyms in the Quran; moreover, God says in the Quran: "It is not for the polytheists to attend God's places of worship while professing their disbelief..." (9:17). This is another valuable lesson that we may draw from the story of Moses' Pharaoh; the innate natural instinct (or some may call it: the God gene) inside humans regarding God and His existence is far bigger than anyone trying to delete, omit, or cancel it, but it can be stifled, changed, rammed deep down, ignored on purpose within Kufr and/or Shirk, but deep down inside each human being, it is there, firmly settled, even if untapped or intentionally overlooked. Hence, little faith/belief of such type is never acceptable on the Day of Judgment. This lesson had been understood fully by the believing man within retinue members of Pharaoh (see 40:42), whereas Pharaoh had remembered this lesson while dying, in vain because it was too late for him, and he lost his soul to eternal perdition.        

Thirdly:

1- When Pharaoh realized that he was drowning and on the verge of death, he screamed the words: "...I believe that there is no God except the One the Israelites believe in, and I am of those who submit." (10:90), and the expression ''those who submit'' means ''Muslims'' literally. This means that when he was dying, Pharaoh declared himself a Muslim or converted to Islam. The question raised now is as follows: was Islam the religion to which Moses had called? The answer is yes: it was ''Islam'' in its literal sense of total submission to God and adherence to peace. Let us be reminded of the fact that Islam, God's religion, is the one revealed in all divine, celestial messages of God by different tongues of prophets and messengers to their people. God says the following in the Quran: "Religion with God is Islam (i.e., submission to God alone)..." (3:19); "Whoever seeks other than Islam (i.e., submission to God alone) as a religion, it will not be accepted from him..." (3:85). Hence, Islam is total submission to God alone, in terms of deification, reverence, worship, devoutness, sanctification, and piety, not to submit to any human beings. Of course, this was the message, preaching, and call of all prophets and messengers in all their tongues/languages: "We never sent a messenger before you without inspiring him that: "There is no God but I, so worship Me."" (21:25). Hence, Islam was preached within hieroglyphic language in the era of Moses: "We never sent any messenger except in the language of his people, to make things clear for them. God leads astray whom He wills, and guides whom He wills. He is the Mighty, the Wise. We sent Moses with Our signs..." (14:4-5).     

2- Before Moses, each prophet declared his Islam (i.e., his submission only to God in terms of faith and worship) using the language of his people amongst whom he lived. For example, Noah declared it: "... I was commanded to be of those who submit. (i.e., Muslims)" (10:72); and so did Abraham "When his Lord said to him, "Submit!" He said, "I have submitted to the Lord of the Worlds."" (2:131). Abraham used to exhort his progeny this way: "And Abraham exhorted his sons, and Jacob, "O my sons, God has chosen this religion for you, so do not die unless you have submitted. (i.e., Muslims)"" (2:132)

3- What is the share of Egypt in all of the above? The historical reality of Egypt and its prominent position in the ancient world necessitate the fact that Egyptians received prophets whose names the Quran does not mention, apart from the ones mentioned in the Quran linked to Egypt: Joseph, Jacob, Aaron, and Moses. Let us remember that Jacob/Israel lived his last years inside Egypt, and his progeny, heads/leaders of the Israelite tribes gathered around him while he was dying, and he exhorted them to adhere to Islam; it is an Islamic virtue that a dying father would advise his progeny to adhere to Islam: " Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, and he said to his sons, "What will you worship after me?" They said, "We will worship your God; the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac; One God; and to Him we submit. (i.e., Muslims)"" (2:133). Likewise, Joseph was a prophet of God who preached Islam in the ancient Egyptian language, as he said while he was in full authority as the governor of Egypt: ""My Lord, You have given me some authority, and taught me some interpretation of events. Initiator of the heavens and the earth; You are my Protector in this life and in the Hereafter. Receive my soul in submission (i.e., Islam), and unite me with the righteous."" (12:101). The magicians who believed with Moses uttered their declaration of faith, and indifference to threats of Pharaoh, in their  hieroglyphic language, not in Arabic of course, when they had said the following: ""You are taking vengeance on us only because we have believed in the signs of our Lord when they have come to us." "Our Lord! Pour out patience upon us, and receive our souls in submission." (i.e., Islam)" (7:126). Of course, Moses spoke to his people, in the Egyptian language they understood, to encourage them to face the Pharaonic persecution by reliance on God: "..."O my people, if you have believed in God, then put your trust in Him, if you have submitted. (i.e., Muslims)"" (10:84). The same language of Moses was used by Pharaoh when he declared his Islam while dying by being drowned in the Red Sea: "...Until, when he was about to drown, he said, "I believe that there is no god except the One the Children of Israel believe in, and I am of those who submit." (i.e., Muslims)" (10:90). Within the last celestial  message (i.e., the Quran) conveying God's religion (i.e., Islam), the Arabic language is used.             

Fourthly:

1- Other lessons are to be drawn from the Quranic story of Joseph, the prophet who had tasted injustice and imprisonment and he adhered to patience and faith until God had granted him bounties and rewards fit to the really pious ones. We notice that the Quranic story of Joseph is based on several dreams/visions. The issue raised here is the one about true visions/dreams; who would see them and interpret them? Of course, Joseph saw a real, true vision: "When Joseph said to his father, "O my father, I saw eleven planets, and the sun, and the moon; I saw them bowing down to me."" (12:4); it was fulfilled later on in his lifetime: "And he elevated his parents on the throne, and they fell prostrate before him. He said, "Father, this is the fulfillment of my vision of long ago. My Lord has made it come true..." (12:100). Later on, the two inmates inside the prison cell saw visions and Joseph interpreted them and both visions came true, and he interpreted the one, that came true later on, of the Hyksos king that appointed Joseph as the governor of Egypt to supervise the planning of saving everyone from the coming famine. Both the Hyksos king and the two inmates were not believers (nor even good people), at least at the time when they saw their dreams/visions; this shows that anyone can see visions/dreams, this is not confined to prophets or to the pious persons. 

2- Visions/dreams are symbolic and entail interpretation, as we see in the Quranic Chapter 12 how dreams of Joseph, the Hyksos king, and the cell inmates entailed interpretations and how they were fulfilled. Yet, the question remains: who can interpret true visions/dreams? We mean by ''true visions'' the ones predicting unseen, future events; some are indeed miraculous, as the ones given to some prophets, and Joseph was granted the gift of interpreting dreams as a sign indicating he was a true prophet inspired by God; God says the following about Joseph: "... Thus, We established Joseph on the earth and taught him the interpretation of dreams..." (12:21). Joseph thanked God for His bounties: ""My Lord, You have given me some authority, and taught me some interpretation of dreams..." (12:101). Hence, the ability to interpret dreams is a gift from God; Joseph was inspired to give true interpretation. As for other ordinary people, past and present, no one could claim to be able to interpret accurately any dream/vision, as their views are bound to be subjective and are conjectures that might be right or wrong. By the way, Joseph worked under the Hyksos king who was a disbeliever; in our modern times in Egypt, some Wahabis / Salafists issue fatwas that it is prohibited to work with the Egyptian 'infidel' government that raise the motto "There is no God but Allah"! How utterly wrong those Wahabis / Salafists are!

3- In conclusion, we assert here that of course, there are so many lessons to be drawn from the Quranic stories of Moses and Joseph in Egypt, but there is no room in this book for more lessons, and besides, no human brain might be able to glean all the treasures of wisdom from the Quran, however intelligent and wise a person may be; the intellectual and spiritual treasures of the Quran are endless and boundless and will continue to be discovered in all eras. There will be people who will see more treasures than we have done here in this book. Indeed, the Quran is book that has not yet been read carefully with enough pondering and contemplation by all those who believe in it, because – sadly – most of us have been busy with many other things. "God has sent down the best of discourses: a Scripture consistent and paired. The skins of those who reverence their Lord shiver from it, then their skins and their hearts soften up to the remembrance of God. Such is God's guidance; He guides with it whomever He wills..." (39:23). As always, God says nothing but the Truth.