The Pharaonic Deep-State of Torture 

 Published in July 5, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

 

 

 

 

Firstly: Quranic proofs about the expansion of Egyptian cities and villages during the era of Moses' Pharaoh:

1- God says in the Quran: "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). Egypt is described as the earth and its east and west (when inherited temporarily by the Israelites after the drowning of Pharaoh and his deep-state members in the Red Sea) and a blessed location filled with treasures, crops, gardens, and plenitude and grand-scale monuments/edifices.  

2- The Quran repeats describing Egypt as (the earth) in the stories of Moses and Joseph; this means that Egypt at the time had the biggest population on planet earth and the greatest civilization; the term (cities) in the Quran comes exclusively to refer to Egyptian grand cities. 

3- Hence, the Quranic term (village) is never used in Quranic stories that involve Egypt; its cities were grand even in rural areas; the Quranic terms (city) and (village) come in the Quran to refer to societies or people in general; this is exemplified in these verses: "And cite for them the parable of the people of the village - when the messengers came to it. We sent them two messengers, but they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third. They said, "We are messengers to you."" (36:13-14); "Then a man came running from the remotest part of the city. He said, "O my people, follow the messengers." (36:20). We conclude that the term (village) here refer to a society or a community and the term (city) refers to the capital or main city of authority within such a community.    

4- The term cities is never used in the Quran except to describe cities of Egypt ONLY, in contrast to the terms "village" and ''city'' to describe other locations in the Quranic stories and parables; this means that they were megacities and densely populated: "They said, "Put him off, and his brother, and send heralds to the cities."" (7:111); "They said, "Delay him and his brother, and send recruiters to the cities." (26:36); "Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities." (26:53).

5- The description of the Egyptian city shows it to be a megacity: "And a man came from the farthest part of the city running. He said, "O Moses, the authorities are considering killing you, so leave; I am giving you good advice." So he left, fearful and vigilant. He said, "My Lord, deliver me from the unjust people."" (28:20-21). This is a man from the outskirts of this spacious megacity that contained several factions (Israelites and others and Pharaonic retinue members, of course), as we infer from these verses: "Once he entered the city, unnoticed by its people. He found in it two men fighting-one of his own sect, and one from his enemies. The one of his sect solicited his assistance against the one from his enemies; so Moses punched him, and put an end to him. He said, "This is of Satan's doing; he is an enemy that openly misleads."" (28:15); "The next morning, he went about in the city, fearful and vigilant..." (28:18).  

6- Because the capital city had the largest number of dwellers within the Egyptian population, Pharaoh was furious because the magicians believed in the God of Moses and the rest of the Egyptians might imitate them as a reaction; Pharaoh assumed that this was a conspiracy against him: "Pharaoh said, "Did you believe in Him before I have given you permission? This is surely a conspiracy you schemed in the city, in order to expel its people from it. You will surely know."" (7:123).      

7- God says in the Quran: "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); Pharaoh bragged of owning and controlling (via his deep-state members) Egypt and its rivers beneath his feet; maybe rivulets were branched and dug from the River Nile to reach other locations upon his commands; history tells us that some areas in Sinai and the stretch of land from Alexandria to Libya were fertile fields and gardens during several epochs even during the reign of the sultan Qaitbay the last sultan of the Mameluke Era; they retain their water wells until the present day; branches of the River Nile might have reached there. these branches might have been dug from the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt.  

 

Secondly: the features of the full control of the Pharaonic State over all Egyptian cities and villages:

1- We make the following points about the mobilization of Pharaoh's magicians from every city and village of Egypt.

1/1: Moses knew about the great ability of mobilization within this Pharaonic centralized deep state; we infer this from these verses when Moses chose mid-morning in particular for this gathering: "We will produce for you magic like it; so make an appointment between us and you, which we will not miss - neither us, nor you - in a central place." He said, "Your appointment is the day of the festival, so let the people be gathered together at mid-morning."" (20:58-59).

1/2: We quote these verses about mobilizing all magicians. 

1/2/1: Indeed, all magicians were notified of the time and place and were mobilized at once and met with Pharaoh first: "They said, "Put him off, and his brother, and send heralds to the cities." "And let them bring you every skillful magician." The magicians came to Pharaoh, and said, "Surely there is a reward for us, if we are the victors." He said, "Yes, and you will be among my favorites."" (7:111-114).

1/2/2: All magicians were brought at once to the Egyptian capital from every village and city; they were made to be ready for facing Moses: "They said, "Delay him and his brother, and send recruiters to the cities. To bring you every experienced magician." So the magicians were gathered for the appointment on a specified day." (26:36-38). 

1/2/3: Agents of the tyrannical Pharaoh spread among the Egyptians to encourage them to attend the event to face Moses and to support the magicians and the deified Pharaoh; these agents are a typical feature within tyrannical regimes: "And it was said to the people, "Are you all gathered? That we may follow the magicians, if they are the winners."" (26:39-40). 

1/3: Such influence of agents and gathered magicians bore fruit as people were dazzled by the magic tricks: "He said, "You throw!" And when they threw, they beguiled the eyes of the people, and intimidated them, and produced a mighty magic." (7:116).  

1/4: We infer the following points.

1/4/1: The Pharaonic deep state had a great power and ability to mobilize and organize people in a very brief duration from all over Egypt and this indicates full control and authority.    

1/4/2: The Egyptian nation is in the foreground in this Quranic story as dwellers of Egypt are mobilized and gathered in spite of themselves; they are enslaved and can be fully controlled or ridden like horses, as said by Amr Ibn Al-As, the Arab conqueror of Egypt. 

2- We make the following points about the mobilization of Pharaoh's people and retinue members to watch and chase the Israelites.  

2/1: Of course, the deep-state members of Pharaoh watched the Israelites closely and prevented anyone's escape from the hell of daily torture. The self-defied, arrogant tyranny; i.e., Moses' Pharaoh, refused to oblige Moses by allowing him to move away from Egypt along with the Israelites; he desired to continue torturing them to terrorize the rest of Egyptian factions; he feared to lose his stature and awe if he would allow the Israelite to escape from him and to stop their worshiping him; God has delivered the Israelites and destroyed Pharaoh and his deep-state members eventually.       

2/2: God has commanded Moses to move by night to avoid being spotted by spies of Pharaoh, although God knew they will be chased anyway later on when their absence will be noticed: ""Set out with My servants by night - you will be followed." (44:23).

2/3: Once Pharaoh knew about the exodus, h mobilized all his deep-state men from all over Egyptian cities and villages: "And We inspired Moses: "Travel with My servants by night. You will be followed." Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities." (26:52-53).

2/4: Because the self-deified Pharaoh was enraged and felt worried about losing his stature and awe, he mobilized his troops to chase the Israelites: ""These are a small gang. And they are enraging us. But we are a vigilant multitude."" (26:54-56). 

2/5: Within a centralized State fully controlled by soldiers/agents of Pharaoh, Pharaoh managed within a brief space of time to mobilize  all retinue members, leaders, troops, and soldiers from all over Egyptian cities and villages and to lead them to chase the Israelites who fled eastwards to the Red Sea and Sinai; the Israelites felt extremely worried and afraid as troops of Pharaoh were behind them and the Red Sea before their eyes: "And they pursued them eastwards. 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 huge hill. And there We brought the others near. And We saved Moses and those with him, all together. Then We drowned the others." (26:60-66). 

 

Thirdly: the deep-state Pharaonic torture controlled the Egyptian cities and villages:

1- It is expected that the Israelites who suffered severe torture and plight inflicted on them by Pharaoh and his deep-state members (who massacred male babies and enslaved female ones) would be reminded by God's deliverance: "Moses said to his people, "Remember God's bounty upon you, as He delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who inflicted on you terrible suffering, slaughtering your sons while sparing your daughters. In that was a serious trial from your Lord."" (14:6). The expression (the people of Pharaoh) indicates his deep-state members and his security men who watched the Israelites closely and tortured them all the time. 

2- We make some remarks in the points below.

2/1: This means that torturing others as per whims was the dominant low during Moses' Pharaoh's time; Aaron and his sister were not enslaved or massacred; when Moses was born, Pharaoh's deep-state members murdered all male babies of the Israelites. When Moses, as a prophet, faced Pharaoh inside his palace, the suggestion of massacring males and enslaving females was renewed: "We sent Moses with Our signs, and a clear authority. To Pharaoh, Haman, and Quaroon. But they said, "A lying sorcerer." Then, when he came to them with the truth from Us, they said, "Kill the sons of those who have believed with him, and spare their daughters." But the scheming of the unbelievers can only go astray." (40:23-25); "The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, "Will you let Moses and his people cause trouble in the land, and forsake you and your gods?" He said, "We will kill their sons, and spare their women. We have absolute power over them."" (7:127). When the Pharaonic persecution and torture increased and they complained to Moses, he advised them to adhere to patience: "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); many Israelites distanced themselves away from Moses to avoid the Pharaonic torture and terror: "But none believed in Moses except some children of his people, for fear that Pharaoh and his chiefs would persecute them. Pharaoh was high and mighty in the land. He was a tyrant." (10:83).    

2/2: The expression (his chiefs) indicates the many strata within the class of deep-state members or the affluent, powerful retinue members of Pharaoh within a centralized State controlling the land of Egypt and its dwellers/factions (especially the Israelites) and the whole of the Egyptian nation. 

2/3: God says the following about this Pharaonic class of affluent retinue members and its strata: "They disagreed among themselves over their affair, and conferred secretly. They said, "These two are magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic, and to abolish your exemplary way of life. So settle your plan, and come as one front. Today, whoever gains the upper hand will succeed."" (20:62-64). This means that despite their different views regarding Moses and Aaron, the strata of the ruling class members stood within one united stance to defend their tyranny and their control of the land of Egypt as superiors over the Egyptian nation and as winners or successful ones, as per their erroneous view of what is deemed as right.  

2/4: There was no law within the Pharaonic State of Moses' Pharaoh to deceive people by asserting that torture is a crime never pardoned by the passage of years while keeping up torture increasing as deep-rooted practice with the passage of time. Torture has been – until now – the unwritten law applied all the time by the masters/members of the affluent ruling class on the bodies of impoverished, oppressed, enslaved Egyptians anytime anywhere anyhow through the centuries in order to assert the awe and fear towards any enthroned pharaohs and their deep state.   

 

Fourthly: a possible ending:

1- God says in the Quran: "Thus he deceived his people, and they obeyed him. They were criminal people. And when they provoked Our wrath, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them all." (43:54-55). This means that Pharaoh and his family members and all deep-state members (i.e., viziers, soldiers, military leaders, overseers, retinue members, courtiers, governors, employees, spies, etc.) drowned and no one among them survived. 

2- All these drowned men were (soldiers/troops) or tools serving Pharaoh, from the grand vizier Haman to the high- and low-rank men of all classes: "So We seized him and his troops, and threw them into the sea, and He was to blame." (51:40).

3- This is we infer and understand from the history of the military dynasty of Ramses (i.e., the unnamed Moses' Pharaoh is supposed to be one ruler of this dynasty), as this Pharaonic dynasty militarized all aspects of life in Egypt and people there were divided into masters/rulers and ruled slaves who suffered torture.  

4- This query is raised here: since Moses' Pharaoh moved along with his deep-state of military leaders, security forces, courtiers, retinue members, viziers, etc. and he left behind the Egyptian nation inside Egypt, why did not the Egyptian revolt against Pharaoh during his absence and the absence of the deep-state members? The answer in one word is as follows: torture. The Egyptians at the time assumed that Pharaoh and his deep-state members would return after this 'simple military excursion that showed his might in which he took pride; they assumed he would finish the Israelite off soon enough and massacred them all in one day and he would return victorious; they feared that if they rebelled during the supposed 'temporary' absence of Pharaoh, they will suffer a fate more terrible that that of the magicians who believed in God with Moses; Pharaoh cut their limbs off and crucified them, as per the Quranic story. 

5- Until now, the Egyptians have inherited the negative influence of millennia-old torture; their songs/ballads are steeped with the sense of loss, sorrow, patience, and melancholy; they seek God's help to ward off evil expected all the time; they even hate to laugh loudly as they expect deep sorrow to follow moments of mirth and happiness!    

 

Lastly:

1- Egypt within the military rule that has commenced since the 1952 coup has witnessed the total separation between the ruling class of affluent retinue members and the Egyptian nation that forms the impoverished class; the affluent, ruling military class comprises the ones who militarized all aspects of life inside Egypt and made the Parliament provide them with immunity, making them above the Law so as not to be questioned by the oppressed citizens among the Egyptian nation; this is akin to self-deification because God is the Only One never to be questioned: "If there were in them gods other than God, they would have gone to ruin. So glory be to God, Lord of the Throne, beyond what they allege. He will not be questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned." (21:22-23).  

2- Has the end of the current pharaoh and his deep-state members drawn near? When this deep state would come to an end, would Egypt sink into chaos?! Would the Israelites invade Egypt as they have done during the lifetime of Moses?! How many millions of Egyptians would be massacred, then?! Would keeping power or the throne deserve all this?! Is not there a believing man among the current pharaoh's family or retinue members to advise and warn the deep-state members using the Quranic verses?! 

3- We implore the Almighty Lord God to have mercy on the Egyptian nation.