Surah Taha, Ayah 47

Musa's fear of Fir`awn and Allah's strengthening Him

Allah, the Exalted, informs that Musa and Harun pleaded to Allah, expressing their grievance to him:

إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَآ أَوْ أَن يَطْغَى

(Verily, we fear lest he should hasten to punish us or lest he should transgress.) They meant that Fir`awn might seize them unexpectedly with a punishment, or transgress against them by tormenting them, when they actually did not deserve it. Ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said that transgress here means, "To exceed the bounds."

قَالَ لاَ تَخَافَآ إِنَّنِى مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى

(He (Allah) said: "Fear not, verily, I am with you both, hearing and seeing.") meaning; "Do not fear him (Fir`awn), for verily, I am with you and I hear your speech and his speech as well. I see your place and I see his place as well. Nothing is hidden from Me of your affair. Know that his forehead is in My Hand, and he does not speak, breathe, or use any force, except by My leave and after My command. I am with you by My protection, My help and My support."

Allah said,إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَ‌ىٰ "I am surely with you both. I hear and I see." - 20:46) Here the word "with you" is used in the sense of divine help and support which human senses cannot perceive.

Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) called upon the Pharaoh to embrace the True Faith and also to deliver the Bani Isra'il from bondage

This shows that the prophets have the duty of guiding mankind towards their salvation as well as to liberate their people from worldly and economic bondages. Therefore, in this verse Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) is reminded of both these duties.

God created everything; and everything is performing the functions assigned to it by Him

When, after a series of testing experiences, Moses reached the final stage of maturity, God assigned to him prophethood, so that he might communicate the divine message to man. Moses was given two pieces of advice—that he should never be remiss in the remembrance of God and that he should never be coercive in the performance of the mission of communicating the message of God to man. Remembrance of God means belief in God being so all-pervasive that the thought of God comes to mind, time and time again. Every observation a man makes and every incident in his life should, coupled with his God-consciousness, be the cause of awakening for him. While ordinary people live on material food, the preacher of Truth lives on the remembrance of God. Remembrance of God is an asset to the faithful (mu’min) and to the missionary alike. The second essential element is the adoption of a lenient approach in the communication of divine message to man. The very fact that Moses was so instructed when he had to approach such an arrogant person as Pharaoh shows that a tactful and considerate attitude in mission work is an absolute requirement in all cases. Even arrogance or harsh behaviour on the part of those who are the addressees, does not give the missionary any right to deviate from being kind and understanding in his approach.