Did we not bring you up as a child? A recurring dialogue

He said, "Did we not bring you up as a child, and you remained among us for years of your life? And [then] you did your deed, which you did, and you were of the ungrateful." [Moses] said, "I did it, then, while I was of those astray. So, I fled from you when I feared you. Then my Lord granted me wisdom and prophethood and appointed me as [one] of the messengers. And is this a favor of which you remind me - that you have enslaved the Children of Israel?".

Reflect on this strange dialogue in which the means of oppression by the tyrants are clear. How do the inspired and successful reformers respond

Pharaoh begins his manipulation by mentioning a great blessing that he bestowed upon Moses (peace be upon him), which was raising him from infancy in his palace and playing the role of a father to him for many years until Moses (peace be upon him) became a man. This is a recognition of a great blessing that few can deny, except the most ungrateful. Therefore, only the worst among the people would deny it

Pharaoh finds no stronger way to undermine Moses' (peace be upon him) position in the eyes of the people than to remind him of this gratitude. However, Pharaoh forgets that Moses' upbringing would not have been necessary if it weren't for his oppression, injustice, and killing of the children of Israel, which led Moses' mother to put him in the river. Without that, Moses would not have been taken out of his mother's arms in the first place. Is there any kindness from Pharaoh towards Moses? The only reason Moses was given up was to grow up in a place unknown to Pharaoh, and if Pharaoh had known that the infant was of the Israelites, he would have killed him, just like he did with others. Therefore, Moses' response was powerful and decisive when he was reminded of this (And is this a favor of which you remind me - that you have enslaved the Children of Israel)

This Pharaonic dialogue also reminds me of what the arrogant nations do today when they come to a country, drain its resources, kill its people, and deprive them of freedom, then leave it desolate with little hope for the future (like Iraq). Later, those nations provide humanitarian aid to appear benevolent. Or they support an oppressive tyrant who rules his country with iron and fire, and steals openly in broad daylight. When the people revolt against him, those nations provide insufficient support and expect the people to forget their support for the tyrant, as we are always the ones who are supposed to turn the page and forget. These arrogant nations forget that there are no more pages to turn, and we are forced to fill the pages written with the ink of their oppression and support for it

With Moses' (peace be upon him) response, he rid himself of Pharaoh's false gratitude and basically said to him, "You are showing gratitude to me for the effects of your tyranny and enslavement of my people and shedding the blood of the innocent among them. Was this a favor to be grateful for in the eyes of a wise person? Can it be anything but aggression and tyranny deserving punishment and revenge”

Then Pharaoh completes the theatrical scene and his deception does not stop at expressing gratitude for the effects of tyranny. He reminds Moses (peace be upon him) of his mistake in killing the Egyptian man before fleeing from them. Remember that the one who accuses Moses (peace be upon him) of the sin of murder is Pharaoh ... Pharaoh, the bloodshedder, the violator of honor, and the enslaver of nations. Shouldn't he be ashamed - as the leader of the killers and the head of the tyrants - to accuse someone of killing one person by mistake? Doesn't he fear being asked: "And what were you doing, and what are you still doing with the blood of the innocent”

But this is the face of the tyrants, who think that no one will dare to remind them of their ugly deeds, no matter how much they accuse others of sins, they are the most excessive in them in extravagance and tyranny

This reminds me today of the tyrants who continue to rage. If a reformer falls into a mistake, they threaten him with it in the same Pharaonic style to weaken his resolve for reform. Perhaps they are the ones who caused him to commit that mistake, or perhaps they fabricated the accusation against him, from which he is completely innocent. The important thing for them is how to discourage him from reform and how to make him unfit for the leadership of the movement for change

But despite this, Pharaoh was not content to accuse Moses (peace be upon him) of the sin of murder, but he mentioned this sin in a way that was saturated with a double dose of the garment of falsehood, when Pharaoh says: "And you did your deed that you did”

What are these two garments of falsehood that Pharaoh adorned himself with when he chose to accuse Moses (peace be upon him) in this way, in which he avoids mentioning the sin of murder by name

The first garment of falsehood is that Pharaoh glorifies and exalts murder!! Because of the greatness of the act that Moses (peace be upon him) did, Pharaoh does not want to acknowledge it, as if he wants to exonerate himself from merely uttering the word "murder”

And the second garment of falsehood: That Pharaoh continues to embody the role of the loving father, as if he does not want to embarrass his son by openly mentioning his sin, which the son is ashamed of. Or perhaps Pharaoh (the father) wants to pretend to cover up for Moses (peace be upon him), so he does not want to mention his sin by its name. Have you seen this cunning in the dialogue? It is a cunning that is repeated with all tyrants

Moses (peace be upon him) freed himself from the reminder of that great sin, which is murder, with this cunning method by confessing openly and clearly, saying "I did it then, and I was one of the misguided." It is the honor of confessing to a mistake that makes it a virtue. The greater the error, the greater the virtue of confessing to it.

Such a thunderous and explicit confession stripped Pharaoh of his lies and revealed his evil, even to those deceived by his deceptive facade. Such a confession leaves no room for criticism, as the sinner himself declares his sin and admits that he has committed a mistake, leaving no opportunity for others to criticize him.

When Moses (peace be upon him) said, "And I was of the wrongdoers," it indicates his humbling excuse. Pharaoh had looked at Moses (peace be upon him) as one of his soldiers and followers, so Moses (peace be upon him) reminded Pharaoh that he had acted the way he did while he was still under Pharaoh's misguided assumption, not after he was guided by God and bestowed with prophethood and wisdom.

At that point, pointing out the sin would be a disgrace to Pharaoh's approach, which Moses (peace be upon him) was associated with at the time of the sin, according to Pharaoh's own misguided belief, and was not aligned with the new approach of Moses (peace be upon him), in which he distanced himself from Pharaoh and his approach, and embraced the divine approach with which he came as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner to Pharaoh and his people.

Reflect on this strange dialogue. It is a dialogue that is always repeated between the tyrants and the successful reformers, even if the languages change and the individuals differ.