Pharaoh said, “Moses (peace be upon him) has also seduced my wife. Today, I will kill that woman.” So, he said, “First, take the clothes off that woman’s body.” Pharaoh had her clothes removed and told his courtiers, “Each of you, one by one, sleep with my wife Asiya, Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.” Today, we’re going to talk about that wretched Pharaoh mentioned in the Holy Quran. The same Pharaoh who lived during the time of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). Pharaoh belonged to the Qabtiya tribe, and it is said that he lived for 400 years.
It was a year. In those 400 years, he was never sick, never had a headache, and no enemy could ever beat him. His face shone like copper. That’s why the Jews used to call him Kabus. Before becoming a king, Pharaoh used to work hard, do labor, and trade. One day, fed up with all this hard work, he headed toward the market. There, he met Haman. Before they knew it, these two unlucky guys turned their meeting into a friendship. They set off for the city in search of work. At that time, the business of buying and selling melons was booming in the city.
Both of them went to a guy who sold melons and asked him for work. The melon seller said, “Take my melons and go sell them in the market. Once you sell them, I’ll give you something to eat.” Hearing this, Pharaoh told Haman, “You stay here. I’ll take the melons and sell them.” So that’s what happened. Pharaoh took the melons and headed towards the town. When he got there, he talked to the shopkeepers about buying melons. But the shopkeepers said, “We usually buy stock on credit and pay after selling it. That’s how things work around here.”
Hearing the shopkeepers, Pharaoh fell silent for a moment. Then, sticking to his promise, he sold the melons and came back. On his way back, he told the melon owner, “I don’t like this job.” Saying this, Pharaoh left. Now he was looking for some work that could earn him as much wealth and money as possible. So, the king reached the court of Egypt and requested, “I’ve come from very far away. I’m poor, hungry, thirsty, and looking for work. Please, be kind and let me serve in any city of your kingdom, Egypt.”
Tell me some job so I can earn an honest living and maintain my dignity. Hearing this, the King of Egypt asked, “What kind of work do you want to do?” Pharaoh replied, “Let me be the caretaker of Egypt’s cemetery. In return, I’ll pay a certain amount to the royal treasury and keep the rest for myself. No dead body should be buried in this cemetery without my permission.” After hearing this, the King of Egypt agreed and appointed him as the cemetery caretaker. Nazarine, as soon as Pharaoh got this position, was very happy.
He became completely satisfied and went to sit by the cemetery gate. He started waiting to see who would come to bury their dead. But by Allah’s command, that same year, a plague broke out in Egypt, killing twenty-two thousand people, and just like that, the wheel of Pharaoh’s fate took a new turn. When Pharaoh saw this, he began demanding one gold dirham from the heirs for every corpse. In just a few days, his treasury overflowed with wealth. Pharaoh became rich. With so much wealth gathered, he thought, why not Egypt’s…
He took all the cemeteries under his control, so he gave the king a huge amount of money to take responsibility for all the cemeteries in the country. This move by Firon filled the royal treasury, which made the King of Egypt very happy, and he started treating Firon with great love and respect. Meanwhile, by God’s will, the vizier of Egypt passed away, and since Firon had become very close to the king, the king appointed Firon as the new vizier of Egypt. As soon as he got this power, Firon got drunk on it and even dragged his unfortunate friend Haman into it.
Pharaoh called him over. He told Haman that he wanted people to see him as a god and worship him. Hearing this, Haman was surprised and suggested first bringing the Bani Israel under his control and winning their love. Following Haman’s advice, Pharaoh asked what he needed to do to make this happen and how these people would come to accept him as their god. At that time, all the people of Egypt followed the faith of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) and Prophet Yaqub (peace be upon him), so it seemed impossible that they would abandon their religion and accept Pharaoh as their god.
The Pharaoh said to his unlucky friend Haman, “Come up with a plan that makes people fear me and respect me so much that they accept me as their god.” Haman thought for a while and then came up with a clever idea. He said, “Your Majesty, I suggest that all the wishes of the people of Egypt be fulfilled for free. I will personally cover all the expenses so that the people become happy and their hearts turn towards you.” Hearing this, the Pharaoh agreed and announced that for one whole year, everyone in Egypt would enjoy these benefits.
Anyone can get whatever they want for free. Pharaoh had all the taxes collected over the year handed over by Haman to be deposited in the royal treasury. Then, across Egypt, it was announced that this year the treasury’s wealth belongs to the people. We have deposited all the tax amounts into the Egyptian king’s treasury, and the request for a two-year tax exemption has also been approved. Many were happy to hear this. The people of Egypt were overjoyed. They started praising Pharaoh and praying for his progress and honor. The public became impressed by Pharaoh’s name. But just a few days later, by Allah’s command…
The king of Egypt died without leaving an heir to take the throne. Fate took a new turn, and the opportunity fell into the hands of Pharaoh, which changed his life forever. After the king of Egypt was buried, people mourned for three days. On the fourth day, everyone gathered at the royal court to debate who should be crowned because the country couldn’t run without a king. So, at that time, the people of Egypt remembered the good deed Pharaoh had done—he had forgiven three years’ worth of taxes for the people.
He had kept it safe and deposited the revenue from his own expenses into the royal treasury. That’s why everyone in Egypt was really happy with the Pharaoh’s kindness. Seeing this generosity, the people put this unlucky Pharaoh on the throne, making him the king of Egypt. As soon as Pharaoh took the throne, he appointed his friend Haman as the vizier of Egypt and immediately told him that now their rule was established all over Egypt. They could do whatever they wanted. Pharaoh told Haman to come up with a plan so that everyone in Egypt would see him as their god.
They started believing and worshiping me. Haman gave a wicked suggestion: to shut down all the religious scholars who were teaching and to stop spreading the true religion among the people, so that gradually people would be pushed away from their faith, and future generations would grow up ignorant and disconnected from religion. When Pharaoh heard Haman’s plan, he immediately ordered that no one in Egypt was allowed to teach anymore, or else they would be killed. After this cruel order from Pharaoh, education and teaching completely stopped all over Egypt.
People stopped reading and writing, and the light of knowledge faded away. Time passed, and gradually everyone became ignorant and naive. They even forgot their true God, Allah. The people of Egypt became so ignorant that they started living like animals. During this time, Pharaoh issued another order that everyone in Egypt should make idols in their homes, bow down to them, and worship them. As soon as Pharaoh’s order came, a large group began idol worship. Before long, this polytheism and misguidance spread throughout the entire country for 20 years.
People kept worshipping idols. Then one day, Pharaoh made an announcement in Egypt, saying, “I am your greatest god.” Even in the Quran, the disrespectful words of Pharaoh are mentioned. For many years, the people of Egypt were caught up in this polytheism. Eventually, when the light of monotheism faded from their hearts, Pharaoh gave a new cruel order: break all the idols in your homes and worship only me as God. So, as soon as Pharaoh’s command was heard, the people broke their idols and…
Pharaoh started worshipping himself. After that, the people of Egypt began to consider Pharaoh as their god. But remember, apart from the Coptic community, no other group saw Pharaoh as a deity. The Nazarenes, the Coptic people, were the only ones who believed Pharaoh was their god. Everyone else believed in the oneness of Allah and worshipped only Allah as their Lord. That’s why Pharaoh was very kind to the Copts. But he was extremely cruel to the Muslim Children of Israel because they followed the faith of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him). Pharaoh was that unfortunate king in history.
He was the one who claimed divinity and committed such atrocities and tyranny that history’s pages are stained because of him. He enslaved the children of Israel and inflicted countless cruelties upon them. He tortured his captives and even crushed his virtuous wife, Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her), under mountains of oppression, ultimately martyring her. But the Lord of the Nazarenes dealt with his arrogance and cruelty in such a harsh way that he, along with his army, was drowned in the Nile River. His kingdom was completely destroyed. His neighborhoods were laid waste, and it was like the end of the world for him.
It was made as a warning so the world would know that arrogance only leads to destruction, because pride belongs to Allah alone. In Pharaoh’s palace, there was a woman who used to do the hair of his daughters. One day, while she was styling Pharaoh’s daughter’s hair, the comb suddenly slipped from her hand and fell. As she bent down to pick it up, Allah’s name accidentally slipped out of her mouth. Pharaoh’s daughter immediately got startled and said, “What’s this? Don’t you believe my father is God?” The faithful woman replied with full conviction, “Absolutely not. I don’t.”
God is the one who is the Lord of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him). Nazreen, when the girl gave a firm reply, got up and went to her father saying, “The woman living in your palace doesn’t consider you God.” Hearing his daughter’s words, Pharaoh got angry and said, “I will go to the court and punish this woman so badly that she will either stop believing in the Lord of Moses or lose her life.” When Pharaoh reached the court, he called the woman and said, “Look, stop calling Moses your God.” She replied, “Never.” Pharaoh then threatened her harshly.
He threatened her. But she said, “Do whatever you want now. I won’t back down.” Hearing this brave reply, Pharaoh took it as a challenge to his pride. So, he ordered her to be thrown to the ground. Then he commanded that nails be driven into her hands and feet so she couldn’t move. Just then, the minister came and said, “She has a little baby who’s still nursing. If you kill her daughter right in front of her, she’ll have no choice but to obey you.” After that, Pharaoh called the nursing baby. He put the child on her chest and…
He said he would kill your little girl right in front of you. Despite this huge threat from Pharaoh, Bandi said, “My heart is calm enough now that I can watch my little girl writhing in blood with my own eyes. But I can’t stand to see the blood of my faith.” Nazreen Chunacha slit her innocent daughter’s throat right on Bandi’s chest. When the girl went cold, Pharaoh said, “Now we’ll kill you too.” She replied, “Do whatever you want. I won’t back down from my faith.” In the end, this cruel man martyred this brave woman too.
Later, when Pharaoh returned to his palace after having Hazrat Mash’ata martyred, he said to his wife, Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her), “Today, I punished a woman severely.” His wife replied, “Shame on you! You took the life of an innocent child and killed a blameless woman.” Pharaoh said, “I punished her harshly because she did not believe I was God.” Hearing this, Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “I also do not believe in you; you are just an ordinary man.” Pharaoh was shocked to hear this because of Hazrat Asiya’s words.
She was deeply loved. Allah had blessed her with extraordinary beauty, and Pharaoh had chosen her from all the women to be his wife. He loved her immensely. So Pharaoh said, “What kind of things are you saying?” She replied, “I’m telling the truth. You are a liar. God is the one whose message Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) brought.” When Pharaoh heard this, he became very angry and said, “I will treat you the same way I treated Masha’ah.” Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her) then…
She replied calmly, “Do whatever you want with me, I have my Lord. I’ve decided that I will never abandon my God.” When Pharaoh heard this, he came back to the court, gathered everyone, and said, “Look at what a huge conspiracy this is. Moses (peace be upon him) has even misled my wife. Today, I’ll either kill her or make her change her mind.” So, he had Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her) arrested. There was a time when she was the respected lady of the palace. At her command, servants would run around, and people treated her with respect.
She wouldn’t even glance their way. And now, here she stands in Pharaoh’s court like a criminal. She is steadfast only in her love for Allah. Pharaoh said to Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her), “You live in such a grand palace, surrounded by so many blessings. I made you my beloved. But I will take all of it away from you. It’s better if you give up now and accept me as your god.” Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her) replied, “I have accepted faith, so I will not back down from my beliefs.” Hearing this, Pharaoh decided that he would also…
He punished them. First, he ordered that they be humiliated and said their clothes should be taken off. Just think, when a man is told to strip in front of people, he feels intense shame and wishes the ground would swallow him whole—now imagine how much deeper the shame and modesty must be for a woman. Pharaoh stripped Hazrat Asiya of her clothes, exposing her to this humiliating state. You can imagine the kind of cruel insult she suffered. On one side was her faith, and on the other, her test—but Hazrat Asiya, may Allah be pleased with her…
She stood her ground. Pharaoh said, “Alright, if you still don’t listen, I’ll punish you in a way no one has ever seen.” Then he ordered, “Tie her up and drag her towards my palace, so even in her last moments, her eyes stay fixed on my palace, and she keeps thinking about the blessings she’s rejecting as she dies.” So, she was tied up and dragged as Pharaoh commanded. Iron spikes were driven into her hands and feet so she couldn’t move. After that, Pharaoh said, “Strip the skin off her body.” The onlookers saw the cruelty of this ruthless woman…
Her skin was being flayed alive. But Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her) stood firm like a rock of patience and endurance, enduring everything. She was being tortured in the name of Allah. Her skin was peeled off her body. Yet, by the grace of Allah, she was still alive. Even though her body was battered with wounds, Pharaoh’s heart remained cold. He said, “Bring the chili powder and sprinkle it on her wounds.” When the chili powder was applied to her wounds, she writhed like a fish out of water. In this agony, she prayed to Allah, saying, “O my…”
Pharaoh’s palace is right in front of me, and he says, “We’ve kicked you out of this palace. You’ll never come back here again.” I prayed, “Give me a home with you in paradise instead of this palace, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds.” Allah granted them the status of martyrdom in this situation and honored their sacrifice by making them the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in paradise. Those pure people from the past made all kinds of sacrifices to protect their faith. They endured mountains of oppression but never compromised their belief.
We stood firm against every challenge but never upset Allah. In today’s fast-paced world, all that’s asked from us is to sacrifice our prayers. Yet sadly, we don’t even do that. Have we become so ungrateful? This whole sentence teaches us that faith is the most valuable treasure. Hazrat Asiya (may Allah be pleased with her), Hazrat Mashata, and her child endured the world’s hardships but never compromised their faith. The world is temporary, but the hereafter lasts forever. Pharaoh had power, wealth, and all the glory, yet he became a lesson for everyone. Meanwhile, Hazrat Asiya…
May Allah be pleased with her endured the hardships of this world and earned everlasting blessings in Paradise. Oppression never lasts. Allah grants respite to the oppressor but does not forgive them. Patience and steadfastness are signs of true faith. Hazrat Asiya, may Allah be pleased with her, showed patience despite unbearable suffering and kept her faith in her Lord. Truth always prevails. The power of Pharaoh was crushed before the truth of Prophet Musa (peace be upon him). Hazrat Asiya, may Allah be pleased with her, set the example of a woman’s honor and faith, serving as a role model for believing women till the Day of Judgment.
Faith is tested with trials. Allah tests His servants to reveal the true strength of their faith. Ultimately, this story teaches us that compared to the temporary comforts of this world, true success lies in faith, patience, and trust in Allah. Whoever stands firm for Allah is never disgraced; instead, Allah grants them honor in this life and the hereafter. May Allah give us steadfastness in faith, the ability to act righteously, and guide us to follow His will. Ameen. Viewers, please share one of the 99 names of Allah in the comment box.
