A famous British scientist (a museologist) denies that the corpse that was found belongs to the Pharaoh. What do you think about it?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is stated in the Quran that the body of Pharaoh will be preserved as an example:

(O Pharaoh!) This day shall We save thee in the body, that thou mayest be a sign to those who come after thee! but verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Signs.” (Yunus, 10/92)

Therefore, it is highly probable that the corpse that was found belongs to Pharaoh. It is reported in the Quran that Pharaoh prostrated while drowning in water. Therefore, if the corpse belongs to Pharaoh, it must be in the position of prostration. In some pictures, he appears to be prostrating and in others, he is sitting. As for the difference, according to the news we received, the body was in the position of prostration when it was first found. It is said that he was laid on his back afterwards so that the news of the Quran would not be understood. If the corpse in both pictures belongs to Pharaoh, one is the picture taken in prostration and the other is the picture taken while he was lying on his back. It is possible that the cloths in his hands were made after his body was found for various reasons. His picture taken in prostration was published in Zafer Magazine many years ago.

The person who saw the corpse of Pharaoh for the first time in England took a photo of it and sent it to the Zafer Magazine is a very valuable friend of ours, a professor who still works at a university. We heard about this incident from him. At that time, the body was in the position of prostration, just as it appeared in the Magazine. They may have changed this position later on. If this change was not made as a technical necessity, it was most likely the result of the efforts of those who saw that it served to show a miraculous aspect of the Quran.

At that time, as a result of the tests carried out on the corpse, it was reported by experts that it pointed to dates that might belong to the time of the Prophet Moses (Musa) (2,500-3,000 years ago) as of the date of its determined age and that the body belonged to Pharaoh. Besides, the place where he was found was the Red Sea, where Pharaoh was drowned.

In addition, the fact that long before this corpse became famous, Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, one of the rare scholars and saints raised by the Islamic world, precisely stated that it belonged to the Pharaoh in the time of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) himself gives us a definite opinion. In particular, the fact that the great tafsir scholars of the same period, Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır and Sayyid Qutb, the tafsir scholar who lived in Egypt in, did not mention this event while interpreting verse 92 of the Chapter of Yunus, makes the spiritual dimension of Nursi’s definitive attitude even more important.

The Prophet Moses lived in 1200s BC and the struggle between good and evil continued in his time. After Moses (pbuh) was appointed as a prophet, he struggled with Pharaoh and the tribes of Sons of Israel who believed in the Prophet Moses (pbuh) were persecuted. Thereupon, Allah allowed Moses (pbuh) and his followers to leave Egypt. Pharaoh, who was informed about it, started to follow them with a strong army. Moses (pbuh) came to the coast of the Red Sea with the permission of God Almighty to avoid this pursuit. In front of them was the sea and behind them was Pharaoh’s army. In this dreadful state, by Allah’s command and as a miracle of Moses (pbuh), the sea split and they reached the shore safe and sound by passing through the road that opened.

While Pharaoh and his soldiers were following Sons of Israel, they saw the split waters of the sea with horror, but after a moment of hesitation, they followed the road opening from the sea due to their hatred and enmity. However, the split waters of the sea began to reunite and eventually Pharaoh and his entire army were drowned; not a single person could escape.

The body was found in Jabalayn, on the shore of the Red Sea, and was taken to the museum by the British research team who dug it out of the hot sands in 1881. It was observed that all the organs of the corpse in the position of prostration were complete and even it had yellowed hair and beard on its head. The most astonishing feature of the corpse was that it had not been mummified. As it is known, some of the internal organs of the mummified corpses were removed and medicated. However, no treatment was done on this corpse and no chemicals were used. It was proven to be at least 3000 years old by a method called carbon 14.

The body in question was found on a small mound by the sea while the Suez Canal was being opened and it was taken to London.

Allah did not allow the corpse of Pharaoh, who claimed to be a deity at the time of Moses (as), even though three thousand years had passed in order to make it serve as an example.

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