Was the prayer Hz Musa (Moses) made so that the impediment from his speech would be removed accepted? If yes, why did Pharaoh mock him?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

According to what is understood from the verses below, all of the requests of Hz. Musa were fulfilled:

“(Moses) said: ‘O my Lord! expand me my breast; Ease my task for me; And remove the impediment from my speech, So they may understand what I say: And give me a Minister from my family, Aaron, my brother; Add to my strength through him, And make him share my task: That we may celebrate Thy praise without stint, And remember Thee without stint: For Thou art He that (ever) regardeth us.’ (Allah) said: ‘Granted is thy prayer, O Moses!’" (Ta Ha, 20/25-36)

It is possible to understand from the last statement “Granted is thy prayer, O Moses!” that all of Hz. Musa’s prayers were accepted. (see Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the relevant verse)

“(Pharaoh said:) Am I not better than this (Moses), who is a contemptible wretch and can scarcely express himself clearly?” (az-Zukhruf, 43/52)

What is pointed out in the verse above mentions the state of Hz. Musa before he recovered (see Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the relevant verse). Accordingly, Pharaoh meant the following: “You could not speak properly until recently. How can you try to make a speech in my presence now?”

Another aspect regarding the issue is that it is a slander by Pharaoh. The treacherous Pharaoh wanted to spread the wrong information that Hz. Musa still lisped in order to depreciate him in the eye of people. When Hz Musa was a child, he used to lisp while speaking and people knew about it. However, as it is understood from the verses above, the prayer of Hz. Musa “remove the impediment from my speech” was accepted by Allah and the impediment was removed. (Ö. Nasuhi Bilmen, Kuran-ı Kerim’in Türkçe Meal-i Alisi ve Tefsiri, 7/3288)

As it is known, the way to announce something to people in that age was to use a town crier. For, the following verses indicate it:

"And Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying: ‘O my people! Does not the dominion of Egypt belong to me, (witness) these streams flowing underneath my (palace)? What! See ye not then? Am I not better than this (Moses), who is a contemptible wretch and can scarcely express himself clearly? Then why are not gold bracelets bestowed on him, or (why) come (not) with him angels accompanying him in procession?’” (az-Zukhruf, 43/51-53)

Those town criers used to announce the issue to the people in the town and village. Hz. Musa did not lisp after he became a prophet. For, his prayer “remove the impediment from my speech” mentioned in verses 27-36 of the chapter of Taha was accepted. That statement of Pharaoh originated from his stubbornness related to understanding the divine message. He did not heed it or he pretended to ignore it. In that period, when a king sent an envoy, he would give that envoy and the people around it things that would prove his magnificence and wealth. When Pharaoh did not see anything like that in Hz. Musa, he regarded his plainness as a sign of not being an envoy.

According to Razi, Pharaoh might have spoken without knowing that he recovered; he might also have meant that Hz Musa was too weak to bring evidences that would show his trueness. (Razi, the interpretation of the verse in question)

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