Were the people of Pharaoh guilty of shirk (associating partners with Allah) in lordship?

The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner asks: Are the people of Pharaoh considered to have committed shirk in lordship? Because they followed Pharaoh, and he claimed to be the Lord?

The Shaykh:
These are those who deny the divine attributes; they are not polytheists. These are the ones who deny the Lord, for Pharaoh said, "I am your Lord, the Supreme Lord" . He denied the existence of Allah the Exalted, and they believed him in this, so they became those who deny the divine attributes. Yes, they deny the existence of the Lord. Yes.

The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says:

The Shaykh:
And the same applies to all the atheists who do not acknowledge the existence of Allah, and who say that things are nature, that nature is what brings things into existence, and who say, "Nothing destroys us except time; we die and we live, and nothing destroys us except time," and they do not attribute this to Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He). These are called the Dahrīyah and the people of ta'til. Yes, they are not mushrikin; they are people of ta'til. The mushrik is in a better state than them, because the mushrik acknowledges the existence of Allah, but he takes others alongside Him. As for these, they do not acknowledge the existence of Allah. Yes, all the atheists, and how many of them there are today. Yes.