Discussion of the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And Pharaoh said, ‘Leave me to kill Moses, and let him call upon his Lord. Indeed, I fear that he will change your religion or that he will cause corruption to appear on the earth.’”

The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from Satan, the accursed. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said in the story of Moses with Pharaoh that they, meaning Pharaoh, said, “Leave me to kill Moses.” Is this to be taken at face value, or is it a feint?
The student: A feint.

The Shaykh : A feint. How so?
The student: Because he is capable of doing it.

The Shaykh : I mean, and who would stop him? But he feigned to the people that he was prevented from killing him, so that they would say, why did he not kill him?

The Shaykh : Now, his saying: What does this phrase imply? What does this statement from Pharaoh imply?
The student: It implies a challenge.

The Shaykh : I mean, if his Lord answers you, then call upon Him.

The Shaykh : His saying: With what?
The student: That he would turn them away from worshipping Pharaoh to worshipping Allah.

The Shaykh : Now, his saying: There is a reading: yathhar (he appears) and yuzhir (he causes to appear). Now, how is in the two readings? It is raised (nominative), and with yuzhir it is opened (accusative) as being... Now, is there a second reading? With the waw

The Shaykh : Now, what is the corruption that Pharaoh mentioned? ... And he sees that this is corruption because of his saying: And the second? ... And that leads to chaos and mutual fighting.