Interpretation of the Verse from the Chapter of Jonah

Interpretation of the Verse from the Chapter of Jonah

The Almighty said: {We took the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them in tyranny and enmity until when the drowning caught up to him, he said, "I believe that there is no god except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit"}^[6] Quran Chapter “Jonah” 10:90.

When did Pharaoh’s faith, mentioned in the words of the Almighty, start? {"I believe that there is no deity except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of the those who submit"}?

There are several possible answers:

1. Pharaoh’s faith occurred when he saw the parting of the sea miracle with his own eyes.

2. Pharaoh's faith occurred after he descended to the seabed to pursue the children of Israel, but before the water engulfed and drowned him.

3. Pharaoh's faith occurred after the water engulfed him and he was drowning in it, but definitely before he died. This possibility is the one that Sarkhi considered to be an absolute Quranic truth. Sarkhi said: “. . . rather, what compelled him to say ‘I believe’ was the drowning.”

Let us subject the three possibilities to scientific scrutiny based on the previously mentioned words of God Almighty, as well as the physics of speaking, or the human utterance of words. The order of discussion of the above possibilities will be the first followed by the third, and then I will return to the second possibility.