The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Qur’an: The Book of God
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In effect, Mr. Kolet was calling the Hyksos Kings,
Pharaohs. He had no option in this, for that is what
they are called in the Bible, with reference to both
Joseph’s and Moses’ respective periods. The Jewish
speaker could either accept the Bible or history, but
not both simultaneously. Since he was speaking in
his capacity as president of the Jewish Council, he
put history aside and based his talk on biblical
accounts.
But in the Qur’an we do not find accounts which
clash with history in this way, and those who follow
the Qur’an are not compelled to forsake history in
order to uphold their Holy Book. When the Qur’an
was revealed, people had no knowledge of ancient
Egyptian history. Only in later years did
archeological excavations make it possible for
Egyptologists to compile a record of the history of
that country’s ancient kings.
Even so, the Qur’an mentions the Egyptian
monarch who was a contemporary of Joseph, and
refers to him by the title, of ‘King of Egypt.’ As for
the king who ruled in Moses’ day, the Qur’an
repeatedly calls him Pharaoh. We thus have a
