The person who bought Yusuf is named Potiphar Gen37:36 in the Bible (meaning in Egyptian "the gift of the god Re") while the Quran refers to him with the honorary title 12:30"the aziz". That same honorific title would later be attributed to Yusuf himself as he reached a high status 12:88. The word is derived from the very commonly used root Ain-Z-Z to denote dominance and strength. The story also praises the humanitarian attitude of seeking to adopt an individual in distress or danger.
As to the pharaoh of Moses' lifetime, like the Bible, the Quran does not name him. It simply refers to him with his royal title firaawn, the Arabized form of per-aa. The Quran, like the Bible, uses Pharao/Firawn as a proper name, without the definite article. In the course of history, the word shifted from title to proper name, due to its very close association with a specific character. This is what happened with the title Christ/Messiah which became a proper name for Jesus. Whereas the Bible erroneously uses the title Pharao as a proper name for 2 distinct persons, the Quran uses it for a single person, the same ruler throughout Moses' life. Given the descriptions made in the Quran of that ruler, no historical Pharao fits better than the greatest of them all, RamesesII, which makes the use of the title as a proper name highly appropriate.
A major distinction between the Quran and Bible is the fact that the Bible uses the title Pharaoh to kings of ancient Egypt during the time of Abraham Gen12:10-20 and Joseph Gen41 while the title was not yet in use at this period. The Quran refers to the sovereign of Egypt in Joseph's time as malik/king and only starts speaking of a "pharaoh" in Moses' period. Therefore, the setting of the Quranic story of Moses is from the time when rulers of ancient Egypt were addressed as Pharaohs, corresponding to the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom Period 1539-1077BCE until the Third Intermediate Period 1076-746BCE. It is to be noted that the word MSR refering to Egypt in the Quran was also used in antiquity going back to the prophet Joseph's time in the Old Babylonian Period (1950–1530 BCE).
The Bible states Moses saw parts of the reigns of two Pharaohs Ex2:23. This is understandable considering the Biblical depiction of him beig 80 years old when he confronted Pharao Ex7:7. The implication is he had been leading the hundreds of thousands of Israelites, through the physically, emotionally, spiritually grueling experience of the exodus well into his 100s years old. His life was taken by God at 120 years old Deut34:7.
Without getting into the issue of having an old man doing what Moses is supposed to have done, the Quran mentions only one Pharaoh who ruled Egypt before the birth of Moses until the Exodus and his death by drowning 28:7-9,26:18-22. This implies a period of reign of about a minimum of 48-50 years based on the Quran's implicit statements concerning Pharaoh reigning before Moses was born, the age of Moses when he left for Midian, the number of years he stayed in Midian and the length of Moses second stay in Egypt with the display of various miracles after returning from Midian 28:14-29,7:127-137.
Among the rulers of the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Periods, only 3 pharaohs reigned for approx 50 years: Tuthmosis III (+-54 years), Ramesses II (+-66 years) and Psusennes I (+-45 years). Tuthmosis III can safely be ruled out due to several factors including the fact that his actual reign was for about 30 years due to the appointment of a regent in his youth when he succeeded to the throne of Egypt after the death of his father. Ramesses II on the other hand ruled for the longest period of time as compared to any other Pharaoh and the 66-68 years period fits well with the Quranic account that requires about 50 years of the pharaoh's reign in Moses' time. He was appointed prince regent at 14 by his father, believed to have taken the throne in his late teens and is known to have ruled Egypt at approximately 24 years old.
There is a reason why the Quran corrects the HB which talks of Pharao's daughter finding Moses and later raising him, by stating it was to Pharao's wife that the infant Moses was brought to, and that she was the one to raise him 28:8-9. RamessessII would have been too young to have a grown up daughter at the time of Moses' infancy. This is how consistent and precise the Quran is in its presentation of facts.
Besides the above points suggesting that the Pharaoh in question is RamessesII, other Quran clues equally point to this specific ruler;
In answer to the calls for spiritual reform and the worship of the only one God, and despite seeing, along with the notables, the signs sent with Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh turns away, collects the attending assembly and reminds them through a proclamation that he is their Lord, most high 79:15-24. That is why he then says in 28:38 that
"I do not know of any god for you besides myself".
The verse 7:127 then speaks of Moses' victory over the magicians possibly leading to the abandonement of Pharao and HIS gods in favor of Moses' God. The 2 verses together show that Pharao considered himself to be the god of Egypt and its people. His exclusivism was that there is no other god that directs his people's affairs, hence they should worship him exclusively. But as regards his own self, he did not negate the existence of other gods ruling over different realms of creation. They were Pharao's gods, not the Egyptians.
In the time of the "new kingdom" which is the corresponding period as already seen above, the deification of kings had become an established practice that had in fact reached its peak during the time of Ramesses II who was the supreme divine and political undisputed authority, who did not waste any extravagance to promote that image as seen from the colossal monuments that he built throughout Egypt, which he furnished with numerous large-scale images of himself
10:83"And indeed, Firon was arrogant in the land; and indeed, he was of the extravagant".
The Egyptian elite and nobles around the Pharaoh in that period ascribed to that belief, considered their ruler as a supreme deity with no equal in divine attributes such as omniscience and creation. Not only did the pharaos of that period exalt themselves as gods, they adopted a practice according to which the pre-existing gods had to reciprocate to the offerings made by the pharaos to them if they wanted exaltation and worship in return otherwise they got demoted in status and were supplanted by other deities chosen by the pharaos. Thus, the gods of Egypt were not truly independent gods; rather they were pharao's gods. Their rise or decline was dependent upon the ruler of Egypt. It is with this principle in mind that the Pharao of Moses' time, most probably Ramesses II, in his folly, requested for one of his leading notables whom he calls "Haman" to build a tower for him 28:36-8,40:36-7. The Bible too, mentions unnamed helpers around Pharaoh.
On the micro-level, every single element of the Pharaoh and Moses story can be confirmed historically in a purely Egyptian context. From the Pharaoh being the supreme god, to the Egyptian mythology of rulers desiring to ascend to the gods through a structure. That belief, that gods may be reached by going up a high building was common to other ancient middle eastern cultures as well, including Mesopotamian and Assyrian. For example Nebuchadnezzar is reported in the HB itself as haughtily declaring
Isa14:14-16"To the heavens will I ascend, above God's stars will I raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of the assembly, in the farthest end of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will liken myself to the Most High".
Haman is the Arabized version of the ancient Egyptian title amana that was used for a High Priest as well as an architect that impersonated the deity IMN pronounced amana in ancient Egyptian. This fits well with the character described in the Quran who was assigned to build a project loaded with theological significance, a kind of builder-priest or someone who was involved in construction as well as priestly activities. The Arabized Haman for "amana" would be akin to the king who ruled during the time of Moses being called firaawn which is the Arabized form of "per-aa", the title used to refer to Egyptian kings. In fact the high priest of Amun named Bakenkhons was well known for his architectural works and happenned to have managed several religious building projects during the time of Ramesses II and at his direct request.
The idea that the Haman of the Quran is the prime minister of the Persian King Ahasuerus found in the Book of Esther is untenable for several reasons. Assuming for argument's sake that the Quran is indeed referring to a name, rather than a title, why wouldnt it be possible for 2 persons living in different space, time and circumstances to have the same name? Ample examples of that are present within the Bible itself. Further, does it necessitate that the Quran's mention of a person must have biblical precursors in the same context, or that the Bible represents the standard of authenticity and historical accuracy? In fact the book of Esther, absent from the Dead sea scrolls, whose canonicity was and still is hotly disputed by both Jews and Christians as well as their sub-groups, in which a Haman is mentioned, is known for its many historical problems and impossibilities making it anything but a standard of truth. The characters spoken of in the book have no historicity and connection with any Persian king. Therefore, the presence of a Haman in ancient Egypt cant be considered unhistorical on the basis of a fictious person named Haman in the unreliable Book of Esther. It is highly probable that in the process of writing this fiction, the authors, used references going back to their period of Egyptian captivity, including the Eygptian sounding name "Haman".
To those claiming that even if Esther and its characters have no historical basis then the Quran has merely misappropriated a fictional character from an unhistorical setting, they still need to answer first and foremost why would anyone copying a narrative, only select and mention a secondary character among others and not only ommit his original role then change it entirely but also place him in a different setting of time and space? Some have tried arguing that the Quran's author interposed the Ahiqar's story with that of Pharaoh and Haman. In the story, Ahiqar the wise chancelor of the Assyrian king Sennacherib is asked to meet the challenge issued by pharaoh to build a tower in Egypt suspended in the air in exchange of much wealth. The story also contains mention of a Nadab/Nadin/Nadan (called "Aman" in only one verse of some -not all- Greek versions of the book of Tobit) who was Ahiqar's enemy whom he had originally adopted and raised. No literary connection or comparative basis exists between the 2 stories, not even regarding the nature and purpose of the building project. Why would the Quran's author change the name Ahiqar, for Haman?
The purpose of the building in pharaoh's words was to have access to the heavens and verify whether this God of Moses who was challenging him and performing wonders through His messenger truly existed. That God whom Moses claimed deriving his miracles from had additionally humiliated him by surpassing the greatest Egyptian magicians and descended calamities all throughout the land which Pharao could not stop. It is natural that Pharao had to find any way to save face in front of his notables and people, deviating their attention, which is what grandiose projects, whether accomplished or not, have always and still do nowadays, attempted to achieve by rulers.
If that God were true, he most probably thought he could demote Him as he had the authority to do with Egyptian deities. He ordered the construction to be done with a particular material that further points to the Pharaoh being Ramesses II. He asked for burnt bricks which was a construction method known and used in ancient Egypt at all times, whether for monumental or more basic buildings, but rarely prefered over unbaked bricks for economical convenience until the Roman period. It was however notably used for the construction of funerary structures by the pharaohs of the 19th Dynasty in the New Kingdom period which is precisely the period associated with Ramesses II. It is to be noted that the request most probably remained at the status of wild, on the moment, project as there is no mention of its construction in the Quran. The manner in which pharaoh made the request
"build me a tower..although i know him to be a liar"
conveys a sense of bluff or deception. It was a means of impressing upon the attendance that Pharaoh was capable of surveying and accessing even to the gods if he wishes. The above however is based on the assumption that what pharaoh had in mind was the actual fabrication of baked bricks, but upon closer attention, the literal rendering of the verse, free from any preconceived notion states
"..ignite for me, O Haman, (a fire) upon the clay and make for me a building, perhaps I may look at the God of Musa.."
Based on Moses' first communication with God, revelation was connected with fire. Pharaoh, who was now in competition with Moses and was always seeking to humiliate him in a spectacular fashion (such as the grand gathering of the magicians) could thus have been seeking to associate 2 concepts of communication with the divine by building a tower made of bricks on fire, or a tower upon which there would be clay and fire, the tower being the known way by which egyptians thought gods could be accessed, and the fire which was present during Moses' first encounter with God.
Further on with the issue of identifying the Pharao of Moses' time, other clues pointing to Ramesses II is the building of huge structures. The Quran's description of the Pharaoh in 38:12,89:10 is dhul-awtad lit. "of the awtad". Besides the meaning of "pegs", used for mountains in 78:7, another meaning of awtad is buildings and this is most appropriate in describing Ramesses II who was involved in more building projects than any other Pharaoh throughout the history of ancient Egypt. It is also worth noting that the phrase "Pharaoh, Lord of the awtad" appears next to nations that were known for their monumental building achievements 89:6-14, who were precisely admonished by their prophets for their boastful and wasteful pursuits, and who were finally uprooted and their constructions flattenned. This is not to mention what can safely be termed the most ambitious construction efforts the world has ever known when Ramesses II founded the splendid royal mega-city of Pr-Ramesses. The magnificient city now lies in ruins
7:137"and We utterly destroyed what Firon and his people had wrought and what they built".
In one of his temples, engravings mention the construction of a temple dedicated to one of his wives. Astonishingly the Quran in 66:11 relates how his unnamed wife (Asiya according to tradition) makes a prayer whose wording is unique, asking Allah to build her a house in paradise. It seems one of his wives (either one of the queens or lesser queens) was not interested in such worldly considerations, rather desiring the good of the hereafter. Subtly, she asks for a house in exchange of a temple, showing how even a humble position with God is better in exchange than a temple in a world of sin. It is expected that this humble woman is not found mentioned among his wives, Ramessess could have even killed her for rejecting his way of life and religion.
Another unique description that the Quran makes of the Pharaoh of Moses is that following his death
10:92"We will this day deliver you with your body that you may be a sign to those after you".
His dead body will be preserved and become a sign for future generations, probably as it washed ashore after drowning and was embalmed by his subjects. This correlates with another peculiarity of Ramesses II, which is that his mummified remains can be seen up to this very day. This allows the interpretation of the verse to be a long term projection, contrary to other instances where an ancient thing or person with a miraculous aspect or experience are similarly made "a sign for future people" 2:259,21:91,29:14-15. In these verses it could mean the sign is meant for a short or long-term future depending on the concrete evidence available. For example should the ark of Noah be discovered today then the verse could be applied for the long term but until then, as in other cases it was only a physical, tangible sign until it was lost from sight, although the implications of the sign do remain forever so long as the story is preserved and truthfully transmitted.
RamessesII's body was protected from complete destruction by the crushing waters, something already miraculous in itself, and secondly its physical preservation made it possible to see in concrete the powerful tyrant that once defied God, vividly remembering his humiliating end. The historical and religious records in themselves remind us of his punishment but the additional presence of the body amplifies the impact of the story and attests to it, with the mummified remains being a sign "embodying" God's power to overcome the most ruthless ruler should He desire.
When the verses 10:90,11:96-8,38:42 speak of Pharao's "salvation", the only "salvation" that pharaoh experienced was the preservation of his lifeless body. This is why the verse mentions specifically "bibadanika". He became a sign for generations to come 10:92, of the will and law of God, even upon the most powerful figures of this world. He requested the salvation of his soul, but it was refused. Instead his body was saved and his soul sent to the punishment of the hereafter. For the Israelites who had been subject to enslavement, humiliation and torture for centuries, a condition that reached its peak under Pharaoh, the preservation of his lifeless body was an important reassurance to them that their ordeal was truly over.
The most relevant explanation here would be that the body of the Pharaoh washed ashore to be seen by the Israelites. That defeat must have struck hard among the Egyptians who then collected the body and embalmed it as a way of honouring it while they were in fact inadvertently exposing him further to humanity thanks to the Quran and its account of what happens to even the mightiest worldly leaders when they reject God, His messengers and the signs sent with them. The humiliation the Egyptians felt was so great that they attempted rewriting history. Merneptah, the son and successor of Ramessess II wrote on a stele that
"Israel is laid waste; his seed is no more".
Yet it is clear that the Israelites were not exterminated. This Quranic emphasis on the preservation of Pharaoh's body departs from what is expected both in terms of Quranic pattern where the rejecters are entirely destroyed, especially the leaders of sin, and the information found in previous scriptures and traditions clearly mentioning that none of the Egyptian pursuers remained Ex14. The prophet here, as is the case in many other instances including the negation of the crucifixion, had no reason to depart from what was known and established while retelling past narratives. The fact is Muhammad was a receiver of information who had no say in whatever he was conveying
46:9"Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner".
10:15 "And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, those who do not expect the meeting with Us say, "Bring us a Qur'an other than this or change it." Say, [O Muhammad], "It is not for me to change it on my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day".
Although Pharao rejected Moses' calls and the manifest signs, some Egyptians, including the magicians he summoned to defeat Moses' miracles believed. They were consequently punished in the most humiliating fashion 7:120-7,20:70-3,40:25. To Moses' contemporaries, magicians were very popular and prominent personalities, and their appearances attracted large crowds. One can only imagine the kind of audience that came to watch the nationwide gathering in one spot, of Egypt's most renowned magicians. In addition the Quran speaks of the event as happening on a special day, at Moses' own clever request, called yawm al zeena which lit. means the day of pompous decoration 20:58-59.
This is yet another clue pointing to the Pharaoh of Moses' time being Ramesses II. He ascended to the throne in his teens, and his reign lasted more than 60 years. He must have celebrated the famous Heb-Sed Festival, also called a jubilee, which usually occurred every 30 years after a king's rule and thereafter, every three years. Ramesses II celebrated a record 11 or 12 (some say 14) of these after his Heb-Sed festival in year 30.
