Transliteration:( Am ana khairun min haazal lazee huwa maheenunw wa laa yakaadu yubeen )
"Nay, am I not better [93] than him (Musa), who is despicable and can hardly express himself clearly [94]?"
This verse highlights Pharaoh’s arrogant disbelief, as he attempted to belittle a Prophet of Allah by calling him lowly and then declaring himself superior.
To disrespect a Prophet or declare oneself greater than a Prophet is an act of kufr (infidelity) rooted in arrogance. Such individuals share the same fate as Pharaoh, ending in destruction.
Pharaoh mocked Sayyiduna Musa’s speech, referring to his stammering, which was due to an incident in childhood when he placed a burning coal in his mouth.
Pharaoh was unaware that Allah had already cured this speech difficulty in response to Musa’s prayer:
"And loosen the knot from my tongue" (Surah Taha 20:27).
This teaches us that mockery of physical traits of a Prophet is both baseless and sinful.
The tafsir of Surah Zukhruf verse 52 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Zukhruf ayat 51 which provides the complete commentary from verse 51 through 56.
(43:52) Am I better or this contemptible man[47] who is scarcely able to express himself?[48]
47. Who is despicable: the person who has neither wealth, nor power, nor authority. This same objection had been raised by the disbelieving Quraish against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
48. Some commentators have expressed the opinion that Pharaoh referred to the impediment of speech from which the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) suffered since childhood. But this is not a correct opinion. As has been mentioned in Surah TaHa above, when the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was being appointed to Prophethood, he had implored Allah Almighty to remove the defect from his tongue so that the people might understand his speech and at that very time his request had also been granted along with his other requests (verse 27-36). Moreover, orations of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) that have been cited at different places in the Quran, point to his perfect eloquence and fluency. Therefore, the basis of Pharaoh’s objection was not any impediment of speech from which Moses (peace be upon him) might be suffering but what he meant was: This person talks confusedly, at least I have never been able to understand what he says.
[1442]- That was true previous to his appointment as a prophet, at which time Allāh corrected his speech impediment.
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