فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِندِنَا قَالُوا إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَسِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ (76)
(10:76) And when truth came to them from Us, they said: 'Indeed this is plain sorcery. *74
*74). The response of the Pharaonites to the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) was exactly the same as the response of (he Makkan unbelievers to the Prophet (peace be on him). This response bar, been mentioned earlier (see verse 2 above) in these words: 'This man is indeed an evident sorcerer.'
The context makes it clear that the Prophets Moses and Aaron (peace be on them) were entrusted with the same mission which had formerly been entrusted to Prophet Noah (peace be on him), then to the Prophets who followed him and finally to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) who was the last in the chain of such Prophets.
From the outset, the thrust of the surah has been the same - that man should take God, the Lord of the universe, and Him alone, as his Lord and as the sole object of his worship, service and obedience, and that he has to render to Him an account of all his deeds. Now, those who had rejected the message of the Prophet (peace be on him) are being told that their well-being as well as that of all human beings rests on affirming their belief in the One True God and in the Hereafter, a belief which has been invariably expounded by the Prophets down the ages. Man's well-being depends on affirming this belief, and on fashioning his entire behaviour on the basis of that.
This constitutes the pivotal point of the whole surah. The reference to other Prophets (peace be on them) in this surah by way of historical illustration indicates that the message of all the Prophets was the same as the one embodied in this surah. The Prophets Moses and Aaron (peace be on (hem) had conveyed the same message to Pharaoh and his chiefs. Had the mission of these two Prophets been merely to liberate a specific nation, as some people are inclined to believe, reference to this event for the purpose of historical illustration would have been quite discordant with the context in which it occurs. There can be no doubt that the mission of Moses and Aaron partially aimed at bringing about the liberation of the Israelites (then, a Muslim people) from the domination of an unbelieving nation. This was, however, a secondary rather than the central purpose of raising those Prophets. According to the Qur'an the main objective of the mission of these two Prophets was the same as that of all other Prophets. An objective which has been clearly set forth in the following verses of: 'Go to Pharaoh for he has certainly transgressed all bounds (of servitude to Allah). And say to him: "Would you rather be purified; and that I guide you to your Lord that you may fear Him" ' (al-Nazi'at 79: 17-19). Now, since Pharaoh and his nobles did not respond positively to this call, the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) was ultimately left with no other choice but to secure the liberation of his people, who were Muslims, and to take them away from the area dominated by Pharaoh. This was of course a fairly important event, and the Qur'anic narration of it also treats it as such. However, all those who are not inclined to view the detailed teachings of the Qur'an in isolation from its general principles, can never commit the mistake of considering the liberation of a people to be the basic purpose of raising a Prophet whereas inviting people to the true faith is of secondary significance, (For further details see Ta Ha 20: 44-52; al-Zukhruf 43: 46-56; and al-Muzzammil 73: 15-16.)