217. The preserved remains of Firon. (Pharaoh) 

In verse (10.92) of the Quran Allah says” We have made the remains of the decimated Firon an exhibit to others.”

There are two types of opinions expressed by scholars regarding this verse.

The remains of Firon who was killed by being drowned in the sea will be preserved by Allah, only to be exposed in the final days, according to the opinion of some scholars. And they also claim the preserved remains of Firon will at a later day be discovered, as predicted by Allah that has been proved to be true, with the remains already found.

The ancient Egyptians had the knowhow to preserve dead bodies with ointments and balms, and called them as mummies. They placed these mummies in wooden boxes only to build huge constructions called pyramids over them.

In 1898 a mummy was discovered in a valley by a researcher named Loret, and taken to Cairo , capital of Egypt. Later on in 1907, the remains were handed over to one Elliott Smith for a complete research only to confirm and declare, the remains were of Firon.

The researchers are of the opinion, Firon after being drowned and killed in the sea and washed ashore,only to be found by the people later who embalmed it into a mummy and buried in the valley, where royals are interred.

The fact that the body of Firon was discovered after many centuries The Quran was revealed proves it to be the word of God.

Most of the Muslims today believe the remains that were found is that of Firon, as confirmed by the researchers.

Though nothing is wrong in coming to a conclusion based on the findings of the remains of a body, when it comes to conforming to the predictions of the Quran regarding the incident, we need to confirm its consonance with the verses of the Quran. But here the words used in the verses are not in line with the discovery of the remains of the body

Let’s look into the words in the verse.

“ We will rescue you with your body today, to be an exhibit to others who come after you”.

 The phrase ‘rescue you with your body’ cannot refer to preservation of a lifeless body.

This verse talks of Firon being rescued the day he was drowned.This can be understood from the sentence “We will rescue you with your body”.

If it was just the preservation of his body, The AlMighty would have said “We will preserve your body” and not ‘We will rescue you with your body’.

Since the verse says ‘We will rescue you with your body’ meaning while all others died, he was washed ashore alive in full shape.This is the conclusion one can come to.

In this verse, Allah’s message is in order to show those who come after you may learn a lesson, we will rescue you in full shape.

There would not not be much of a significant lesson to be learnt by just preserving the remains of a body, and especially when there is speculation whether the remains are that of Firon, thereby giving a leverage to refute entirely.

Moreover, there were numerous bodies that have been at that period of time embalmed to be preserved for ages, the argument of no lessons to be learnt gains strength.

The body thus preserved would not last as a body but would become a skeletal profile of the once existed body..

The words used in this verse conform to the following thoughts :-

1.    After Firon and his forces were drowned, he alone would have been washed ashore fighting for his life.

2.    He would have died after being exhibited, as a lesson to the public at large, as one washed ashore divested of all his power, and with no forces behind him.

Only this explanation gets close to the words “We will rescue you today with your body”.

When the verse is explained in this context, there is no need to prove it as the remains of Firon that were discovered. And even if it turns out to be that of Firon’s it cannot be taken as the prediction of the Quran.