Jibril's Reluctance to Witness Pharaoh's Repentance

The story of Pharaoh appears in various verses of the Quran. The ruler of Egypt during the time of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was a tyrant, oppressive, and cruel, even boastfully claiming to be a god. Pharaoh, who oppressed the Children of Israel, was punished by Allah, perishing along with his army when they drowned in the Red Sea while pursuing Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and his followers. In his final moments, Pharaoh attempted to declare his faith, saying, ‘I believe there is no god except the one believed in by the Children of Israel.’ However, before he could complete the declaration of faith, his mouth was filled with sand by the Angel Jibril. This fact is mentioned in a hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as narrated by al-Tirmidzi from Ibn Abbas, where the Prophet recounted Pharaoh’s story to his companions. ‘When Allah drowned Pharaoh, he said, “I believe there is no god except the one believed in by the Children of Israel” (as stated in Surah Yunus, verse 90 – Ed).’ Then, the Angel Jibril came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, ‘O Muhammad, if only you had seen me! At that moment, I took black sand from the seabed and placed it in Pharaoh’s mouth, for I feared he would receive divine mercy due to his declaration of faith.’ Another narration states: ‘The Angel Jibril placed sand in Pharaoh’s mouth out of fear that he would utter “La ilaha illa Allah” or that Allah would show him mercy.’