(38–40) “And in Moses, when We sent him to Pharaoh with clear authority. * But he turned away in his might and said, ‘A magician or a madman!’ * So We seized him and his hosts and cast them into the sea, for he was blameworthy.”

That is, in Moses and in the clear signs and manifest miracles with which Allah sent him to Pharaoh and his chiefs was a sign for those who fear the painful punishment. When Moses (1) came with that clear authority, Pharaoh “turned away in his might”; that is, he turned his side away from the truth and paid it no heed. He maligned Moses in the gravest terms, and they said, “A magician or a madman!” In other words, they claimed that Moses could only be one of two things: either a magician whose work was mere trickery (2), devoid of any truth, or a madman who could not be held accountable for what he said or did because he lacked reason.

Yet they knew—Pharaoh in particular—that Moses was truthful, as Allah Most High said: “They denied them, though inwardly they were certain of them, [out of injustice and arrogance].” Moses likewise said to Pharaoh: “You certainly know that none sent these down except the Lord of the heavens and the earth, [as clear proofs…”—to the end of the verse].

“So We seized him and his hosts and cast them into the sea, for he was blameworthy.” That is, he was guilty and tyrannical, insolently rebellious against Allah; therefore, the Almighty, the All-Powerful seized him.