Ash-Shu'ara 23: Pharaoh said, “who is the one that you call Lord of the worlds?”

Surah Ash-Shu'ara, verse 23: Pharaoh said, What is this "Lord of the worlds" you speak of?

The Lord of the worlds. Now,

a person is to use his reason. Allah Almighty also addresses man. Will you not use your reason at all? He says. Now if I were to say — Allah forbid. Glory be to Him. If I said I am Allah — Allah forbid. We glorify Him.

The Allah we know is the Creator. That is, He brings into being from nothing. What have you brought into being from nothing? What did you make? What have I made? Nothing. So what am I doing? I make use of what has been created. Then it is Allah who created those created things. Not you. Yes.

Pharaoh said: What is this "Lord of the worlds" you speak of? So the word Rabb here means creator. What is this "Creator of the worlds" you speak of? And you, what are you? What are you? What have you created? You make use of what the Creator has created. Yes. So these are poor people who do not use their reason. Now one day Satan comes to Pharaoh's door and knocks.

Pharaoh calls from inside, "Who is it?" he says. Satan calls from the door: "What kind of god are you? You didn't know who is at your door," he says. "Come in, then, let's see, who are you?" he says. "A god like you," he says, "deserves a trickster like me," he says. Trickster. "A god like you, a trickster like me," he says. How well he puts it. Pharaoh said: What is this "Lord of the worlds" you speak of? When Moses (peace be upon him) told Pharaoh what he had been through, his mention of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, caught Pharaoh's attention. For Pharaoh had declared himself a god and was making people worship him, and was full of arrogance and pride toward people.

At the same time Pharaoh, not magnifying Him, said, "What is this Lord of the worlds you speak of supposed to be?" and, since he could not bear a second god to be worshipped besides himself, he lashed out at Moses reproachfully.