Surah 28. Al-Qasas, Ayah 41

Lit., "archetypes (a'immah) inviting to the fire". This is the pivotal sentence of the above fragment of the story of Moses. Just as verses {15-16} are meant to draw our attention to the sin of tribal or racial prejudice (see note [15]), the present reference to Pharaoh as an "archetype [of evil]" points to the fact that false pride (takabbur) and arrogance (istikbar) are truly "satanic" attitudes of mind, repeatedly exemplified in the Qur'an by Iblis's symbolic "revolt" against God (for the meaning of which see note [26] on 2:34 and note [31] on 15:41 ). Inasmuch as they are intrinsically evil these "satanic" impulses lead to evil actions and, consequently, to a weakening or even a total destruction of man's spiritual potential: which, in its turn, is bound to cause suffering in the hereafter.