The Staff and the Parting of the Sea
The Staff and the Parting of the Sea Surah Az-Zukhruf, Ayah 51: “Pharaoh called out to his people and said, ‘O my people! Is not the kingdom of Egypt and these rivers flowing beneath me mine? Do you not see?’” In this verse, Pharaoh arrogantly addresses his people, claiming divine-like ownership over the land and the rivers. The waters he claims as his possession would ultimately lead to his downfall. Historically, the Egyptians controlled the Nile River floods through the construction of dams. Notably, Lake Nasser was created for irrigation purposes, covering an area of about 5,180 km². Flooding of the Nile has been a challenge since ancient times and remains so today. In Pharaoh’s era, control over water power was supported by dams made of stone and earth. These structures were called “yemm” , meaning “man-made water reservoirs or embankments.” The term is etymologically connected to “tayammum” (the ritual dry ablution performed when water is unavailable), both deriving from the...