And Pharaoh said, in response to this encouragement and threat after the warning, by clarifying the great signs, content in defending what he saw as having drawn his ignorant and foolish people away from ignorance due to the appearance of those clear signs, by stopping them from believing for a time. And this was his habit; whenever Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, showed a proof, for his people were in utmost ignorance and deeply inclined towards falsehood and averse to the truth, favoring conjecture over certainty: "O chiefs," meaning: the nobles, he honored them to attract their hearts. "What I know for you," he emphasized in denial, saying: "of a god other than me," he denied his knowledge of that to show his fairness, and that he did not intend to deceive them. This is clear from him that he intended to instill doubt in them, indicating that his selection of his knowledge of its existence was only for the negation of its existence after he knew that the truth was with Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, for he concluded what he could after their witnessing the manifest signs and clear indications. Then he further caused them to stop from following by causing, due to his ignorance, his saying to his minister, teaching him the craft of brick-making, for he was the first to do it, although this expression is more akin to the ambitions of tyrants than to say: make for me bricks: "So kindle for me," he added the kindling to him, indicating that it is necessary. "O Haman," and he is his minister, "on the clay," meaning: the clay to be made into bricks to become bricks; then he caused, from the kindling, his saying: "So make for me," meaning: from it, "a lofty tower," meaning: a high building that reaches the sky. Al-Tabari said: And every flat building is a tower like a palace, and Al-Zajjaj said: Every spacious elevated building. "So that I may ascend," meaning: I will attempt to ascend, "to the god of Moses," meaning: the one he calls to, for there is no one on earth with this description he mentioned, so I seek him in the sky, misleading them that it is something that can be reached, assuming the validity of the claim that he exists, and he is decisive in contradiction of that. However, he intends to defend himself from time to time, knowing that the habit has been established that most people think that kings have the ability to do whatever they say. Then he increased their doubt with his saying, confirming in order to repel what has settled in the souls of the truthfulness of Moses, blessings and peace be upon him: "And I certainly think he is among the liars," meaning: his habit is that. And he has lied and worn the curse of Allah and described the most truthful of the people of that time with the ancient description of aggression. And if this statement from him is on its truth, then nothing confirms the testimony of his extreme ignorance and foolishness from him, as he thought he could reach the sky. Then he justified, assuming the possibility of reaching, he could ascend upon its back, then, assuming that, he could contend with its builders and those who raise it.