His saying, exalted is He: "And Pharaoh said, 'O Haman, build for me a tower so that I may reach the means. The means of the heavens, so that I may look at the God of Moses, and indeed, I think he is a liar.' And thus was made alluring to Pharaoh the evil of his deed, and he was hindered from the way. And the plot of Pharaoh was not but in ruin." "And the one who believed said, 'O my people, follow me; I will guide you to the path of right guidance.' "O my people, indeed, this worldly life is but a enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter is the abode of permanence." "Whoever does a bad deed will not be recompensed except by its equivalent, and whoever does a righteous deed, whether male or female, while he is a believer, those will enter Paradise, being given therein provision without account." Allah, exalted and glorious, mentioned the statement of Pharaoh when he was exhausted by the tricks in resisting Moses, peace be upon him, with a proof. It became clear to all the onlookers that what Moses was calling to was the worship of the God of the heavens. So Pharaoh called Haman - who was his minister and overseer of his affairs - and commanded him to build for him a high building towards the heavens. And 'the tower' is every great and magnificent building, taken from emergence and clarity. From it is their saying: 'clear lineage,' and 'he declared his words clearly.' It is narrated that Haman cooked the bricks - and they had not been cooked before him - and he built it to a height of one hundred cubits. So Allah, blessed and exalted, sent Gabriel, peace be upon him, who struck it with his wing, breaking it into three pieces. Two pieces scattered, and the third fell into the sea. It is narrated that Haman was not from the Copts, and it was said that he was one of them. And 'the means' refers to the paths, as said by Al-Suddi. And Qatadah said: 'the doors.' It was said that he meant: perhaps he would find, with his proximity to the heavens, a means by which to connect. The majority read: "So that I may look" with the raising, in conjunction with "I may reach." Hafs from Asim and Al-A'raj read: "So that I may look" with the lowering, with the 'fa' in the response to the wish. And when Pharaoh said in the presence of his elite: "So that I may look at the God of Moses," his words necessitated the acknowledgment of the God of Moses. He then retracted that with a trembling retraction by saying: "And indeed, I think he is a liar."

Then Allah, the Most High, said: ﴿And thus it was adorned﴾. This means that just as Pharaoh was absorbed in the construction of the palace and engaged in these limited arts, so all his affairs were carried out, and it was adorned for him. That is, the devil adorned his evil deeds in all his actions. The majority read: ﴿And was turned away from the path﴾ with a فتح (fatha) on the صاد (sad), attributing the action to Pharaoh. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Asim, and a group read with a ضم (dhamma) on the صاد (sad) and a فتح (fatha) on the doubled دال (dal):