Leave me to kill Musa. They used to stop him from killing him by saying: He is not the one you fear; he is less than that and weaker. He is only one of the magicians, and someone like him can only be resisted by a magician like him. They say: If you kill him, you will cast doubt upon the people, and they will believe that you have failed to oppose him with evidence. It is apparent that Pharaoh, may Allah curse him, was certain that he was a prophet, and that what he brought were signs and not magic. However, the man was cunning and shrewd, and he was a killer who shed blood for the slightest thing. So how could he not kill someone he felt was the one who would shake his throne and destroy his kingdom? But he feared that if he attempted to kill him, he would be met with destruction. And his saying, 'And let him call upon his Lord,' is a testimony to his extreme fear of him and of his calling upon his Lord. His saying, 'Leave me to kill Musa,' was a ruse. [Mahamud said: 'When they were about to kill him, they would stop him by saying: This is not someone to be feared; rather, he is a magician who can only be resisted by someone like him. Killing him would create doubt among the people that you only killed him out of fear. And Pharaoh, may Allah curse him, in his outward appearance—Allah knows best—was aware that he was a prophet, fearful of killing him despite his desire to do so, were it not for his panic. He wanted to conceal his fear of killing him by saying to them: Leave me to kill him, so that they would stop him and the refraining from killing him would be attributed to them, not to his panic and fear. And his saying, 'And let him call upon his Lord,' indicates his fear of him because he is a prophet. This is one of his known ruses.' Ahmad said: 'It is similar to his saying, 'Indeed, these are but a small band, and indeed, they are a source of annoyance to us, and we are all cautious.' It has been established that his intention was to show his people that he did not care about them, and to imply that killing him was not out of fear of them, but out of annoyance towards them. He was accustomed to being cautious and fortified, protecting the realm, not out of fear and panic. Indeed, he lied; his heart was filled with terror.'