17 Preface ۞ وَلَقَد فَتَنّا قَبلَهُم قَومَ فِرعَونَ وَجاءَهُم رَسولٌ كَريمٌYusuf AliWe did, before them, try the people of Pharaoh:1 there came to them a messenger most honourable,2This reference is to the pride of Pharaoh and his Egyptians, and their fall, rather than to the story of Moses himself; just as in 44:30-33 the reference is to the blessings bestowed on Israel, contrasted with their pride, unbelief, and fall; and in 44:37, to the ancient Himyar kingdom in Yemen, which similarly fell for its sins.Most honourable: this epithet is specially applied to Moses here, as expressing the truth, in contrast to the Pharaoh’s false characterisation of him as “a contemptible wretch"(43:52).