قَالَ أَلَمْ نُرَبِّكَ فِينَا وَلِيدًا وَلَبِثْتَ فِينَا مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سِنِينَ ﴿۱۸﴾ وَفَعَلْتَ فَعْلَتَكَ الَّتِي فَعَلْتَ وَأَنْتَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿۱۹﴾ قَالَ فَعَلْتُهَا إِذًا وَأَنَا مِنَ الضَّالِّينَ ﴿۲۰﴾ فَفَرَرْتُ مِنْكُمْ لَمَّا خِفْتُكُمْ فَوَهَبَ لِي رَبِّي حُكْمًا وَجَعَلَنِي مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ﴿۲۱﴾

﴾18﴿ Qaala alam nurabbika feenaa waleedanw wa labista feenaa min 'umurika sineen
﴾19﴿ Wa fa'alta fa'latakal latee fa'alta wa anta minal kaafireen
﴾20﴿ Qaala fa'altuhaaa izanw wa ana minad daaaleen
﴾21﴿ Fafarartu minkum lam maa khiftukum fawahaba lee Rabbee hukmanw wa ja'alanee minal mursaleen

﴾18﴿ Pharaoh said, Did we not raise you among us as a child? And you stayed among us for many years of your life
﴾19﴿ And you did that deed of yours which you did, and you were among the ungrateful
﴾20﴿ Moses (peace be upon him) said, I did that deed then, while I was among the unaware
﴾21﴿ So I fled from you when I feared you, then my Lord granted me wisdom and made me one of the messengers

[18] From this verse begins the second stage, continuing up to verse 33.
In this section, four objections (shubhahs) raised by Pharaoh against Musa (peace be upon him) are addressed, and the explanation of “al-‘ālamīn” is given to clarify the term “Rabb al-‘ālamīn” (Lord of all worlds).
Then, two miracles are also presented.
In verse 18, the first objection is mentioned: Pharaoh tries to belittle Musa (peace be upon him) by mentioning his past favors. He says, “Didn’t we raise you as a child? You spent your youth among us. We gave you food, drink, and so on. Will you now not acknowledge my favor?”
The second objection is: “You spent all those years among us without making any such claim (to prophethood). So how is it that now you suddenly claim to be a messenger?”
[19] This is the third objection, in which Pharaoh says: “Despite our favors upon you, you killed a man from our people.”
"وَأَنتَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ" – meaning: You became one of the disbelievers (kāfirīn) by committing this murder.
This can have several intended meanings:
You were ungrateful for my favors (thus, “kāfir” as in ungrateful).
Or, you are calling us disbelievers—so at that time, you too were among the disbelievers like us.
All these interpretations can be intended in the statement.
[20] This is the response to the third objection. It is brought forward first because the accusation was religious and damaging to reputation—so clearing himself was prioritized.
The phrase "مِنَ الضَّالِّينَ" (I was among the misguided) does not refer to misguidance in contrast to guidance, because the prophets (peace be upon them) are infallible and protected from sin.
Rather, “ḍalāl” here means unintentional error—that is, I did not know the Copt would die from a single strike. I did not intend to kill him, but only to push him away.
And accidental killing is not a sin.
Secondly, “ḍalāl” can also mean unawareness, as in the verse: “And He found you unaware and guided you” (Surah Ḍuḥā, 93:7). [21] That is, my emigration from my homeland was not due to love of the world or rebellion, but because of fear and your oppression.
The phrase "فَوَهَبَ لِي رَبِّي حُكْمًا" is the response to the second objection, which was based on Pharaoh’s words: "وَلَبِثْتَ فِينَا مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سِنِينَ" (You stayed among us for many years).
Meaning: I could not claim prophethood on my own—but after emigrating, Allah granted me wisdom and prophethood. That is why I now make this claim.