Allah tells us of Fir'awn's disbelief and wrongdoing, and how he falsely claimed divinity for his evil self, may Allah curse him.

{Thus he fooled his people, and they obeyed him.} (43:54)

He called on his people to recognize his divinity, and they responded, because of their weak and foolish minds. So, he said:

Allah tells us about Fir'awn:

{Then he gathered (his people) and cried aloud, saying: "I am your lord, most high." So Allah, seized him with punishment for his last and first transgression. Verily, in this is an instructive admonition for whosoever fears Allah.} (79:23-26)

meaning: he brought his people together and called to them in a loud voice, shouting that, and they responded to him obediently. So Allah took revenge on him, and made him a lesson to others in this world and the Hereafter. He even confronted Musa with that, and said:

{If you choose a god other than me, I will certainly put you among the prisoners} (26:29).

He commanded his minister and adviser Haman to bake bricks for him, i.e., to make bricks in order to build a Sarh, a exalted towering palace. This is like the Ayah,

{And Fir'awn said: "O Haman! Build me a Sarh that I may arrive at the ways - the ways of the heavens, and I may look upon the God of Musa, but verily, I think him to be a liar." Thus it was made fair seeming, in Fir'awn's eyes, the evil of his deeds, and he was hindered from the path; and the plot of Fir'awn led to nothing but loss and destruction} (40:36-37).

Fir'awn built this tower, which was the highest structure ever seen on earth, because he wanted to show his people that Musa was lying when he claimed that there was a God other than Fir'awn. Fir'awn said:

meaning, 'when he says that there is a lord other than me.' The issue was not whether Allah had sent Musa, because he did not acknowledge the existence of the Creator in the first place. On the contrary, he said:

{And what is the Lord of Al-'Alamin?} (26:23) and:

{If you choose a god other than me, I will certainly put you among the prisoners.} (26:29)

and he said:

This was the view of Ibn Jarir.

means, they were arrogant oppressors who spread much mischief in the land, and they believed that there would be no Resurrection.

{So, your Lord poured on them different kinds of severe torment. Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful (over them).} (89:13-14). Allah says here:

meaning, 'We drowned them in the sea in a single morning, and not one of them was left.'

for those who followed them and took the same path as they did, rejecting the Messengers and denying the Creator.

their humiliation in this world is combined with and connected to their humiliation in the Hereafter, as Allah says:

{We have destroyed them. And there was none to help them} (47:13).

Allah decreed that they and their king Fir'awn should be cursed by the believers among His servants who follow His Messengers, just as in this world they were cursed by the Prophets and their followers.

Qatadah said, “This Ayah is like the Ayah,

{They were pursued by a curse in this (life) and on the Day of Resurrection. Evil indeed is the gift given.} (11:99).”