The Modern Firaun in the Office

Assalamu alaikum dear brothers and sisters, Sometimes a work rant can become a reminder, so let me share something. You’ve heard your senior manager speak a few times-maybe in a meeting or a voice note-so you know his tone. He works from the main office, a place you’ve never been, though you picture it gleaming like polished marble. There are many layers of management between you, so you don’t deal with him daily. But when he pops up in the work group chat, especially tagging you on cases, your heart starts racing. Even though you’ve heard his neutral voice once in a rare video call, his written messages are a different story. They cut like a knife-short, sharp, full of double exclamation marks. Every question feels soaked in disdain, as if he assumes you’re lazy or deceitful rather than just making a mistake. It’s like he’s always accusing, never understanding. And you wonder: if he said those words aloud, would that calm voice suddenly roar? Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Through the screen, it feels like a threat to your livelihood-a never-ending tantrum of snide remarks and silent screams. You fight the urge to say, “Just shouting gets everyone’s attention,” but you bite your tongue. You’ve replied to him before when needed, and all you got back was a thumbs-up emoji. That’s the lowest form of acknowledgment in our digital world-passive-aggressive, which seems to be his whole style. Still, I’m not saying he’s a bad person at heart. Maybe he’s just got a terrible way of communicating, something he could improve. I’ve never been a manager, so I can’t know the pressure from above and below. Is his style shaped by stress, or is his personality just sour? It’s like the corporate version of nature versus nurture. But when managers become gossip material, they’ve often brought it on themselves. What really confuses me is his intense dedication-working long hours, defending the company like it’s family property. Was his grandfather a co-founder? I should check the company’s “About” page one day. His drive feels less inspiring and more puzzling to a regular employee who clocks in and out right on time, and mentally checks out during breaks-and sometimes even during work. His energy is that of a board member, pouring himself into the company even if it means no one likes him. For all I know, he could be warm and funny at home with his family, the joker in his friends’ group chat, planning outings. But imagining him like that just doesn’t fit. In my mind, he’s the grumpy, snarky boss who seems perpetually irritable. A tyrant. A psycho boss. A modern-day Firaun, acting untouchable. He treats the workforce like disposable cattle, never thinking anyone could rise above him-in the company or in life. It’s arrogance that belittles. This haughtiness reminds me of the Pharaoh in the time of Musa (peace be upon him), who boasted about the Nile’s canals flowing beneath his palaces as proof of his power: “O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me? Do you not see?” (Qur’an 43:51). And the ultimate delusion of the modern Firaun is thinking he holds the keys to our provision-like a corporate god, echoing Pharaoh’s claim: “I am your most exalted lord” (79:24). He expects us to tolerate his malice just to earn our bread, as if he alone provides for us. But he forgets a simple truth: he’s just a middle manager, and his ivory tower is a mirage. Your sustenance is not in his hands; it doesn’t depend on his thumbs-up emoji. Allah is the Provider, and He alone sustains us. So keep your dignity, do your work with honesty, and trust that the rizq comes from above, not from any modern Firaun.