The Stories (7 - 9): And We inspired to the mother of Moses...

Context and Initial Revelation

Allah, the Exalted, having stated, "And We intend to confer favor upon those who were oppressed" (Qasas: 5), began by mentioning the initial blessings bestowed upon them in this regard by saying:

{And We inspired to the mother of Moses}

The discussion concerning this inspiration has already been covered in Surah Taha (37-38) in the verses: {And indeed, We conferred favor upon you another time * When We inspired to your mother what We inspired} and His saying: {That you nurse him}.

This instruction implies that she nursed him, though the duration is not specified in the Qur'an.

{And when you fear for him}—meaning, when you fear that your neighbors might notice him or hear his cry when he weeps—{cast him into the river}. Ibn Jurayj said this happened after four months when he cried out, and she cast him into the river. The "river" (al-Yam) here refers to the Nile.

{And have no fear and do not grieve}. Fear is distress caused by an expected future misfortune, while grief is distress resulting from a past misfortune. Thus, it is as if He said: Do not fear his perishing, and do not grieve his separation.

{Indeed, We shall return him to you and make him one of the Messengers}. This means that you will be the one to nurse him, and We shall make him one of the Messengers sent to the people of Egypt and the Levant. The story of casting him into the river has already been detailed in Surah Taha.

The Story of Moses' Mother and the Basket (Tābut)

Ibn Abbas narrated that when the time for the birth of Moses (peace be upon him) approached, there was a midwife among those appointed by Pharaoh to attend to pregnant women who was friendly to Moses' mother. When she felt labor pains, she sent for the midwife, saying, "What has befallen me has befallen me. Today, let your love for me benefit me."

The midwife sat with her. When Moses (peace be upon him) was born, a light shone between his eyes, startling her so much that every joint trembled. The love for Moses entered her heart, and she said, "O woman, I did not come to you except to kill your newborn, but I have found intense love for this son of yours. Keep your son safe, for I see him as an enemy to us."

When the midwife left, some spies saw her and went to the house of Moses' mother to enter. Her sister cried out, "O Mother, these are the guards!" She quickly wrapped him up and placed him in a blazing oven. Her mind became bewildered, and she did not know what she was doing.

They entered and found the oven blazing hot, yet they saw that Moses' mother's complexion had not changed, nor had milk appeared on her. They asked, "Why did the midwife visit you?" She replied, "She is a dear friend who came for a visit." They left, and her senses returned. She asked Moses' sister, "Where is the boy?" She replied, "I do not know." Then she heard weeping from the oven. She went to it, and Allah had made the fire cool and safe for him. She took him out.

Then, when Moses' mother saw Pharaoh's intensified search for male infants, she feared for her son. Allah cast into her heart the idea of making a chest (tābūt) for him and casting it into the Nile. She went to a carpenter in Egypt and bought a chest from him. He asked her what she intended to do with it. She said, "I have a son whom I fear might be harmed by Pharaoh's plot; I will hide him in it." She did not know that he would reveal this secret.

When she left, the carpenter went to inform the executioners. When he reached them, Allah seized his tongue and made him gesture with his hand. They struck him and drove him away. When he returned to his place, Allah restored his speech. He went again to inform them, so they struck him and drove him away. When he returned, Allah restored his speech. He went a third time to inform them, so they struck him and drove him away. Then Allah took away his sight and his tongue.

She vowed to Allah that if He restored his sight and tongue, they would have no way to reach him. Allah knew his sincerity, so He restored his sight and tongue. Moses' mother then went and cast him into the Nile.

Pharaoh had a daughter who was his only child. Every day, she would present three requests to her father. She suffered from a severe skin disease (baras). Pharaoh had consulted physicians and sorcerers about her condition. They told him, "O King, she will not be cured except by something human-like found in the sea. Its saliva must be taken and smeared on her affliction." This was to happen on a specific day, at a specific time, when the sun rose.

On that day, Pharaoh went to a council he held on the bank of the Nile, accompanied by Asiyah, the daughter of Muzahim. Pharaoh's daughter approached with her maids and sat on the shore. Suddenly, the Nile brought a chest, tossed by the waves, which became entangled in a tree. Pharaoh commanded, "Bring it to me!" They rushed towards it from all sides with boats until it was placed before him. They struggled to open the door but could not. They tried to break it but could not.

Asiyah looked and saw a light inside the chest that no one else saw. She worked on it and opened it. Inside, she found a small infant in a cradle, with a light between his eyes. Allah cast love for him into the hearts of the people. Pharaoh's daughter immediately took his saliva and smeared it on her affliction, and she was cured. She held him to her chest and said, "The misguided ones of Pharaoh's people say, 'We think this is what we were warned about; they threw him into the sea out of fear of you.'" Pharaoh intended to kill him, but Pharaoh's wife begged for him and adopted him, so he refrained from killing him.

Interpretation of the Verses

{And the people of Pharaoh} (Ālu Fir'awn): "Āl" (people/family) here refers to the taking hold of something without seeking it. In this context, it refers to Pharaoh's maids/servants.

{to be to them an enemy and a sorrow}: The famous view is that this lām (lam al-'āqibah, the lām of consequence) is intended. If this were the case, it would contradict His statement: {And the wife of Pharaoh said, "A delight to my eye and yours"} and His statement {And I have bestowed upon you love from Me} (Taha: 39). A similar lām is found in {And We have certainly created for Hell many jinn and men} (A'raf: 179), and the poet said:

They are born for death, and they build for ruin.

The sound position, as mentioned by the author of Al-Kashshāf, is that this lām is the lām of causation, used metaphorically. This is because the ultimate outcome or purpose of a thing is often referred to by the same term used for the thing itself—similar to calling a brave person a "lion" or a dull person a "donkey."

Hamzah and Al-Kisā'ī recited {ḥuznan} (sorrow) with a ḍammah on the ḥā' and a sukūn on the zā'. The rest recited it with a fatḥah. Both are valid linguistic variations, like saqam and suqm.

{They were sinners}: There are two interpretations:

1. Al-Hasan said the meaning of {They were sinners} is not related to committing sin, but rather, {they were unaware} that he was the one who would destroy their kingdom.
2. The majority of commentators said the meaning is that they were sinners in their state of disbelief and oppression. Allah punished them by making the one who is their enemy and the cause of their destruction come into their hands.

It was also recited as {khāṣīn} (a shortened form of khāṭi'īn), meaning deviating from correctness towards error.

Allah clarified that she picked him up so he would be a delight to her eyes and his eyes (Pharaoh's daughter's eyes). Ibn Ishaq stated that Allah cast love for him into her heart because:

1. His face possessed a charm that made everyone who saw him love him.
2. When she opened the chest, she saw the light.
3. When she opened the chest, she saw him sucking his finger.
4. When Pharaoh's daughter smeared her affliction with his saliva, her baras vanished. It is also said that she had no children, so she loved him.

Ibn Abbas narrated that when she said, {A delight to my eye and yours}, Pharaoh replied, "He can be a delight to you, but I have no need for him." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "By the One by Whom he swears, if Pharaoh had acknowledged that he would be a delight to him just as she acknowledged it, Allah would have guided him just as He guided her."

The author of Al-Kashshāf suggests that {a delight to my eye} is the predicate of an omitted subject. It cannot be the subject with {and do not kill him} as the predicate. If it were in the accusative case, it would be stronger. The recitation of Ibn Mas'ud indicates it is the predicate: "Do not kill him, [he is] a delight to my eye and yours." This is due to the preceding negative command.

Then the woman said, {Perhaps he will benefit us}, meaning we might gain some good from him, {or we may adopt him as a son} because he is worthy of adoption.

{And they perceived not}: Most commentators hold that this is a new statement from Allah, meaning: They perceived not that their destruction would be through him and at his hands. This is the view of Mujahid, Qatadah, Al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and Muqātil. Ibn Abbas said it means: They did not perceive what the affair of Moses (peace be upon him) would ultimately become. Others said this is a continuation of the woman's speech: The Children of Israel and the people of Egypt did not perceive that we had picked him up. This is the view of Al-Kalbī.

Verse 7

{And the heart of Moses' mother became empty. Indeed, she was about to disclose it, had it not been that We bound fast upon her heart, so that she might be of the believers. * And she said to his sister, "Follow him." So she observed him from a distance, and they perceived not.}