Ṭāhā

إِذْ تَمْشِي اُخْتُكَ فَتَقُولُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَي مَن يَكْفُلُهُ فَرَجَعْناكَ إِلَي اُمّـِكَ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلا تَحْزَنَ وَقَتَلْتَ نَفْساً فَنَجَّيْنَاكَ مِنَ الْغَمّ‌ِ وَفَتَنَّاكَ فُتُوناً فَلَبِثْتَ سِنِينَ فِي أَهْلِ مَدْيَنَ ثُمَّ جِئْتَ عَلَي قَدَرٍ يَا مُوسَي

40. “When your sister goes forth to say: ‘Shall I direct you to one who will nurse him?’ So We returned you to your mother that her eye be refreshed and she should not grieve. And you did slay a man (of Pharaohic ones) but We delivered you from grief, and We tried you with various trials; then you did tarry a number of years among the people of Midian, then you came hither as ordained, O Moses!”

There were a few women who had a fundamental function in the history of the life and struggles of Moses (as). They were: Moses’ mother, the sister of Moses, his wife, and the wife of Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s castle had been built by the Nile River. While Pharaoh and his wife were beside the water watching the waves, suddenly a mysterious chest attracted their attention to itself. He ordered his men to take the chest from the water. When they opened the door of the chest, surprisingly, found a beautiful newly born child in it, something that, perhaps, they would not think of.

Pharaoh realized that the child must be from the Israelites who, being afraid of his officials, had chosen that fate for him. Therefore, he ordered his men to kill him. But his wife, who was barren, loved him very much, and the mysterious ray, which glittered from the baby’s eyes, penetrated into the whole parts of the lady’s heart, and attracted her to himself. She appealed to Pharaoh for help and mercy and, calling the baby the delight of eyes, asked him to dispense with killing him; and, at last, she succeeded to make him agreeable with her request.

But, on the other hand, the child had become hungry. He was crying and shedding tears, while he suck milk from the nipple of none of the nurses that they brought for him. Now the rest of the story is said by the Qur’an. After mentioning that Moses might be formed and trained in Allah’s sight, it implies that: at the time when Moses’ sister, with the command of the mother, was walking near by the Pharaoh’s castle, and watching the circumstances thereabout, and the baby’s fate in particular, she approached them to give them a suggestion.

The verse says:

She told the men of Pharaoh whether she introduced a woman to them who was able to nurse the baby. The verse continues saying:

Maybe, she added that this woman had a pure milk so that she was sure that the child would accept it. The agents of Pharaoh became happy by that statement and began going with her toward that lady. Moses’ sister, who showed herself as an unacquainted person and a stranger, informed the mother of the matter. The mother also, without losing her coolness, went into the court of Pharaoh. As soon as the child was put inside the lap of mother and smelt the smell of his mother, an acquainted smell, he took the nipple of the mother eagerly and sucking milk with a great love and interest. The sound of joy and happiness was heard from the audience, and the signs of pleasure and delight appeared in the eyes of Pharaoh’s wife.

Pharaoh trusted the child with her, and his wife emphasized very much on the care and protection from the child, and she ordered her that the child should be brought to her in short distances of time to see him. It is in this condition that Qur’an says:

Several years passed and Moses (as) fostered in a circle of Divine Mercy and love and inside a secure and safe Place, until he gradually became a lad. One day, he was walking along a road where he saw two men who were quarrelling with each other. One of them was from among the Children of Israel and the other was a Coptic (one of the Egyptians who were the adherents of Pharaoh). Moses (as) went to help the oppressed one who was from the Children of Israel, and, in order to defy him, bruised a sharp knock on the body of the Coptic man. This defense from the oppressed, with that very single knock, caused the Coptic man to die.

As some friends of Moses recommended him, he came out privately from Egypt and went unto Madyan and found a safe and sound shelter with Shu‘ayb (Jethro), the prophet, explanation of which will be detailed in the commentary of Surah Al-QasasNo. 28, Allah Willing. It is in this point that, addressing Moses (as), the Qur’an says:

And, after paving this long path and being bodily and spiritually prepared, because of those events and trials that he passed successfully and with eminence, Moses (as) was addressed as follows:

However, passing the hard stages of trials was a preparation for reaching the rank of Messengership from the side of Allah and the spiritual state.