Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan fi Khulasat Tafsir al-Quran - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (الكتاب/266)

Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan fi Khulasat Tafsir al-QuranAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

The Story of Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them)

Allah has recounted at length the life of Moses son of ʿImrān, together with his brother Aaron, peace be upon them both. He relates their story in various parts of His Book, presenting it in different styles—sometimes abbreviated, sometimes expansive—each suited to its particular context. No narrative in the Qur’an is greater than that of Moses, for he confronted Pharaoh and his hosts and strove with the Children of Israel in the most arduous way.

He is the greatest of the prophets of the Children of Israel. His law and his scripture, the Torah, are the primary point of reference for their later prophets, scholars, and jurists. His followers are more numerous than those of any prophet save the nation of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. He was endowed with extraordinary strength in establishing Allah’s religion, calling people to it, and guarding it with a protective zeal unmatched by anyone else.

Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh’s oppression of the Children of Israel had reached its peak: every newborn male among them was slaughtered, while the females were spared only to be used in servitude and humiliation. When his mother gave birth to him she feared intensely for his safety, for Pharaoh had stationed watchers over the Israelite women and their newborns. Her house stood on the bank of the Nile, and Allah inspired her to fashion a casket for him; whenever she feared someone’s approach she was to place him inside it and cast it into the river, having first tied it with a rope so that the current would not sweep it away. Out of Allah’s mercy to her He revealed, “Do not fear and do not grieve. We shall surely return him to you and make him one of the messengers” (Q 28:7).

One day she placed him in the casket, but the rope slipped loose and the river carried it off with Moses inside. By Allah’s decree it fell into the hands of Pharaoh’s household, and he was brought to Pharaoh’s wife, Āsiyah. The moment she saw him she was filled with intense affection, for Allah had already cast love for him into people’s hearts.

قصة موسى وهارون ﵉ قدْ ذكرَ اللهُ لموسى بنِ عمرانَ ومعَهُ أخوهُ هارونُ ﵉ سيرةً طويلةً، وساقَ قصصَهُ في مواضعَ من كتابهِ بأساليبَ متنوعةٍ واختصارٍ أو بسطٍ يليقُ بذلكَ المقامِ، وليسَ في قصصِ القرآنِ أعظمُ من قصةِ موسى؛ لأنهُ عالجَ فرعونَ وجنودَهُ، وعالجَ بني إسرائيلَ أشدَّ المعالجةِ. وهوَ أعظمُ أنبياءِ بني إسرائيلَ، وشريعتهُ وكتابهُ التوراةُ هوَ مرجعُ أنبياءِ بني إسرائيلَ وعلمائِهم، وأتباعُه أكثرُ أتباعِ الأنبياءِ غير أمةِ محمدٍ ﷺ، ولهُ من القوةِ العظيمةِ في إقامةِ دينِ اللهِ، والدعوةِ إليهِ، والغيرةِ العظيمةِ ما ليسَ لغيرهِ. وقدْ وُلِدَ في وقتٍ قدْ اشتدَّ فيه فرعونُ على بني إسرائيلَ، فكان يذبحُ كلَّ مولودٍ ذكرٍ يُولدُ من بني إسرائيلَ، ويستحيي النساءَ للخدمةِ والامتهانِ، فلما ولدتهُ أمهُ خافَتْ عليهِ خوفًا شديدًا؛ فإنَّ فرعونَ جعَلَ على بني إسرائيلَ مَنْ يرقبُ نساءَهم ومواليدَهم، وكان بيتُها على ضفةِ نهرِ النيلِ، فألهمَها اللهُ أنْ وضعَتْ لهُ تابوتًا إذا خافَتْ أحدًا ألقَتْهُ في اليمِّ، وربطَتْهُ بحبلٍ لئلَّا تجريَ بهِ جريةُ الماءِ، ومن لطفِ اللهِ بها أنهُ أوحَى لها أنْ ﴿لَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحْزَنِي إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ﴾ [القصص: ٩]. فلما ألقَتْهُ ذاتَ يومٍ انفلَتَ رباطُ التابوتِ، فذهبَ الماءُ بالتابوتِ الذي في وسطهِ موسى، ومِن قدرِ اللهِ أنْ وقعَ في يدِ آلِ فرعونَ، وجيءَ بهِ إلى امرأةِ فرعونَ أسيةَ، فلما رأتْهُ أحبَّتْهُ حبًّا شديدًا، وكان اللهُ قدْ ألقَى عليهِ المحبةَ في القلوبِ.