The news quickly spread until it reached Pharaoh himself, and he ordered that the child be brought so he could kill him. But Pharaoh’s wife intervened, saying, “Do not put him to death; he will be a comfort to me and to you. Perhaps he may benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son” (1). Because of her plea he was spared, and this gracious act—an auspicious beginning and a deed Allah would reward—later became one of the very reasons she was guided and came to believe in Moses.

As for Moses’s mother, terror overtook her and her heart felt empty; patience was almost lost, “and she was on the verge of disclosing him, had We not strengthened her heart so that she might remain of the believers” (Q 28:10). She said to his sister, “Follow him and keep watch.” Pharaoh’s wife had already presented several wet-nurses, but the infant refused every breast. Thirsty and twisting in hunger, they carried him out to the road in hopes that Allah would make someone appear.

Just then his sister managed to catch sight of him; she observed from a distance while they had no idea who she was. Realizing they were searching for a wet-nurse, she said, “Shall I guide you to a household who will care for him on your behalf and treat him with sincere devotion?” “Thus We restored him to his mother, so that her eye might be cooled and she would not grieve” (Q 28:12).

In this very surah Allah then recounts the rest of his story (2) in clear and detailed fashion, showing the successive turns his circumstances took. Simply reading the passage is enough to grasp its meaning, so evident are its details. The Most High does not elaborate except on what will benefit us and prompt reflection, yet the story contains many lessons and points of benefit, of which we shall highlight a few.