“And Moses’ mother’s heart became empty; she was on the verge of disclosing his identity, had We not strengthened her heart so that she might be among the believers. And she said to his sister, ‘Follow him.’ So she watched him from a distance, while they were unaware.” (10–11)

His saying, exalted is He, “And Moses’ mother’s heart became empty,” means that it was emptied of every thought except the remembrance of Moses and concern for him. This is the view of most Quranic commentators. (1) Al-Hasan said that “empty” means that she had forgotten the revelation Allah had given her when He commanded her to cast him into the river and not to fear or grieve, as well as the promise by which He pledged to return him to her and make him one of the messengers. Satan then came to her and said, “You disliked Pharaoh’s killing your son, for which you would have received its reward and recompense; yet you took charge of killing him yourself: you cast him into the river and drowned him.” When she received news that Pharaoh had found him in the Nile, she said, “He has fallen into the hands of the enemy from whom I fled.” Thus, the enormity of the trial made her forget Allah’s promise to her.

Abu Ubaydah said that “empty” means empty of grief, because she knew the truthfulness of Allah’s promise. Al-Qutaybi rejected this, saying, “How can this be, when Allah, exalted is He, says, ‘She was on the verge of disclosing his identity, had We not strengthened her heart’?” The first view is sounder.

Allah’s saying, “She was on the verge of disclosing his identity”: it was said that the pronoun in “his identity” refers to Moses—that she was nearly to reveal that he was her son because of the intensity of her ⦗61/b⦘ anguish. Ikrimah related from Ibn Abbas that she was about to cry, “O my son!” Muqatil said: When she saw one wave lift up the chest and another set it down, she feared that he would drown and was nearly to cry out in compassion for him. Al-Kalbi said that she was nearly to reveal that he was her son when, after Moses had grown up, she heard people saying, “Moses, son of Pharaoh.” This distressed her, and she was nearly to say, “Rather, he is my son.” Others said that the pronoun refers to the revelation: she was nearly to disclose the revelation Allah had given her—that He would return him to her. (2)

“Had We not strengthened her heart”: through divine protection, patience, and steadfastness; “so that she might be among the believers”—those who affirm Allah’s promise when He said to her, “Indeed, We shall return him to you.”

“And she said to his sister,” that is, to Miriam, the sister of Moses, “Follow him”—trace his course until you learn what has become of him. “So she watched him from a distance,” that is, from afar. It is related in the account that she walked to one side and looked at him furtively, making it appear that she was not looking at him,