and “to establish them in the land.” All these matters were encompassed by Allah’s intent and proceeded according to His will. “And”—likewise, We intend—“to show Pharaoh and Haman,” his minister, “and their forces,” through whom they exercised their might, ranged far and wide, exalted themselves, and transgressed, “what they had feared from them”—that is, from this oppressed group: namely, being driven from their homes. This was why they sought to suppress them, break their strength, and slaughter their sons, from whom that threat could arise.
Allah had willed all of this. Whenever He wills a matter, He makes its causes easy and opens its paths. Such was the case here: He ordained and set in motion causes—of which neither His allies nor His enemies were aware—that would lead to this intended end.
The first of these was that Allah brought His Messenger Moses into being—the one through whom and at whose hands He would deliver the Israelite people—during that time of terrible danger when their sons were being slaughtered. He inspired his mother to nurse him and keep him with her.
“But if you fear for him”—if you sense the presence of anyone whom you fear might seize him and deliver him to them—“then cast him into the river,” namely, the Nile of Egypt, inside a sealed chest. “Do not fear or grieve. We shall certainly return him to you and make him one of the messengers.” He thus gave her the glad tidings that He would return him to her, that he would grow up and remain safe from their scheming, and that Allah would make him a messenger.
This was among the greatest and most glorious of glad tidings. They were given to Moses’s mother in advance so that her heart might be reassured and her fear calmed. When she feared for him, she did as she had been commanded: she cast him into the river, and Allah Most High carried him along.
“Then Pharaoh’s household picked him up.” He thus became their foundling, and they themselves were the ones who discovered him, “so that he would become an enemy and a source of grief to them.” That is, the ultimate outcome of taking him in would be that he became their enemy and a grief that distressed them. No precaution can avert the divine decree: Allah ordained that the very person they feared would arise from the Children of Israel should become their leader, raised under their care, before their eyes, and at their expense.
Upon reflection, one finds within this many benefits for the Children of Israel: numerous grave afflictions were warded off from them, and many transgressions against them were prevented before his mission, because he became one of the leading men of the kingdom.
Naturally, he would inevitably defend the rights of his people, for he was a man of lofty aspiration and ardent zeal. Thus, that oppressed people—whose humiliation and abasement had reached the extent of which Allah has related part to us—came to have individuals who could stand up to the oppressive people that held sway in the land, as will be explained.
This was a prelude to their ascendancy, for it is Allah Most High’s established way that matters proceed gradually, little by little, rather than occurring all at once.
His words, “Indeed, Pharaoh, Haman, and their forces were sinners,” mean: We therefore intended to punish them for their wrongdoing (1) and to counter their schemes, as recompense for their plotting and scheming.
When Pharaoh’s household picked him up, Allah caused Pharaoh’s virtuous, noble, believing wife, Āsiya bint Muzāhim, to feel compassion for him. She “said” of the child: “He will be a joy to my eyes and yours. Do not kill him.” That is: Keep him for us, so that our eyes may be delighted by him and we may find comfort in him throughout our lives.
“Perhaps he may benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son.” That is, one of two things must occur: either he will occupy the position of the servants who strive to benefit and serve us, or we will raise him to a station higher than that, adopting him as our son, honoring him, and holding him in esteem.
Allah Most High decreed that he would indeed benefit the wife of Pharaoh who had spoken those words. Once he became a joy to her eyes and she came to love him dearly, he remained like a loving son to her until he grew up and Allah appointed him as a prophet and messenger. She then hastened to embrace Islam and believe in him—may Allah be pleased with her and make her well pleased.
Allah Most High said regarding these exchanges ⦗613⦘ [and discussions] concerning Moses: “while they were unaware”—unaware of what the Pen had written and the divine decree had ordained concerning the station he would ultimately attain. This was part of Allah Most High’s subtle kindness, for had they known, matters would have been entirely different for both them and him.
When Moses’s mother lost him, she grieved intensely, and her heart became empty of everything else because of the anxiety that agitated her, as human nature would dictate—even though Allah Most High had forbidden her to grieve or fear and had promised to return him to her.
“She was on the verge of disclosing it”—that is, what was in her heart—“had We not strengthened her heart.” We made her steadfast, so she remained patient and did not disclose it, “so that she might be one of the believers” through that patience and steadfastness. When a servant is afflicted by calamity but remains patient and steadfast, his faith thereby increases. This also shows that persistent agitation in the face of affliction is evidence of weakness in faith.
Moses’s mother “said to his sister, ‘Follow him.’” That is: Go [follow your brother’s trail and search for him without letting anyone notice you or discern your purpose. She therefore went in pursuit of him]. “She watched him from a distance, while they were unaware.” That is, she watched him in a manner suggesting that she was merely passing by and had no particular interest in him.
This reflected consummate prudence and caution. Had she openly watched him and deliberately approached them, they might have suspected that she was the one who had cast him into the river and perhaps resolved to slaughter him as punishment for his family.
Part of Allah’s subtle kindness toward Moses and his mother was that He prevented him from accepting the breast of any woman. Out of compassion for him, they took him to the marketplace in the hope that someone might come forward for him. His sister arrived while he was in that state and said, “Shall I direct you to a household who will care for him for you and be sincerely devoted to him?”
This was their chief aim, for they loved him dearly. Allah had prevented him from accepting any wet nurse, so they feared that he might die. When his sister made this proposal—which encouraged them to choose that household because of the complete protection, care, and sincere concern they would provide—they hastened to accept. She then informed them about that household and directed them to it.
“So We returned him to his mother,” just as We had promised her, “so that her eyes might be gladdened and she might not grieve.” He was thus raised in her care while she remained safe and reassured, rejoicing in him and receiving substantial payment for doing so. “And so that she might know that Allah’s promise is true.” We allowed her to witness part of what We had promised her so that her heart would be reassured, her faith would increase, and she would know that Allah’s promise to preserve him and make him a messenger would be fulfilled. “But most of them do not know.” When they see the apparent means in disarray, their faith is thrown into confusion because they lack complete knowledge that Allah Most High places severe trials and arduous obstacles before lofty affairs and noble objectives.
Moses thus remained with Pharaoh’s household, raised under their authority, riding their mounts and wearing their garments. His mother was reassured, for it had become established that she was his mother through nursing; consequently, his constant companionship with her and her tenderness toward him aroused no suspicion.
Consider this subtle kindness: Allah preserved His Prophet Moses from speaking falsely and facilitated the arrangement that created the bond between him and her—a bond that people understood to be the nursing relationship on account of which he called her his mother. Thus, all the extensive statements made by him and others concerning this matter were truthful and correct.