The Birth of Musa (AS)

At the time of Musa (AS), there was a pharaoh who ruled Egypt who was very evil. He was extremely powerful as Allah had blessed him with lots of wealth and many people served him. But because of this he was also very arrogant, to the point that he even claimed that he himself was god and that everyone should worship him. This of course was a major crime as he was putting himself at the same level as Allah, but he didn’t care because he was so powerful and no one would stop him.

Egypt at that time was a very important place, as it had the River Nile running through it so it was able to grow lots of food and provide for a large number of people. This meant that lots of buildings needed to be built, and so Firown (the pharaoh) used slaves to build them. The slaves of Egypt were the descendants of Yaqub (AS) (Banu Israel), and they were not treated very well at all from the ruling class of Egyptians.

One day Firown had a dream of a fire which burnt all of Egypt but did not touch the Banu Israel. When he woke up, he asked his close advisors for a meaning to this dream. They went to magicians and dream interpreters, who told them that this dream meant that a boy from the Banu Israel would be born who would rise up and completely destroy Firown.

When Firown heard this, he became scared. So he decided that he would kill every male child born from the women of the Banu Israel from then on, so that this boy could not be born to challenge his throne. But this was not a sensible idea as then the population of the Banu Israel would die out, so his advisors told him to instead kill the male children born every other year and he accepted this suggestion.

As we can see, Firown was a cruel and evil tyrant, who was even willing to kill new-born babies just to hold on to his power. His new law of killing the male children born every other year caused great pain and suffering to the Banu Israel, and many babies were slaughtered this way.

The mother of Musa and Haroon (AS) was from the Banu Israel. One day after this law had been put in place, she became pregnant with a boy. Thankfully, this was in the year when male children were not killed, so she gave birth openly to Haroon (AS). However, then she became pregnant again, and this time it was in the year when male children were killed. She became scared and hid her pregnancy from the Egyptians for the whole year.

Eventually she gave birth to Musa (AS) in secret, but because she had given birth to a boy she became terrified that he would be killed if he was found, and she didn’t know what to do. So Allah revealed to her what she should do: He told her that she should suckle the baby while she can in secret, but when she became scared that he would be found she should put him in the River Nile in a basket. Allah promised her that He would soon return her child back to her, and make him a noble messenger.

So she took care of Musa (AS) for as long as she could before she thought that he would be found. Then, in secret, she took her baby to the riverbank and put him in a basket, before placing the basket into the river to be carried away by the currents. This was incredibly hard for a mother to do, but Musa’s (AS) mother trusted in Allah and knew that He would take care of her son and soon return him back to her.

Musa’s (AS) mother told her daughter to follow the basket along the river as far as she could to find out where it ended up. The basket floated downstream for a while before finally stopping next to the riverbank outside of Firown’s palace. There it was picked up by the palace servants and taken to Firown’s wife, Asiya, who immediately fell in love with the baby inside. She was a soft-hearted and merciful woman, very different to her husband, and as well as that she could not have children herself but wanted a son. Allah put a strong motherly love for the child in her, and she wanted to raise the baby as her own. When Firown saw how much her wife loved Musa (AS), he allowed her to keep him and raise him as her child.

The queen called for some wet-nurses to suckle the baby, but he would not suck from any of them. So she called for more and more, but still Musa (AS) would not suckle. Eventually Musa’s sister heard that the queen was looking for a wet-nurse, so she went to the palace and told them that she knew a mother who would definitely be able to suckle the child. The queen told her to bring this mother immediately, so Musa’s (AS) sister rushed home and called her mother to the palace.

When Musa’s (AS) mother tried to suckle her son, he immediately sucked. At this, the queen became delighted, and Musa’s (AS) mother was made to be his wet-nurse in the palace. No one in the palace knew that she was Musa’s (AS) actual mother, and in this way Allah reunited Musa’s (AS) mother with her son almost immediately after they were separated, just as He promised He would.

Lesson:

 At the time of Musa (AS), there was a pharaoh who ruled Egypt who was very evil. He was extremely powerful as Allah had blessed him with lots of wealth and many people served him. But because of this he was also very arrogant, to the point that he even claimed that he himself was god and that everyone should worship him. This of course was a major crime as he was putting himself at the same level as Allah, but he didn’t care because he was so powerful and no one would stop him.

Egypt at that time was a very important place, as it had the River Nile running through it so it was able to grow lots of food and provide for a large number of people. This meant that lots of buildings needed to be built, and so Firown (the pharaoh) used slaves to build them. The slaves of Egypt were the descendants of Yaqub (AS) (Banu Israel), and they were not treated very well at all from the ruling class of Egyptians.

One day Firown had a dream of a fire which burnt all of Egypt but did not touch the Banu Israel. When he woke up, he asked his close advisors for a meaning to this dream. They went to magicians and dream interpreters, who told them that this dream meant that a boy from the Banu Israel would be born who would rise up and completely destroy Firown.

When Firown heard this, he became scared. So he decided that he would kill every male child born from the women of the Banu Israel from then on, so that this boy could not be born to challenge his throne. But this was not a sensible idea as then the population of the Banu Israel would die out, so his advisors told him to instead kill the male children born every other year and he accepted this suggestion.

As we can see, Firown was a cruel and evil tyrant, who was even willing to kill new-born babies just to hold on to his power. His new law of killing the male children born every other year caused great pain and suffering to the Banu Israel, and many babies were slaughtered this way.

The mother of Musa and Haroon (AS) was from the Banu Israel. One day after this law had been put in place, she became pregnant with a boy. Thankfully, this was in the year when male children were not killed, so she gave birth openly to Haroon (AS). However, then she became pregnant again, and this time it was in the year when male children were killed. She became scared and hid her pregnancy from the Egyptians for the whole year.

Eventually she gave birth to Musa (AS) in secret, but because she had given birth to a boy she became terrified that he would be killed if he was found, and she didn’t know what to do. So Allah revealed to her what she should do: He told her that she should suckle the baby while she can in secret, but when she became scared that he would be found she should put him in the River Nile in a basket. Allah promised her that He would soon return her child back to her, and make him a noble messenger.

So she took care of Musa (AS) for as long as she could before she thought that he would be found. Then, in secret, she took her baby to the riverbank and put him in a basket, before placing the basket into the river to be carried away by the currents. This was incredibly hard for a mother to do, but Musa’s (AS) mother trusted in Allah and knew that He would take care of her son and soon return him back to her.

Musa’s (AS) mother told her daughter to follow the basket along the river as far as she could to find out where it ended up. The basket floated downstream for a while before finally stopping next to the riverbank outside of Firown’s palace. There it was picked up by the palace servants and taken to Firown’s wife, Asiya, who immediately fell in love with the baby inside. She was a soft-hearted and merciful woman, very different to her husband, and as well as that she could not have children herself but wanted a son. Allah put a strong motherly love for the child in her, and she wanted to raise the baby as her own. When Firown saw how much her wife loved Musa (AS), he allowed her to keep him and raise him as her child.

The queen called for some wet-nurses to suckle the baby, but he would not suck from any of them. So she called for more and more, but still Musa (AS) would not suckle. Eventually Musa’s sister heard that the queen was looking for a wet-nurse, so she went to the palace and told them that she knew a mother who would definitely be able to suckle the child. The queen told her to bring this mother immediately, so Musa’s (AS) sister rushed home and called her mother to the palace.

When Musa’s (AS) mother tried to suckle her son, he immediately sucked. At this, the queen became delighted, and Musa’s (AS) mother was made to be his wet-nurse in the palace. No one in the palace knew that she was Musa’s (AS) actual mother, and in this way Allah reunited Musa’s (AS) mother with her son almost immediately after they were separated, just as He promised He would.

Lesson: