Towards Understanding the Quran

From: http://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=28

Towards Understanding the QuranWith kind permission: Islamic Foundation UK
English ◄ Chapter 28. Al-Qasas ► Intro. ◄ Verse 1-13 of 88 ► View Ar En Nt ► █ Font Email
طٰسٓمٓ‏ ﴿28:1﴾ تِلۡكَ اٰيٰتُ الۡـكِتٰبِ الۡمُبِيۡنِ‏ ﴿28:2﴾ نَـتۡلُوۡا عَلَيۡكَ مِنۡ نَّبَاِ مُوۡسٰى وَفِرۡعَوۡنَ بِالۡحَـقِّ لِقَوۡمٍ يُّؤۡمِنُوۡنَ‏ ﴿28:3﴾ اِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ عَلَا فِىۡ الۡاَرۡضِ وَجَعَلَ اَهۡلَهَا شِيَـعًا يَّسۡتَضۡعِفُ طَآٮِٕفَةً مِّنۡهُمۡ يُذَبِّحُ اَبۡنَآءَهُمۡ وَيَسۡتَحۡىٖ نِسَآءَهُمۡ‌ؕ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ مِنَ الۡمُفۡسِدِيۡنَ‏ ﴿28:4﴾ وَنُرِيۡدُ اَنۡ نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِيۡنَ اسۡتُضۡعِفُوۡا فِىۡ الۡاَرۡضِ وَنَجۡعَلَهُمۡ اَٮِٕمَّةً وَّنَجۡعَلَهُمُ الۡوٰرِثِيۡنَۙ‏ ﴿28:5﴾ وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمۡ فِىۡ الۡاَرۡضِ وَنُرِىَ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَهَامٰنَ وَجُنُوۡدَهُمَا مِنۡهُمۡ مَّا كَانُوۡا يَحۡذَرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿28:6﴾ وَاَوۡحَيۡنَاۤ اِلٰٓى اُمِّ مُوۡسٰٓى اَنۡ اَرۡضِعِيۡهِ‌ۚ فَاِذَا خِفۡتِ عَلَيۡهِ فَاَلۡقِيۡهِ فِىۡ الۡيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِىۡ وَلَا تَحۡزَنِىۡۚ اِنَّا رَآدُّوۡهُ اِلَيۡكِ وَجَاعِالُوۡهُ مِنَ الۡمُرۡسَلِيۡنَ‏ ﴿28:7﴾ فَالۡتَقَطَهٗۤ اٰلُ فِرۡعَوۡنَ لِيَكُوۡنَ لَهُمۡ عَدُوًّا وَّحَزَنًا‌ ؕ اِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَهَامٰنَ وَجُنُوۡدَهُمَا كَانُوۡا خٰطِــِٕيۡنَ‏ ﴿28:8﴾ وَقَالَتِ امۡرَاَتُ فِرۡعَوۡنَ قُرَّتُ عَيۡنٍ لِّىۡ وَلَكَ‌ؕ لَا تَقۡتُلُوۡهُ ‌ۖ عَسٰٓى اَنۡ يَّـنۡفَعَنَاۤ اَوۡ نَـتَّخِذَهٗ وَلَدًا وَّهُمۡ لَا يَشۡعُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿28:9﴾ وَاَصۡبَحَ فُؤَادُ اُمِّ مُوۡسٰى فٰرِغًا‌ؕ اِنۡ كَادَتۡ لَـتُبۡدِىۡ بِهٖ لَوۡلَاۤ اَنۡ رَّبَطۡنَا عَلٰى قَلۡبِهَا لِتَكُوۡنَ مِنَ الۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ‏ ﴿28:10﴾ وَقَالَتۡ لِاُخۡتِهٖ قُصِّيۡهِ‌ فَبَصُرَتۡ بِهٖ عَنۡ جُنُبٍ وَّهُمۡ لَا يَشۡعُرُوۡنَۙ‏ ﴿28:11﴾ وَحَرَّمۡنَا عَلَيۡهِ الۡمَرَاضِعَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ فَقَالَتۡ هَلۡ اَدُلُّـكُمۡ عَلٰٓى اَهۡلِ بَيۡتٍ يَّكۡفُلُوۡنَهٗ لَـكُمۡ وَهُمۡ لَهٗ نٰصِحُوۡنَ‏ ﴿28:12﴾ فَرَدَدۡنٰهُ اِلٰٓى اُمِّهٖ كَىۡ تَقَرَّ عَيۡنُهَا وَلَا تَحۡزَنَ وَلِتَعۡلَمَ اَنَّ وَعۡدَ اللّٰهِ حَقٌّ وَّلٰـكِنَّ اَكۡثَرَهُمۡ لَا يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿28:13﴾
(28:1) Ta'. Sin. Mim
(28:2) These are the verses of the Clear Book.
(28:3) We recount to you with truth some parts of the story of Moses and Pharaoh1 for the benefit of those who believe.2
*1 For comparison, see Al-Baqarah: 47-59, AI-A'raf: 100-141, Yunus: 75-92. Hud: 96-109, Bani Isra'il: 101-111, Maryam: 51-53. Ta Ha: 1-89, Al- Mu'minun: 45-49, Ash-Shu`araa: 10-68, An-Naml: 7-14, Al-`Ankabut: 39-40, Al-Mu'min: 23-50, Az-Zukhruf: 46-56, Ad-Dukhan: 1 7-33, Adh-Dhariyat: 38-40, An-Naziyat: 1 5-26.
*2 That is, "For the benefit of those who are not obstinate and stubborn, for it would be useless to address those who are not at all inclined to listen to you.
(28:4) Indeed Pharaoh transgressed in the land3 and divided its people into sections.4 One group of them he humiliated, and slew their sons and spared their daughters.5 Truly he was among the mischief-makers.
*3 The words ala fil-ard in the Text are comprehensive and mean that he adopted a rebellious attitude in the land, assumed independence and godhead and superiority instead of behaving like a servant and a subordinate, and started oppressing his subjects like a tyrannical and haughty ruler.
*4 That is, "He did not rule his subjects with an even hand giving equal rights to all of them, but he had adopted the polity of dividing them into groups. He bestowed privileges and preferential rights on some to be made the ruling class and reduced others to serfs to be oppressed and exploited."
*5 The Bible elucidates this as follows:

(28:5) We wanted to bestow favour on those who were oppressed in the land. We wanted to make them leaders and heirs6
*6 That is, "Make them leaders and guides of the people in the world."

(28:6) and to grant them power in the land,7 and make Pharaoh and Haman8 and their hosts see what they had feared.
*7 That is, "Bestow on them inheritance of the land so that they should be rulers over it.
*8 The Western orientalists have been very critical of this. They say that Haman was a courtier of the Persian King Xerxes, who reigned hundreds of years after the Prophet Moses, from 486 to 465 B.C., but the Qur'an has made him a minister of Pharaoh in Egypt. This is nothing but an instance of sheer prejudice. After all, what historical evidence have these orientalists got to prove that there never lived any other person called Haman before Xerxes' courtier Haman? If an orientalist has been able to discover, through authentic means, a complete list of all the ministers and chiefs and courtiers of the Pharaoh under discussion which dues not contain the name of Haman he should make it public, or publish a photostat of it, because there could be no better or more effective instrument than this c f the refutation of the Our'an.

(28:7) We9 inspired the mother of Moses: "Suckle your child, but when you fear for his life cast him into the river and be not fearful nor grieve, for We shall restore him to you and make him one of the Messengers."10
*9 That a son was born in the same period to an Israelite parents who was later known by the name of Moses to the world, has been omitted. According to the Bible and the Talmud, the family descended from Levi, a son of the Prophet Jacob, and the name of the Prophet Moses' father was Amram, which has been pronounced as Imran by the Qur'an. They already had two children before Moses, the elder a daughter, named Miriam, and the younger her brother, Aaron. Probably the proclamation that every male child born in an Israelite home would be killed, had not yet been issued when the Prophet Aaron was born; therefore, he was saved. The third child was born when the proclamation was in full force.
*10 That is, "She was not commanded to cast the child into the river immediately after birth, but to suckle it till she felt a real danger for it. For instance, if she felt that the secret had been exposed and the enemies had come to know of the child's birth through some means, or through some wretched informer from among the Israelites themselves, she should place the child in a box and cast it into the river, without any hesitation. According to the Bible, the Prophet Moses' mother kept him hidden for three months after his birth. The Talmud adds that the Pharaoh's government had appointed Egyptian women who carried infants into the Israelite homes, and would make these babies cry, so as to make any hidden Israelite infants also cry and be thus discovered. This new method of spying worried Moses' mother and in order to save her child's life, she cast him into the river three months after his birth. Upto this point the version given by these Books is the same as the Qur'an's, and the event of casting the box into the river has also been described just as the Qur'an has described it. In Surah Ta Ha it has been said: Put this child in a box and place the box in the river." (v.39). The same has been said by the Bible and the Talmud. According to these, the Prophet Moses' mother made a basket of reeds and covered it with slime (tar) and with pitch to make it watertight. Then she laid the child in it and placed it in the river Nile. But the most important thing, which the Qur'an mentions, has found no mention anywhere in the Israelite traditions, that is, that the Prophet Moses' mother had done all this according to an inspiration from Allah, and Allah had already assured her that by following that device not only would her child remain safe and secure but the child would ultimately be restored to her, and that her child would become Allah's Messenger in the future.

(28:8) Then Pharaoh's household picked him up (from the river) that he may be their adversary and be a cause of sorrow to them.11 Surely Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts erred (in their scheming).
*11 This was not their aim, but the ultimate destiny of their act. They picked up the child through whom they were to be destroyed in the end.

(28:9) The wife of Pharaoh said: "Here is a delight of the eye to me and to you. Do not kill him. Maybe he will prove useful for us, or we may adopt him as a son."12 They were unaware of the end of it all.
*12 What one understands from this is briefly so: "When the ark or the basket was carried by the river to the place where Pharaoh's palaces were situated, the servants of Pharaoh picked it up and took it before the king and the queen. It is just possible that the king and the queen were at that time strolling along the river bank and might have noticed the basket and ordered it to be picked up. When they saw a child in it, they could easily guess that it belonged to an Israelite family. For it came from the quarters inhabited by the Israelites, whose sons were being put to death in those days. It was understood that somebody had hidden the child for some time but when it could not be hidden any longer, it was cast to the river in the hope that it might be picked up and rescued from death. With this in view the most obedient servants. submitted that the king order the child to be killed forthwith, for it might prove dangerous for him. But the Pharaoh's wife was a woman and might even be childless. Then it was a lovely child, as Allah has reminded Moses in Ta Ha: 39, thus: "I had cast on you love from Myself." That is "I had made you such a lovely child that the beholders could not help regarding you with love." Therefore, the woman could not help feeling for him, and said to the king, "Do not kill him, but let us adopt him. When he grows up in our house as our son, he will not know that he was an Israelite: he will rather think he is one of Pharaoh's own kinsfolk, and he will be useful for us as against the Israelites."

(28:10) On the other hand, the heart of Moses' mother was sorely distressed. Had We not strengthened her heart that she might have full faith (in Our promise), she would have disclosed the secret.
(28:11) She told the sister of Moses: "Follow him." So she kept watch over him unperceived (by the enemies).13
*13 That is, the girl walked along and watched the floating basket in such a manner that the enemies could not know that she had anything to do with the child in it. According to the Israelite traditions, this sister of the Prophet Moses was 10 to 12 years old. She followed up her brother intelligently and cleverly and ascertained that he had been picked up by the Pharaoh's household.

(28:12) And We had already forbidden the breasts of the nurses for the child.14 (So seeing the girl) said: "Shall I direct you to the people of a household that will rear him with utter sincerity?"15
*14 That is, "The child would not take to any nurse whom the queen would call for suckling him."
*15 This shows that the sister did not go and sit back at home when she found that her brother had reached Pharaoh's palace, but cleverly hung about the palace to watch every new development. Then, when she found that the child was not taking to any nurse, and the queen was anxious to get a nurse who would suit it, the intelligent girl went straight into the palace, and said, "I can tell you the whereabouts of a nurse, who will bring him up with great affection." Here it should be borne in mind that in old days the well-to-do and noble families of these countries generally used to entrust their children to nurses for bringing up. We know that in the time of the Holy Prophet also nurses from the suburbs used to visit Makkah from time to time in order to get infants from the well-to-do families for suckling and nursing on rich wages. The Holy Prophet himself was brought up by Halimah Sa diyah in the desert. The same custom was prevalent in Egypt. that is why the Prophet Moses' sister did not say that she would bring a suitable nurse, but said that she would tell them of a house whose people would take up the responsibility of bringing him up with care and affection.

(28:13) Thus did We restore Moses16 to his mother that her eyes might be comforted and she might not grieve, and realise that the promise of Allah was true.17 But most people are unaware of this.
*16 According to the Bible and the Talmud, the child was named "Moses" in Pharaoh's house. It is not a Hebrew but a Coptic word, which means, "I drew him out of the water", for in Coptic mo meant water and oshe rescued.
*17 Another good thing that resulted from this wise device by Allah was that the Prophet Moses could not become a real prince in Pharaoh's house, but grew up among his own people and became fully aware of his family and community traditions and his ancestral religion. Thus, instead of growing up as a member of Pharaoh's class and people he arose sentimentally and intellectually as a full-fledged Israelite.
English ◄ Chapter 28. Al-Qasas ► Intro. ◄ Verse 1-13 of 88 ► View Ar En Nt Recite Font Email