Surah 28:7
Show Full Scripture Context (28:7-9) — 3 Verses
وَأَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنۡ أَرۡضِعِيهِۖ فَإِذَا خِفۡتِ عَلَيۡهِ فَأَلۡقِيهِ فِي ٱلۡيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحۡزَنِيٓۖ إِنَّا رَآدُّوهُ إِلَيۡكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ
We inspired Moses’ mother: ‘Nurse him, and when you fear for him, cast him into the sea, but do not fear and do not sorrow. Surely We are going to return him to you, and make him one of the envoys.’
فَٱلۡتَقَطَهُۥٓ ءَالُ فِرۡعَوۡنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمۡ عَدُوّٗا وَحَزَنًاۗ إِنَّ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَهَٰمَٰنَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُواْ خَٰطِـِٔينَ
And the house of Pharaoh picked him up, so that he might be an enemy to them and a (cause of) sorrow. Surely Pharaoh and Haman, and their forces, were sinners.
وَقَالَتِ ٱمۡرَأَتُ فِرۡعَوۡنَ قُرَّتُ عَيۡنٖ لِّي وَلَكَۖ لَا تَقۡتُلُوهُ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَنفَعَنَآ أَوۡ نَتَّخِذَهُۥ وَلَدٗا وَهُمۡ لَا يَشۡعُرُونَ
The wife of Pharaoh said, ‘(He is) a comfort to me and to you. Do not kill him! It may be that he will benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son.’ But they did not realize (what they were doing).
It was mentioned that when Fir'awn killed so many of the males of the Children of Israel, the Copts were scared that the Children of Israel would die out, and they themselves would have to do the heavy labor that the Children of Israel used to do. So they said to Fir'awn, “If this continues, and their old men die and the young men are killed, their women will not be able to do the work that the men are doing, and we will end up having to do it.” So Fir'awn issued orders that the boys should be killed one year, and left alone the following year. Harun, peace be upon him, was born in a year when the boys were not killed, and Musa was born in a year when the boys were being killed. Fir'awn had people who were entrusted with this task. There were midwives who would go around and check on the women, and if they noticed that any woman was pregnant, they would write her name down. When the time came for her to give birth, no one was allowed to attend her except for Coptic women. If the woman gave birth to a girl, they would leave her alone and go away, but if she gave birth to a boy, the killers would come in with their sharp knives and kill the child, then they would go away; may Allah curse them.
When the mother of Musa became pregnant with him, she did not show any signs of pregnancy as other women did, and none of the midwives noticed. But when she gave birth to a boy, she became very distressed and did not know what to do with him. She was extremely scared for him, because she loved him very much. No one ever saw Musa, peace be upon him, but they loved him, and the blessed ones were those who loved him both as a natural feeling and because he was a Prophet. Allah says:
{And I endued you with love from Me} (20:39).
Musa, peace be upon him, in the House of Fir'awn
When Musa's mother became so worried and confused, it was inspired into her heart and mind what she should do, as Allah says:
Fir'awn said: “For you he may be, but not for me.” And this was indeed the case: Allah guided her because of him, and destroyed him at his hands.
{perhaps he may be of benefit to us,} This is indeed what happened in her case, for Allah guided her through him and caused her to dwell in Paradise because of him.
{or we may adopt him as a son.} She wanted to take him and adopt him as a son, because she had no children from Fir'awn.
{And they perceived not.} means, they did not know what Allah planned for them when they picked him up, by His great wisdom and definitive proof.