What Did Allah Almighty Say to Moses (PBUH) at Mount Tur, and What Was the Message He Asked Him to Convey?
بم أمر الله نبيه و كليمه موسى حين أتى النار؟ وما الرسالة التي حُمِّلَّهَا؟
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, told him that He had chosen him for a great mission, which was conveying the Divine Message. Also, He commanded him to do three things: The first command, worshiping Allah alone, without joining any partner with Him in worship. The second command, performing prayer. The third command, to get himself prepared for the Day of Resurrection after Allah the Almighty reminded him of it and warned him against following those who do not believe in it, lest he would be doomed.
(It is truly I. I am your Lord! So take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed. ‘It is truly I. I am Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Me. So worship Me ˹alone˺, and establish prayer for My remembrance.’ The Hour is sure to come. My Will is to keep it hidden, so that every soul may be rewarded according to their efforts.) Ta-Ha 20:12-15
The first message: to call Pharaoh to believe in Allah and to purify himself. (Has the story of Moses reached you ˹O Prophet˺? His Lord called him in the sacred valley of Tuwa, ˹commanding,˺ “Go to Pharaoh, for he has truly transgressed ˹all bounds˺. And say, ‘Would you ˹be willing to˺ purify yourself?'”) An-Nazi’at 79:15-18
The second message: to allow the Children of Israel to go with them to where Allah the Almighty had ordered, and to stop killing their sons, leaving their women alive, and using them in the worst, the most inferior and the most vile works. (Corrected here from the original published wording, which said ‘their men’; the Quran says Pharaoh killed their sons and spared their women, 2:49.) (“So go to him and say, ‘Indeed we are both messengers from your Lord, so let the Children of Israel go with us, and do not oppress them. We have come to you with a sign from your Lord.'”) Ta-Ha 20:47
(“But when he came to it, he was called ˹by Allah˺, “Blessed is the one at the fire, and whoever is around it! Glory be to Allah, the Lord of all worlds. O Moses! It is truly I. I am Allah, the Almighty, All-Wise.”) An-Naml 27:8-9
أخبره الله عز وجل باصطفائه واختياره لمهمة عظيمة وهي مهمة الرسالة. وأمره بثلاث: الأمر الأول، أمره بعبادة الله وحده لا شريك له. الأمر الثاني، أمره بإقامة الصلاة. الأمر الثالث، ذكَّرَ الله نبيه بيوم القيامة وأنه لا بد من الاستعداد له وعدم اتباع من لا يؤمن به لئلا يهلك معه.
(إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَىٰ إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّـهُ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي إِنَّ السَّاعَةَ آتِيَةٌ أَكَادُ أُخْفِيهَا لِتُجْزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَىٰ) طه 20: 12-15
الرسالة الأولى: تدعو فرعون إلى الإيمان وتزكية النفس. (هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰ إِذْ نَادَاهُ رَبُّهُ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى اذْهَبْ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَىٰ فَقُلْ هَل لَّكَ إِلَىٰ أَن تَزَكَّىٰ) النازعات 79: 15-18
الرسالة الثانية: أرسل معنا بني إسرائيل، لنخرج بهم حيث أمر الله، ولا تقتل أبناءهم وتستحيي نساءهم (صُحّح هنا عن النص المنشور سابقا الذي قال “رجالهم”؛ ولفظ القرآن: يذبحون أبناءكم ويستحيون نساءكم، البقرة 2: 49) وتستعملهم في أسوإ الأعمال وأحطها وأخسها. (فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولَا إِنَّا رَسُولَا رَبِّكَ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَا تُعَذِّبْهُمْ قَدْ جِئْنَاكَ بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ) طه 20: 47
(فَلَمَّا جَاءَهَا نُودِيَ أَن بُورِكَ مَن فِي النَّارِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّـهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ يَا مُوسَىٰ إِنَّهُ أَنَا اللَّـهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ) النمل 27: 8-9
1. Three Personal Commands Before Any Mission Is Given | ثلاثة أوامر شخصية قبل أي رسالة
Before Musa is told anything about Pharaoh, the same encounter at Mount Tur gives him three commands addressed to himself alone: worship Allah exclusively, establish prayer, and prepare for the Day of Resurrection. His personal relationship with Allah is established first, ahead of any public mission.
قبل أن يُخبر موسى بأي شيء عن فرعون، يمنحه اللقاء نفسه عند جبل الطور ثلاثة أوامر موجهة له شخصيا وحده: عبادة الله وحده، وإقامة الصلاة، والاستعداد ليوم القيامة. فتُؤسَّس علاقته الشخصية بالله أولا، قبل أي رسالة عامة.
2. A Warning Attached to the Third Command | تحذيرٌ ملحق بالأمر الثالث
The command to prepare for the Hour comes with an explicit caution against being turned away from it by anyone who disbelieves in it and follows their own desire. Attaching this warning directly to the reminder about the Hour signals that Musa’s coming mission would put him in constant contact with people, starting with Pharaoh, who reject exactly this truth.
يأتي أمر الاستعداد للساعة مع تحذير صريح من أن يصده عنها من لا يؤمن بها ويتبع هواه. وإلحاق هذا التحذير مباشرة بالتذكير بالساعة يشير إلى أن رسالة موسى القادمة ستضعه في تماس دائم مع أناس، بدءا بفرعون، يرفضون هذه الحقيقة بالذات.
3. The First Message: An Invitation to Purify Himself | الرسالة الأولى: دعوةٌ للتزكي
Surah An-Nazi’at 79:17-19 frames the mission to Pharaoh not as an ultimatum but as a question, “Would you be willing to purify yourself?” This wording matters: even addressing a tyrant who had ordered the killing of infants, the message opens as an invitation to change, not an immediate condemnation.
تؤطر سورة النازعات 79: 17-19 الرسالة إلى فرعون لا بوصفها إنذارا نهائيا بل سؤالا: “هل لك إلى أن تزكى؟”. ولهذه الصياغة أهميتها: فحتى في مخاطبة طاغية أمر بقتل الرضع، تفتتح الرسالة دعوة للتغيير، لا إدانة فورية.
4. The Second Message: Release and an End to Oppression | الرسالة الثانية: الإطلاق ووقف الاضطهاد
Surah Ta-Ha 20:47 delivers the second, concrete demand: let the Children of Israel go and stop oppressing them, a direct instruction to end the very persecution described earlier in Musa’s own upbringing. The message closes by extending “peace” specifically to whoever follows guidance, distinguishing that outcome from what awaits those who refuse.
تقدم سورة طه 20: 47 المطلب الثاني الملموس: أرسل معنا بني إسرائيل وكف عن اضطهادهم، وهو تعليمات مباشرة لإنهاء الاضطهاد نفسه الموصوف سابقا في نشأة موسى. وتختتم الرسالة بمد “السلام” تحديدا لمن اتبع الهدى، مميزة تلك النتيجة عما ينتظر من يرفض.
5. A Third Account of the Same Calling Voice | روايةٌ ثالثة لنفس النداء
Surah An-Naml 27:8-9 recounts the same moment with an added phrase not found in the other two accounts, “Blessed is the one at the fire, and whoever is around it,” extending blessing to anyone near the fire, not Musa alone. Reading all three surahs together shows the Quran approaching this single pivotal event from multiple angles, each preserving a different detail of what was said.
تروي سورة النمل 27: 8-9 اللحظة نفسها بعبارة إضافية لا توجد في الروايتين الأخريين: “بورك من في النار ومن حولها”، ممتدة بذلك البركة إلى أي شخص قرب النار، لا موسى وحده. وقراءة السور الثلاث معا تُظهر أن القرآن يتناول هذا الحدث المحوري الواحد من زوايا متعددة، تحفظ كل واحدة منها تفصيلا مختلفا مما قيل.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What three things did Allah personally command Moses at Mount Tur?
To worship Allah alone, establish prayer, and prepare for the Day of Resurrection.
What was the first message Moses was sent to deliver to Pharaoh?
An invitation asking whether he would be willing to purify himself and believe.
What was the second message?
To let the Children of Israel go and stop oppressing them.
Why is the first message phrased as a question?
To present it as an invitation to change rather than an immediate condemnation, even to a tyrant.
What detail does Surah An-Naml add that the other accounts do not?
That blessing was extended to whoever was near the fire, not to Musa alone.