What Is the Lineage of Allah’s Prophet Moses (PBUH)?
ما هو نسب نبي الله موسى عليه السلام؟ وأين كان يسكن قومه؟ وما سر العداء الفرعوني لهم؟
Moses, peace be upon him, descended from the Children of Israel who are the sons of Ya’qob (Jacob). The Children of Israel settled in Egypt because Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, went into Egypt and settled there, and he ruled the Lower Egyptian Kingdom and summoned his father and brothers, as it is mentioned in the Qur’an: “Then come back to me with your whole family.” Yusuf 12:93
The Israelites people had good relations with the Egyptians for a long time, but the Israelites had preserved their religion, language, and customs. They did not worship the gods of the Egyptians, and they all lived in a place called the land of Goshen, and the Israelites remained like that for about 400 years.
During that period, military battles took place between the kings, and the Egyptian kings defeated the kings of the giants and expelled them from Egypt until a new Pharaonic family appeared in Egypt, and its kings owned all the Egyptian countries. The kingdoms they had control over revolted against them, and among those kingdoms were some nations located on the outskirts of the Arabian Peninsula.
There were reasons, or perhaps due to misconceptions on the part of the Pharaohs, the Copts (Pharaohs) persecuted the Israelites, assigning them the hardest jobs and making them work in farms, in building and in brick making.
Pharaoh feared that the Israelites would become supporters of his enemies against him, and they were the sons of a noble lineage descended from the great people and well-known Arabs, so he ordered his people to uproot them by killing their children, captivating their women and humiliating their elders. Source: Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir by Al-Taher Ibn Ashour Al-Tunisi, may Allah have mercy upon his soul and forgive him.
موسى-عليه السلام- من بني إسرائيل وهم أبناء يعقوب وقد استقر بنو إسرائيل في مصر بسبب دخول يوسف عليه السلام لمصر و صارت بيده حكم المملكة المصرية السفلى، واستدعى أباه وإخوته، كما في القرآن: “وأتوني بأهلكم أجمعين” (يوسف 12: 93)
كانت معاشرة الإسرائيليين للمصريين حسنة زمنا طويلا غير أن الإسرائيليين قد حافظوا على دينهم ولغتهم وعاداتهم فلم يعبدوا آلهة المصريين وسكنوا جميعا بجهة يقال لها أرض (جاسان) ومكث الإسرائيليون على ذلك نحوا من أربعمائة سنة.
خلال تلك المدة كانت تحدث معارك عسكرية بين الملوك فتغلب فيها ملوك المصريين على ملوك العمالقة وطردوهم من مصر حتى ظهرت في مصر عائلة فرعونية جديدة وملك ملوكها جميع البلاد المصرية وثارت في وجههم الممالك التي أخضعوها لهم ومن تلك الممالك بعض الأمم الكائنة بأطراف جزيرة العرب.
حدثت أسباب أو ربما هو سوء ظنون من الفراعنة جعل القبط (الفراعنة) يضطهدون الإسرائيليين ويكلفونهم بأشق الأعمال ويسخرونهم في خدمة المزارع والمباني وصنع الآجر.
وخشي فرعون أن يكون الإسرائيليون أعوانا لأعدائه عليه، وهم أبناء نسبهم من العمالقة والعرب، فأمر باستئصالهم، فكان يأمر بقتل أبنائهم وسبي نسائهم وتسخير كبارهم. المصدر: التحرير والتنوير للطاهر ابن عاشور التونسي-رحمه الله وغفر له-
1. Descended From Yaqoub, Settled in Egypt Through Yusuf | نسبٌ من يعقوب واستقرارٌ في مصر عبر يوسف
Musa’s lineage traces directly to the Children of Israel, the descendants of Yaqoub, and their presence in Egypt itself began with Yusuf, whose rise to authority there led him to summon his entire family, exactly as recorded in Surah Yusuf 12:93. Everything that follows in Musa’s story, the persecution, the exodus, the confrontation with Pharaoh, unfolds because his people had already been living in Egypt for centuries by the time he was born.
يعود نسب موسى مباشرة إلى بني إسرائيل، أبناء يعقوب، وبدأ وجودهم في مصر نفسها مع يوسف، الذي أدى وصوله إلى السلطة هناك إلى استدعاء أسرته بأكملها، تماما كما ورد في سورة يوسف 12: 93. وكل ما يلي في قصة موسى، الاضطهاد والخروج والمواجهة مع فرعون، يتكشف لأن قومه كانوا يعيشون في مصر بالفعل منذ قرون حين وُلد.
2. Four Centuries in the Land of Goshen, Faith Preserved | أربعة قرون في أرض جاسان مع الحفاظ على الدين
For roughly 400 years, the Israelites lived peacefully alongside the Egyptians in the land of Goshen, yet deliberately kept their own religion, language, and customs rather than assimilating into Egyptian worship. This long period of distinct identity within Egypt is what later made them recognizable as a separate people, a fact that becomes central to why Pharaoh eventually singled them out.
عاش بنو إسرائيل بسلام إلى جانب المصريين في أرض جاسان لنحو أربعمائة سنة، لكنهم حافظوا عمدا على دينهم ولغتهم وعاداتهم بدلا من الاندماج في عبادة المصريين. وهذه الفترة الطويلة من الهوية المتمايزة داخل مصر هي ما جعلهم لاحقا مُعرَّفين كقوم منفصل، وهي حقيقة تصبح محورية لسبب استفراد فرعون بهم في النهاية.
3. A New Dynasty Changes Everything | عائلة فرعونية جديدة تغيّر كل شيء
The relatively good relations the Israelites had enjoyed did not last indefinitely. After wars against rival kings and the expulsion of previous rulers, a new Pharaonic family took control of Egypt entirely, and it is this new dynasty, not the one under which Yusuf had once served, that turns against the Israelites.
لم تدم العلاقات الجيدة نسبيا التي تمتع بها بنو إسرائيل إلى الأبد. فبعد حروب ضد ملوك منافسين وطرد الحكام السابقين، سيطرت عائلة فرعونية جديدة على مصر بأكملها، وهذه العائلة الجديدة، لا تلك التي خدم تحتها يوسف من قبل، هي التي تنقلب على بني إسرائيل.
4. Persecution Through Forced Labor | اضطهادٌ عبر السخرة
The new rulers assigned the Israelites the harshest tasks available, farm labor, construction, and brick-making, a form of persecution grounded in exploitation of their labor rather than open warfare. This economic and physical subjugation is the backdrop against which Musa is born, and it is the condition his people are still living under decades later when he is sent back to confront Pharaoh.
كلّف الحكام الجدد بني إسرائيل بأشق الأعمال المتاحة، العمل الزراعي والبناء وصنع الآجر، وهو شكل من الاضطهاد قائم على استغلال عملهم لا على حرب مفتوحة. وهذا الإخضاع الاقتصادي والجسدي هو الخلفية التي يُولد فيها موسى، وهي الحال التي لا يزال قومه يعيشونها بعد عقود حين يُرسل ليواجه فرعون.
5. Fear of a Noble Lineage as a Political Threat | خوفٌ من نسبٍ شريف كتهديدٍ سياسي
Pharaoh’s harshest measures, killing sons and sparing only daughters, are explained here as rooted in fear that the Israelites, descended from a noble and recognized lineage, might side with his enemies against him. This political anxiety, not simple cruelty for its own sake, is presented as the underlying motive behind escalating the persecution to its most extreme form.
تُفسَّر هنا أقسى إجراءات فرعون، قتل الأبناء واستبقاء البنات فقط، بأنها متجذرة في خوفه من أن ينحاز بنو إسرائيل، المنحدرون من نسب شريف ومعروف، إلى أعدائه ضده. ويُقدَّم هذا القلق السياسي، لا القسوة المجردة لذاتها، بوصفه الدافع الكامن وراء تصعيد الاضطهاد إلى أقصى صوره.
Scholarly Insight: Surah Yusuf 12:93 records Yusuf’s summons that first brought the Children of Israel to Egypt, and the historical background drawn from Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir explains how their descendants, including Musa, came to face persecution under a later Pharaonic dynasty that feared their noble lineage. Read the fuller context in the tafsir of Surah Yusuf.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What is Moses’s lineage?
He descended from the Children of Israel, the sons of Yaqoub (Jacob).
How did the Israelites come to settle in Egypt?
Through Yusuf, who rose to rule over the Lower Egyptian Kingdom and summoned his entire family there, as recorded in Surah Yusuf 12:93.
Where did they live, and for how long?
In the land of Goshen, for roughly 400 years, while preserving their own religion, language, and customs.
What changed their situation in Egypt?
A new Pharaonic dynasty came to power and began persecuting them with forced labor in farms, construction, and brick-making.
Why did Pharaoh fear the Israelites specifically?
Because they descended from a noble, recognized lineage, and he feared they could become allies of his enemies against him.
Prepared by Eng. Ghada Homad, founder of IslamFAQ, researched and written in consultation with qualified scholars, reviewed by Professor Khaled Jassem Al-Houli, Associate Professor of Comparative Jurisprudence and Islamic Politics, Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, University of Kuwait. Read more about the authors and this project →