Why Did Moses’s Mother Fear for Her Son That She Threw Him in the River?
ما سبب خوف أم موسى على ابنها حتى أنها ألهمت الحيلة في إلقائه في النهر الجاري؟
The Egyptian ruler Pharaoh was called “Al-Waleed Ibn Ar-Rayyan,” and he was a tyrant who claimed to be the lord of the worlds and the lord of the Egyptians. He became arrogant, oppressor and tyrannical. He intended to turn the people in Egypt into sects; some of whom are weakened and humiliated, they are the Children of Israel, while the other sects enjoyed their lives.
The way they were weakened: He used to slaughter the sons of that sect at the time of their birth, and he used to keep the girls to grow up and become servants. The reason for slaughtering the male children was that his priests and politicians informed him that his kingdom would be threatened by the great number of the powerful Children of Israel in the country, so he reduced their number by slaughtering the male children among them and keeping the females children alive.
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that Pharaoh and his companions mentioned the promise of Allah to His Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him, that Allah would make kings among his offspring. Therefore, the Children of Israel thought that the king was Joseph, son of Jacob, and when he died, they said, “This is not the promise given to Ibrahim, peace be upon him.”
Pharaoh said, “What do you think?” They agreed that he would send men with blades to go among the Children of Israel, and whenever they found a male child, they would slaughter him. They did so, and when they saw that the old men of the Children of Israel used to die at their appointed time, and the young ones were slaughtered, they said, “The Children of Israel are about to perish, so keep some of them alive to serve you. Kill every newborn boy and leave their daughters, every other year, so do not kill any of them the next year, so that those young would grow up and serve you on behalf of the old ones who died. In this case, they will never be more than you, because you kill their young one year and leave them alive the other year, and at the same time they will not perish.”
So they agreed to commit this evil plot, and Moses’s mother became pregnant with Harun in the year in which boys were not supposed to be slaughtered, and she gave birth to him safely in public.
Allah the Almighty wanted to save the Children of Israel from that state of weakness and to save them from the rule of Pharaoh who oppressed and persecuted them. Also, Allah the Almighty intended to make them rule the country and handle its political affairs. The mother of Moses was the starting point in overthrowing that tyranny. She gave birth to her son who was supposed to be slaughtered by the blades of Pharaoh’s men, so she threw him into the sea to save him from being killed.
This is a sign of Allah’s Ability and the Enforcement of His Command, for Pharaoh wanted to be saved from Moses, the boy who would destroy the kingdom of Pharaoh. Hence, his plots and power were useless in comparison with the Power of the Great Deity Whose Decree and Command can never be undone. His Command was enforced and His Will and Decree took place, so the destruction of Pharaoh was at the hands of that boy whom Pharaoh was afraid of.
This boy was divinely decreed to be brought up in the house of the man of whom he was terrified and who killed thousands of little male children souls because of him, so that he might realize that the Lord of the high heavens is the Irresistible, the One Who has full power and control over all affairs.
(We recite to you some of the news of Moses and Pharaoh in truth, for a people who believe. Verily, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people sects, weakening ˹oppressing˺ a group ˹the Children of Israel˺ among them, killing their sons, and letting their females live. Verily, he was of those who commit great sins and crimes, oppressors, tyrant.) Al-Qasas 28:3-4 [corrected: the original site text labeled only “28:3,” but the quoted passage’s second half, describing Pharaoh dividing the people and killing their sons, is verse 4, matching the fuller “28:3-4” already given in the English translation above]
(We inspired the mother of Moses: “Nurse him, but when you fear for him, put him then into the river, and do not fear or grieve. We will certainly return him to you, and make him one of the messengers.”) Al-Qasas 28:7
إن فرعون الحاكم المصري المسمى بـ”الوليد بن الريان” كان طاغية يدعي أنه رب العالمين وإله المصريين، فطغى وتكبر وتسلط، وجعل أهل البلاد المصرية طوائف، بعضها مستضعف مهان ذليل، وهم بنو إسرائيل، وبعضهم ينعم بالخيرات.
كيفية استضعافهم: كان بذبح أبناء تلك الطائفة ساعة ولادتهم، ويبقي البنات ليكبرن للخدمة. سبب ذبحه للأولاد أن كهانه وسياسييه أعلموه أن ملكه مهدد بوجود بني إسرائيل أقوياء كثر في البلاد فاستعمل طريقة تقليلهم والحد من كثرتهم بذبح الأولاد الذكور منهم وإبقاء الإناث منهم.
وروى ابن عباس-رضي الله عنه- أن فرعون وجلساؤه ذكروا وعد نبي الله الخليل إبراهيم -عليه السلام- أن الله سيجعل في ذريته ملوكا. وكانت بني إسرائيل تظن أنه يوسف بن يعقوب، فلما هلك قالوا: ليس هكذا كان وعد إبراهيم عليه السلام.
فقال فرعون: كيف ترون؟ فاتفقوا على أن يبعث رجالا معهم الشفار يطوفون في بني إسرائيل، فلا يجدون مولودا ذكرا إلا ذبحوه، ففعلوا ذلك، فلما رأوا أن الكبار من بني إسرائيل يموتون بآجالهم، والصغار يذبحون، قالوا: ليوشكن أن تفنى بني إسرائيل، فاقتلوا عاما كل مولود ذكر واتركوا بناتهم، ودعوا عاما فلا تقتلوا منهم أحدا، فيشب الصغار مكان من يموت من الكبار.
فاتفقوا على هذه الحيلة الشيطانية، وحملت أم موسى بهارون في العام الذي لا يذبح فيه الغلمان، فولدته علانية آمنة، فلما كان من قابل حملت بموسى عليه السلام فوقع في قلبها الهم والحزن.
أراد الله أن يخلص بني إسرائيل من هذه الحالة من الاستضعاف وأن يخلصهم من حكم فرعون، فكانت أم موسى هي نقطة الانطلاقة في إسقاط ذلك الطغيان، فحيث أنها ولدت ابنها وكان عرضة لشفار فرعون فألقته في اليم هربا من أن يقتل.
وفي ذلك علامة على قدرة الله وإنفاذه لأمره-جل وعلا-، فما نفعه تدبيره وقدرته مع قدرة الإله العظيم الذي لا يخالف أمره ولا يغلب.
(نَتْلُو عَلَيْكَ مِنْ نَبَأِ مُوسَى وَفِرْعَوْنَ بِالْحَقِّ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعاً يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَائِفَةً مِنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ) القصص 28: 3-4
(وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلاَ تَخَافِي وَلاَ تَحْزَنِيۤ إِنَّا رَآدُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِين) القصص 28: 7
1. A Tyrant Who Divided His People Into Classes | طاغيةٌ قسّم شعبه إلى طوائف
Surah Al-Qasas 28:4 describes Pharaoh as having exalted himself and divided Egypt’s people into factions, deliberately weakening one group, the Children of Israel, while others lived comfortably. This structural oppression, not a single cruel act, is the setting the whole story of Musa’s birth unfolds within.
تصف سورة القصص 28: 4 فرعون بأنه علا في الأرض وقسّم أهل مصر إلى فئات، مستضعفا فئة واحدة عمدا، بني إسرائيل، بينما عاشت فئات أخرى برفاهية. وهذا الاضطهاد البنيوي، لا فعلا قاسيا واحدا، هو الإطار الذي تتكشف داخله قصة ولادة موسى بأكملها.
2. A Fear Rooted in a Prophecy About Ibrahim’s Offspring | خوفٌ متجذر في وعد إبراهيم بالملك في ذريته
According to the narration from Ibn Abbas, Pharaoh’s fear traces back to Allah’s promise to Ibrahim that kings would come from his descendants; once the Israelites realized Yusuf’s rule had not been the promise’s fulfillment, Pharaoh’s own circle grew alarmed that a future king was still to come from among them. This is what drove the decision to begin systematically killing male infants.
وفقا لرواية ابن عباس، يعود خوف فرعون إلى وعد الله لإبراهيم بأن ملوكا سيأتون من ذريته؛ وحين أدرك بنو إسرائيل أن ملك يوسف لم يكن تحقيق ذلك الوعد، ازداد قلق حاشية فرعون من أن ملكا مقبلا سيأتي منهم لا محالة. وهذا ما دفع القرار ببدء قتل الذكور الرضع بشكل منهجي.
3. An Alternating Policy, Not Total Extermination | سياسة متناوبة لا إبادة كاملة
When the killing began to threaten the Israelites’ survival entirely, and with it their usefulness as forced labor, Pharaoh’s advisors proposed killing newborn boys only in alternating years, calculated to keep the population controlled without extinguishing it. Harun was born in a spared year, safely and openly; Musa was born the following year, precisely the year marked for killing, which is why his mother’s fear was immediate and specific.
حين بدأ القتل يهدد بقاء بني إسرائيل بأكمله، ومعه فائدتهم كأيدٍ عاملة قسرية، اقترح مستشارو فرعون قتل الذكور المولودين في سنوات متناوبة فقط، محسوبة لإبقاء عددهم تحت السيطرة دون إفنائهم. وُلد هارون في سنة معفاة، بأمان وعلانية؛ ووُلد موسى في العام التالي، وهو تحديدا العام المحدد للقتل، وهو سبب خوف أمه الفوري والمحدد.
4. A Command That Looks Like Loss but Is Rescue | أمرٌ يبدو فقدانًا وهو نجاة
Allah’s inspiration to Musa’s mother, recorded in Al-Qasas 28:7, instructs her to place her son in the river specifically when she fears for him, paired with a promise that he would be returned to her and made one of the messengers. What appears on the surface as abandoning a newborn to the water is, in the Ayah’s own framing, the mechanism of his survival, since remaining with her placed him directly in the path of Pharaoh’s men.
يوجهها وحي الله إلى أم موسى، المسجل في القصص 28: 7، أن تضع ابنها في النهر تحديدا حين تخاف عليه، مقرونا بوعد بأنه سيُرد إليها ويُجعل من المرسلين. وما يبدو ظاهريا تخليا عن رضيع للماء هو، في تأطير الآية نفسها، آلية نجاته، إذ إن بقاءه معها كان يضعه مباشرة في طريق رجال فرعون.
5. Raised in the House of the Very Man Who Feared Him | تربيته في بيت من كان يخشاه
The boy Pharaoh ordered killed to prevent his own downfall would, in the end, be raised inside Pharaoh’s own household. This outcome is presented as a direct demonstration of Allah’s power over even the most determined human plotting, since neither Pharaoh’s authority nor his precautions could override what had already been decreed.
الصبي الذي أمر فرعون بقتله ليمنع سقوطه سيُربى في النهاية داخل بيت فرعون نفسه. وتُقدَّم هذه النتيجة برهانا مباشرا على قدرة الله فوق أشد التدبير البشري إصرارا، إذ لم تستطع سلطة فرعون ولا احترازاته تجاوز ما سبق أن قُدِّر.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did Moses’s mother fear for her son?
Pharaoh’s men killed every newborn boy of the Children of Israel in alternating years, and Musa was born in one of the killing years.
Why did Pharaoh order male infants killed?
His advisors feared a prophesied king would arise from the Children of Israel’s growing numbers, fulfilling Allah’s promise to Ibrahim.
Why was Harun born safely but not Musa?
Because the killing policy alternated by year; Harun was born in a spared year, Musa in a killing year.
What did Allah instruct Musa’s mother to do?
To nurse him, then place him in the river when she feared for him, with a promise he would be returned to her and made a messenger.
What is the irony in how Musa was raised?
He grew up inside Pharaoh’s own household, the very man who had feared him and ordered his killing.