-->
Moses saw that his position was now untenable, both in the Palace and in the City, and indeed anywhere in Pharaoh's territory. So he suffered voluntary exile. But he did not know where to go to. His mind was in a state of agitation. But he turned to Allah and prayed. He got consolation, and felt that after all it was no hardship to leave Egypt, where there was so much injustice and oppression.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
The inhabitants of Madyan (called Midian in the Bible) were Arabs of the Amorite group. Since they were racially and linguistically closely related to the Hebrews, they could be counted upon to help Moses in his plight. For the geographical location of the region of Madyan, see surah {7}, note [67].
East of Lower Egypt, for about 300 miles, runs the Sinai Peninsula, bounded on the south by the Gulf of Suez, and on the north by what was the Isthmus of Suez, now cut by the Suez Canal. Over the Isthmus ran the highroad to Palestine and Syria, but a fugitive could not well take that road, as the Egyptians were after him. If he could, after crossing the Isthmus, plunge into the Sinai desert, east or south-east, he would be in the Midianite territory, where the people would be Arabs and not Egyptians. He turned thither, and again prayed to Allah for guidance.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Lit., "water" or "waters".
The first thing that a wanderer in a desert would make for would be an oasis where he could get water from a spring or well, the shade of trees against the scorching sun, and some human company. The Midianite watering place was probably a deep well, as surface springs are rare in sandy deserts, where the water level is low, unless there was a hill from which issued a spring.
Here is a pretty little idyll, told in the fewest and most beautiful words possible. Moses arrives at an oasis in the desert, weary and travel worn, with his mind full of anxiety and uncertainty owing to his recent experiences in Egypt. He was thirsty and would naturally seek water. At the well or spring he found shepherds (or perhaps goat-herds) watering their flocks. As a stranger it was not for him to thrust himself among them. He waited under the shade of a tree until they should finish. He noticed two damsels, also waiting with their flocks, which they had come to water. His chivalry was roused. He went at once among the goat-herds, made a place for the flocks of the damsels, gave them water, and then resumed his place in the shade. They were modest maidens, and had given him in three Arabic words the key of the whole situation. 'Abu- na shaikhun Kabirun our father is a very old man, and therefore cannot come to water the flocks; we therefore do the work; we could not very well thrust ourselves among these men.'
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Moses left Egypt with no food, money, or even shoes. He was completely worn out by the time he arrived in Midian. After he prayed for help, Allah gave him a wife, a job, and a home on the same day.
The maidens are gone, with smiles on their lips and gratitude in their hearts. What were the reflections of Moses as he returned to the shade of the tree? He returned thanks to Allah for the bright little vision which he had just seen. Had he done a good deed? Precious was the opportunity he had had. He had slaked his thirst. But he was a homeless wanderer and had a longing in his soul, which he dared not put into words. Those shepherds were no company for him. He was truly like a beggar in desperate need. For any little good that came his way, he was grateful. But what was this?-this vision of a comfortable household, presided over by an old man rich in flocks and herds, and richer still in two daughters, as modest as they were beautiful? Perhaps he would never see them again! But Allah was preparing another surprise for him.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Scarcely had he rested, when one of the damsels came back, walking with bashful grace! Modestly she gave her message. 'My father is grateful for what you did for us. He invites you, that he may thank you personally, and at least give some return for your kindness.'
Nothing could have been more welcome than such a message, and through such a messenger. Moses went of course, and saw the old man. He found such a well-ordered patriarchal household. The old man was happy in his daughters and they in him. There was mutual confidence. They had evidently described the stranger to him in terms which made his welcome a foregone conclusion. On the other hand Moses had allowed his imagination to paint the father in something of the glorious colours in which his daughters had appeared to him like an angelic vision. The two men got to be friends at once. Moses told the old man his story,-who he was, how he was brought up, and what misfortunes had made him quit Egypt. Perhaps the whole household, including the daughters, listened breathlessly to his tale. Perhaps their wonder and admiration were mingled with a certain amount of pity-perhaps with some more tender feeling in the case of the girl who had been to fetch him. In any case the stranger had won his place in their hearts. The old man, the head of the household, assured him of hospitality and safety under his roof. As one with a long experience of life he congratulated him on his escape. 'Who would live among unjust people? It is as well you are free of them!'
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
A little time passes. A guest after all cannot stay for ever. They all feel that it would be good to have him with them permanently. The girl who had given her heart to him had spoken their unspoken thoughts. Why not employ him to tend the flocks? The father was old, and a young man was wanted to look after the flocks. And-there may be other possibilities.
Strong and trusty: Moses had proved himself to be both, and these were the very qualities which a woman most admires in the man she loves.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Lit., "one of the righteous."
A little time passed, and at length the father broached the subject of marriage. It was not for the fugitive to suggest a permanent tie, especially when, in the wealth of this world, the girl's family was superior, and they had an established position, while he was a mere wanderer. The father asked if he would marry one of the daughters and stay with them for at least eight years, or if he liked, ten years, but the longer term was at his option. If he brought no dower, his service for that period was more than sufficient in lieu of dower. The particular girl intended was no doubt tacitly settled long before, by the mutual attraction of the young hearts themselves. Moses was glad of the proposal, and accepted it. They ratified it in the most solemn manner, by appealing to Allah. The old man, knowing the worth of his son-in-law, solemnly assured him that in any event he would not take advantage of his position to be a hard task-master or to insist on anything inconsistent with Moses's interests, should a new future open out to him. And a new and glorious future was awaiting him after his apprenticeship.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
In patriarchal society it was not uncommon to have a marriage bargain of this kind conditional on a certain term of service. In this case the episode conveys two lessons. (1) A man destined to be a messenger of Allah is yet a man, and must pass through the ups and downs of life like any other man: only he will do it with more grace and distinction than other men. (2) The beautiful relations in love and marriage may themselves be a preparation for the highest spiritual destiny that may await a Messenger of Allah. A woman need not necessarily be a snare and a temptation: she may be the understanding help-mate that the Lady Khadija was to the holy Prophet.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
For an explanation of Moses' wanderings in the desert, see note [7] on 20:10 ; for that of the allegory of the "fire", note [7] on {27:7-8}. - Throughout this work, the noun at-tur ("the mountain") is being rendered as "Mount Sinai", for it is to this and to no other mountain that the Qur'an invariably refers in the above term.
Sc., "as to which way we are to pursue".
lit., information. Moses and his family lost their way in the dark while they were travelling from Midian to Egypt.
The episode in the desert, full of human interest, now closes, and we come to the threshold of the sacred Call to the divine ministry of Moses. Here we may compare this passage with that in xxvii. 7-14 and previous passages. In this passage we are told, after reference to Moses's preparation for his high destiny, of the particular sin of Arrogance and Sacrilege of which Pharaoh was guilty (xxviii 38-39), how it was punished, and with what instruments in the hands of Moses and Pharaoh. The notes on the earlier passage should be read, as explanations already given need not now be repeated.
Note how the transition is effected from the happy life of Moses to the new prophetic mission.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
As in 19:52 and 20:80 , the reference to the "right" side has a connotation of "blessedness": see in this respect note [25] on 74:39 . As regards the "blessed ground", see note [9] on the expression "twice-hallowed valley" in {20: 12}. The "tree" referred to in the above verse is obviously identical with the "burning bush" of the Bible (Exodus iii,2).
We are to suppose the appearance of a bush burning but not consumed (Exod. iii. 2), a device adopted by the Scottish Church in its armorial bearings. Scotland apparently took that emblem and motto (Nec tamen consumebatur, 'nevertheless it was not consumed') from the Synod of the Reformed Church of France, which had adopted it in 1583. (I am indebted for this information to the Rev. D.Y. Robertson, Chaplain of the Church of Scotland in Simla). The real explanation of the Burning Bush will be found in xxvii. 8, n. 3245.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
The miracle of the staff has, possibly, a symbolic significance: see surah {20}, note [14].
Cf. 27:10 - "no fear need the message-bearers have in My Presence".
The verbal meaning is: 'you have nothing to fear from what appears to be a snake: it is a snake, not for you, but for Pharaoh.' But there is a deeper meaning besides. Moses had now been called to a higher prophetic mission. He had to meet the hatred of the Egyptians and circumvent their trickery and magic. He had now the security of Faith: in all dangers and difficulties Allah would guide and protect him, for he was actually in Allah's service, one of the Elect.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
See note [85] on 7:108 .
As pointed out by Zamakhshari, the above idiomatic sentence is a metonym recalling a well-known gesture of terror- the involuntary stretching-forth of one's hands or arms when suddenly faced with something terrifying; conversely, the "holding of one's arm [lit., "wing"] close to oneself" is expressive of freedom from fear. In the present instance, the phrase echoes the concluding words of verse {31} "behold, thou art of those who are secure [in this world and in the next]".
The "two signs" (burhanan) may be understood as Moses' ability to remain, by virtue of his certainty of God's omnipresence, forever free of all physical or moral fear, as well as his ability to show that appearance and reality are not always identical.
See footnote for 20:22.
When Moses put his arm through the opening in his collar again, his hand returned to its original colour.
Literally, "draw thy wing close to thy side, (away) from fear". When a bird is frightened, it ruffles its wings and prepares to fly away, but when it is calm and composed, it sits with its wings drawn close to its sides, showing a mind secure from danger. Cf. also n. 2550 to xx. 22.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Sc., "and thus make it impossible for me to accomplish my mission": for, as regards himself, Moses was henceforth free of fear.
It is not that Moses is not reassured from all fear on account of the apparent snake which his rod had become, or from the sacred and unfamiliar surroundings in which he found himself. On this point his heart has been completely assured. But he is still new to his mission, and the future is obscure to his mind. Pharaoh was after him, to take his life, and apparently with good cause, because one of Pharaoh's men had been slain at his hands. And now he is commanded to go to Pharaoh and rebuke him and his Chiefs. The inner doubts and difficulties of his human mind he frankly lays before his Lord, and asks for a little human and visible support, which is granted him at once, viz.; the help of his brother Aaron.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Cf. {20:27-28] and {26:12-13}, as well as the corresponding notes.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
Lit., "so that they will not reach you".
To touch you: to approach you anywhere near, in the wonders and Signs that you will show them under the divine authority with which you are invested.
The potency of Allah's Light is such that its divine rays reach the humblest of those who seek after Him. The Prophets can certainly work wonders, but their sincere followers in Faith can do so also in their own spheres. Wonders may appeal to people, but they are not the highest signs of Allah's workings, and they are around us every day in our lives.
No translation has been selected yet. Please click on the (Compare) link at the top and enable the translations of your choice.
No comments posted for Surah 28