Tafsir of Surah Ta-Ha - Verse 38

Glad Tidings of the acceptance of Musa's Supplication and the Reminder of the Previous Blessings

This is a response from Allah to His Messenger, Musa, for what he requested from His Lord. It also contains a reminder of Allah's previous favors upon him. The first was inspiring his mother when she was breastfeeding him and she feared that Fir`awn and his chiefs would kill him. Musa was born during a year in which they (Fir`awn's people) were killing all of the male children. So she placed him in a case and cast him into the river. The river carried him away and she became grieved and distressed, as Allah mentioned about her when He said,

وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَى فَارِغاً إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِى بِهِ لَوْلا أَن رَّبَطْنَا عَلَى قَلْبِهَا

(And the heart of the mother of Musa became empty. She was very near to disclose his (case) had We not strengthened her heart.) 28:10 So the river carried him to the home of Fir`awn.

فَالْتَقَطَهُ ءَالُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوّاً وَحَزَناً

(Then the people of Fir`awn picked him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a (cause of ) grief.) 28:8 Means that this was a destined matter, decreed by Allah. They were killing the male children of the Israelites for fear of Musa's arrival. Therefore, with Allah having the great authority and the most perfect power, He determined that Musa would not be raised except upon Fir`awn's own bed. He would be sustained by Fir`awn's food and drink, while receiving the love of Fir`awn and his wife. This is why Allah said,

يَأْخُذْهُ عَدُوٌّ لِّى وَعَدُوٌّ لَّهُ وَأَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِّنِّى

(and there, an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his shall take him. And I endued you with love from Me,) This means that I made your enemy love you. Salamah bin Kuhayl said,

وَأَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِّنِّى

(And I endued you with love from Me,) "This means, `I made My creatures love you.' "

وَلِتُصْنَعَ عَلَى عَيْنِى

(in order that you may be brought up under My Eye.) Abu `Imran Al-Jawni said, "This means, `You will be raised under Allah's Eye.' " Concerning Allah's statement,

إِذْ تَمْشِى أُخْتُكَ فَتَقُولُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى مَن يَكْفُلُهُ فَرَجَعْنَـكَ إِلَى أُمِّكَ كَى تَقَرَّ عَيْنُها

(When your sister went and said: `Shall I show you one who will nurse him' So We restored you to your mother, that she might cool her eyes) When he was accepted into the house of Fir`awn, women were brought in attempts to find someone who might be able to nurse him. But he refused to breast feed from any of them. Allah, the Exalted, says,

وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ مِن قَبْلُ

(And We had already forbidden (other) foster suckling mothers for him) 28:12 Then, his sister came and said,

هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ يَكْفُلُونَهُ لَكُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ نَـصِحُونَ

(Shall I direct you to a household who will rear him for you, and look after him in a good manner) 28:12 She meant, "Shall I guide you to someone who can nurse him for you for a fee" So she took him and they went with her to his real mother. When her breast was presented to him, he took it and they (Fir`awn's family) were extremely happy for this. Thus, they hired her to nurse him and she achieved great happiness and comfort because of him, in this life and even more so in the Hereafter. Allah, the Exalted, says here,

فَرَجَعْنَـكَ إِلَى أُمِّكَ كَى تَقَرَّ عَيْنُها وَلاَ تَحْزَنَ

(So We restored you to your mother, that she might cool her eyes and she should not grieve.) This means that she should not grieve over you.

وَقَتَلْتَ نَفْساً

(Then you killed man,) This means that he killed a Coptic person (the people of Egypt, Fir`awn's people).

فَنَجَّيْنَـكَ مِنَ الْغَمِّ

(but We saved you from great distress) This is what he was feeling due to Fir`awn's family intending to kill him. So he fled from them until he came to the water of the people of Madyan. This is when the righteous man said to him,

لاَ تَخَفْ نَجَوْتَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(Fear you not. You have escaped from the people who are wrongdoers.) 28:25

إِذْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّكَ مَا يُوحَىٰ (When We revealed to your mother what was to be revealed - 20:38) It means that the information given to the mother of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was about a matter which could be learnt only through Divine revelation. This was that the Pharaoh's soldiers had orders to put to death all the male children belonging to the tribe of Bani Isra'il. She was told by means of a revelation that in order to save the life of her son she should put him in a box and float it down the river. She was re-assured not to entertain any apprehensions about his safety because Allah Ta’ ala would protect him and also return him to her. These are things which cannot be learnt by conjecture or guess work. The promise of Allah Ta` ala, and the divine scheme to save his life are beyond human conception and can be made known through Divine revelation only.

Can a Revelation be sent to a person who is not a Prophet?

The truth of the matter is that the literal meaning of the word وَحِی (Wahy) is a secret message which can be understood only by the person to whom it is addressed and by no one else. According to this literal sense, the word وَحِی (Wahy) is not restricted to the prophets only and it can be used for people at large and even to animals. In the verse أَوْحَىٰ رَ‌بُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ (16:68) the word has been used in its literal and general sense, i.e. instructing the bees by means of ; Wahy. Similarly in this verse أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّكَ (20:38) the word has been used in its general meaning and this does not necessarily mean that she was a prophet. Sayyidah Maryam (علیہا السلام) also received Divine messages though the scholars unanimously hold the view that she was not a prophet. The Wahy of this type is made by means of a Divine inspiration (Ilham اِلھَام). Allah Ta'ala puts an idea into someone's heart and then confirms him in the belief that it is from Allah Ta` ala. Saints and other devout people receive such inspirations. Abu Hayyan and some other scholars hold that sometimes such inspirations can be made through angels as happened to Sayyidnh Maryam (علیہا السلام) when Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) appeared before her in the form of a human being and conveyed to her the will of Allah Ta` a1a. These inspirations (Ilham: اِلھَام), however, are specific to the person to whom they are made and are not meant for public or to be used for the propagation of the True Faith, whereas the Wahy which is revealed to the prophets aims at appointing someone to reform people and enjoining upon him to invite people to the True Faith. It is the duty of such a person not only to have complete faith in His Wahy himself, but also to bind others to accept his prophethood and the Wahy and to pronounce as infidels those who deny him.

This is the difference between وَحِی اِلھَام (Wahy in the sense of Ilham) or literal وَحِی and وَحِی نبوّت (the wahy of a prophet) or technical Wahy. Literal Wahy has always been there and will be there forever, whereas the prophethood and (Wahy of a prophet) have ceased with the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، who was the last Prophet. Some respected scholars have given them the names of وَحِی تشریعی (legislative Wahy) and وَحِی غیر تشریعی (non-legislative Wahy). The false prophet of Qadiyan has used these definitions and certain writings of Sheikh Muhiyy-uddin Ibn ` Arabi in support of his claim to prophethood. His arguments, however, are contrary to what Ibn ` Arabi himself has written. A detailed discussion of this question will be found in my book خَتمِ نبوّت۔ (Khatme Nabuwwat).

The name of the mother of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام)

In Ruh ul-Ma` ani her name is given as Yuhanadh (یُحَانذ) and in Itqan it is said that her name was Lihyana daughter of Yasmad Ibn Lawi (لحیانہ بنت یصمد بن لاوی). Others say her name was Barkha ( (بَارخَا and still others say that it was Bazakht (بَازخت). Some people who dispense charms and amulets attribute strange properties to her name but according to Ruh u1-Ma` ani there is no basis for such a belief and probably it is nothing more than a hoax to entice innocent and ignorant people.

The original inhabitants of Egypt were the Copts (Qibti) whose political and religious representative was Pharaoh. The other community there was that of the the Children of Israel (Israelites) who had migrated and settled there during the period of Joseph (Yusuf). At the time of Moses’ birth, Pharaoh, intending the complete extermination of the Israelite race, had given orders for all male children born in Israelite homes to be killed. Moses’s mother, inspired by God, placed her baby in a basket and set it adrift on the waters of the river Nile, in order to save him from being killed. The basket floated down the river and reached a spot near the royal palace where Pharaoh and his wife saw him. Moved by pity for the small child, they took him and kept him in the palace. Thereafter, at the suggestion of Moses’s sister, his mother was appointed to breast-feed him. It was a miracle of God that Moses was brought up and educated by that very Pharaoh who would have had him killed, had he known his identity, and who was later to become his greatest enemy. When Moses grew up, he intervened in a quarrel between an Egyptian and an Israelite. When he took the Egyptian to task, the latter died quite unexpectedly. Then, orders were issued by the government for Moses to be arrested. But, Moses secretly left Egypt and reached Midian. There in the desert, he had many new experiences. After the Egyptian’s being killed, Moses prayed with great fervour to Almighty God, as a result of which He led Moses to understand that this incident could afford him valuable lessons.