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_-_The_Birth_and_Upbringing_of_Moses_001.jpg) Prophet Moses is a figure of importance in of the Bible
as well as the Quran. The Torah is attributed to him by all fundamental Jews,
Christians and Muslims, and he is mentioned in each of their scriptures more
than any other Prophet in regards to the delivery of the message. The Psalms
and Tanakh (Jewish Bible) constantly refer to the debt which the
Israelites owe God for their salvation from the Pharaoh, in which Moses was
instrumental. It was also him through which the Law of God was given to the
Children of Israel, a code which they were commanded to abide throughout life..
In the Gospels, Jesus often compares his own authority to that of Moses
amongst the Jews. The letters of Paul are devoted to demonstrating the
replacement of the authority and Law of Moses with the authority and Law of
Jesus as a means to salvation. In the Quran, it not only mentions the story of
Moses more than any other prophet’s, but also acknowledges the Torah of Moses
as the earlier revelation of God, the original of which the Quran confirms and
replaces (in its application).
In looking at Moses as an exemplary Messenger,
Muslims perceive many similarities between him and the Prophet Muhammad, may
God praise them both. Both of them were guided to form a strong and abiding
nation under God’s authority. Both brought with them God’s Law, albeit in
different languages. Both were given their duty as a prophet well into
maturity. Both were ordered to migrate for the sake of Allah. One of the
major differences, however, is in the characteristics of their respective
followers. The children of Israel are so characterized by their obduracy that the
prize Moses sought (leading his people into Jerusalem, the focal point of worship
for the Children of Israel) never materialized in his lifetime. On the other
hand, the followers of Muhammad were pliable and eager, so much so that a mere
seven years after fleeing Mecca, the focal point of Muslim worship was retaken and
made subservient to them.
In
this article and the ones following, the story of Moses will be told as
mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah,
along with some discussion on the similarities and differences encountered in
the Christian and Judaic traditions.
The Story of His Birth and Upbringing
The epoch of the birth of Moses was one fraught
with severe trials on the children of Israel. The Pharaoh had consulted his seers
over a dream that a fire from the north destroyed the property of his Egyptian
subjects, sparing the property, however, of the Israeli bondsmen. His seers
explained this to be a warning that a leader would arise among the Israelites
who would bring him and his nation to ruin. His reaction was to try and prevent
this from happening by killing all the male children among the Israeli bondsmen.
Some traditions indicate that the Pharaoh was given sincere advice not to
carry out this policy completely, as it would result in a loss of man-power.
Hence Aaron was born in a year when male children were allowed to live, but
Moses in a year when all male children were to be killed. The exact truth of
this, however, is not known; perhaps the policy of male infanticide was not put
into practice until after Aaron’s birth.
Moses’ mother, Jochebed,
was fortunate in that her pregnancy was not visible until very late, so she was
able to conceal his birth. After he was born, she placed him in a padded chest
with air-holes and let him down into the reeds on the banks of the Nile when not feeding him, so that any
sudden search by the Pharaoh’s police would not discover him. This was in
accordance with God’s instructions.
“And We inspired the mother of Moses, (saying): ‘Suckle
him, but when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear nor
grieve. Verily! We shall return him to you, and shall make him one of Our
Messengers.’” (Quran 28:7)
_-_The_Birth_and_Upbringing_of_Moses_002.jpg) When he was a little stronger, she was inspired by God to
let loose the chest, but became
so worried concerning what would happen to him, she almost disclosed that she
had a son in that chest in an effort to motivate people to observe where he had
floated off to. However, she managed to keep everything under cover by
dispatching her daughter, Miriam, to secretly seek out what became of him. Miriam
witnessed some ladies of the Pharaoh’s court discover the chest and take it
into the Pharaoh’s Palace. When the
Pharaoh’s wife, Asiyah, opened the chest and saw the baby boy, she said:
“A comfort for the eye for me and you. Don’t kill
him; he may be of benefit to us, or we could adopt him as our son.”(Quran 28:9)
As Asiyah was childless, she needed a wet
nurse to feed her new-found babe.
According to Judeo-Christian traditions, Miriam
witnesses her brother being found by the maids of the Pharaoh’s daughter, Merytamon,
who came across Moses floating in a basket amongst the reeds while walking with
the Princess near the river. basket
was not taken to the palace, but brought to Merytamon there, on the
bank. Miriam then took the opportunity to offer to find the baby a wet nurse
straight away. This seems a little too obvious a move, one that may have led
the Egyptians to suspect the offer. According to Islamic sources, however, there
seems to be an interval in which the Pharaoh’s approval was sought.
When Asiyah tried to find a suitable wet nurse
among her retainers, however, she discovered that he would not suckle anyone. She
sent him with her midwives to the market, seeking help further afield, where his
sister spotted him again. It was there that Miriam offered to take them to a
trustworthy ‘nursing’ mother.
“She said, ‘Shall I direct you to a household who will
rear him for you, and look after him in a good manner?’” (Quran 28:12)
She brought them to her mother, from whom the
baby Moses at last suckled with will. On being informed of the matter, Asiyah
asked Jochebed to lodge with her. She refused, but agreed to foster the
baby in her home for a wage, as was the custom of that day.
Thus did God…
“…restore him to his mother, that her eye might be
comforted and she might not grieve, and that she would know the promise
of God to be true.” (Quran 28:13)
When the Moses was weaned, he went back to Asiyah
in the Pharaoh’s palace, and was thus brought up as a member of the court with
all the privileges that it implied. His supposed foster relations with the
Israelites made him sympathetic to them and also, reciprocally, encouraged them
to trust him, so, as he grew up and reached puberty, they were inclined to seek
his help when in need. This is what catalyzed the next step in the mission of
Moses when he reached adulthood, as will be narrated in the next article.
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