Ramadan Reflections 1444/2023 Part 25
The Story of The Heart of the Mother of Moses
In Surah 28 Al-Qasas/The Stories [Verses 1-14], Allah tells us some of the important details of the circumstances surrounding the birth of the great Prophet Musa/Moses. It is the story of Moses that is most oft repeated in The Qur’an, because in his story are profound insight, lessons, and matters of grave importance and relevance until the end of time and his story was always a consolation for the Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
“Ṭâ-Sĩn-Mĩm. These are the verses of the clear Book. We narrate to you ˹O Prophet˺ part of the story of Moses and Pharaoh in truth for people who believe. Indeed, Pharaoh ˹arrogantly˺ elevated himself in the land and divided its people into ˹subservient˺ groups, one of which he persecuted, slaughtering their sons and keeping their women. He was truly one of the corruptors. But it was Our Will to favour those who were oppressed in the land, making them models ˹of faith˺ as well as successors; and to establish them in the land; and through them show Pharaoh, Hamân, and their soldiers ˹the fulfilment of˺ what they feared. 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.” And ˹it so happened that˺ Pharaoh’s people picked him up, only to become their enemy and source of grief. Surely Pharaoh, Hamân, and their soldiers were wrongdoers. Pharaoh’s wife said ˹to him˺, “˹This baby is˺ a source of joy for me and you. Do not kill him. Perhaps he may be useful to us or we may adopt him as a son.” They were unaware ˹of what was to come˺. And the heart of Moses' mother became empty [of all else]. She was about to disclose [the matter concerning] him had We not bound fast her heart that she would be of the believers.And she said to his sister, “Keep track of him!” So she watched him from a distance, while they were unaware. And We had caused him to refuse all wet-nurses at first, so his sister suggested, “Shall I direct you to a family who will bring him up for you and take good care of him?” This is how We returned him to his mother so that her eye would be comforted, and she not grieve, and that she would know that Allah’s promise is ˹always˺ true. But most people do not know. And when he reached full strength and maturity, We gave him wisdom and knowledge. This is how We reward the good-doers.”
[Surah 28 Al-Qasas/The Stories, Verses 1-14]
1. In a year, when pharaoh was killing all the male children of the Israelites, a great prophet is born in this challenging time. Allah inspires (وَأَوْحَيْنَآ) the Mother of Musa to suckle him (for nourishment and provision for a difficult journey ahead of the baby); and when the times comes when she begins to fear for him (from the soldiers of Pharaoh sent to kill all male babies), to put it Musa into the Nile river. This is so interesting, because when danger arises, the immediate maternal instinct of a mother is to clutch her child closer and tuck the child as close to her as possible and hide away. On the contrary, Allah is commanding the Mother of Moses to do an incredibly difficult and public thing; to send her child away in a box, placed in the River Nile (a powerful river, which we know is infested with crocodiles), to float away to an unknown destination. Imagine the courage, strength, and fortitude that the Mother of Musa had to call upon from deep within her core self, to obey this Divine Commandment that came in the form of direct inspiration. Her Lord reassures Ummi Musa not to be sad or to grieve but as all mothers know, when we have children, our heart no longer belongs to us - our heart metaphorically walks outside our bodies, accompanying our children wherever they may go, no matter how old they get, until the breath leaves our bodies.
2. Allah then makes the Mother of Moses two promises: your child will be returned to you and he will be one of the Messengers of God.
3. Now we come to the state of the heart (فُؤَادُ) of the Ummi Musa. Her heart (as a vessel) became void and empty of all other concerns except for the paramount, constricting and suffocating concern for her son, which eclipsed all else. The Arabic word used here for heart in this context, is ‘fuad’. This is a heart that is kindled, inflamed, throbbing and burning with emotion and feeling; because of the pulsating nature of the intensity of what this heart is feeling, it has the potential and ability to override reason, logic and The Divine Command issued to Ummi Musa which is the prerogative of the heart known as the 'qalb'.
Thus the overwhelming anguish felt by the Mother of Musa brought her to her breaking point of disclosing what she had done to her child. Had she done so, she would have placed him in greater danger, because it would have become known who he was.
4. As her emotional state brought her to the the brink of disaster, Allah strengthened/tied/shored up/scaffolded her heart (رَّبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا) so that she would be of those who had deep inner faith and conviction in her heart, and she would be of those who obeyed the commandment of Allah in its entirety. It’s fascinating that in this context a different word, ‘qalb’, is used to describe the heart of the Mother of Musa, where previously in the same verse, ‘fuad’ was used. It’s these subtle nuances that are sadly lost when the Qur’an is read in a language other than Arabic. The ‘qalb’ is the command centre of the human being. It’s the qalb that requires frequent purification in order for it to be a sound compass oriented and pointed in the Divine Direction. This is the ultimate purpose of The Month of Ramadan. To bring the heart back to Allah foriIt is the ‘qalb’ in which TAQWA, SHUKR and RUSHD reside. And it is only a qalb-un-saleem that will save us on The Day of Rising. It’s also interesting to note that in the story of the Youth of the Cave in Surah 18 Al-Kahf/The Cave, the ‘qalb’ of the youth were also tied up/strengthened/scaffolded (رَّبَطْنَا) when they stood up and took action for the sake of protecting and preserving their deen, in devout obedience to Allah.
5. The intelligence of the Mother of Musa is evident, because as she obeys the Divine Command, she also uses her intellect, reason and logic, to direct her daughter, the sister of Musa, to follow her baby and keep an eye on him from a distance, to see where the baby travelled to down the river.
6. When the baby who is divinely inspired refuses to nurse from anyone else, the sister steps in confidently to direct them anonymously back to the Mother of Moses, as a wet nurse for the baby, who is to be adopted by Pharaoh and his wife, Queen Aasiyah (her story will follow tomorrow insha'Allah). The young sister of Musa, is clearly a child raised with the ability to obey and follow parental directions, with courage, confidence and spoken eloquence, as she speaks in the Palace of Pharaoh, on behalf of her mother and brother but in an intelligent and bold manner, as to not arouse suspicion or cause harm to come to her, the baby or her mother. This is exactly how we need to raise our daughter - to follow in the footsteps of the Mother and Sister of Musa.
7. Allah, keeping His first Promise to Ummi Musa, restores the baby to her bosom, so that she would be comforted and her eye would not grieve, and that she (and by extension we) would know that The Promise of Allah is always true. Allah fulfilled the first Promise He made to The Mother of Musa to her in the immediate future by returning her son to her, and then later He fulfilled the second Promise, when Musa reached full strength and maturity, when Allah gave Musa wisdom and knowledge and appointed Musa a Messenger and a Great Prophet who was commanded to confront Pharaoh.
Lastly, I want to say to you dear mothers, and I want to especially say this to the single mothers who are reading this, that when you have to make utterly difficult decisions on behalf of yourself and your children, and you find yourself second guessing yourself after you have made isthishara (consultation with others) and the prayer of isthikhara (guidance), then put your trust in Allah and ask Allah to tie up/strengthen/scaffold (رَّبَطْنَا) your ‘qalb’, the way Allah did for Ummi Musa, such that your ‘fuad’ doesn’t overwhelm you with its throbbing and pulsating passion, emotion and feelings. Truly, it doesn’t matter who is not with you or who is against you, because as long as you have Allah with you, you need nothing and no one else.
It is narrated in the 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi…
On the authority of Abu Abbas Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: One day I was behind the Prophet ﷺ [riding on the same mount] and he said, “O young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, then ask Allah [alone]; and if you seek help, then seek help from Allah [alone]. And know that if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah had already prescribed against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.” It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said it was a good and sound hadeeth. Another narration, other than that of Tirmidhi, reads: Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. Recognize and acknowledge Allah in times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember you in times of adversity. And know that what has passed you by [and you have failed to attain] was not going to befall you, and what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and hardship with ease.
والله أعلم
