Part 15

We will rehearse unto thee, [O Moḥammad, somewhat] of the history of Moses [Moosá] and Pharaoh [Fir´own or Far´oon],[255] with truth, for _the sake of_ people who believe. Verily Pharaoh exalted himself in the land _of Egypt_, and divided its inhabitants into parties _to serve him_. He rendered weak one class of them, _namely the children of Israel_, slaughtering their male children, and preserving alive their females, _because one of the diviners said unto him, A child will be born among the children of Israel, who will be the means of the loss of thy kingdom;_—for he was [one] of the corrupt doers. And We desired to be gracious unto those who had been deemed weak in the land, and to make them models of religion, and to make them the heirs _of the possessions of Pharaoh_, and to establish them in the land _of Egypt, and in Syria_, and to show Pharaoh and Hámán[256] and their forces what they feared from them. And We said, by revelation, unto the mother of Moses, _the child above-mentioned, of whose birth none knew save his sister_, Suckle him; and when thou fearest for him cast him in the river _Nile_, and fear not _his being drowned_, nor mourn _for his separation_; for We will restore him unto thee, and will make him [one] of the apostles.[257] _So she suckled him three months, during which he wept not; and then she feared for him, wherefore she put him into an ark pitched within and furnished with a bed for him, and she closed it and cast it in the river Nile by night._ And the family (_or servants_) of Pharaoh lighted upon him _in the ark on the morrow of that night_;[258] _so they put it before him, and it was opened, and Moses was taken forth from it, sucking milk from his thumb:_ [this happened] that he might be unto them _eventually_ an enemy (_slaying their men_) and an affliction (_making slaves of their women_); for Pharaoh and Hámán (_his Wezeer_) and their forces were sinners; _wherefore they were punished by his hand_. And the wife of Pharaoh said, _when he and his servants had proposed to kill him_, He _is_ delight of the eye unto me and unto thee: do not ye kill him: peradventure he may be serviceable unto us, or we may adopt him as a son. _And they complied with her desire_; and they knew not _the consequence_.

And the heart of the mother of Moses, _when she knew of his having been lighted upon_, became disquieted; and she had almost made him known _to be her son_, had We not fortified her heart with patience, that she might be [one] of the believers _in Our promise_. And she said unto his sister _Maryam_ [or Mary], Trace him, _that thou mayest know his case_. And she watched him from a distance, while they knew not _that she was his sister and that she was watching him_. And We forbade him the breasts, _preventing him from taking the breast of any nurse except his mother_, before _his restoration to her_: so _his sister_ said, Shall I direct you unto the people of a house who will nurse him for you, and who will be faithful unto him? _And her offer was accepted; therefore she brought his mother, and he took her breast: so she returned with him to her house, as God hath said_,—And We restored him to his mother, that her eye might be cheerful and that she might not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of God _to restore him unto her_ was true: but the greater number of them (_that is, of mankind_) know not _this_. _And it appeared not that this was his sister and this his mother; and he remained with her until she had weaned him; and her hire was paid her, for every day a deenár, which she took_ [without scruple] _because it was the wealth of a hostile person. She then brought him unto Pharaoh, and he was brought up in his abode, as God hath related of him in the Chapter of the Poets,_[259] [where Pharaoh said unto Moses,] _Have we not brought thee up among us a child, and hast thou not dwelt among us_ [thirty] _years of thy life?_

And when he had attained his age of strength (_thirty years or thirty and three_), and had become of full age (_forty years_), We bestowed on him wisdom and knowledge _in religion, before he was sent as a prophet_; and thus do We reward the well-doers. And he entered the city _of Pharaoh, which was Munf_ [or Memphis], _after he had been absent from him a while_, at a time when its inhabitants were inadvertent, _at the hour of the noon-sleep_, and he found therein two men fighting; this [being] of his party (_namely an Israelite_), and this of his enemies (_an Egyptian_), _who was compelling the Israelite to carry firewood to the kitchen of Pharaoh without pay_: and he who was of his party begged him to aid him against him who was of his enemies. _So Moses said unto the latter, Let him go. And it is said that he replied to Moses, I have a mind to put the burden upon thee._ And Moses struck him with his fist, and killed him. _But he intended not to kill him; and he buried him in the sand._ He said, This is of the work of the devil, _who hath excited my anger_; for he is an enemy _unto the son of Adam_, a manifest misleader _of him_. He said, _in repentance_, O my Lord, verily I have acted injuriously unto mine own soul, _by killing him_; therefore forgive me. So He forgave him: for He is the Very Forgiving, the Merciful.—He said, O my Lord, by the favours with which Thou hast favoured me, _defend me_, and I will by no means be an assistant to the sinners _after this_.—And the next morning he was afraid in the city, watching _for what might happen unto him on account of the slain man_; and lo, he who had begged his assistance the day before was crying out to him for aid _against another Egyptian_. Moses said unto him, Verily thou art a person manifestly in error, _because of that which thou hast done yesterday and to-day_. But when he was about to lay violent hands upon him who was an enemy unto them both, (_namely unto Moses and him who begged his aid_,) _the latter_ said, _imagining that he would lay violent hands upon him, because of that which he had said unto him_, O Moses, dost thou desire to kill me, as thou killedst a soul yesterday? Thou desirest not [aught] but to be an oppressor in the land, and thou desirest not to be [one] of the reconcilers.—_And the Egyptian heard that: so he knew that the killer was Moses; wherefore he departed unto Pharaoh and acquainted him therewith, and Pharaoh commanded the executioners to slay Moses, and they betook themselves to seek him._ But a man _who was a believer of the family of Pharaoh_[260] came from the furthest part of the city, running _by a way that was nearer than the way by which they had come_: he said, O Moses, verily the chiefs _of the people of Pharaoh_ are consulting respecting thee, to slay thee; therefore go forth _from the city_: verily I am unto thee [one] of the admonishers. So he went forth from it in fear, watching _in fear of pursuer, or for the aid of God_. He said, O my Lord, deliver me from the unjust people _of Pharaoh_![261]

And when he was journeying towards Medyen, _which was the city of Sho´eyb, eight days’ journey from Miṣr (named after Medyen the son of Abraham), and he knew not the way unto it_, he said, Peradventure my Lord will direct me unto the right way, _or the middle way. And God sent unto him an angel, having in his hand a short spear; and he went with him thither._[262] And when he came unto the water (_or well_) of Medyen, he found at it a company of men watering _their animals_; and he found besides them two women keeping away _their sheep from the water_. He said _unto them_ (_namely the two women_), What is the matter with you _that ye water not_? They answered, We shall not water until the pastors shall have driven away _their animals_; and our father is a very old man, _who cannot water the sheep_. And he watered for them _from another well near unto them, from which he lifted a stone that none could lift but ten persons._ Then he retired to the shade _of an Egyptian thorn-tree on account of the violence of the heat of the sun; and he was hungry_, and he said, O my Lord, verily I am in need of the good _provision_ which Thou shalt send down unto me. _And the two women returned unto their father in less time than they were accustomed to do: so he asked them the reason thereof; and they informed him of the person who had watered for them; whereupon he said unto one of them, Call him unto me._

And one of them[263] came unto him, walking bashfully, _with the sleeve of her shift over her face, by reason of her abashment at him_: she said, My father calleth thee, that he may recompense thee with the reward of thy having watered for us. _And he assented to her call, disliking in his mind the receiving of the reward: but it seemeth that she intended the compensation if he were of such as desired it. And she walked before him; and the wind blew her garment, and her legs were discovered: so he said unto her, Walk behind me and direct me in the way. And she did so, until she came unto her father, who was Sho´eyb, on whom be peace! and with him was_ [prepared] _a supper. He said unto him, Sit and sup. But he replied, I fear lest it be a compensation for my having watered for them, and we are a family who seek not a compensation for doing good. He said, Nay, it is my custom and hath been the custom of my fathers to entertain the guest and to give food. So he ate; and acquainted, him with his case._ And when he had come unto him, and had related to him the story _of his having killed the Egyptian and their intention to kill him and his fear of Pharaoh_, he replied, Fear not: thou hast escaped from the unjust people. (_For Pharaoh had no dominion over Medyen._) One of them [namely of the women] said (_and she was the one who had been sent_), O my father, hire him _to tend our sheep in our stead_; for the best whom thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. _So he asked her respecting him, and she acquainted him with what hath been above related, his lifting up the stone of the well, and his saying unto her, Walk behind me;—and moreover, that when she had come unto him, and he knew of her presence, he hung down his head and raised it not._ He _therefore_ said, Verily I desire to marry thee unto one of these my two daughters, on the condition that thou shalt be a hired servant to me, _to tend my sheep_, eight years; and if thou fulfil ten _years_, it shall be of thine own will; and I desire not to lay a difficulty upon thee _by imposing as a condition the ten years_: thou shalt find me, if God please, [one] of the just, _who are faithful to their covenants_. He replied, This [be the covenant] between me and thee: whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there shall be no injustice against me _by demanding an addition thereto_; and God is witness of what we say. _And the marriage-contract was concluded according to this; and Sho´eyb ordered his daughter to give unto Moses a rod wherewith to drive away the wild beasts from his sheep: and the rods of the prophets were in his possession; and the rod of Adam, of the myrtle of paradise, fell into her hand; and Moses took it, with the knowledge of Sho´eyb._

(xxviii. 21-28.)

Hath the history of Moses been related to thee? when he saw fire,[264] _during his journey from Medyen, on his way to Egypt_, and said unto his family, _or his wife_, Tarry ye _here_; for I have seen fire: perhaps I may bring you a brand from it, or find at the fire a guide _to direct me in the way. For he had missed the way in consequence of the darkness of the night._ And when he came unto it (_and it was a bramble-bush_), he was called to [by a voice saying], O Moses, verily I am thy Lord; therefore pull off thy shoes;[265] for thou art in the holy valley of Ṭuwa. And I have chosen thee _from among thy people_; wherefore hearken attentively unto that which is revealed _unto thee by Me_. Verily I am God: there is no Deity except Me; therefore worship Me, and perform prayer in remembrance of Me. Verily the hour is coming: I will manifest it _unto mankind, and its nearness shall appear unto them by its signs_, that every soul may be recompensed _therein_ for its good and evil work: therefore let not him who believeth not in it, and followeth his lust, hinder thee from _believing in_ it, lest thou perish. And what is that in thy right hand, O Moses?—He answered, It is my rod, whereon I lean and wherewith I beat down leaves for my sheep _that they may eat them_; and I have other uses for it, _as the carrying of provision and the water-skin, and the driving away of reptiles_. He said, Cast it down, O Moses. So he cast it down; and lo, it was a serpent,[266] running along. _God_ said, Take it, and fear _it_ not:[267] we will restore it to its former state. _And he put his hand into its mouth; whereupon it became again a rod._ [And God said,] And put thy _right_ hand to thy _left_ arm-pit, _and take it forth_: it shall come forth white, without evil, (_that is, without leprosy; shining like the rays of the sun, dazzling the sight,_) as another sign, that We may show thee the greatest of our signs _of thine apostleship_. (_And when he desired to restore his hand to its first state, he put it as before described, and drew it forth._) Go _as an apostle_ unto Pharaoh _and those who are with him_; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety _by arrogating to himself divinity_.—_Moses_ said, O my Lord, dilate my bosom, _that it may hear the message_, and make my affair easy unto me, and loose the knot of my tongue (_this had arisen from his having been burned in his mouth by a live coal when he was a child_),[268] that they may understand my speech _when I deliver the message_. And appoint unto me a Wezeer of my family, _namely_ Aaron [Hároon] my brother. Strengthen my back by him, and make him a colleague in my affair, that we may glorify Thee much, and remember Thee much; for Thou knowest us.

God replied, Thou hast obtained thy petition, O Moses, and We have been gracious unto thee another time: forasmuch as We revealed unto thy mother what was revealed, _when she gave birth to thee and feared that Pharaoh would kill thee among the others that were born_, [saying,] Cast him into the ark, and then cast him, _in the ark_, into the river _Nile_, and the river shall throw him on the shore; then an enemy unto Me and an enemy unto him (_namely Pharaoh_) shall take him. And I bestowed on thee, _after he had taken thee_, love from Me, _that thou mightest be loved by men, so that Pharaoh and all that saw thee loved thee_; and that thou mightest be bred up in Mine eye. [Also] forasmuch as thy sister _Maryam_ went _that she might learn what became of thee, after they had brought nurses and thou hadst refused to take the breast of any one of them_, and she said, Shall I direct you unto one who will nurse him? (_whereupon her proposal was_ _accepted, and she brought his mother_): so We restored thee to thy mother, that her eye might become cheerful and that she might not grieve. And thou slewest a soul, _namely the Copt in Egypt, and wast sorry for his slaughter, on account of Pharaoh_, and We delivered thee from sorrow; and We tried thee with _other_ trial, _and delivered thee from it_.[269] And thou stayedst _ten_ years among the people of Medyen, _after thou hadst come thither from Egypt, at the abode of Sho´eyb the prophet, and he married thee to his daughter._ Then thou camest according to _My_ decree, _as to the time of thy mission, when thou hadst attained the age of forty years_, O Moses; and I have chosen thee for Myself. Go thou and thy brother[270] _unto the people_, with My _nine_ signs, and cease ye not to remember Me. Go ye unto Pharaoh; for he hath acted with exceeding impiety, _by arrogating to himself divinity_, and speak unto him with gentle speech, _exhorting him to relinquish that conduct_: peradventure he will consider, or will fear _God, and repent_. (_The_ [mere] _hope with respect to the two_ [results is expressed] _because of God’s knowledge that he would not repent._)—They replied, O our Lord, verily we fear that he may be precipitately violent against us, _hastening to punish us_, or that he may act with exceeding injustice _towards us_. He said, Fear ye not; for I am with you: I will hear and will see. Therefore go ye unto him, and say, Verily we are the apostles of thy Lord: therefore send with us the children of Israel _unto Syria_, and do not afflict them, _but cease to employ them in thy difficult works, such as digging and building and carrying the heavy burden_. We have come unto thee with a sign from thy Lord, _attesting our veracity in asserting ourselves apostles_: and peace be on him who followeth the right direction:—_that is, he shall be secure from punishment_. Verily it hath been revealed unto us that punishment [shall be inflicted] upon him who chargeth with falsehood _that wherewith we have come_, and turneth away _from it_.

(xx. 8-50.)

Then We sent after them, _namely the apostles before mentioned_ [who were Sho´eyb and his predecessors], Moses, with Our signs unto Pharaoh and his nobles, and they acted unjustly with respect to them, _disbelieving in the signs_: but see what was the end of the corrupt doers. And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle from the Lord of the worlds _unto thee_. _But he charged him with falsehood: so he said, I am_ right not to say of God aught but the truth. I have come unto you with a proof from your Lord: therefore send with me _to Syria_ the children of Israel.—_Pharaoh_ said _unto him_, If thou hast come with a sign _confirmatory of thy pretension_, produce it, if thou be of those who speak truth, So he cast down his rod; and lo, it was a manifest serpent.[271] And he drew forth his hand _from his bosom_; and lo, it was white _and radiant_ unto the beholders.[272] The nobles of the people of Pharaoh said, Verily this is a knowing enchanter: he desireth to expel you from your land. What then do ye command?—They answered, Put off for a time him and his brother, and send unto the cities collectors [of the inhabitants], that they may bring unto thee every knowing enchanter. And the enchanters came unto Pharaoh. They said, Shall we surely have a reward if we be the party who overcome? He answered, Yea; and verily ye shall be of those who are admitted near [unto my person]. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down _thy rod_, or we will cast down _what we have with us_. He replied, Cast ye. And when they cast down _their cords and their rods_, they enchanted the eyes of the men, _diverting them from the true perception of them_; and they terrified them; _for they imagined them to be serpents running_; and they performed a great enchantment.[273] And We spake by revelation unto Moses, [saying,] Cast down thy rod. And lo, it swallowed up what they had caused to appear changed.[274] So the truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought became vain; and they were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible. And the enchanters cast themselves down prostrate:[275] they said, We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh said, Have ye believed in Him before I have given you permission? Verily this is a plot that ye have contrived in the city, that ye may cause its inhabitants to go forth from it. But ye shall know _what shall happen unto you at my hand_. I will assuredly cut off your hands and your feet on the opposite sides—_the right hand of each and his left foot_: then I will crucify you all.—They replied. Verily unto our Lord shall we return, _after our death, of whatever kind it be_; and thou dost not take vengeance on us but because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came unto us. O our Lord, pour upon us patience, and cause us to die Muslims![276]

(vii. 101-123.)

And Pharaoh said, Let me alone, that I may kill Moses, (_for they had diverted him from killing him_,) and let him call upon his Lord _to defend him from me_. Verily I fear lest he change your religion, _and prevent your worshipping me_, or that he may cause corruption to appear in the earth (_that is, slaughter, and other offences_).—And Moses said _unto his people, having heard this_, Verily I have recourse for defence unto my Lord and your Lord from every proud person who believeth not in the day of account. And a man [who was] a believer, of the family of Pharaoh (_it is said that he was the son of his paternal uncle_,)[277] who concealed his faith, said, Will ye kill a man because he saith, My Lord is God,—when he hath come unto you with evident proofs from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him [will be] _the evil consequence of_ his lie; but if he be a speaker of truth, somewhat of that _punishment with_ which he threateneth you will befall you _speedily_. Verily God directeth not him who is a transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a liar. O my people, ye have the dominion to-day, being overcomers in the land _of Egypt_; but who will defend us from the punishment of God _if ye kill his favourite servants_, if it come unto us?[278]—Pharaoh said, I will not advise you to do [aught] save what I see to be advisable, _which is, to kill Moses_; and I will not direct you save into the right way. And he who had believed said, O my people, verily I fear for you the like of the day of the confederates,[279] the like of the condition of the people of Noah and ´Ád and Thamood and those who [have lived] after them: and God willeth not injustice unto [His] servants. And, O my people, verily I fear for you the day of calling (_that is, the day of resurrection, when the people of Paradise and those of Hell shall often call one to another_). On the day when ye shall turn back _from the place of reckoning unto hell_, ye shall have no protector against God. And he whom God shall cause to err shall have no director. Moreover, Joseph (_who was Joseph the son of Jacob according to one opinion, and who lived unto the time of Moses; and Joseph the son of Abraham the son of Joseph the son of Jacob, according to another opinion_) came unto you before _Moses_, with evident _miraculous_ proofs; but ye ceased not to be in doubt respecting that wherewith he came unto you, until, when he died, ye said _without proof_ God will by no means send an apostle after him. Thus God causeth to err him who is a transgressor, _or polytheist_, [and] a sceptic. They who dispute respecting the signs of God, without any convincing proof having come unto them, _their disputing_ is very hateful with God and with those who have believed. Thus God sealeth every heart (_or the whole heart_) of a proud contumacious person.