سورة القصص   

Surah Name: Al-Qasas Meaning: The Narratives

  • Revealed at Makkah
  • Total Number of Rukū / Sections 9
  • Total Number of Āyāt / Parts 88
  • Sūrah / Chapter number 28
  • Rukū / Section 1 contains Āyāt / Parts 13
  • Siparah/ Volume 20

bismillah

طسم

Taseenmeem

Ta. Sin. Mim.

(28:1)

تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ

Tilka ayatu alkitabi almubeen(i)

These are verses of the manifest Book.

(28:2)

نَتْلُوا عَلَيْكَ مِن نَّبَإِ مُوسَى وَفِرْعَوْنَ بِالْحَقِّ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ

Natloo AAalayka min nabai moosa wafirAAawna bi(a)lhaqqi liqawmin yuminoon(a)

We recite to you-SW of the story of Musa-AS and the Pharaoh with truth, for a people who believe.

(28:3)

إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَائِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَاءهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيِي نِسَاءهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

Inna firAAawna AAala fee alardi wajaAAala ahlaha shiyaAAan yastadAAifu taifatan minhum yuthabbihu abnaahum wayastahyee nisaahum innahu kana mina almufsideen(a)

Verily the Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people in sects weakening a party among them, slaying their sons and letting their women live. Verily he was of the corrupters.

(28:4)

وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ

Wanureedu an namunna AAala allatheena istudAAifoo fee alardi wanajAAalahum aimmatan wanajAAalahumu alwaritheen(a)

And We-SWT intended that we should be gracious to those who were weakened in the land, and We-SWT should make them leaders, and We-SWT should make them the inheritors.

(28:5)

وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنُرِي فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ

Wanumakkina lahum fee alardi wanuriya firAAawna wahamana wajunoodahuma minhum ma kanoo yahtharoon(a)

And We-SWT should establish them in the land, and We-SWT should let the Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts receive from them what they dreaded.

(28:6)

وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى أُمِّ مُوسَى أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحْزَنِي إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

Waawhayna ila ommi moosa an ardiAAeehi faitha khifti AAalayhi faalqeehi fee alyammi wala takhafee wala tahzanee inna raddoohu ilayki wajaAAiloohu mina almursaleen(a)

And We-SWT inspired the mother of Musa-AS, saying: suckle him-AS, then when you fear for him-AS, cast him-AS into the river and have no fear or sorrow; verily We-SWT are going to restore him-AS to you, and shall make him-AS one of Our envoys.

(28:7)

فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ

Fa(i)ltaqatahu alu firAAawna liyakoona lahum AAaduwwan wahazanan inna firAAawna wahamana wajunoodahuma kanoo khatieen(a)

And the household of the Pharaoh picked him-AS up, that he-AS may ultimately prove for them an enemy and a grief. Verily the Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were sinners.

(28:8)

وَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِّي وَلَكَ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَى أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Waqalati imraatu firAAawna qurratu AAaynin lee walaka la taqtuloohu AAasa an yanfaAAana aw nattakhithahu waladan wahum la yashAAuroon(a)

And the wife of the Pharaoh said: A comfort to me and you! Slay him-AS not, perhaps he-AS may be of benefit to us or we may take him-AS for a son. And they did not perceive.

(28:9)

وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَى فَارِغًا إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْلَا أَن رَّبَطْنَا عَلَى قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Waasbaha fuadu ommi moosa farighan in kadat latubdee bihi lawla an rabatna AAala qalbiha litakoona mina almumineen(a)

And the heart of Musa-AS’s mother became void, and she had well-nigh given up the secret, had We-SWT not fortified her heart, that she might remain one of the believers.

(28:10)

وَقَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَن جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Waqalat liokhtihi qusseehi fabasurat bihi AAan junubin wahum la yashAAuroon(a)

And she said to his-AS sister: Follow him-AS you. So she watched him-AS from afar, and they perceived not.

(28:11)

وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ مِن قَبْلُ فَقَالَتْ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ يَكْفُلُونَهُ لَكُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ نَاصِحُونَ

Waharramna AAalayhi almaradiAAa min qablu faqalat hal adullukum AAala ahli baytin yakfuloonahu lakum wahum lahu nasihoon(a)

And We-SWT had already forbidden other foster-mothers for him-AS; so she said: Shall I direct you to a household who will rear him-AS for you and who would be to him-AS good counsellors.

(28:12)

فَرَدَدْنَاهُ إِلَى أُمِّهِ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ وَلِتَعْلَمَ أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

Faradadnahu ila ommihi kay taqarra AAaynuha wala tahzana walitaAAlama anna waAAda Allahi haqqun walakinna aktharahum la yaAAlamoon(a)

So We-AS restored him-AS to his-AS mother that she might be comforted and not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of Allah-SWT is .true. Yet most of them know not.

(28:13)
In The Name of Allah-SWT the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful
SECRETS OF REVELATION:

Ta. Sin. Mim. These are the Ayat of a Book which expounds on realities. The Holy Prophet-SW is being told the story of Prophet Musa-AS and the Pharaoh as a caution for the believers. Though the Quran addresses the entire mankind, yet only those blessed with faith can benefit from it.

 

Undoubtedly the Pharaoh was a mighty emperor. He had divided his subjects into groups. It has already been explained that the literal meaning of the word Shi’a is a group, a party or an association. However, the Quran has always applied this term to a misguided faction. Here the Pharaoh is said to have grouped his people, into the Copts (Qibtis) who were the elite and the Sibtis or the Bani Israil who were second grade citizens. They were used as slaves. Their male infants used to be slaughtered while the females spared. The Pharaoh had been warned by the astrologers that a boy would be born in the Bani Israil who would depose him. This had turned him into a merciless killer of male infants born to Bani Israil. Indeed he was a tyrant of the worst order.

 

When Allah-SWT Wills The Weak Overpower The Mighty

So Allah-SWT decided to favour the down trodden by making them rulers and chieftains and strip the arrogant of their power, grandeur and wealth. He-SWT made the Pharaoh, his Minister Haman and his legions face the threat they had dreaded, and to avert which they had engaged in the killing of the male infants of Bani Israil. Allah-SWT staged the advent of Prophet Musa-AS into the world and commanded his-AS mother.

 

Divine Dialogue

The word Wahi is used here in the literal sense. Allah-SWT had spoken to her. It is proven that a Wali can be honoured with a Divine Dialogue which is a pretext for action only for his own self, while the dialogue with a Prophet-AS is a source of guidance for his-AS entire Ummah. Prophet Musa-AS's mother was inspired to feed the baby and keep him-AS with her unless she felt real danger. If the Pharaoh's soldiers were to pose any threat to his-AS life, she was to put him-AS in a box and entrust it to the river. She must neither harbour any apprehensions about the safety of the baby, nor grieve over his-AS imminent separation, since he-AS would soon be returned to her lap and would live to be honoured with Messengership, Allah-SWT assured her.

 

Praise be to Him-SWT ! The box was picked up by the Pharaoh's household from a tributary of the main river, flowing through the Royal Palace. The box was spotted by the Pharaoh’s wife and she got it retrieved, unaware of the fact that the baby would grow up to be the Pharaoh's greatest enemy and the very cause of downfall of his empire one day. Of course, the Pharaoh, Haman and their legions were at fault for how could they have countered the Powers of Allah-SWT . When the Pharaoh saw the baby, he intended to kill him for he thought that he must have been abandoned by an Israili woman fearing his assassination. The Pharaoh's issueless wife intervened and persuaded him that the beautiful boy may well be a source of joy for them and grow up to serve them. She suggested adoption and, of course, the couple failed to appreciate what the boy would grow up to be!

 

The Divine Link

On the other end Prophet Musa-AS’s mother woke up next morning in anxiety and restlessness. Had He-SWT not established a link with her Qalb she would have cried out publicly that she had abandoned her baby to the mercy of the river. It is proven that the Qulub of the Aulia’ enjoy a link with Allah-SWT and by its auspiciousness they endure through the most formidable of circumstances in life. The Qalb of Prophet Musa-AS's mother was similarly blessed with this link whereby she remained cool, calm and collected over the safety and return of her son.

 

She had instructed her daughter to walk along the river bank, keeping an eye on the box, while the Pharaoh's folk were unaware of it. When the Pharaoh’s wife summoned wet nurses for the baby to feed him, Allah-SWT forbade the infant from suckling any foster mother. The child's refusal of milk worried the Pharaoh's wife. Taking advantage of the situation, Prophet Musa-AS’s sister said that she knew of a noble and kind hearted woman who would prove to be a very good governess for the baby, apart from being a wet nurse. If desired, she could bring her around. So his-AS mother was summoned and engaged as a wet nurse for her very own son. He-AS began to suckle her and thus she got her son back to behold him-AS, hold him-AS in her lap and rejoice The wages paid by the Pharaoh’s household came as a bonus. She was told not to worry for the future; and to rest assured that the Promise of Allah-SWT is bound to come true. Yet most of the people have no faith.

previousnext