Surah Al-Qasas (28) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ { وَ اَوْحَيْنَاۤ اِلٰۤى اُمِّ مُوْسٰۤى:} The literal meaning of "wahy" is a secret and swift signal. To make wahy means to put something secretly into the heart. Here, a part of the speech is omitted, that the favor upon the oppressed Children of Israel began from here, that the mother of the boy who was to become the means of their salvation became pregnant with him in the year in which their boys were being slaughtered. The name of his father has been stated by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as Imran. [ دیکھیے مسلم، الإیمان، باب الإسراء برسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم … : ۲۶۷ /۱۶۵ ] Before this, his brother Harun (peace be upon him) had been born in the year in which boys were not being killed. See the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (49). The name of his mother has not been mentioned by Allah Almighty, nor has the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) mentioned it. Some commentators have stated her name as "Yarfit" and some as "Luha," but this is not established from any authentic reference. The Quran mentions her as {’’اُمّ موسيٰ‘‘}.
➋ Here, Allah Almighty has mentioned Himself in the plural form in {’’ اَوْحَيْنَاۤ ‘‘} and in the words to come, to express His greatness, because royal decrees are usually issued in the plural form, and Allah Almighty is the King of kings and the Sovereign. The purpose is that whatever happened was the result of Our power and wisdom; otherwise, such a thing could not have happened.
➌ The literal meaning of wahy is a secret and swift signal. How Allah Almighty made this wahy to the mother of Musa, this has not been specified. He inspired her (put it into her heart) or showed her a dream; in any case, this wahy was to inform her of a few matters, not the wahy of prophethood. Because there is consensus among all scholars that the mother of Musa (peace be upon him) was not a prophetess, because all prophets were men. (See Al-Anbiya: 7) Some commentators say that an angel came to her; even in that case, it will be said that sometimes angels come to non-prophets as well, as an angel came to Maryam bint Imran (peace be upon her) and gave her the glad tidings of the birth of Masih (peace be upon him). (See Maryam: 16 to 21) In Sahih Bukhari (3464) and Sahih Muslim (2964), the story of the bald, the leper, and the blind man is mentioned, that an angel came to them and spoke with them. In Sunan Kubra Bayhaqi's authentic hadith (9110), it is mentioned that angels greeted Imran bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him), but this did not make him a prophet.
➍ { اَنْ اَرْضِعِيْهِ:} Allah Almighty made wahy to the mother of Musa that she should nurse her child for some time, so that his initial nutritional needs would be fulfilled, because nothing can fulfill that need better than the mother's milk, and his body would become somewhat strong, so that he could endure the interval from the last nursing before being put into the river until he would receive the milk of a wet nurse. Within "nurse him" is also the command that during this period, keep him hidden at all costs, so that no one becomes aware of him. In reality, the entire period of pregnancy, then at the time of birth, and even for some time while nursing, it was a miraculous arrangement of Allah Almighty that the wet nurses appointed by Pharaoh and his spies did not become aware of this matter, which is mentioned in Surah Ta-Ha (39) with the words {’’ وَ لِتُصْنَعَ عَلٰى عَيْنِيْ ‘‘}. How long was this nursing period? Three months, or six months, or a year—Allah Almighty knows best, because its specification is not established from any authentic source.
➎ {فَاِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَاَلْقِيْهِ فِي الْيَمِّ:} Its details are in Surah Ta-Ha (38 to 40).
➏ { وَ لَا تَخَافِيْ وَ لَا تَحْزَنِيْ:} Fear is of an impending danger, and grief is of a past loss. It is said, when you sense the danger of Pharaoh's spies, then cast him into the river, and do not fear that he will be lost, or that any harm will come to him, and do not grieve that why did I cast my child into the river.
➐ { اِنَّا رَآدُّوْهُ اِلَيْكِ وَ جَاعِلُوْهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ:} The commentators have described the miraculous nature of Allah's speech in this verse, that in this brief verse, Allah Almighty has commanded the mother of Musa to do two things, i.e., {’’ اَنْ اَرْضِعِيْهِ ‘‘} and {’’ فَاَلْقِيْهِ فِي الْيَمِّ ‘‘}, and has forbidden her from two things, i.e., {’’وَ لَا تَخَافِيْ ‘‘} and {’’ وَ لَا تَحْزَنِيْ ‘‘}, and has promised and given glad tidings of two things, i.e., {’’اِنَّا رَآدُّوْهُ اِلَيْكِ ‘‘} and { ’’وَ جَاعِلُوْهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ ‘‘}.

7-1. Here, wahi refers to putting something into the heart; it is not the wahi that used to be sent to the prophets through an angel. And even if it came through an angel, even then, this one wahi does not prove that the mother of Musa (عليه السلام) was a prophet, because sometimes angels also come to ordinary people. For example, in the hadith, it is established that angels came to the leper and the blind man (agreed upon, Bukhari, Kitab Ahadith al-Anbiya).

7-2. That is, do not fear drowning in the river or being lost, and do not grieve over his separation.

7-3. That is, in such a way that his salvation is certain. It is said that when the killing of children increased, the people of Pharaoh's nation feared that the progeny of Bani Israel might be completely wiped out and that they themselves might have to do the laborious work. They expressed this concern to Pharaoh, upon which a new order was issued that in one year, the children would be killed, and in the next year, they would be spared. Harun (عليه السلام) was born in the year when children were not killed, while Musa (عليه السلام) was born in the year when children were killed. But Allah Almighty arranged for his protection: firstly, the signs of pregnancy in his mother were not made apparent in such a way that she would come under the notice of Pharaoh's appointed midwives, so the stage of birth passed quietly, and this event did not come to the knowledge of the government's planners. However, after birth, the fear of being killed remained. The solution to this was made known to the mother of Musa (عليه السلام) by Allah Almighty Himself through wahi and inspiration. Thus, she laid him in a box and cast it into the Nile River. (Ibn Kathir)

And We inspired the mother of Moses [10], "Nurse him [11]; but when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear nor grieve. Surely, We shall return him to you and make him one of the messengers."

[10] Here the word ﴿اَوْحَيْنَا﴾ has been used, and the literal meaning of wahi is only a subtle and swift indication, and the meaning of ﴿اَوْحٰي﴾ is to indicate swiftly about something hidden and unknown (Mufradat, Maqayis al-Lughah), that is, for the solution of a distressing matter, a thought suddenly comes to the heart from Allah Almighty, and such wahi can also be sent to someone other than a prophet. Such wahi was sent to the mother of Musa as well. And it is possible that this wahi may be in the form of an address from angels. Such wahi can also be sent to someone other than a prophet, as the angels addressed Maryam.

[11]
The Birth of Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) and the Instructions Given to His Mother Through Revelation:

This revelation occurred after the birth of Musa (peace be upon him), and it consisted of four matters:
(1) As long as there is no investigation about this child, keep him with you and continue to nurse him. Some commentators have written that the mother of Musa hid him for three months.
(2) When this secret begins to be revealed and you feel the danger that now the government officials will come and take the child away, then place him in a box or basket and entrust him to the waves of the river.
(3) And at the time of placing him in the river, do not fear at all that this child will be lost. Rather, We will very soon return this child to you. You yourself will nurse him and raise him. This is the very child who is to become a messenger among the Children of Israel.