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 ‘‘}.