The story of Moses
Quran Soora 28
29. Then, when Moses had accomplished the term [of the eight years a], and was traveling with his family [: his wife and two sons b], he saw in the distance a fire by the side of the [Mount] Hor c, and said to his family: "Stay here; for I see in the distance a fire; that I may bring you therefrom information [about the correct way d], or [bring] a brand of fire [in a piece of wood] that you may kindle fire [from it.]"
30. When he came to it, he was called from the right e bank of the valley f, in the blessed g area [below the mountain, and which was called the Valley of Tuwa], out of the tree [of olive] h: "Moses, I AM God, the Lord of the worlds."
31. "[Now] cast down your staff [on the ground!]"
[So he cast it down] but when he saw it moving vigorously as it were a genie, he turned to flee [from it] headlong and turned not backwards.
[So God – be glorified – called him, and said:] "O Moses, come forward and fear not; for surely you are safe."
32. "Introduce your hand into your bosom [: the opening of your shirt], and it shall come out white [with radiation] without disease [or skin depigmentation];
and in case you fear [when you see it], fold your hand [under your armpit, and it will return back to its usual condition];
so these [: the staff and the white hand] are two proofs from your Lord to Pharaoh and his princes; for surely they are an ungodly people.”
33. [Moses] said: "My Lord, I killed one of them, and I fear lest they may kill me."
34. "And Aaron, my brother, is more fluent than I am; so send him with me as a ‘follower i and helper’ to confirm my [words]; for I fear that they will deny me."
35. [God] said: "We shall assist you, [Moses], with your brother [Aaron]j, and give to both of you an authority [by means of the nine miracles] so that they cannot afflict you [with any harm]; [therefore], because of Our [nine] miracles [they will fear and dread you; and] you – both in addition to those who follow you – will be the victors k."
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a The indication of that it was the term of the eight years not of the ten years, because He said: (When Moses had accomplished the term), and He did not say: accomplished the two terms.
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b With his sheeps, aiming to travel to Egypt, and that was after the death of Shu'aib (Reuel) the father of his wife, and the standing of his son instead of his father.
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c Horeb or El-Tor Mountain.
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d He had missed the way because of the darkness of the night.
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e i.e. to the right side of Moses, who was moving from Midian aiming at Egypt.
For this reason, God – be glorified – said in the
Quran 19: 52, which means:
(
And We called to him from the right side of the Tor: [Mount Sinai: Horeb])
It means: the mountain was to the right of Moses.
God – be glorified – said also in this
soora 28: 44, which means:
(
And you [Mohammed] were not on the western side of the [Mount Horeb] when We decreed to Moses the matter.)
It means: on the side of the Mount Horeb to the west of Moses.
So according to this description, the mountain was to his right, his face towards the south, i.e. towards Egypt to which he aimed in his journey, and the town of Midian behind him.
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f i.e. which was along the side of Mount Horeb.
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g It was blessed and sacred because Prophet Abraham prayed and worshipped there. Then the light of God settled in the tree.
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h For this reason, God said it is blessed, that is in the
Quran 24: 35, which means:
(
lit [with oil derived] from a blessed tree: an olive); because God spoke to Moses out of it, and said: (Moses, I AM God, the Lord of the worlds.)
In fact,
Ezra son of Siraeh made a mistake in his Torah, when he said it was the blackberry tree [as in the Arabic Bible, while in the English Bible: he said: the bush.]
That is because this tree is the hiding place of the swines; it is an evil tree with curved spikes which will tear the clothes of anyone approaches it or culls of its fruits. Our father Adam uprooted it when he ate of its fruit then he uprooted it and cast it away, because it was the reason for his expelling out of the garden.
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i The word means a ‘follower’: not behind the leader but along with him, to follow and assist him.
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j i.e. We shall make your brother an assistant to you, in order that your heart may be strengthened with him.
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k Against them.
Therefore, Moses immediately set to Egypt, and left his family who returned to Midian, to their uncle: the brother of Moses’ wife: Zipporah.
The interpretation is by Mohammed-Ali Hassan Al-Hilly.
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So by now, Moses went to Pharaoh.
Here, I go to the displaying of this great story in another soora of the Quran, then I will return to this soora 28 once again.
Quran Soora 20:
{
1. Ta. Ha. i.e. (Tahir. Hadi.) a :
[It means:]
(
O Mohammed: the Purely exclusive b [of any wickedness] and the Guide c [of people to God’s way.])
2. We have not revealed the Quran to you [Mohammed] to be wearied d.
3. But only as an admonition to him who fears [and dreads the punishment of his Lord.]
4. The revealing [of the Quran] is from [God] Who created the earth and the high e heavens [that are above the earth.] f
5. [God] Most Gracious has mounted over the Throne. g
6. T
o Him belong all [birds] that [fly] in the [gaseous] heavens, and [all men and beasts] that [move] on earth, and all h that is between them, and all [animals that hide in their dens] under the soil.i}
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a These are abbreviated letters: two letters of the Arabic alphabet: each letter is a symbol of a word, and the letter is the first letter of the word.
Therefore, ‘Ta’ means: ‘tahir’ or pure [of wickedness], which is the title or surname of the Prophet; and ‘Ha’ means: ‘hadi’ or guide [of people to the way of God], which also is the title or surname of the Prophet.
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b & 1
c These are the surnames or titles of the Prophet.
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d i.e. to weary yourself with much prayers, but We revealed it to you so that you may teach and guide people to worship their Lord; which is the meaning of the next aya:
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e Gaseous.
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f It means: The Quran has been revealed to you by command of God Who created the earth and high heavens which are above the earth: and they are the gaseous heavens.
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g In my book The Universe and the Quran , I have explained in details about the heavens , and the Throne . As also in the interpretation of the Quran 13: 2 in summary.
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h The cloud that brings the rain.
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i i.e. under ground.
The meaning: All these are His creatures which are at His disposal, so He offers out of that as He likes to whomever He pleases.
The interpretaion is by Mohammed-Ali Hassan Al-Hilly.
This is the recital of the soora 20, including the story of Moses, by an excellent Egyptian reciter:
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Quran Soora 20:
{
7. And whether you [Mohammed] proclaim [your] words [to the associaters and invite them to the religion] – yet, surely, He knows [your words and will reward you according to your preaching His religion, and He knows] the [words with which you invite them to God, in] secret, and [He knows] what is even more hidden a [than the secret].b
8. God; there is no god [in the entire universe] but only He [alone]; His are the Names Most Beautiful; [therefore, worship Him but don’t worship anyone else.]}
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a Which is that which you discourse with yourself, so He will reward you according to it, and will not decrease anything of your reward and recompense.
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b This aya is related to His saying – be glorified – in this
soora 20: 3, which means:
(
But only as an admonition to him who fears [and dreads the punishment of his Lord.])
Therefore, the meaning is:
Admonish the associaters, with the Quran and invite them to worship God Most Gracious, publicly and secretly, and God will reward you according to your carrying out the preaching to His religion, and don’t mind about their mockery, and say to them:
