Blessing or Burden?
YOU be the Judge
Part 48
Sura 28 “THE STORY”
By
John W. Bailey
This Sura shares some of the history of Moses in the Koran. Muhammad shares “We will recite to thee portions of the History of Moses and Pharaoh with truth, for the teaching of the faithful.” Pharaoh was the leader of the Egyptian people during the time of Moses. The Koran states that “Pharaoh lifted himself up in the earth, and divided his people into parties: one portion of whom he brought low [Jews]-He slew their male children and let their females only live; for he was one of those who wrought disorders.” This was Pharaoh’s attempt to control the population growth of the Jews and to help prevent the Jews from growing in power.
Muhammad says that a revelation was revealed to Moses’ mother during this time of murder. The revelation-“Give him [Moses] suck; and if thou fearest for him, launch him on the sea; and make him one of the apostles.” So Moses’ mother set him in the sea and he was eventually found by Pharaoh’s family. Pharaoh’s wife said, ‘Joy of the eye to me and thee! Put him not to death: haply he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son.’ But they did not know they were taking into their home the eventual leader of the Jews. Muhammad said “They knew not what they did” regarding the adoption of Moses by Pharaoh’s wife.
The Sura continues to somewhat follow the content of Moses’ history as written in the Old Testament of the Bible in the early chapters of Exodus. The Sura gives account of Moses finding two men fighting, one a Jew and one an Egyptian. Moses killed the Egyptian and later fled Egypt to avoid the repercussions of his actions. On his journey out of Egypt he came in contact with two women waiting to water their flock. Moses assisted them and was invited back to their home to receive payment from their father. Moses shared why he was in the land of the father and the father answered “Fear not, thou hast escaped from an unjust people.”
Moses does encounter a burning bush and God speaks to him through it in this Sura. But the conversation is not as detailed as the Exodus account in the Bible. Muhammad then shares “we gave the book of the Law to Moses [Ten Commandments] for man’s enlightening, and a guidance and a mercy, that haply they might reflect.”
Let the reader be aware that these verses of the Sura do give an account of Moses, but it is far from the history of Moses revealed in the Old Testament of the Bible. Muhammad continues his form of borrowing from Jewish history to give credence to the religion of Islam.