28. Surah Al-Qasas

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِّي وَلَكَ...

28: 9. The wife of Pharaoh said:

"(Here is) a joy of the eye, for me and for thee:

C3335. He was a darling to look at, and Pharaoh had apparently no son, but only a daughter, who afterwards shared his throne. This is on the supposition that the Pharaoh was Thothmes I (see Appendix IV, Surah 7)..

...لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ...

slay him not.

...عَسَى أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا...

It may be that he will be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son."

...وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿٩﴾

And they perceived not (what they were doing)!

C3336. In all life Providence so orders things that Evil is defeated by its own weapons. Not only is it defeated, but it actually, though unwittingly, advances the cause of Good!

In non-religious language this is called the work of the Ironic Fates. If Thomas Hardy had not made Napoleon the Puppet of Fate in his "Dynasts", he could well have taken Pharaoh as an illustration of the Irony of Fate, or, as we should prefer to call it, the working of the Universal Plan of Allah. (R).

وَأَصْبَحَ فُؤَادُ أُمِّ مُوسَى فَارِغًا...

28: 10. But there came to be a void in the heart of the mother of Moses:

...إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْلَا أَن رَّبَطْنَا عَلَى قَلْبِهَا...

she was going almost to disclose his (case), had We not strengthened her heart (with faith),

...لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿١٠﴾

so that she might remain a (firm) believer.

C3337. The mother's heart felt the gaping void at parting from her son; but her Faith in Allah's Providence kept her from betraying herself.

وَقَالَتْ لِأُخْتِهِ قُصِّيهِ...

28: 11. And she said to the sister of (Moses), "Follow him."

...فَبَصُرَتْ بِهِ عَن جُنُبٍ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿١١﴾

So she (the sister) watched him in the character of a stranger,

and they knew not.

Asad’s Version:

(28:9) Now the wife of Pharaoh said: "A joy to the eye [could this child be] for me and thee! Slay him not: he may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son! " And they had no presentiment [of what he was to become].

28:10 On the morrow, however, an aching void grew up in the heart of the mother of Moses, and she would indeed have disclosed all about him 10 had We not endowed her heart with enough strength to keep alive her faith [in Our promise]. 11

(28:11) And so she said to his sister, "Follow him" - and [the girl] watched him from afar, while they [who had taken him in] were not aware of it.

[[Asad’s notes - 10 I.e., disclose his true identity in the hope that he would be returned to her.

1 1 Lit., "so that she might be of those who have faith". ]]