Asma LAMRABET

Umm Musa and Asiyah… free women

Asma Lamrabet

The Qur’an does not speak of Musa’s father. By contrast, the mother of the beloved prophet of God is referred to in the sacred text as Umm Musa and plays a crucial role in the protection and education of God’s famous messenger.

The tradition[1] relates that Musa was born during a dark period in the history of humankind. The people of Israel were subjected to a cruel enslavement under the tyranny of Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. The latter is said to have had a dream that terrified him; he sought its interpretation amongst the seers and sorcerers of the epoch who confided to him that this vision was the harbinger of the imminent arrival of a Hebrew boy who would overthrow his rule, expel him from his land and impose a new religion.

Mad with rage and fearful of the dream’s fulfilment, Pharaoh ordered the slaying of all newborn Hebrew males. And so under these dramatic circumstances was Musa born, in the heartless culture of ancient Egypt where Pharaoh maintained the people of Israel in inhuman conditions, subjecting them to humiliating slavery.

The Qur’an describes this episode of the narrative a number of times, while lambasting Pharaoh’s despotism and staunchly condemning the absolute power he symbolized:

“We recount to you [Prophet] part of the story of Moses and Pharaoh, setting out the truth for people who believe. Pharaoh made himself high and mighty in the land and divided the people into different groups: one group he oppressed, slaughtering their sons and sparing their women – he was one of those who spread corruption” Qur’an 28:3-4

Umm Musa gave birth to her son while Pharaoh had already ordered the murder of thousands of Hebrew boys. In vain she attempted to conceal his birth, racked by the fear of seeing her little one subjected to the same fate. But how could she conceal the birth of her son when Pharaoh’s regime and his henchmen were mobilized in force to spot the arrival of all male births amongst the people of Israel? This induced a terrible strain on Umm Musa’s poor heart! Whilst sunk in this state of anguish and terror at the thought of losing her child, and unable to devise a way to save him from Pharaoh’s clutches, Umm Musa received a divine revelation. From the heights of His seven heavens, God commanded her to place her son in a “chest” (tabut) and to release it into the waters from the banks of the Nile:

“We inspired your mother, saying, ‘Put your child into the chest (tabut), then place him in the river. Let the river wash him onto its bank, and he will be taken in by an enemy of Mine and his.’ […]”Qur’an 20/38:39

Umm Musa, without flinching, submitted to this divine revelation. She breastfed her child, created a small ark in which she placed the baby and gently left it at the river’s edge. One can imagine her state of mind as she abandoned her son on this fragile ark. She may have saved him from the hand of Pharaoh but she was now entrusting him to the river’s unpredictable fate. She admittedly had no choice, yet through this courageous act it is not difficult to gauge the strength of her faith. In spite of this distressing separation she somehow must have drawn confidence; confidence, because it was God who had instructed her. Could there have been any greater comfort than to be called upon by her Lord?

The Qur’an itself subtly recounts her sadness and her emotional state and we read how, through words of simplicity and beauty, God found a way to soothe the troubled heart of this mother:

“We inspired Moses’ mother, saying, ‘Suckle him, and then, when you fear for his safety, put him in the river: do not be afraid, and do not grieve, for We shall return him to you and make him a messenger.’” Qur’an 28:7

It is a consoling and soothing message that the Creator sends to this woman so that she arms herself with patience and demonstrates stamina and firmness before the torment to which she was confronted. God Himself, in His incommensurable gentleness, asks her not to be afraid, or sad, but to have faith in Him and His kindness.

Through these verses He transmitted two messages: firstly, He relieves her heart by promising the certain return of her child: “We shall return him to you”.  He then predicts to her the future of her son who appears destined by the Creator to become one of His greatest prophets. So the divine revelation gave her two reasons not to be downhearted. Despite the love for her child she was able to master her fear and appease her maternal heart, thanks to this wonderful and blissful divine consolation. Whilst conceiving her deep grief, God inspired her to endure, to hope, to wait again and again... The Qur’anic description of Umm Musa’s emotional experience is of sublime beauty and the words of the Creator towards her are of an infinite tenderness:

“The next day, Moses’ mother felt a void in her heart (farighan) – if We had not strengthened (rabatna) it to make her one of those who believe, she would have revealed everything about him.” Qur’an 28:10

In this passage, the Qur’an subtly describes the heart of this woman that had become “emptied” after the separation from her son; the Arabic word farighan can be translated as “drained away” or “dried”. The description is nuanced and the metaphor used by the Qur’an here attempts to convey the depths of Umm Musa’s sorrow. Her heart was drained of everything but Musa. In her eyes nothing else mattered; life had become meaningless and only the memory of her child remained vivid inside her heart. Such was her suffering that she was on the verge of screaming out her pain, of disclosing the secret and telling all. Had it not been for the resoluteness God breathed into her heart, to persist with her conviction, she would have betrayed herself. This strength that God instilled in her is subtly translated in the Qur’an by the word rabatna, an Arabic term meaning “tie” or “binding”. The ordeal was so great that God “binds” her feelings to prevent them from bursting open in broad daylight.

God in His profound mercy supported this woman, accompanying her in her distress while forcing her to remain resolute, strong and to overcome her maternal fears. He fortified her faith and her belief and protected her during those agonizing moments with His infinite compassion. And with God’s grace she remained calm and patient.

Meanwhile, the ark transporting little Musa reached the shore at the gardens of Pharaoh’s palace. He was collected by the latter’s wife, Asiyah, who moved by this baby sent as a blessing from the Heavens – the tradition relates that she could not have children – begged Pharaoh to spare him and allow her to adopt him as her child:

“Pharaoh’s household picked him up – later to become an enemy and a source of grief for them: […] and Pharaoh’s wife said, ‘Here is a joy behold for me and for you! Do not kill him: he may be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son.’[…]” Qur’an 28:8-9

In the meantime, Umm Musa asked her daughter Maryam to follow the trail of her younger brother and to keep watch on what was happening around him. Thus, Maryam learned that the newborn was refusing all wet-nurses and was on the verge of perishing. The entire palace entourage was in turmoil searching for a wet-nurse to save the little protégé of Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh, who was distraught at the idea of losing the one who had come to fill her maternal void. The divine plan was unfolding slowly but surely. Is it not God who says in the Holy Qur’an:

“We had ordained that he would refuse to feed from wet nurses […]” Qur’an 28:12

Maryam, moved by this opportunity and taking advantage of the surrounding distress, suggested to them coyly, but nonetheless cleverly, a wet nurse who the child would not refuse. Thus, the baby was returned to Umm Musa who, before general astonishment, naturally breastfed the child while somehow straining to conceal the immense joy in regaining her beloved child. God is great and merciful and His promise was fulfilling itself.

Invited by Asiyah to take up residence in the palace as the official wet nurse of the newborn, Umm Musa respectfully refused this request, proposing instead to keep the child in her own home for the duration of the breast-feeding period. She justified her refusal arguing she had other children that she could not leave alone. Being the only woman able to breastfeed Asiyah’s young protégé, Umm Musa was aware of the power she was currently wielding. She thereby found herself with the ultimate opportunity to impose her will, and in retrieving the child to feed him she was simply taking back what was rightfully hers. In the privacy of her home, she would be free to express her maternal love as she saw fit, without being monitored by the palace entourage. Confronted by Umm Musa’s tenacity and conscious of the upper hand she had in the situation, Asiyah could but only accept. Umm Musa was motivated by the strength that she drew from her conviction, and her trust in the pact she had forged with God. She continually recollected the words of God, “We shall return him to you”. He had promised to return her son who was now safe and sound in her arms… God always keeps His promises.

And His Providence was realising itself. Umm Musa, honoured by the divine gifts was doubly fulfilled: firstly by the reunion with her child and also because of her intense joy at realising that she, a humble and modest woman, had been chosen by the Creator. The Qur’an describes this episode in these terms:

“We restored him to his mother in this way, so that she might be comforted, not grieve, and know that God’s promise is true, though most of them do not know.” Qur’an 28:13

Musa, as God had promised, returned to his original home, nourished and surrounded by this maternal tenderness that would convey to him the essential affection for his psychological wellbeing, while at the same time providing him with the strength to overcome ordeals… all manner of ordeals.

If one had to recall just one moral from the story of Umm Musa, the epitome of a courageous mother - beyond the strength of her feelings - it would be resistance to oppression; a resistance that Umm Musa repeatedly demonstrated thanks to her spiritual strengths; namely the faith in God, the trust in His destiny and endurance. She was able to defy, with the help of God, the hegemonic will of Pharaoh.

These are the instructive lessons from the narrative of Umm Musa as enunciated by the Qur’an. She is a woman who empowered by the received revelation, stood firm against the maleficent forces embodied by Pharaoh and his authoritarian power.

She knew herself to be invested with an exalted mission; that of preparing the child to receive a message destined for the whole of humankind - a message of true liberation. Musa was to free his people from the enslavement and servitude they were forced to endure under the reign of Egypt’s Pharaoh, a deified man who incarnated tyranny in all its forms of cruelty.

This kind of tyranny, found throughout the history of humanity across all epochs and within all civilizations, is what God endlessly warns human beings against. Musa was raised in this environment by his natural mother, educated never to surrender when faced with injustice and to refuse all forms of human oppression.

Musa was handed this particular fate of having been raised simultaneously by another woman of renown, Asiyah, who in some measure had become his adoptive mother.

As we have already seen, Asiyah, Pharaoh’s wife, became strongly enamoured of this child who had come to fill the lack of affection she cruelly suffered, bullied as she was by her authoritarian husband. The Qur’an also describes her as an exemplary woman:

“God has also given examples of believers:  Pharaoh’s wife, who said, ‘Lord, build me a house near You in the Garden. Save me from Pharaoh and his actions; save me from the evildoers.’” Qur’an 66:11

Thus she stands amongst the women that the Qur’an has raised as a spiritual ideal for all believers; a feminine example of this sublime belief; a belief born in the home of all unbelief.

Like Umm Musa, Asiyah made resistance to the dictatorial powers of Pharaoh her lifelong campaign. Living in the opulence, the luxury and the splendour of the palace of one of the greatest tyrants known to humankind, she nonetheless managed to preserve herself from the snares that this lifestyle offered her, and devoted herself to the worship of One God.

Forced to live under this authoritarian yoke she too armed herself with endurance, faith and renunciation, which allowed her to ascend to the rank of human perfection as recounted in a famous hadith by the Prophet Muhammad ( peace and blessings upon him).

While everybody kowtowed to Pharaoh and glorified his reign and his power, Asiyah refused this enslavement and proclaimed her refusal to adhere to his despotic logic. She opposed his diktats despite her powerlessness and impotence before Pharaoh’s Machiavellian strength.

She openly professed her faith in God and dared to violate the existing laws which considered Pharaoh as god on earth. Asiyah, by virtue of her spiritual revolt, lived in permanent state of confrontation with the regime. But despite her isolation, destitution and suffering, throughout her life she challenged the established order of injustice and oppression. She too must have etched upon the mind and education of Musa this love of justice and freedom.

Raised between these two exemplary mothers, these two worlds that everything seemed to separate, Musa developed a strong personality, impregnated with wisdom and force of character.

By the will of God he was placed under the protection of these two exceptional women who prepared the one who was soon to become the messenger of God, to contest the symbols of tyranny, oppression and slavery. These two women were ultimately free because they said No to servility, injustice and human exploitation. Each one living in their separate worlds but nourished with the same spiritual certainty, they taught him to resist the terror of absolutist power and to convey to his people the message of dignity and liberty, as intended by their Creator.

They loved him infinitely, protected him tenderly, defended him to the ultimate end, whilst educating him and preparing him for what he was later to become, a prophet liberator of men… and women.