Prophet Moses in the Quran (Window to Islam)
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-09T13:17:11.016532+00:00 | Topic: Quran
Prophet Moses in the Quran
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Introduction: The Most Mentioned Figure in the Quran
In these few minutes that I have with you, I'm supposed to be talking to you about Musa alayhis salam, Moses. I will use the word Musa, I'm not going to use the word Moses because we are talking about the Quran. That's the Arabic rendition of the word.
The first thing I want to share with you, if you don't already know, he is the most mentioned figure in the Quran. There are over 70 passages dedicated, dispersed throughout the Quran that just specifically talk about Musa. And he is essentially a role model for many, many, many points of view.
Understanding the Quranic Approach to Musa's Story
When you think of the career of Musa alayhi salam, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, you think of his major accomplishments. In other words, you know, the savior of the children of Israel, crossing of the water, the adventures that ensued thereafter. A lot of our friends from the people of the book, the Christians and the Jewish communities, you know, they're familiar obviously with these stories as well.
But the Quran presents this, you have to understand first and foremost, when the Quran presented this narrative, it was presenting it to an audience by and large that wasn't Christian or Jewish. And had no background in who this man is. So it says, though the Quran was introducing Musa to them, Quran was introducing Moses to them.
And it wasn't citing previous scripture to introduce this man to them. It was just giving his account on its own, on its own merits.
The Dispersed Nature of Musa's Account
When somebody becomes, after this talk, perhaps you're curious and you go pick up a copy of the Quran, and you want to look up Moses in the Quran, you'll find him all over the place. So the question will arise, why not just have a chapter called Moses, Surat Musa, and just put it all in one place, it's not going to be the case in the Quran. Nor is the account of Musa in the Quran going to be chronological. As much as he's mentioned, his account is not chronological.
So what's the method? What's the perspective? What's the agenda behind mentioning of Moses in such a dispersed fashion in the Quran? The Quran is made up of 114 surahs. And it's as though every surah is a thesis. Every surah has a central lesson to teach.
And there are parts, in every surah, or many surahs actually, you'll find stories. But only that part of the story will be mentioned that goes towards furnishing that thesis. So the Quran is not interested in citing history for its own sake. History for its own sake is not the purpose. It is to draw lessons from history for the guidance of humanity, for spiritual guidance, for upliftment, for understanding, for wisdom. That's the purpose of the citation of the story.
Surah Al-Qasas: A Case Study
So you'll find if in one area, one surah, the subject matter is the conflict between good and evil. And it may seem like the forces of evil are much more powerful, much more resourceful. They have much more political power, financial strength, etc., etc. And those standing by truth have very little. Then maybe just the battle, the clash between Moses and the Pharaoh, Musa and the Pharaoh, and the dialogue he's having inside the castle, inside the, you know, before the throne of the Pharaoh, that conversation is cited. Why? Because it resonates with those struggling for the truth against a powerful opposition.
So that's how the stories are essentially laid out. But none of this does justice to how Musa is talked about in the Quran. So what I've decided to do is take a small sampling from the Quran itself, of how Musa is talked about, and how he's brought about in a particular surah, and share some things with you from that.
Opening of Surah Al-Qasas
So, surah al-Qasas. The 28th surah.
These are the miraculous signs of the clear and clarifying book. This book in and of itself is clear, and it seeks to clarify ambiguity, to remove mystery.
We're reading on to you from the events of Musa, the news of Musa. We're gonna tell you some of his accounts. The word من in the Arabic language suggests, we won't tell you the whole thing, in this surah, we'll tell you some part of it. I already suggested to you before, the citation of historical accounts in the Quran is partial. So, a part is going to be mentioned.
We're reading on to you from the account of Musa and Fir'aun with purpose. (بِالْحَقِّ) also means truthfully, meaning this is a true account. But Arabic implies purpose, reason.
Like Allah says:
He created the skies and the earth with truth, meaning with purpose. There's a reason for which creation exists.
So, in other words, Allah is telling us, whenever He tells the story of Musa, and especially in this case, there's a reason for which He will tell us everything He will tell us. He's already mentally preparing His audience.
Then He adds another thing. So, first it has a purpose. But the purpose will only be found by a certain group of people. Not everybody who will read the Qur'an will get the same result. So, Allah qualifies.
The Prerequisites for Understanding
Similarly when... I used to teach a course in college, and before I would start my course, I'd hand out this small survey. Why are you taking this course? What brought you to me? And somebody would say, my parents. Others would say, things like, it's a requirement for my major. Others would say, I'm interested in the subject. Others would say, I have no idea. I think I'm in the wrong room.
But people wrote different kinds of reasons. Well, see, that's the same thing with studying anything. People come to it for different reasons. So people, even the Qur'an, people will come to the Qur'an for different reasons. But Allah says in this surah, in the beginning already, when I tell you this story, you will not find purpose in it unless you belong to the following group of people. The group of people that approach this surah with this intention.
Now, what is that intention? (لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ) For a nation that seeks to believe. Those of you who are a little bit familiar with the Arabic language, Allah did not say, Arabic word, (مُؤْمِنِينَ) is not used. That would be an adjective.
This is a verb acting as an adjective. What that means in English simply is, a nation that actually wants to believe. That is seeking. They're genuinely looking for iman and then they come to this narrative, they'll find something. Now, the one who's not looking, maybe somebody is coming to the text just to find something to criticize. Guess what? They're gonna find plenty to criticize.
Because they came with that perspective. Somebody is coming to the text just out of curiosity. Well, they're gonna satiate their curiosity. They're gonna find some interesting things. You know, somebody comes to the text with anger, they'll find reasons to be angrier. It is what it is.
There's a certain bias we bring to a text. And Allah says, the bias that I want you to have, because it's always gonna be there, is the bias that I'm seeking iman. I'm looking for a reason to believe. I'm seeking out truth.
The Story of Musa and Fir'aun
Now, eventually, or in the beginning already, Allah says:
We're narrating on to you the story of Musa and Fir'aun. Fir'aun is the Arabic word for the Pharaoh.
So already, even in the title of the story, we've been told, he's not the only important character. Musa and Fir'aun, this is the story of Musa and Fir'aun. Why? Because both have something to teach. The account of one, we have to learn a lot from. And Fir'aun, we have to learn a lot from too.
Understanding Fir'aun's Character
What I love about Surah Qasas and the story of Musa, specifically in this Surah, is that Allah builds the scenery around Musa and eventually gets to Musa. We don't start going into the main character in the story from the very beginning. Everything around him, all the things that are happening around him, and all these, if you wanna talk about it from a movie perspective, the sub-characters, these other characters, we're learning something about them.
So what does Allah do in this surah? Allah Azza wa Jal in the beginning passage already tells us that Fir'aun and Haman, his chief architect, they're both gonna be learning a very serious lesson.
In fact, it was the Pharaoh who elevated himself, or who was high in the land. (عَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ) very interesting verb in the Arabic language. One of the meanings of (عَلا) is to be high yourself, meaning to have high status, to have a high position of political power, economic power, social status, etc. This is (عَلا)
But also, it means to transgress, or to rebel. Have you ever heard the English axiom, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely? You've heard that before, right? The idea of the Arabic language is when you get high, there's a tendency to become corrupt. There's a tendency.
So Allah mentions that he was very high in the land. And in this particular ayah, those of you that are ever going to study political science, this is an ayah in and of itself that's a thesis. How did he maintain his elevation in the land?
Fir'aun's Political Strategy
Formula number one. And he had made its people, the people of the land, Egypt obviously we're talking about, Egypt. He had made the people of the land into factions. (شِيَعًا) in Arabic means to branch out.
Meaning a branch is extended from the stem of a tree. So it's kind of separate from it but it's still somehow connected. It's still somehow connected. And it's feeding off of the original tree. And eventually if there's a load enough on that branch, it can actually even harm the tree itself. So one of the words in Arabic for factions is (شيَعًا). That's the word used here.
He took his population and made them into factions. The easiest simplistic understanding of that is that obviously they were the locals. And then he took the Israelites and made them into a slave or a second class.
So he broke them up into two factions. But it goes even deeper that he made sure that even a large population like the Israelites remain factions among themselves. That they don't see themselves as part of one unity. They see themselves as separated.
(شِيَعًا) in Arabic also means, of the many words in the Quran used for groups, is a group aligned by an agenda. When you see yourself, you wanna feel safe, you wanna be around people who think like you and you will follow them, you're basically gonna have groupthink. You're gonna become a gang, a faction. That's what he wanted. He wanted people to be broken up into gangs and factions.
So they couldn't have collective strength. They're too busy keeping their own gang, their own faction together and calling to it. And this is actually a very powerful phenomenon in keeping a people abased in any land.
The Psychology of Oppression
When you have oppressors that do what they wanna do with the people, the easiest way for them to do that is to not let the people see themselves as one. They have to see themselves as this ethnicity, that ethnicity, this school of thought, that school of thought, this congregation, that congregation. They have to separate themselves and draw a line around themselves and say, I belong here and those guys belong over there.
And let me tell you why those guys are wrong. So all of their energies are exhausted either validating themselves or invalidating the other. Just reinforcing the lines that have been drawn on them. None of their energies are exhausted on making the state of affairs for the people better. They can't think bigger than that.
I give you a parallel to help you understand this, that I give to younger students. When a person is selfish, they only think about themselves, yes? But when a person is raised with a good upbringing in their family, they are not just concerned about themselves, they also worry about their family. You worry about your parents, you worry about your children, you worry about your siblings, you want good for them too. And if in a real upbringing you don't just care about your family, you'll be kind to your neighbor too.
You'll be concerned about your neighborhood also. You'll be concerned about your community also. That ripple effect just carries out. It starts with care for the family and it ripples out. That's what happens in a decent upbringing. As opposed to that, an indecent upbringing, the only one you'll ever care about is who? Yourself.
Everything else is secondary. Everything else can be sacrificed. Everyone else is secondary. You're looking out for number one and that's the end of it. Now what happens in a faction? People join a faction not for the group but for themselves. They don't go into it to serve, they go into it to be served.
Somehow it helps their self-esteem, it gives them an opportunity to look down on others, whatever it may be. But they join that faction for some self-serving purpose. So it's an extension of selfishness. And when that's at the root of a faction, it'll never be able to produce good for anyone else. Because at the end of it, even those people within it, they're all looking for something for their own selves. They're not looking to give, they're only looking to take.
The Continuation of Oppression
He would maintain one group to be weak. He would weaken one group among them. A large population among them. So there's a shift, you know, from Shia to Ta'ifa in the Arabic language. Ta'ifa is a large population also, large group also.
In other words, they think of themselves as individualized groups. But when it comes to oppressing them, they're all just one big Ta'ifa to him. This is one big group to him.
You know, there may be, I'll give you an example. New York is an interesting place. I lived most of my adult life in New York. So you'll have like the, unfortunately, the Bangladeshi Masjid, then you'll have the Pakistani Masjid, then you'll have the Egyptian Masjid. You guys know what I'm talking about. That's why you're smiling.
I'm from the Bangladeshi Masjid. I'm from the Pakistani Masjid. You totally see yourselves as completely different from those guys. But the guy who hates Islam and hates Muslims sees all y'all bunch as one. He
hates you all just the same. He sees you as one. And all of you have been made weak. And one of the causes of that weakness is that inner friction.
Just that inner friction, you know.
He was weakening a group among them. Then, now that they're weak, they can't even defend themselves. They can't think bigger than their own little mini identity. So they can't defend themselves. They can't stand.
And so what comes next?
He would slaughter their children and let their women live. In other words, this was his formula. Start by changing the way people think about themselves and think about others. And that way they'll become isolated. And when they're isolated, they will remain weak. And when they are weak, no matter what you do with them, they will say, we're weak, what can we do? We're just stuck in this situation. We're powerless.
What a formula. These are the makings of an amazing tyrant. And you will find tyranny wherever you find this kind of tyranny in the world, you'll find this formula applied. If you find a people that are abased and weakened, you'll find this among them. Infighting among them. You'll find, you know, those infightings being reinforced by a larger power.
And then eventually, their civil rights are taken. Then their human rights are taken. Their liberties are taken. And even lives are taken eventually and nobody cares. It just gets swept under just like a news item in the news. A little footnote on the news. This many people died in this country or whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. This is the makings of tyranny.
The Divine Response to Tyranny
In other words, when we learn about Musa, and when we learn about all the people around Musa, we're not just learning a story. We're learning about these archetypes that represent problems in society and solutions for them. Now, what does Allah say in this incredible story?
He no doubt was among those who caused corruption. This is beautiful, huh? Allah didn't say إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاسِدًا مُفْسِدًا He was a cause of corruption. No, no doubt he was among those who caused corruption because throughout history you'll find other pharaohs. He's just one among them.
He's just one of a large bunch of people that can be bunched together. They're a category.
Now this sounds pretty depressing from the very beginning. So what does Allah say? We intended that we would bestow our favor upon those who were made weak in the land.
And we would make them the leaders with direction. We would make the weak the leaders of the earth.
And we would make them inherit. We will make them the ones that inherit. You know, the biblical phrase, the meek shall inherit the earth. Quran finds it too. Especially the case study in the Quran of that, the meek inheriting the earth, is the Israelites. It's a very powerful case study of that phenomenon.
The Quran's wording is incredible. We will give them settlement in the land, the Israelites. We will make them a firm nation. That is well put in the land. Situated in the land. They're not gonna be Bedouins and Nobates traveling all over the place. We're gonna give them power in the land.
وَنُرِيَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ And we will finally show Fir'aun, the Pharaoh, and Haman. وَجُنُودَهُمَا And their armies, مَا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ What they were cautious of.
It's something to do with fear. But Allah didn't say مَا كَانُوا يَخَافُونَ مَا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ Meaning, they were up to all these strategies and policies in place. They put in place to make sure these people remain weak. Because they were afraid of a people rising. They were afraid of that. And so Allah says, they were so cautious and took precaution and wanted to make sure this never happens.
And Allah says, we were going to not only give them station in the land. Within the lifetime of Pharaoh, he would see the very thing he took so many precautions against. He would see all of his precautions
blow up in his face. That's what he would see. Meaning all of those precautions are on the one hand and then God's plan, Allah's plan is on the other hand. And the oppressor will find his end. He will find his end eventually. And now as this final, this is the end of Pharaoh's legacy. That's what's mentioned in the beginning of this surah.
The Beginning of Musa's Story
Here's what I'll leave you with. Here's what Allah Azza wa Jal does. That now movie producers copy.
We revealed to the mother of Musa, breastfeed him. What? We were just learning about the Pharaoh. I know. One minute, I know. We were just learning about the Pharaoh. And that his entire empire is going to crumble. And the people are going to rise from weakness. And the next thing, mother, feed your child. It's a complete switch.
You know what it should say underneath? A few years ago, and it switches over, and there's a mom in a room, and her baby is crying, and something comes into her heart from Allah Himself, feed your child. Now the question arises, why even mention feed your child? You know why? Because eventually when he goes to the Pharaoh's castle, and you know how he ends up there, when he goes there, he's going to have a little bit of an appetite. And he's going to say, I want milk, and he's going to turn all the other milk down, except the one that the mother was inspired to give him, and he's got a taste for it, and he won't taste anything else.
It's part of the plan. So something as small as the mother feeding the child becomes part of the divine plan in bringing the tyrant ruler down. Every detail is important.
So she's feeding her poor baby, and she hears the commotion of the soldiers coming, looking for the baby boys. When you fear upon him, throw him in the water. Throw him in the river. یَمّ literally means that which flows downstream. A river that flows downstream is یَمّ. It's considered a larger body of water by comparison.
The Divine Promise to Musa's Mother
Don't fear and don't grieve. Two words. And I'll end with this. Don't fear and don't grieve. He tells his mother.
You know, we learn that fear is something you have of the future. I'm afraid of losing my job. I'm afraid of getting stuck in traffic. I'm afraid for my parents' health. I'm afraid for my children's safety, etc. Stuff that hasn't happened yet, you are afraid.
Bad stuff that's already happened, you feel what? Fear or grief? Grief. The mother's told, don't fear and don't grieve. Why? As she's about to put him in the water, there is fear. When the child is gone from her eyes, what settles in? Grief. And he protects her from both sides.
And this is an amazing statement to the mother. And this is not something, if any human being was to tell any mother that can't find her child. May Allah protect our children. It's a crowded convention, keep an eye on your kids. If your kids are anything like my kids, then they are psychotic. They will disappear before you within 5 seconds.
So keep an eye on your children. But when you cannot find your children, just look around, you don't see your child, what happens to you? You lose your mind. The fear, the grief, these emotions just overwhelm you. You can't think straight for those few seconds. And then you find he's turning around with you just to keep you going. But those two things, no human being can calm a mother down when she feels those things.
No human being can do it. But Allah can. Because Allah put that in her heart. Allah put that calm in her heart.
The Beauty of Quranic Narrative
We could go just on and on and on about these ayahs. But I wanted to share with you how picturesque and how in-depth the narrative of Musa is. Every word has something to offer. There's some detail about the story.
And if you've read the story already in Surah Taha, when you come to Surah Al-Qasas, the camera angles are all different. Allah is just looking at it from a completely different point of view. He's telling us something. You're like, Hey, I already read this. But no, I didn't know that. Oh wow, that happened too? That happened there too? And they even copy that in film now.
You know what they do? You got to this final scene. They'll show you how one character ended up there. Then they'll show you the entire narrative of how the other character ended up there too. From another angle. The Qur'an does that. It keeps building curiosity into the same account.
It's a very beautiful narrative and it's a very powerful narrative. And it's an extremely celebrated narrative.
A Message to the Muslims
To the Muslims here. Bani Israel. The children of Israel are an honored people in the Qur'an. Most prophets mentioned in the Qur'an are the sons of Israel. The word Israel itself is an honored word in the Qur'an. It actually means the slave of Allah.
I'm sharing these things with you because if you really are believers in the Qur'an, we don't have hatred for a people for what their lineage is. That's not from Islam. That's not a part of Islam. We don't have that. We abhor certain attitudes, certain behaviors.
We cannot hate people. We cannot hate people. The Prophet didn't hate people. He was kind and merciful to all nations. So we have to remove these things. And if you counter argue with me, well, they hate us. Well, let them. We're Muslim. We're not reactionaries. We're not reactionaries.
Then you're just like them if you do that, if you respond in kind. But it should never, these kinds of attitudes should never come from us towards people of any nation, especially not Bani Israel.
Don't allow the world around you and what's happening around you to skew what you and I should be taking from the Book of Allah because that's timeless guidance.
Conclusion
May Allah Azza wa Jal help us appreciate the beauty and the power of His final revelation. And may Allah Azza wa Jal help us make it easy for the rest of this country and the rest of this world to understand what an amazing message it is that we have in our midst.