Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ

Overview

Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ is a Makkan sūrah with 88 āyāt. The sūrah speaks extensively about the story of Mūsā up until and including the Exodus. After fleeing from Egypt fearing for his life, Mūsā eventually meets the elder of Madyan, to whom he narrates the events that led up to their meeting. Said events are described in the sūrah as qaṣaṣ (28:25), the plural of qiṣṣah. The title of the sūrah literally means ‘stories’, i.e. those of Mūsā, but it more effectively refers to the happenings and escapades which led up to his eventual retreat to Madyan.

Allah sets the stage for this epic tale of faith by introducing Firʿawn as the archetypal tyrant. He tells us that His will is that the weak and downtrodden were to inherit the earth—Allah was to show Firʿawn and his party from their own selves that which they feared most. Thence, the scene shifts to the blessed birth through which this divine will was to manifest. Baby Mūsā was born in a time of turmoil and persecution. If his mother were to sit idle, her son was to be killed along with other Israelite boys. Allah inspired her to place her suckling baby into the river, with a promise that He will return him to her and make him a messenger. Heartbroken but faithful, she does so, telling his sister to follow the basket as it travels down the Nile’s waters. Lo and behold, who other on the receiving end of the waterborne basket than Firʿawn’s family?! But Allah is always present. He cast love for baby Mūsā in the heart of the tyrant’s wife. Her maternal instincts saved him. But Allah’s blessings were not yet complete. The baby refused to breastfeed from any nurse, so his watchful sister prudently offered the services of her household. Baby and mother were reunited, and the divine promise was fulfilled. (28:3-13)

Mūsā, now a grown man reared in the household of Firʿawn, was wandering the city one night. After an unexpected altercation where he sought to help a compatriot of his, he killed a man by mistake. Rumours spread of the manslaughter, and an unnamed advisor urged him to flee the city or risk assassination. He headed to Madyan, and, at its water-place, helped two shy ladies who modestly stood afar lest the hustle and bustle at the well get the better of them. They returned to extend to him their old father’s invitation as gratitude for his chivalry. Their father sat with Mūsā, heard his qaṣaṣ, and discerned he was a virtuous, honourable man. Taking the hint from his daughter, he offered him her hand in marriage for a decade or so of service as dowry, and Mūsā accepted. (28:14-28)

Many years later, and after Mūsā had fulfilled his pledge, he was walking with his family by night and noticed a fire in the distance. Seeking warmth and direction, he told them to stay whilst he scouts the area. Little did he know that he was about to hear the voice of God, as the Almighty called out to him in an unimaginably sacred setting which marked the beginning of the end of Firʿawn and his injustice. (28:29-42)

Context

Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ was revealed after Sūrah al-Naml and before Sūrah al-Isrāʾ. The Prophet ﷺ loved his uncle Abū Ṭālib. When the latter was on his deathbed, he ﷺ wished more than anything that he accept Islam before he passes. He didn’t, fearing that the Quraysh would deride him for it. Allah revealed: “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, rather Allah guides whom He likes, and He knows best the guided” (28:56).

The following āyah was revealed in a place called Juḥfah between Makkah and Madinah: “Indeed, the one who enjoined the Qur’an on you shall surely bring you home again” (28:85). It is said that this was revealed during the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ, and that this is Allah promising him a return to Makkah.

Themes

• The story of Mūsā is narrated with an important parallel between him and the Prophet ﷺ.
• Quraysh are reprimanded for their hypocrisy, saying that they would have believed had Muḥammad ﷺ been given the same as Mūsā.
• Both men came with the same fundamental truth, and the pagans denied both messengers.
• Those who did believe among Ahl al-Kitāb are lauded. (28:43-55)

Unique Features

• Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ is also known as Sūrah Mūsā. It thoroughly discusses his life and prophecy, and there are no other messengers mentioned in the sūrah.
• Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ is the only sūrah which speaks with some detail about Qārūn, Firʿawn’s wealthy henchman. He was of Israelite blood, but was deluded in his riches and so chose the side of his tyrannical crony over the truth. (28:76-82)
• Though Mūsā’s birth, separation from and return to his mother, his killing a man in error, and his stay in Madyan are all briefly cited in Sūrah Ṭā-Hā (20:39-40), the details offered in this sūrah (see Overview) are unique to it.

Lessons

• For every Firʿawn, there is a Mūsā; and for every oppressive despot, there will rise a resilient, faithful, and courageous resistance who will speak truth to tyranny and establish equity in the land; “So look at the inevitable end of the unjust!” (28:40)
• We are in severe need of Allah. He wishes that we display that before Him. Through this internalised admission and consequent external realisation, He bestows upon us great favours. The beautiful duʿā of Mūsā bespeaks this: “My Lord, I am, for whatever you send down to me of good, most needy” (28:24). At the time of making that supplication, he had nothing but the shade of the tree he rested under. After making it, he found marriage and vocation. Express your brokenness to Him, and witness His paving the way for you towards ample goodness.
• Faith is not blind. It is an acute awareness of how little we actually know and control—an evident truism—and a recognition of the Merciful’s benign intention for His subjects. We have but a tiny pixel of a magnificent ultra-high-definition display. It was a mother placing her child in a river that saved him and led to his prophecy, and it was the persecution of the Israelites that led to their deliverance: “We wish to bestow favour upon those oppressed in the land, make them leaders, and make them the inheritors.” (28:5)

Virtues and Valuable Information

• It is relayed that some of the Salaf would say: “The Qur’an was nigh on going to be ‘Mūsā’.” The narrative of the Spoken-to of Allah is by far the most frequent in the Qur’an.