The Egyptians adopt Moses

The Quran relates in 28:7-14 the powerful story of Moses' infancy, when he was adopted by the Egyptian nobility and was thus saved from being slaughtered as was decreed by the Pharao against the newborns of the enslaved Israelites. As soon as he was born, through inspiration, God communicated to Moses' mother that, despite the clear danger, she should keep him and care for him so long as the threat did not become imminent. But when it did, she was to put him in a chest, and release him upon the river, while fully trusting that he will eventually be brought back to her and further reassured that he will be honored as a prophet 20:38-40. 

Someone unspecified among Pharao's family (the HB says in Ex2 it was Pharao's daughter) found him drifting along the river and brought him back to the household, where Pharao's wife pleaded for his life and proposed the idea of adopting him. In a specific time where newborn males were being slaughtered, it would have surely been suspicious to find an infant drifting along the river, even moreso should he be found by the royal family who was directly treathened by the potential rise of an individual who would cause them troubles. The most obvious outcome in that case would be to murder him or leave him to die, as was being done to the other infants. 

The Quran however sheds an important light upon this part of the story, stating it was a miracle in itself that Moses was taken up, in addition by the Egyptian elite who had every interest in having him killed 

20:39"And I cast down upon you love from Me (that every one may love you), and that you might be brought up before My eyes". 

As he was definitely taken up, Moses' grieving mother told his sister to observe the situation from afar in order that she might be informed of the evolution of the situation. It is interesting to note at this point the subtle nuances, again loaded with meaning between the Quran's account and the convoluted and improbable one in the HB, where Moses' sister immediately shows up after Moses was picked up by Pharao's daughter to propose the idea of taking him to a foster mother from among the Israelites. This naive depiction of the event shows a simple minded Egyptian unable to uncover the obvious plot, from among the tyrant's own household, temporarily returning a newborn from among those that were ordered to be slaughtered, back to the Israelites, as soon as she found and recognized his ethnicity, and without any valid explanation, followed by the request to have the infant's return some time later, before any real bond existed between him and his future adoptive family. Moses supposedly returns as a grown child, to live among and be accepted by the unsuspecting Egyptian nobility and Pharao himself who had no previous contact with him. He was raised by Pharao's daughter, which is another improbability if we consider the Pharao being RamessessII.

The Quran on the other hand does not speak of any interraction between Moses' sister and the Egyptians that found him, until the appropriate time came and his adoptive family had no choice but to evaluate any foreign suggestion for his case 

"And We ordained that he refused to suck any foster mother before, so she said: Shall I point out to you the people of a house who will take care of him for you, and they will be benevolent to him?" 

The Egyptian household had no alternative but to act upon the opportune recommendation or else the infant, whom they so dearly loved as per God's miraculous decree despite knowing his ethnicity, would not be fed 

"So We gave him back to his mother that her eye might be refreshed, and that she might no grieve, and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true, but most of them do not know". 

Before that point Moses as an infant had already spent some time inside Pharao's own household where he was accepted and cared for, upon the insistence of Pharao's wife 28:9, so his future return among them, following his nurturing by his biological mother, is completely understandable and fits well with the narrative 26:18. This is just another instance of the Quran demonstrating its remarkable ability to introduce independent details within a narrative only when those details have a significant function to fullfill, in this case reintroducing the truth surrounding Moses' infancy 

28:2-3"These are the verses of the Book that makes (things) clear. We recite to you from the account of Musa and Pharao with truth for people who believe".

It is important to note, in the Quranic narrative, Moses' mission was not primarily aimed at freeing the Israelites. This was secondary. His most important purpose was to confront Pharao and urge him to reform, to desist from his cruelty and claims to the divine 

20:24"Go to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed". 

His tyranical behavior, including the enslavement of the Israelites stemmed directly from his most evil transgressions. That is why the messenger was told to tackle the problem at its root. Moses was going to meet the most powerful man on earth, a tyrant who knew no mercy. Allah strengthened him with miracles, and the assistance of his brother Aaron. The secrets of his years as an infant, floating under Allah's protection on the river, then raised inside Pharaoh's household were then brought to light. Some of the intricacies of the causalities of life were unveiled to Moses, and how Allah's will is in control at ever step. By allowing Moses to be reared under Pharaoh's nose, yet at the same time preventing the tyrant's hand from harming him, God was preparing Moses for his momentous task, giving him the courage of going back to Egypt to confront him. Just as his enemy could not harm him as an infant, so will be the case now 

20:37-9"And We had already conferred favor upon you another time, When We inspired to your mother what We inspired, [Saying], 'Cast him into the chest and cast it into the river, and the river will throw it onto the bank; there will take him an enemy to Me and an enemy to him.' And I bestowed upon you love from Me that you would be brought up under My eye". 

Further, to even be allowed an audience the way Moses was, a special kind of relationship had to exist between him and Pharao.

The signs of Moses

The Quran speaks of nine signs given to Moses 17:101,27:12 divided into 6 signs to Egypt in general and 3 signs to Pharao in particular; 

1)rod into serpent 7:107,20:20-1,27:10 

2)shining white hand without any evil 20:22,27:12,28:32 

3)capacity to ward off fear by drawing his arm to himself 28:32, an impressive feat to achieve if one considers how ruthless the Egyptian leader was, and how dreaded were his cruel punishments. An interesting linguistic observation is in the image the Quran uses to describe that ability; it says janah/wing instead of ‘hand’ to liken the state of man’s tranquility and calmness to the state of a bird that when it observes a frightening thing, it flies, but when it regains its calmness, it gathers its wings.

4)drought resulting in shortage of thamaraat (used for product of anything conceptually) 7:130 

5)overwhelming, encompassing, circling event/tufan steming from t-w-f. In the context of a deadly event this could refer to any physically overwhelming calamity, as in a deluge 29:14, or even the thick enveloping impenetrable darkness which extinguished all lights and gripped the Egyptians with fear. The phrase tufan al dhalam refers to the intensity of the darkness of night. 

6)locusts

7)lice

8)frogs

9)blood 7:133 

The account and listing of the plagues in the HB is convoluted. The Torah mentions 10 signs to Egypt in general and 2 signs to Pharaoh specifically. It also says that the Israelites in particular were shown 3 of those total 12 signs to make them believe in Moses' prophethood Ex4-14; rod into serpent, Moses' hand turns leprous then is instantly healed, water of the Nile turns into blood when Moses sprinkles it on the dry land (also if he touches it with his staff, the whole river turns into blood Ex7), frogs, gnat, flies, death of livestock, boils (skin disease), hail and lightening, locusts, three days of darkness, death of all firstborns except those of the Israelites. The books of Psalms in ch78 and 105 however seem to be drawing on different traditions, as both the number and details of the plagues differ with what is stated in the Torah.

The leprous hand was, according to Jewish oral tradition partially an expression of God's reprobation for Moses "slanderously" doubting God's assurance that the Israelites will believe in his prophethood Ex4:1. Some of the signs mentioned in the Quran are general and may include several specific ones listed in the HB, hence the difference in total number. For example hail and lightening could be, along with the three days of darkness, a sub-category of tufan. The death of livestock could be included as a consequence of the severe drought resulting in loss of produce. 

Pharao's power and dominion were destroyed in answer to his repeated rejection of the signs, including the 9 manifest signs 7:133,17:101. Moses was warned to flee the land by night so as to escape those bent on murdering him and his people. God this way caused Moses and those with him to bait Pharao and his army into their site of final retribution 

26:52-68,43:49-56,44:23-30,7:134-6"if you remove the plague from us, we will certainly believe in you and we will certainly send away with you the children of Israel. But when We removed the plague from them till a term which they should attain lo! they broke (the promise). Therefore We inflicted retribution on them and drowned them in the sea because they rejected Our signs and were heedless of them". 

The Quran makes it clear, the Egyptians never truly considered releasing the Israelites. Their repeated rejection of the signs led them to a point where they were planning on inflicting mass slaughter upon them. It was at that culminating point that Moses received the command to escape by night.

The Quran therefore does not give credence to the events of passover where God, frustrated with the Egyptians' disregard of His signs, resorted to the mass killing of all Egyptian firstborn. This isnt a case of divine punishment falling on a nation and resulting in the collateral deaths of innocents. In this case, God's wrath is so intense, His desire for vengeance so deep, that he purposefully targeted the innocent and left the guilty alive so as to witness the massacre of their progeny. It is important to emphasize, the criteria for death was not unrighteousness, rejection of the prophet or any type of evil behavior. The criteria was simply, being the firstborn, human or animal, and living in Egypt. Killing was to be indiscriminate and included the Israelites' firstborn too, hence God's secretly sharing the protective ritual with them only. They were to mark their doors with the blood of a sacrificed animal, as a sign which the angel of destruction would recognize so as to spare them. But to the unfortunate who did not know the protective ritual, including "the firstborn of the maidservant sitting behind the mill", death was inevitable. Desperate, Pharao agreed letting the Israelites free temporarily, until he came back to his senses and pursued them to the seashore where he was drowned together with his army Ex13.  The plague would have decimated the Israelites themselves. Passover thus later commemorated the event as a thanksgiving celebration. In the biblical account, the Israelites were saved by God from God. In the Quran, they were saved by God from Pharao. There is a reason why this 10th plague gave rise to controversies, and why the Quran doesnt give any importance to that legend retrospectively grafted unto the story. In the Quran, Pharao was the baby killer from whom the Israelites needed saving.

As a side note, in sura qasas it says the Egyptians' initial decree to mass slaughter the newborn Israelite males was due to fear 28:6. It further says that Moses' rescue and adoption by Pharao's household was divinely decreed 

28:8"that he (Moses) might be an enemy and a grief for them". 

We are thus given the background for that fear of the Egyptians, which led to the cruel decree as regards the infant Israelites; a newborn male was destined to become a formidable foe to the Egyptian elite. They knew it somehow and wanted to prevent it by systematically slaughtering all newborn males as well as cutting off the Hebrew lineage by taking their women to themselves. Other places where reference to that slaughter is made 2:49,7:141,14:6. Later on, when Moses returned to Egypt as a prophet, Pharao threatened to repeat that violent crime 7:127,40:25. It must have been a dreadful news to the enslaved Israelites, a powerful deterrent for anyone contemplating  to join Musa. 

In the Quran thus, no credence is given to the events of passover as depicted in the Bible where God decides to slaughter all firstborns, frustrated by the Egyptians' denial of the miracles and plagues. The order came from Pharao and was aimed at punishing those that rebelled against him.

In the HB Ex1 the Egyptians' fear was due to the enslaved Israelites' increasing demography, swelling to the extent that they "became so numerous that the land was filled with them", which is a historical inaccuracy. In their oral tradition however it says 

"Pharaoh cared only about the males, because his astrologers told him that a son was destined to be born who would save them (Exod. Rabbah1:18)". 

These "astrologers" were probably just echoing what the Israelites themselves were rumouring amidst their intense suffering, a saviour is bound to rise and take them to the land promised to their forefather.

This 10th plague is obviously one that left the Jewish thinkers uneasy throughout the centuries, to the point they came up with a way to shift the blame away from God by arguing that the firstborn were executed for murdering their own fathers 

"When God sent the plague of the firstborn ... all the firstborn Egyptians went to speak to their fathers and said “Everything which Moses has said has come true, don’t you want us to live? Let us get the Hebrew slaves out of our homes now. Otherwise we are dead.” The fathers answered “even if all of Egypt dies they are not leaving.” All the firstborn gathered in front of Pharaoh and screamed “Please remove the Hebrews, because of them evil will befall us and you.” Pharaoh said to his servants, “Remove the protesters and break their knees.” What did the young Egyptians do? Each took a sword and killed his father". (Midrash Tehillim 136:6; Tanchuma, Parshat Bo 18).

Recent scholarship has unearthed evidence associating the passover ritual with Canaanite theology, which heavily influenced the Israelites' own religion. This may be a case where pagan tradition was fused with historical events. The name itself, "pesach", before its retrospective application to the event of death "passing over" the Israelites' houses, is found in semi-nomadic rituals of protection from a malevolent deity and demons during spring time (Leonhard Rost/Martin Noth).

The hardening of Pharao's heart

The passage mentioning the hardening of Pharao's heart has troubled biblical commentators because it seems like a direct action by YHWH preventing people from the right path. In the biblical narrative Moses was sent with miracles to pharao but with a clear purpose; to cause God -in answer to Pharao's denial of the miracle- to unleash His series of punishments on Egypt and consequently free the enslaved Israelites. This is according to the principles that YHWH disposes as He wills of the hearts of the people, and more particularly of nations' leaders 

Prov21:1"A king's heart is like rivulets of water in the Lord's hand; wherever He wishes, He turns it".

 For the attainment of this purpose in regards to the Egyptian ruler 

Ex7:3-5,13,Ex10:1"I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them". 

Pharao and his officials had no other issue but to be doomed 

Ex14:4"And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army". 

That outcome was foreseen even prior to Moses' confrontation with the Egyptian ruler. God tells Moses, Pharao will not heed his message unless forcefully compelled by God to do so Ex3:19. And that is because Pharao's heart was purposefully hardened prior to the performance of miracles. Why would YHWH inflict Pharao with spiritual blindness if he was already blind in the first place and unable to hearken Moses' calls? This would render YHWH's curse redundant. YHWH's purpose in blinding Pharao is clearly stated in the text, it was to create a chain of events meant at destroying the Egyptian oppressors and ultimately freeing the Israelites. YHWH also had a personal grudge with the gods of Egypt and their worldly representor, Pharao. YHWH wanted prove to the Egyptians in a spectacular manner that it was He, not the false gods, that controlled all aspects of their lives. YWHW skilfully orchestrates, through Pharao' obstinate rejection of the plagues and Moses' miracles, a gradual public battle of the gods 

Ex9:15-16"For if now I had stretched forth My hand and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth. But for this reason I have allowed you to stand in order to show you My strength and in order to declare My Name all over the earth". 

That battle of the gods had to be repeated several times for YHWH to make his point clear to the Egyptians, hence the gradual destruction of land, and the preservation of Pharao as YHWH's main tool in the process. Had Pharao repented, he would have told the Egyptians to follow suit, which would have in turn frustrated YHWH's plans, hence the hardening of his heart. This removed any possibility of reform at the sight of the signs and warnings 

Ex8:15"So the necromancers said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God," but Pharaoh's heart remained steadfast, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had spoken". 

It is interesting to note that even prior to that, the subjugation, enslavement and opression of the Israelites themselves is attributed to God who is said to have stirred the peoples' hatred and jealousy towards them 

Ps105:23-5"Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And He made His people very fruitful, and He made it stronger than its adversaries. He turned their heart to hate His people, to plot against His servants". 

The same was done later to Sihon king of Heshbon whose spirit was caused by God 

"to be hardened and his heart to be obstinate". 

Sihon consequently refused Moses' peace offer and was defeated in battle, his land conquered, his people massacred Deut2:26-35. Similarly, we read in Isa37:7 of God instilling a certain desire into the wicked Assyrian king Sennacherib that would ultimately create a chain of events leading to his death. Again later, God would harden the hearts of the Canaanites in order that Israel 

Josh11:20-23"might destroy them completely, and that they might have no favor, that they (the Jews) might destroy them as the Lord had commanded Moses". 

In Judges9:22-24

"God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the inhabitants of Shechem" 

in order that the king Abimelech might be severely punished for his wickedness and murders of the sons of Gideon 

53"Thus God requited the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in killing his seventy brothers". 

YHWH prevented Solomon's son, Rehoboam, from hearkening the wise counsel of his father's former advisers about using tact, diplomacy in his dealings with the people who were heavily burdened by the royal taxation system instaured since the time of king David. YHWH prevented Rehoboam in order that the promised punishment of Solomon for his alleged sins, including the sin of idolatry, comes true through the scission of the kingdom 

1Kings11,12:15"The king did not listen to the people, for it was something brought about by the Lord, in order to fulfill His word". 

Just as one day, YHWH will draw Magog by "hooks into its jaws" as would be done with a wild beast Ezek38, throughout the course of history, God would rise and forcefully incite neighboring nations to destroy and subjugate the Israelites for their transgressions. These punishing nations were later destroyed themselves, despite having done the task required of them. This would be the case of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Amonites, Moabites etc as described in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

The Quran says on the contrary that Moses and Aaron were primarily sent to Pharao and the corrupt elite around him to make them mend their ways by adopting purity of belief, morals and deeds. That is why his heart could not, and was not hardened prior to his successive encounters with Moses as a prophet, and witnessing the divine signs. In fact the Quran explains that part of the reason why Moses' mother was told to send her infant son drifting upon the river until he would be picked up and reared within Pharaoh's household, was to prepare him for this momentous task. It is important to note, in the Quranic narrative, Moses' mission was not primarily aimed at freeing the Israelites. This was secondary. His most important purpose was to confront Pharao and urge him to reform, to desist from his cruelty and claims to the divine 

20:24"Go to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed". 

His tyranical behavior, including the enslavement of the Israelites stemmed directly from his most evil transgressions. That is why the messenger was told to tackle the problem at its root. Moses was going to meet the most powerful man on earth, a tyrant who knew no mercy. Allah strengthened him with miracles, and the assistance of his brother Aaron. The secrets of his years as an infant, floating under Allah's protection on the river, then raised inside Pharaoh's household were then brought to light. Some of the intricacies of the causalities of life were unveiled to Moses, and how Allah's will is in control at ever step. By allowing Moses to be reared under Pharaoh's nose, yet at the same time preventing the tyrant's hand from harming him, God was preparing Moses for his momentous task, giving him the courage of going back to Egypt to confront him. Just as his enemy could not harm him as an infant, so will be the case now 

20:37-9"And We had already conferred favor upon you another time, When We inspired to your mother what We inspired, [Saying], 'Cast him into the chest and cast it into the river, and the river will throw it onto the bank; there will take him an enemy to Me and an enemy to him.' And I bestowed upon you love from Me that you would be brought up under My eye". 

Further, to even be allowed an audience the way Moses was, a special kind of relationship had to exist between him and Pharao. All prophets when they are sent to a powerful nation, begin by targeting the corrupt and tyrannical leaders of that nation 

10:75-6"Then We sent after them Musa and Harun to Firon and his chiefs with Our signs, but they were arrogant and they were a criminal people. So when the truth came to them from Us, they said: Indeed, this is surely an obvious magic". 

The particularity of Pharao's transgression, that made him, among other sins 

20:24"exceed all limits" 

was his claim to divine status 28:38,79:24, a sin which a prophet of God could never overlook. Part of the kitab revealed to Moses was thus aimed at Pharao, more specifically the message of tawhid/divine unity as is clear from his exchanges with the ruler. However, most of that kitab of Moses was filled with directives for the children of Israel, to establish them as a nation before God 23:45-49,32:23. Their preparation had to begin in Egypt itself. After Moses' prophetic authority was accepted among his people thanks to his public defeat of Pharao and his magicians, and as the plagues were being inflicted upon Egypt, the Israelites were told to reform themselves and begin establishing regular prayers 10:87. Although some followed the instructions, the majority resisted and died with the plagues. 

Going back to the issue of determining the object of Moses and Aaron's mission to Pharao, as per the Quranic account, what transpires is that they were trying to show Pharao that he was threading an ungodly path, all the while requesting the freedom of an enslaved nation. The reform of Pharao consisted in reminding him and the Egyptian elite of the forgotten path of the righteous people that preceded them. These people were once even among the ruling class of Egypt. It is the way of Jacob and Joseph whom God had raised to power and a status of eminence in that land. Although their righteous, monotheistic ways were once accepted by the ruling class, the rest of the population did not readily assimilate their practices. When that polytheistic population eventually made it back to power after Joseph's passing 40:34-5, these righteous ways were nevertheless kept being practiced in the land, including by the righteous people of Israel for centuries before they themselves in great proportions, gradually forsook the straight path and alligned themselves with the practices and superstitions of the land. This was inevitable considering the duress of slavery that prevented them from living in accordance with their own spiritual requirements 

25:36"Go to the people who denied Our Revelations". 

The Egyptian ruling class even in the time of Moses, were thus aware of prophets having gone in their midst, and knew of their religion. As a side note According to oral Jewish tradition based on Ex5:4, the Levites were in fact dispensed from the hard labor inflicted on the rest of the nation, because they were supposed to be the ones devoted to spiritual activities among their people. This Egyptian ruling class however, like the people of all ages, rejected the ways of rectitude based on the blind following and attachement to the ways of the close generations that passed away, and they were concerned above all for their material benefits; the fear of losing their social advantages and the suspicion that the reformers were in fact motivated by a desire of supplanting them from their socio-economical eminence 10:78,20:47-52,28:36. 

In the Quran it was therefore not until after Pharao's obstinate rejection of God's signs that were actually meant at making him mend his ways 7:130-5,17:101-2,20:56,43:48 but that had the reverse effect of increasing his arrogance and folly, that his and his official's hearts were irreversibly hardened, kept away from the correct path 10:75-89,40:37. 

The Bible says the entire opposite as shown earlier. Pharao's heart was hardened from the get go, before he even had a chance to reform himself by being exposed to Moses' message and miracles. In the Quran, instead of this being some kind of arbitrary and wanton divine curse, it is but a natural consequence of repeated, wilful spiritual neglect to the point spirituality is degraded beyond repair. The Quran gives several transgressions, which, despite the warnings, brought Pharao closer to spiritual collapse; going as far as requesting for the building of a tower to reach for the heavens and disprove Moses' claims, misusing his powers without limits to prevent the people from practicing the true religion and establishing places of worship, and finally the direct attempt at murdering God's manifest messenger 44:20-22. Disbelievers of all times suffer the same consequences when they repeatedly deny God's signs 13:33. At that point, once it had been made clear that Moses' opponents will not desist from rejecting and will only increase further in their animosity, to the extent that Moses and his people had no other option but to flee, Moses invoked Allah's curse upon his enemies. He asked God to harden Pharao's heart and destroy what gave him the ability to oppress the people and corrupt the land, and God accepted Moses' prayer instantly.