Surah Al-Qasas 28:22-28 - Quran Translation Commentary

23. And when he reached the water (well) of Madyan, he found there a group of people, watering.⁴⁴ And he found apart from them two women⁴⁵ keeping back (their flock). He said: “What is your problem⁴⁶?” The two replied: “We cannot give water (to the flock) unless the shepherds drive away their flock (from the well), and our father is a very old man.”⁴⁷

24. So he watered (there sheep) for them.⁴⁸ Then he turned towards the shade, and prayed: “My Lord! I am in need of whatever good you send down for me.”⁴⁹

25. Then one of the two women came to him, walking shyly.⁵⁰ She said: “My father invites you so that he may reward you⁵¹ for having watered (the sheep) for us.” So when Moosa went to him⁵² and narrated the whole story, he (the old man) said: “Fear not, you have been rescued from the wrongdoing people.”⁵³

26.One of the women said: “O my father! Hire him into service. For the best man that you can hire is strong and trustworthy.”⁵⁴

27. He (the father) said (to Moosa): “I desire to give one of my two daughters in marriage to you if you stay for eight years in my service; and if you complete ten years, it will depend on your sweet will. I do not desire to make it hard for you. Allah willing, you will find me of the righteous.”⁵⁵

28. Moosa said: “It is settled between you and me. Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, it will be no injustice to me,⁵⁶ and Allah is the witness to what we say.”⁵⁷

Commentary

43. Madyan was situated on the eastern bank of the Gulf of Aqba at a distance of eight days’ journey. Since this place was outside the kingdom of Firaun, Moosa turned towards it. He could not get the time to make preparations for this journey, nor could he get any information about the paths he would have to traverse, he had set out putting his trust in Allah, and had prayed to him to guide him to the right path. Allah blessed him with his favour, and he reached Madyan directly, and further on the path of guidance went on becoming clear to him.

44.That is: Before entering the city, he reached a well, where a lot of people had gathered, and were busy in watering their sheep.

45.That is: The two women were standing a little away from the men, waiting for their turn to water their flocks.

46.Prophet Moosa asked this question out of sympathy for them. On such occasions there is nothing wrong in talking to strange women.

47. Here this is a hint at the custom which the men had put into practice at that place, that is: first men would provide water to their animals and thereafter women would water their sheep, although women should have been given first turn on account of their being weak and for other reasons. But such a feeling or consideration was neither in the shepherds of that time nor is it in the progressive people of the modern times.

These women had to look after their sheep and bring them to the well for watering because there was no young man in their house except their father who was very old, though from the viewpoint of justice and Shariah the responsibility for the outside work falls on the shoulders of men, but in times of need women are not forbidden to work, provided they work keeping themselves in the Shariah limits and take care of their modesty.

48.When Prophet Moosa heard this, he took their animals to the well and watered them. He was very strongly built and courageous and the shepherds did not prevent him from working for the two women. This was a selfless and social welfare work, which Moosa performed at a time when he was terribly tired and in distress. But the work which is performed for seeking Allah’s pleasure and with sincerity, however small it may be, Allah appreciates it and makes it worthwhile. In a hadith it is stated-

“Whoever meets the needs of his brother Allah meets his needs.” -(Muslim -Kitabul Bir).

49. It gives an idea how disturbed and troubled Prophet Moosa must have been. Probably he might have been on the verge of starvation but how self-respecting he was, that he did not mention it to anyone. He did not beg before anybody. He begged before his Lord only. What a magnificent example of trust in God is manifested from his character! In his prayer too, he had been extremely humble. He did not complain about his condition, but merely stated his needs.

50.The walking of woman shyly towards Moosa expresses her modesty. The reason why a mention of this manner of approach has been made is that it wants to give the people a guidance that if a woman is required to go to a man who is a stranger then she should take care of her modesty and avoid undue exposure.

Nowadays it has become common for women to go out for some work, but there is a difference between going out covering oneself with the sheet of modesty and meeting all the demands of chastity and going out exposing oneself and meeting men shamelessly. The first condition is lawful and the second one is forbidden.

51. When the two women might have narrated this story to their father that a young gentleman had come to the well and had helped them, he might have thought whether this traveller had taken any food or not, and that his good deed should be repaid with good deed. Therefore, he sent his daughter to fetch him.

52. The service rendered by Moosa was without any compensation in view. But as he was a traveller it was necessary to treat him as a guest. Moreover he had just now prayed for Allah’s help and this invitation could possibly open a new vista of help for him, so he accepted the invitation. And Prophet Moosa went to the women’s house?

53. After hearing Moosa’s story the old man reassured Prophet Moosa that in that land Firaun was not the ruler, and therefore, there was no reason for Moosa to be in fear and that he was out of danger, delivered of the wrongdoing people. Who was this old man who had called Prophet Moosa to his house ?

Qur’an has not mentioned the name of this old man but generally the commentators say that his name was Shuaib, which for certain reasons is not correct:

1. If Prophet Shuaib were a contemporary of Prophet Moosa Qur’an would have clearly stated it.

2. The time of Prophet Shuaib was close to the time of Prophet Loot. Accordingly Prophet Shuaib advises his people to take a lesson from the consequence of the people of Loot:

“And (The adverse consequence) of people of Loot is not far off from you.” (Hood. 89 ).

3. That he was Prophet Shuaib is not confirmed by any authentic hadith. The narratives in which this name is mentioned are not authentic. Ibn Katheer writes in his Commentary:

“And in some traditions the clarification about the name of Shuaib that appears in connection with the chronicle of Prophet Moosa - their sources are not reliable:” -(Tafseer Ibn Katheer Vol. III P.385) Allama Ibn Taimiyah writes:

“He was not Shuaib, as some wrong thinkers have opined. The past scholars and the people “of the Book know that he was not Shuaib.”

-( Majmu’ fatawa Ibn Taimiyah, Vol.20, page 429 ).

4. In the Bible at one place his name is mentioned as Ra’wail (Exodus -2;18).

At other places it is mentioned to be Jethro (Exodus-1:3) And Bible’s interpreter writes that it appears that this name has been inserted later on, that is in the Torah this name was not there:

“He is called Jethro in E-narratives though in each case the name seems to have been inserted later.”

-(The Interpreters one-Volume Commentary on the Bible P.38).

5. This man was very old. If he were Shuaib, then his time would have been after the visitation of punishment to his people, therefore, people of faith would also have been with him, and in their presence no shepherd would have dared prevent them from watering their sheep.

Therefore, the correct interpretation is that this old man was not Prophet Shuaib. However, the most likely possibility is that he would have been one of the members of Shuaib’s family.

54.There was no other male member in the household of this old gentleman. And when his daughter saw that Prophet Moosa was a strong man and for this work a strong man would have been suitable, and besides by his behaviour Prophet Moosa appeared to be a trust-worthy man, and in the house only a reliable man could be employed, she advised that Prophet Moosa might be hired. And the second aspect of this advice was that a stranger who was of good character would get support in a gentleman’s house.

From this opinion of the girl it appears that the girl was very intelligent, and her advice was quite reasonable. This is a proof of the fact that some women are very intelligent and their advice can also be very useful. Therefore, it is not proper to denigrate the importance of women. Qur’an makes mention of distinguished women with particular emphasis.

55. The offer of the old man of Madyan to marry his daughter to Moosa was not an emotional decision, taken in a hurry, but it was taken after gaining personal experience and listening to Prophet Moosa’s story from his own lips. Firstly the personality of a Prophet before his attaining prophethood is also the mirror of his high moral character, secondly for the people of Madyan Bani Israel were not strangers but there were family relations between the two people. Prophet Ibrahim’s female slave, whose name, as mentioned in the Bible, was Qutura, and the son born out of her was Midian, whom he settled in Madyan, and this region took its name from him. Prophet Shuaib was from this race. When the people of Shuaib were subjected to divine punishment, Shuaib and his companions were safe from this punishment and settled in the nearby region, which came to be called Madyan. Not unlikely that this old man might have been from the family of Prophet. Shuaib and he might have felt nearest to Prophet Moosa for his being member of Bani Israel. Any way this old man was a virtuous Muslim, and his sympathies were with Prophet Moosa because he was an oppressed person and was a member of the oppressed community.

This old man required a male person to look after his flock, and Prophet Moosa needed some support in a strange land. Therefore, he very kindly offered his daughter’s hand in marriage so that he might live as a member of his family. As for the term of eight years for service, it might have been for the reason that the incident of murder by that time get old and forgotten and it might become possible for Moosa to take his wife to Egypt and there should be no danger of Firaun taking any action against him. And the most important thing was that it was Allah’s will that Moosa should travel to Egypt at the time when he might be due to be appointed Allah’s messenger, the time which was appropriate and destined.

The term of the service for eight years was not the ‘Mehr’ or the dower, for Mehr is for the wife and not for the wife’s father, and till that time even the girl who was to be given in marriage was not fixed. The old man had merely said that one of the two daughters would be given in marriage. It was not a contract of nikah but merely an agreement, in which the old man had kept in mind the needs of his daughters and also of Prophet Moosa. And it is also possible that the girls themselves seeing that Moosa had nothing to offer as Mehr might have of their own accord agreed to forgo their Mehr. Any way what the father said was, as circumstances show, with the consent of his daughters.

It is not necessary that the nikah might have been performed after the terms of the agreement were fulfilled, but it is quite probable that after agreement was reached the old man decided which daughter to be given in marriage and after some time might have joined the two in marriage, so that he, might live as a member of his family, and might also work at looking after their sheep.

56.That is: If after completing the term of eight years I may desire to take away my wife, then I should not be stopped, nor should I be prevented from continuing to work for ten years.

57. It shows in what spirit this agreement was made, and the agreement which is made with good intention and making Allah as a witness must be for good only.