Mūsā (Moses) — موسى

Pharaoh had divided the people and was slaughtering the sons of one group while sparing the women. Into that Mūsā was born. His mother was inspired: nurse him, and when you fear for him, cast him into the river, and do not fear or grieve — We will return him to you and make him one of the messengers.

The basket was picked up by the household of Pharaoh — the Qur'an notes the irony precisely: so that he would become to them an enemy and a source of grief. The child refused every wet nurse, and his own sister, watching from a distance, offered to point them to a household that would nurse him. So he was returned to his mother, that her eye might be comforted and she might know that the promise of Allah is true.

As a young man he intervened in a fight and struck a man, who died. He did not justify it: this is from the work of Satan; my Lord, I have wronged myself, so forgive me. He was forgiven, and he left the city fearful and vigilant.

In Madyan he found two women holding back their flock at a well. He watered for them, then withdrew to the shade and made a supplication of one sentence: my Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need. What followed was work, marriage, and eight to ten years of shepherding — the ordinary decade that prepared him for the mountain.

Travelling with his family, he saw a fire on the side of the mount and went toward it hoping for guidance or warmth. He was called: indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals; you are in the sacred valley of Ṭuwā. He was told plainly: indeed I am Allah; there is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.

Two signs were given — the staff that became a moving serpent, and the hand that came out white without disease. And he was sent to Pharaoh, who had transgressed all bounds. He asked for what he needed rather than for safety: expand my chest, ease my task, untie the knot from my tongue, and appoint for me a helper from my family, Hārūn my brother. Every request was granted.

The brothers were instructed to speak to Pharaoh with gentle speech, that perhaps he might be reminded or fear Allah. He was asked the simplest question — who is the Lord of the worlds? — and answered with mockery and then with the claim that he was their most exalted lord.

The contest was set for the day of the festival. The magicians threw, and the ropes and staffs appeared to move. Then Mūsā threw, and what he had brought swallowed their illusion. The magicians fell into prostration, saying they believed in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Mūsā and Hārūn. Pharaoh threatened them with amputation and crucifixion; their reply is one of the boldest in the Qur'an: no harm — indeed, to our Lord we will return. People who understood illusion best were the first to recognise truth.

They left by night and were pursued. When the two groups saw one another, the companions of Mūsā said: we are surely to be overtaken. His answer was immediate: no — indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me. He was told to strike the sea with his staff, and it parted, each portion like a great towering mountain.

Pharaoh followed and the water closed over him. In his last moments he said he believed in the God of the Children of Israel — and was told: now? while you had disobeyed before and were of the corrupters. His body would be preserved as a sign for those after him. Faith offered only when escape has run out is not faith.

He was appointed thirty nights, completed with ten, and Allah spoke to him directly — for which he is called Kalīm Allāh. He asked to see Him, and was told: you will not see Me; but look at the mountain — if it remains in place, you will see Me. The mountain crumbled and Mūsā fell unconscious. He recovered saying: exalted are You; I have repented to You, and I am the first of the believers.

He returned to find his people worshipping a calf. Angry and grieved, he seized his brother, and Hārūn explained that he had feared causing division among them. Mūsā prayed for them both. The tablets he brought contained instruction and detail for all things. His remaining years were spent carrying a people who had been slaves for generations toward the discipline of freedom — which is why patience, not the miracles, is what the Qur'an keeps returning to in his story.