FIR’AUN’S PLAN, ALLĀH’S DECREE

 FAJR REMINDER: FIR’AUN’S PLAN, ALLĀH’S DECREE

By: Umm Affān

Rabī' Al-Awwal 18, 1448 (31-August-2026)

It is mentioned that when Fir’aun had killed so many of the male children of Banī Israel, the Copts became concerned that the population of Banī Israel would eventually die out. They feared that, once the men were gone, they would be forced to take on the heavy labor that Banī Israel had been performing. So they said to Fir’aun, “If this continues, and their old men die and the young men are killed, their women will not be able to do the work that the men are doing, and we will end up having to do it.”

As a result, Fir’aun ordered that the boys should be killed one year and spared the following year. Prophet Hārūn (‘Alayhi Salām) was born in a year when the boys were not being killed, while Prophet Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām) was born during the year in which the boys were being killed.

Fir’aun appointed midwives to carry out this terrible task. They would go around among the women, inspecting them, and whenever they discovered that a woman was pregnant, they would record her name. When the time came for that woman to give birth, no one was permitted to attend to her except the Coptic women. If she gave birth to a girl, they would leave her and go away. But if she gave birth to a boy, the executioners would enter with their sharp knives, kill the innocent child, and then leave.

Allāh (ﷻ) reminds Banī Israel of this horrific oppression after He saved them from Fir’aun:

وَإِذْ أَنجَيْنَاكُم مِّنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ يُقَتِّلُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ وَفِي ذَٰلِكُم بَلَاءٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌ

“And (remember) when We rescued you from Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people, who were afflicting you with the worst torment, killing your sons and letting your women live. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.” [Sūrah Al-A'raf (7) Verse 141]

Then came the birth of Prophet Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām). When his mother became pregnant with him, she did not display the usual signs of pregnancy, and none of the midwives detected that she was carrying a child. But when she eventually gave birth and discovered that the child was a boy, she was overcome with fear and distress. She did not know what to do with him or how she could protect him from Fir’aun’s soldiers.

Yet when the situation seemed impossible, Allāh opened a way of salvation for him. How was he (‘Alayhi Salām) saved? Allāh (ﷻ) says:

وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِي وَلَا تَحْزَنِي إِنَّا رَادُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ | فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا كَانُوا خَاطِئِينَ | وَقَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍ لِّي وَلَكَ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَىٰ أَن يَنفَعَنَا أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُ وَلَدًا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“And We inspired the mother of Mūsā (saying): ‘Suckle him (Mūsā), but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily! We shall bring him back to you, and shall make him one of (Our) Messengers.’ Then the household of Fir’aun picked him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a (cause of) grief. Verily! Fir’aun, Hāmān, and their hosts were sinners. And the wife of Fir’aun said: ‘A comfort of the eye for you and me. Kill him not, perhaps he may be of benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son.’ And they perceive not (the result of that).” [Sūrah Al-Qasas (28) Verses 7-9]

The mother of Prophet Mūsā lived near the banks of the Nile. She took a box and made it into a cradle for her infant son. She would nurse him, and whenever someone she feared approached the house, she would place him inside the box and set it in the river, securing it with a rope.

Then, one day, someone she feared came to the house. In her haste, she placed her baby inside the box and put it into the river—but she forgot to tie the rope. The current carried the box away. It passed by the house of Fir’aun, where some servant women found it. They picked it up and took it to ‘Āsiyah Bint Muzāḥim, the wife of Fir’aun. The servant women did not know what was inside the box, and they were afraid that they might get into trouble if they opened it without ‘Āsiyah.

Ibn 'Abbās (Raḍiyallāhu 'Anhumā) reported: The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said,

أَفْضَلُ نِسَاءِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ خَدِيجَةُ بِنْتُ خُوَيْلِدٍ وَفَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَمَرْيَمُ بِنْتُ عِمْرَانَ وَآسِيَةُ بِنْتُ مُزَاحِمٍ امْرَأَةُ فِرْعَوْنَ

“The best of women among the people of Paradise are Khadījah Bint Khuwaylid, Fāṭimah Bint Muḥammad, Maryam bint ‘Imrān, and ‘Āsiyah Bint Muzāḥim, the wife of Fir'aun.” [Musnad Aḥmad 2896]

When the box was finally opened, they discovered a beautiful baby boy inside. The moment ‘Āsiyah saw him, Allāh placed love for him in her heart. It was part of the blessing Allāh had bestowed upon her, and part of the decree by which He would eventually bring about the downfall of her husband.

When Fir’aun saw the child, he wanted to kill him because he feared that the boy might be one of Banī Israel. But his wife immediately came to the child's defense and tried to persuade Fir’aun to spare him. And so, by the Will and Decree of Allāh, Prophet Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām) was saved.

Subḥānallāh! The very household of the tyrant who was slaughtering the sons of Banī Israel became the place where one of those sons was protected and raised. This is how Allāh works. When He decrees safety for someone, no plan of the wicked can prevent it. Fir’aun had the power, the soldiers, and the authority. Yet the child he feared most was raised under his own roof.

I beseech Allāh (ﷻ) to save us from all troubles and evil plans of the wicked. Aameen.