BUT ALLĀH HAD A BETTER PLAN

 FAJR REMINDER: BUT ALLĀH HAD A BETTER PLAN

By: Umm Affān

Rabī' Al-Awwal 19, 1448 (1-September-2026)

When Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām) was cast into the river, his mother’s heart became empty. She could think of nothing in this world except her beloved child. The grief was so overwhelming that she was almost unable to conceal what had happened.

 A mother's love! It was narrated that Ṣa'ṣa'ah, the paternal uncle of Aḥnaf, said:

دَخَلَتْ عَلَى عَائِشَةَ امْرَأَةٌ مَعَهَا ابْنَتَانِ لَهَا فَأَعْطَتْهَا ثَلاَثَ تَمَرَاتٍ فَأَعْطَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُمَا تَمْرَةً ثُمَّ صَدَعَتِ الْبَاقِيَةَ بَيْنَهُمَا.‏ قَالَتْ فَأَتَى النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَحَدَّثْتُهُ فَقَالَ ‏ ”مَا عَجَبُكِ لَقَدْ دَخَلَتْ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ.“

“A woman entered upon Ā'ishah with her two daughters, and she gave her three dates. (The woman) gave each of her daughters a date, then she split the last one between them. She (Ā'ishah) said: ‘Then the Prophet (ﷺ) came and I told him about that.’ He said: ‘Why are you surprised? She will enter Paradise because of that.” [Sunan Ibn Mājah 3668]

Because of the intensity of the grief that had overtaken Mūsā's mother, she almost revealed that she had lost her son. She would have disclosed her secret had Allāh not strengthened her heart. Allāh (ﷻ) informs: 

 إِن كَادَتْ لَتُبْدِي بِهِ لَوْلَا أَن رَّبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قَلْبِهَا لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“She was very near to disclose his (case, i.e. the child is her son), had We not strengthened her heart (with Faith) so that she might remain as one of the believers.” [Sūrah Al-Qasas (28) Verse 10]

Despite her anguish, she held herself together. She instructed Mūsā’s sister, who was older and mature enough to understand the situation, to follow his traces and find out what had happened to him around the city. Mūsā’s sister went out and watched him from a distance, carefully observing what was happening without giving anyone any reason to suspect her.

Eventually, Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām) was taken into the household of Fir’aun. His wife had already begun to love the child and had pleaded with Fir’aun not to kill him. They then brought several wet nurses to feed him, but Mūsā refused to take milk from any of them. Allāh (ﷻ) informs:

وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ مِن قَبْلُ 

“And We had already forbidden (other) foster suckling mothers for him…” [Sūrah Al-Qasas (28) Verse 12]

Subḥānallāh! What appeared to be a problem was actually part of Allāh’s perfect Plan. It had been decreed that Mūsā would accept milk from no woman except his own mother. Allāh made this the means by which the mother who had been separated from her child would be reunited with him. The very situation that had filled her heart with fear would become the means through which Allāh would grant her safety, comfort, and happiness.

They took Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām) around the marketplace, hoping to find a woman who could nurse him. When his sister saw him, she recognized him immediately, but she gave no indication that she knew him. No one suspected that she had any connection with the child. When she noticed that they were confused and desperately searching for someone who could nurse him, she offered them a solution. She said, as Allāh (ﷻ) informs:

هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَهْلِ بَيْتٍ يَكْفُلُونَهُ لَكُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ نَاصِحُونَ

“Shall I direct you to a household who will rear him for you, and sincerely they will look after him in a good manner?” [Sūrah Al-Qasas (28) Verse 12]

Look at how Allāh took care of Prophet Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām) from the very beginning. His mother had placed him in the river out of obedience to Allāh. Fir’aun had tried to destroy the children of Banī Isrā’īl. Yet the very child whom Fir’aun wanted dead was brought into his own household and raised under his protection.

And now, when everyone was confused about who could nurse him, Mūsā’s sister appeared with the answer. Imām Ibn Kathīr (Raḥimahullāh) mentioned in his Tafsīr of the above verse that Ibn ‘Abbās (Raḍiyallāhu ‘Anhuma) said: “When she said that, they had some doubts about her, so they seized her and asked her, how do you know these people will be sincere and will care for him.” She said to them, “They will be sincere and will care for him because they want the king to be happy and because they hope for some reward.”

So they let her go. After what she had said, and after being saved from their harm, they took her to her family’s house and brought the baby to his mother. She offered him her breast, and he accepted it. Subḥānallāh! The people who had been desperately searching for a woman who could nurse the child had unknowingly brought him straight back to his own mother. The mother who had feared for her son's life was now able to hold him, nurse him, and care for him openly—without Fir’aun or his people realizing who she truly was. They rejoiced and sent the glad tidings to Āsiyah, the wife of Fir’aun.

Āsiyah called for Mūsā’s mother, treating her kindly and rewarding her generously. She did not realize that this woman was the child’s real mother. She only knew that the baby had accepted her milk. Āsiyah then asked her to remain with her and nurse the baby. But Mūsā’s mother refused, saying, “I have a husband and children, and I cannot stay with you, but if you would like me to nurse him in my own home, I will do that.” Āsiyah agreed.

Mūsā’s mother was then paid a regular salary, given additional gifts and clothing, and treated with kindness. She returned home with her child, no longer separated from him, and with her heart reassured after the fear she had endured. What a remarkable Decree of Allāh! She had placed her infant in the river because Allāh commanded her to do so. She had feared that she would lose him forever. Yet Allāh returned him to her, placed him safely in her arms, and even made his care a source of provision and honour for her.

Fir’aun plotted. But Allāh had a greater plan. Fir’aun wanted to kill Mūsā (‘Alayhi Salām), yet Allāh caused him to be raised in Fir’aun’s own palace. Mūsā’s mother feared losing her son, yet Allāh reunited them. She feared poverty and separation, yet Allāh granted her security, honour, and provision. This is the power of trusting Allāh. Sometimes, what appears to us to be the end is actually the beginning of something far better. Sometimes, Allāh takes something from our hands only to return it to us in a better way. And sometimes, the very situation that causes us the greatest fear becomes the means through which Allāh brings us relief.

Glory be to the One in Whose Hands are all things. What He wants happens, and what He does not want does not happen. He is the One Who grants those who fear Him a way out from every worry and distress.

I beseech Allāh (ﷻ) to grant us safety and a way out from our worries. Aameen.