Musa (Moses)

Musa (Moses) is one of the five great Messengers endowed with resolve (ulu al-'azm). The Quran gives him a unique title: Kalim Allah, he to whom God spoke directly. Charged with liberating the children of Israel from Pharaoh's oppression, he received the Torah.

Born under the reign of a Pharaoh who was killing the Hebrew newborns, Musa was saved by his mother, who entrusted him to the river in a basket, by God's inspiration. Taken in by Pharaoh's own household, he was raised in the palace of his enemy.

As an adult, he left Egypt after accidentally killing a man, and took refuge in Madyan, where he worked for years with a pious man whose daughter he married.

On the way back, at Mount Sinai, God spoke to him from a fire in the sacred valley of Tuwa: He chose him as a prophet and entrusted him with his mission. God gave him signs — the staff that turns into a serpent, the hand turned radiant white.

Musa, with his brother Harun, presented himself before Pharaoh to demand the liberation of the children of Israel. When the Pharaoh refused and the magicians challenged, Musa's staff prevailed. As Pharaoh persisted, Musa led his people out; the sea opened before them by God's command, and closed upon Pharaoh and his armies.

At Sinai, Musa received the Torah. But in his absence, part of his people worshipped a golden calf fashioned by the Samiri — a painful trial of his mission.

Musa teaches that God chooses His messengers from the humble and causes them to grow in the very heart of trial. Raised by his enemy, hesitant before his mission, he shows that strength does not come from oneself but from God, who opens the sea for those who trust in Him.

يَا مُوسَىٰ ۝ إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى ۝ وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَىٰ ۝ إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي

S’étant approché du feu, il fut interpelé : « Moïse ! Je suis ton Seigneur. Retire tes sandales, car tu te trouves dans la vallée sainte de Touwâ. Sache que Je t’ai élu. Ecoute donc attentivement ce qui va t’être révélé. Je suis Allah. Il n’est de divinité en droit d’être adorée que Moi. Veille à me vouer un culte exclusif et sincère et à accomplir la prière afin d’y mentionner Mon nom et de te souvenir de Moi.

20:11-14