Moses in the Qur'an, Black and Liberation Theology and Film | Middle East And North Africa

MOSES IN THE QUR'AN

Musa (Moses) with a cane

Moses (known as “Musa” to Muslims) is mentioned in 73 passages in the Koran and is referred to by name more than Mohammed. Sura 19:51 says that he was “specifically chosen” by Good and Sura 28:14 states that God gave Moses “wisdom and knowledge.” The Book of Moses is described as a “Light and Guide.” Two miracles performed by Moses — the turning of a staff into a serpent and making a hand glow when placed under his arm — are offered as proof of his status as prophet. The Koran describes the Biblical stories of golden calf and plagues of Egypt. The parting of the Red Sea is mentioned twice.

Not all the stories about Moses in the Koran are found in the Bible. When Mohammed takes his night journey after his death from Medina to Jerusalem to heaven it is Moses that suggests the daily number of prayers be reduced from 50 to five. Also while traveling in the Sinai Moses meets with a “servant of God” who instructs Moses about the knowledge of God.

A Muslim fisherman showed journalist Harvey Edwards two flat flounderlike fish. "He slapped two of the fish together in sandwich fashion. Since each looked rather like half a fish, both of its eyes being on one side, the two together looked remarkably like a sing fish. 'Called “samal Musa” , Musa fish!' he announced. 'When Musa split the waters, these fish get cut in two. Now that way forever."☼

Also See the Different Episodes of Moses's Life and The Exodus for the Muslim Take on Them

Similarities Between the Accounts of Moses in the Quran and Torah-Old-Testament

Saulat Pervez wrote in whyislam.org: “The many similarities between the accounts of Moses in the Torah and the Quran signify the common ancestral ties of the two faiths. Just as Muhammad invited the pagan Arabs to worship the One God, Moses also kept steering his wayward people toward monotheism. The Quran, which Muslims believe has been preserved over the centuries, contrasts with the Torah by correcting misconceptions that have developed historically about Moses. As such, God elevates Moses to a position of honor in the Quran (33:69), freeing him from any blame for the actions of his people. [Source: Saulat Pervez, Quran, whyislam.org, December , 2014]

“Musa, known as Moses in the Old Testament, is a prophet, messenger, lawgiver and leader in Islam. In Islamic tradition instead of introducing a new religion, Moses is regarded by Muslims as teaching and practicing the religion of his predecessors and confirming the scriptures and prophets before him. The Quran states that Moses was sent by Allah (one God) to the Pharaoh of Egypt and the Israelites for guidance and warning. Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual, and his life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. According to Islam, all Muslims must have faith in every prophet which includes Moses and his brother Aaron (Harun).”

20120502-Yusuf_appears_before_the_pharaoh_(late19th_century).jpg
Yusuf (Joseph) appears before the pharaoh
in a late19th century painting
“In line with the Judaic view, we find out from the Quran that when Prophet Moses was born in Egypt, his life was in great danger as the Pharoah was persecuting the Israelites. While the Torah maintains that the Pharoah’s daughter adopted Moses, the Quran differs. In fact, the Pharoah’s wife insisted that they adopt him.” The Burning Bush “was the beginning of the prophetic mission of Moses, as also chronicled in the Torah. According to the Quran, assisted by his brother, Aaron (Harun), Moses had a dual task: to deliver the Israelites from Pharoah’s cruelty and to advise the Egyptians to forsake their godless ways by embracing the worship of the One God. Even though Moses had brought clear signs from God (28:31-32), Pharoah accused him of sorcery and persecuted him and the Children of Israel.

“God continued to bless the Israelites by bestowing many favors upon them, as well as inflicting punishments on them for their disobedience. Both of these are greatly detailed in the second chapter of the Quran, The Cow.When it was time for them to enter Canaan, the Children of Israel rebelled against Moses and the command of God. In telling this story, the Quran relates Moses’s powerlessness over his own people: “He said: “O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: so separate us from this rebellious people!” (5:25). Despite the many trials and tribulations which came their way, Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, continued to submit themselves completely to the will of God. Indeed, God exonerates Moses and Aaron of any wrongdoing in the Quran and depicts them as His grateful servants.”

Moses’s Birth and Adoption in the Quran

Saulat Pervez wrote in whyislam.org: “In line with the Judaic view, we find out from the Quran that when Prophet Moses (pbuh) was born in Egypt, his life was in great danger as the Pharoah was persecuting the Israelites. “Truly Pharaoh elated himself in the land and broke up its people into sections depressing a group among them: their sons he slew, but he kept alive their females: for he was indeed a maker of mischief. (28:4) [Source: Saulat Pervez, Quran, whyislam.org, December , 2014 ]

“Therefore, Moses’s mother was greatly worried about her son’s fate; then,the Quran specifies that God inspired her to take an unlikely action: “So We sent this inspiration to the mother of Moses: “Suckle (thy child) but when thou hast fears about him cast him, into the river, but fear not nor grieve: for We shall restore him to thee, and We shall make him one of Our messengers.” (28:7)

“Moses’s sister hid and kept watch on the progress of her brother across the river.While the Torah maintains that the Pharoah’s daughter adopted Moses, the Quran differs. In fact, the Pharoah’s wife insisted that they adopt him. “The wife of Pharaoh said: “ (Here is) a joy of the eye for me and for thee: slay him not. It may be that he will be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son.” And they perceived not (what they were doing)! (28:9)

“When Moses (pbuh) was hungry, he refused to nurse from any of the foster mothers provided for him. At this point, Moses’s sister posing as a bystander suggested she could bring someone who may be successful in feeding him; unbeknownst to his rescuers, she brought his own mother, a point mentioned in Exodus of the Torah as well. Of course, Moses readily nursed from her and the two were thus rejoined. “Thus did We restore him to his mother that her eye might be comforted, that she might not grieve and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true: but most of them do not understand. (28:13)

Moses’s Life in Egypt and Interactions with God in the Quran

Saulat Pervez wrote in whyislam.org:“Moses grew up in Pharoah’s home and was well-acquainted with the state affairs. When he reached adulthood, he once intervened in a fight between an Israelite and an Egyptian, killing the latter inadvertently. The Quran mentions that guilt consumed him and he asked God to forgive him; fearing for his life, he fled and migrated to Madian, where he found refuge in a household by marrying one of the daughters and serving her father (see 28:14-28). [Source: Saulat Pervez, Quran, whyislam.org, December , 2014 ]

Moses and Aaron Before the Pharoah

“After some time, Moses returned to Egypt with his family. On the way, near Mount Tur, he saw a fire, and he proceeded towards it. “But when he came to the (Fire), a voice was heard from the right bank of the valley, from a tree in hallowed ground: “O Moses! Verily I am Allah the Lord of the Worlds…” (28:30)

“This was the beginning of the prophetic mission of Moses, as also chronicled in the Torah. According to the Quran, assisted by his brother, Aaron (Harun), Moses had a dual task: to deliver the Israelites from Pharoah’s cruelty and to advise the Egyptians to forsake their godless ways by embracing the worship of the One God. Even though Moses had brought clear signs from God (28:31-32).

Pharoah accused him of sorcery and persecuted him and the Children of Israel. “And We made a people, considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of lands in both East and West – lands whereon We sent down Our blessings. The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience and constancy, and we leveled to the ground the great works and fine buildings which Pharoah and his people erected (with such pride). (7:137)

“In the Quran, God says that He spoke directly to Moses, but when he requested to see Him, God cast His reflected glory over a mountain and it turned to dust, causing Moses to faint (7:143). Over a period of forty nights, God revealed religious knowledge to Moses and chose him to continue to lead his people. “And We ordained laws for him in the Tablets in all matters, both commanding and explaining all things (and said): “Take these and hold these with firmness, and enjoin thy people to hold fast by the best in the precepts.” (7:145)

Moses, Israelites, the Golden Calf and the Promised Land in the Quran

Saulat Pervez wrote in whyislam.org: “When Moses returned to his people, however, they had taken to worshipping a calf. The Torah at this point incriminates Aaron as one of those who worshipped the calf. Yet, when Moses accuses him of this, the Quran exonerates Aaron (pbuh) in the following verse: “…Aaron said: “Son of my mother! The people did indeed reckon me as naught, and went near to slaying me! Make not the enemies rejoice over my misfortune, nor count thou me amongst the people of sin.” (7:150) [Source: Saulat Pervez, Quran, whyislam.org, December , 2014 ]

“Moses then asked God to forgive him and his brother. Thus began a series of events in which Moses (pbuh) repeatedly guided the Children of Israel towards the worship of One God even as he endured their complaints and taunts. “And remember, Moses said to his people: “O my people! Why do ye vex and insult me, though ye know that I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you?” (61:5)

“Despite the many trials and tribulations which came their way, Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, continued to submit themselves completely to the will of God. Indeed, God exonerates Moses and Aaron of any wrongdoing in the Quran and depicts them as His grateful servants.

Moses and Liberation Theology

“Professor Christopher Rowland, fellow of Queen's College, Oxford, wrote for the BBC: “Liberation Theology is from Latin America. Ordinary communities use worship and reflection on scripture with the aim of improving health care, human rights and provision for children, women workers.| Moses is seen as the leader of the Liberation movement. He is brought up in the court of King Pharaoh and changes from being on the side of the Egyptian king to siding with the poor slaves. That's one of the most important paradigms for Liberation Theology: the idea of opting for the poor. The Church in Latin America changed sides, just as Moses changed sides, moving from supporting the status quo, supporting the state, to siding with the poor and the marginal. The story of Moses was a very powerful example for them. [Source: BBC |::|]

“The Exodus is also important as a model of liberation from slavery. One of the interesting aspects of the Exodus story however is that entering the Promised Land meant kicking out the other nations. That's something that Liberation Theology tends not to make much of at all. It tends to concentrate much more on coming out of slavery as a popular movement and having the opportunity to explore the possibilities of a different way of living. Liberation Theology concentrates at how biblical laws offer a vision of a more egalitarian society.|::|

“There's legacy within Christian theology of looking at the laws in the Bible and thinking that they are very oppressive, but if you talk to a Jew, they will say that these laws enable them to have a sense of freedom. In Deuteronomy there is an attempt there to regulate society to create equality among more people. For instance, the release of debts and other mechanisms prevent the growth of an unequal society.|::|

Moses and Black Theology

Moses the Black was a 4th century monk

“Dr Robert Beckford, lecturer in black theology at the University of Birmingham, wrote for the BBC: “The Exodus story is of fundamental importance to black people, because within it we find a group of people who are enslaved and suffering from both economic and political bondage as well as, at times, genocide and infanticide. They call upon God to help, and what God does is respond by liberating them, crushing their oppressors and leading them into freedom. So the Exodus story has functioned as a paradigm for black people throughout slavery. Also in the contemporary world where the black people have found themselves in bondage, they've called upon God to free them as God freed the Israelites in the Exodus account. [Source: BBC |::|]

“The Exodus event, and the life of Moses within it, is a central paradigm for black Christian communities. The reason for this is simple. Within the exodus we have an example of socio-political and economic oppression. We have a people who are enslaved and they cry out to God for help and God doesn't turn away he sends Moses. This story is the story of African people of the last 300 years: the story of slavery and the quest for redemption through belief and faith in God. The vision of God that we have within the Bible is shaped by who we are as people. So if you're someone who is on the top, if you're part of the ruling elite, then God is generally going to be read through elitist eyes and you're going to see God as someone who supports the status quo rather than someone who wants to dismantle the elitism.|::|

“The converse is also true. If you're dispossessed or part of the underclass you're going to see things within it which support your quest for justice and inclusion and that's true in terms of black communities when you read the Bible and the Old Testament. Looking at the Old Testament in the light of the history of slavery, colonialism and its overcoming, then God is a liberator, one who takes enslaved people out of bondage and into land flowing with milk and honey. We read the Bible in response to our own social location and that influences how we understand God.|::|

“I'm a black political theologian so I'm concerned with the ways in which politics and culture gets played out within the Biblical text. When I read the Bible I often try and read against the dominant narrative. If the dominant story is the story of conquest, I'm interested in the people who are being conquered and trying to work out how they understood the process of conquest. A good example of this is to look at the story of Joshua . When I read about Joshua going into the Promised Land I read it from the perspective of the Canaanite in order to get a fuller picture of what's going on. I often encourage my students to read against the Bible - to look for the stories and individuals who are made almost invisible by the dominant narrative and the dominant traditions that have glorified certain people within the Bible and forgotten the significance of others.|::|

Films about Moses and The Exodus

Films about Moses and The Exodus have includ “The Prince of Egypt” (a Disney Animation), “The Birth of a Race” “Exodus (2007 British film)”, “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, “The Green Pastures”, “History of the World, Part I”, “The Life of Moses”, “The Moon of Israel”, “Moses” (miniseries)”, “Moses und Aron”, “Son of God”, “The Story of Mankind”, “The Ten Commandments” (1923)”, “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “The Ten Commandments” (2007) and “Wholly Moses!” “ The legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille made the 1923 silent film “The Ten Commandments” and remade it in 1956 with sound and Charlton Heston as Moses. The film was largely shot in the California Desert and after it was completed many of the grandiose sets were abandoned and left there. In 2015, Archaeology magazine reported:. Now, some remains of DeMille’s vision have emerged from the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes on the central California coast. For the 1923 silent film DeMille had workers create a massive set in the dunes, including a 120-foot-tall gate flanked by four statues of Ramesses II and 21 sphinxes. Legend has it that the set was destroyed, but over the years archaeologists — amateur and professional — have uncovered remains from the production and hints that the hollow plaster sphinx statues still lie in situ. [Source: Samir S. Patel, Archaeology magazine, January-February 2015]

In 2012, the head of one sphinx was excavated, and recently archaeologists from Allied Earthworks, working with the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, have excavated the crumbling, weather-beaten body of another. Using the original silent epic to guide their work, the excavators delicately exposed and stabilized the crumbling plaster, which will now be reconstructed for display. “If 1,000 years from now, archaeologists happen to dig beneath the sands of Guadalupe,” wrote DeMille in his 1959 autobiography, “I hope they will not rush into print with the amazing news that Egyptian civilization, far from being confined to the Valley of the Nile, extended all the way to the Pacific coast of North America.”

Ridley Scott's Exodus

Ridley Scott’s film “Exodus: Gods and Kings” with Christian Bale as Moses was a another, yet-again version of the epic Biblical story of Moses. Adam Woods wrote in The Telegraph, “As a central figure in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, Moses may very well be the most revered individual of all time. And as the subject of masterpieces by Michaelangelo, Rembrandt and Cecil B. DeMille, his image has been with us from Renaissance Italy to the golden age of Hollywood and beyond. Such a figure might make for a one-dimensional modern hero, but as Christian Bale’s Moses is only the latest to show, Moses was, by all accounts, the world’s first anti-hero – a man with blood on his hands and dark deeds to perform. [Source: Adam Woods, The Telegraph, December 3, 2014 ==]

“With its cast of oppressive kings, a lone, tormented chosen one and a furious God, the story of Moses lends itself naturally to the epic treatment. Indeed, there may never have been a more ripping tale. The life of Jesus, as played in 1965 by Max von Sydow, was characterised as The Greatest Story Ever Told, but everyone knows the Old Testament is where most of the action yarns are. Bale’s Moses in Exodus: Gods and Kings is not only an avenging hero of the Jews, but a man apparently on a mission to outdo all comparable classical blockbusters, animated not only by the God of the Hebrews, but by Ridley Scott, a god of movie epics. ==

A principled dark sheep to the vain golden prince of his half-brother Ramses, this is a Moses who is at home in a chariot, and more than tough enough to lock swords with his gilded sibling (Joel Edgerton). The brotherly rivalry is a new detail in Scott’s vision, which is reasonable enough, given the cloudiness of the Moses legend. In the Old Testament account, Moses was indeed a Hebrew foundling who grew up in the court of a pharaoh, but the biblical Moses did not return to lead his people out of Egypt until the age of 80. So it is not surprising that any modern dramatisation of the Exodus will readily turn to a little artistic licence.

“The wonder, in fact, is that there is so much in the original tale for a director such as Scott to chew on. Moses was indeed a complicated, ambivalent figure, the product of mysterious origins, and the reluctant agent of a furious, avenging God. He is the first individual in the Scriptures to receive direct instruction from God, and their awe-inspiring confrontations, not to mention the Bible’s pitilessly brutal plagues, have offered all the drama to fuel centuries of art.

Jake Coyle of Associated Press wrote: “The 3-D "Exodus" also refashions Moses for modern times, giving us an elite, action-film combatant who's less a conduit for God than a strong-minded individual whose beliefs mostly jibe with the deity who secretly appears to him. (God is seen here as an impatient child, played by the 11-year-old Isaac Andrews). "Exodus" begins promisingly, with a bald John Turturro in makeup. As the Egyptian pharaoh Seti, the father of Ramesses (Joel Edgerton) and king to Moses' prince, Turturro (and the brilliant Ben Mendelsohn's louche viceroy) gives the film a touch of camp, a necessary ingredient to any successful biblical epic. Scott ought to have kept it up. However, the director of "Gladiator" and "Blade Runner" isn't known for his lightness of touch, but rather a monochrome masculinity. His "Exodus" is action-heavy and more interested in the sheer computer-generated scale of the airy Egyptian palaces, the grotesque visitation of plagues (from the bloody Nile to the locust swarms) and the mass movements of the Hebrews. Yet after Seti's death and Ramesses' ascendance to the throne, "Exodus" seems to lessen in scope, turning into a mano-a-mano drama between the stepbrothers Ramesses and Moses, who's exiled after the discovery of his Hebrew birth. [Source: Jake Coyle, Associated Press, December 10, 2014 ]

“The leads, you may have noticed, are uniformly white, which has spawned a good deal of deserved controversy not abetted by Scott's defense that his stars were necessary for financing. The skin color of the ancient Egyptians, it should be noted, isn't known certainly, and historical accuracy is never much a consideration to biblical epics. But that "Exodus" chose to ignore this issue of representation — which has a long dubious history in Hollywood — speaks to the film's general lack of curiosity. It's after spectacle, not questions. ”

Ridley Scott's 'Zionist' Exodus Film Banned in Egypt and Morocco

At the time of its 2014 release, Egypt banned Ridley Scott’s “Exodus” saying was rife with mistakes, including an apparent claim that ‘Moses and the Jews built the pyramids’. Egyptian culture minister, Gaber Asfour, said, “This totally contradicts proven historical facts. “It is a Zionist film. “It gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies and that’s why we have decided to ban it.” [Source: Agence France-Presse, 26 December 2014]

AFP reported: The ban was decided by a committee comprising the head of the supreme council for culture, Mohammed Afifi, the head of the censorship committee and two history professors, Asfour said. Afifi said he took issue with the scene showing the parting of the Red Sea in which Moses is seen holding a “sword” like a warrior, instead of a “stick”. Furthermore, he said, the parting of the Red Sea was explained in the movie as a “tidal phenomenon” rather than a divine miracle.

Morocco has also banned the film, despite it having been approved by the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre, media reported, quoting theatre managers. Hassan Belkady, who runs Cinema Rif in Casablanca, told media24 news website that he had been threatened with the closure of his business if he ignored the ban. “They phoned and threatened they would shut down the theatre if I did not take the film off the schedule,” Belkady said.

In March, Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top Islamic body, banned the screening of Noah, starring Russell Crowe, another Hollywood biblical epic, saying it violated Islam by portraying a prophet. The film triggered controversy in the US, where some Christian institutions criticised Crowe’s unconventional portrayal of Noah. Exodus has also sparked unkind reviews and upset some Christian groups, with critics saying Scott took too many liberties with the Bible and cast western actors in middle-eastern roles. Egypt has censored other movies, including the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code after protests from the Orthodox Coptic Church. But it did allow the screening of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ.

Image Sources: Wikimedia, Commons, Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bible in Bildern, 1860

Text Sources: Internet Jewish History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “ Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Old Testament Life and Literature” by Gerald A. Larue, New International Version (NIV) of The Bible, biblegateway.com; Wikipedia, National Geographic, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Times of London, The New Yorker, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024