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Crossing of the Sea (Children of Israel)

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A pictorial carpet depicting the crossing of Prophet Moses (a) and his people through the sea.

The Crossing of the Children of Israel through the Sea (Arabic: اجتياز بني إسرائيل البحر) was a miracle that saved the Children of Israel. The sea parted, allowing them to pass through the water, while Pharaoh and his army drowned. By God's command, Prophet Moses (a) led the Children of Israel out of Egypt at night. Pharaoh and his forces set out after them to bring them back. When Pharaoh's army caught up with the Children of Israel, they found themselves trapped between the sea and the army, and they began to protest to Moses (a).

God revealed to Moses (a) to strike his staff upon the sea. Moses (a) struck the water with his staff, and parts of the sea split apart. Moses (a) entered the sea together with the Children of Israel, while the ground was dry and water surrounded them on both sides. Eventually, Moses (a) and all those with him crossed the water. Pharaoh and his army, who had entered the sea to pursue the Children of Israel, all drowned, and their bodies floated on the surface of the water.

Many exegetes believe that the sea in which the Pharaoh's people drowned is the body of water known today as the Red Sea. Some exegetes, such as al-Tabrisi in Majma' al-bayan, have identified it as the Nile River.

Flight from Egypt and Arrival at the Sea

According to Qur'anic exegetical sources, God, to save the Children of Israel from Pharaoh's oppression, commanded Moses (a) to leave Egypt at night together with the Children of Israel.[1] After learning of the departure of the Children of Israel, Pharaoh sent people to the cities to gather troops.[2] To create a psychological atmosphere for general mobilization,[3] he described his army as a ready force and portrayed the Children of Israel as a small group that had provoked their anger.[4]

The Words of the Children of Israel After Being Trapped Between the Sea and Pharaoh's Army:

Qur'an: "When the two groups saw each other, the companions of Moses said: 'Indeed, we are surely caught!'" (Qur'an 26:61)

Torah: "They said to Moses: 'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, "Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians"? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.'" (Torah, Exodus 14:11–12)

Ultimately, Pharaoh, along with his forces, set out after the Children of Israel to bring them back.[5] They reached the Children of Israel at sunrise. The Children of Israel found themselves trapped: on one side was the sea and on the other was Pharaoh's army. They were therefore afraid and considered themselves doomed.[6] According to the Qur'an, Moses (a) said: "No, indeed! My Lord is with me; He will guide me."[7] It has been said that this expression means that God had promised Moses victory and safety.[8]

Miracle of the Parting of the Sea

The Qur'an mentions the salvation of the Children of Israel and the drowning of Pharaoh's people in the sea in several suras, including Qur'an 7:136, Qur'an 8:54, Qur'an 17:103, Qur'an 26:63–66, and Qur'an 43:55.[9] According to Qur'an 26:63, God revealed to Moses to strike his staff upon the sea[10] so that a dry path would open through the sea, allowing them to cross without fear of drowning or of being pursued by Pharaoh's army.[11]

After Moses (a) struck the water with his staff, the sea split apart in parts.[12] Each separated section of the sea was like a great mountain.[13] Moses (a) entered the sea together with the Children of Israel,[14] while the ground was dry and water surrounded them on both sides.[15] Eventually, Moses and all those with him crossed the water;[16] but Pharaoh and his army, who had entered the sea to pursue the Children of Israel, all drowned.[17][18]

Some exegetes, including Fadl b. Hasan al-Tabrisi, the Shi'a exegete of the sixth/twelefth century, have stated that after Moses struck his staff upon the sea, twelve paths opened through the waters, and a separate path appeared for each of the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel.[19]

Some scholars have mentioned natural possibilities for the parting of the sea: Makarim Shirazi, a Shia exegete, believes that once the miraculous nature of the event is accepted, there is no need for such natural explanations. He holds that there is no obstacle to the waters being compressed by a special attraction at God's command, and after some time, that attraction being neutralized.[20]

Drowning of Pharaoh and His Army

After the sea parted and the Children of Israel crossed it, Pharaoh and his army also entered the sea to pursue them; but the sea returned to its natural state, and Pharaoh and his companions drowned.[21] The bodies of Pharaoh's army floated on the water, and the Children of Israel saw them.[22] The Qur'an states this event in Qur'an 2:50: "And when We parted the sea for you and saved you, and drowned the people of Pharaoh while you were looking on."[23]

In Qur'an 10:92, the expression "We will save your body" (nunajjīka bi-badanika) is used in reference to Pharaoh.[24] Most exegetes have understood this expression to refer to Pharaoh's lifeless body.[25] By God's command, Pharaoh's corpse was brought out of the water[26] so that others could see his body.[27] Some have interpreted "body" as his armor, meaning that God brought Pharaoh out of the water with his special armor so that he would be recognized.[28] The Qur'an considers the salvation of Pharaoh's lifeless body as a sign and lesson for others. Some exegetes have considered this lesson to be for the Children of Israel, who would not accept the news of Pharaoh's death.[29]

The Nile River or the Red Sea?

The Quran refers to the water that parted for the Children of Israel with two expressions: "yamm"[30] meaning "sea"[31] and "baḥr"[32] meaning "sea" or "vast water."[33] Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya, a Shi'a exegete, states that many exegetes believe the sea that parted for the Children of Israel and in which Pharaoh's people drowned is the sea known today as the Red Sea.[34] Some exegetes, such as al-Tabrisi in Majmaʿ al-bayān, have identified it as the Nile River.[35]

In the Qur'an, the word "yamm" is also used for the water into which Moses (a) was placed during his childhood, which has been identified as the Nile River.[36]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 5, p. 498.
  2. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-Kāshif, vol. 5, p. 498.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 15, p. 237.
  4. ↑ Qur'an 26:54–56.
  5. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 5, p. 498.
  6. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 277.
  7. ↑ Qur'an 26:62.
  8. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 277.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 250.
  10. ↑ Qur'an 26:63.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 13, p. 257.
  12. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, pp. 277–278.
  13. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 17, p. 119.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 15, p. 278.
  15. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān, vol. 17, p. 119.
  16. ↑ Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 4, p. 37.
  17. ↑ Qur'an 17:103.
  18. ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i drakhshān, vol. 8, p. 293.
  19. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 229.
  20. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 15, p. 250.
  21. ↑ Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Anwār-i drakhshān, vol. 8, p. 293.
  22. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 252.
  23. ↑ Qur'an 2:50.
  24. ↑ Qur'an 10:92.
  25. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 377.
  26. ↑ Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Tabyīn al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 231.
  27. ↑ Fayḍ Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 2, p. 417.
  28. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 8, p. 377.
  29. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 316.
  30. ↑ Qur'an 7:136.
  31. ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, vol. 12, p. 647; Fayyūmī, al-Miṣbāḥ al-munīr, vol. 2, p. 681.
  32. ↑ Qur'an 7:138; Qur'an 26:63.
  33. ↑ Qarashī, Qāmūs-i Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 162.
  34. ↑ Mughniyya, Tafsīr al-kāshif, vol. 1, p. 100.
  35. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 726.
  36. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 8, p. 131.

References

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  • Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Tafsīr min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Milāk li-l-Ṭibāʿat wa al-Nashr, 2nd ed., 1419 AH.
  • Fayḍ Kāshānī, Mullā Muḥsin. Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī. Tehran: Intishārāt-i al-Ṣadr, 2nd ed., 1415 AH.
  • Ḥusaynī Hamadānī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Anwār-i Drakhshān. Tehran: [n.p.], 1404 AH.
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  • Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr al-Qummī. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1404 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusraw, 3rd ed., 1372 SH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 5th ed., 1417 AH.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d.].
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