Musa and Bani Isra'il: Revelation and the Law

The account of Musa ibn 'Imran occupies the largest portion of the prophetic history section of the Bidayah, reflecting the unparalleled detail with which the Quran treats his story and the special theological significance of the Mosaic dispensation as the immediately preceding major revelation before the Quran. Ibn Kathir begins with the situation of Bani Isra'il in Egypt under the oppression of Pharaoh (Fir'awn), identified in the Islamic tradition as a powerful tyrant who declared himself a god. The birth of Musa during a period when Pharaoh was killing male infants of the Israelites, the divine inspiration to his mother to cast him into the river, his recovery by Pharaoh's household, and the providential return of the infant to his own mother for nursing are presented as clear demonstrations of divine protection over the future prophet. Ibn Kathir notes the Quranic statement that Musa was imbued with love that caused all who looked upon him to feel affection, explaining how he survived in Pharaoh's own household.

The maturation of Musa, his killing of an Egyptian who was oppressing an Israelite, his flight to Madyan, his years of service to the righteous elder Shu'ayb (or his son-in-law according to various narrations), and his marriage to Shu'ayb's daughter are narrated in sequence. The decisive turning point comes during Musa's journey back toward Egypt, when he observed a fire in the distance and approached it to find guidance. At the sacred valley of Tuwa, Allah spoke to Musa directly, a unique distinction referenced in the Quranic title 'Kalimullah' (the one to whom Allah spoke). He was commissioned as a prophet, given the two great miracles of the staff that transformed into a serpent and the hand that emerged luminously white, and commanded to go to Pharaoh. The subsequent journey back to Egypt with his brother Harun, the repeated confrontations with Pharaoh, the debates with the court magicians who ultimately believed when they witnessed the superiority of divine miracle over sorcery, and Pharaoh's sustained rejection are all treated at length.

The ten plagues sent upon Egypt, the permission for Bani Isra'il to depart, Pharaoh's change of heart and pursuit, and the miraculous crossing of the sea with Pharaoh and his army drowned behind them represent the climax of the Mosaic narrative. Ibn Kathir affirms the historicity of these events on the basis of the Quran and notes that Allah preserved Pharaoh's body as a sign for future generations, citing the Quranic verse and connecting it with the physical evidence known in his era. The forty days of Musa's appointment at Sinai for the revelation of the Torah, the Israelites' worship of the golden calf under the influence of al-Samiri during his absence, Musa's grief and anger upon returning, and the subsequent renewal of the covenant are among the most detailed narrative sections. Ibn Kathir engages with the hadith literature extensively in this section and exercises careful judgment about which accounts from the transmitted Jewish material are compatible with Islamic principles.

The forty years of wandering in the wilderness following the Israelites' refusal to enter the Holy Land, the various miracles that sustained them including the manna and quails and the twelve springs, and the death of Musa before the entry into Palestine complete the main narrative arc. Ibn Kathir also discusses the conversations between Musa and Khidr recorded in Surah al-Kahf, presenting the mainstream interpretation that Khidr possessed a divinely granted knowledge of the inner realities of events. The theological dimensions of the Mosaic narrative that Ibn Kathir consistently highlights include the mercy of Allah in providing guidance through law (the Torah as a light and guidance for Bani Isra'il), the human tendency toward ingratitude and rebellion even after witnessing divine miracles, and the ultimate accountability that awaits every community and every individual. The era of Musa and the Torah represents for Ibn Kathir a decisive chapter in the universal history of divine guidance, completed and superseded by the final revelation brought by Muhammad, peace be upon him.