Al-Qasas (The Stories)

23. “And when he arrived at the watering (place) in Madyan, he found on it a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women keeping back (their flocks). He said: ‘What is the matter with you?’ They said: ‘We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take away (their sheep from the water), and our father is a very old man’.”

24. “So he watered (their flocks) for them, then he turned back to the shade, and said: ‘My Lord! Verily I stand in need of whatever good You may send down to me’.”

We must not misuse the modesty and weakness of women. If a system of law does not interfere, many men ignore the rights of women. The enclosure between man and woman is a value, so the daughters of Shu‘ayb observed this enclosure when watering their sheep.

Here we are confronted the fifth scene of this story. It is the arrival scene of Moses into Madyan.

This pure youth was paving the way to this city for several days, a way which he had never seen before and was not acquainted with it. As some commentators say, he had to walk the way in barefoot. It has been said that he was in the way for eight days, and he walked so much so that his feet was wounded.

To remove his hunger, he (as) consumed the plants of the desert and the leaves of the trees; and alongside all of these difficulties he had only one satisfaction and it was that, by the grace of Allah, he had been delivered from the unjust grips of the people of Pharaoh.

Little by little the landscape of Madyan appeared in the horizon and his heart got calm. When Moses reached the city, a crowd of people attracted his attention. Before long, he understood that they were some shepherds who had crowded around a well in order to give water to their flocks.

The verse says:

“And when he arrived at the watering (place) in Madyan, he found on it a group of men watering (their flocks)…”

Then the verse continues stating about two women who were taking care of their sheep but did not approach the well.

It says:

“…and besides them he found two women keeping back (their flocks)…”

The Arabic term/ tazudan/ is derived from the word /zawd/ which means: ‘to hinder, to prevent’.

The condition of those chaste girls who were standing in a corner and none was there to help them, where there were some rude shepherds who thought only about their own flocks and did not give turn to anyone, attracted the attention of Moses. He went to them and asked them why they did not go forth for watering their sheep.

The verse says:

“…He said: ‘What is the matter with you?’…”

This discrimination, injustice, cruelty, and this absence of observing the right of the oppressed, which was seen at the threshold of that city, Madyan, was not tolerable for Moses. He was the defender of the oppressed people, and because of it, Moses left the castle of Pharaoh and its favours and went vagrant of his home. He could not abandon his custom and be silent in the face of injustices.

Now, here is the answer of the girls, as the Qur’an says:

“…They said: ‘We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take away (their sheep from the water)…”

In order that this question would not remain without any answer for Moses that why the father of these chaste girls sent them after this action, they added:

“…and our father is a very old man’.”

They implied that their father was very old and he was not able water the sheep, nor did they have a brother to undertake that action, and in order not to be a burden over the shoulder of others, they could not be helped but they did it themselves.

When Moses heard this word from them, he became very inconvenient and said to himself that how unjust were those people that they all thought of their own affairs and did not do the least support for the oppressed ones?

He came forth and, taking the heavy bucket, threw it into the well. It was so heavy that, as it is said, several persons had to bring it out from the well, hut Moses, by his strong hands, brought it out by himself and watered the sheep of those two.

The verse says:

“So he watered (their flocks) for them…”

It is said that when he approached the crowd, he told them what kind of people they were that they thought not for any one other than them. Then the crowd went aside and gave the bucket to him. They told him to come and if he could he would rinse.

They knew that the bucket was so heavy that it needed ten persons to be brought out from the well. They let Moses (as) be alone, but the power of Faith came to help him and increased his bodily strength. Though he was tired, hungry, and inconvenient, he watered completely all the sheep of those two girls by pulling out only one bucket of water from the well.

The verse continues saying:

“…then he turned back to the shade, and said: ‘My Lord! Verily I stand in need of whatever good You may send down to me’.”

Yes, Moses was tired and hungry. He was a stranger in that city and had no place to refuge.

But, in the meanwhile, he was not impatient, and he was so polite that even at the time of supplication he did not say: ‘O Lord! Do so and so’, but he said:

“…‘My Lord! Verily I stand in need of whatever good You may send down to me’.”

That is, he mentioned only his need and left the rest of it to the grace of Allah.

Through a divine utterance, Allah said:

“O Moses! Ask Me for whatever you are in need of, even if it is the grass for your sheep and the salt of your bread.”1