Asiyah bint Muzahim: The Believer in Fir'awn's Palace

Asiyah bint Muzahim was the wife of Fir'awn, the tyrant who called himself the highest lord of Egypt and ordered the killing of every son born to Bani Isra'il. When a chest carrying the infant Musa floated to the palace, it was she who pleaded for his life, calling him "a comfort of the eye for me and for you". She raised him in Fir'awn's household, believed in the Lord of Musa, and, according to the commentators, was tortured and killed for her faith. The Qur'an preserves her final prayer, and the Prophet ﷺ named her among the four best women of Paradise.

This part sets out what is known of her in 17 chapters: her name and the little known of her family; Egypt, its ruler and the enslavement of Bani Isra'il; the decree against the sons; the mother of Musa and the chest on the river; Asiyah's plea and the return of Musa to his mother; his upbringing in the palace and his flight to Madyan; his return as a messenger and the day of the magicians; the other believers in Fir'awn's house; her trial and her prayer in Surah at-Tahrim; the end of Fir'awn; and her rank in the hadith.

The Qur'an is cited by surah and ayah, hadith by collection and number, and the commentaries by name. Because so much of what is narrated about her comes from the commentators and from reports of the People of the Book, the text marks every such report clearly and never presents it as a statement of the Prophet ﷺ. A timeline closes the part, and each part is reviewed by a qualified mufti.