Former Prophets
Musa at the Well of Madyan
The crowded watering well where Musa (peace be upon him) helped the two women (Q 28:23-25)
The time of Musa (peace be upon him), at Madyan
Educational historical reconstructionWhere
Madyan, traditionally identified with the north-western Arabian coast (al-Bid', Tabuk region)
28.4830, 35.0958 · View on OpenStreetMap
Background
The Qur'an records Musa's (peace be upon him) arrival at the watering well of Madyan in Surat al-Qasas (Q 28:23-28). After his exile from Egypt, fleeing the Pharaoh's order following the killing of the Egyptian (Q 28:15-22), Musa (peace be upon him) reached Madyan and stopped at the central watering well. He found a crowd of shepherds watering their flocks, and two women apart from the crowd holding their sheep back; he watered the flocks for them and withdrew to a shaded place, where he prayed the famous prayer: rabbi inni li-ma anzalta ilayya min khayrin faqir, 'My Lord, I am in need of whatever good You may send down to me' (Q 28:24). One of the two women, the Sunni qisas tradition names her, with variant readings, returned shortly after, walking with shyness, and invited Musa (peace be upon him) to the home of her father (Q 28:25). Her father is the prophet Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), the prophet of Madyan; he received Musa (peace be upon him) and, hearing his story, offered him the marriage of one of his daughters in exchange for eight years of service as a shepherd, with the option of ten (Q 28:27). Musa (peace be upon him) agreed and stayed for the longer term (ten years per the Sunni qisas tradition); at the end of the term he set out with his family to return to Egypt, the journey on which he encountered the Burning Bush in the valley of Tuwa. The Sunni qisas tradition (Ibn Kathir's Qisas al-Anbiya', al-Tha'labi's 'Ara'is al-Majalis, al-Tabari's opening volumes) preserves the narrative and identifies Madyan as a settlement on the north-western Arabian coast, the modern Sunni academic consensus places the historic site at al-Bid' east of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the modern Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia. The dating is by anchor (the time of Musa peace be upon him). This scene depicts the moment after Musa (peace be upon him) has watered the flocks: the crowded well, the two women apart with their sheep, the figure of the returning daughter in the middle distance. Musa (peace be upon him) is not depicted; the Sirah-tier visual ethics observed.
What you see
A bare desert oasis at the foot of a low ridge in the north-western Arabian highlands. A stone-rimmed well stands in the middle of the open ground; date palms cluster around a small spring nearby.
At the well, a crowd of shepherds in plain travel dress watering their flocks. To one side, two women stand apart with their sheep, waiting their turn, the daughters of Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), the prophet of Madyan, holding back from the crowd because they are women alone. The Qur'an: 'And when he came to the water of Madyan, he found a crowd of people watering, and besides them he found two women, holding their flocks back' (Q 28:23).
The well-rope on the well-head; water-troughs; the simple equipment of a desert watering point. Musa (peace be upon him) is not depicted; the Qur'an records that he watered the flocks of the two women for them, then sat back in the shade and prayed: rabbi inni li-ma anzalta ilayya min khayrin faqir, 'My Lord, I am in need of whatever good You may send down to me' (Q 28:24).
In the middle distance, a small figure walking toward Musa (peace be upon him), one of the two women returning, sent by her father Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), to invite Musa (peace be upon him) to the home of her father. The Qur'an: 'Then one of the two came walking with shyness, and said: My father invites you to reward you for having watered for us' (Q 28:25).
The episode is the first stage of Musa's (peace be upon him) exile from Egypt after the killing of the Egyptian; he would marry one of the two women, work eight to ten years as a shepherd in the service of Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), and return to Egypt only after the great encounter at the Burning Bush in the valley of Tuwa.
The light is the high light of late afternoon over the north-western Arabian highlands. The dating is by anchor: the time of Musa (peace be upon him). The traditional Madyan site in the modern Sunni academic consensus is al-Bid' on the north-western Arabian coast (Tabuk region), east of the Gulf of Aqaba.
The narrative: Q 28:23-28. The Sunni qisas: Ibn Kathir, Qisas al-Anbiya'; al-Tha'labi; al-Tabari.
Primary sources
The Qur'an, Surat al-Qasas 28:23-28: The principal Qur'anic narrative of Musa (peace be upon him) at the well of Madyan and the meeting with Shu'ayb (peace be upon him).
Ibn Kathir, Qisas al-Anbiya' (14th c.): Standard Sunni stories of the prophets; the chapter on Musa (peace be upon him).
al-Tabari, Tarikh and Jami' al-Bayan: Standard Sunni history and tafsir.
Further reading & cross-references
al-Tha'labi, 'Ara'is al-Majalis (early 11th c.): Sunni qisas compilation.
Modern Sunni topographical identification of Madyan as al-Bid' (Tabuk region, Saudi Arabia): The standard modern Sunni academic identification of the Madyan site; al-Bid' lies on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and matches the topographical description in the Qur'an and the Sunni qisas tradition.
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