Former Prophets

The Valley of Tuwa

The Burning Bush and the call to Musa (peace be upon him) at the foot of Mount Sinai (Q 20:12)

The time of Musa (peace be upon him), at Tur Sinai

Imagined 360° reconstruction of The Valley of Tuwa

Educational historical reconstruction

Where

The valley of Tuwa, at the foot of Mount Sinai

28.5392, 33.9758 · View on OpenStreetMap

Background

The Qur'an records the call of Musa (peace be upon him) at the Burning Bush in the valley of Tuwa at the foot of Mount Sinai principally in Surat Ta-Ha (Q 20:9-36), with parallel treatments at Q 28:29-35 and Q 79:15-19. Musa (peace be upon him), returning from Madyan to Egypt with his family after the ten years of service to Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), saw a fire in the distance and went toward it to bring back fire and to seek guidance. The fire was the Burning Bush, a small bush illuminated from within by a fire that did not consume it; the divine voice called him by name. The Qur'an records the dialogue: the command to remove his sandals because he was in the holy valley of Tuwa (Q 20:12); the self-revelation 'I am Allah; there is no god but I' (Q 20:14); the giving of the two signs (the staff that became a serpent, and the hand drawn out white without harm, Q 20:17-22); the commission to go to Pharaoh (Q 20:24); Musa's (peace be upon him) request that his brother Harun (peace be upon him) be sent with him as a helper (Q 20:29-32), which was granted; and the final command to set out. 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 foundational moment as the start of Musa's (peace be upon him) prophetic mission and as the foundation of the kalim Allah (the one to whom Allah spoke directly, Q 4:164). The site identification of Mount Sinai (Tur Sinai) in the Sunni tradition is the granite mountain of southern Sinai (Jabal Musa), the same identification preserved at the monastery of St Catherine at the foot of the mountain, where the Muslim community of Sinai has maintained a small mosque adjoining the basilica since the early Rashidun period. The dating is by anchor (the time of Musa peace be upon him). This scene depicts the valley at night with the Burning Bush at the centre, the staff and sandals on the ground; Musa (peace be upon him) himself is not depicted.

What you see

A bare granite valley at the foot of a great mountain, the Tur Sinai (Mount Sinai). The granite is dark red and pink; the valley floor is dry gravel; the night air is cold and the sky is full of stars.

On a small rocky rise in the valley, a single bush, small, ordinary in appearance, but illuminated from within by a fire that does not consume it. The Qur'an records the moment in Q 20:10, fa-lamma ataha nudiya ya Musa, 'And when he came to it, he was called: O Musa.' And Q 20:12: fa-khla' na'layka innaka bi-l-wadi al-muqaddasi Tuwa, 'Remove your sandals; you are in the holy valley, Tuwa.'

The foundational moment of Musa's (peace be upon him) prophethood. The Qur'an: 'I am Allah; there is no god but I, so worship Me, and establish prayer for My remembrance' (Q 20:14). The two signs are given: the staff that becomes a serpent (Q 20:17-21) and the hand drawn out white without harm (Q 20:22). The mission is set: 'Go to Pharaoh; surely he has transgressed' (Q 20:24).

Musa's (peace be upon him) staff laid on the rocky ground, the staff that will be his sign before Pharaoh. The sandals removed beside it.

The light is the night light of Sinai with the supernatural fire of the bush as the central illumination. The dating is by anchor: the time of Musa (peace be upon him), at the close of his exile in Madyan and the start of his return to Egypt.

The narrative: Q 20:9-36 (the principal Qur'anic passage), Q 28:29-35, Q 79:15-19. The Sunni qisas: Ibn Kathir, Qisas al-Anbiya'; al-Tha'labi; al-Tabari. The site identification of Tur Sinai in the Sunni tradition is the granite mountain of southern Sinai (Jabal Musa), the same identification preserved at the monastery of St Catherine, with the Muslim community of Sinai praying in the small mosque adjoining the basilica since the early Rashidun period.

Primary sources

The Qur'an, Surat Ta-Ha 20:9-36, Surat al-Qasas 28:29-35, Surat al-Nazi'at 79:15-19: The principal Qur'anic passages on the call of Musa (peace be upon him) at the Burning Bush.

The Qur'an, Surat al-Nisa' 4:164: wa-kallama Allahu Musa takliman, the Qur'anic foundation of Musa (peace be upon him) as kalim Allah.

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.

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