Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (Part 3)
Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (Part 3)
Part 3 of observations on the structure, organization and coherence of Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ
This is Part 3 of our breakdown of Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (The Story). Check out the previous part before proceeding.
Mirror Structure of Āyāt 25-27a (His Entire Life Summarized)
CONNECTIONS
[V]/[V’] – The description of the woman coming to Moses modestly pairs nicely with the offer to Moses to marry one of the daughters. Presumably, the “one of the two” women that brought Moses over is the same “one of the two daughters” that ended up married to him.
[W]/[W’] – The woman claims that her father wants to reward Moses, but later we actually learn that she is the one who proposes the reward to her dad.
[X]/[X’] – Moses tells his life story to his future father-in-law and is then told that he is free from the consequences of his history. Taken together, the center speaks of Moses’ past, Sections [W] and [W’] speak of his present, and [V] and [V’] are about his future. Thus, his entire life to this point is summarized in this ring.
Mirror Structure of Āyāt 27b-28 (Striking a Deal)
CONNECTIONS
[Y]/[Y’] – The father offers Moses two options and the corresponding section has Moses leaving his options open without committing to either one.
[Z]/[Z’] – The father gives his selling points – not being difficult and being a good boss – to which Moses buys in and accepts the offer.
Mirror Structure of Āyāt 29-35 (Moses Becomes a Prophet)
CONNECTIONS
[A]/[A’] – Moses travels with his family (wife and offspring) to get help from a fire. The connected section shows the now Prophet Moses traveling with his family (his brother, Aaron, the newly appointed prophet) while receiving help.
[B]/[B’] – Allah ﷻ speaks to Moses saying, “Indeed, I am Allah, Lord (rab) of the worlds!” Moses later speaks to Allah ﷻ and immediately applies his new knowledge by asking “My Lord (rabbi),” to help him with a matter only the Lord of all could handle.
[C]/[C’] – The section centers on the two signs Allah ﷻ gave to Moses on the mount, which serve as signs of his prophethood.
This is where we’ll end this week’s post. Next week we’ll continue exploring the internal structures of Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ. Please share this article around if you found it insightful :)
And Allah ﷻ knows best.