﴿ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُنكِحَكَ إِحْدَى ٱبْنَتَىَّ هَٰتَيْنِ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تَأْجُرَنِى ثَمَٰنِىَ حِجَجٍۢ ۖ فَإِنْ أَتْمَمْتَ عَشْرًۭا فَمِنْ عِندِكَ ۖ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَيْكَ ۚ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ﴾

“[After some time, the father] said: “Behold, I am willing to let thee wed one of these two daughters of mine on the understanding that thou wilt remain eight years in my service; and if thou shouldst com­plete ten [years], that would be [an act of grace] from thee, for I do not want to impose any hardship on thee: [on the contrary,] thou wilt find me, if God so wills, righteous in all my dealings.””

That day, the girls returned home earlier than usual. When their father asked the reason, they told him that a traveller had arranged for their cattle to be watered early. The girl’s father asked them why they had not brought him home so that he could partake of their meal. So, one of the girls went back to the well and brought Moses along with her. It took only a few days to show that Moses was hard working as well as honest. So, the old gentleman, agreeing with his daughter’s opinion, kept Moses in his service permanently. The fact is that, honesty and hard work embrace all the necessary qualities. If any candidate has to be chosen, there is no better standard than these two qualities by which to judge him. At a later stage, the old gentleman gave one of his daughters in marriage to Moses. However, as he was in dire need of a young man to look after his household and property, he made Moses agree to reside with him for eight years or ten years, thereafter he could go anywhere he liked.