﴿ وَقَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ فِرْعَوْنَ قُرَّتُ عَيْنٍۢ لِّى وَلَكَ ۖ لَا تَقْتُلُوهُ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَنفَعَنَآ أَوْ نَتَّخِذَهُۥ وَلَدًۭا وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴾

“Now the wife of Pharaoh said: “A joy to the eye [could this child be] for me and thee! Slay him not: he may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son!” And they had no presentiment [of what he was to become].”

In the period when Moses was born, the children of the Israelites were being killed. Moses’ mother was worried on this account. At that time, probably by means of a dream, she was shown how he could escape if she put him in a small box and floated it down the river Nile. Three months later, she floated Moses in a small boat. While floating, this boat arrived in front of Pharaoh’s palace. Pharaoh’s wife (Aasia) who was a virtuous lady, was filled with pity on seeing the innocent and charming face of Moses. So, on her advice, Moses was kept in Pharaoh’s palace. Tradition has it that at this juncture, Pharaoh’s wife said that the baby may become a source of happiness for them. Pharaoh replied saying, ‘For you, not for me.’ Pharaoh might have said so because of being emotionally unattached but it later turned out to be true.