Story 10 of 12

Asiya, wife of Pharaoh

آسية امرأة فرعون

The most protected woman in Egypt, asking for a smaller house

Do not kill him. Perhaps he may benefit us

Asiya lived inside the palace of the man who called himself god, and believed in Allah anyway. The Quran presents her as an example set for the believers, not for women specifically, for all believers (66:11), and the example is her dua, spoken from the most luxurious address in the ancient world: “My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deed, and save me from the wrongdoing people.”

Read the order of that request. The house first, and she asks for it near Him before she asks for it in Paradise. Then rescue from her own husband. She had the finest home on earth and asked for a different neighbourhood entirely. She is also the reason Musa lived: when the basket was pulled from the river, it was Asiya who said, “An eye's delight for me and for you. Do not kill him; perhaps he will be useful to us, or we may adopt him as a son.” (28:9). She talked Pharaoh out of killing the child who would end him.

The lesson to keep

Lesson: Nobody's household, wealth or marriage can force their heart. Yours is yours.
Quran 66:11 · 28:9 · Sahih al-Bukhari 3411
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