Asiya
Asiya bint Muzahim | |
|---|---|
آسِيَة | |
Asiya (depicted with long black tresses) and her servants, having finished bathing, finds baby Moses in the Nile, Jami' al-tawarikh, c. 1310 | |
| Personal life | |
| Spouse | Pharaoh |
| Children | Mūsā (Adopted) |
| Parent |
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| Known for | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
Asiya bint Muzahim (Arabic: آسِيَة بِنْت مُزَاحِم, romanized: Āsiya bint Muzāḥim) was, according to the Qur'an and Islamic tradition, the wife of the Pharaoh of the Exodus and adoptive mother of Moses.
Asiya is first mentioned in Surah Al-Qasas in the Quran, identified as Bithiah in the Jewish tradition. She is for Muslims as one of the four greatest women of all time, and according to a prophetic narration in Sahih al-Bukhari, the second greatest ever after Mary.
She is believed to have secretly accepted monotheism after witnessing the miracle of Moses. The tradition holds that Asiya worshipped Allah in secret and hid her religion from her husband. However, later her faith was revealed and the Pharaoh ordered her execution.
Al-Tha'labi believed that the continent of Asia was named after her.