Skip to content
قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

The Burning Bush (Mount Sinai) الطُّور

In review — pending scholar verification

The mountain in the Sinai Peninsula where Musa was called to prophethood at a tree appearing as fire — and where, after the Exodus, he received the Tawrah.

Overview

Mount Sinai (Arabic: الطُّور, aṭ-Ṭūr; Jabal Mūsā, "the Mountain of Moses") is the mountain in the Sinai Peninsula where Musa was called to prophethood at a tree that appeared as fire (the shajar in Surah Al-Qaṣaṣ 28:30; the nār in Surah Ṭāhā 20:10). It was here that Allah spoke to him directly and entrusted him with the mission to Pharaoh. After the Exodus, Musa returned to the same mountain to receive the Tawrāh (Surah Al-Aʿrāf 7:142–145).

The mountain is named in the Quran in Surah aṭ-Ṭūr (52, named after it), Surah At-Tin 95:2 ("And [by] Mount Sinai"), and elsewhere. The traditional Islamic identification — corroborated by Sirah and historical sources — places it in the south of the Sinai Peninsula in modern Egypt; the ancient St Catherine's monastery sits at its base.

Quranic references

  • Surah Ṭāhā 20:9–24 — the burning tree, the call.
  • Surah Al-Qaṣaṣ 28:29–35 — parallel account.
  • Surah An-Nāziʿāt 79:16 — "In the sacred valley of Ṭuwā."
  • Surah Aṭ-Ṭūr 52:1 — "By Mount Sinai."
  • Surah At-Tin 95:2 — "And [by] Mount Sinai."
  • Surah Al-Aʿrāf 7:142–145 — Musa's forty nights and the receipt of the Tablets.

See also

References

  1. The Quran: Surahs Al-Aʿrāf 7:142–145; Ṭāhā 20:9–24; Al-Qaṣaṣ 28:29–35; Aṭ-Ṭūr 52:1; An-Nāziʿāt 79:16; At-Tin 95:2.
  2. Ibn Kathir, Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ, chapter on Musa.