Asiya bint Muzahim
The second example is that of Asiya bint Muzahim. She lived in the time of Prophet Moses. She most likely belonged to a noble family in Egypt. The Pharaoh of Egypt married her and placed her in his royal palace. She believed in the Prophet of her time, Moses, and sincerely adopted a life of devotion to God. The Quran refers to Asiya bint Muzahim in these words:
To the believers God has given the example of Pharaoh’s wife who said: “My Lord, build me a house in nearness to You in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his misdeeds. Save me from all evil-doers.” (66:11)
Asiya bint Muzahim was the queen of Egypt, living in a royal palace and enjoying every form of luxury and comfort. Yet this worldly success did not make her heedless or rebellious. When the message of Prophet Moses reached her, she accepted it immediately due to her open-hearted and truth-seeking nature, and she began to live a life of obedience to God and His Messenger.
Pharaoh adhered to polytheism, which helped him consolidate his political authority in the idolatrous society of ancient Egypt. When Prophet Moses raised the call of monotheism, Pharaoh became his enemy and sought to suppress and extinguish the message of monotheism.
Pharaoh gave Asiya bint Muzahim a choice: either abandon the faith of Moses or face death on the charge of rebellion. To abandon the faith of Moses meant, in spiritual terms, to abandon Paradise itself, whereas rejecting Pharaoh’s command meant only temporary deprivation of the royal palace. Asiya bint Muzahim, as a sincere seeker of truth, chose to forgo the palace but not to lose the eternal Paradise of God.
As a result, Asiya bint Muzahim was killed by Pharaoh’s order. Her final supplication was so profound that the Quran has preserved it as part of divine revelation in these words: “My Lord, build me a house in nearness to You in Paradise.” (66:11)
The inclusion of this prayer in the Quran is, in an indirect sense, an affirmation of its acceptance by God. This episode in the life of Asiya bint Muzahim serves as a timeless message for all women and men alike: if, in choosing a life of devotion to God, one has to give up the temporary paradise of this world, it should not be a matter of regret. For any woman or man who gives up the temporary paradise of this world purely for the sake of God, God will grant the eternal and ideal world of Paradise in the Hereafter. There can undoubtedly be no greater success than this.
