آسية
Āsiya
Person
The wife of Pharaoh, praised in the Quran as a model of faith, who raised Moses.
What it means
The Quran says she told her husband of the infant Moses: “a joy of the eye for me and for you; do not kill him” (28:9). In 66:11 she is set as an example for believers: “My Lord, build me a house near You in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds.” The Quran does not give her name, which comes from the hadith, where the Prophet counts her among the perfect women (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Often misunderstood as
That the Quran contradicts the Bible, which says Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses (Exodus 2:5).
What the sources say
The Quran says that “the family of Pharaoh picked him up” (28:8), without saying who drew him from the water, and the Bible names the daughter as the one who found and drew him out. A household has several members; the accounts need not conflict.