PERSONAL DESCRIPTION OF MÛSA AND HARÛN, U. W. B., ETC.; THEIR QUALITIES, NAMES, TITLES, TRADE; THEIR LAW AND PLACE OF SEPULTURE.

The Lord Mûsa was of a light brown complexion, high stature, had curled hair, and a mole on his blessed counte­nance. Harûn’s stature was taller, his blessed colour whiter. He was three years older than Mûsa; his body was corpulent and large.

According to a certain tradition the Lord Mûsa was the fourth Uvlula’zm.* He was a prophet of exalted dignity and very irascible. Hârun, on the contrary, was slow to anger and meek, gentleness having been the prominent feature of his august character.

Some say that Mûsa is an Arabized word which was [originally] Musia in Hebrew, and had been invented by the daughter of Fara’ûn when Mûsa was in the coffin. Some allege that Mu means ‘water’ in the Qabat language and Sa ‘a tree’; and as they found his coffin among the trees in water, they called him Mûsa. His well-known titles are ‘the speaker with God’ and ‘the pure one of God.’ Harûn means in the Hebrew language ‘red and white’; and his lordship being endowed with these two qualities, he was called so after them. His title is Wazir, Emâm, and Khalifah.*

In the beginning Mûsa was a governor of the children of Esrâil and of the Qabats. When he entered the service of Shoa’ib he became a shepherd, but after he had received his mission he followed no other occupation but that of governing and exhorting the people. Harûn was first a merchant, and afterwards became the prime minister of Mûsa.

At the commencement of his mission Mûsa followed the religion of Ebrahim, but when the Mosaic Law descended [from heaven] he received orders to abolish some of the ordinances, and to establish other new ones. Some things allowed before were prohibited now and vice versâ; details of all these things, however, may be found in the histories of the Jews.

All chroniclers agree that the place of Mûsa’s sepulture is not known; those of the book* say that the tomb of Harûn is in the desert of Sin on Mount Shovik; God the Most High, however, knows best the true state of the case. The blessings of Allah be upon our prophet, upon them, as well as upon all other prophets and inspired mes­sengers.