Maid of Pharaoh’s daughter

It is narrated that Pharaoh’s daughter appointed a pious devout woman as her maid. The pious woman would serve her day and night as per her capability. One day, the pious woman was combing Pharaoh’s daughter’s hair. While doing so, she dropped the comb and unintentionally uttered “(سُبْحٰنَ اللّٰہ)” loudly.

When the non-Muslim daughter of Pharaoh heard this, she said: ‘Did you praise my father Pharaoh?’ The believer woman replied: ‘No! In fact, I have glorified the Lord Who has created me, your father Pharaoh and the entire universe. Only He (وَحْدَہٗ لَاشَرِیْک) is deserving to be worshipped.’

Listening to the faithful conversation of the believer woman, Pharaoh’s daughter said: ‘I will tell my father about you that you do not accept him as god.’ The woman replied: ‘No worries. You may tell him.’         

Therefore, she told her father Pharaoh everything about that woman. Listening to this, he called the pious believer woman and said: ‘I have heard that you believe in God other than me. Your safety lies in the fact that you abandon that new religion and worship me. Accept me as your god. Otherwise, you will be subjected to horrible punishment.’ The woman replied: ‘Do whatever you want. I will never commit Kufr (disbelief).’ 

Such faith-enlightening speech of that pious woman severely enraged Pharaoh. He ordered for oil to boil in a copper cauldron (a huge round metal pot). When the oil started to boil, her son was thrown into the boiling oil. Within a few moments, her son’s bones were flowing in the oil. Tyrant Pharaoh said to the woman: ‘Do you accept me to be god?’ The woman replied: ‘Not at all. My Lord is the One Who is the Owner of all the worlds.’ One by one, Pharaoh threw all her children into the boiling oil; but the courageous, patient and thankful woman did not abandon her faith.