A Man Came Running

Allah (swt) made the news leak out through one member of the community, who came rushing from the far end of town to convey the news to Mūsā and tell him:

The chiefs are plotting to kill you, so you had better leave immediately. So Mūsā was told in advance that he would be killed. Mūsā had no time to prepare his belongings or his luggage; he had to flee Egypt immediately. He headed east — that was the way out — and he rushed out of Egypt at once. There was no time to do anything, because the warrant for his arrest was already out. So he left Egypt in the direction of the east, and he travelled all the way out of Egypt.

It is said that he had shoes on, and he kept walking until his shoes were torn apart. Then he walked barefoot until the skin of his feet peeled away. He would eat whatever he could find: he ate the leaves of the trees, until there was a green layer around his lips from the dryness and harshness of the leaves. And he was alone — no food, no supporter, no friends, no family. He kept walking east, because he did not know how far he had to go to get out of Egypt, until he arrived at an area called Madyan.