It is said that Sons of Israel vexed Hz. Musa (Moses) because he did not have private parts. Is it true?

Dear Brother / Sister,

"O ye who believe! Be ye not like those who vexed and insulted Moses (Musa), but Allah cleared him of the (calumnies) they had uttered: and he was honorable in Allah´s sight." (al-Ahzab, 33/69)

Infliction upon Hz. Musa:

According to a view, the verse «O ye who believe! Be ye not like those who vexed and insulted Moses» was sent down upon what people said related to the incident of Zaynab bint Jahsh. Their words vexed the Messenger of Allah. Allah Almighty cleared Hz. Musa of their words. He showed that they were liars about what they accused Hz. Musa of. Allah Almighty also showed that those who slandered the Messenger of Allah related to Zaynab were liars.  

Qurtubi states the following:

«After Allah Almighty mentioned the munafiqs (hypocrites) and the unbelievers who vexed and harassed the Messenger of Allah and the believers, he prohibited us from vexing the Messenger of Allah. He ordered us not to resemble Sons of Israel who vexed Musa.»

There are different views about the inflictions upon the Messenger of Allah and Hz. Musa. Naqqash states the following «The infliction upon the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the statement 'Zayd is Muhammad's son.'»

Abu Wail states the following: «What is meant by the infliction on the Messenger of Allah was the following utterance by one of the Companions during the division of booty: ‘This division was not done for the sake of Allah.' The Prophet was informed about it. Thereupon, he said, 'May Allah have mercy on Musa! He was annoyed with worse than this, yet he remained patient.'»

As for the infliction upon Hz. Musa, it is mentioned in the following hadith reported by Abu Hurayra from the Messenger of Allah:

«Sons of Israel used to wash themselves naked and all together. The Prophet Musa was very shy; therefore, he hid his body from them. Some people said, ' Musa had scrotal hernia.' Others said, 'He has a dappled skin.' Yet others said, 'He has another disease since he hides his body.’»

«Once Hz. Musa went to a tap in Damascus to have a bath. He put his clothes over a stone and then the stone ran away with his clothes. He followed that stone naked and shouted, ‘O stone! Give my clothes back. O stone! Give my clothes back.’ The stone stopped in front of a group of people of Sons of Israel. They looked at Hz. Musa’s body and saw that his body was one of the most handsome bodies and that he did not have any of the diseases people mentioned. Therefore, Allah Almighty says, 'Allah cleared him of the (calumnies) they had uttered.'»

Bukhari and Muslim reported the hadith above.  

The word «wajih» translated as honorable in the verse means "great". Arabs used this word for the people who were great and who had high degrees (ranks). According to a narration, when Hz. Musa wanted something from Allah Almighty, He would give it to him. 

(see Ali Arslan, Büyük Kur’an Tefsiri, Arslan Yayınları: 13/272-273.)

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