‘And remember We gave Moses the Scripture and the criterion (between right and wrong) there was a chance for you to be guided aright’ (Surah Al Baqara)
Assalamu alaikum, fellow Muslims and non-Muslims.
We may all know the importance of the Qur’an, the Holy Book written by Allah (swt). However, we may not necessarily follow the teachings of the Qur’an and follow the role models that were sent to the Earth to spread the word of Islam. In order to remind you of the important lessons taught by each of the significant prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, I will In Sha Allah, be starting a prophets series. This will contain lessons I learnt from each of the prophets. I am trying my best to In Sha Allah post every day of Ramadan about each prophet.
Today, we will talk about our sixteenth prophet, who is Musa (pbuh). This is part 1 of his story. If you would like to know the story, sources are available below. If I also make any mistakes, I apologise and Allah (swt) knows the best.
Shirk is the biggest sin in Islam.
The Pharaoh at that time used to think he was God (Astaghfirullah) due to his wealth, status and power. He was very arrogant and made others worship him too. He made the Egyptians higher in status than the Bani Israel who were the slaves.
Dreams can sometimes have a meaning.
The Pharaoh had a dream that a fire came from Palestine and burned everything except the Bani Israel and its meaning was that a boy from Bani Israel would be born to destroy the Egyptians.
You cannot dodge Allah’s punishment, except by seeking forgiveness and if Allah then wills it.
The Pharaoh started killing all the boys from Bani Israel that were born to avoid his dream coming true. However, this was not possible as they did not have enough slaves so the Pharaoh decided to kill the boys every other year.
Have unconditional faith in Allah and keep patient.
You must have unconditional faith in Allah, just like Musa’s mother who was told to leave her son Musa (pbuh) for his protection in a basket in the Nile river.
If you can do something to solve your problem, try your best to solve it.
For example, even though Musa’s mother had faith in Allah about her baby, she still sent her daughter and Musa’s sister to follow the basket. So for example, if you have an exam, revise AND pray to Allah.
Surely, everything is planned in your destiny.
The basket reached Asiya (pbuh), the Pharaoh’s wife. She wanted to keep the baby and the Pharaoh allowed her to. Soon after, Musa’s mother found her baby in the palace
Surely, Allah saves you in the hardest tests and trials.
When the Pharaoh doubted if Musa (pbuh) was smart or naive, he put him in a test where they placed some pearls and some burning coal. If he touched the burning coal, it would show he is naive and he would be safe. Allah made Musa (pbuh) touch the burning coal which saved him.
Humans can make mistakes but try to avoid them.
Musa (pbuh) accidentally killed an Egyptian who was treating a person from the Bani Israel badly when he grew up and he immediately sought forgiveness from Allah. Surely, murder is Haram.
Help others if you can.
Musa (pbuh) helped two girls feed their animals even though he was quite tired himself.
Both men and women are required to be modest and lower their gazes.
One of the sisters whom Musa (pbuh) helped came back to him in a very respectful manner and told him that their father had asked him to stay in their house. Musa (pbuh) agreed to stay at their house.
Keep your promises.
Musa (pbuh) worked for 10 years as his father-in-law suggested him to do.
Your spouse should be loyal to you.
Musa’s wife went with him to return to Egypt.
Allah can perform any miracles.
Allah taught Musa (pbuh) to turn a stick into a snake and to turn his armpits white.
Follow Allah’s commands and he will fulfill your wishes or give something else in return.
Musa (pbuh) felt afraid to return to Egypt in risk of being killed but Allah told him to go. Allah fulfilled the request of Musa (pbuh) to have clear speech and to make his brother Harun (pbuh) a prophet.
In Islam, being collective is better than one individual usually.
The two brothers, Musa and Harun (pbut) went to tell the Pharaoh to worship Allah.
Being too insecure can cause bigger problems.
After the Pharaoh lost the contest between his magicians and the prophets, he seeked validation from his advisers and the chief minister and said that he is god (Astaghfirullah).
You have to give to charity depending on how much wealth you own.
Kora refused to give to charity and all his property was taken away by Allah.
No man has all the knowledge in the world.
Allah told Musa that someone had more knowledge than him and that was Khidr (pbuh).
Humans are forgetful.
Yusha (pbuh) forgot to tell Musa (pbuh) that the fish had gone into the river which is where they were supposed to meet Khidr (pbuh).
Sometimes, you do not know the background story about everything and why something happens.
There were three situations where Khidr (pbuh) did something that was considered bad and evil but in the end, there was actually a good reason behind it and Allah had commanded him to do it. You may lose something to gain something better in the future.
Wealth does not mean you are more powerful in the eyes of Allah.
The Pharaoh claimed that he was powerful and Musa (pbuh) was just poor, to justify his bad explanation.
Allah will send punishments if you have not listened to Him repeatedly.
Allah sent three different punishments to the Egyptians for disobeying Him.
According to the teachings in Islam, you are deaf, dumb and blind if you are a disbeliever.
After sending the three punishments and the Pharaoh and his Egyptians ignoring Musa’s advice to worship Allah, Musa (pbuh) felt that they would never worship Allah. He prayed to Allah to punish them.
These were some of the lessons that I captured from Musa (pbuh). The story of Musa (pbuh) is beautifully said in this Youtube video which I used to create this article:
Please share this article with your family and friends to get some rewards this Ramadan. In Sha Allah, you will stay well.
Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!