The story of Musa AS is at many places in the Quran(over 70 places).
Stories are there so that we can do tadabbur and reflect and find timeless inspiration.
Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلمwas respected by the Makkans before he got revelation. Makkans were rough people not easily impressed by anyone but they honoured him before he actually declared Prophethood. Imagine that you have been living with someone for years and one day he suddenly claims to have communication with God and whatever he says you are supposed to obey it unconditionally. Is it easy to accept? NO. We believe it easily because we are now in millions and hundreds of years after that time. But they called him insane and they called it magic. They stopped giving him respect. They started hating him and they cut off ties with him. They tried their best to make him give it up. They claimed that the Quran brought him nothing but misery. Allah responds to that in this surah.
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To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil.
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And if you speak aloud - then indeed, He knows the secret and what is [even] more hidden.
Fear is a necessary component of happiness. When young people become really happy, they do really stupid things. Fear is important so that we do the right things when we are happy so that we don't have to suffer later on.
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When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance."
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Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa.
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Indeed, I am Allah . There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.
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Indeed, the Hour is coming - I almost conceal it - so that every soul may be recompensed according to that for which it strives.
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So do not let one avert you from it who does not believe in it and follows his desire, for you [then] would perish.
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He said, "It is my staff; I lean upon it, and I bring down leaves for my sheep and I have therein other uses."
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[ Allah ] said, "Seize it and fear not; We will return it to its former condition.
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And draw in your hand to your side; it will come out white without disease - another sign,
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[Saying], 'Cast him into the chest and cast it into the river, and the river will throw it onto the bank; there will take him an enemy to Me and an enemy to him.' And I bestowed upon you love from Me that you would be brought up under My eye.
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[And We favored you] when your sister went and said, 'Shall I direct you to someone who will be responsible for him?' So We restored you to your mother that she might be content and not grieve. And you killed someone, but We saved you from retaliation and tried you with a [severe] trial. And you remained [some] years among the people of Madyan. Then you came [here] at the decreed time, O Moses.
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Go, you and your brother, with My signs and do not slacken in My remembrance.
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And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [ Allah ]."
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They said, "Our Lord, indeed we are afraid that he will hasten [punishment] against us or that he will transgress."
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[ Allah ] said, "Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.When Musa AS saw a fire, he said umkusu(wait in anticipation). Only Musa AS could see that fire. His family could not see it. He said Aanastu (means something that you see and are drawn to).
Qabas means a borrowed flame(like using a lantern to light up another one) or maybe I can get guidance from someone who is camping there. He DID bring back light and guidance but a different kind of guidance, not for this journey but for his whole life.
Musa AS was nervous climbing up a mountain in the middle of the night in an unknown place. And while he was climbing, he heard O Musa AS. That is terrifying. Allah used passive tense A call was made because Musa AS had no idea who made the call. Allah went on to say: I am your Lord, take off your shoes, you have approached the sacred valley of Tuwa. It was called a valley because it was the flat part of the mountain. We take our shoes off when we enter a masjid or a sacred place. Whenever we take our shoes off while entering masjid, it is actually a continuation of this conversation.
Allah said: I have chosen you for the good I see in you. Akhtartuk means that he saw khayr in it. It was important because Musa AS was guilty because he killed someone by accident. Even though he made a mistake in the past, Allah still saw good in him and chose him for nabuwat. This made the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلمhappy because it is very similar to what happened to him,because he also went to Cave Hira and got revelation. But the first command given to Musa AS was take your shoes off, and to Prophet SAWW take your shoes off.
Innanee is more powerful than Innee. Allah used Innanee here. No doubt, I am Allah. This is more emphatic than the previous Ayah. Ilaah. The love of Allah is so intense that there is no sadness or depression. It removes all sadness. Allah used this Ilaah to give comfort to Prophetصلی اللہ علیہ وسلم..
When we meet a celebrity, we are super excited and we want to show it off to everyone. Musa AS met Allah and there can be no meeting greater than this. Musa AS can never forget this meeting. Allah asked him to establish prayer for His remembrance, so the REAL way of remembrance is Salaat. It is not like he would have forgotten this meeting anyway, but Allah showed him HOW to remember him. Allah mentioned this so to give us the message to not be lazy and complacent about Salaat.
Judgement day is coming. I am almost keeping it entirely hidden so that everybody can be paid according to their effort. Allah kept this knowledge hidden so that we would work every day like it's the last day. Otherwise we would become really lazy and think that we still have time. Allah knows human nature so He deliberately kept the exact day hidden, the way a teacher takes a surprise test and just warns the students but doesn't give it away. And there are also those kinds of people who give up when they think the test is too close and they can't make it.
Do not spend time with those who do not believe in the day of judgement, because they will make you stop thinking about it too. You will forget about it by hanging out with them. Whoever does not believe in Judgement day, follows his own desires and has no sense of accountability. Hawa means empty desire. It is literally a canyon/ditch/hole in the ground. So they are leading themselves into a ditch. So then Allah said Irtadda(it means somebody who falls off a cliff). Musa AS was on a cliff at that time. Allah figuratively used this expression at that moment but it was befitting. All of this must be really terrifying for him.
Then Allah changed the conversation and asked:What is there in your right hand? Allah already knew. Tilka is feminine and it used for staff which is feminine, also implying that Allah already knew what was in his hand otherwise he would have said zaalika. Allah tried to strike a conversation. A one word answer would have been sufficient but Musa AS started giving unnecessary details instead of just saying A STICK. When you get a chance to speak to someone important, you want to prolong it. Musa AS does not want the conversation to stop. Maarib has its root word in intelligence so it means that he could do clever/sophisticated things with it. When you make dua,prolong it and know that Allah listens to you and is eager to listen. Allah recorded this in the Quran to make a point that even the smallest things in our lives are valuable to Allah. Ask Allah even if for a shoelace. No conversation is too trivial for Allah. Become his intimate friend.
Leaning on a stick also has a figurative meaning because he leaned on it for support while facing Firawn. And he beat the stick when he became a Shepherd for Bani Israel. He beat the stick on a rock and fed all the tribes. The third thing Musa AS mentioned was that he can do pretty cool things with it. He ended up parting the ocean and his staff also turned into a snake. He had no idea what was coming next.
Then Allah asked Musa AS to throw down the staff, then all of a sudden it turned into a poisonous snake. Hayya,saubaan and jaan are 3 words used for the snake.
Hayaat means life so hayya is a snake that is about to take your life so its fangs are open.
Subaan is a massive snake/a python that can swallow you whole.
Jaan comes from Jinn. It is a terrifying creature. You are horrified at the sight of it.
Tas-aa means that it is running around. Imagine such a snake running around and you are on top of a cliff. Allah told Musa AS to grab it and not be scared. Musa AS had to overcome his fear. Our obedience to Allah comes first and our feelings come second.Musa AS is being given the lesson to trust Allah and obey Him blindly,even in the face of death. Allah FIRST asked him to grab it and then to not fear. We have to submit ourselves completely to Allah. Musa AS is taught to trust Allah in every impossible situation.
Take your hand and put it in your pocket. It will come out white. Musa AS was wheatish in colour and it changed into white NOT due to any disease. Musa AS was given 9 signs in total. Now that Musa AS had learned to handle this snake, he was asked to go to firaun. Musa AS had to leave this special conversation with Allah and go make conversation with the enemy of Allah. Musa AS did not want the conversation to end. Allah . The ummah carries the same responsibility. Our conversation with Allah is through salaah and our conversation with people is through dawah to all kinds of people. Our conversation with Allah gives us strength and softens our hearts. Communication with people makes our hearts hard again so we have to go back to salaah to soften our hearts again.
Musa AS had to go to Egypt directly to firaun where he was wanted for murder with orders of shoot at sight. Musa AS had to go through all the security and army of firaun to reach him. This was a lethal journey. Musa AS made dua to Allah SWT: Expand my chest, calm me down, make it easy for me,strengthen my heart. He didn't even ask Allah to help him get to firaun. He trusted Allah to enable him to reach there. He just asked Allah to untie the knot in his tongue when he reaches the court of firaun. Make my speech clear. Musa AS had a stutter and it becomes worse whenever you are nervous or full of emotions. That is why Musa AS asked Allah to keep him calm. Then he says so that THEY can understand my speech. Allah only asked him to go to firaun but Musa AS knew that his mission included others too who were going to witness the message. We need to learn to speak in a way that resonates with people.
Then he asked for a Wazeer to carry his load with him. Musa AS gets angry and he can stutter when he gets angry so he needed Haroon AS to calm him down. We mostly see the guy in front of the camera and not the team behind him. Musa AS is always on the forefront but Haroon AS is his major support behind the scene. Musa AS asked for him to strengthen his back to prevent him from falling. This is a dua of defence. Allah responds in Surah Qasas that I will not only give him for defence but also for offence(We will reinforce your muscle with him, not just your back). Musa AS remained in the forefront and Haroon AS was his backup.
Why did he ask for Haroon AS to do tasbeeh of Allah together? Because often when people get in the public eye or in dawah work, they forget that Allah is the source of everything and only Allah is perfect, and we are never going to be perfect and we always need to improve and keep our feet on the ground. We become full of ourselves when we step into dawah and cannot take criticism anymore. We need someone who can act as a mirror for us and can correct us whenever we go wrong. Mirrors never lie and they always reveal our faults. Mirrors don't speak or announce your faults to the whole world. It just lets you know when you have a problem and when you fix it. Mirrors are also very delicate and can break easily like relationships so honest criticism must not make you angry. When we say Allah is perfect, it means we are imperfect and we need to remind ourselves of our imperfections constantly. Allah then reminded Musa AS that he had already done favours upon him and this was not the first favour being done to him.
Prophet Muhammad SAWW is connecting this story to his own. Musa AS was a baby boy when firaun was going to kill him. His mother tried to keep him calm to stop him from crying. His mother began to feed him so that he wouldn't cry. Firaun used to kill the baby boys every other year. Even if he escaped now, he could have been killed next time. Allah told Musa AS's mother to take him and put him in a coffin. Even the word coffin implies death. This was a great trial. You don't have any time, quickly throw him(qazafa) into the box and then throw the box into the river. This could have resulted in his death. The box could have drowned or the baby could have died of the impact or firaun could have found him or the river could have crashed the box into the shore. Of all the people, he ended up in firaun's castle. Death surrounded him everywhere. But Allah put love of Musa AS into firaun's heart and even his heart softened towards him.
You could be crafted under my watch. Musa AS was raised in firaun's castle so fitna and shirk surrounded him. He had two good influences on him, his mother and his stepmother. Allah decided to raise him in the house of kufr. Allah wanted him to understand firaun from the inside and fitnas from the inside. Musa AS was a young man and he was very muscular,powerful,wealthy,raised as a prince, living in the biggest house at that time. He could do anything he liked and get anything he liked. He owned the world. Allah raised the greatest heroes of Islam in the darkest of places. We, the ummah, are also living in the darkest of times so we do not need to be depressed but we need to understand that this helps shape us and become the person we are meant to be. Allah, out of love of Musa AS, is telling him stories of his childhood and how Allah protected him. His sister walked alongside the riverbank to keep a watch on him.
Then Musa AS would not drink milk from any woman. So, firaun asked for everyone to search for someone. Musa AS's sister guided him towards his mother. Allah saved him from starvation. Allah is reminding him of the favours done to him and his parents. Even the favours done to parents are indirectly a favour to you. EARN the duas of your parents but doing khidmat of them. Give them a reason to be proud of you. Allah says that you killed a person and Allah saved you from all kinds of sadness. We tested you in all kinds of ways:how he escaped Egypt, then he got to Madyan, then he reared their sheep,then he got interviewed by his father in law when he was wanted for murder,was an illegal immigrant, homeless and jobless. Then Allah goes on to say that we brought you to Toor right on schedule. The lesson is that both the good and the bad experiences in life are part of a greater plan and are for our own good. Nothing was an accident. I have crafted and moulded you exceptionally well for your mission.
Go on your mission and don't be lazy in doing zikr of me. Go to Firaun, he has rebelled. Remember me and I will remember you. Speak to him in a soft way. The softer,the sweeter. First Allah told him that he is a criminal and then he asked Musa AS to speak softly to him. Your message should be tough and your tone should be soft. You cannot bend the message but you can communicate beautifully. The truth may be bitter but we need to say it. When we come newly to deen, we become full of anger and frustration towards others who are away from deen. We issue fatwas and swear and lose our minds. We need to learn hikmat and the art of communication. Firaun killed babies and called himself god and Allah still asked Musa AS to speak to him softly. Muslims are supposed to be humble and caring towards each other and respectfully disagree. We call people kaafir or murtad or deviant or shaytaan whenever they agree with us. Who made you the judge of people's hearts? You have no right to judge the imaan of fellow muslims and call them hypocrites.
Maybe he will actually benefit from the reminder and be afraid of Allah. This implies that there is even some potential inside firaun. So there's some potential even in the worst of people. It is upto Allah to change people's hearts. Nobody is a lost cause. We have no right to judge others. Robert davilla got paralysed WHILE he was running for a police and now he is an inspiration for millions.
Musa AS said that he is afraid he would arrest us or do xyz. Allah said he will take care of it.
