Abu Bakr Zoud – Reflections from the Revelation – EP05 – Miracle of Musa
AI: Summary ©
A group of individuals express their desire to rise and protect loved ones, while also acknowledging the need for certainty and clarity in their lives. They stress the importance of having a clear understanding of Islam and trusting leaders. The group also discusses the need for faith in Allah's commandments and not giving up until it is clear that the situation is going to turn into a disaster.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah wa salatu wa salamu ala rasulillah wa
ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma'in.
My brothers and sisters in Islam, assalamu alaykum
wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
And today we are reflecting on the story
of Musa alayhi salam.
The path in which the sea splits for
him and Bani Israel and eventually Allah azza
wa jal saves Musa alayhi salam and Bani
Israel from Fir'aun and his army.
And this is mentioned in Surah Ash-Shu
'ara and there are plenty of practical lessons
that we can learn from this bi-idhnillahi
ta'ala.
So Allah azza wa jal, he says fa
-atba'uhum mushriqeen.
You know the idea was that Bani Israel
have been in the prisons of Fir'aun
for many many years.
They were tortured, humiliated, subjected to intense labour,
their baby boys were slaughtered every second year.
It was just horrible conditions for Bani Israel.
And eventually Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bring
them relief, much needed relief.
Allah azza wa jal sent Musa alayhi salam,
Musa alayhi salam grows up in the palace
of Fir'aun, he is looked after there,
he is nurtured there, he is raised there.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands
Musa alayhi salam one day and he says
to him wa-awhayna ila Musa an-asri
bi-ibadi innakum muttaba'oon.
Allah gives Musa alayhi salam a commandment.
He says to him take my sleeves, meaning
round up Bani Israel, collect them all and
run away at night.
Go, go towards the sea.
And so Musa alayhi salam does that.
Allah azza wa jal he says, we fast
forward, the next morning Allah azza wa jal
says fa-atba'oohum mushriqeen.
The army of Fir'aun followed Musa and
Bani Israel the next morning, mushriqeen at shuruq
time.
So about seven in the morning, eight o
'clock in the morning, whatever shuruq time was
at that time, they all got up onto
their horses and by the way, Fir'aun,
he had an army of approximately two million
soldiers as Ibn Kathir rahimahullah mentions and they
were well equipped.
And thereafter Bani Israel who were approximately 600,
among them old men, old women, children, babies
and so on, they're not equipped for a
war at all.
So what happens?
Allah azza wa jal says, falamma taraa aljama
'an, Fir'aun and his soldiers have walked
and they are in pursuit of Musa and
Bani Israel.
Musa and Bani Israel have reached the sea
and there is no way now.
The sea is a giant sea in front
of them, there is no way there.
To the left and to the right, there
is no way.
And now they look back and Fir'aun
and the soldiers have arrived, Allah akbar, Allah
captures that moment and he says, falamma taraa
aljama'an, when the two groups saw each
other, taraa from raa, raa to see, they
saw each other and you can imagine and
understand the panic that is going to disperse
among Bani Israel.
So Bani Israel as a group, they all
would scream out in one voice, innaa lamudrakoon,
qala ashaabu Musa, the companions of Musa, Bani
Israel they said, innaa lamudrakoon, we have been
followed, they caught up to us, we are
finished, we are gone right now, we will
be doomed and destroyed and ruined.
And you know what this is?
There are some people in the face of
fitan, that's how their reaction is.
You see, Fir'aun and his army coming
is like the fitnah coming and there are
some Muslims, that's how their reaction is, like
Bani Israel, they'll look at the fitan, they'll
give up hope and they'll say, we're gone,
we're finished, we're ruined, we're doomed, we're destroyed,
us, our children, we're all gone, we have
no more hope, what is all this?
This is a person losing hope in Allah
Azza wa Jalla and amidst this chaos of
Bani Israel, one man rises and there is
a prophet of Allah, Musa alayhi as-salam
and he calms his people down and he
says to them, kalla, no, not at all,
not at all, we will not fall in
the hands of Fir'aun, we will not
fall in his hands.
You see, he has good thought, he's optimistic
and that's a quality of a real leader
as well, to be optimistic.
What does he say?
He says powerful words that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala records in the Qur'an.
He doesn't say to his people, no, not
at all, relax, I've got an army of
a backup coming, I've got weapons, I have
gold, I have whatever you have, what is
it going to do?
He says and he tells them something that
is absolutely incredible and should live in the
hearts and in the minds of every single
believer.
He says, inda ma'i rabbi sayahdeen, I
have my Lord with me and he will
guide us out of this, Allahu akbar.
This is certainty in the times of calamities,
that's what this is, this is him being
certain that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will
save him amidst this fitnah and this calamity.
The majority of us, we complain when we
live in western lands and we speak about
this fitnah and we speak about all types
of fitnah that are at our doors, entering
into our homes and on our screens and
in advertisements, promoting al-haram and filth and
dirty matters and we're all complaining and we're
all giving up and we're saying there's no
hope for us, there is no chance for
us, we're going to lose our faith, but
this is the time in which we need
that certainty of Musa alayhi salam.
In the face of all this evil, in
the face of all this corruption, we need
you my brothers and sisters in Islam to
rise and to say inda ma'i rabbi,
we have our Lord with us, sayahdeen, he'll
guide us out of this, he'll save us
from this fitnah, from these temptations, from these
calamities that we see around us, inda ma
'i rabbi, sayahdeen, Musa alayhi salam as I
said, he didn't say I have an army
coming, there's backup coming, I have gold here,
maybe we can collect the gold and offer
it to Fir'aun and he might spare
us from his punishment, but what's that going
to do?
Gold and people coming to your aid and
to your rescue, what's that going to do?
Nothing, he went to the highest source, I
have my Lord with me, Allahu Akbar, and
you see in order for Allah to be
with you, what are you supposed to be
doing?
How do we earn ma'iyyatullah, the closeness
of Allah and Allah being with us in
difficult testing times, how?
Allah azza wa jal, he says in surah
al-ma'idah, wa qala Allah, Allah declared
and he announced inni ma'akum, I am
with you, la'in aqamtumus salat, wa aataytumus
zakat, wa aamantum birusuri, wa azzartumuhum, wa aqartumullaha
qardan hasana, Allah azza wa jal, he says
I am with you, so long as you
establish your prayers and you give your zakat
and you believe in my messengers and you
honour them, you dignify them, wa aqartumullaha qardan
hasana, and you continuously give to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, not just wealth, but you
give from your time, from your effort to
Islam and to the deen of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, these are five matters that
if you were to consistently do, Allah azza
wa jal is with you, no matter what
severe tribulation or calamity or fitna you are
going to face in your life, because that's
exactly what you want when you are facing
these fitna and these hardships and these calamities
and whatever it is, you want Allah azza
wa jal to be with you because if
Allah is with you, most definitely he will
make a way out for you, no doubt,
because now listen to what happens, inna ma
'i ya rabbi sayah deen, because of this
certainty, because of this absolute faith that he
had, that Allah is with him, Allah azza
wa jal commands Musa alayhi as-salam, fawhayna
ila Musa anibbun bi'asaka al-bahr, Allah
azza wa jal commands him, take the staff
that's in your hand and strike the sea,
what's that going to do, you think of
this, what is this going to do, if
I told you now take a stick and
strike it at the ocean, it won't do
anything, for you and I it won't do
anything, but the most important thing here is
that Musa alayhi as-salam is going to
obey Allah's command, Allah commanded him to strike
that ocean with the stick, the staff he
had, so Musa alayhi as-salam walks to
the ocean and he takes the staff and
he strikes it, he didn't question Allah's command,
he didn't question Allah's command, you see in
a moment of difficulty, one thing we're supposed
to be doing, number one, having certain faith
that Allah is with us, number two, adhering
to Allah's commands, especially in our calamity, because
a lot of people they lose their faith
when they're being tested, no one loses his
faith when times are good and the situation
is good, people lose their relationship with Allah,
people abandon the obligations when things become really
difficult, that's when they give up, right, that's
when they start having doubt, but Musa alayhi
as-salam is in the midst of a
calamity and Allah commands him, this is a
command, strike the ocean, just like when you're
in the calamity, Allah continues to command you,
pray and fast and give your zakat and
obey Allah, keep away from the prohibitions, these
are still commands, like this, like this, he
didn't question and as a result relief came,
the ocean split in half, it split in
half and that is relief, that is relief
coming to him and Allah azza wa jal
did mention this principle in the Qur'an,
he said, anyone who feeds Allah and taqwa
means to do what Allah commands and to
keep away from the prohibitions, if you do
that, Allah will make a way out for
you and here Musa alayhi as-salam obeyed
Allah azza wa jal's instruction without question, he
didn't say, oh Allah, what's a staff on
an ocean going to do, right, and that's
you, I'm telling you as well, when you're
commanded to pray, don't say and question, why,
why five prayers a day, why al-hijab,
why do I need this and why do
I have to do this and why do
I have to keep away from this and
why is riba haram and why, do what
you are commanded to do, that's when relief
will come and that's how it came from
Musa alayhi as-salam and he and Bani
Israel were saved from this calamity of Firaun
and the army being with him.
So that's the passage here, the message here
is to have faith in Allah azza wa
jal in all times and to be very
certain that Allah is with you, especially in
difficult times and to adhere to the commandments
of Allah, especially in trialing times, bi-idhnillahi
ta'ala, relief will come soon after and
I end with a beautiful hadith and Nabi
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, ajiba rabbuka min
qunooti ibadihi wa qurbi ghiyarih, Allah azza wa
jal is amazed at the hopeless state of
the servant, when the servant has given up
complete hope in Allah azza wa jal and
his change of affairs were so close and
they were so near, so a change of
affairs from bad to good is very near,
all you need to do is keep that
certainty in Allah, keep that faith in Allah,
do what Allah azza wa jal has commanded
you and you will see its rewards very
soon bi-idhnillah, we ask Allah azza wa
jal to accept from us and we ask
Allah to accept from us and we ask
Allah to accept from us and we ask
Allah to accept from us and we ask
Allah to accept from us and we ask
Allah to accept from us