Ahsan Hanif – Quran Tafseer – Page 165 – Musa And The Magicians
AI: Summary ©
The importance of caring about a situation and not thinking it is a major issue is emphasized in Islam's teachings. The success of Islam as a public holiday is highlighted, as well as the use of tools and tools to overcome bad luck. The conspiracy theory between Islam's supposed ridden magic and people's desire to win money is discussed, as well as the importance of finding true punishment and being a leader among the people of the kingdom of the Prophet wa. The need for people to be mindful of their shit during a situation is emphasized, as well as the end of episode seventeen and the need for people to be mindful of their shit.
AI: Summary ©
I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the
accursed.
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful.
I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the
accursed.
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful.
I
seek
refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed.
I
seek
refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed.
They said, Musa, will you throw first or
shall we?
This shows a level of nonchalance, it shows
a level of not caring, not thinking that
it's going to be a major issue.
You have not just one but maybe dozens
of major sorcerers, the most proficient and learned
in the whole kingdom of Egypt.
And they've come together and they find in
front of them a single man who doesn't
look very impressive, who's not very eloquent in
his speech, who only has a staff with
him.
And it's as if they're saying, is this
what we all came for?
Like this is the challenge?
Like we thought that it's going to be
something major?
So they say to him, okay, it's up
to you, let's get this over and done
with.
Do you want to go first?
Shall we go first?
How do you want to do this?
So it shows a level of not caring
on their part because they think that it's
not going to be something which is even
worthy of their time and their consideration.
Musa A.S. responds as Allah tells us
in verse 116 He
said, you throw first.
And they did, casting a spell on people's
eyes, striking fear into them and bringing about
a great sorcery.
So Musa A.S. says, you go first.
And that is from his wisdom and from
his knowledge so that he can see what
they can present because his sorcery will overcome,
or his miracle rather, his sign from Allah
will overcome their sorcery.
And so he wants them to go first.
And so he allows them to go first
and they throw what they have of their
sticks and their ropes and all of the
things that they brought forth and they also
become images of snakes that are moving.
And so when they do that and the
people see this, they become afraid because snakes
are a fearsome animal, a reptile that people
are often scared of and afraid of because
of what they can do and the way
that they can strike and the poison that
they hold and so on.
They caused fear in all of these people.
And remember this is, as we said in
the last episode, it is done on the
day of festival where the people have gathered.
So it's not just Pharaoh and the sorcerers
and Musa, but it is his people, his
advisors and his entourage and the people in
general are told to come because it's the
day of festival so it's a public holiday
and the people are out in celebration of
whatever it is that they were celebrating.
So they come and they see this.
And the people are amazed at this, what
these sorcerers have produced.
And Allah says that they brought about a
great sorcery.
So now Musa responds, as Allah mentions in
verse 117 Look
at this amazing sign from Allah.
Number one, it is a staff that Musa
holds.
Allah can turn anything into a miracle because
Allah controls the heavens and the earth.
Any object that is inanimate, it is enough
for Allah to turn it into a sign
if He so pleases.
Here we have the sign of Musa holding
a simple stick.
The stick wasn't given to Musa by Allah.
It didn't come down from heaven to Musa.
But rather, as Allah mentions to us in
Surah Taha, when he first comes to the
mountain of At-Tur and Allah speaks to
him, Allah says Meaning he already has it.
He's been using it.
It's been used for many mundane issues and
affairs that Musa has been using it for.
For only Allah knows how long.
And so it is already a stick.
But what does Allah do?
He will turn that stick into a sign
as He pleases.
And Allah can do that as He pleases.
And that's why you see in the lifetime
of our Prophet in the Sunnah, numerous narrations
of how many things become signs and many
things become miracles.
Food sometimes, and water sometimes, and stone sometimes.
And different inanimate objects that Allah gives them
the ability to do certain things for His
Prophet.
So likewise, Musa has a simple stick.
These people have come prepared.
They've studied a lifetime in their sorcery.
And they've come and they've shown the epitome
of their sorcery to these people and displayed
it.
Musa is given an instruction by Allah.
We revealed or inspired to Musa, throw down
your stuff.
That's all that you have to do.
You don't have to do anything more.
You don't have to incant any spells or
do anything or come up with anything.
Because you don't need any of that which
they have.
You have on your side the Lord and
the Creator.
Allah is with you.
All you have to do is throw it
down.
A simple action.
And so that is what he does.
And what he does is that his stick
then turns into a serpent.
And it devours their sorcery.
Those magicians knew how sorcery worked.
And they knew that they could make certain
things appear to be moving.
The trick of an eye or the sleight
of hand or whatever it is that they
had the ability to do.
In order to make things look in a
certain way and appear in a certain way.
And make it look to the masses to
be in a certain way.
But they knew that they couldn't get magic
to overcome magic in that way.
To devour magic that even their sticks and
whatever that they possessed.
None of it now remains.
Because of what has happened by the staff
of Musa A.S. So he comes and
he devours everything that they had.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says
commenting upon this in verse 118.
The truth was confirmed and what they had
produced came to nothing.
Because they are not fighting sorcery with sorcery
those magicians.
But rather they are fighting Tawheed and Iman.
And the messenger of Allah Musa A.S.
And who can stand against Allah A.S.
Who can oppose the will of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Even if everything in the universe was to
come together.
And to unite and to cooperate in order
to stand before Allah A.S. They wouldn't
be able to do the smallest, smallest, minutest
of harm to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It would be less than insignificant.
Would have no bearing at all in any
way, shape or form.
And so when they bring everything.
But Musa A.S. has Allah A.S.
on his side.
The truth became clear.
And that which they produced of falsehood it
came to nothing.
Produced nothing.
So what happens there?
Allah A.S. says in verse 119.
فَغُلِبُوا هُنَٰلِكَ وَانْقَلَبُوا صَغِرِينَ And they were defeated
and utterly humiliated.
They were defeated by the power of Allah
A.S. By the command of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And they were humiliated because they thought that
their power, their numbers, their influence, their expertise,
their wealth, the power of Pharaoh with them.
And his influence and his armies and his
wealth and his kingdom.
That that would be enough to oppose the
will of Allah A.S. But they were
left humiliated by this simple man.
This one individual who to the naked eye
didn't seem like he was anything.
But in the sight of Allah A.S.
He is from the greatest and most beloved
of creation to him subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah A.S. honors Musa A.S. And
so he overcomes everything that they produced by
a simple command of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala and by his will jalla fi ula.
And the sorcerers see this and they acknowledge
this.
They recognize this for what it is.
Because they know their trade.
They know what it is that they do.
They know their science better than anyone else
or their art form better than anyone else.
And so when they see this, they recognize
it for what it is and that is
a sign from Allah A.S. So Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in verse
120 وَأُنقِيَ السِّحَارَةُ سَاجِيدِينَ The sorcerers fell down
in prostration.
They fell down because they saw the greatness
of what Musa A.S. presented.
And they fell down because they knew that
this is a sign from the signs of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This man who has come with this, he
is a messenger and a prophet of his
Lord A.S. Allah A.S. continues in
verse 121 قَالُوا أَمَنَّا بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ And they
said, we believe in the Lord of all
that exists.
And in verse 122 they continue رَبِّ مُوسَى
وَهَارُونَ The Lord of Musa and Harun A
.S. We believe in that which this man
has brought.
We believe in his Lord.
And look at how Iman when it is
pure and when it is accepted and when
a person recognizes the signs it is immediate.
These sorcerers no longer care about Pharaoh.
They no longer care about his power or
his influence or his wealth.
They no longer care about his tyranny and
his oppression.
They no longer care that he has so
many armies and that he does a great
amount of evil.
Nor do they care about anything else.
Nor do they say we need to go
and think about this.
Or we need to reconvene the sorcerers amongst
ourselves and discuss this and debate this and
research this.
They don't say any of this.
They recognize it for what it is and
immediately they turn and fall into frustration and
they declare the Tuhid and belief in Allah
A.S. And that is the beauty of
Iman.
When a person has pure heart, when a
person has a noble intention, when a person
is seeking the truth and guidance then Allah
A.S. honors them and blesses them.
And nothing else in the dunya is important
to them.
They don't care what people think.
They don't care what people will say.
They don't care what people will cast upon
them in terms of aspersions and different types
of things.
They don't care about anything of the dunya.
Remember these sorcerers are in the middle of
the people.
There are masses of people around them.
Then there is Pharaoh and his armies.
Then there is his advisors and his men
at the nobility.
But they don't care about any of that
because they saw the sign of Allah A
.S. and they turn to Allah S.W
.T in Iman.
How does Pharaoh respond?
Allah A.S. tells us in verse 123
Does Pharaoh see this and say Wow!
These are the people that I gathered from
the different corners of my kingdom.
They don't know each other.
They haven't colluded with each other.
They haven't come up with a plan with
each other.
Let alone with each other, they don't know
Musa A.S. for sure.
He doesn't know them and he hasn't been
with them and he hasn't done anything in
conspiracy with them.
So surely this must be a sign from
Allah.
Let me take the word of these people
who are experts that I brought because I
consider them to be experts.
And despite all of the trappings and temptations
of the dunya, the promises of reward that
I was giving to them, they've said actually
no, this is the truth.
How does Pharaoh respond?
Allah A.S. tells us in verse 123
Arabic But Pharaoh said, How dare you believe
in him before I have given you permission?
This is a plot you have hatched to
drive the people out of the city.
Soon you will see.
Rather than accepting and believing, what does he
do?
He again rationalizes and justifies.
And this shows, as we've said before, the
principle that Allah A.S. tells us is
true in the Quran.
And that is the people of arrogance and
disbelief who will never accept guidance, who will
never accept the message of Allah.
It doesn't matter what signs come to them,
they will never accept Iman.
They will never believe in Allah.
They will never accept the Prophets and Messengers
of Allah A.S. Pharaoh is doing the
same here.
What does he say?
He says, How dare you do this?
How dare you believe before I gave you
permission?
But rather this is a great conspiracy that
all of you hatched together in order to
drive us out from the city.
Now anyone that's sitting there and thinking about
this logically, rationally, anyone who's sensible and looks
at this situation will say, clearly they haven't
spoken to each other, clearly there's no conspiracy
going on, clearly there's no money involved here
because you only have a conspiracy if you
want to get more wealth or more money.
Pharaoh's already promised them all of that.
He's already said to them that there will
be no one closer to me than you.
You will be from my inner circle.
So what more are they seeking?
And surely even if he was to be
dethroned and Musa A.S. is hatching a
plot to come into their place, then they're
back in square one anyway.
They're back in the same position anyway.
So why go through all of this just
simply to get something that they can't guarantee
by Musa A.S. winning when they've already
been guaranteed that by Pharaoh winning?
And so it doesn't make sense.
But Pharaoh isn't willing to believe.
Pharaoh doesn't want to take Iman.
Pharaoh will look at all of the signs
that Allah will send to him, these ones
and the further ones that Allah will then
give to him later on as will be
mentioned elsewhere in the Quran and he will
reject them all.
He will deny them all.
And he will turn away from them all
and he will not accept even one of
them.
But rather he will justify his position, he
will rationalize it, he will use these different
types of tactics that he's using in order
to manipulate the way that people think as
well.
So what does he do?
He reverts to form in verse 24.
He goes back to what he's known for.
His violence, his aggression, his tyranny.
He says, لَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ أَرْجُولَكُمْ مِنْ خِلَافٍ ثُمَّ
لَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ I will cut off your alternate
hands and feet and then I will crucify
you all.
Meaning that now that you've done this, I
will punish you.
And I will punish you in a way
that is far worse than what most people
have.
I will cut off your alternate hands and
feet, meaning your right hand and your left
foot, and then I will place you on
a cross and I will crucify you as
well.
Meaning I will punish you in the worst
of ways.
I will punish you in the worst of
forms.
And that is because of the humility that
you've caused me, the problem that you're causing
me now, because people are looking at this
and they're amazed that what's going on, maybe
there's some truth to this man, maybe he
is who, and the whole society is going
to have a problem now.
And this is exactly what the Quraysh did
with the Prophet ﷺ.
When they feared his influence, when they feared
that people were actually going to listen to
his message, they revert to violence, they revert
to aggression, they revert to tyranny, because even
if you think that it might be right,
are you willing to sacrifice your wealth, your
position, are you willing to sacrifice your safety,
your well-being, are you willing to suffer
the oppression and the tyranny?
It takes a great deal of courage to
be able to make that decision, and to
make that choice.
And that is exactly what these sorcerers have.
They have the courage and bravery that comes
as a result of Iman.
That you don't care about the dunya and
everything in it, it is sufficient for you
that you find your Lord and Creator subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
You don't care about what the people will
do or will say, because you only want
to please your Lord and Creator subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
So they respond as Allah mentions to us
in verse 125, قَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنْ
قَلِبُونَ They said, we are returning to our
Lord.
We shall return to our Lord.
Whatever happens, ultimately, we go back to Allah
azza wa jal.
And when we go back to Allah, that
is where we will have our true reward.
And that is where true punishment will take
place.
So whatever you do in the dunya, it's
temporary.
Whatever you do in the dunya, it is
only for a few moments or days or
weeks.
Whatever you do, as long as it doesn't
compromise our akhira, all you can do is
what you have the ability to do in
this dunya.
And that is why they continue in verse
126, Allah tells us, they continue and they
say, وَمَا تَنْقِمُ مِنَّا إِلَّا أَنْ آمَنَّا بِآيَاتِ
رَبِّنَا لَمَّا جَاءَتْنَا رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبَرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا
مُسْلِمِينَ Your only grievance against us is that
we believed in the signs of our Lord
when they came to us.
Our Lord poured steadfastness upon us and let
us die in devotion to you.
This is why you're upset Pharaoh, because we
believed when we saw the signs and you
didn't do so.
We beat you to it.
And because we beat you to it, that's
only increased you even more in your arrogance.
And this is exactly what the Quraish said,
didn't they say?
That surely we should be the ones, if
this had been good, we would have been
the first ones.
لَوْ كَانَ خَيْرًا مَا سَبَقُونَ إِلَيْهِ If this
was good, we would be the first ones
to accept it.
We would be at the forefront.
We would be the ones to be honored.
The fact that others have accepted it before
us shows that it can't be true.
Because again, they're using their arrogance to denote
what is correct and incorrect, what is truth
and what is falsehood.
That's exactly what they're saying.
We know you Pharaoh.
We believed when you didn't believe.
And now that's even more of a source
of shame for you.
Because if you were to say actually now
it is true, because a person who's sincere
wouldn't care anyway about that.
But for you, you're thinking now that the
people will look at you and say, Oh
these sorcerers were just average people, but they're
sorcerers.
They knew what you didn't know and you're
meant to be our supreme leader, our supreme
king, the pharaoh of all of this empire
and this kingdom.
And so it's only increasing you in your
arrogance and your disbelief.
رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلِيْنَا صَبْرًا وَتَوَفَّنَا مُسْلِمِينَ And then
they turn to Allah and they make du
'a that Allah gives to them patience and
steadfastness and allows them to die upon Islam.
Because they know that the threat of Pharaoh
is going to be true.
He's going to harm them.
He's going to punish them.
He's going to severely torture them and eventually
kill them.
And so they just want to die upon
Islam.
They don't care about anything else.
They don't want anything else.
They don't want anything from the dunya, from
the kingdom of Pharaoh.
What they want is to die and meet
Allah in the state of Iman.
And so they say, Oh Allah give us
patience.
Give us steadfastness.
Give us death upon this religion of Islam.
And that shows how in a short space
of time they understood the beauty of this
religion.
And that is what Islam does.
Once you taste its sweetness, then you can
arrive at that conclusion very quickly.
Because these people don't have the time to
go to Musa and learn about their religion.
They don't have a great deal of time
to go and to worship Allah to do
a great deal of good deeds.
Just as they were in the time of
the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
Those who accepted Islam and very soon afterwards
they died because they went to battle or
something else happened.
Their time as Muslims was very short indeed.
But as soon as they knew that it
was the truth, it was enough for them
to sacrifice their lives for it as these
sorcerers are also willing to do.
So then, now the people of Pharaoh have
seen this.
And this is causing them even more problems.
So Allah Azzawajal tells us what they do
in verse 127 وَإِنَّا
فَوْقَهُمْ قَاهِرُونَ The leaders amongst Pharaoh's people said
to him, But are you going to leave
Musa and his people to spread corruption in
the land and forsake you and your gods?
He replied, We shall kill their male children,
sparing only the females.
We have complete power over them.
So now that the nobility of Pharaoh are
seeing this.
And Allah Azzawajal tells us in the Quran
as we mentioned already that there was not
a prophet that was sent to a people
except that Allah placed for him enemies from
the humans and the jinn.
And those are often the nobility and the
people of influence that oppose the prophets and
messengers of Allah.
Here now, the people who are the nobility
around Pharaoh are seeing the danger signs.
They're seeing that very quickly this situation can
become extremely problematic for them as well.
Yes, it's Pharaoh who's the leader, but they're
also going to suffer because they're from the
nobility and the wealthy and the people of
influence.
They have also benefits in terms of their
position.
So they say to Pharaoh, knowing that he's
someone who's a tyrant, knowing that he becomes
easily angered, knowing that he doesn't like to
be undermined in any way, they say to
him, Are you going to allow Musa and
these slaves because these people are slaves bani
Israel, are you going to allow Musa and
these slaves to oppose you?
Are you going to allow them to just
leave?
Are you going to just set them free
according to what Musa demands?
Are you going to allow them to forsake
you and your gods and your religion and
your way?
Are you going to allow them to oppose
you and your rule?
Is this what you're going to settle for?
So Pharaoh becomes even more arrogant and he
becomes even more angry and he says, as
he had already decreed upon them, but to
reaffirm this even more strongly, سَنُقَتِّلُ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ We
will kill the males from amongst them.
وَنَسْتَحْجِي نِسَاءَهُمْ And we will allow their females
to live and to continue.
وَإِنَّا فَوْقَهُمْ قَاهِرُونَ And we will be, we
are ever overpowerful over them.
Meaning we have the power to do so
because they are our slaves.
They have no power.
They have no ability.
They have no strength.
They have no will to oppose us.
And we can do upon them as we
please.
Allah then says that Musa said to his
people Bani Israel in verse 128 that they
should be patient.
Just as those sorcerers knew that they would
have to be patient in the face of
the harm and oppression and tyranny of Pharaoh,
likewise you have to do the same O
Bani Israel.
Allah Azawajal tells us in verse 128 قَالَ
مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّهِ وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّهِ
يُورِثُهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ Musa
said to his people turn to Allah for
help and be steadfast.
The earth belongs to Allah.
He gives it as their own to whichever
of His servants He chooses.
And the happy future belongs to those who
are mindful of Him.
Musa says to his people turn to Allah,
seek Allah's help, ask Allah for patience and
steadfastness because you are also going to be
tried very severely.
But remember that ultimately the earth belongs to
Allah and He inherits it to whomever He
wills.
Sooner or later Allah will deal with Pharaoh
if he continues upon this way and you
will inherit the land from him.
And that's exactly what happens as we know
from the Quran.
But Allah Azawajal is saying here that Musa
is telling his people to be prepared.
That the road is not easy.
That it's full of hardship and difficulty and
tyranny and you must be patient upon it.
Just as the Muslims had to be so
in the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
Ultimately the end would be theirs.
But look at the challenges and the hardships
that the companions had to go through.
The sacrifices they had to make in order
to attain and reach that goal that Allah
Azawajal had promised them.
وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ The end is always for the
believers.
In the final verse that we will take
today 129 Allah Azawajal now gives us the
first indication of how the people of Musa
responded.
And how they used to behave in these
times of challenge and trial.
قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِن قَبْلِ أَن تَأْتِيَنَا وَمِن بَعْدِ
مَا جِئْتَنَا قَالَ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُهْلِكَ عَدُوبَكُمْ
وَيَسْتَخْرِفَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ And they
replied, meaning Bani Israel, We were being persecuted
long before you came to us, and since
then as well.
He said, Your Lord may well destroy your
enemy and make you successors to the land
to see how you behave.
Meaning that they're saying, what is the benefit
of you, O Musa?
They're not happy with what Musa is saying.
They're not happy that the fact that things
are only going to become harder before they
become easier.
That they're going to go through more trials
before they see a sense of relief.
O Musa, before you came things were hard.
We were being harmed and persecuted and now
that you've come, it's still the same if
not going to be worse.
So Musa says to them, perhaps your Lord
will destroy these people who are your enemies,
Pharaoh and his people.
And he will make you successors upon the
earth and then he will see how you
will behave.
And that is something which obviously is what
happens because Allah will eventually destroy Pharaoh.
And Bani Israel do inherit the earth and
then Allah tests and tries them as well
in those positions.
And that is why Allah always tests people
as we said.
Whether you're in a position of ease or
difficulty.
Whether you're the oppressor or the oppressed.
Whether you're the rich or the poor.
All of these are tests from Allah to
see how you will respond in those circumstances
and in those situations.
But with that InshaAllah we come to the
end of today's episode.
BarakAllahu Fikum Wa Salaamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Ameen