Lobna Mulla – #1 Courage Against Evil Asiyah bint Muzahim as Upheld Allah Women in Quran

Have you ever wanted to become closer to

Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la growing your spirituality,

your practice only to be faced with criticism,

intense questioning or even worse? Have you ever

felt like you had to give up certain

things so that you could practice your Islam

despite it going against your friends, family, or

even your own spouse?

This is no doubt a lonely place to

be, but we have a role model preserved

in the Quran for us to connect with.

I'd like to introduce you to Asiya bint

Muzahim,

the wife of not only one of the

most powerful, but one of the most corrupt

rulers of all time,

Firaun, the ruler of ancient Egypt.

Imagine a woman who has it all, access

to power, wealth, and high status. She's a

believer in the one true God, but is

married to one who claims to be a

God. And on top of his grave delusion,

he is a cruel and an oppressive tyrant,

massacring the people of Bani Israel simply for

believing in Allah.

Fir'awn's desperation for power blinds him, but not

the one closest to him, his wife, Asi

Alayhi Salaam.

Asiyeh not only had deep faith, but an

optimism in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la. A

trust in him that would spark the dua

she made to her Lord. The dua that

is forever preserved in the Holy Quran.

My Lord, build me a house and paradise

near you and deliver me from Fir'awn and

his evil doing and save me from the

wrongdoing people.

Who is Asiya and why is she so

inspirational?

What is her story and what led up

to this famous hope filled du'a?

To understand her story and why she's mentioned

in such high regard by Allah Subh'anaHu Wa

Ta A'la in the Holy Quran, let's start

from the beginning.

Not many details of her childhood is known,

but we do know that Esai Alaihi Salam

was a queen her entire life. She lived

a luxurious life as her father was a

wealthy and powerful man. Her marriage to Far'awn

was an arranged one. And as royal marriages

go, this was the making of a power

couple.

Essia's faith and determination is amazing and inspiring

on its own. But what is unique to

her story is that it intersects with another

revered member of religious history, our beloved prophet

Musa Alayhi Salaam.

As we understand, Essia Alayhi Salaam wasn't able

to have children of her own. And as

such was superbly delighted to find baby Musa

Alayhi Salaam floating in the Nile river in

a basket.

And as we'll talk about in another video,

Musa's mother was inspired by Allah Subh'anaHu Wa

Ta A'la to save her son from the

torment inflicted by the order of Esiyah's very

own husband, Firaun.

Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la says, And we

inspired the mother of Musa,

nurse him, but when you fear for him,

then cast him into the river and fear

not nor grieve, verily we shall bring him

back to you and shall make him one

of our messengers.

So here you have Firaun on the one

hand ordering the killing of all boys of

Bani Israel that year out of fear that

the interpretation of his dream that one day

a son of Bani Israel would kill Firaun

and overtake his kingdom would come true. And

on the other hand, you have Allah Subh'anaHu

Wa Ta A'la inspiring Musa's mother to send

him down the river to the very house

of Firaun.

The irony is just amazing, and reminds us

that truly Allah is the best of planners.

And as Allah would have it planned, Esi

would be outside of the palace at the

very instant when the basket carrying baby Musa

would pass right in front of her. Thinking

it was a treasure and it truly was,

she had the basket retrieved from the river

and brought it to her. Upon opening the

basket, her heart was filled with joy as

she found baby Musa Alaihi Wasallam.

Allah says, Then the household of Firaun picked

him up, that he might become for them

an enemy and a cause of grief.

Verily Firaun, Heman and their armies were sinners.

And the wife of Firawn said, A comfort

of the eye for me and for you,

kill him not perhaps he may be of

benefit to us, or we may adopt him

as a son. And they perceive not the

result of that.

Now the very boy that Firawn and Asiya

welcomed into their own home, was raised lovingly

as their own son.

Asiya loved Musa Alayhi Salaam. And after he

left the palace and later became a prophet

of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la, she would

later come to believe in his message of

Tarheid.

Despite the cruelty and tyranny of Firaun against

anyone who believed, she set aside her fears

and accepted the message of Musa.

Firaun as it stands, had children from other

wives. Now there's an amazing intersection that happens

with the hairdresser

of 1 of the daughters of Firaun and

Asiya, queen of Egypt.

One day the hairdresser of 1 of Firaun's

daughters was tending to her hair.

The hairdresser dropped her comb and said, Bismillah

in the name of Allah. The daughter taken

aback said, Abi Allah my father. And the

hairdresser said, No, the Lord of your father,

the Lord of me and the Lord of

you, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la. Knowing this

would upset her father, the daughter told Fir'an

about the incident.

Of course, Fir'an was furious. So he decided

to make an example of the hairdresser in

front of everyone.

Firaoun orders a pit to be dug, and

copper to be melted in that pit, so

that the hairdresser and all of her children

would be thrown into it. After her children

were forced to jump in before her, now

all who was left was the hairdresser and

her baby whom she was nursing.

She hesitated to jump in with her baby,

but then miraculously,

this baby

spoke. The baby said, go ahead and jump

for the punishment of this life is lighter

than the punishment of the next life. And

with that, the blessed woman full of hope

and optimism and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la

jumped in.

The irony of it all is that Fir'awn

gathered the people to witness this cruelty as

a form of intimidation,

and as a means for setting an example

for those who may wish to join this

woman in her tawhid.

But it is Allah who made an example

of Fir'awn by preserving his body for all

time so that people today and tomorrow can

see the end of those who claim superiority

and oppress others.

SubhanAllah, this woman on the other hand, although

she was powerless and poor in the material

sense,

she was rich in her iman. So much

so that she also was made as an

example for those who believe.

In a hadith in Sahih Muslim, it is

narrated that during Alassa'atul Mi'raj, when Prophet Muhammad

SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam traveled through Jannah, he smelled

a beautiful scent of which he asked Jibreel

Alayhi Salaam, and Jibreel told him that this

was the scent of the hairdresser of the

daughter of Firaoun.

After seeing the courage and deep faith of

the servant of Firaoun declare her servitude to

the Almighty Allah, Asiya Alayhi Salaam decided it

was time for her to do the same.

So Asiya confronts Firaoun about her iman the

same night the hairdresser was killed.

Knowing what just happened to the servant who

expressed her faith, Asiya told Firaoun that she

disbelieves in him and does not care what

will happen to her. She then goes on

to express her belief in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa

Ta A'la. When she confronts Firaoun, the horrible

and cruel tyrant that he is, he orders

his servants to drag her to the desert,

tortures her in front of his own daughters,

and they laugh at her. The scene is

really heart wrenching but we only share this

to understand the perseverance

and strength of this amazing woman.

SubhanAllah, there's Asiya with no supporter,

deprived of food, water, protection from the scorching

sun and having the children of her powerful

and evil husband laugh at her in her

most painful moment. And despite all of this

suffering, we see this beautiful expression of the

deep hope and the only truth in this

world, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la. And in

this moment, the queen of Egypt, Asiya looks

up to the sky and makes his famous

and beautiful dua in Surat Tahrim.

Oh my Lord, build me a house in

paradise near you and deliver me from Fir'awn

and his evil doing and save me from

the wrongdoing people.

What beautiful companionship she seeks in the next

life. Before asking for a house in Jannah,

she asked that it be near Allah Subh'anaHu

Wa Ta A'la. In essence, she traded the

companionship with the most powerful yet worst man

on earth with Allah, the most merciful and

traded her palace on earth for a far

greater one in Jannah. What an amazing believer

to not despair in the mercy of Allah

despite her extreme hardship.

Allah answers her dua. When she looks up

at the sky, she sees her palace in

Jannah. Asi Alayhi Salaam also sees the angels

sent by Allah to shade her. What a

mercy from Allah, what an expression of his

love for her. After seeing the angels, Asi

Alayhi laughs at Firaun. Now picture this, Firaun

thinks he has the upper hand and as

the most powerful ruler in the land as

he tortures her for her faith, but she

owns her faith, her heart and mind. He

cannot take away her most precious asset, her

belief in Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la. And on

top of that, Allah is comforting her physically

in this world and morally by showing her

a glimpse of her reward in the next

life.

Seeing Esiyeh laugh infuriates Firaun, and he thinks

she's crazy. He orders his guards to go

to the highest peak and to push over

a giant boulder that would crush her body

down below. Again, Allah the most merciful, answering

Esiye's dua to save her from frown, took

her soul before her body was further tormented.

Esiye's story is a clear example of the

reward of those who put Allah Subh'anaHu Wa

Ta A'la first. Esiye's deep commitment to her

faith reminds us that sometimes there is great

sacrifice and staying on the straight path. Sometimes

it means giving up that very tempting job

offer because aspects of the work may involve

haram, or maybe passing up some material gain

because it might bring you more distraction than

benefit.

Her story also reminds us that the more

yaqeen you have in this life of the

year after, the less the trials of this

world hurt us.

And Allah sets forth an example for the

believers. The wife of Fir'awn, who prayed, my

Lord build me a house in paradise near

you, deliver me from Fir'awn and his evil

doing and save me from the wrongdoing people.

What's amazing here is that with Asiya's story,

Allah does not set her as an example

for women only. And Allah doesn't set her

as an example for the people of Arabia

or for a certain group of people. Allah

sets an example for the believers, both men

and women for all time.

Asiya, a woman of power, wealth and high

status, gave up everything for her faith in

Allah. And Allah shares her dedication to faith,

her deep hope and optimism in Allah with

all of humanity.

Sometimes when you want to become more religious

or for those of you who have converted

to Islam, you experience a harsh backlash to

your religiosity.

Are you a Sheikh or Sheikha now? Who

do you think you are? You may not

have a Firaun in your house, but you

may very much have great hardship in progressing

in your faith journey, or even maintaining your

base level of worship. Some get kicked out

of their homes. Others are chastised for being

too religious as if their devotion will lessen

their chances of finding a good job or

of getting married, etcetera.

May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la make all

of us like Asiya Alayhi Salaam. Firm in

belief, hopeful in Allah, and persevering in the

face of adversity. Ameen.