Prophet Musa and the Bani Israel

When Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and his people fled from the Egyptians, their trials were far from over. After they had safely crossed the sea, they came upon some people who were worshiping idols. The children of Israel asked Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) to make an idol for them, and he had to remind them of all that Allah had done for them. How could he make another god for them when their Allah was the only true god?
Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) was summoned by Allah to Mount Sinai and he put his brother Harun(alayhis salam) in charge while he was gone.When he arrived at the appointed site, he asked tosee Allah. Allah said He could not show Himself directly to Prophet Musa (alayhis salam), but Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) should look towards the mountain, and if the mountain remained in one piece, then Musa would see Allah. When Allah showed His glory on the mountain,it became like dust, and Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) fell down in a faint.When he had recovered his senses, he asked Allah'sforgiveness and declared his unquestioning belief inAllah. Then Allah spoke with Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and gave him tablets containing His commands and explaining all things. Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) was to carry the tablets back to his people and convey to them the words of Allah. He spent forty days on the mount, communing with his Lord.
Meanwhile, the people of Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) gathered together all their jewelry and gold which they had carried from Egypt. They melted itdown and made it into theform of a calf, which they wished to worship. When Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) returned from the mountain with his tablets, he was angry and grieved to see the golden calf. Thinking that Harun (alayhis salam) had approved the actions of the Israelites, an angry Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) grabbed his brother by the hair and dragged Harun towards him. Harun hastily explained that the people had not listened to him and had even threatened to kill him when he opposed their activities. Atthis Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) prayed to Allah for forgiveness for both himself and his brother. Healso prayed for mercy for those who repented of their evil deed in making the golden idol.
The ultimate destination of the people of Israel wasthe land of Canaan. Continuously they rebelledagainst Allah, and continuously Allah forgavethem. When they were thirsty, Allah commanded Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) to strike a rock and from it sprang twelve springs of water, one for each of the tribes of Israel. When they were hot, Allahprovided clouds to cover the sun. When they were hungry, Allah provided manna and salwa. Yet they were never grateful. They even complained about the sameness of thediet and asked for more variety.
At last they came to the land of Canaan. But because the people of Canaan were very strong-looking, the Israelites were afraid to invade theirland. There were only two men who were willing to join Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and Harun (alayhis salam) in an attempt to drive the Canaanites out. They counseled that if the proper gates were attacked, they could easily gain entrance. And once they were inside, they would easily be victorious if only they would put their trust in Allah. But the people of Israel would not budge. They told Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and Harun (alayhis salam) to go with their Lord and fight, while they, the people, would sit and watch. At this Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) gave up trying to persuade his rebellious people. And Allah decreed that becauseof their behavior, the children of Israel would becondemned to wander in the wilderness for forty more years, before they would be allowed to enterthe land of Canaan.
You can read about the story of Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and his people in the wilderness inal-Quran 2: 51-61; 5: 23-29; 7: 138-162; and 20:80-98.

Prophet Musa and Fir’awn

Prophet Musa and his brother Harun had been called upon by Allah to
deliver a message to the leader of the Egyptians, Fir'awn (Pharaoh),
who considered himself a god and insisted that his subjects worship
him.
Prophet Musa told Fir'awn that he, Musa, was a messenger of the Lord
of the Worlds and that he had clear proof of it. Therefore, Fir'awn
should let the people of Israel go with him. Prophet Musa showed
Fir'awn the staff that turned into a serpent and the hand which turned
shining white when placed under his arm. Fir'awn consulted with all
his chiefs and theydecided that perhaps Musawas just a very good
magician. They called together all their best magicians to compete
with Prophet Musa. The magicians were promised a reward if they won.
The magicians went first inthe contest and they were good, really
good. They made their ropes and sticks appear to run in front of their
audience. Prophet Musa was afraid that he couldn't surpass their
skills, but Allah told him not to be afraid. WhenProphet Musa threw
downhis staff, it ate up all that the magicians had made. When the
magicians saw this, they bowed down and proclaimed their beliefin the
Lord of Prophet Musa and Harun.
Fir'awn was not very happy about this turn of events. He threatened to
cut off the hands and feet of the magicians and to crucify them. But
the magicians would not change their opinion. Theywere convinced by
the clear proofs which ProphetMusa had shown to them and they told
Fir'awn that he could only end for them their life in this world. For
those who believe there would be another life after death , ingardens
beneath which rivers flow.
Following this there begananother period of persecution against the
followers of Allah. Fir'awn had all of their sons killed. Prophet Musa
had to encourage the children of Israel to continue strong intheir
belief in Allah and to pray to Allah faithfully.
Whenever good fortune befell the Egyptians, they took credit for it.
When misfortune came, they blamed Prophet Musa and his people. They
failed to see that everything, both good and bad, comes fromAllah.
Allah sent all kinds of hardships against the Egyptians- famine, loss
of fruits, floods, locusts, pests,frogs, and blood- as signs to them.
They would promise to free the peopleof Israel if Musa would pray to
his God for deliverance from the pestilence. But as soon as the
hardship had been removed, they would go back on their promise.
Finally Prophet Musa was instructed by Allah to lead the followers of
Allah away by night. When they came to the sea, the waters parted so
that theycould pass to the other side without getting wet. However,
when Fir'awn and his armies pursued them, the waters of the sea closed
in on them and they were all drowned. In this way did Allah punish
Fir'awn for leading his people away from Allah.
Insha Allah in the next issue we shall relate the conclusion of the
story of Musa , when we tell what befell the children of Israelafter
they left Egypt. You can read about Musa and Fir'awn in al-Quran
7:103-137; 20:49-79; 26:16-67; and 43:46-56.

--


|- - - - wassalam;
- -
And Allah knows the best!
~
* visite our Blog, to improve your 'Islamic Knowledge :-
http://aydnajimudeen.blogspot.com/

Prophet Musa – 2

The story continues, some time after Prophet Musa had completed his
contractwith his father-in-law. He was traveling somewhere with his
family when he saw a fire in the distance. He went to explore in the
hope that he might get information or be able to bring back a
firebrand for his family to use.
When Prophet Musa approached the bush that was burning, he heard a
voice coming from it. The voice commanded ProphetMusa to remove his
shoes because he was in a sacredvalley. The voice identified itself as
Allah , and reminded Prophet Musa toserve Him and to keep up his
prayers. The voice told Prophet Musa that Allah had made him one of
the chosen ones.
Allah then ordered Prophet Musa to throw down his staff, which he used
as a walking stick and to beat down branches for his flocks. When the
staff was flung down, it turned into a serpent. Allah instructed
Prophet Musa to pick the serpent up, and it again turned into a stick.
The voice commanded ProphetMusa to thrust his hand under his armpit,
and when he removed it the hand was glowing white, yet it did not hurt
Prophet Musa . Allah informed Prophet Musa that these two signs, the
staff and the hand, would be signs for the Pharoah, to show that
Prophet Musa had truly been sent from Allah. Allah wanted Prophet Musa
to go to the Pharoah because the Pharoah and his people had strayed
far from the acceptable ways of Allah. He also wanted Prophet Musa to
lead the children of Israel away from the Pharoah's influence.
Prophet Musa pointed out that he had killed an Egyptian and that he
himself would be killed if he returned to Egypt. He was also unsure of
his ability to communicate with the Pharoah. He was not a good speaker
and asked for the help of his brother, Harun , who was much more
eloquent. Allahreassured Prophet Musa onboth counts. He promised that
Prophet Musa would come to no harm at the hands of the Egyptians. And
He agreed both to aid Prophet Musa in addressing the Pharoah and to
send along Harun to help out.
In this manner Prophet Musa was called to prophethood, and set out to
free the people of Israel from their bondage under the people of
Egypt. Insha Allah in the next issue we shall tell of his meetings
with the Pharoah.
You can read about this part of the story of Musa in the Quran
20:9-36, 42-48; 26:10-17; and 28:29-35.

--


|- - - - wassalam;
- -
And Allah knows the best!
~
* visite our Blog, to improve your 'Islamic Knowledge :-
http://aydnajimudeen.blogspot.com/

Prophet Musa

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ‏
The Early Years of Prophet Musa
The ruler of Egypt, the pharoah, discriminated against the people of
Israel. He oppressed them and killed all their sons. When Musa
(alayhis Salam)was born, his mother feared that he too would be
killed. Allah sent a message to her to nurse him as long as she could,
until she feared for his safety. Then she was to throw him into the
river. Allah promised that He would bring Musa (alayhis Salam) back to
her and that Musa would become a messenger of Allah.
It was the family of the pharoah who found Musa (alayhis Salam) in the
river.The pharoah's wife wanted to keep him and ordered that he not be
killed. She thought he might be useful to them orthat they might adopt
him.
Meanwhile, Musa's mother had sent his sister to keep watch over him
from a distance. When the pharoah's wife was looking for a nurse to
feed and care for him until he grew older, the sister approached and
offered the services of her mother,without, of course, revealing her
mother's realconnection to the child. In this way he was restored to
his mother, as Allah hadpromised. And when Musa (alayhis Salam) grew
up, he was given wisdom and knowledge by Allah.
One day, when Musa (alayhis Salam) had grown up, he went into the city
and found two men fighting, one of whom wasan Egyptian, and the other
an Israelite. The Israelite asked Musa (alayhis Salam)for help and
Musa (alayhis Salam) struck the other man with his fist, thus killing
him. Musa (alayhis Salam) was horrified that he had killed a man, and
asked Allah for forgiveness, which Allah granted.
The following day Musa (alayhis Salam) again was in the city, when he
saw the same man as on the day before, involved in a fight with an
Egyptian. Musa (alayhis Salam) was angry at the hotheadedness of this
man, but was once again ready to take his side against the Egyptian,
who was the enemy of them both. But the Egyptian cried out to Musa
(alayhis Salam) that murder was not the way to settle and reform
matters. At that moment another man brought news that the authorities
were searchingfor Musa (alayhis Salam) in connection with the murder
of the previous day. And so Musa (alayhis Salam) was forced to flee.
Musa (alayhis Salam) escaped to the land of Madyan. There he came to a
watering hole where a whole tribe of men were watering their flocks.
There were two women there also whose father was too old to care for
his flocks himself. But the women were holding theirsheep back and
could not get close to the water untilthe men had finished. Musa
watered their flocks for them, then settled down in the shade, praying
that Allah would send him assistance.
One of the two women whom Musa (alayhis Salam) had helped approached
him shyly, for her father had sent for Musa (alayhis Salam) to reward
him for helping hisdaughters. When Musa (alayhis Salam) had told the
old man his story, the old man sympathized withhim. The old man
offered to marry Musa (alayhis Salam) to one of his daughters if Musa
would work for him a minimum of eight years. An agreement was reached
and Musa (alayhis Salam) stayed in the land of Madyan for the
agreed-upon time.
This part of the story of Musa can be found in al-Qur'an 28:1-28./

--


|- - - - wassalam;
- -
And Allah knows the best!
~
* visite our Blog, to improve your 'Islamic Knowledge :-
http://aydnajimudeen.blogspot.com/