Prophet Musa and Fir’awn

Prophet Musaand his brother Harun had been called upon by Allahto
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 messengerof the Lord of
the Worlds and that he had clear proof ofit. Therefore, Fir'awn should
let the people of Israel go with him. Prophet Musa showed Fir'awn the
staff that turned into a serpent andthe hand which turned shining
white when placed under his arm. Fir'awn consulted with allhis chiefs
and they decided that perhaps Musa was 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 in the 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. When Prophet Musa threw
down his staff, it ate up all that the magicians had made. When the
magicians saw this, they bowed down and proclaimed their belief inthe
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 andto crucify them. But
the magicians would not change their opinion. They were convinced by
the clear proofs which Prophet Musa had shownto 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, in gardens
beneath which rivers flow.
Following this there began another 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 in their
belief in Allah and to prayto 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 from Allah.
Allah sent all kinds of hardships against the Egyptians- famine, loss
offruits, floods, locusts, pests, frogs, and blood- as signs to them.
They would promise to free the people of 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 they could pass to the other side without getting wet. However,
when Fir'awn and his armies pursued them, thewaters 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 ofMusa , when we tell whatbefell the children of Israel after
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.

Prophet Musa and the Bani Israel

When Prophet Musa(alayhis salam) and his people fled from the
Egyptians, their trialswere 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 Allahhad 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 byAllah to Mount Sinai and
he put his brother Harun(alayhis salam) in charge while he was gone.
When he arrived atthe appointed site, he asked to see 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 onthe mountain, it became like
dust, and Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) fell down in a faint. When
hehad recovered his senses,he asked Allah's forgiveness and declared
his unquestioning belief in Allah. Then Allah spokewith 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 peopleand convey to them the words of Allah. He
spent forty days on the mount, communing with his Lord.
Meanwhile, the people ofProphet Musa (alayhis salam) gathered
togetherall their jewelry and gold which they had carried from Egypt.
They melted it down and made it into the form 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 thatHarun (alayhis salam) hadapproved 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. At this
Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) prayed to Allah for forgiveness for both
himself and his brother. He also prayed for mercy for those who
repented of their evil deed in making the golden idol.
The ultimate destination of the people of Israel was the land of
Canaan. Continuously they rebelled against Allah, and continuously
Allah forgave them. When theywere 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, Allah provided 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 the diet 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
their land. 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 trustin
Allah. But the people of Israel would not budge. They told Prophet
Musa (alayhis salam) and Harun(alayhis salam) to go withtheir 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 because of their behavior, the children of
Israel would be condemned to wander inthe wilderness for forty more
years, before they would be allowed to enter the land of Canaan.
You can read about the story of Prophet Musa (alayhis salam) and his
people in the wilderness in al-Quran 2: 51-61; 5: 23-29; 7: 138-162;
and 20:80-98.

How the Qur’an was Compiled

QUESTION:
I wanted to know was the entire Qur'an compiled before the Prophet's
deathor after by the khalifas. What I mean by compiled is the ordering
of the surahs. Before the Prophet's death ( Allahbless him & give
himpeace), did the sahabas know that the #1 surah isfatiha and #2 is
suratul baqara and so forth? Or was this order established by the
khalifas like during Uthman (Allah be pleasedwith him) time?
ANSWER:
Assalamu alaykum
In the name of Allah the inspirer of truth
The order of the verses ineach chapter of the Qur'an was divinely
inspired, even though they were revealed portion by portion as theneed
arose over a 23 year period.
The Messengerof Allah (upon him be peace) would instruct the scribes
to place each verse in its proper place as they were revealed.
It is related by Imam Ahmad and the authors of the Sunans on the
authority of Uthman radhiyallahu anhu, "When a chapter was revealed of
the Qur'an that had a number of verses, the Messenger of Allah would
call one of the scribes and say, "Place these verses in thechapter
which states such and such…" Hence, from this and other narrations it
is understood that not only was the arrangement of the verses divinely
inspired, so were the chapters according to many scholars. (Fath
al-Bari, Bab ta'lif al-Qur'an).
Although there is agreement concerning the arrangement of the verses
being divinely inspired, there is a difference of opinion concerning
the order of the chapters. The stronger opinion seems to be that the
arrangement of many chapters was also divinely inspired, although some
chapters were placed through the ijtihad [inference] of the
Companions. For instance, it is reported that the Companions placed
Surat al-Tawba after Surat al-Anfal, through their own deliberation,
as they did not have any informationconcerning this from the Messenger
(upon him be peace).
A good English work on the sciences of the Qur'anis,Approach to the
Qur'anic Sciences by Shaykh Mufti Taqi Uthmani. An abridged version of
it is found in the beginning of the Ma`arif al-Qur'an [a Qur'anic
tafsir in Urdu, which is available in English translation as well].
Well worth reading.
Wassalam

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Praised Manners - Dought - clear, - Worshipping Allaah when young, and do the devils try to gain power over a person who worships Allaah a lot?.

Iam young and like woshipping Allah After 12 in the midnite especially
when fasting but some ppl told me that when sombody prays alot or
worships Alllah alot then the jinn nd the shaitan tries to stop him is
this true? another question is that when young ppl worship Allah in
the youth it is like gold for them i would be very happy if u can tell
me more about it .
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
We are very happy to learn of this good example of Muslim youth.
Whilst other youngsters think only of play and entertainment, and
spending their time in things that are of no benefit, along comes
thisgood example of Muslim youth who loves to worship Allaah, seek
knowledge, call others to Allaah and strive to learn the Qur'aan and
Sunnah. We congratulate you and pray that Allaah will make you
steadfast in adhering to His religion and will protect you and make
you a joy to your parents.
You should note that when the Shaytaan sees a person turning towards
his Lord, he tries to stop him. The Shaytaan has sworn to undertake
this evil mission, but Allaah tells us that he has no power over His
sincere slaves.
Allaah says )interpretation of the meaning(:
"]Iblees )Satan([ said: 'O my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall
indeed adorn the path of error for them )mankind( on the earth, and I
shall mislead them all.
40. 'Except Your chosen, )guided( slaves among them.'
41. )Allaah( said: 'This is the Way which will lead straight to Me.'
42. 'Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves, except
those who follow you of the Ghaawoon )Mushrikoon and those who go
astray, criminals, polytheists, and evildoers('"
]al-Hijr 15:39-42[
It should be noted that the Shaytaan can do no more than call people
to misguidance and make it look attractive to them. He has no power
over them to force them to do what he wants. So blame is attached only
tothose who respond to him.
Allaah says )interpretation of the meaning(:
"And Shaytaan )Satan( will say when the matterhas been decided:
'Verily, Allaah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised
you, but I betrayed you. I hadno authority over you except that I
called you, and you responded to me. So blame me not, but blame
yourselves. I cannot help you, nor canyou help me. I deny yourformer
act in associatingme )Satan( as a partner with Allaah )by obeying me
in the life of the world(. Verily, there is a painful torment for the
Zaalimoon )polytheists and wrongdoers('"
]Ibraaheem 14:22[
Worshipping and obeying Allaah impedes the tricks and whispers of the
Shaytaan, and remembrance of Allaah )dhikr( is a strong fortress by
means of which Allaah protects the one who remembersHim from the plots
and wiles of the Shaytaan.
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Prophet )peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him( said: "When aman leaves his house and
says, 'Bismillaah, tawakkaltu 'ala Allaah wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata
illa Billaah )In the name of Allaah, I put my trust in Allaah, and
there is no power and not strength except withAllaah(, it is said:
'You have been guided, takencare of and protected,' and the devils
turn awayfrom him. And another devil says to him: 'What you can do
with a man who has been guided, taken care of and protected?'"
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3423; Abu Dawood, 5095; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
The Shaytaan has no power over a heart that knows Allaah, or over
physical faculties that have submitted to Allaahby doing acts of
worshipand obedience and by avoiding sin. The light ofobedience burns
the devils as the shooting stars burn their brethren.
Ibn al-Qayyim )may Allaah have mercy on him( said:
Worship and obedience illuminate the heart and make it strong and
steadfast, until it becomes like a clear mirror, shining with light.
When the Shaytaan draws close, heis struck by its light like those who
try to eavesdrop )in the heavens( are struck by the shooting stars,
and the Shaytaan flees from this heart with more terror than a wolf
fleeing from a lion. End quote.
Al-Jawaab al-Kaafi, p. 64
Secondly:
Worshipping Allaah in one's youth is a sign thata person is good. The
Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( spoke of the great
virtue of a young man who grows up worshipping and obeying Allaah, and
said that he will be shaded by Allaah on the Day of Resurrection, the
Day when the sun will be directly over the heads of the people.
It was narrated from AbuHurayrah )may Allaah be pleased with him( that
the Prophet )peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him( said: "There
are seven whom Allaah will shade with His shade on the Day when there
will be no shade but His…" among whom he mentioned, "a young man who
grew up worshipping Allaah." Narrated by al-Bukhaari,1423; Muslim,
1031.
Whoever keeps his physical faculties away from sin when he is young,
Allaah will protect him when he gets older. The Prophet )peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him( saidto Ibn 'Abbaas when he was a
young boy: "Be mindful of Allaah and He will take care of you."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2516; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali )may Allaah have mercy on him( said:
Whoever is mindful of Allaah when he is young and strong, Allaah will
take care of him when he is old and has become weak, and will bless
him with good hearing, eyesight, strength and reasoning. One of the
scholars who lived beyond the age of one hundred years and enjoyed
good strength and reasoning, jumped up in a lively manner one day and
was asked about that. He said: "I kept these physical faculties from
sin when Iwas young and Allaah has preserved them for me now that I am
old." The opposite also applies; one of the salaf saw an old man
beggingfrom people and said: "This is a weak man whoignored Allaah
when he was young, so Allaah is ignoring him now he has grown old."
End quote.
Jaami' al-'Uloom wa'l-Hukam, 1/186
So seek the help of Allaah in obeying Him and ask Him for more of His
bounty, and do not let anyone discourage you from following this path.
Beware of the devils among mankind and the jinn. We ask Allaah to help
you to remember Him and give thanks to Him and worship Him properly.
And Allaah knows best.