Prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) Part 22

O Allah, I take refuge with You from misleading or getting misled; making mistakes or being made to make mistakes; doing wrong or being made to act wrongly; and (from) acting ignorantly or being made to act with ignorance. O Allah Mighty is Your protection, Holy are Your names, Sublime are Your praises, and there is no god besides You. In the name of Allah, sufficient for me is Allah and I depend on. O Allah, and there is no power and strength except with Allah. O Allah, strengthen my heart and let truth appear on my tongue. We implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake. I praise Allah, except whom there is none to be worshiped, who is the Ruler of the world. He is innocent and pure free from all blemishes, defects, flaws, or shortcomings. He gives refuge and sustains all.

Peace and blessings of Allah be upon * ?? ? ??? ?★* 。 ??° 。* °? ? ? ★... Khatim al-Nubiyyin our beloved Prophet and Messenger and his family.* ?? ? ??? ?★* 。 ??° 。* °? ? ? ★...

We again call you and your men and your army towards Allah who is worthy of all respect and esteem. (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/who-soldiers-prophet-saw-mahmoud-muhammad-ibrihim)

I have thus discharged again my duty of conveying His message and advice. You should accept it, May peace be on the followers of the guidance.

To all whom these presents shall come, May peace be on the followers of the guidance.

We continue to invite you to accept the obedience, sympathy, and love of Allah Who is One and Who is without an associate. You should follow his prophet’s and messengers (Peace (Salaam) on (all) the Prophets and Messengers) and should believe in the message of Allah which they have brought.

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Prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) Part 22

Surah Al-Araf 7:109-110

The Arabic word 'Mala" is used for influential chiefs. After seeing these miracles they said to the people he was a great sorcerer. Being ignorant of divine powers of Allah they could say nothing else as they believed Pharaoh to be their god and had seen nothing but the magical charms of the sorcerers in their life. They, however, added the word "alim' signifying the one who knows, showing their impression that the miraculous acts of Musa (Moses) (pbuh) were of the kind that could not be performed by an ordinary magician. So, they said that he was a sorcerer of great knowledge.

The difference between miracle and sorcery

The miracles and sorcery are so distinct in their nature and effect that they do not require any explanation to any one applying common sense. The sorcerers usually live in impurity and, the more they are unclean and impure the more they are successful in their sorcery. The prophets, on the other hand, are by nature the most clean and pure people.

Another obvious distinction is that a sorcerer is never successful when he makes claim to prophet-hood. Besides, the acts performed under the effect of sorcery do have physical causes as other things have, with the only difference that their causes remain hidden to common people. The people, therefore, take them to be happening without the help of any cause. On the contrary, the miracles are directly a manifestation of Allah's power and have nothing to do with physical causes. This is why the miracles have been ascribed directly to Allah and not to the prophets in the Holy Qur'an. The Qur'an said "but Allah threw the pebbles" (while these pebbles were thrown by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in the battle of Badr) In short, the miracles and sorcery are totally different from each other. The people of knowledge have no confusion about it. In order to eliminate any possible confusion of a common individual, Allah has provided with obvious distinctions between the two.

Even the people of the Pharaoh found the miracles of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) somehow different from the normal acts of sorcerers. Therefore, even while accusing him of sorcery they admitted that he was 'of great knowledge' meaning that his act was not comparable with the acts of the normal sorcerers.

Surah Al-Araf 7:111-122

These verses narrate the remaining part of the story of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) . Seeing these wonders of staves turning into serpents and making his hand emitting strong white light, the Pharaoh should have been convinced and have believed in Musa (Moses) (pbuh) as the logic and sense demanded. But it is the common practice of the wrong-doers that they always seek false interpretations of the truth in order to conceal it, the Pharaoh and his people belied him instead, and said to the people that he was a great sorcerer and that he wanted to expel them from their homes and take over the rule of the country. The people of the Pharaoh suggested:

The people of the Pharaoh said that there were many expert sorcerers in their cities who were capable of defeating Musa (Moses) (pbuh) . Some soldiers should be sent to collect and bring the sorcerers for this purpose. Sorcery and magic, being the custom of the day, the sorcerers enjoyed a high status among people. Allah sent Musa ( Moses) (pbuh) with the miracles of the staff and white-lit hand so that people may clearly observe the misery of the sorcerers after entering into a contest with Musa (Moses) (pbuh) . It is the usual practice of Allah that He sends His prophets (pbht) with miracles that are appropriate to the demand of the time.

For instance, in the time of the prophet 'Isa (Jesus) (pbuh) , Greek philosophy and medical sciences were at their zenith. He was, therefore, sent with the miraculous powers of restoring the sight of those who were born blind and cure the lepers instantly with a touch of his hand.

In the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) the Arabs were boastful of their oratory and linguistic capabilities. The Holy Qur'an was sent as the greatest of all miracles of the Holy prophet. It's diction and style so bewildered the Arabs that they instantly acknowledged a super human element in it. The sorcerers came to Pharaoh and said:

The sorcerers were invited from all over the country. When they all came to Pharaoh they asked him of some reward if they gain victory over Musa (Moses) (pbuh). He promised that in addition to their reward they shall be included among those close to him. The historical reports about the number of these sorcerers give us different information.

These give us a number from nine hundred to three hundred thousand. The quantity of the staves and strings used in this contest is reported to be as great as was loaded on three hundred camels. (Qurtubi)

It may be noted that the first thing the sorcerers did, was to have an assurance about the reward they will get in return of their performance. It is because worldly people are always after worldly gains. They do nothing unless they are sure of their gains, while on the contrary, the prophets and their disciples always declare:

That is, the prophets of Allah preach and convey the message of Allah only for the good and guidance of people and they seek no financial gain against it. They seek their reward from Allah alone. After this discourse with Pharaoh the sorcerers got the place and date fixed for the great encounter. An open land was chosen for the purpose and the time was fixed after the sunrise on their festival Day. It is also mentioned in a verse of the Holy Quran: Musa (Moses) (pbuh) said:

"your appointed day is the day of ‘zinah’ so that people may be gathered after sunrise." (20:59)

Some reports say that the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) had a short conversation with the chief of the sorcerers and asked him if they would accept the faith in case he defeated them? He said that there was no question of their being defeated as they possessed such great magical powers that could not be overcome by any one. And in case 'you bring defeat to us we shall declare our faith openly in the presence of the Pharaoh'. (Mazhari and Qurtubi)

 They said,

The Arabic word:

means drop something down. On the day of encounter the sorcerers asked the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) if he would drop down his staff first or should they throw theirs first? This question of the sorcerers was perhaps to show their complacency about their art, though the mode of their sentence indicated that they wanted to start first, but for giving an impression of power to their opponent they put that question. Since-the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) had nothing to fear about, he invited them saying 'you drop.

Ibn Kathir has said that the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) behaved with them politely by inviting them to have their turn first. The effect of this behavior was that they accepted the faith after their defeat. Here we are faced with a question. The sorcery is an impermissible act, specially when it is used to oppose a prophet sent by Allah it becomes an act of infidelity. How then the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) gave permission of magic to the sorcerers by saying 'you drop'? With a little thought we can find the answer. It was certain that the sorcerers will show their magic by all means. The point of conversation was to decide who should start the contest. The prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) allowed them to begin. Another advantage of this strategy was that the people could see their performance and the sorcerers had all the time to show their art and turn the staves into snakes. Then the staff of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) should turn into a serpent and eat up all the snakes, thus the open defeat of magic should be exhibited before the people.(Bayan- al- Qur'an)

This verse indicates that this demonstration of their magic was just a bewitching of the eyes of the people which made them see the staffs and strings as snakes leaping on the ground, while the strings and the staffs did not change physically. It was a kind of mesmerism hypnotizing the minds of the onlookers. This does not mean that sorcery is confined only in this kind and that it cannot change something into another, as we do not have any proof against it. On the contrary, many forms and kinds of magic have been taken as being reality. The terms magic and sorcery are usually applied for all the acts that seem to be happening in unusual way. Sleight of hand, telepathic influences and mesmerism are sometimes called magic. Transformation of one thing into another through magic may be a possibility but we have no valid reason or proof for or against it.

The next verse 117 said, 

"And , We revealed to Musa (Moses) (pbuh) 'Throw your staff.'

Then, of a sudden it began to swallow all that they had concocted." We find it reported in history, when thousands of staffs and ropes were turned into snakes leaping all over the ground, Allah commanded Musa (Moses) (pbuh) to drop down his staff on the ground. It turned into a great snake and instantly began to eat up the snakes of the sorcerers. The crowd stood bewildered and stunned at this sight. Within no time all the snakes were eaten up by the great snake of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh). Next, the verse said:

The sorcerers were so overawed by the miracle of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) that they fell in prostration. This may also imply that Allah blessed them with favor and put them in prostration. They added the phrase, the Lord of Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and Harun (Aaron ) (pbuh) after saying, the Lord of the worlds, to make it clear that the Lord worshipped by Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and Harun (Aaron) (pbuh) is, in fact, the Lord of the Universe, and not the Pharaoh as he pretended to be.

Surah Al-Araf 7:123-127

The foregoing verses had a detailed account of the contest between the prophet Musa ( Moses) (pbuh) and s the sorcerers and that after their defeat the sorcerers declared their faith in Allah. Some historical reports say that subsequent to their declaration of faith in Allah, six hundred thousand more people followed suit and declared their belief in Allah.

Before this open contest there were only two individuals believing in Allah. Now a great army of people became Muslims. It was, obviously an embarrassing situation for the Pharaoh. Like a clever politician he managed to conceal his state of mind before the people, and changed the situation by putting the blame of conspiracy and rebellion on the sorcerers. He claimed that they had joined hands with Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and Harun (Aaron) (pbuh) in order to create disorder in the country. Then he said to the sorcerers, "You have believed in him before I permitted you." This was a threat to the sorcerers on the one hand, and on the other, he tried to convince his people that the sorcerers made a hasty decision in accepting their faith and fell prey to the trap of Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and Harun (Aaron) (pbuh) . Otherwise, he would have also believed in him in case Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and Harun ( Aaron) (pbuh) proved truthful in their claim.

It was a clever design of Pharaoh. He tried to keep his people stay in their former ignorance and make people believe that the contest was pre-plotted between the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and the sorcerers. He cleverly twisted the fact that the miracle of Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and the open conversion of the sorcerers to the true Faith was purely to expose the ignorance and falsehood of the Pharaoh. He turned it into a political issue by saying, "So that you may expel it's people from there." He wanted to make his people believe that they planned the whole matter to gain power over the country and expel the people from there. After making all these strategic statements he threatened the sorcerers, first, with an indefinite remark saying, "Now you shall know (your end)". Further specifying the threat, He said

"I shall surely, cut your hands and legs from the opposite sides. Then I shall crucify you all together." 

By cutting from the opposite sides he meant the right hand and the left foot so that they are made completely disabled and invalid.

The Pharaoh made all the efforts that he could to control his people. The belief in Allah, or "Iman' as it is called by the Qur'an, is a great power. When it finds it's way into one's heart, one finds himself as powerful as to face the whole world and all the forces gathered together against him. This was a great change. Only a few hours ago, the sorcerers were the worshippers of Pharaoh, but having faith in Allah they demonstrated such a great power and courage that in response to all the threats to their lives by the Pharaoh, they only said with perfect satisfaction that, in that case,

"To our Lord we are sure to return."

The sorcerers were fully aware of Pharaoh's power and authority over them. They did not say that Pharaoh will not be able to kill them because of their new faith. Their answer was to suggest that the whole life of this temporary world had no value in their eyes. Their satisfaction was due to the fact that they were sure of meeting the Lord of the worlds after passing away from this world. There they shall get an everlasting life of peace and comfort.

Another interpretation of their answer is that though the Pharaoh had all the power to finish their life, but soon he will be presented before the Lord of the worlds where he shall be taken to account for his despotism. In another verse, the following statement is also included in the answer of the sorcerers,

"You may pass any judgement you can against us, but your judgement will be restricted to this worldly life." (72:20) 

This also shows their total indifference towards the temporary life of this world. This great change in their thought and action was the result of their true faith in Allah. In addition to this, their faith opened the door of knowledge and wisdom upon them which is manifest from their invocation to Allah at this occasion. They prayed,

“ O Allah! Shower upon us patience and let death take us while we are Muslims.” 

This prayer is not only a manifestation of knowledge and wisdom, but also the best means of getting out of the difficulty they were in. It is because perseverance and patience are the only keys to success over one's enemy.

The report of the commission formed for investigating the causes and effects of the World War has remarked that the Muslims who observe faith in Allah and in the Hereafter are the most valiant and brave people in the battle field, and the most patient in the times of difficulty because they have faith in Allah and in the Hereafter. This is why the German military officials, expert in military sciences, emphatically suggested that they should create honesty and sense of accountability in the Hereafter among their soldiers, as they are the great source of strength and courage. (Tafsir aal-Manar) 

It Was A Miracle

The instant perfect change of mind of the sorcerers was, in no way, a lesser miracle than the other miracles of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) Those who led a life of infidelity and ignorance for their whole life were instantly changed into the most cognizant, knowledgeable and true Muslims, as faithful as to readily sacrifice their life for their faith. It is a pity that the Muslims and the Muslim states are trying all other ways and means to make themselves powerful and strong, but have become neglectful of the real source of power and strength. That is faith, perseverance and patience.

Pharaoh was frightened

It is to be noted that the Pharaoh was in some degree successful in keeping his ignorant people in their former ignorance through his clever and false statements, but at the same time, they strangely noted that all the fury and rage of Pharaoh was limited to the sorcerers only. He did not dare say a word against the prophets Musa ( Moses) (pbuh) and Harun (Aaron) (pbuh) who were his real opponents. This is obvious from, the following statement of his people:

"Do you leave Musa (Moses) (pbuh) and his people alone to spread disorder in the land, even when he abandons you and your gods?"

Pharaoh had no convincing answer to this question. He only said,

"We shall slaughter their sons and let their women live, and we have full power over them."

According to the commentators of the Holy Qur'an, Pharaoh tried to satisfy his people saying that by killing their males and leaving their women alive, he shall totally eliminate them within a period of time. Their women shall be spared to serve his people as maid servants. In fact, Pharaoh was so frightened by the miracle of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) that even at this occasion when he was threatening to kill all the men of Israelites, he could not utter a single word of threat against Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron) (pbut) Maulana Rhmi said :

The above statement of Pharaoh's people, 'Even when he abandons you and your gods' makes us understand that Pharaoh himself used to worship other gods, even though he claimed to be the god of his people. The law about killing of the males of the Israelites and leaving their women alive was now promulgated the second time. The first time it was put into force prior to the birth of the prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) He was witnessing the failure of this law up to this day which was evident from the huge crowd of the Israelites present at this occasion. When Allah intends to bring disgrace to a people, all they contrive leads to nothing but disaster. We shall soon see that this tyranny and oppression, at last, led him and his people to an ignominious end.

Please see or go to Prophet Musa (Moses) (pbuh) Part 23

The time has come to choose will you not fear Allah and obey Him? Insha Allah you will pick the correct side.

I have thus discharged again my duty of conveying His message and advice.

If you like what you hear may you accept it and if not you can disregard it.

Allah Knows Best

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 May He, for whom you have loved me, love you.

Barakal-lahu feekum

Unto Allah I commend thy faith, Thy trust and the consequence of thy work,

JZK

Allah Hafiz

Allah’s Property Mujaddid

Mahmoud Muhammad Ibrihim 

(Of Sinai Peninsula )

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