The struggles and difficulties for Musa (may peace be upon him) awaited him even before his birth. Born under the rule of the most tyrant man of the time, danger loomed over his life at all times. The twists and turns of life, and the will of Allah ﷻ, landed him in the house of the same tyrant, Fir’aun, who was looking to kill him. Although, he grew up as royalty after he was adopted by Aasiyah, the wife of Fir’aun; his life changed when he unintentionally took the life of a man who was engaged in a brawl with another. This news reached Fir’aun, and he set out to kill Musa.
“And there came a man running, from the farthest end of the city. He said: ‘O Musa! Verily, the chiefs are taking counsel together about you, to kill you, so escape. Truly, I am one of the good advisers to you.'” [Quran 28:20]
Musa (may peace be upon him), acting upon the advice of the kind man, fled his land and reached an unknown land, Madyan. There he saw a crowded well, surrounded by shepherds watering their flocks. He noticed that at a distance two women were standing trying to hold back their flocks from going to the well. Finding this odd, he approached them and asked them the reason for their trouble. He was informed by the women that their father was an old shepherd, who wasn’t strong enough to take care of their flock. They had brought their flock to quench their thirst, but upon seeing the well crowded by men they could not go ahead.
On hearing the predicament of the two women, Musa (may peace be upon him) went ahead and took their flock to drink water from the well, despite his fatigue and ordeal after escaping. After he was done with the task at hand, he sat down under the shade of a tree and did what any man of faith would do: he made du’a to Allah ﷻ.
“My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!” [Quran 28:24]
A little retrospection of this particular phase of Prophet Musa’s (may peace be upon him) life teaches us three valuable life lessons: the importance of doing good deeds, hope & faith in the mercy of Allah ﷻ, and the immense power of du’a. The combination of these three seemingly trivial aspects can open doors of mercy beyond human expectations.
Good Deeds:
Throughout the Quran, Allah ﷻ has greatly emphasized on the importance of doing good deeds, with a promise of massive rewards. Serving others at a time of one’s own struggle is extremely hard, but every single good deed done for the sake of Allah ﷻ reaps great rewards than one can fathom. Allah ﷻ has promised the believer who does righteous good deeds, reward in this world as well as the Hereafter.
“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.” [Quran 16:97]
Musa (may peace be upon him) was a lonely destitute man, on the run to save his life with no means of comfort and shelter. Despite his own miserable condition, he helped two strangers, which later translated into provision, respect, and contentment as the great rewards from Allah ﷻ.
Hope & Faith:
Hopelessness is similar to a disease that nibbles away at our peace of mind and sanity, weakening our faith in the mercy of Allah ﷻ. Oftentimes, in desperate situations when we can’t see a probable solution for our problems, we tend to lose hope in the mercy of The Most Merciful. On observing the life of Musa (may peace be upon him), one can learn that faith in Allah ﷻ combined with hope in His mercy is the most powerful weapon sufficient to face the worst situations.
“Certainly no one despairs of Allah’s Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.” [Quran 12:87]
Having hope in the face of life-threatening danger, homelessness, loneliness, and absolute helplessness seems like unachievable, but Prophet Musa’s (may peace be upon him) faith in Allah ﷻ did not let him lose hope. It was his hope and unwavering faith in the mercy of his Lord, that inspired him to ask Allah ﷻ for whatever sort of goodness He thought was befitting for him.
Du’a:
Not letting the challenges of life hold him hostage, and not succumbing to hopelessness, Musa (may peace be upon him) made du’a.
“My Lord! Truly, I am in need of whatever good that You bestow on me!” [Quran 28:24]
Musa’s (may peace be upon him) hope and faith in the mercy of Allah ﷻ at the lowest phase of his life inspired him to make a du’a, that encompasses all the goodness one can possibly imagine and more. He did not ask Allah ﷻ for anything specific, rather he surrendered himself to the will of Allah ﷻ and to His wisdom to bestow upon him whatever He considered good for him. His trust in Allah ﷻ is something we need to learn and implement in our lives. He did not limit his du’a by asking for a particular thing, instead, he begged for Allah’s ﷻ goodness which includes a wide array of blessings like rizq, shelter, peace, strength, courage, contentment, and more.
Allah ﷻ rewarded him for the good deed he did, for his hope and faith; and answered his call of desperation sooner than he could’ve imagined. He was blessed with provision, employment, shelter, happiness, and more in the form of marriage with one of the two women he helped.
If we incorporate these three aspects of Prophet Musa’s (may peace be upon him) life, we can face the toughest battles of life. Especially in the present time, when the Ummah is under the torment of oppressive tyrants similar to Fir’aun. While we may not be strong enough to resist, we must strengthen our iman and submit ourselves to the will of Allah ﷻ with utmost hope and faith in His wisdom. And make du’a to Him to bestow upon the Ummah goodness just as he blessed Musa (may peace be upon him). At the same time, we must increase in our good deeds for the sake of Allah ﷻ, irrespective of how big or small they may be, will most definitely be rewarded by Ar-Rahim.
Written by: Iram Atiqulla
Edited by: The Editorial Team
© The Islamic Reflections Blog
References:
- Qur’an
- Tafseer Ibn Kathir, English translation
- https://archive.org/details/TafseerIbnKathirenglish114SurahsComplete/028Qasas/page/n23/mode/2up?view=theater