Prophet Mousa (5)

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Prophet Moosaa PBUH (5)

1. The king was a liar. He was stubborn and arrogant. He had himself arranged the contest so that people might reach a conclusive decision. But after Moosaa's clear victory, instead of accepting his defeat, Pharaoh quickly came up with the conspiracy theory. He threatened the magicians so as to force them to admit to the conspiracy plan. The sorcerers had seen that Moosaa PBUH was not a sorcerer, and that his miracles were performed through the Power of his Lord.

The people had now witnessed Moosaa's miracles. The conceited king's own magicians had testified that Moosaa's acts were indeed miracles. This made two things quite clear to the common people:

2. The skilled magicians who were well-versed in sorcery unexpectedly became true believers. They were now willing to suffer terrible physical torture for the sake of their faith because they were certain that what Moosaa PBUH came with was the truth from his Lord.

Pharaoh was deeply worried concerning Moosaa PBUH. He spent sleepless nights. He was not able to enjoy food or drink. His courtiers provoked him. They argued, "Will you allow Moosaa and his people to spread corruption in the land and to abandon you and your gods?" (Surat al-'Araaf, 7:127)

Pharaoh's Stubbornness andArrogance

Pharaoh's Stubbornness andArrogance

Anxious to stop the Israelites and the Egyptians from believing in Moosaa PBUH, Pharaoh proclaimed among the people, "O my people! Does the dominion of Egypt not belong to me, [witness] all these streams flowing underneath my [palace]? Can you not then see [that I am the supreme lord? Am I not better than this contemptible [man] who can scarcely express himself clearly?" (Surat az-Zukhruf, 43:51-52) The contents of the message appeared to Pharaoh unconvincing, although the message was quite clear!Pharaoh then declared with a great sense of calmness, "O chiefs! I do not know that you could have any god other than me." (Surat al-Qasas, 28:38)

Pharaoh's Stubbornness andArrogance

He mockingly said, "Well, then. • Haamaan! Kindle me a fire for baking bricks out of clay, and then build me a lofty tower, so that I may mount up to the god of Moosaa; but as far as I am concerned. I am convinced that he is a liar." (Surat al-Qasas, 28:38) Thus Pharaoh contemptibly referred to Moosaa's concept of Allah, the All-Embracing Lord, High above all, that exists. Haamaan was the Pharaoh's minister responsible for constructions in the country. Pharaoh talked scornfully about going to the sky to see for himself so that he would tell people that he could not find Moosaa's Lord there.

Pharaoh's Stubbornness andArrogance

At times, he remarked that had Moosaa PBUH truly been sent by Allah, then "Why are bracelets of gold not sent down on him, or why do the angels not accompany him in procession?" (Surat az-Zukhruf, 43:53) This is not much different from what Khrushchev, a former First Secretary of the Communist Party of the then USSR, used to say. He had asked his astronauts in space to look for God. Sometimes he would deny the existence of God, at other times he would repeatedly mention His Name, sometimes even swearing by Him.

Pharaoh was overcome by disappointment, fear, and shame. He felt that he was powerless. He did not know what to do. He finally decided that the only way to defeat Moosaa PBUH and his mission was to kill him. He said to his nobles, "Leave it to me to kill Moosaa, and let him invoke his Lord! I fear lest he causes you to change your religion, or lest he should cause corruption in the land." (Surat Ghaafir, 40:26)

Pharaoh's Stubbornness andArrogance

When Pharaoh was busy devising his evil plan to kill Moosaa PBUH, a man, who was a believer from among Pharaoh's own people, who had kept his faith concealed, exclaimed, "Would you kill a man because he says, 'Allah is my Lord' when he has brought you all evidence of this truth from your Lord?" (Surat Ghaafir, 40: 28)

A Believing Man from Pharaoh'sOwn Family

A Believing Man from Pharaoh'sOwn Family

The man continued, "Why do you oppose Moosaa? Why do you seek to harm him? If you do not believe in him, then leave him alone. Let him go his way. If he is a liar, his lie will fall back on him. But if he is a man of truth, there will strike you some of what the [calamity] of which he warns you. Truly, Allah does not guide those who transgress and lie. Yours is the dominion this day; you have the upper hand in the land, but who will rescue us from Allah's punishment once it befalls us?" (Surat Ghaafir, 40: 28)

A Believing Man from Pharaoh'sOwn Family

Pharaoh stubbornly answered, " but want to make you see what I see myself. I would never make you follow any path but that of righteousness." The anonymous believer argued that the message brought by Moosaa PBUH was convincing by itself. It was a proof that he was not a liar who was making a false claim to Prophethood. He continued, "O my people! Truly, I fear for you the like of what one day befell those others who had grouped together against Allah's truth]; the like of what befell Nooh's people, and to the tribe of 'Aad and Thamood, and those who came after them." (Surat Ghaafir, 40:30-31)

Those sinners were not wrong by what befell them in this world. They had richly deserved it. The believer sought to warn his people about a terrible punishment and the fate of those who are sinners and wrongdoers. This sensible man tried to make them conscious of the Day of Judgment. He tried to make them realize how awesome that Day would be! He said, "O my people! I fear for you the coming of that Day [of Judgment] when you will be calling each other in distress. The Day when you will wish to turn your backs and flee, having none to defend you against Allah; and whomever Allah lets go astray can never find any guide." (Surat Ghaafir, 40: 32)

A Believing Man from Pharaoh'sOwn Family

It is sufficient to note that the suffering, which is in store in the life to come for those who have wilfully remained deaf and blind to the truth in the life of the world, is a natural result of their free choice, just as happiness in the life to come is the natural consequence of Allah's obedient servants who made efforts to attain righteousness and the ultimate salvation.

A Believing Man from Pharaoh'sOwn Family

A Believing Man from Pharaoh'sOwn Family

He continued, "Allah gave you a blessing. But you did not realize its excellence. You did not value it as it should have been valued until you lost it. Then you regretted losing it afterwards. That was Prophet Yoosuf PBUH whom Allah had sent as a blessing upon you, but you did not realize his worth. When he died, you said, 'There will never be a Prophet like Yoosuf.!"

The righteous man went on to say, "O my people! Follow me; I will guide you to the path of righteousness. O my people! This worldly life is nothing but a brief enjoyment, and the life to come is the home that will last. He who does a bad deed will be rewarded with no more than a like of it, and he who does righteous deeds, whether a man or a woman, and is a believer, all such will enter Paradise, wherein they will be blessed with good beyond all reckoning.

The Man's Good Counsel

And O my people! How [strange] it is for me to call you to salvation while you call me to the Fire; you call me to ascribe partners to Him, partners of whom you have no knowledge, and I call you to the Exalted in Power, who forgives again and again!"

The Man's Good Counsel

The believer knew that his people were intoxicated with their power and with the pleasures of this world. The Pharaoh was so dazzled by his power and kingdom that he and even his chiefs did not realise that the worldly life is short-lived. The believing man knew that the pleasures of this life prevented people from following Moosaa PBUH and the truth with which he came, but he still wanted to call their attention to the truth.

The Man's Good Counsel

When he despaired of waking them from their deep slumber and guiding them, he sounded a final call, "The time will come when you will remember what I am telling you. As for me, I commit myself to Allah. Surely Allah sees what is in the hearts of His servants." (Surat Ghaafir, 40:44-45) Allah Most High preserved the believer from the evil of their scheming, but He terribly punished Pharaoh and his blind followers.

The Man's Good Counsel

Pharaoh's head was full of silly notions. He thought he was the master of his subjects' hearts, in the same way as he was the master of their bodies. He wrongly believed that he had absolute power over their tongues and speech. 'When someone came to believe in Moosaa PBUH, even in the distant part of his kingdom, Pharaoh grew wild with anger.

Pharaoh's Wife

He would jump to his feet and slump down onto his throne angrily. He would fume and fret. He would thunder and roar. He would yell, "How can one believe in Moosaa and his Lord without my permission? How can one live in my kingdom, eat provisions provided by me, yet be ungrateful to me? People must obey me and remain loyal to me.

Pharaoh's Wife

Pharaoh's Wife

Pharaoh had forgotten that his kingdom, his power and whatever pleasures he enjoyed were given to him by Allah Most High. Yet, he was rebellious against Him. He was ungrateful to his Lord. But Allah gave rise to a sign in his own palace. His wife, Aasiyah, believed in Allah without his knowledge. Faith entered Pharaoh's palace without his permission. It laid bare his helplessness. Allah made it clear that He Alone is the Lord of people's hearts. The arrogant king's wife had come to believe in Allah and disobeyed her own husband.

Pharaoh and his guards could not do anything. They could not prevent it. Pharaoh had no power over his subjects' hearts; Aasiyah knew that her husband was the king of Egypt. She knew her husband better than anyone else in the land. She knew that he was a merciless tyrant, yet she believed in Moosaa PBUH and in the message he brought from his Lord. She worshipped Allah in the house of Allah's enemy.

Pharaoh's Wife

Pharaoh's Wife

She was innocent of what Pharaoh was doing. Allah was pleased with her. He saved her from Pharaoh and his actions. "And Allah sets forth, as an example to those who believe the wife of Pharaoh, as she prayed, 'O my Lord! Build for me, in nearness to You, a mansion in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his doings, and save me from those that do wrong.'" (Surat at-Tahreem, 66:11)

The Pharaoh was too arrogant, and so were his people. They always persisted with their evil ways and paid no heed to Allah's signs or to any test to which they were put. They said to Moosaa PBUH, "Whatever be the sign you bring before us with which to work your sorcery on us, we shall never believe in you." (Surat al-A'raaf, 7: 132)As people knew that thePharaoh was hostile to the Israelites, they always sided with him and displayed their hostility towards Banu Israa'eel in various ways.

The Trials of the Children of Israa'eel

They treated them badly and even their children were rude to them. Every night brought with it a new disaster, and every day brought with it a new trial and calamity. Moosaa PBUH consoled his people and advised them to be patient. He told them, "Turn to Allah alone for help and remain steadfast; for the earth belongs to Allah. He allows it to be inherited by whomever He Wills of His servants; and the end is [best] for the righteous." (Surat al-A'raaf, 7: 128)

The Trials of the Children of Israa'eel

The Israelites, however, did not like this test and persecution. They told Moosaa PBUH , "We have been oppressed before you came to us and since you have come to us." (7: 129) These words carried a sort of a complaint. They were telling him that his coming to them as a prophet had not changed anything, and that their oppression seemed to be endless. Prophet Moosaa PBUH continued to remind them of Allah and advised them to put all their trust in Him. He told them, "It may well be that your Lord will destroy your enemy and leave you to inherit the earth so He will see how you act." (7: 128-129)

The Trials of the Children of Israa'eel

As Pharaoh and his folks became more tyrannical, heedless and cruel, Allah willed to warn them, for He does not like corruption on earth. Pharaoh was foolishly ignorant. Wise words were wasted on him as he did not heed warnings.Egypt was a green, fertile land. It was a land where fruits, grains and vegetables grew in plenty. Egypt had even provided assistance to distant lands in the years of famine during the time of Prophet Yoosuf PBUH.

Punishments

The reason for this was that Allah blessed Egypt with the Nile which continuously provides it with water and irrigates its crops. Pharaoh and his folks thought that the Nile was the key to their prosperity, but they did not realize that the keys of sustenance belong to Almighty Allah. Nor did they consider that the Nile ran its course by Allah's command.Allah commanded the Nile and its waters to recede, and so they vanished into the ground. The fruits of the land disappeared. Its grains dwindled. The land was struck by severe drought and famine.

Punishments

Pharaoh, his minister Haamaan, their guards and armies were all powerless. They could not do anything. Instead of learning a lesson from this situation, they ascribed these calamities to evil omens connected with Moosaa and those with him, and even arrogantly declared that they would not allow Moosaa PBUH to be witch them as they claimed.

Punishments

Almighty Allah then sent another sign. He sent torrential rains, and the Nile overflowed with rainwater. Actually, it rained so much that the fields were totally flooded and the crops were washed away. Once the people had complained about lack of rain, now they were complaining about too much of it!

A Few more Signs

The people of Egypt still refused to contemplate such signs and took no heed. Allah then sent them another sign. He gave the lice power over them. Lice were in their clothes and in their hair! They had to spend sleepless nights and uneasy days searching for lice to get rid of them. Then Almighty Allah engulfed them with frogs. There were frogs everywhere: in their storage vessels for food and drink and even in their clothes. The frogs made their life miserable.They croaked all night. One jumped here and another leapt there. The frogs were all over them. One would even fill a glass with water to drink it, and a frog would leap into it from nowhere! Whenever they killed one, more frogs would appear. Pharaoh and his forces were helpless against these nasty frogs!

A Few more Signs

Allah then sent yet another sign against them: blood. Every time they collected water from any river or any well, it would turn into blood. Their noses bled. It weakened and exhausted them. Even all the water they had in their containers would turn into blood. Their doctors were unable to treat them. No medicine worked. They complained to their arrogant king and said that they had nothing to drink, but he thoughtlessly suggested that Moosaa PBUH had cast a spell on them.

A Few more Signs

Whenever they saw a sign, they went to Moosaa PBUH and said, "Ask your Lord to remove this affliction from us. We shall truly repent and believe in you, and we shall send the Children of Israa'eel with you." But when Allah removed the affliction according to a fixed term, they again broke their promise.

A Few more Signs

1.The only way for Pharaoh to get rid of Moosaa PBUH was to him2. Pharaoh thought that he was the master of his subjects' as he was of their bodies. 3. Pharaoh's wife believed in Allah without her husband's 4.Moosaa PBUH advised his people to be 5.Pharaoh was so arrogant that he did not heed

A. Fill in the blanks.

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B. Answer the following questions.

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Thanks!

How did Pharaoh react whenever he learnt of someone following Moosaa PBUH ?

What two things did the victory of Moosaa's miracles make clear to the common folk?

In what way did Pharaoh's people display hostility towards Banu Israa'eel?

Besides Moosaa's miracles, what were the other trials to which Pharaoh and his people were put?

Who was Haamaan, and what did Pharaoh order him to do?

What did the believer from Pharaoh's own family believe was the reason for Pharaoh and his people not to follow the truth?