Alhamdulillah I was able to
attend the story night on 28th December with my younger sister at Edmonton mosque. The place was packed mashAllah.
I have always been a big fan of brother Nouman. I learn a lot from his talks
online. That's why I was really excited to go to the talk. First time I heard
him live in London was at Twins of Faith event in 2011. Alhamdulillah as usual
his talk was full of hikmah (wisdom). May Allah subhana wa ta'ala give us the
ability to implement the lessons in our lives, ameen! I took couple of pages of
notes. I hope to share some of the notes with you, bi'idnillah.
Stories are very
interesting. People love stories or any form of narration. Films,
entertainment, education materials are all highly influenced by stories. Allah
subhana wa ta'ala knows the importance of stories. But he doesn't tell us
stories through the Qur'an to entertain us. He subhana wa ta'ala wants us to
know the truth and the main purpose is to have imaan (faith). Story of Musa
(AS) is mentioned throughout the Qur'an. Brother Nouman told the story of Musa (AS) just like a film.
Three surahs in the Qur'an
pay extra attention to Musa (AS)
1. Surah Ta-HA Chapter 20
2. Surah Shu'ara Chapter 26
3. Surah Kasas Chapter 28
In Surah Kasas there are
two stories, one dealing with Musa and Pharaoh; another one about the struggle
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihe wa Sallam) was going through in Makkah.
Brother Nouman talked about
the first couple of ayats of Surah Kasas where Allah subhana wa ta’ala talks
about Musa AS. The people of Israel (Sons of Yakub AS) were badly oppressed by
Pharaoh. They were forced to live in ghettos as slaves. Their homes were
surrounded by military stations. At the back was the river which was too deep
to cross. They were taken to the city to work for Pharaoh. He had a policy of
murder, killing the sons of people of Israel every other year. He didn't want
to kill all the kids as he needed the workforce for his kingdom. He wanted to
control the population in a way that they never become a threat to his regime.
The people of Israel were
so mentally imprisoned that they couldn't even had the courage to save their
babies being brutally murdered by Pharaoh and his army. He caused great deal of
corruption.
Allah subhana wa ta'ala
says in the Qur'an: (Muslim scholars believe that we can never translate the
Qur'an in any language. To understand the Qur'an properly we must learn Arabic.
You can just get a bit of the taste of real Qur'an through the translations
done in English. I usually follow M.A.S. Abdel Haleem's The Qur'an published by
Oxford University Press.)
“We recount to you
[prophet] part of the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Setting out the truth for
people who believe. Pharaoh made himself high and mighty in the land and divided
the people into different groups: one group he oppressed, slaughtering their
sons and sparing their women - he was one of those who spread corruption- but
We wished to favour those who were oppressed in the land, to make them leaders,
the ones to survive, to establish them in the land, and through them show
Pharaoh, Haman and their armies the very thing they feared." [The Qur'an
28:3-6]
“Now the scene changes…This
is going to be sick man!!!” Lol! I love his style mashAllah. I can really
relate to him. I think this is one of the best qualities of brother Nouman
mashAllah that he can relate to the youth.
He talks about how Allah
subhana wa ta’ala inspires Musa AS’s mum to save baby Musa from Pharaoh’s
soldiers.
Allah swt says, “We
inspired Moses’ mother, saying, ‘Suckle him and then, when you fear for his
safety, put him in the river: do not be afraid and do not grieve, for We shall
return him to you and make him a messenger.’ [The Qur’an 28:7]
Just imagine how much faith
Musa’s mum had to deal with such a difficult trail. Her imaan was very strong.
That’s why she had tawakkul, complete trust on Allah subhana wa ta’ala. When
Allah swt told her to put her baby in the river, she didn’t hesitate. She was
promised that her baby will be returned to her. She didn’t need to think how
that’s going to happen but in her heart she knew Allah swt’s promise is true. The
people who don’t have imaan, they can never understand this feeling. It doesn’t
make sense to them. There is no logical explanation. Imaan is a feeling which
no word can explain subhanallah! Musa AS’s mum is a great example for us all to
follow bi’idnillah.
Now the screen changes
again…
“Pharoah’s household picked
him up- later to become an enemy and a source of grief for them : Pharoah,
Haman and their armies were wrongdoers and Pharaoh’s wife said, ‘ Here is a joy
(coolness of my eyes, Qurratul ‘ayn) to behold for me and for you! Do not kill
him: he may be of use to us or we may adopt him as a son.’ They did not realize
what they were doing. [The Qur’an 28:8-9]
Now we come across another
amazing lady, Aasia (RadiaAllahu anha) Pharoah’s wife. She was not happy with
Pharoah but she didn’t have any choice. Who could she complain to when Pharoah
owned everything i.e the police, army. She was a believer. She was also a very
smart lady. When she picked up baby Musa (Alayhis Salam), her sadness
disappeared. Baby Musa (AS) become the coolness of her eyes. She told Pharoah
that she would like to look after the baby. As Pharoah was in a good mood and
quite softened by baby Musa’s cute look, lady Aasia asked him if they could
adopt him and he couldn’t say no. Subhanallah how amazing is Allah swt’s plan!
Now Musa (AS) was being raised in Pharoah’s castle! He was raising his own
enemy.
There is a beautiful talk
by brother Nouman about the ‘coolness of eyes’ phrase. Do listen inshAllah.
Now camera turns again to
Musa AS’s mum’s home. She was so sad thinking about her baby. But she didn’t
even moved her eyes when the basket was moving in the river as the Paroah’s
army may figure it out. She asked her daughter to follow the basket. Musa’s
sister carefully followed the basket without being noticed by anyone. Brother
Nouman was talking about how wonderful parenting skills we can derive from this
particular event. Musa’s mum didn’t really need to say that much, just one tiny
phrase “Follow him” was more than enough as an instruction for her daughter.
She had confidence in her daughter who might have been 8/9 years old. She knew
how vigilant she had to be to follow her baby brother. Just think how hard it
is for us, the modern parents, to get our children to listen to us by just
uttering the request only once!
Allah Subhan wa ta’ala says
in the Qur’an:
“… Moses’s mother felt a
void in her heart- if We had not strengthened it to make her one of those who
believe, she would have revealed everything about him- and she said to his
sister, “Follow him”. So she watched him from a distance, without them knowing.
We had ordained that he would refuse to feed from wet nurses. His sister
approached them and said, “Shall I tell you about a household which could bring
him up for you and take good care of him?” We restored him to his mother in
this way, so that she might be comforted, not grieve and know that God’s promise
is true, though most people do not understand. [The Qur’an 28:10-13]
While Pharaoh’s soldiers
were looking for new-born babies of children of Israel to kill, Allah subhana
wa ta’ala inspired Musa AS’s mum to breastfeed him which made bay Musa stop crying
but it also made helped him to know the unique taste of his mum’s milk. That’s
why when baby Musa was in the palace of Pharaoh; he rejected all the wet
nurses. Babies that young do not have sophisticated eyesight or hearing to
recognise their mum but they can remember the distinct taste of their mums’
milk. Never thought about this fascinating fact before subhanallah!
Another interesting point
about this particular ayat is the way Musa’s sister introduced her mum to the
people of the palace. She didn’t say come to her house as this would have
created suspicion. She said “Shall I tell you about a household which could
bring him up for you and take good care of him?” What a smart girls she was
mashAllah!
The biggest lesson from
these couple of ayat in the Qur’an is Allah is the best of planners. Even if it
may not make sense to us, He subhanhu wa ta’ala knows how and what to do. We
just need to have the imaan (faith) and yakeen (certainty) and tawakkul
(complete reliance) on Him.
We had a 10 minutes break.
Alhamdulillah unlike quite a lot of Muslim events, this talk did start exactly
at 7 pm and he did start just after 10 minutes mashAllah. It also finished
10:15 pm.
Brother Numan talked about
baby Musa’s spiritual tarbiyyah. He was raised by two great women, his
biological mum and Lady Aasia, Pharoah’s wife. I remember from a hadith that
lady Aasia is one of the best women in Islam. He was brought with the values of
a proper Muslim. He knew he looked different from the ruling class. His skin
colour was like the children of Israel i.e the sons of Yakoob. He couldn’t
tolerate injustice. He grew up as a strong man of faith. Unlike today’s youth,
he was eager to do good and be a man of God.
“When Moses reached full
maturity and manhood, We gave him wisdom and knowledge: this is how We reward
those who do good.” [The Qur’an 28:14]
Again here Allah subhan wa
ta’ala mentions wisdom (hikmah) first and the knowledge (‘ilm). Sometimes we
see in our ummah, quite a lot of youth, having knowledge of the deen (faith)
but showing lack of wisdom. When anything controversial happens for example,
any cartoon or films about our beloved prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihe wa
sallam, we witness improper reaction of the Muslim youth. Older people are more
likely to have wisdom and we as youth need to value this unique but essential
quality. Musa (AS) as a young and strong man was always aware of Allah subhana
wa ta’ala. His action was based on taqwa. There is so much to learn for the
youth of our ummah from this great prophet.
As the baby Musa is a young
man now, his trial started. “He entered the city, unnoticed by its people and
found two men fighting: one from his own people, the other an enemy. The one
from his own people cried out to him for help against the enemy. Moses struck
him with his fist and killed him. He said, ‘This must be Satan’s work: clearly
he is a misleading enemy.’ He said. ‘Lord, I have wronged myself. Forgive me,’
so He forgave him; He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. He said,
‘My Lord, because of the blessings You have bestowed upon me, I shall never
support those who do evil.’ [The Qur’an 28:
]
As soon as Musa heard the
plea of the man (he was from the Bani Israel) he tried to help by hitting the
other guy. The guy died and Musa realized he shouldn’t have struck him. He
realized it was Satan’s plan but he took full responsibility and immediately
asked for forgiveness from His Lord. He also re-iterated that he would never
help the people who commit injustice.
Rushing to judgement is
from Satan. He wants us to react without any thought. There is even a hadith
where our beloved prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) tell us that rushing
comes from Satan. Musa (Alaihis Salam) was aware of that. After asking for
forgiveness, he moved on. He did not let himself be slave of the past.
There are so many more
lessons from this particular story. I hope to write about the rest of the
lessons in future post inshAllah as its getting quite long.
I hope this post can benefit us all bi'idnillah. You can join brother Nouman's Facebook group to learn more inshAllah. http://bayyinah.com/
