Hazrat Musa A.S

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ.

All Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

Dear Brothers and Sisters …                                     السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ –

O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam.

Oh people: Be conscious of Allah and obey Him. Be conscious of the One Who created you, sustains you, brought you to life and causes you to die.  And to Him is your return.

Fatir (35) 3: O mankind, remember the favor of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth? There is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?

The narratives of the Prophets (peace be upon them) and what transpired between them and their people is a warning to the heedless, a lesson for those who reflect and a good example for the believers. For they are Allah Almighty’s messengers to the people. And they are guides and advisors to the people. They are keen for their welfare and compassionate towards them. And we were commanded to adhere to their guidance and to follow their example.

أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللهُ فَبِهُدَاهُمُ اقْتَدِهِ-الأنعام:90

Al Anam (6) 90: Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example.  And in another verse:

Yusuf (12) 111: There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding. Never was it [i.e., the Qur’ān] a narration invented, but a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of all things and guidance and mercy for a people who believe.

And Hazrat Musa bin Imran, peace be upon him, the one who spoke to Allah Almighty, is the most mentioned messenger of Allah Almighty in the Quran. And his narrative is the most well-known. And no one’s narrative was mentioned like his; his birth and upbringing, his trial and emigration, his prophethood and message, his debates with Pharaoh, his interactions with the Children of Israel and other matters that are described in the Quran.

Musa, peace be upon him, returned after the long emigration from Madyan with his wife, heading to Egypt, where his mother and brothers were. And on his way, on a blessed night, dark and very cold, he saw a fire burning on the side of the mountain. So he went seeking fire for his family. But it was not fire, it was light from Allah Almighty. Through it Musa, peace be upon him, attained the highest honor and status. Allah Almighty spoke to him directly without intermediaries. And charged him with His message and trust. So what a great honor and a heavy responsibility.

Al Qasas (28) 29-30: (29) And when Moses had completed the term and was traveling with his family, he perceived from the direction of the mount a fire. He said to his family, “Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire. Perhaps I will bring you from there [some] information or burning wood from the fire that you may warm yourselves.”

(30) But when he came to it, he was called from the right side of the valley in a blessed spot – from the tree, “O Moses, indeed I am Allah, Lord of the worlds.”

Allah Almighty honored him with His words. And chose him for His message. And raised his status and elevated his matter. And informed him at this great situation that He the Exalted is His Lord saying:

يَا مُوسَى إِنِّي أَنَا اللهُ رَبُّ العَالَمِينَ-القصص:30

Al Qasas (28) 30: O Moses, indeed I am Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Then Allah Almighty supported him with miracles. And issued the signs through his hands. To strengthen his argument, prove his words and facilitate belief in him.

And from the power of Allah Almighty is that He made these miracles with what was with Musa, peace be upon him, such as his stick and not from anything else. To know that Allah Almighty transformed them from their natural properties to what Allah Almighty wanted.  And that is clearer in demonstrating ability, and stronger in proof and argument: As mentioned in quran

TaHa (20) 17-21: (17) And what is that in your right hand, O Moses?”

(18) He said, “It is my staff; I lean upon it, and I bring down leaves for my sheep and I have therein other uses.”

(19) [Allah] said, “Throw it down, O Moses.”

(20) So he threw it down, and thereupon it was a snake, moving swiftly.

(21) [Allah] said, “Seize it and fear not; We will return it to its former condition.

For this is the first miracle of Musa, peace be upon him. And it is Allah Almighty’s decree is that it would have a great role in combatting Pharaoh’s magicians. And that it would destroy their magic. And that it would be a cause for their believing. So what a great miracle and sign. And the One who transforms a lifeless stick into a snake without illusions or deception is the only One Who creates from nothing and gives life to the dead.

أَلا لَهُ الخَلْقُ وَالأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ اللهُ رَبُّ العَالَمِينَ-الأعراف:54

Al Araf (7) 54: Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds.

As for the second miracle, Allah Almighty gave Musa light in his hand without harm or disease. He showed it to whomever he wanted and whenever he wanted.

TaHa (20): (22) And draw in your hand to your side; it will come out white without disease – another sign,

(23) That We may show you [some] of Our greater signs.

They are major signs that only the stubborn can deny, and only the arrogant reject. Nevertheless, Musa, peace be upon him, feared that Pharaoh and his people would deny him. So he interceded on the behalf of his brother Haroun before Allah Almighty requesting to send his brother with him as a messenger. So Allah Almighty accepted the intercession of Musa, and he sent his brother Haroun with him as a messenger:

Al Qasas (28) 34-35:  (34) And my brother Haroun is more fluent than me in tongue, so send him with me as support, verifying me. Indeed, I fear that they will deny me.” (35) [Allah] said, “We will strengthen your arm through your brother and grant you both supremacy so they will not reach you. [It will be] through Our signs; you and those who follow you will be the predominant.”

And Musa’s intercession for his brother Haroun to be a messenger is the greatest and most beneficial worldly intercession known to mankind. Then Allah Almighty accepted his intercession for his brother and sent him as a messenger with him.

In this regard, some of the predecessors say: no one has done a greater favour for his brother than Musa for Haroun, peace be upon them.  For he interceded for his brother until he was made a prophet and a messenger alongside him to Pharaoh and his supporters. And if Haroun was not worthy for intercession, Musa would have not interceded for him, peace be upon them.

This also indicates the high status of Musa with Allah Almighty. And that he was distinguished for Allah accepted his intercession. And Allah Almighty said regarding Musa:

وَكَانَ عِنْدَ الله وَجِيهًا-الأحزاب:69

Al Ahzab (33) 69: And he, in the sight of Allah, was distinguished.

Musa and Haroun (peace be upon them) delivered the messages of their Lord. And Pharaoh and his people denied them. So Allah Almighty destroyed them and saved Musa and those with him:

Al Furqan (25) 35-36: (35) And We had certainly given Moses the Scripture and appointed with him his brother Haroun as an assistant. (36) And We said, “Go both of you to the people who have denied Our signs.” Then We destroyed them with [complete] destruction.

Be conscious of Allah and obey Him. And open your new year with the best of your deeds. For Allah knows your secrets and what you reveal. And whoever opens his year with righteous deeds is more likely to maintain the momentum throughout the year.  And the beginning of the year is the month of Allah, Muharram. The virtue of this great month is that it is one of the sacred months as indicated in the words of Allah Almighty:

At Tawbah (9) 36: Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion [i.e., way], so do not wrong yourselves during them.

The month of Muharram has another virtue. And it is the superiority of voluntary fasting in it over the other months. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: [Muslim 1163b]

أَفْضَلُ الصِّيَامِ بَعْدَ رَمَضَانَ شَهْرُ الله الْمُحَرَّمُ …

The best fasting after the month of Ramadan is the month of Allah, Al-Muharram…

Regarding the fasting on the tenth of Al-Muharram, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said in the Hadith: [Bukhari 4680, Muslim 1130a].

When the Prophet ﷺ came to Medina, he found the Jews observing fast on the day of ‘Ashurah; so he said: What is this. They said: This is a good day, this is the day on which Allah delivered Bani Israel from their enemy so Musa fasted it. He said: We have more right to Moses than you and He fasted it and commanded to fast it.

So do not deprive yourselves of this great reward at the beginning of this new year and receive it with the best of your deeds. And do not wrong yourselves in it. For none of us knows when we will reach our term. And the joyful one is the one who concludes his life with the best of his deeds. And the miserable one is the one who meets Allah turning away from His obedience and breaching His prohibitions.

May Allah Almighty make us eager to perform the righteous deeds and may He grant us a good conclusion. Indeed He is All Hearing, Answering.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our Prophet as your Lord commanded:

Allahumma Sallai Al’a Muahmmad’n wa’aila Muhammad

For Any further Information please contact me at info@irlammosque.org.Imam Sh Mahboob Rasool