The Story of Moses and Aaron (Musa and Haroon, Part-5:5) Then Moses returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said: O my people! Did not your Lord promise you a fair promise? Did then the promise seem to you long in coming? Or did you desire the Wrath should descend from your Lord on you, so you broke your promise to me (disbelieving in Allah and worshipping the calf)? [Ch 20: 83-86 Quran] Allah the Exalted revealed what happened further on Mosess return. Moses said: O Aaron! What stopped you when you saw them going astray, that you followed me not (according to my advice to you)? Have you then disobeyed my order? He (Aaron) said; O my son of my mother! Seize me not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: You have caused a division among the children of Israel, and you have not respected my word! (Moses) said: And what is the matter with you, O Samiri? (why did you do so?) Samiri said: I saw what you saw not, so I took a handful of dust from the hoof print of the Messenger (Gabriels horse) and threw it (into the fire in which were put the ornaments of the Pharaohs people, or into the calf). Thus my inner-self suggested to me. Moses said: Then go away! And verily, your punishment in this life will be that you will say: Touch me not (you will live alone exiled away from mankind); and verily (for a future torment), you have a promise that will not fail. And look at your ilah (god), to which you have been devoted. We will certainly burn it, and scatter its particles in the sea. [Ch 20:83-98 Quran] However, the punishment which was imposed upon the calf worshippers was severe, death. Remember when Moses said to his people: O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf. So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill yourselves (the innocent kill the wrong doers among you), that will be better for you in the Sight of your Creator. Then He accepted your repentance. Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful. [Ch 2:54 Quran] Therefore, the crime of worshipping the calf did not pass unpunished. Moses commanded the elite of the children of Israel to pray to Allah for forgiveness and demonstrate their repentance. He chose seventy men out of them and ordered them: Rush towards Allah and repent for what you did and ask His forgiveness for what you left. Moses returned to Mount Sinai with the seventy elders and there he communicated with Allah. The elders heard Moses speaking with his Lord. (Allah spoke to Moses directly.) This was, perhaps, the last miracle that they would see, and it was hoped that it would be sufficient enough to convey the religion to their hearts forever. However, the seventy elite who heard the miracles were dissatisfied. They said to Moses: O Moses! We shall never believe in you till we see Allah plainly. [Ch 2:35 Quran] This was a tragedy that amazes one. It was a tragedy that indicated those who were hard-hearted and who continued to hold onto sensual and material concerns. Their stubborn demand was rewarded with punishing lightning bolts and a violent quaking that stupefied their souls and bodies at once, leaving them dead. Moses knew what had happened to the seventy elite and was filled with sorrow. He prayed to his Lord, entreating Him to forgive them, for they were fools. Foolishness is only expiated by death. Allah forgave the elders and revived them after their death. Allah the Exalted declared: Moses chose out of his people seventy of the best men for Our appointed time and place of meeting, and when they were seized with a violent earthquake, he said: O my Lord, if it had been Your Will, You could have destroyed them and me before; would You destroy us for the deeds of the foolish ones among us? It is only Your Trial by which You lead astray whom You will, and keep guided whom You will. You are our Wali (Protector), so forgive us and have Mercy on us, for You are the Best of Those who forgive. And ordain for us good in this world, and in the Hereafter. Certainly we have turned unto You. He said (as to ) My Punishment I afflict therewith whom I will and My Mercy embraces all things. That (Mercy) I shall ordain for those who are the Muttaqun and give Zakat; and those who believe in our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.); Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Torah and the Gospel, [Ch 7:155-157 Quran , Deut. 18:18; Psl. 118:22-23; Isa 42:1-13; Hab, 3:3-4, Matt 21:42-43, Jn 14:16-17, 26-28, 16:7-14) he commands them for Al Maruf (Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from Al Munkar (disbelief, polytheism, of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At Tayyibat (all good and lawful) as regards things, deeds beliefs, persons, food, etc. and prohibits them as unlawful Al Khabaith (all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, food, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allahs Covenant), and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad), honor him, help him, and follow the light (the Quran] which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful. [Ch 7:155-157 Quran] Moses (pbuh) stayed among his people calling them to Allah. It seems their souls were uneasy in a way that the observant eye could not mistake. Their obstinacy and chattering about what has become known as The Story of the Cow was unwarranted. This topic did not need so many negotiations between Moses and the people, nor did it need all their bias. It was said that among the children of Israel there lived a pious man. He was poor but very careful about how he earned the living; it had to be honestly earned. Everything that he did was done for the sake of Allah, never for selfish gain. On his deathbed his last words were: O Allah, I place my wife, my little son, and my only possession, a calf, in Your care. Strangely, he asked his wife to lead the calf to the forest and leave it there. He did this because he did not trust the children of Israel, for they were a selfish and greedy folk. After a few years when the boy had grown up, his mother told him: Your father has left you a calf in the trust of Allah. It must have grown into a cow by now. The son was surprised. He did not know of any calf all these years and asked his mother where it was. She replied: Be like your father and say: I trust in Allah, then go look for it. With a rope in his hand, he went to the forest and prostrated himself before Allah: O Allah, Lord of Abraham and Jacob and Job, return to me my fathers trust. As he raised his head, he saw a cow coming towards him. It stopped submissively beside him. He tied the rope around its neck and led it to his house. The cow would not allow anyone else come near it except the young man. The youth was as pious as his father. He earned his living by cutting wood. Whatever he earned he divided into three equal portions; one he gave to his mother, one he used for his needs, and the last he gave as charity. His nights, too, were divided into three parts; during the early part of the night he helped his mother, the middle part he devoted to the worship of Allah, and during the last part he rested. About this a wealthy man died, leaving behind an only son, who inherited his fathers wealth. His cousins envied his good fortune, and secretly killed him so that they could inherit it. The dead boys other relatives came to the Prophet Moses (pbuh) and asked his help in tracing the boys murderer. Moses instructed them to slaughter a cow, remove its tongue and place it on the corpse. This would reveal the murderer, he told them. They accused Moses of joking. He replied: Allah forbid that I be foolish! They questioned him about the type of cow they should slaughter, and he said: This cow is neither young nor mature, but in between the two conditions, so do as you have been commanded. Instead of following his direction, they asked him more questions. What color must it be? He replied: Verily, it is yellow in color. They still were not satisfied with his answer and asked for more details. Moses replied: It is an unyoked cow; it does not plow the soil nor water the tilth, and is entirely without marks. They went out in search of such a cow. The only one that matched the description was the one owned by the orphaned youth. They met him on the way and asked the price for which he would sell his cow. He told them he would have to consult his mother first, so they accompanied him to his house and offered her three gold coins. She refused their offer, saying that the cow was worth much more. They were on increasing their offer and the mother kept on refusing. Finally the urged the son to speak to his mother to be reasonable. He told them: I will not sell the cow without my mothers approval, even if you offered me its skin filled with gold! On hearing this, his mother smiled and said: Let that be the price: its skin filled with gold. They realized that no other cow would do; they had to have it at any price. They agreed to buy the cow and paid with its skin filled with gold. Allah the Almighty narrated: And remember when Moses said to his people: Verily, Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow. They said: Do you make fun of us? He said: I take Allahs Refuge from being among Al-Jahileen (the ignorants or the foolish). They said: Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is! He said: He says, Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but it is between the two conditions, so do what you are commanded. They said; Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us its color. He said: He says, It is a yellow cow bright in its color, pleasing to the beholders. They said: Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us what it is. Verily to us all cows are alike, and surely, if Allah wills, we will be guided. He (Moses) said: He says, It is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no other color except bright yellow. They said: Now you have brought the truth. So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it. And remember when you killed a man and fell into dispute among yourselves to the crime. But Allah brought forth that which you were hiding. So We said: Strike him (the dead man) with a piece of it (the cow). Thus Allah brings the dead to life and shows you His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) so that you may understand. Then after that your hearts were hardened and became as stone or even worse in hardness. And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed, there are of them stones which fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. [Ch 2:67-74 Quran]. One day Moses (pbuh) delivered such an impressive sermon that all who heard it was deeply moved. Someone in the congregation asked: O Messenger of Allah, is there another man on earth more learned than you? Moses replied: No!, believing so, as Allah had given him the power of miracles and honored him with the Torah. However, Allah revealed to Moses that no man could know all there is to know, nor would one messenger alone be the custodian of all knowledge. There would always be another who knew what others did not. Moses asked Allah: O Allah, where is this man? I would like to meet him and learn from him. He also asked for a sign to this persons identity. Allah instructed him to take a live fish in a water filled vessel. When the fish disappeared, he would find the man he sought. Moses set out on his journey, accompanied by a young man who carried the vessel with the fish. They reached a place where two rivers met and decided to rest there. Instantly, Moses fell asleep. While he was asleep, his companion saw the fish wriggle out of the vessel into the river and swim away. However, he forgot to relate the incident to Moses. When he awoke, they continued their journey until they were exhausted and hungry. Moses asked for his morning meal. Only then did his companion recall that the fish they had brought with them had gotten away. Hearing this, Moses exclaimed: This is exactly what we are seeking! They hurriedly retraced their steps to the place where the rivers met and where the fish had jumped out. There they found a man, his face partly covered with a hood. His bearing showed he was a saintly man. He was Al-Khidr, the guide. Allah the Almighty narrated: And remember when Moses said to his boy servant: I will not give up (traveling) until I reach the junction of the two seas or until I spend years and years in traveling. But when they reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish, and it took its way through the sea as in a tunnel. So when they had passed further on (beyond that fixed place), Moses said to his boy servant: Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey. He said: Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the dock? I indeed forgot the fish, none but Satan made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a strange way! Moses said: That is what we have been seeking. So they went back retracing their footsteps. Then they found one of Our slaves, unto whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us. Moses said to him (Khidr) May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance, and true path) which you have been taught by Allah? He (Khidr) said: Verily! You will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not? Moses said; If Allah will, you will find me patience, and I will not disobey you in aught. He (Khidr) said: Then, if you follow me, ask me not about anything till I myself mention it to you. So they both proceeded, till, when they were in the ship, he (Khidr) scuttled it. Moses said: Have you scuttled it in order to drown its people? Verily, you have done Imra- a Munkar (evil, bad, dreadful) thing. He (Khidr) said: Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me? Moses said: Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair with you. Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, he (Khidr) killed him. Moses said: Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have done Nukra a great Munkar (prohibited, evil dreadful) thing! Khidr said: Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me? Moses said: If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me. Then they both proceeded, till, when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them. Then they found therein a wall about to collapse and he (Khidr) set it up straight. Moses said: If you had wished, surely you could have taken wages for it! Khidr said: This is the parting between me and you, I will tell you the interpretation of those things over which you were unable to hold patience. As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working in the sea. So I wished to make a defective damage in it, as there was a king after them, who seized every ship by force. And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in righteousness and near to mercy. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those (things) over which could not hold patience. [Ch 18:60-82 Quran] The story of Moses and Al-Khidr is also told in a hadith. Said Ibn Jubair said: I said to Ibn Abbas, Nauf Al Bukah claims that Moses, the companion of Al Khidr, was not Moses (the Prophet) of the children of Israel, but some other Moses. Ibn Abbas said: Allahs enemy (Nauf) has told a lie. Ubai Ibn Kab told us that the Prophet (pbuh) said: Once Moses stood up and addressed Bani Israel. He was asked who was the most learned man amongst the people. He said: I. Allah admonished him as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to Him (Allah). So, Allah said to him: Yes, at the junction of the two seas there is a slave of Mine who is more learned than you. Moses said; O my Lord! How can I meet him? Allah said: Take a fish and put it in a large basket and you will find him at the place where you will lose the fish. Moses took a fish and put it in a basket and proceeded along with his servant boy, Joshua (Yusha Ibn Nun), till they reached the rock where they laid their heads (lay down). Moses slept, and the fish, moving out of the basket, fell into the sea. It took its way into the sea straight as in a tunnel. Allah stopped the flow of water over the fish and it became like an arch (the Prophet pointed out this arch with his hands). They traveled the rest of the night, and the next day Moses said to his boy servant: Give us our food, for indeed, we have suffered much fatigue in this journey of ours. Moses did not feel tired till he crossed that place which Allah had ordered him to seek after. His boy said to him: Do you know that when we were sitting near that rock, I forgot the fish, and none but Satan caused me to forget to tell you about it, and it took its course into the sea in an amazing way? So there was a path for the fish and that astonished them. Moses said: That was what we were seeking after. So both of them retraced their footsteps till they reached the rock. There they saw a man lying covering with a garment. Moses greeted him, and he replied saying: How do people greet each other in your land? Moses said: I am Moses. The man asked: Moses of Bani Israel? Moses said: yes, I have come to you so that you may teach me from those things which Allah has taught you. He said: O Moses! I have some of the knowledge of Allah which Allah has taught me and which you do not know, wyou have some of the knowledge of Allah which Allah has taught you and which I do not know. Moses asked: May I follow you? He said: But you will not be able to remain patient with me, for how can you be patient about things which you will not be able to understand? Moses said: You will find me, if Allah so will, truly patient, and I will not disobey you in aught. So both of them set out walking along the seashore. A boat passed by them, and they asked the crew of the boat to take them on board. The crew recognized Al-Khidr, so they took them on board without fare. When they were on board the boat, a sparrow came and stood on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak once or twice into the sea. Al Khidr said to Moses: O Moses! My knowledge and your knowledge have not decreased Allahs knowledge except as much as this sparrow has decreased the water of the sea with its beak. Then suddenly Al Khidr took an adz and pulled up a plank, and Moses did not notice it till he had pulled up a plank with the adz. Moses said to him: What have you done? They took us on board charging us nothing; yet you have intentionally made a hole in their boat as to drown its passengers. Verily, you have done a dreadful thing. Al Khidr replied: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to remain patient with me? Moses replied: Do not blame me for what I have forgotten, and do not be hard upon me for my fault. So the first excuse of Moses was that he had forgotten. When they had left the sea, they passed by a boy playing with other boys. Al Khidr took a hold of the boys head and plucked it with his fingertips as if he were plucking some fruit. Moses said to him: Have you killed an innocent person who has not killed any person? You have really done a horrible thing. Al Khidr said: Did I not tell you that you could not remain patient with me? Moses said: If I ask you about anything after this, dont accompany me. You have received an excuse from me. Then both of them went on till they came to some people of a village, and they asked its inhabitants for food but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they saw therein a wall which was just going to collapse and Al Khidr repaired it just by touching it with his hands. (Sufyan, the sub-narrator, gestured with his hands, illustrating how Al Khidr passed his hands over the wall upwards.) Moses said: These are the people whom we have called on, but they neither gave us food, nor entertained us as guests, yet you have repaired their wall. If you had wished, you could have taken wages for it. Al Khidr said: This is the parting between you and me, and I shall tell you the explanation of those things on which you could not remain patient. The Prophet (pbuh) added: We wish that Moses could have remained patient by virtue of which Allah might have told us more about their story. (Sufyan, the sub-narrator, said that the Prophet (pbuh) said: May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses! If he had remained patient, we would have been told further about their case. (Sahih Al-Bukhari) Moses (pbuh) suffered terribly from his people and endured much for the sake of Allah. Abdullah Ibn Umar narrated: Once the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) distributed something (among his companions). A man said: This distribution has not been done (with justice) seeking Allahs Countenance. I went to the Prophet (pbuh) and told him of that. He became so angry that I saw the signs of anger on his face. Then he said: May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses, for he was harmed more (in a worse manner) than this; yet he endured patiently. [Sahih Al-Bukhari] The children of Israel mistreated Moses (pbuh) a lot. His agony was not limited to mutiny, stupidity, chattering, ignorance, and idolatry; it exceeded this and went as far as inflicting personal harm on him. Almighty Allah commanded: O you who believe! Be not like those who annoyed Moses, but Allah cleared him of that which they alleged, and he was honorable in Allahs sight! [Ch 33:69 Quran]. Abu Hurairah narrated that Allahs Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) said: Prophet Moses was a shy person and used to cover his body completely because of his extensive shyness. One of the children of Israel hurt him by saying: He covers his body in this way only because of some defect in his skin, either leprosy or scrotal hernia, or he has some other defect. Allah wished to clear Moses of what they said about him, so one day while Moses was in seclusion, he took his clothes and put them on a s tone and started taking a bath. When he had finished the bath, he moved towards his clothes so as to take them, but the stone took his clothes and fled. Moses picked up his stick and ran after the stone saying: O stone! Give me my garment! till he reached a group of children of Israel who saw him naked then, and found him in the best shape of what Allah had created, and Allah cleared him of what they had accused him of. The stone stopped there, and Moses took and put on his garment and started hitting the stone with his stick. By Allah, the stone still has some traces of the hitting, three, four, or five marks. This was what Allah the Almighty refers to in His saying: O you who believe! Be not like those who annoyed Moses, but Allah cleared him of that which they alleged, and he was honorable in Allahs sight! [Ch 33:69 Quran] [Sahih Al-Bukhari] Aaron (pbuh) died shortly before Moses (pbuh). His people were still wandering in the wilderness when he died. Abu Hurairah narrated: The Angel of Death was sent to Moses (pbuh). When he came to Moses, Moses slapped him on the eye. The Angel returned to his Lord and said: You have sent me to a slave who does not want to die. Allah said: Return to him and tell him to put his hand on the back of an ox and for every hair that will come under it, he will be granted one year of life. Moses said: O Lord! What will happen after that? Allah replied: then death. Moses said: Let it come now! Moses then requested Allah to let him die close to the Holy Land so that he would be at a distance of a stones throw from it. Abu Hurairah added: Allahs Messenger (pbuh) said: If I were there, I would show you his grave below the red sandhill on the side of the road. (Sahih Al Bukhari) Moses (pbuh), Prophet of Allah and the one to whom Allah spoke to directly, met his death with a contented soul and a faithful heart that looked forward to righteousness and made haste to meet with Him Who bore tidings of peace.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:05:31 +0000
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