Parables of the Qur’an II

Episode 23

In the Name of Allah[1], the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.  Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (SAWS[2]).

Tens of thousands of comments, suggestions and questions are posted daily on our forum at www.amrkhaled.net and on our group on the concerning the story of  Musa (AS).  This unprecedented number surpassed what we received at the time the episodes of “On the path of the beloved” were aired.  Hence we decided to break the monotony of the program by sharing together these comments and answering the questions that concerned you most.  Let us proceed to answer the fifteen most frequently asked questions.

The first question was about the name of Musa’s (AS) sister. Was it Maryam? And if it was so, is she the same Maryam (Mary) (AS) the daughter of Imran and the mother of Isa (AS) (Jesus)?

Of course they are not the same person! Both were named Maryam Ibnat (daughter of) Imran which is only a similarity in the names.  However, the time interval between both is 1200 years.  This might have been a mere coincidence.  Yet it might have also been that Isa’s mother has been named (AS) after Musa’s (AS) sister because the latter was a heroine and an idol to the Israelites.

The second query was raised by some of the bright youths who objected to my statement concerning Pharoah as being Ramses the Second and his wife, Lady Asia.  They adopted Musa as their son because they were deprived of having children of their own.  However, these youth, being well-read in history, claimed that the former statement contradicts a historical fact that Ramses the Second had tens of children.  It is true that Pharoah had many wives and children, yet Asia, his first wife, did not give birth to children.  Perhaps Allah’s Wisdom was that they would be keen to adopt Musa and that Asia would raise him and embrace him with all her love, being her only child.  Allah’s Will was also that Pharoah afterwards had many children from his wives such that he would be distracted away from Musa who had the chance to visit his biological mother frequently. 

Glorified be Allah Who gives and withholds and Who said what can be translated as, “He bestows upon whomever He decides females, and He bestows upon whomever he decides the males, … and He makes whomever He decides sterile ...” (TMQ       [3], 42:49,50)  For those wives who are deprived of the blessing of having children, rest assured that there is a great wisdom behind this deprivation.  Accept Allah’s will and the wisdom behind it.

The third point was an interesting suggestion with regards to the four phases of Musa’s life.  It entails classifying the Qur’anic ayahs (verses) which tackle the story of Musa (AS) according to these four phases.  As we said, the first two were preparatory, one in Egypt until the age of 30 and the other in Madian from the age of 30 until the age of 40.  The third phase was the confrontation with Pharoah until the age of 55 years.  The last phase (from the age of 55 to 70) followed the drowning of Pharoah and during which Musa (AS) tried to reform the creed of the sons of Israel.  A generous Lebanese friend, Mr. Wassim Migharbil took it upon himself to classify and arrange the ayahs of the Qur’an according to the four phases of Musa’s biography which makes an interesting timeline of Musa’s life and clarifies matters.  You can find them sorted chronologically on the aforementioned website.

Many of the visitors of the forum enquired about the sources of the material for preparing the episodes.  Indeed, they exceed seventy references.  The references which I relied upon most were books of exegesis of the Qur’an especially that of the great Tunisian scholar, Ibn-Ashour entitled ‘At-Tahrir wa at-Tanwir’ and that of Sheikh ash-Sha’rawy.  Dr Ratib an-Nabulsy contributed generously with all his writings on the topic.  The preparation team also resorted to books on ancient Egyptology by the renowned Egyptologist Dr Selim Hassan, and the wonderful book on Ramses by Dr Muhammad Abdur-Raziq al-Guwaily in which he proves with historical evidence and analysis that Ramses is the Pharoah of Musa (AS).

It is worth mentioning that the reflections of the story of Musa (AS) on our present time and the correlation of its events with our current affairs as well as the values which we deduce from it are our own endeavor.  This is the real significance of this series.  We are inspired by the ayah which can be translated as, “Indeed in their narratives is already a lesson to (the ones) endowed with intellects. …” (TMQ, 12:111).  The story of Musa is not just a historical story, but it is full of lessons and is a good application of the morals of the Qur’an.

Some of the audience wondered why did Pharoah not kill or imprison Musa as soon as he returned from Madian immediately since he wanted him killed ten years before. This can be explained mainly on the basis that Musa took the initiative and went to Pharoah to convey to him the divine message. Our Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) also always took the lead and this was one of the reasons of his success; he would not just wait and react.  Is our Ummah (Muslim nation) nowadays proactive or is just reacting to stabs and dissensions? 

The non-killing of Musa (AS) can also be attributed to the arrogance of Pharoah who was inclined to challenge Musa.  He wrongly believed that he would easily conquer Musa ideologically and militarily.  Killing Musa after he engaged him in conversations that strengthened Musa’s status and message to the people would weaken Pharoah’s status. By the time he decided to kill Musa it was too late.  Eventually, Allah’s miracle caused Pharoah to drown.

Allah rescued Musa five times.  The first time was through love when Pharoah’s wife decided to take him as a son.  Another time was through an Egyptian man who warned him to flee from Pharoah.  The role of the magicians cannot be ignored and also that of the relative of Pharoah who warned Pharoah from Allah’s Wrath if he killed Musa.  The last time was when He caused the sea to split into two.  Indeed, Egyptians played a great role in Musa’s biography.  They backed him up several times with their chivalry and courage.

Concerning the question of the feasibility to find the audio-video of these episodes, all the episodes can be freely downloaded from the website.  They can also be watched on Amr Khaled Channel on YouTube and they will also soon be available subtitled on DVDs and published in a book.

Some are concerned about the way we should feel towards the Israelites; should we sympathize with them for their killing and maltreatment on the hands of Pharoah? We, as Muslims, have a constant stance towards the oppressed whomever they are. Even if those who were oppressed 3000 years ago were Israelites.  Strange enough, the Israelites who were once oppressed are now practicing similarly severe oppression in merciless massacres on the Palestinians.  This constant stance is an Islamic principle regardless of the race or religion involved.  It is a token of the mercy and justice of Islam.  The Qur’an says what can be translated as, “… and let not antagonism of a people provoke you to not do justice. Do justice; that (Literally: it) is nearer to piety. …” (TMQ, 5:8).

There is some obscurity as to whether Musa (AS) was in contact with his family during the time he spent in Madian.  This is an attempt to answer one of the good questions posed on the forum.  However, there is indication in the Qur’an that Musa perhaps has been in touch with them.  It is when Musa (AS) asked Allah what can be translated as, “And my brother (is) Haru‍n; (Aaron) he is more eloquent than I (am) in speech; so send him with me as an auxiliary to sincerely confirm me.” (TMQ, 28:34)  It implies that Musa (AS) knew everything about his brother and was in touch with his family whom he had not seen for ten years.  The beauty of the Qur’an resides in that it does not give you all the details.  It leaves room for your deductive analysis and stimulates you to think, contemplate and read between the lines.

Regarding the question on the role women played in Musa’s life.. There were four women who supported him and rescued him throughout his life.  These were his mother, his sister, Lady Asia and his wife who supported him emotionally.. Islam is innocent of all the false accusations of women oppression in the Arab World, and the Qur’an is the best witness on the elevated rank of women and their great significance in the lives of all prophets.  Women led successful and eventful lives along with upholding a high degree of faith. We are not calling for over-liberation and independence without bounds, but that women follow the examples of such women as Lady Khadijah (RA[4]) and Lady Asia and many more.

An important observation worth making is that the three prophets Musa, Isa and Muhammad (AS) were all raised by their mothers only.  Also notice that Musa’s mother was the only lady whose three children were mentioned in the Noble Qur’an: Musa, Harun and their sister.  Surely, these mothers raised their so well to be deserving of such high rank.  I wish all mothers would raise their children with the same sincerity and with the intention of serving and supporting Islam.

Some criticized me for not giving Lady Asia her due right by properly elaborating her role and for other shortcomings.  I agree and I apologize for it.  At the end of the day we are humans and our outcomes are never perfect.  I take this opportunity to stress that criticism should be constructive and objective and not based on lies or intended for defamation.

The next question is: Why was there no mention of Musa’s father in the Qur’an?  My speculation is that he probably died when Musa was very young or still in utero and Allah knows best.

Another question is about the reason why Musa’s mother did not throw Harun in the river as she did to Musa (AS). We all know that Harun was older than Musa and was probably born before Pharoah decided to kill all the newly born male Israelites

With respect to the campaign of ‘We will live by the Qur’an’, praises be to Allah for we scored more than four million full readings of the Qur’an at the time of airing of the episode.  May Allah reward us for uniting together to achieve this goal.

A professor in King Abdul-Aziz University made a very valuable comment that I would like to share.  He said, “Have you ever heard of followers of a certain religion gathering in millions for one whole month to listen attentively and with such love and curiosity to the biography of a prophet of another religion?!!  Only Muslims can do that.”  They believe in all prophets and their messages.  Muslims are not narrow-minded as many falsely accuse; on the contrary, they value coexistence and are always expanding their horizons.

Regarding the filming of the episodes, most of the filming was in Jordan and by certain beautiful spots by the Nile.  Thanks are due to the Jordanians who gave us this opportunity to shoot in such lovely locations.  Other episodes were shot indoors and not in temples by applying virtual studio technology.  Credit goes to the engineers and to Mr. Hisham Soliman and the director Muhammad Bayazid.

Finally, I would like to remind you of the value of these blessed last ten days of Ramadan.  So devote yourself to praying, supplication and forgiving other people so that Allah may forgive you and manumit you from hellfire.

Translated by: The English Convoy – Dar al-Tarjama

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