Part of Stories of the Prophets (series completed) · Lesson 9 of 20

Stories of the Prophets | Episode (24) | The story of Moses, peace be upon him (5)

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0:00 Stories of the Prophets, stories of the prophets, peace be upon them.
0:08 May the prayers of Allah, followed by peace,
0:13 Be upon the best of all creation,
0:19 The resolute Messengers of exalted rank.
0:24 The story of Moses, peace be upon him.
0:29 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
0:35 All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
0:37 And may blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
0:40 And upon his family and all his Companions.
0:44 To proceed:
0:46 Moses, peace be upon him, continued his mission of calling the Children of Israel,
0:50 Urging them to show patience and steadfastness until Allah should remove the affliction from them.
0:55 On the other hand,
0:57 Pharaoh was subjecting them to the most severe torment,
1:01 Enslaving them in making mudbricks
1:03 To build the homes and palaces of the Copts.
1:07 He demanded a specific quota from them each day,
1:11 And if they failed to fulfill what was required of them,
1:13 They were beaten and utterly humiliated,
1:16 And subjected to the utmost harm.
1:19 Pharaoh would also kill anyone from among them or from his own Coptic people who abandoned worshipping him,
1:26 Even if that person was among those closest to him,
1:29 As happened with his wife, Asiyah bint Muzahim,
1:33 And his daughter's hairdresser,
1:35 As well as his attempt to kill the believing man who was from his inner circle,
1:39 Had not Allah saved him from his grasp.
1:43 Pharaoh was hesitant about killing Moses and his brother Aaron, peace be upon them,
1:49 Advancing toward the idea at times and shrinking back at other times,
1:52 While Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, protected them from Pharaoh and his tyranny.
1:59 Amidst this charged atmosphere,
2:02 Where disbelief continuously collided with faith,
2:04 Allah Almighty would send signs to Pharaoh and his people,
2:09 So that they might take heed,
2:12 Or fear the might and punishment of Allah,
2:15 As Allah Almighty said:
2:18 “Naught hindereth Us from sending portents save that the folk of old denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel - a clear portent save to warn.” (17:59)
2:22 Yet those signs brought them no benefit,
2:26 And they were just as Allah stated.
2:29 “And (it was a warning) when we told thee: Lo! thy Lord encompasseth mankind, and We appointed the sight which We showed thee as an ordeal for mankind, and (likewise) the Accursed Tree in the Qur'an. We warn them, but it increaseth them in naught save gross impiety.” (17:60)
2:34 For Allah sent one sign after another upon them;
2:38 He seized them with years of drought,
2:39 Which were years of barrenness
2:41 In which no crops yielded produce and no livestock gave milk.
2:47 And He afflicted them with a scarcity of fruit,
2:49 Meaning a shortage of produce from the trees,
2:53 Yet they neither benefited nor desisted;
2:55 Rather, they rebelled and persisted in their disbelief and obstinacy.
3:00 Whenever good came to them—
3:02 Namely fertility and the like—
3:04 They said, "This is rightfully ours,"
3:06 Meaning: this is what we deserve and what is fitting for us.
3:11 But if an evil befell them,
3:13 They ascribed it as an evil omen to Moses and those with him,
3:16 Saying,
3:17 "This has afflicted us because of their misfortune."
3:22 Then Allah sent the flood upon them,
3:25 So it rained day and night
3:27 For eight days and nights,
3:31 During which they saw neither the sun nor the moon.
3:34 The people cried out and rushed to Pharaoh,
3:37 Fearing that they would drown.
3:39 Pharaoh then sent for Moses, peace be upon him,
3:43 And Moses came to him.
3:44 Pharaoh said,
3:45 "O Moses!
3:47 Remove this affliction from us,
3:49 And we will surely believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you."
3:53 Moses prayed to his Lord,
3:55 So the sky ceased its rain,
3:57 The earth dried out,
3:59 And it sprouted pasture and crops
4:01 The likes of which they had never seen in Egypt before.
4:04 Then they said,
4:06 "No, by Allah,
4:07 We will not believe in you,
4:08 Nor will we send the Children of Israel with you;
4:12 We were only terrified by a matter
4:14 That turned out to be good for us."
4:16 Thus they broke their word and disobeyed.
4:19 So Allah sent the locusts upon them,
4:22 Which devoured all that the earth had produced.
4:25 The locusts remained upon them for eight days and nights,
4:29 Such that they could not see the ground,
4:31 And the locusts piled on top of one another to the height of a cubit,
4:35 Even eating the iron nails of the doors,
4:40 Causing their houses and dwellings to collapse upon them.
4:43 The people of Egypt cried out to Pharaoh,
4:46 So he sent for Moses
4:48 And said to him the same as he had said at the time of the flood,
4:53 Promising him that he would believe in him and send the Children of Israel with him.
4:58 Moses, peace be upon him, prayed to his Lord,
5:01 So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sent a fierce wind
5:04 That carried away the locusts and cast them into the sea,
5:08 Leaving not a single locust on the land.
5:11 The people of Egypt looked out,
5:13 And found that enough of their crops and pastures remained
5:16 To suffice them for that year.
5:19 So they said,
5:21 "Enough has remained for us to suffice us this year,
5:25 So no, by Allah, we will not believe in you, nor will we send the Children of Israel with you."
5:32 So Allah sent lice upon them.
5:34 It was said to be the grain weevils that emerge from wheat,
5:38 And it was said to be fleas.
5:41 They entered their homes and their beds,
5:43 So they could find no rest,
5:46 And they could neither sleep nor live with them.
5:49 They cried out to Pharaoh,
5:52 So he sent for Moses and said,
5:54 "Remove these lice from us,
5:57 And we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you."
6:01 Moses prayed to his Lord,
6:03 And He caused the lice to die,
6:05 So not a single one remained.
6:08 But when the people looked
6:10 And saw that nothing remained for them to live upon,
6:14 They said,
6:15 "O Moses, can your Lord do any worse to us than He has already done?
6:21 By Allah, we will not believe in you,
6:23 Nor will we send the Children of Israel with you."
6:27 So Allah sent the frogs upon them,
6:30 And they crawled throughout their land and their homes,
6:33 In their bedchambers and upon the roofs of their houses,
6:36 To the extent that a man would wake up with countless frogs upon him.
6:42 They filled their food and vessels,
6:45 Such that none of them uncovered a garment or food
6:48 Without finding frogs in it,
6:51 Even to the point that whenever one of them opened his mouth for food or drink,
6:56 One of those frogs would leap into his mouth.
7:00 They cried out to Pharaoh,
7:02 So he sent for Moses,
7:04 And Moses came to him.
7:05 Pharaoh said,
7:07 "Pray to your Lord for us,
7:08 That He may eradicate these frogs from our land,
7:12 And we will believe in you and send the Children of Israel with you."
7:16 Moses prayed to his Lord,
7:18 So He removed the frogs from their land and caused them to die,
7:22 Then He sent rain
7:23 That carried them away and cast them into the sea.
7:27 Yet they said,
7:28 "No, by Allah,
7:30 We will not believe in you, nor will we send the Children of Israel with you."
7:36 So Allah sent blood upon them,
7:38 And their rivers turned into blood,
7:41 So that they were unable to get any water,
7:44 While the rivers of the Children of Israel flowed with sweet, pleasant water.
7:49 Whenever a man from the people of Pharaoh entered the rivers of the Children of Israel,
7:54 The water he touched would turn into blood,
7:57 “And make mention (O Muhammad) of the brother of A'ad when he warned his folk among the wind-curved sandhills - and verily warners came and went before and after him - saying: Serve none but Allah. Lo! I fear for you the doom of a tremendous Day.” (46:21)
8:01 So he could obtain nothing from it.
8:04 They remained for eight days and nights without tasting water,
8:10 Until severe exhaustion and distress overtook them.
8:12 The people of Egypt cried out to Pharaoh,
8:15 "We have perished, and our beasts and cattle have perished from thirst!"
8:21 Pharaoh sent for Moses and summoned him,
8:24 Saying,
8:25 "O Moses!
8:27 Pray to your Lord for us to remove this blood from us,
8:30 And we will give you our solemn pledges."
8:33 “And when the terror fell on them they cried: O Moses! Pray for us unto thy Lord, because He hath a covenant with thee. If thou removest the terror from us we verily will trust thee and will let the Children of Israel go with thee.” (7:134)
8:38 Moses prayed to his Lord,
8:40 So He removed it from them,
8:42 And they drank water.
8:43 Then they returned to their disbelief and said,
8:46 "By Allah, we will not believe in you,
8:49 Nor will we send the Children of Israel with you."
8:53 All of these signs
8:55 Befell them alone,
8:58 And nothing of that touched the Children of Israel,
9:02 Which was part of the perfection of the dazzling miracle
9:05 And the decisive proof.
9:09 Then Allah inflicted the plague of wrath upon them,
9:11 Which was a pestilence,
9:13 Being the sixth torment following the five preceding signs.
9:18 Seventy thousand of them died in a single day,
9:22 Until evening came and they could not even bury one another.
9:25 They cried out to Pharaoh,
9:28 So he summoned Moses and said to him,
9:30 "O Moses!
9:31 Pray to your Lord for us by what He has pledged to you in answering your prayer:
9:36 If you remove this plague from us,
9:39 We will surely believe in you."
9:40 “And when the terror fell on them they cried: O Moses! Pray for us unto thy Lord, because He hath a covenant with thee. If thou removest the terror from us we verily will trust thee and will let the Children of Israel go with thee.” (7:134)
9:44 Moses, peace be upon him, prayed to his Lord,
9:47 So He lifted it from them for a specified term,
9:51 But they immediately broke their covenant.
9:54 So Allah took retribution upon them and drowned them in the sea,
9:58 As will be mentioned later, if Allah wills,
10:01 And that was because they denied the signs of Allah
10:06 And were heedless of them.
10:09 Allah Almighty said:
10:11 “And verily We sent Moses with Our revelations unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, and he said: I am a messenger of the Lord of the Worlds.” (43:46)
10:18 “And verily We sent Moses with Our revelations unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, and he said: I am a messenger of the Lord of the Worlds.” (43:46)
10:22 “But when he brought them Our tokens, behold! they laughed at them.” (43:47)
10:33 “And every token that We showed them was greater than its sister (token), and We grasped them with the torment, that haply they might turn again.” (43:48)
10:39 “And every token that We showed them was greater than its sister (token), and We grasped them with the torment, that haply they might turn again.” (43:48)
10:46 “And they said: O wizard! Entreat thy Lord for us by the pact that He hath made with thee. Lo! we verily will walk aright.” (43:49)
10:56 “But when We eased them of the torment, behold! they broke their word.” (43:50)
11:04 These signs from Allah Almighty came consecutively and distinctly,
11:10 And their detail was that each torment lasted for a week,
11:15 With a month between every two torments,
11:18 That they might reflect upon themselves and take heed.
11:21 But when none of that came from them,
11:24 The decree of punishment became binding upon them.
11:28 Allah Almighty said:
11:30 “And we straitened Pharaoh's folk with famine and dearth of fruits, that peradventure they might heed.” (7:130)
11:40 “But whenever good befell them, they said: This is ours; and whenever evil smote them they ascribed it to the evil auspices of Moses and those with him. Surely their evil auspice was only with Allah. But most of them knew not.” (7:131)
11:47 “But whenever good befell them, they said: This is ours; and whenever evil smote them they ascribed it to the evil auspices of Moses and those with him. Surely their evil auspice was only with Allah. But most of them knew not.” (7:131)
11:56 “But whenever good befell them, they said: This is ours; and whenever evil smote them they ascribed it to the evil auspices of Moses and those with him. Surely their evil auspice was only with Allah. But most of them knew not.” (7:131)
12:07 “And they said: Whatever portent thou bringest wherewith to bewitch us, we shall not put faith in thee.” (7:132)
12:16 "So We sent upon them the flood, locusts, lice, frogs, and blood as distinct signs, but they showed arrogance and were a criminal people."
12:37 “And when the terror fell on them they cried: O Moses! Pray for us unto thy Lord, because He hath a covenant with thee. If thou removest the terror from us we verily will trust thee and will let the Children of Israel go with thee.” (7:134)
12:47 "If you remove the punishment from us, we will surely believe in you and we will surely send the Children of Israel with you."
13:04 “But when We did remove from them the terror for a term which they must reach, behold! they broke their covenant.” (7:135)
13:14 “Therefore We took retribution from them; therefore We drowned them in the sea: because they denied Our revelations and were heedless of them.” (7:136)
13:36 So Allah commanded Moses to instruct the Children of Israel to prepare for departing from Egypt,
13:43 And to march toward the land of Bayt al-Maqdis, their original lands and the lands of their forefathers.
13:51 Moses commanded them to prepare and get ready in secret, taking great care that no one should notice them.
14:00 Allah Almighty revealed to Moses (peace be upon him) to leave Egypt and head toward the sea.
14:08 So Moses set out with them in the early part of the night, just as Allah had commanded him.
14:12 The Children of Israel had borrowed a great deal of jewelry from the people of Pharaoh for a feast day of theirs.
14:21 So they took the gold with them, and when they departed their dwellings, Moses lost the way.
14:28 He said to the Children of Israel, "What is this?"
14:32 The learned men among the Children of Israel said to him, "We will tell you: when death approached Joseph (peace be upon him),
14:41 he took a covenant from us before Allah that we would not leave Egypt until we carried his coffin along with us."
14:48 Moses said to them, "Which of you knows where Joseph's grave is?"
14:54 They said, "No one knows its location except an old woman among us."
14:59 So he sent for her and said to her, "Direct me to the grave of Joseph."
15:05 She said, "By Allah, I will not do so until you grant me my judgment."
15:10 He said to her, "And what is your judgment?"
15:13 She said, "My judgment is that I be with you in Paradise."
15:18 That seemed difficult for him to grant,
15:21 but it was said to him, "Grant her her judgment," so he granted it to her.
15:26 He said: So she went with them to a pool—that is, a marsh of water.
15:32 She said to them, "Drain this water."
15:36 When they drained it, she said, "Dig here."
15:41 When they dug, they brought out the coffin of Joseph (peace be upon him).
15:47 And once they carried it, behold, the way became as clear as daylight.
15:51 So Moses (peace be upon him) marched on with them,
15:55 and they numbered six hundred thousand souls.
15:59 When the morning came upon Pharaoh's people,
16:02 they were taken by surprise by the departure of the Children of Israel,
16:05 with not a single caller or respondent left in their gathering places.
16:09 That envenomed Pharaoh with fury,
16:12 and his anger against them intensified,
16:14 and he resolved to destroy them along with Moses.
16:18 So he promptly sent heralds throughout his land to muster the troops,
16:22 gathering them from every village and city under his dominion,
16:27 until hundreds of thousands assembled before him,
16:30 representing the entirety of his armed forces.
16:32 And he proclaimed among them:
16:34 "Indeed, these Children of Israel who fled with Moses
16:38 are but a contemptible, small band;
16:42 and they have filled our chests with rage,
16:45 since they opposed our religion
16:48 and departed without our permission;
16:50 and we are all vigilant and fully prepared for them."
16:56 Pharaoh set forth in a massive army and a vast gathering,
17:00 accompanied by the ruling elite of princes and ministers,
17:04 dignitaries, commanders, and soldiers.
17:08 They overtook them at sunrise.
17:11 When Pharaoh and his people came face-to-face with Moses and his people,
17:16 such that each group could see the other,
17:20 the companions of Moses said, after having reached the seashore:
17:24 "Pharaoh and his people will surely overtake us,
17:27 and we have no power against them."
17:31 Moses (peace be upon him) said to them:
17:33 "No!
17:34 Nothing of what you fear will ever reach you,
17:38 for Allah, Glorified be He, is the One Who commanded me to travel with you here,
17:43 and He does not fail in His promise."
17:47 Aaron (peace be upon him) was in the vanguard,
17:50 accompanied by Joshua son of Nun
17:52 and the believer of Pharaoh's family, while Moses (peace be upon him)
17:56 was in the rearguard—
17:57 that is, at the back of the multitude.
17:59 When they reached the sea,
18:01 they stood still, not knowing what to do.
18:05 The believer of Pharaoh's family began asking Moses (peace be upon him),
18:09 "O Prophet of Allah,
18:11 is it here that Allah commanded you to go?"
18:14 And he would reply, "Yes."
18:16 Meanwhile, Pharaoh and his troops drew closer,
18:18 and very little distance remained between them.
18:21 At that moment,
18:22 Allah commanded His Prophet Moses to strike the sea with his staff.
18:27 So he struck it,
18:28 and said,
18:30 "Part, by Allah's leave!"
18:32 And the sea parted,
18:34 each side becoming like a towering mountain.
18:38 The sea became twelve paths,
18:41 a separate path for each tribe among them.
18:44 Moses (peace be upon him) commanded them to proceed along these paths.
18:49 And there appeared in the walls of the sea
18:51 openings resembling windows and lattices,
18:54 allowing them to see one another
18:56 so they would not think their companions had perished.
19:00 Allah sent a wind to the seabed that dried it out,
19:04 so the paths became dry ground, just like the surface of the earth.
19:09 The Children of Israel crossed the sea,
19:12 and when the last of them emerged from it,
19:14 Moses (peace be upon him) wished to strike the sea with his staff
19:19 so it would return to its original state,
19:21 lest Pharaoh and his soldiers overtake him.
19:24 But Allah said to him:
19:26 "Leave the sea at rest—
19:29 that is, still and open—
19:31 for Pharaoh and those with him are an army doomed to be drowned."
19:36 Pharaoh arrived with his troops
19:38 at the edge of the sea from the other side.
19:42 When he saw the sea in this state,
19:45 it terrified him and he hesitated;
19:47 he was overawed and intended to turn back,
19:50 but alas,
19:52 the divine decree had already gone forth,
19:54 and the matter was decided.
19:56 So he put on a show of courage before his commanders
19:58 and said to them,
20:00 "The Children of Israel are not more entitled to the sea than we are!"
20:04 Thus, they plunged in, every last one of them.
20:08 When they had all entered and were fully gathered within it,
20:11 Allah the Almighty commanded the sea to collapse upon them,
20:15 and it crashed down upon them,
20:17 so not a single one of them survived.
20:20 The waves tossed them up and down
20:24 while the Children of Israel looked on.
20:27 The waves piled high over Pharaoh,
20:30 and the agonies of death overwhelmed him,
20:33 whereupon he said, in that dire state:
20:35 “And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh with his hosts pursued them in rebellion and transgression, till, when the (fate of) drowning overtook him, he exclaimed: I believe that there is no Allah save Him in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of those who surrender (unto Him).” (10:90)
20:41 "and I am of those who surrender in Islam."
20:44 Thus he believed at a time when faith could no longer benefit him.
20:48 Gabriel (peace be upon him) was observing the scene,
20:51 and when he saw Pharaoh uttering these words,
20:55 he took mud from the seabed
20:58 and began thrusting it into Pharaoh's mouth,
21:00 fearing that divine mercy might reach him.
21:04 Allah Almighty said:
21:07 “And We inspired Moses, saying: Take away My slaves by night, for ye will be pursued.” (26:52)
21:15 “Then Pharaoh sent into the cities summoners,” (26:53)
21:21 “(Who said): Lo! these indeed are but a little troop,” (26:54)
21:28 "And indeed, they have enraged us,
21:34 and we are all ever on our guard."
21:38 “Thus did We take them away from gardens and watersprings,” (26:57)
21:44 "and treasures and a noble station."
21:49 “Thus (were those things taken from them) and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit them.” (26:59)
21:55 "So they pursued them at sunrise."
22:00 “And when the two hosts saw each other, those with Moses said: Lo! we are indeed caught.” (26:61)
22:09 “He said: Nay, verily! for lo! my Lord is with me. He will guide me.” (26:62)
22:15 "Then We revealed to Moses, 'Strike the sea with your staff.'"
22:21 “Then We inspired Moses, saying: Smite the sea with thy staff. And it parted, and each part was as a mountain vast.” (26:63)
22:28 "And We brought the others near thereto."
22:32 “And We saved Moses and those with him, every one;” (26:65)
22:39 "Then We drowned the others."
22:45 Thus did Allah destroy the tyrant Pharaoh,
22:49 and He destroyed his troops, his ministers, and his henchmen.
22:53 Allah delivered the oppressed people,
22:56 and healed the hearts of a believing people
22:59 as they witnessed the destruction of the wrongdoing folk.
23:04 Yet, some of the Children of Israel
23:07 did not believe that Pharaoh was truly dead;
23:09 out of their intense fear of him,
23:12 they thought that someone like him could never die.
23:16 So Allah Almighty commanded the sea to cast out his lifeless body,
23:21 clad in his recognizable armor,
23:23 onto an elevated piece of land,
23:27 so that they might look upon him and be certain of his death and destruction.
23:33 The destruction of Pharaoh and his chiefs took place on the day of Ashura.
23:38 For it is narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said:
23:42 The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arrived in Medina
23:46 and found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura.
23:49 He asked them about it, and they said,
23:52 "This is the day on which Moses triumphed over Pharaoh."
23:56 Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to his Companions:
24:01 "You have more right to Moses than they do; so fast."
24:06 Related by al-Bukhari.
24:09 To be continued, if Allah wills.
24:12 And Allah knows best.
24:14 Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
24:17 And may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad,
24:21 and upon all his family and Companions.