Part of Women's Suffering (series completed)
· Lesson 10 of 18
The suffering of women in the time of Moses, peace be upon him | Episode (10) | We returned him to his mother
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Transcript
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The Story of Woman's Suffering in the Time of Moses, Peace Be Upon Him
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"So We restored him to his mother,"
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Moses' sister walked with extreme caution,
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following any news of the nursing infant
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after Pharaoh's soldiers had retrieved him from the river
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and brought him into the palace.
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And after what transpired between Pharaoh and his wife
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regarding sparing the child and not killing him,
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and the matter was settled upon sparing him,
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something occurred that they had not anticipated:
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the child grew hungry and began crying and wailing uncontrollably.
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Such is the way of every nursing infant when demanding milk:
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he cries until his mother attends to him.
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Yet when Moses, peace be upon him, wept,
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he found no one inside the palace who could soothe him.
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He bewildered them with his crying,
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and calming him proved impossible for them.
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In moments of panic,
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the mind often loses its capacity for deep reflection
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and rushes impulsively
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to resolve the immediate crisis at hand.
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Thus, the quickest solution to the baby's crying
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was for any woman to nurse him.
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The household of the palace began searching for a wet nurse for him
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across the markets and public gatherings,
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drawing upon their recorded registries of nursing mothers.
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For they kept a detailed database
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of all the women of the Children of Israel,
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knowing precisely who had conceived and given birth,
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and what she had delivered.
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But Allah, glorified be He, had forbidden all wet nurses to him.
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Allah Almighty says:
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“And We had before forbidden foster-mothers for him, so she said: Shall I show you a household who will rear him for you and take care of him?” (28:12)
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Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"That is, a decree of divine predestination,
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out of his nobility before Allah
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and His preservation of him from suckling any breast other than his mother's,
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and because Allah, Glorified and Exalted,
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made that the means for returning him to his mother to nurse him
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in complete safety, after having lived in terror."
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And Tahir Ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"'Prohibition' here means prevention;
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it is an ontological, predetermined impediment.
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That is, We decreed within the infant's nature
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an aversion to suckling the breasts of wet nurses and a rejection of them,
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so that the household of Pharaoh would be forced to seek a wet nurse
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whose breast he would accept,
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because Pharaoh and his wife
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were desperate to preserve the child's life.
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Among the preludes to this
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was that Allah had caused him to nurse from his mother
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for a period sufficient for him to become habituated to her breast."
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Moses' sister seized the opportunity
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when they brought him out to the marketplace and public gatherings
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to present him to wet nurses.
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She said:
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“And We had before forbidden foster-mothers for him, so she said: Shall I show you a household who will rear him for you and take care of him?” (28:12)
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“And We had before forbidden foster-mothers for him, so she said: Shall I show you a household who will rear him for you and take care of him?” (28:12)
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Al-Sa'di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Among Allah's subtleties with Moses and his mother
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was preventing him from accepting any woman's breast,
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so they brought him out to the market out of pity for him,
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hoping someone might step forward to nurse him.
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His sister arrived while he was in that state."
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“And We had before forbidden foster-mothers for him, so she said: Shall I show you a household who will rear him for you and take care of him?” (28:12)
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“And We had before forbidden foster-mothers for him, so she said: Shall I show you a household who will rear him for you and take care of him?” (28:12)
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And this was their ultimate desire,
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for they loved him dearly,
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yet Allah had barred wet nurses from him,
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so they feared he would die.
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Thus, when his sister spoke to them
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with those subtle, reassuring words
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encouraging them to turn to the people of that household,
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assuring them of their excellent care, guardianship, and sincere devotion to him,
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they hastened to accept her offer.
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She informed them and directed them to the people of that home.
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You might wonder:
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How did they believe her so quickly
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without verifying her claim?
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An authentic narration has been recorded
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on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas explaining this.
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Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said:
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"When she said that,
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they seized her with suspicion
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and demanded of her:
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'What makes you know of their sincere goodwill and affection toward him?'
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She replied, 'Their goodwill and affection toward him
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stems from their desire to bring joy to the king
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and hope for his reward.'
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So they let her go."
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This was entirely part of Allah's orchestration and protection of Moses;
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He inspired her with the answer
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and cast belief into their hearts.
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Furthermore, those who carried him out to the marketplace
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in search of a wet nurse whose breast he would accept
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had reached the utmost depths of despair
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of finding anyone capable of nursing him,
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given how consistently the child refused every wet nurse's breast.
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In such a desperate state,
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when they were told,
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"Here is a devoted wet nurse,"
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they would not scrutinize matters closely,
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nor delve into the details of who this nurse was;
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rather, they would go to her immediately,
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hoping against hope that he might accept her breast.
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This retinue had set out on an urgent mission,
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and returning to the palace was unthinkable
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if they had failed in their duty,
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knowing well Pharaoh's ruthless wrath.
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They simply had to find him a wet nurse,
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whoever that nurse might be;
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what mattered was that the baby quiet down
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so they could win Pharaoh's favor and his bounty
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of wealth and the like.
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All of this was Allah's divine orchestration for Moses.
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Thus Moses returned to his mother,
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honored and cherished,
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and fear vanished from his mother's heart
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with his safe return to her.
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Allah Almighty says:
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“When thy sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him? and we restored thee to thy mother that her eyes might be refreshed and might not sorrow. And thou didst kill a man and We delivered thee from great distress, and tried thee with a heavy trial. And thou didst tarry years among the folk of Midian. Then camest thou (hither) by (My) providence, O Moses,” (20:40)
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“When thy sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him? and we restored thee to thy mother that her eyes might be refreshed and might not sorrow. And thou didst kill a man and We delivered thee from great distress, and tried thee with a heavy trial. And thou didst tarry years among the folk of Midian. Then camest thou (hither) by (My) providence, O Moses,” (20:40)
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"So We returned you to your mother,
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that her eye might be comforted and she not grieve."
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And He, Glorified be He, says:
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"So We restored him to his mother,
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that her eye might be comforted and she not grieve...
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“So We restored him to his mother that she might be comforted and not grieve, and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true. But most of them know not.” (28:13)
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but most of them do not know."
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Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Allah, Exalted is His mention, says:
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'So We returned you to your mother
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after you had fallen into the hands of Pharaoh's people,
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so that her eye might be comforted
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by your safety and deliverance
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from slaughter and drowning in the river,
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and so she would not grieve over you out of fear
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that Pharaoh might kill you.'"
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And Abu Zahrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"The third manifestation of His subsequent grace
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was his return to his mother,
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to be raised under her loving care,
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out of mercy to him and to her.
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For her heart had never consented
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to parting with him except for his survival,
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and she longed to keep him for herself,
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as any tender, loving mother would.
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So Allah Almighty arranged for her
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that he return to her, safeguarded and preserved.
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Thus Allah Almighty forbade him all other wet nurses,
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leaving those in Pharaoh's palace utterly bewildered about him,
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even as he had captured all their hearts.
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But Allah Almighty directed them
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“When thy sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him? and we restored thee to thy mother that her eyes might be refreshed and might not sorrow. And thou didst kill a man and We delivered thee from great distress, and tried thee with a heavy trial. And thou didst tarry years among the folk of Midian. Then camest thou (hither) by (My) providence, O Moses,” (20:40)
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“When thy sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him? and we restored thee to thy mother that her eyes might be refreshed and might not sorrow. And thou didst kill a man and We delivered thee from great distress, and tried thee with a heavy trial. And thou didst tarry years among the folk of Midian. Then camest thou (hither) by (My) providence, O Moses,” (20:40)
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to one who would nurse and care for him on their behalf,
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nourishing him with her milk
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and shouldering the responsibility of raising and serving him.
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Through this divine care,
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he was restored to his mother,
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so that her eyes might find solace in seeing him,
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the anguish of her soul over his absence would disappear,
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and her anxiety and terror for his life would dissipate."
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The suffering of Moses' mother had finally come to an end;
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the fear and sorrow that had seized her
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upon losing her newborn child was lifted,
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and their separation did not last long, by Allah's mercy to her.
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Al-Qushayri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Trials are apportioned according to a person's strength or frailty:
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the stronger a person's spiritual fortitude,
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the greater their trial;
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and the weaker they are,
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the lighter their trial.
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Moses' mother was frail,
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so her child was returned to her after only a few days,
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whereas Jacob possessed greater spiritual endurance,
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so Joseph was not restored to him until many long years had passed."
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A mother's nature inherently differs from a father's
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in her emotional attachment to a nursing infant;
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a mother is far more deeply attached to her child,
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especially in infancy.
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Hence came the Prophetic guidance for women
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not to despair when losing a child,
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but to seek reward with Allah.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave her glad tidings
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of Paradise if she remains patient and hopes for Allah's reward.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
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"There is no woman among you who buries
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three of her children
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except that they will be a shield for her against the Fire."
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A woman among them asked:
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"O Messenger of Allah, what of two?"
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He said that she repeated it twice,
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and he replied: "Even two,
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even two, even two."
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Narrated by al-Bukhari.
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There is another divine wisdom Allah has mentioned to us
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illustrating His immense grace toward Moses' mother,
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which we will discuss in the next episode, if Allah wills.
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We shall continue in our upcoming gathering, if Allah wills.
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And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
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The Story of Woman's Suffering in the Time of Moses, Peace Be Upon Him.