Part of Women's Suffering (series completed)
· Lesson 5 of 18
The suffering of women in the time of Moses, peace be upon him | Episode (5) | The suffering of the mother of Moses, peace be upon him
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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The story of woman's suffering during the era of Moses, peace be upon him.
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The suffering of the mother of Moses, peace be upon him.
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The mother of Moses was among the women who were subjected to severe suffering at the hands of Pharaoh and his soldiers.
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Our Lord, Glorified and Exalted be He, has mentioned the suffering of the mother of Moses to us in the Qur'an in more than one surah.
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For He, Glorified be He, said:
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“And indeed, another time, already We have shown thee favour,” (20:37)
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“When we inspired in thy mother that which is inspired,” (20:38)
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﴿Cast him into the chest and cast it into the river, then the river shall throw it onto the bank; an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him.﴾
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﴿...then the river shall throw it onto the bank; an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him.﴾
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“Saying: Throw him into the ark, and throw it into the river, then the river shall throw it on to the bank, and there an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him. And I endued thee with love from Me that thou mightest be trained according to My will,” (20:39)
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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)
1:24
“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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And the Exalted said:
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“And We inspired the mother of Moses, saying: Suckle him and, when thou fearest for him, then cast him into the river and fear not nor grieve. Lo! We shall bring him back unto thee and shall make him (one) of Our messengers.” (28:7)
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“And We inspired the mother of Moses, saying: Suckle him and, when thou fearest for him, then cast him into the river and fear not nor grieve. Lo! We shall bring him back unto thee and shall make him (one) of Our messengers.” (28:7)
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﴿...We shall surely restore him to you and make him one of the messengers.﴾
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“And the family of Pharaoh took him up, that he might become for them an enemy and a sorrow, Lo! Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were ever sinning.” (28:8)
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“And the wife of Pharaoh said: (He will be) a consolation for me and for thee. Kill him not. Peradventure he may be of use to us, or we may choose him for a son. And they perceived not.” (28:9)
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“And the heart of the mother of Moses became void, and she would have betrayed him if We had not fortified her heart, that she might be of the believers.” (28:10)
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“And the heart of the mother of Moses became void, and she would have betrayed him if We had not fortified her heart, that she might be of the believers.” (28:10)
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“And she said unto his sister: Trace him. So she observed him from afar, and they perceived not.” (28:11)
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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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“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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Allah only related to us the suffering of the mother of Moses in the Qur'an so that we might draw lessons and admonition from it regarding steadfastness upon the truth in the face of the Pharaohs of any age.
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So be patient, my sister, and remain steadfast upon the truth, regardless of the suffering you experience due to your enemy's hatred for this religion.
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The suffering of the mother of Moses passed through several distinct stages.
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The first stage was the period of pregnancy—a constant anxiety that stayed with her throughout her pregnancy as she watched and heard what Pharaoh's henchmen were doing in eavesdropping on women.
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They spied on them to identify who among them was pregnant, keeping watch over her until childbirth, and then killing her infant if it was a male.
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So she tried to conceal her pregnancy so that no one would know about it, which was a tremendous suffering that lasted for nine months.
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Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "They mentioned that when Pharaoh intensified the killing of the male children of the Israelites, the Coptic people feared that he would annihilate the Israelites..."
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"...and that they would then have to carry out the grueling labor that the Israelites used to perform. So they said to Pharaoh: 'If this situation continues, their elderly will soon die while their young boys are being killed...'"
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"'...and their women cannot perform the work that their men do, so that burden will fall upon us.'"
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"So he ordered that the male children be killed one year and spared the next. Aaron, peace be upon him, was born in the year in which the male children were spared..."
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"...and Moses was born in the year in which the male children were killed. Pharaoh had agents assigned to this task, as well as midwives who went around to the women."
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"Whomever they saw to be pregnant, they registered her name. When her time to give birth arrived, only Coptic women were allowed to deliver her. If the woman gave birth to a girl, they left her and departed..."
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"...but if she gave birth to a boy, those executioners entered with sharp blades in their hands, slaughtered him, and left—may Allah Almighty disgrace them."
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The second stage of suffering occurred after giving birth to Moses, peace be upon him: fear, anxiety, and distress.
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It was an exhausting psychological state combined with post-partum pain and the emotional distress resulting from childbirth.
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The cause was the continuous searches by the henchmen of the tyrant Pharaoh, as they raided and searched houses...
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...looking for male children to kill them before their mothers' very eyes.
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The mother of Moses must have heard stories of the children killed at the hands of Pharaoh's henchmen and how they were slaughtered...
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...and how devastating that killing was for their mothers. Such news was widespread at that time...
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...due to the multitude of killings Pharaoh inflicted upon the children of the Israelites.
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So imagining such incidents weighing heavily on the heart, mind, and thoughts of Moses's mother was very likely.
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Imagining this happening to her own child was agonizing for her and added to her suffering.
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While mothers typically rejoice at the birth of a male child, especially if he is her firstborn...
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...because they feel he will be a future support for them after the father's death or frailty...
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...the mother of Moses was quite the opposite; fear and anxiety stayed by her side...
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...along with confusion over how to handle this newborn and conceal him from the eyes of Pharaoh's henchmen.
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Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "When the mother of Moses carried him, peace be upon him..."
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"...signs of pregnancy did not appear on her as they did on others, and the midwives did not notice her."
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"However, when she gave birth to him as a male, she was deeply distressed for him, feared for him immensely..."
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"...and loved him with an extraordinary love. Indeed, no one saw Moses, peace be upon him, except that they loved him."
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"Thus, the fortunate one is he who loves him naturally and by religious duty. Allah Almighty said:"
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“Saying: Throw him into the ark, and throw it into the river, then the river shall throw it on to the bank, and there an enemy to Me and an enemy to him shall take him. And I endued thee with love from Me that thou mightest be trained according to My will,” (20:39)
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Yet alongside this suffering experienced by the mother of Moses, relief arrived from Allah, Almighty and Glorious...
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...through an inspiration that Allah revealed to her and cast into her heart. The Exalted said:
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“And We inspired the mother of Moses, saying: Suckle him and, when thou fearest for him, then cast him into the river and fear not nor grieve. Lo! We shall bring him back unto thee and shall make him (one) of Our messengers.” (28:7)
8:58
“And We inspired the mother of Moses, saying: Suckle him and, when thou fearest for him, then cast him into the river and fear not nor grieve. Lo! We shall bring him back unto thee and shall make him (one) of Our messengers.” (28:7)
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﴿...We shall surely restore him to you and make him one of the messengers.﴾
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At-Tahir ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "The divine inspiration here refers to true inner inspiration..."
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"...which is the instilling of a meaning into the heart that brings tranquility to the soul of the recipient..."
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"...such that he feels certain of its success, and that is through the grace and guidance of Allah Almighty."
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"It may also occur by way of a righteous vision, where it is cast into the heart of the beholder that it is the truth."
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Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Allah Almighty said:"
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“And when I inspired the disciples, (saying): Believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: We believe. Bear witness that we have surrendered (unto Thee) "we are muslims".” (5:111)
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And the Exalted said: ﴿And We inspired the mother of Moses: 'Suckle him...'﴾
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Indeed, the Exalted even said: ﴿...and He inspired in every heaven its command.﴾
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And the Exalted said: ﴿And your Lord inspired the bee...﴾
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Thus, this type of inspiration can occur to non-prophets, both in a state of wakefulness and in sleep.
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It may occur through an inner voice, where the sound is within the person's own self rather than coming from outside, whether awake or asleep...
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...just as it may be a light that a person perceives within themselves.
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This level of inspiration—which occurs within oneself without hearing the voice of an angel—is among the basic and lowest degrees of divine inspiration.
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This was the beginning of relief for the suffering that the mother of Moses was enduring.
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However, it was not the end of the suffering.
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The story of the woman's suffering during the time of Moses demonstrates...
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...that the suffering a person undergoes may appear to subside or lessen...
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...only to return once more, for a wisdom known to the Creator, Glorified and Exalted be He.
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So what was the third stage of suffering endured by the mother of Moses?
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And how did she act upon this divine inspiration that Allah inspired her with?
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We will continue in the next gathering, if Allah wills. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
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The story of woman's suffering during the era of Moses, peace be upon him.