Part of Women's Suffering (series completed)
· Lesson 7 of 18
The suffering of women in the time of Moses, peace be upon him | Episode (7) | The heart of Pharaoh's woman was attached to the infant
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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The story of woman's suffering in the era of Moses, peace be upon him.
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The heart of Pharaoh's wife became deeply attached to the infant child.
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The ark floated in the river, carrying a piece of the heart of Moses's mother.
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The river carried it to Pharaoh's palace,
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where the guards retrieved it and brought it to Pharaoh.
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His wife was present,
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and as soon as she looked,
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Allah cast love for him into her heart.
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She said,
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﴿He will be a comfort to the eye for me and for you!﴾
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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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﴿or we may adopt him as a son.﴾
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Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Regarding the statement of the Exalted:
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﴿And Pharaoh's wife said: 'A comfort to the eye for me and for you'﴾—
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﴿A comfort to the eye for me and for you!﴾—
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the rest of the verse:
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it means that when Pharaoh saw him,
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he intended to kill him,
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fearing that he might be from the Children of Israel.
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Thereupon, his wife Asiyah bint Muzahim began
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to argue on his behalf, defend him,
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and endear him to Pharaoh.
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She said,
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﴿A comfort to the eye for me and for you!﴾
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Pharaoh replied:
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'As for you, yes;
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as for me, no.'
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And it was as he said.
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Allah guided her through him,
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and Allah destroyed him at his hands."
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Al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"The phrasing indicates
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that those who retrieved him
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placed him before Pharaoh and his wife.
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Pharaoh's wife felt compassion for him
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and dissuaded Pharaoh from killing him,
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after he had intended to do so—
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because he realized the child was not from the Coptic people
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due to his skin tone and facial features,
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and he knew that the Nile had not carried him
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from a distant location, as it was evident
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that his ark had not stayed long in the water,
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nor had his clothes been worn out by extensive movement.
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Thus he realized that his placement in the ark
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was intended to save him from slaughter.
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This occurred at the moment he was retrieved from the water
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and taken out of the ark.
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Pharaoh's wife was
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a woman inspired toward goodness,
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and Allah decreed the salvation of Moses through her."
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Pharaoh's wife confronted her husband
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with firm words forbidding him from killing the child,
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saying: ﴿Do not kill him﴾.
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This was an explicit prohibition to Pharaoh
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against killing the nursing infant,
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even if he did not desire him to be a comfort to his eyes.
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Such a manner of address is usually
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not accepted by a man from his wife,
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so what if the husband is Pharaoh himself—
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he who waxed arrogant in the land and transgressed?
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It was expected of him at that moment,
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given his known tyranny,
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to rebuke or discipline his wife for her audacity
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in speaking to him using commands and prohibitions,
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and to kill the child out of defiance toward her.
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However, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
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inspired Pharaoh's wife,
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so she said immediately after her words:
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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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﴿or we may adopt him as a son﴾,
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providing him with a justification for her request to prevent his killing.
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Al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
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"Her statement, ﴿Perhaps he may benefit us or we may adopt him as a son﴾, includes
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﴿or we may adopt him as a son﴾—
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dispelling what harbored in Pharaoh's mind
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regarding the fear of losing his kingdom at the hands of an Israelite,
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by implying that this child would not be the feared one.
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For since he would join their household
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and be raised by them,
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it was hoped that he would benefit them
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and be like a son to them.
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Thus, she convinced Pharaoh based on common experience
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regarding the dynamics of upbringing, companionship,
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adoption, and benevolence,
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and that good does not yield evil.
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Therefore, it was followed by the parenthetical clause in the statement of the Exalted:
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﴿and they did not perceive.﴾
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That is, Pharaoh and his people did not know the subtle divine will
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to exact retribution from the Coptic nation through Moses."
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The action of Pharaoh's wife
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demonstrates the extent of fear of Pharaoh,
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who made light of slaughtering children,
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showed no mercy to their mothers,
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and had no regard for the sanctity of the women of the Children of Israel.
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It is no wonder, then, that his wife feared him.
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We have seen the likes of Pharaoh among the tyrants of our time—
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those who followed Pharaoh's path in killing children, women, and the elderly,
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violating the honor of women,
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and inflicting atrocities upon people
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through various forms of torture in prisons and elsewhere.
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All of this was done to preserve their rule and power.
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Yet Allah has provided us a lesson in the downfall of some of them in our lifetime,
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so that we may know with absolute certainty
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that the promise of Allah is true
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and that oppression will not endure.
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Syria is by no means far from our minds.
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Indeed, we have seen in real life
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that he who acts arrogantly toward people outside his home,
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Allah subjects his wife over him inside the home.
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Although this is not a general rule,
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it can be a form of recompense aligned with the nature of the deed.
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Just as he oppresses people,
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Allah empowers over him someone who humiliates him in his own home.
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Yet such domineering behavior from a woman toward her husband
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only comes from a woman who has not committed to the teachings of this grand religion.
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Thus, he is an oppressor,
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and Allah has set over him an oppressor like himself,
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as the Exalted says:
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“Thus We let some of the wrong-doers have power over others because of what they are wont to earn.” (6:129)
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As for the righteous woman,
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she does not do such a thing,
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even if her husband wrongs her,
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because her dealings are with Allah,
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and she seeks the reward that is with Allah.
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Therefore, she does not repay evil with evil,
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in compliance with the statement of the Exalted:
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“The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend.” (41:34)
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﴿Repel evil with that which is better.﴾
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“The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend.” (41:34)
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“But none is granted it save those who are steadfast, and none is granted it save the owner of great happiness.” (41:35)
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“But none is granted it save those who are steadfast, and none is granted it save the owner of great happiness.” (41:35)
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Thus, the husband's bad conduct
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is met with righteous deeds from the wife,
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until hostility turns into affection.
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Perhaps among the noble acts which, if done by a wife,
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make her one of the people of Paradise,
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is what was mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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in which he said:
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"Shall I not inform you of your women who are among the people of Paradise?
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The loving, the fertile,
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who repeatedly turns back to her husband—
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who, if she offends or is offended,
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comes until she takes her husband's hand
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and then says:
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'By Allah, I shall not taste sleep until you are pleased.'"
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It was narrated by al-Nasa'i in *Al-Sunan al-Kubra*.
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This moral character cannot be exhibited by one who harbors any pride in herself.
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Thus, Allah diverted Pharaoh from killing Moses,
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and made his wife the means for that to happen.
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So Moses (peace be upon him) entered Pharaoh's palace—
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the very palace that had been waiting for years to kill him—
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and Allah placed him in the heart of Pharaoh's wife
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from the very first glance she cast upon him.
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This was among Allah's favors upon Moses,
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as Allah the Exalted 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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So Moses (peace be upon him) was in Pharaoh's palace
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and in the heart of Pharaoh's wife at the same time.
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What could Pharaoh possibly do to avert from himself the decree of Allah that He had predestined in His eternal knowledge?
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“And We desired to show favour unto those who were oppressed in the earth, and to make them examples and to make them the inheritors,” (28:5)
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﴿And to make them leaders﴾
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﴿and make them the inheritors,﴾
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“And to establish them in the earth, and to show Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts that which they feared from them.” (28:6)
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﴿and to show Pharaoh and Haman...﴾
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“And to establish them in the earth, and to show Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts that which they feared from them.” (28:6)
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Allah's favor upon Moses did not end there,
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nor did the suffering of Moses's mother over the loss of her infant cease,
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even though this was a second step toward relief from what Moses's mother was enduring.
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However, she was unaware of it.
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We will continue in a future gathering, Allah willing.
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Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
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The story of woman's suffering in the era of Moses, peace be upon him.