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The Story of Our Master Musa:
Dear brother, undoubtedly, being desperate and giving up hope of Allah's mercy are considered Kufr (blasphemous deeds.) The most dangerous distress which may afflict this Ummah is to be defeated from inside, or to become desperate and hopeless. Therefore, Allah the Almighty tells us about the stories of the Prophets, may Allah have peace upon them, to be lessons for us.Now, the story I would like to tell you is realistic, so the question is, do you believe that the hope of the survival of our Master Musa and his people the Children of Israel was one percent to one billion? They were but a few band and Fir'aun (Pharaoh), the tyrant, the powerful, spiteful and the oppressor followed them with his soldiers. The believers reached a deadlock as they had only the sea in front of them, Do you think that there was any hope that they could survive? Absolutely not. There wasn't even one chance of their survival. Listen to this Ayah please:
((And when the two hosts saw each other, the companions of Musa (Moses) said: "We are sure to be overtaken."))
A Noble Prophet to whom Allah's revelation was sent replied:(([Musa (Moses)] said: "Nay, verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me."))
This story indicates that whoever gives up hope in Allah's Mercy and becomes desperate, doesn't really know Who Allah the Almighty is. He doesn't know that in His Hands is the dominion of all things, and that when He decides upon a thing He only says to it:"Be!" and it is, and when He wants a thing to disappear, He only says to it: "Disappear! " and it does. We just need to be qualified to deserve Allah's victory. Listen again to these two Ayat:
((And when the two hosts saw each other, the companions of Musa (Moses) said: "We are sure to be overtaken."*[Musa (Moses)] said: "Nay, verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me."))
Suddenly, a dry path was made in the sea for this Noble Prophet and his people the Childern of Israel. When they travelled to the second bank, Fir'aun walked through the dried path in the sea, but it returned into water.
To whom such event happened? It happened to Prophet Musa, may Allah have peace upon him, but the Noble Quran came after him, so to whom the story is told? It is told to us.
Never ever give up!!!. Heroism lies in having a reason that will make Allah interfere when you are in trouble and save you. Once Allah the Almighty interferes, there will be nothing to worry about. Indeed, if Allah is on your side, none can do harm to you, but if Allah is against you, none can save you.
This story is not mentioned to tell you about what happened to Prophet Musa, may Allah have peace upon him, and whoever thinks so has misunderstood the purpose of the story. Allah wants this story to be a practical lesson for us; He gives us hope when the percentage of survival is zero. Nowadays, thousands of Muslims say, "There is no worldly solution; no human power in this world is capable of facing the Western despotic power." Instead of giving up hope and saying that we are done, we should turn to the Noble Quran and deeply believe that everything is in Allah's Hands, so nothing can happen against His will, and none can make himself a god, because Allah will annihilate him.
The Story of Prophet Yunus:
Let us move to another story. Calamities are countless; diseases, law incomes, bankruptcy, financial crises, unemployment, acute poverty…etc. Also, there are calamities which could cause man to lose his freedom. By Allah dear brother do you think that there is a calamity which is more serious than suddenly finding oneself inside the stomach of a blue whale?
The mouth of the blue whale can bear fifty standing men, its length is one hundred and eighty meters, and its weight is one hundred and fifty tons. A Noble Prophet found himself suddenly inside the stomach of a blue whale. A huge fish swallowed him, so was there any hope of survival? He was inside three darknesses; the darkness of the night, the darkness of the sea and the darkness of the stomach of the whale:
((But he cried through the darkness))
Sometimes, you are in dire need of using your mobile phone, but you find out that it is out of network coverage. Prophet Yunus, on the other hand, could call Almighty Allah, and he was answered in the deep darkness of the sea. It was a blessing that Allah heard his call:((And (remember) Dhan-Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him (i.e. the calamites which had befallen him)! But he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers."*So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness).))
Perhaps the most wonderful part of this Ayah is the last one, because it is a timeless law which can be applicable to every believer whenever and wherever:((And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness).))
Prophet Yunus, may Allah have peace upon him, is not the only addressee in this Ayah. All of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, is addressed in those stories. The stories of the Prophets, such as Yusuf, Yunus, Nuh and Ibrahim, may Allah have peace upon them, are not mentioned in the Noble Quran to increase our knowledge; but rather, they are mentioned to us to make use of the moral lessons in each one of them; to believe that no matter how little the hope is for someone to survive, Allah can interfere and save him.The Story of Prophet Ibrahim:
The third story is the one of Prophet Ibrahim, may Allah have peace upon him.
A great fire was set, and a young man called "Ibrahim" was brought and thrown into it. Do you think that there was any hope for him to stay alive? He was thrown into a blazing fire! The hope of getting out of it alive was definitely null. However, by two words from Allah he was saved:
((We (Allah) said: "O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim (Abraham)!"))
The scholars of tafsseer (interpretation of the Noble Quran) said that had Allah said: "O fire! Be you coolness" and stopped, Ibrahim would have died out of freezing, and Had not Allah said, "for Ibrahim", the fire would have always been cool. Almighty Allah says:(("O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim (Abraham)!"))
Almighty Allah says:((Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" and it is!))
The Aim of All These Stories:
Dear brother, these stories are mentioned in the Noble Quran for us; to teach us that Allah's orders are always done. You know what Yusuf's brother did to him; they wanted to kill him, so they plotted against him, and then they threw him to the bottom of the well. In fact, putting him in the jail was thousand times better than keeping him at the bottom of the well, because in the jail his life was guaranteed, while in the well it was not. Who do you think had inspired the caravan of travellers to pass by that well in particular? Listen to the following Ayah, please:
((And there came a caravan of travellers; they sent their water-drawer, and he let down his bucket (into the well). He said: "What good news! Here is a boy."))
If the eyelids of the Divine care guards you,
sleep deeply, for all your fears will vanish.
The true believer doesn't give up hope of Allah's Mercy, because he believes that all the affairs are in the Hand of Allah the Almighty:
((The Hand of Allah is over their hands))
You should believe that the power of despotic tyrants is not absolute. The following Ayah is the most precise proof:((So plot against me, all of you, and give me no respite.* "I put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has grasp of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth).))
Imagine that there are fierce and frightening monsters, but all of them are linked to each other with a rope which is in a strong and fair hand, will your relation be with this hand, or with the monsters? Of course with the hand, because if it makes the rope loose, the monsters can reach you, and if it keeps it tight, you are safe. Your affairs are not controlled by the monsters, but they are in the Hand of the Owner of them. It is narrated in Hadith Qudsi that Allah the Almighty says:"I am Allah besides whom there is no Diety, the Master of Kings, King of Kings. Verily the hearts of kings are under the control of My Hands. When My servants obey me, I turn the hearts of kings and rulers towards them so that they rule over them with mercy and kindness and when My servants disobey Me, I turn the hearts of kings and rulers to treat them harshly, with anger and vengeance. Thereby they mete out torture and oppression. Hence do not occupy yourselves with praying for curses upon kings and instead pray to Allah for them to become good, because you will never be good people unless they are good kings. "
This Noble Quran is a healing for man's soul; it alienates you from giving up hope, of Allah's mercy, gives you an accurate explanation to what is happening in the world and makes you believe that all affairs are in the Hand of Allah the Almighty Who says:
((They have no Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector, etc.) other than Him, and He makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule."))
(Al-Kahf: 26)No one knows what will happen in the future except Allah the Almighty, so whoever keeps thinking about the future and feels desperate, has no knowledge about Allah. Let us recall what happened to the Eastern Bloc many years ago. Who could believe that such a Bloc which possessed nuclear bombs that were enough to bombard the five continents five times, would collapse within two years? Indeed, everything is in the Hand of Allah the Almighty. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean you become passive and wait for the problems to be solved by themselves. This stance is not acceptable at all! I am just trying to refer to those Ayat to refrain you from giving up hope, and to remind you of the fact that everything is in Allah's Hand. Listen again to the following Ayah:
((They have no Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector, etc.) other than Him, and He makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule."))
Almighty Allah says:((Verily the likeness of (this) worldly life is as the water (rain) which We send down from the sky, so by it arises the intermingled produce of the earth of which men and cattle eat until when the earth is clad with its adornments and is beautified, and its people think that they have all the powers of disposal over it, Our Command reaches it by night or by day and We make it like a clean-mown harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday!)).
Dear brother, you should find the moral lesson of the story of Prophet Yunus when he was inside the big fish, the story of Prophet Musa with the Children of Israel when Fir'aun followed them with his soldiers, the story of Prophet Ibrahim who was thrown into the fire and the story of our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, when he was with Abu-Bakr in the cave. Abu-Bakr said:((I was with the Messenger of Allah may Allah have peace and blessing upon him, when I saw the polytheists I told him: "If any of them should look under his feet, he would see us." He said, "O Abu-Bakr! What do you think of two (persons) the third of whom is Allah))?"
Haven't you read Allah the Almighty saying:
((And you will see them looking at you, yet they see not.))
You have to truly believe that Allah is able to change the balance of power in one second, but all you need to do is giving Him a reason to grant you victory. I am addressing all Muslim peoples: you should be qualified to be granted triumph in all your matters, the minor and the major ones. It is said, "The servants of Allah have not learned anything better than Tawhid (Monotheism)." Thus, you should always remember that these stories are mentioned for us to make use of. They are not for the people of Yunus, of Musa or of Ibrahim, may Allah have peace on them, but rather they are for us, because the Noble Quran came after them all. Bear in mind that these stories are not mentioned to make you knowledgeable about what happened to those people, on the contrary, they are in the Noble Quran to be laws according to which you act.