Al-Qasas

And we don't get to choose that timeline.

Right now we're reading in Surah Al-Qasas, Allah mentions to us the story of Musa , baby Moses in the palace of Fir'aun.

The Pharaoh killed all these baby boys, he left out one, he missed one of them and Allah put him right in the middle of his palace, in the home of the tyrant.

But guess what? It's not like Musa hung out in the palace and then got old and then got a message suddenly that now's your time and then when Fir'aun was sleeping went and killed him and took over.

This is essential in the story and essential of the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

So for instance, we see in verse 44 of the chapter of the stories, Surah Al-Qasas, وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِ إِذْ قَدَيْنَا إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ الْأَمَرِ وَمَا كُنْتَ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ So it says that you are not there, O Prophet, on the western side of the mountain when we entrust the commandments to Moses, nor were you present in his time.

So now this phrase emerges and it tells the Prophet Muhammad that you are on the western side when Moses was given the affairs or the commandments and you are not there to be present.

So this particular verse is highlighting for the Prophet Muhammad this idea that Moses is a lawgiver.

And I wouldn't say when he was living in Median, right? That doesn't come to me off the top of my head.

But here we see the Quranic verse emphasizing this particular part of the story, right? And this is once again, the Quran is telling the Prophet Muhammad that you weren't there living among the people at Median before he actually becomes a prophet or before he actually goes and confronts Pharaoh.

And I think this part of living in Median is significant because when I re-looked at the chapter of Surah Al-Qasas, I saw how important this part of the story actually is.

And sometimes you read a biblical or Quranic story and you sometimes overlook certain parts, right? You sort of emphasize certain things, but then you neglect others.

This is why, in spite of the fact that Abu Talib died a disbeliever, Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, this is the extent that I'm trying to explain the extent to you, how important it is to respect and honor the people the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ honored and loved.

We have in Surah Al-Qasas an ayah.

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاهُ وَهُوَ عَالَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ O Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Allah is talking to the Prophet directly here in this ayah.

O Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, you cannot guide those you love.

In other words, the Prophet ﷺ can love someone and still not guide them because he doesn't have the power to guide people.

It is Allah who guides people.

This is the Quran, Surah Al-Qasas.

So if he was in the hands of Rasulullah ﷺ, if this was his power, if he had been given this power to put his hand on someone and guide them.

Why do you need history? But quiet as it's kept, one third of the Qur'an itself is history.

And that is al-qasas, the stories, the fables.

Allah brings us human experience in a way that we can benefit from this experience and change our lives.

But if you don't know history, if you don't know the background of the verses that you're reading in the Qur'an, you won't be able to extract the proper meaning from it.

Indeed, the Holy Quran explicitly mentions that Moses worked in exchange for wages.

Surah Al-Qasas verses 28 and 29 details how he worked for the father of two women for remuneration, and later married one of his daughters.

Therefore, those scholars who seek to deny that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, tended sheep for wages are going through unnecessary effort to establish a position that is not warranted by the text.

For this reason, some biographers of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and commentators of hadith have also clarified that kirarit refers to kirats rather than a place or location.

Like, I was 13, and I, I'm not, I'm, you know, much older now, and Subhanallah, I, I hear this.

Every time I see something from Gaza, I remember the ayat in Surat Al-Qasas, "Wa nuridu an namunna 'ala allatheena istuduefū fi al-ard, wa naj'alahum a'imma, wa naj'alahum al-waritheen, wa numakkin lahum fi al-ard, wa nuriya fir'awna wa hamāna wa junūdahumā minhum mā kānū yaḥḍarūn." And then I remember this poem.

Subhanallah.

He says, "Saṭṭir 'alā hāmish az-zamān bi an-na nā ahlul karāmati wal a'azzu qabīla.

Mm-hmm.

And that's in Surah Al-Qasas 28.

Qasas, yeah.

13.