References :Bulbul asked, "O Almond, please explain to us about the example of the one whose deeds are like a mirage or a drowning in a deep sea." Almond said, "O Bulbul, those who turn away from guidance and truth are of two types, one who mistakenly thinks he is actually on some firm basis - and when the truth finally reveals itself to him, it becomes clear to him that it was contrary to what he used to believe. This condition corresponds to the people of ignorance and the people of innovation and vain desires, who think they are on the path of guidance and knowledge; and once the reality of matters are made evident, it finally becomes clear to them that they were on no firm ground whatsoever. And that their beliefs and deeds, that were founded upon misguided beliefs and whims , were like a mirage that appears to the eyes of the distant observers, as water, while there is no actual reality to it. Similar are the deeds which are performed for other than the sake of Allah, Exalted is He, and not according to His Commandments; the doer of these deeds thinks of the them as earning him benefit while they are not at all, because it becomes as dispersed dust.
The mirage in the desert, a land that is barren and without buildings, trees, plants and people, because the location of the mirage is in this desolate land that contains nothing. And the mirage itself has no reality, hence this corresponds to the condition of the ignorant and the innovators's deeds, and their hearts, which are devoid of faith and guidance.
The second type of people, are like layers of darkness accumulated one over the other, and they are those who recognised the truth and guidance but preferred over it, the darkness of falsehood and misguidance. So, over them, accumulated layers of darkness - the darkness of their natures and the darkness of their souls; the darkness of their ignorance and the darkness of following deviation and vain desires. This was because they did not really comprehend the truth despite knowing about it, so they become ignorant. Their condition is like that of the one who is in a deep sea with no shoreline, and he has been overcome by waves upon which are waves upon which are dark clouds, so he is surrounded by the darkness of the sea and the darkness of the waves and the darkness of the clouds, such darkness correspond to the state he is in, which Allah has not removed him from - into the light of iman. The mirage that was thought water, is the element of life, and the darkness, is the direct opposite of light. The believers, share life and light. The hypocrites, share the darkness, which is the opposite of light, and death, the opposite of life."
Woodpecker said, "O Almond, please continue tho story of Prophet Moses, alayhissalam!" Almond said, "I'm sorry, I almost forgot. Let's continue the story!" Almond cleared his throat, then said, "And so, Pharaoh denied the sign of Allah. Then Allah sent upon his people, the flood, which was heavy rain; everything was drowned. The Egyptian came to Moses and cried out, "O Moses! Pray to your Rabb to relieve us, and we will believe in you, and we will send the Israelites with you." Moses prayed to his Lord and He relived the suffering caused by the flood. The surging water ceased and withdrew from the land, and it became cultivatable. But when Moses bade them to fulfill their promise to release the children of Israel, they did not respond.
Then Allah sent swarms of locusts which ate whatever crops they had grown. The people hurried to Moses, asking him to invoke Allah to remove this affliction and promising they would send the children of Israel with him this time. The locusts departed, but they did not fulfill their promise.
Then another sign came, the sign of lice, which spread amongst the Egyptians, carrying diseases. Their refuge to Moses and their promise to him was repeated. His prayer to Allah was repeated and so, too, their breach of promise, as usual.
A sign of frogs was revealed. The land suddenly filled with frogs. They jumped on the food of the Egyptians, shared their houses, and distressed them greatly. The Egyptians went to Moses again, promising him to release the children of Israel. He prayed to his Lord, and Allah relieved them of the problem of the frogs, but they again broke their promise.
Then the last sign was revealed, the sign of blood. The Nile water was changed into blood. When Moses and his people drank the water, it was, for them, ordinary water. However, if any Egyptian filled his cup with the water, he discovered his cup full of blood. They hurried to Moses as usual, but as soon as everything returned to normal, they turned their backs on Allah.
Allah inspired Moses and Aaron to come to Pharaoh. They came to him, and Moses said to him, "O Pharaoh! Do you desire that I should grant that your youth will not fade to senility, that your dominion will never be removed from you, and that the pleasure and riding. be restored to you? And that when you die, you will enter the Garden? Believe in me." Pharaoh said, "Stay where you are until Haman comes." When Haman came, Pharoh said to him, "This man came to me." He said, "Who is he? " Pharaoh said, "Moses." Haman asked, "What did he say to you?" He replied, "He said to me such and-such." Haman asked, "And what did you reply to him? " He said, "I said, 'Wait until Haman comes and I take counsel of him.' Haman found him weak and said, "My opinion of you was better than that. You will become a slave who serves, after having been a master who is served."
And he gathered coutiers and called out, saying, "I am your most exalted lord." The conflict between Moses and Pharaoh again reached a crisis because Pharaoh believed that Moses was threatening his kingdom. When the courtiers saw how their King was defeated in and saw Moses and Aaron bringing forth these miracles, they became agitated an in anguish exclaimed, "Without doubt this is a very skilful sorcerer and magician. He has done all devised this deceitful trick that he may be victorious over you and take you out of your land. Now we must think what we are to do."
Finally, it was decided among them that some respite should be granted to Moses and Aaron for the time being. After further consultation among them, it was decided that they should gather all the skilful sorcerers from all over the Kingdom in the capital, so that they can oppose Moses in combat. They were certain that Moses would be defeated and all his intentions will come to naught. Pharaoh said to Moses, "Have you come to us to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses? Then we will surely bring you magic like it, so make between us and you an appointment, which we will not fail to keep and neither will you, in a place assigned." Moses said, "Your appointment is on Yawm-uz-Zeenat, the day of the festival, when the people assemble at mid-morning." And so it was agreed on ' Yawm-uz-Zeenat.
Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh after Moses had shown them some of Allah's powers. Pharaoh immediately sent throughout his domain and did not leave a single sorcerer under his rule whom he did not have brought. Some said, 80,000 sorcerers and as many as 40,000 from the Israelites, some said, a total of 70,000, others said, 12,000, and also 15,000 sorcerers. And when they ssembled before him he gave them his command, saying, "A sorcerer has come to us unlike any we have seen before. If you are able to outdo him, I shall honor you and prefer you and bring you nearer than all the people of my kingdom." They said, "Will all that indeed be ours if we outdo him? " He replied, "Yes." They said, "Then set a date for us to come together, the sorcerer and us."
The chiefs of the sorcerers whom Pharaoh had assembled for Moses were Sabur, `Adur, Hathat, and Musfa - four in number. They were the ones who believed when they saw what they did of Allah's power. Pharaoh assembled the people for that gathering. Then he ordered the sorcerers, saying, So resolve upon your plan and then come forward in line. And he has succeeded today who overcomes." The sorcerers, each with his cords of rope, were used in divination and imprecation, e.g., blowing on knots, and staves, arranged themselves in ranks. Moses went forth, his brother with him, leaning on his staff, until he reached the assembly, while Pharaoh was in his assembly with the noblest people of his domain. The people crowded around Pharaoh. Moses said to the sorcerers when he came to them, "Woe to you! Do not invent a lie against Allah or He will exterminate you with a punishment; and he has failed who invents such falsehood." The sorcerers disputed among themselves, and one said to the other in secret, "Indeed, these are two magicians who want to drive you out of your land with their magic and do away with your most exemplary way." They said, "O Moses, either you throw or we will be the first to throw." He said, "Rather, you throw." And suddenly their ropes and staffs seemed to him from their magic that they were moving like snakes.
The first people they dazzled by their sorcery were Moses and Pharaoh, and then the people afterward. Then each man among them threw whatever cord or staff he had in his hand, each becoming a serpent as big as a mountain, which filled the valley, one mounted on the other. Moses conceived a fear in his soul, and he said, "By Allah ! Verily they were staves in their hands , and they became serpents. But this staff of mine will not run," so, he had a presentiment. Therefore Allah inspired him, "Fear not. Indeed, it is you who are superior. And throw what is in your right hand; it will swallow up what they have crafted. What they have crafted is but the trick of a magician, and the magician will not succeed wherever he is." Moses was comforted and threw his staff from his hand . It faced their cords and staves that they had thrown - which were running serpents to the eyes of Pharaoh and the people- and began to overtake and swallow them, serpent by serpent, until there were neither few nor many of what they had thrown remaining in the valley. Then Moses grabbed it, and it became his staff in his hand, as it had been previously.
So the sorcerers fell down in prostration. They said, "We have believed in Rabb of Aaron and Moses." If this were sorcery, it would not have overcome us." Pharaoh said to them, regretfully, having seen the clear victory, "You believed him before I gave you permission. Indeed, he is your leader who has taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will surely know which of us is more severe in giving punishment and more enduring. They said, "Never will we prefer you over what has come to us of clear proofs and [over] He who created us. So decree whatever you are to decree. You can only decree for this worldly life. Indeed, we have believed in our Lord that He may forgive us our sins and what you compelled us [to do] of magic. And Allah is better and more enduring. Indeed, to our Lord we will return. And you do not resent us except because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came to us. Our Lord, pour upon us patience and let us die as Muslims in submission to You." When the sorcerers fell down prostrating, they saw houses and palaces in heaven that had been prepared for them. The house and palace are decorated to welcome their arrival, because they are not afraid of the threat and the pressure of Pharaoh.
The magicians prostrated before righteousness, but the people abandoned them and left them to their fate. The path of righteousness was plain, but in spite of this, the people did nothing but stand by and watch. If every one of the Egyptians had stopped to pick up a piece of brick and had thrown it at Pharaoh, he would have fallen dead and the history of Egypt would have been changed. This obviously did not happen. None of the people moved. Each one stood motionless in his place. The people did nothing but watch, and they paid the price of this inactivity: they were drowned later as the price for the cowardice of one day.
Almond then said, "O my brothers and sisters, when a plant is not being looked after, it will eventually dry up and die, which explains why the slaves of Allah are in great need of the acts of worship that He Commanded them to perform in the day and at night. It is from His Mercy, His Benignity and Grace upon His slaves that He Legislated such acts of worship, which are the water that irrigates the plants of Tawheed that He placed within our hearts. It is also common for alien and harmful plants to mix within the beneficial crops. Thus, when the one in charge of these crops tends to look after them regularly and purifies them of these intruders, they will grow healthy and yield a large and beneficial harvest. However, when the person in charge of these crops becomes neglectful, they will be overtaken by weeds and harmful plants and as a result, the crops will be impaired, and the fruits will be damaged. Those who lack a clear understanding and knowledge of these matters will miss many profitable gains without even realising it. That said, the believer is always pruning and watering this plant so that it is everlasting, and he uproots all other harmful plants and weeds from its surroundings to assure its healthy growth. And in Allah we place our trust. And Allah knows best."
"Indeed, whoever comes to his Lord as a criminal - indeed, for him is Hell; he will neither die therein nor live. But whoever comes to Him as a believer having done righteous deeds - for those will be the highest degrees [in position]. Gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of one who purifies himself." - [QS.20:74-76]
- The History of al-Tabari, The Children of Israel, Volume III, Translated by William M. Brinner, SUNY Press.
- Ibn Kathir, Stories of The Prophets, Darussalam
- Maulana Hifzur Rahman Soeharwy, Qasasul Ambiyaa, Idara Impex
- Imam ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, The Paragons of The Qur'an, Dar As-Sunnah
