When Abusive Power Asking for Victims (1)

Shama' said, "Does anybody want to share a story?" The birds were silent. A moment later, the Vulture spoke, "O my brothers and sisters, there are two stories I'm going to tell you about. The first stories is about the hairdresser of the daughter of Pharaoh. The the second story is Pharaoh's own wife, Asiyah, the Queen of Egypt. Both are victims of the abusive power of Pharaoh. So, let me tell you the first story.

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said,

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’), a beautiful fragrance came to me.  I said, 'O Jibreel, what is this beautiful fragrance?'
He said, 'This is the fragrance of the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter and her children.'
'I said, 'What is their story?'
'He said, 'Whilst she was combing the hair of Pharaoh’s daughter one day, the iron comb fell from her hand and she said, ‘Bismillaah (in the name of Allah).’ The daughter of Pharaoh said, ‘My father?’ She said, ‘No. my Rabb and the Rabb of your father is Allah.’ She said, ‘I will tell him about that.’ She said, ‘Yes.’ So she told him and he summoned her and said, ‘O So and so, do you have a Rabb other than me?’ She said: ‘Yes, my Rabb and your Rabb is Allah.’ He ordered that a baqarah (lit. “cow”) made of copper be heated up, then he ordered that she and her children be thrown into it. She said, ‘I have a request to make of you.’ He said, ‘What is your request?’ She said, ‘I would like my bones and my children’s bones to be gathered together in one cloth and buried.’ He said, ‘This will be done for you.’ He ordered that her children be thrown into it in front of her, one by one, until they came to the last one who was an infant boy who was still being breastfed. It was as if she wavered because of him, but he said, ‘O mother, go ahead, for the punishment of this world is easier to bear than the punishment of the hereafter.’ So she went ahead.'”
Ibn ‘Abbaas, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, "Four infants spoke, ‘Isa ibn Maryam, alaihissalam, the companion of Jurayj, the witness of Yusuf and the son of the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter.
[Narrated by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad (1/309), al-Tabaraani (12280), Ibn Hibbaan (2903) and al-Haakim (2/496).
Al-Dhahabi said in al-‘Aluw (84): This hadeeth has a hasan isnaad. Ibn Katheer said in al-Tafseer (3/15): There is nothing wrong with its isnaad. Its isnaad was classed as saheeh by the scholar Ahmad Shaakir in his commentary on al-Musnad (4/295). Al-Arna’oot said in Takhreej al-Musnad (5/30-31, no. 2821): Its isnaad is hasan.
With regard to the phrase “He ordered that a baqarah (lit. “cow”) made of copper be heated up”, Ibn al-Atheer said in al-Nihaayah (1/145): Al-Haafiz Abu Moosa said: It seems to me that this does not refer to something that was made in the shape of a cow, rather it may have been a vast pot or kettle, which they called a baqarah, taken from the word tabaqqur which means vastness, or it may have been something that could have held a whole cow because of its large size, so it was called thus.]

The Prophet (ﷺ) learnt of this story on the night of Mi'raj when Jibril, alaihissalam, related it to him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had asked him about the very pleasant smell he was getting and while narrating the story Jibril told him that it emanated from the bodies of the hairdresser of the daughter of Pharaoh and her children.
The servants of a royal palace also enjoy a high rank and honour and this woman was more entitled to preferrential treatment because she was Pharaoh's daughter's beautician. She was very close to a member of the royal family and hence was exceptionally honoured. Pharaoh, the claimant to divinity and murderer of thousands of children of the Children Israel, was her master. She was surrounded on all sides by forces of disbelief, yet Allah displays His Power by raising believers in centres of idolatory and polytheism. He created love for Islam in the heart of a royal beautician in the midst of darkness of unbelief and she concealed her religion and continued to discharge her obligations at the palace.

However, a spark of faith cannot be extinguished even if anyone tries to put it out, but it does burst out sooner or later. It is the fragrance that spreads out through the hardest of seals. The same happened with the hairdresser. A comb fell down from her hands as she was smoothing the hair of Pharaoh's daughter. She uttered "Bismillah" she picked it up. The princes was astonished on hearing these words and she asked, "You mean my father?" But, there was no hiding faith anymore, she was lost in it now.
"No! Allah is the One Who is my and your father's (and everyone's) Rabb."
Pharaoh's daughter said that she would report the matter to her father and the believing woman challenged her to go ahead and tell him. So, she told her father that her beautician had chosen Someone else as her Rabb. This was an unforgivable crime in Pharaoh's book, particularly if his own servant behaved in that way.

Here, hegan the difficult trial for her, a trial where even very strong men falter. The word patience-or any synonym-does not aptly describe the woman's firm attitude. It is generally believed that a man's lite is his dearest possession but this axiom is not true for a mother. A mother is that being in the universe who is next most merciful after the Creator of the universe. A mother's emotions are known not to mankind alone; it is seen among the animals too.
Here, a believer was not faced with her own life. The lives of her very dear ones, her love, her children were at stake. They too were to be thrown into the fierce fire. A mother's life is meaningless without her children and it takes terrible will-power to be responsible for their being thrown into fire. Pharaoh decided to teach a helpless woman a lesson for the crime of rejecting him as god. He got a large brass vessel the shape of a cow and kindled a fire under it. When it was venomously hot, he commanded his men to fling the woman and her children into the vessel.

The shameful act was performed under the sky, men were put to shame but inhuman beasts danced unconcernedly. They tried a helpless woman but faith is another name for trial. It is the peculiarity of the field of love that everyone who enters it faces a fresh trial each time. The Qur'an says about it:

الم

Alif, Lam, Meem – (QS.29:1)

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لا يُفْتَنُونَ

"Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried?" – (QS.29:2)

وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ

"But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars." – (QS.29:3)

It is not enought to profess faith by the tongue. A believer will have to pass through the trial. The Hadith confiims that the most severe test is for the Prophets, alaihimussalam, followed by the righteous, then those who imitate them according to their degree of faith and immitation. The faith of a person is tried according to his religious standing. The more religious a person, the more he should be prepared to face trial. It is easy to make a claim but to get through with steadfastness is the real thing.

The person who professed Islam in the earlier centuries-that is, recited the Kalimah-"there is no ilah but Allah-he sort of bought enmity with his family, relatives and tribe. Love and closeness turned into worst antagonism at one stroke. Problems and difficulties would be thrust on him from all sides and life would seem a mountain of hardship and tonnent. It is these kilns of trial that mould someone into Khaleel Allah (Friend of Allah), Zaheeh Allah (One sacrified for Allah. Isma'il, alaihissalam), Rooh Allah or Maseeh Allah ('Isa, alaihissalam) and someone is made Muhammad Rasool Allah and raised to Qabah Qawsayn. Then it produces As-Siddiq (the Truthful, the one who confinns), and those who are given glad tidings of Paradise in this life. The history of belief is replete with similar dauntless, pure believers.
The trial of the hairdresser was very severe. It was a ditch of death where life lay latched to a slight pretext....wisdom. There was scope for that! But, the words of Truth had to be raised, the slogan of monotheism-of Unity of Allah-had to be called out distinctly, disbelief had to be vanquished, faith had to be introduced into houses of idol-worship.... The saturation into a life of belief did not allow one to back out on seeing the red hot vessel over the fierce fire but it made one forget and give up a life of peace and comfort and it had placed a helpless, lonely woman against the greatest oppressor of his times. She received courage from it to challenge him!

The begining of the trial was when she was summoned before Pharaoh and asked, "Is there any other rabb besides me?" She had a way out. It was the wisdom of the moment. Any intelligent person could have taken that way, seeing herself and her innocent children, little ones. She was alone, without support except the support of Allah. She had no one to help her in this world, except that she could count on the help of Allah. There was no harm in concealing her faith. But she was destined to write history. She said, "Yes! My Rabb and yours is Allah!"
She severed all relationships and established One. She denied all, but confirmed One. Only He is the Lord. He Alone is the Owner, the Master, the Creater, the Sustainer. There is no ilah except Allah.

The second stage of trial began. "Throw her and her children into the heated, burning kiln." Her crime? The crime of believing! She throws in a word. "I have a wish." "What is it?" She said. "After we have died and roasted. our bones may be placed together in one piece of cloth and buried as one. (That we may rise up on the Day of Resurrection in these burnt bones and present our testimony of the sacrifice to the Rabb) Pharaoh agreed to do that.
The third stage of trial began when the little ones were picked up, one by one, and cast into the frightening kiln. She watched her dear ones burning, roasting, their flesh turning to ashes. their bones crackling. "My Rabb bear witness! There is no ilah save You!"
The most trying of the stages followed. The most delicate. The new-born. sucking milk was picked up...with his mother. Her steps faltered just a bit. Could there be a retreat? Because of the innocent new-born? That couldn't be! The baby spoke, his tongue came into motion; "Mother! Jump into the fire and burn yourself. This world's punishment is lighter than the chastisement of the next!"

Even in pitch darkness there is a ray of light somewhere. Thus, in the dark surroundings of disbelief, there is in some corner a spark of faith and belief. In the midst of frightful strong people. Sometimes a weakling manages to create panic in the hearts of disbelievers. This is a painful story of such a pious woman who willingly agreed to be plunged in a worldly fire with her infant children rather than risk punishment in the fire of the next world. This indeed is a lesson-bearing story.
The trial was over. The ordeal was passed through. The profession of faith was true. That is belief! This is what we call Unity of Allah. Belief is to show courage and be strong, remain steadfast, cease to fear and speak the truth. It is love. The love is belief and without it one cannot practice the dictates of belief. Without love, religion is imagination."

"O my brothers and sisters, The first lesson and message, that the Hadith gives us, and it is also the basic message, is that faith is really to pass through trials. It is never perfected without trials. And a trial is always very severe and uphill. This is clear from the lives of earlies people and the Prophets, alaihimussalam.
In the present times people are not put to trial bodily and this is a favour of Allah on the Ummah of the Prophet (ﷺ). However, they face trial in a different way. The trial of this age is through a sinful and disobedient surrounding and a believer is expected to came out of it obeying the commands of Allah and to be steadfast and determined.
The truth is that every people have been subjected to trial and will be continued to be put to trial. The kind of trial varies with time. It is essential to broaden the thinking of the believers and to perfect them.

Next lesson is, in ancient times, rulers were given to persecute on religious grounds. It was very common for rulers to torment anyone to make them concur with them and submit in obedience. Innumerable people were put to death and tortured. This sort of persecution is found even in present times. Muslims are discriminated against. The unbelievers throughout the world persecute Muslims because of their faith and belief. Because they profess Islam, Muslims are given the worst kind of punishment. Bosnia, Kosova and Chechniya are clear examples.

The third lesson, that the believers, when they come through trials, experience higher ranks and elevated stations. The Hadith alludes to this in passing. Our beloved Prophet (ﷺ) said that he got the sweet odour of this woman and her children during his Mi'raj. This is a respect the determined slaves of Allah receive by sacrificing their lives in His path.

Fourth, it is proper not to disclose one's belief in Islam if that would mean unbearable persecution and untold problems for the Believer. However,that is not the doing of a determined, strong-willed Believer. An open confirmation of faith at such times, sends a shudder down the spine of disbelief and sparkles the ray of faith.

Finally, this Hadith tells us that, in all four babies (new-born) have spoken in their cradle. One of them was Prophet 'Isa, alaihissalam, son of Maryam, whose life account is found in surah Maryam in the Qur'an. The other is the one who spoke for Jurayj Al-Abid and his speech spelled the acquital of Jurayj. The thirds is the baby who made a supplication counter to its mother's. About the stories of the two babies, I will tell the story, it is in one hadith. Insha Allah. The fourth baby is the new-born of the present story.  Indeed, that is a manifestation of the powers of Allah. And Allah knows best."

[Part 2]

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