Musa's Supplication For Forgiveness And Allah's Vast Mercy

Opening — Quranic Recitation

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى، وَسَلَامٌ عَلَىٰ عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَىٰ — أَمَّا بَعْد

Allah says in His firm revelation, after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan:

Sadaqallahul Azeem.

The Story of Musa and the Bani Israel

Allah in these ayat mentions the story of Musa alayhi as-salam and the Bani Israel. Musa alayhi as-salam brought the revelation from Allah in the form of the Torah from Mount Tur, and the Bani Israel came up with different reasons to deny it. First they said: how do we know that this is from Allah? We need to hear directly from Allah that this is the revelation He is sending through you.

Allah mentions that Musa alayhi as-salam took 70 individuals from the Bani Israel with him onto the mountain. Allah says that Musa alayhi as-salam chose 70 members — لِمِيقَاتِنَا — to come and meet Allah. When Allah gave them the verbal confirmation that this is the wahi from Him and commanded them to believe in Musa alayhi as-salam, they changed their story. They kept on changing the story. Now they came up with a new excuse: they said how do we know that this voice is from Allah? We want to now see Allah.

So Allah was very displeased with their behavior and caused an earthquake that brought destruction and death upon them. Those members of the Bani Israel — the 70 leaders that Musa alayhi as-salam had brought up with him — they all died. Allah says that Musa alayhi as-salam faced the rajfa — the earthquake — and they all died. Musa alayhi as-salam was in a very difficult position.

When everything was going well and the blessings were coming, these were the people who were objecting. When they were receiving the mann and salwa from Allah they were objecting that we don't like this menu. Now there are 70 leaders he had taken up onto the mountain for this mission, and he comes back alone — they are all dead.

The Du'a of Musa and Allah's Response

This would be a very, very difficult position for Musa alayhi as-salam. So he pleads to Allah and begs Him:

He said: O Allah, it is up to You — You control life and death. At any time You could have killed me, at any time You could have killed them, You could have killed them before as well. You could have sent death upon them at any occasion. And are You going to bring destruction upon us because of the actions of these foolish people among us?

So he continues to make du'a. And then in his du'a he says:

He asks Allah for mercy and forgiveness. So Allah responds to the call of Musa alayhi as-salam and says: Yes, I will take care of your present need. However, the special mercy you are asking from Me — this I cannot give to the Banu Israel.

The specific mercy, the khass mercy that I have, the khass rahma — this is reserved for a special ummah that will be following afterwards. And this is the ummah of My Habib, al-Mustafa sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. That is what Allah says.

That mercy you are asking for, O Musa alayhi as-salam — the present crisis that you have, I will relieve you of that problem and I will bring these individuals back to life. So Allah granted them life once again. But then He says:

That specific mercy, the khass special mercy — I have decreed, فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا — I have written it, meaning I have decreed it for those people who will come afterwards.

The Description of the Blessed Ummah and Its Nabi

Who are they? لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ — They are those who fear Allah. They are those who discharge the zakah. They are those who بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ — believe in Our signs. These are still common factors — there are many nations who pray salah, who give zakah, who believe in the ayat of Allah. But then Allah mentions:

They are those who are following the Unlettered Prophet. This is referring to our beloved Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. That Nabi that Allah begins describing in detail. He is that Nabi whose description is found in detail in the Tawrat and the Injil. And He is the one — يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ — who invites them towards good things and that which is beneficial, towards righteous actions. And He prevents them from that which is harmful, that which has been rejected by Allah:

And He is the one — يُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ — who has declared halal for the ummah who conveys the hukm of Allah. Allah is the One who makes things halal and Allah is the One who makes things haram. But through the tongue of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, through the actions of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, He is the one who conveys the message from Allah of that which is halal and that which is haram.

But there is an additional word here — يُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ — those things which are pure, which are healthy, which are good for us, He will be declaring halal for the ummah. And He will be declaring the khabaith — those things which are harmful for us — He will be declaring that as haram.

And those difficult commands that were upon the previous nations — the Jews and Christians in the sharia of Musa alayhi as-salam — those difficult, restrictive commands which have been termed as shackles, He will come to remove those shackles. The أَغْلَال — the difficult commandments of the past. This is a description of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

And then Allah further goes on to say:

So those who believe in Him, and those who respect Him, and they help Him — by helping His deen, helping His physical person when He was present amongst us, and helping His deen after He has left us — and they follow the noor of guidance of the Quran that has been revealed unto Him. They are the successful ones. So this is a brief translation of these ayat.

The Profound Love of Allah for the Prophet and His Ummah

What is noteworthy here — there are many things — but one very important thing we see is that Musa alayhi as-salam is in a very difficult predicament. He is on the mountain with the 70 leaders of the Bani Israel, of the 12 tribes. They are lying dead because of their insistence — first to hear from Allah, which was fulfilled, and then they wanted to see Allah. And after they die, he is crying to Allah: O Allah, how am I going to go back and face my people? And when he is asking for mercy, Allah granted the mercy to them by bringing them back to life. But then Allah says: look, the special mercy you are asking for is reserved for our ummah to come.

And this is a sign of how much Allah loves this ummah. And this is a sign — more than this ummah — of how much Allah loves the Nabi of this ummah. And the reason this ummah itself is so beloved to Allah is because we are the ummah of His most beloved Habib, al-Mustafa sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

And this love is manifest in so many different ways. In this particular scene, it manifested from the fact that there is a crisis at hand — there is a need that Musa alayhi as-salam, the Kalimullah, is asking for — but Allah has so much love for Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and so much love for the ummah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam by virtue of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that He goes on this long description. Everything Allah says is maqsood — it is an objective. Allah does not say anything that is not related. There are always points, there are always lessons.

And that is the exact lesson we are talking about — that we see how much love Allah has. That if there is anything remotely connected with Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, then Allah is enjoying that discussion. Allah goes on this long description and praise of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and praise of the ummah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — even though that is going to come centuries later and is not related to the current situation.

The Unlettered Prophet — Taught Directly by Allah

Those who receive this special mercy are — SubhanAllah — those who fear Allah, who give the zakah, who believe in the ayat and the revelation sent upon their Nabi, and who follow the Rasul and Nabi al-Ummi — the Unlettered Prophet, the one that Allah directly educated. He received the divine education from Allah. He never had any human being as a teacher.

(Reported in various narrations; see al-'Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa', no. 212)

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: My Lord is the one who educated me and gave me the best education. And My Lord is the one who taught me adab — etiquettes and manners — and taught me the best etiquettes and manners. No human being can lay any claim to the greatness of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam by saying that He was my student. He was the one who formally was unlettered but was granted the wisdom that none of the creation had. Rasul and Nabi al-Ummi.

Written in the Torah and Injil

Then Allah says: يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا. The scholars of Tafsir say that Allah did not say that His signs or alamat or His description is found in the Torah and the Injil. Rather Allah said يَجِدُونَهُ — He Himself is found in the Torah and Injil. Meaning His description was so clear and so detailed that there was absolutely no ambiguity regarding His identification — that He is Muhammad bin Abdullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the final Prophet, for those who had the knowledge of the Torah and Injil.

And there are examples of this we see from the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Like the young man from the Jewish tribes of Medina who used to visit Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and sit in his company. When he got sick and was not attending, Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam noticed his absence and asked how he was doing. It was mentioned that he was sick. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself went to visit him — he did his i'yada. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is visiting the Jewish young boy. And when he goes to his home, he finds him on his deathbed — truly sick in his fatal illness. His father was sitting next to him, and he had a copy of the Torah in its present form at that time — the muharraf form, whatever was present of the book, not the original form of course.

And Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked the father: I ask you in the name of that Allah who revealed the original Torah on Musa alayhi as-salam — do you find my mention in the book you are holding in your hand? He denied it. Then the son who was dying raised his head up and said: No — your mention is in this book. My father is lying. Who had taught him? His father himself and the other rabbis had taught him. But the father was denying it, and he was accepting it. Thereafter he recited the Kalima and declared the Shahada and passed away. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when he came out from that house, his face was shining and he was so happy, and he said Alhamdulillah that Allah has saved another soul from the fire of Jahannam.

So this is the one they find written in the Torah and Injil — they find His description there. Abdullah bin Salam, who was a Jewish rabbi and became a Sahabi of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, took Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to the Baytul Midras — a rabbinical seminary where rabbis were trained in Medina — and they went to visit the rabbis. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked: Do you not find my mention in the scrolls that you have in front of you? The particular rabbi there had his elbow resting on the scrolls and said: No, there is no mention of you here. So Abdullah bin Salam actually pushed his elbow aside and said: It is right under your elbow — you are covering it. That is exactly where the description of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is.

Allah says:

They recognized the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. They had no doubt about his identity, just like a father is able to recognize his own son.

The Halal, the Haram, and the Removal of Burdens

And then He invites towards all that is good and prevents them from all that is bad. He makes things which are beneficial and healthy for us halal — He declares that as halal. It is not sufficient for us to merely adopt that which is halal or to hold the aqeedah that it is permissible — we must also believe that it is actually better for us. Likewise, وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ — it is not sufficient that we abstain from that which is haram or believe that it is haram; we must also believe that it is actually harmful for us, because it is khabith. If it were good for us, it would not have been made haram. So we are thankful to Allah for making things beneficial for us halal, and things harmful for us haram. This is not a burden for us — it is rather a blessing for us.

And furthermore, the difficult commandments of the past have been removed, and our sharia is there as a source of rahma for us.

The Four Rights of Rasulullah

Then Allah mentions four rights — the huquq — of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the huquq al-Mustafa sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

First — those who believe in him and hold him in the highest level of respect. Second — those who honor and revere him. Third — they help him: when he was alive they helped his physical person, and they help his deen after he has passed away from us — helping the deen of Allah. Fourth — they follow the Quran, which is the noor that has been revealed upon him. These are the four rights of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And it is only these ones who are truly successful.

The Honor of Being from the Ummah of the Prophet

So we ask from Allah that we truly begin to realize how great is the maqam — the station — of our beloved Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Any opportunity Allah has to speak of His beloved, He begins to describe him, and after describing him, He describes his ummah as well.

And we are so lucky, we are so honored, we are so blessed — beyond our wildest imagination, something that we can never fathom — is how great this honor is that we have been selected by Allah to be among the ummatis of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. This honor — insha'Allah, if we have husn al-khatimah, which we hope for and make du'a for and beg Allah for — we will see it on the Day of Judgement.

That verily Jannah is forbidden for all the other anbiya to enter until I enter it, and it is forbidden for all the nations and ummahs of the past to enter Jannah until my ummah enters it.

So how did we receive this honor? It is from the fadhl of Allah — without any istihqaq, without deserving it in the least. May Allah fill our hearts with the love of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and allow us to be among those who believe in him, respect him, love him, follow the Quran that has been revealed upon him, and fulfill all of his rights — those mentioned in this ayah and those mentioned throughout the Quran.

Announcements — Annual Seerah Conference

And the reason this is a reminder for us is that — SubhanAllah — tonight we are having our annual Seerah Conference, starting tonight and continuing tomorrow. This is an opportunity for us to reflect on the life of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to learn more about the rights that we owe Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and by learning about him — different aspects of his life, his noble seerah — insha'Allah this will inspire us to love him the way he deserves to be loved and to follow him the way he deserves to be followed. May Allah give us tawfiq to attend this conference and to benefit from it.

We all make du'a that Allah accepts it in His court and grants all of us ikhlas — all the speakers, all the attendees — to benefit from it and fill our hearts with His love and the love of His Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

General Announcements

Please stand up, please move forward, please fill in all the gaps and make space for others. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right — donate generously. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

We have a request for du'a for shifa for sister Seema Sultana — she is in the hospital. May Allah grant her shifa. We also have a request for du'a for brother Khalid Noman, our architect of the seminary — may Allah grant shifa to his wife. She will be having surgery on the 15th — may Allah make the surgery successful and grant her complete shifa.

Our weekly programs are continuing:

• Saturday morning — Team Fajr: Fajr iqamah at 6am, talk and tazkiyah followed by breakfast.
• Monday nights — after Isha: Bukhari dars.
• Tuesday nights — after Isha: Tafsir program, Surah al-Anbiya, continuing with Mufti Azimuddin.
• Thursday nights — after Isha: weekly salawat gatherings.

Registration for the Winter Intensive is now open — please register on the website.

And most importantly, as mentioned, our annual Seerah Conference is starting tonight after Isha at 7:45pm and continues tomorrow from Dhuhr till Isha. Please RSVP on the website so we can ensure proper arrangements. Please help us reach our goal of 25 million salawat before this event.

Everyone is requested to attend and bring their friends and family members. We will also be having a Seerah Bowl for the youth — a competition for young men and young women in two separate competitions after Dhuhr tomorrow. This is an opportunity for the children to learn about the seerah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in a fun, exciting, and engaging manner. We should insha'Allah try to attend. Registration is closed — we have about 100 brothers and 101 sisters — a very similar number on both ends. Very exciting on its own to see this participation from the boys and the girls in great numbers for this program, and we hope to make this an annual program.

Jazakumullah Khayran.