Who is Prophet Moses?

The Prophet Moses or Musa is a central figure in Judaism and Christianity. It is recorded in the Old Testament and is also described in the New Testament. He led the Jews out of Egypt and freed the Jews from the fate of being enslaved. Then, he talked to Allah, accepted the Ten Commandments, became a world-famous religious leader, and became the communicator of Allah’s law.

In Islam, the Prophet Moses is also widely loved and respected by Muslims. He is both a prophet and a messenger. He has been mentioned more than 120 times in the Qur’an. His story is distributed in several chapters of the Qur’an. The records about his story are the most discussed and detailed in the Qur’an.

FEED THE POOR

Feeding the poor and needy is an act that draws us closer to Allah. We earn His forgiveness, mercies and blessings through this act of charity.

“Anyone who looks after and works for a widow and a poor person is like a warrior fighting for Allah?s cause, or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all night. (Bukhari)

The word “prophet” (called “Nabi” in Arabic) comes from the Arabic word “Naba”, which means “message”. Allah reveals certain messages to the prophets, and the prophet’s duty is to spread them among people. The “rasul” is a “prophet” who carries a special mission. His duty is to convey the new law prescribed by God to the world. So each messenger is a prophet, and every prophet is not necessarily a messenger.

Islam believes that the common responsibility of all prophets is to convey such a declaration to people:

“People, you only worship Allah, you must not worship anything other than God.” (Quran 11:50)

The Prophet Moses called on the descendants of Israel to worship the one God, which is the mission of the Old Testament. The Qur’an says:

“I have indeed revealed the Old Testament, which has guides and light, and the prophets who have returned to Allah have ruled according to it for Jews. Generally, rabbis and the priests are also judged according to the scriptures they are bound to protect, and Witness it for it.” (The Qur’an 5:44)

The Qur’an is a guide for all mankind. Although it is not a history book, it also records some historical facts. Allah asks us to think and reflect on the suffering experiences of the saints, to learn from the joys of suffering, suffering and victory that they have endured, thus continuing our own faith. The story of the Prophet Moses contains many profound lessons. Allah said that the story about Musa and Pharaoh is true. This is a historical event in which a nation has suffered political oppression and persecution. Its significance is not limited to the nation of Israel:

“I tell the story of Musa and Pharaoh in the true voice of the people who believe in God. Pharaoh is indeed arrogant in the country. He divides the people into many denominations and bullies one of them; kills their boys and saves them. Girl. He is indeed a bad man” (Quran 28:3-4)

 Musa was born in an era of political challenges in history. At that time, Pharaoh was the most authoritative king on earth. He had such a huge power that he claim himself as a “God”. No one can decide on him. Raise objections. He arrogantly declared:

“I am your God, The most high”, (Quran 79:24)

Pharaoh has supreme power in Egypt that affects all Egyptians. He used the strategy of differentiation and disintegration to establish a system of class division, dividing the crowd into different classes and tribes, and causing them to fight each other. In this way, the Jews, the descendants of Israel, became the lowest social group in Egypt. They were slaves of the Egyptians and served the society. The Musa family is a descendant of Israel.

In that era, Egypt was the world’s superpower, and the power of this country was only in the hands of a few. Pharaoh and his ministers decided on the fate of people. The political situation at that time was like a replica of politics in the 21st century. Young people were used as cannon fodder by the rulers to serve the political and military purposes of the superpowers. The experience of the Prophet Moses is exactly the same.

According to the records of Islamic historian Ibn Kathir, there is a story circulating among the descendants of Israel that a boy among them will seize the throne of the Egyptian King Pharaoh. Perhaps this is just a beautiful dream of an oppressed nation or perhaps a prophecy of ancient times. But this story begins here with the Prophet Moses, who connect the desire for freedom to the end of the tyrant.

READ MORE: Maqam of Prophet Musa (upon him be peace)

In that era, the lives of Egyptians were deeply influenced by dreams. They liked to explain all kinds of dreams. We know that this feature is fully reflected in the experience of the prophet Yusuf (AS). In the story of the Prophet Musa, the fate of the descendants of Israel is deeply influenced by the dream. Pharaoh dreamed that a boy from a descendant of Israel would grow up to take his power.

In order to get rid of the dream, Pharaoh made an extremely brutal decision, and all boys born to the descendants of Israel were killed. His ministers felt that the execution of the king’s orders, the descendants of Israel would break the grandchildren, and the Egyptian economy would be devastated, and without these slaves, the empire would not work. So they changed the order: the boys born this year were all executed, and the boys born the next year were all alive.

READ MORE: History Of Prophets: Story Of Prophet Dhul-Kifl

Pharaoh became so fanatical that he sent spies or intelligence personnel to search for pregnant women. If the woman was born to a boy, he immediately killed him. When Musa’s mother was pregnant with Musa, the fate of the child would determine the fate of the descendants of Israel, and his mother tried to conceal his pregnancy. However, God really want to helps the weak, Pharaoh’s plan is aborted like this:

“And We wished to do a favour to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land, and to make them rulers and to make them the inheritors, And to establish them in the land, and We let Fir’aun (Pharaoh) and Hâmân and their hosts receive from them that which they feared.” (Quran 28:5-6)

 This is the predecessor of Allah. The boy was born, the wind of change began to blow up, and Allah allowed mankind to have his own plans and arrangements, but Allah is the most beautiful arranger.