The Story of Prophet Musa Moses and the two Women
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Praise be to God the Creator of the world, the One Who exists without beginning, without end, without location, without a "how" and Who does not depend on time. Nothing resembles Him in anyway and He hears and sees everything without organs. Whatever you imagine, God is different from that. May the elevation in degree and preservation of his community of what he fears for it, be granted to our master Muhammad Al-‘Amin, the Honest One, who called for following Islam, the religion of truth, the religion of all the Prophets: of the First, Adam, to the last Muḥammad.
All praise is due to Allâh The Exalted, and may Allâh raise the rank of our beloved Prophet Muḥammad peace be upon him, his kind relatives and companions, and protect his nation from that which he feared for them thereafter.
Our sermon today relates to a remarkable story that occurred between two of Allâh’s honourable Prophets, Prophet Musa and Prophet Shu`ayb may Allâh’s peace be upon them.
Prophet Musa `alayhi s-salam left Egypt for the purpose of keeping himself safe from the ill intentions of the unjust Pharaoh and his army and headed towards the city of Madyan (the city of Prophet Shu`ayb) on foot, without carrying any food.
It must be known that Prophet Musa’s departure was not a cowardly act as this attribute does not befit the status of Prophet hood. He ate the raw leaves off the trees on his way, which displays the remarkable character of the Prophet Musa illustrated in his adherence to patience in times of total hardship, calamity and affliction. Prophets do not object to Allâh, nor do they ever abandon calling people to Islam.
Prophet Musa Moses `alayhi s-salam reached the city of Madyan after traveling for eight full days. Becoming very tired due to hunger he rested in the shade of a tree. He first saw a large well surrounded by a group of people watering their livestock. Prophet Musa Moses also noticed that two sisters, with sheep they wished to water, were waiting for these people to finish so that they could water theirs. They had decided to stay back fearing that if they would approach their sheep would be lost among the others. Prophet Musa Moses felt for these two sisters.
And here my dear brothers, we learn a lesson from the good character and conduct of Prophet Musa `alayhi s-salam on the topic of how one should feel for others, approach people who have been inflicted with hardships and distress, and offer services and help for the sake of Allâh. One should offer to aid even without being asked for help. Indeed this is a praised attribute in Islam and earns one great merits in this life and the Hereafter.
Prophet Musa Moses `alayhi s-salam feeling for these two sisters asked them for their reason behind their care for the sheep. They told him that their father was a very old man and had no sons to take care of the sheep. Meanwhile the rest of the farmers finished watering their cattle, and had placed a large heavy rock over the mouth of the well, a rock so heavy, that it would take ten strong men to move.
So what did Musa Moses `alayhi s-salam end up doing? With the physical strength Allâh bestowed upon him he moved the rock on his own and got water out of well. He gave it to the sisters to water their sheep and then returned the rock back where it was. He then walked back to the shade of the tree he was resting under, and supplicated to Allâh subHânahu wa ta`âlâ and thanked Him for bestowing upon him this great endowment of bodily strength.
Notice my dear brothers in Islam how these two sisters did not push in amongst the men and how they looked after their father’s property while behaving sensibly, out of their timely shyness and humbleness. In today’s time and age we sadly see many women squeezing in impatiently amongst men, not adapting the praised quality of propriety and mandatory covering of the body. And there are men that choose not to assist a female in hardship except if there was a worldly return, or only if she allows him unlawfully to satisfy his desires of her. We seek refuge with Allâh from such dispraised character.
Therefore dear brothers adhere to the conduct of Prophet Musa `alayhi s-salam, and to the manners of those two sisters who chose the path of patience, shyness, and humbleness and avoided mixing with the men, for our religion is great and our Qur’ân is great carrying great benefits and lessons.
For this reason we elected to enlighten you with part of Prophet Musa and Shu`ayb’s story so that you can compare between the prophetic manners that we should be practicing and the ones implemented by many people today. And we shall continue with the rest of the story in the upcoming khutbah insha’ Allâh.
We humbly ask Allâh to enlighten us with the light of Knowledge, and keep us steadfast to the path of truth and righteousness. Ameen. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to ask.
الحمد لله رب العالمين
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