Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)
Do you ever find it hard to let
your children out of your sight?
Either as they start school,
spend days away at a time,
away from you due to divorce?
Moving away for college, work, or marriage?
There are always these painful moments of letting go.
Even when our children are living with us,
it's hard to not want to control
and protect their every move.
So that they don't make mistakes
or so that they don't get hurt.
Allah has preserved for us a beautiful example of a woman,
who by relinquishing her human control,
she intensified her trust
in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la.
Meet, Umm Musa.
(air swooshing)
(birds chirping)
Umm Musa, lived in Egypt and was from
the people of Bani Isra'il.
They were oppressed and enslaved
under the tyrannical rule of Firaun (Pharaoh).
Ibn Abbas radiAllahu Anhu narrated that Firaun had a dream
that his entire kingdom and his followers were burned,
except for the people of Bani Isra'il were spared.
So he gathered his priest and magicians
and asked them about the meaning of his vision.
They said "This means a boy will be born of them,
and Firaun and his followers will perish
at the hands of this boy."
So that is why Firaun commanded that all male babies
of the children of Bani Isra'il to be killed.
After some advice from his financial advisors,
this was later modified
to killing male children every other year,
so that he would not lose his enslaved workforce.
SubhanAllah, this just shows you how evil Firaun was.
Now imagine the fear that Umm Musa lived
with, especially after giving birth to a boy,
baby Musa Alayhi Salaam.
But Allah had a plan for them both.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says,
"And We inspired the mother of Musa:
'Nurse him, but when you fear for him, put him
into the river and do not fear or grieve.
We will certainly return him to you
and make him one of the Messengers.'"
As soon as Umm Musa received this divine inspiration,
she made a basket and put her most prized possession,
her newborn baby, in the river Nile.
Imagine the difficulty of letting go.
But despite the difficulty,
she trusted in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
that he would protect her baby and reunite her with him.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says in Surah Al-Qasas,
"And the heart of Musa's mother ached so much
that she almost gave away his identity,
had We not reassured her heart
in order for her to have faith in Allah's promise."
Umm Musa instructed her daughter to follow the basket
from afar.
After seeing that the basket reached the palace of Firaun,
Umm Musa's daughter ran back home
to give her mother the news.
Back at the palace Asiya Alayhi Salaam, who was not
able to have children of her own, expressed such joy
when she found the basket
and saw a beautiful baby boy.
Overwhelmed with happiness,
she asked Firaun to keep it, and he agreed.
So Asiya got what she wanted in gaining a son,
and Umm Musa got what she wanted: an initial
soothing of the heart that he was in good hands.
Allah says "And We had caused him to refuse
all wet nurses at first, so his sister suggested,
'Shall I direct you to a family
who will bring him up for you
and take good care of him?'"
So Umm Musa's daughter brought Umm Musa to the palace.
As soon as Umm Musa picked up and nursed her baby,
Musa Alayhi Salaam immediately started taking her milk.
Firaun was shocked and suspicious and asked, "Who are you?
This child has refused to take any other milk but yours."
If Umm Musa were to reveal who she was,
Firaun would have known that the child was from Bani Isra'il
and would've killed Musa Alayhi Salaam instantly.
However, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gave her inner strength
and she replied, "I am a woman of sweet milk,
and sweet smell, and no child refuses me."
This answer satisfied Firaun.
From this point, she was appointed as
Musa Alayhi Salaam's wet nurse.
She continued to nurse him for a long time
and even as he grew older and was weaned,
she was allowed the privilege of visiting him.
Look how Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
not only reunited Umm Musa
with her beloved son, but he also ensured
that he would be protected and raised
in the best of situations.
Allah says, "This is how We returned him to his mother
so that her heart would be put at ease, and not grieve,
and that she would know that Allah's promise is always true.
But most people do not know."
Umm Musa reminds us that it is the trust in
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la that will carry us
through these difficult moments.
And not only by providing us with the physical means,
but also by providing emotional support as well.
We just need to let go
and have 'Tawakul' (reliance upon Allah).
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)