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Have you ever wanted to become closer
to Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la?
Grow in your spirituality, your practice,
only to be faced with criticism, intense questioning,
or even worse?
Have you ever felt like you had to give up certain things
so that you could practice your Islam;
despite it going against your friends,
family, or even your own spouse?
This is no doubt a lonely place to be.
But we have a role model preserved
in the Qur'an for us to connect with.
I'd like to introduce you to Asiyah bint Muzāhim.
The wife of not only one of the most powerful,
but one of the most corrupt rulers of all time.
Fir'awn, the ruler of ancient Egypt.
(birds chirping)
Imagine a woman who has it all
access to power, wealth, and high status.
She is a believer in the one true God;
but is married to one who claims to be a God.
And on top of his grave delusion,
he is a cruel and an oppressive tyrant.
Massacring the people of Bani Israel
simply for believing in Allah.
Fir'awn's desperation for power blinds him
but not the one closest to him;
his wife: Āsiya 'Alayha Salaam.
Āsiya not only had deep faith,
but an optimism in Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
A trust in him that would spark the dua she made
to her Lord.
The duaa that is forever preserved in the Holy Qur'an.
"My Lord, build me a house in paradise near you
and deliver me from Fir'awn and his evil doing
and save me from the wrongdoing people."
Who is Āsiya? and why is she so inspirational?
What is her story? and what led up
to this famous hope-filled duaa?
To understand her story and why she's mentioned
in such high regard by Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
and the Holy Qur'an,
let's start from the beginning.
Not many details of her childhood is known
but we do know that Āsiyah 'Alayha Salaam
was a queen her entire life.
She lived a luxurious life,
as her father was a wealthy and powerful man.
Her marriage to Fir'awn was an arranged one.
And as royal marriages go,
this was the making of a power couple.
Āsiya's faith and determination is amazing
and inspiring on its own.
But what is unique to her story is that it intersects
with another revered member of religious history.
Our beloved Prophet, Musa 'Alayhi Salaam.
As we understand Āsiya 'Alayha Salaam
wasn't able to have children of her own,
and as such was superbly delighted to
find baby Musa 'Alayhi Salaam
floating in the Nile River, in a basket.
And as we'll talk about in another video,
Musa's mother was inspired
by Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
to save her son from the torment inflicted
by the order of Āsiya's very own husband, Fir'awn.
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says:
"And we inspired the mother of Musa:
Nurse him, but when you fear for him,
then cast him into the river
and fear not, nor grieve.
Verily, we shall bring him back to you
and she'll make him one of Our messengers."
So here you have Fir'awn on the one hand
ordering the killing of all boys of
Bani Israel that year;
out of fear that the interpretation of his dream:
that one day a son of Bani Israel would kill Fir'awn
and overtake his kingdom, would come true.
And on the other hand,
you have Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la inspiring Musa's
mother to send him down the river
to the very house of Fir'awn.
The irony is just amazing,
and reminds us that truly Allah is the best of planners.
And as Allah would have it planned,
Āsiya would be outside of the palace
at the very instant when the basket carrying baby Musa
would pass right in front of her.
Thinking it was a treasure, and it truly was,
she had the basket retrieved
from the river and brought it to her.
Upon opening the basket, her heart was filled with joy
as she found baby Musa 'Alayhi-Salaam.
Allah says,
'Then the household of Fir'awn picked him up
that he might become for them an enemy and a cause of grief.
Verily Fir'awn, Haman, and their armies were sinners.'
And the wife of Fir'awn said,
'A comfort of the eye for me, and for you.
Kill him not; perhaps he may be
of benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son.'
And they perceive not the result of that.
Now, the very boy that Fir'awn and Āsiya welcomed
into their own home was raised lovingly as their own son.
Āsiyah loved Musa 'Alayhi Salaam.
And after he left the palace and later became
a Prophet of Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
she would later come to believe in his
message of Tawhid.
Despite the cruelty and tyranny of Fir'awn
against anyone who believed,
she set aside her fears
and accepted the message of Musa.
Fir'awn, as it stands, had children from other wives.
Now there's an amazing intersection that happens
with the hairdresser of one of the daughters of Fir'awn
and Āsiya, Queen of Egypt.
One day the hairdresser of one of
Fir'awn's daughters was tending to her hair.
The hairdresser dropped her comb and said "Bismillah";
"In the name of Allah."
The daughter taken aback, said:
"Abi? Allah, my father?"
And the hairdresser said:
"No, the Lord of your father,
the Lord of me, and the Lord of you,
Allāh Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la."
Knowing this would upset her father,
the daughter told Fir'awn about the incident.
Of course, Fir'awn was furious.
So he decided to make an example
of the hairdresser in front of everyone.
Fir'awn orders a pit to be dug
and copper to be melted in that pit.
So that the hairdresser and all of her children
would be thrown into it.
After her children were forced to jump in before her,
now all who was left was the hairdresser
and her baby, whom she was nursing.
She hesitated to jump in with her baby,
but then miraculously, this baby spoke.
The baby said,
'Go ahead and jump, for the punishment
of this life is lighter than the
punishment of the next life.'
And with that, the blessed woman
full of hope and optimism in Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la,
jumped in.
The irony of it all is that Fir'awn gathered the people,
to witness this cruelty as a form of intimidation;
and as a means for setting an example
for those who may wish to join this woman
in her Tawhid.
But it is Allah who made an example of Fir'awn
by preserving his body for all time,
so that people today and tomorrow,
can see the end of those who claim superiority
and oppress others.
SubhanAllah. This woman on the other hand
although she was powerless and poor in the material sense,
she was rich in her Iman.
So much so that she also was made
as an example for those who believe.
In a hadith in Sahih Muslim
It is narrated that during Al-Israa wal Mi'raj
when Prophet Mohammad SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
traveled through Jannah,
he smelled a beautiful scent,
of which he asked Jibril 'Alayhi Salaam.
And Jibril told him, that this was the scent
of the hairdresser, of the daughter of Fir'awn.
After seeing the courage and
deep faith of the servant of Fir'awn
declare her servitude to the Almighty Allah,
Āsiya 'Alayha Salaam decided it was time
for her to do the same.
So Āsiya confronts Fir'awn about her Iman
the same night the hairdresser was killed.
Knowing what just happened
to the servant who expressed her faith,
Āsiya told Fir'awn that she disbelieves in him
and does not care what will happen to her.
She then goes on to express her belief in
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
When she confronts Fir'awn,
the horrible and cruel tyrant that he is,
he orders his servants to drag her to the desert,
tortures her in front of his own daughters and
they laugh at her.
The scene is really heart-wrenching.
But we only share this to understand the perseverance and
strength of this amazing woman.
SubhanAllah
There's Āsiya, with no supporter, deprived of food,
water, protection from the scorching sun,
and having the children of her powerful and
evil husband laugh at her in her most painful moment.
And despite all of this suffering
we see this beautiful expression of the deep hope
and the only truth in this world
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
And in this moment, the Queen of Egypt, Āsiya,
looks up to the sky and makes this famous and
beautiful duaa in Surah Al-Tahreem.
'Oh my Lord, build me a house in paradise near You and,
deliver me from Fir'awn and his evil doing,
and save me from the wrongdoing people.'
What beautiful companionship she seeks in the next life.
Before asking for a house in Jannah,
she asked that it be near Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
In essence, she traded the companionship
with the most powerful, yet worse man on Earth
with Allah, the most merciful and
traded her palace on Earth for a far greater one
in Jannah.
What an amazing believer,
to not despair in the mercy of Allah,
despite her extreme hardship.
Allah answers her dua.
When she looks up at the sky, she sees her palace in Jannah.
Āsiya 'Alayha Salaam also sees
the angels sent by Allah to shade her.
What a mercy from Allah.
What an expression of his love for her.
After seeing the angels, Āsiya laughs at Fir'awn.
Now picture this:
Fir'awn thinks he has the upper hand,
and as the most powerful ruler in the land,
as he tortures her for her faith.
But she owns her faith, her heart and mind.
He cannot take away her most precious asset:
her belief in Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
And on top of that,
Allah is comforting her physically in this world and
morally, by showing her a glimpse
of her reward in the next life.
Seeing Āsiya laugh infuriates Fir'awn and
he thinks she's crazy.
He orders his guards to go to the highest peak and
to push over a giant boulder that would
crush her body down below.
Again Allah, the most merciful
answering Āsiya's dua to save her from Fir'awn,
took her soul before her body was further tormented.
Āsiya's story is a clear example of the reward
of those who put Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la first.
Āsiya's deep commitment to her faith reminds us
that sometimes there is great sacrifice
in staying on the straight path.
Sometimes, it means giving up that very tempting job offer
because aspects of the work may involve haram.
Or maybe passing up some material gain
because it might bring you more distraction than benefit.
Her story also reminds us that the more yaqeen you have
in this life, of the year after,
the less the trials of this world hurt us.
And Allah sets forth an example for the believers.
The wife of Fir'awn, who prayed,
'My Lord build me a house in paradise near You.
Deliver me from Fir'awn and his evil doing, and
save me from the wrongdoing people.'
What's amazing here is that with Āsiya's story,
Allah does not set her as an example for women only.
And Allah doesn't set her as an example
for the people of Arabia,
or for a certain group of people.
Allah sets an example for the believers,
both men and women for all time.
Āsiya, a woman of power, wealth, and high status
gave up everything for her faith in Allah.
And Allah shares her dedication to faith,
her deep hope and optimism in Allah
with all of humanity.
Sometimes when you want to become more religious
or for those of you who have converted to Islam,
you experience a harsh backlash to your religiosity.
Are you a Sheikh or Sheikha now?
Who do you think you are?
You may not have a Fir'awn in your house,
but you may very much have great hardship
in progressing in your faith journey.
Or even maintaining your base level of worship.
Some get kicked out of their homes.
Others are chastised for being too religious,
as if their devotion will lessen their chances
of finding a good job or of getting married, et cetera.
May Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
make all of us like Āsiya 'Alayha Salaam.
Firm in belief, hopeful in Allah,
and persevering in the face of adversity.
Ameen.
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