28 September 2014 Musa and Magicians 2

28 September 2014 Musa (part 11) and Magicians 2

Life of Musa*
(Recap last week)
Pharaoh scared of Musa* so he invited the best of the best magicians to humiliate Musa* publicly.
He did not want to kill/martyr Musa* (yet) as the message may become strong.
'Magic' does not exist in the real world (as opposed to 'illusions')
Even if magic exists it is not allowed to get involved in it
The Prophets were given permission to perform 'miracles' to show their authenticity as Prophets
Musa*'s stick became a real live snake and ate up all the sticks! Was this snake fat or thin??!

Muslims in Pharaoh’s Court
The confrontation between the Prophet Musa* and those opposing him resulted in a completely unexpected end for Pharaoh, the magicians and the spectators alike. The people in subject, who had been so self-assured and arrogant of their superiority, were defeated. Furthermore, this total defeat took place right before the eyes of the people of Egypt. The impact of the defeat was even greater for those opposing the Prophet Musa*. Their spectacle, which was merely an illusion, they knew very well not to have been real. They had devised tricks to deceive people into believing that their system—and consequently Pharaoh's system—was allegedly divinely powerful (Allah is beyond that). However, the Prophet Musa* appeared with an obvious miracle. The staff of the Prophet Musa* had actually devoured their trickery. These people, therefore, grasped that this was a real miracle, and a sign of the existence of Allah, and an evidence of Allah's support to the Prophet Musa*. Thereupon, they embraced faith:
Anyone who was important in Egyptian society was invited to the Palace for the battle. The outcome was unexpected and more people knew about the battle. The magicians, who were the best of the best, realised Musa* was the real deal and believed in his miracle and message. Had Musa* been a magician they would surely have known about him. Originally they wanted fame, money, power and privilege but were now happy to die for Allah purely for the afterlife.
The magicians threw themselves down in prostration. They said, "We have faith in the Lord of all the worlds, the Lord of Moses and Aaron." (Surat al-A'raf: 120-122)
Pharaoh said, "Have you believed in him before I authorised you to do so? This is just some plot you have concocted in the city to drive its people from it." (Surat al-A'raf: 123)

Pharaoh accuses
Pharaoh made up completely a story - fabricated plot in his paranoid mind to justify the defeat and protect his kingdom. Hence, people who are twisted, jealous and don't like you will always be against the true Muslims and will look for the negative side of things or even make up stories. We can also expect that today with people around us and we see in society.
Thought Police – shows his arrogance and complete astonishment / desperation !!
He offered himself false interpretations, fabricating scenarios which he himself knew were imaginary. Pharaoh, with this crooked logic, made very wicked slanders. Allah relates in the verse:
"…He is your chief, the one who taught you magic…" (Surah Ta-Ha: 71)
In one way or another, he would have to defuse the situation and re-establish his power. For this purpose, he resorted to violence, threatening the believing people with torture and death:
"…I will cut off your hands and feet alternately and have you crucified on palm trunks. Then you will know for certain which of us has the harsher and longer lasting punishment."
They said, "We will never prefer you to the Clear Signs which have come to us nor to Him Who brought us into being. Decide on any judgement you like. Your jurisdiction only covers the life of the earth." (Surah Ta-Ha: 71-73)
They said, "We are returning to our Lord. You are only avenging yourself on us because we had faith in our Lord's Signs when they came to us. Our Lord, pour down steadfastness upon us and take us back to You as Muslims." (Surat al-Araf: 125-126)
They said, "We do not care! We are returning to our Lord. We remain hopeful that our Lord will forgive us our mistakes for being the first of the believers." (Surat ash-Shu'ara: 50-51)

Disquiet in Bani Israel
There was utter humiliation for the Pharaoh as he had lost so publicly and so comprehensively. A PR (Public Relations) disaster with his esteemed Magicians not just losing but completely changing sides and becoming Muslims! Pharaoh had taken counsel after his humiliation at the hands of Musa* and Harun*. The vested interests of the ruling elite and cronies (Malla) could not bear to see the Pharaoh potentially lose his power and authority and so challenged him to stand up the Musa* and his people – because they would lose power, money and influence.
How many people control a society? In the UK today only a few thousand maximum (if you think putting a cross on a paper controls the laws you are sadly mistaken!). Likewise in Ancient Egypt only a few thousand maximum were the rulers and they controlled all of society.
So, Pharaoh became more oppressive with increased surveillance and laws directed at Bani Israel. Then, Pharaoh also proclaimed some of the children on Bani Israel be killed to show his power over them. And people complained to Musa* that his birth was a bad omen for them and now his challenge of Pharaoh was bad for them. Moses said to his people:
"Seek help in Allah and be steadfast. The Earth belongs to Allah. He bequeaths it to any of His servants He wills. The successful outcome is for those who have fear for Allah."
They said, "We suffered harm before you came to us and after you came to us."
He said, "It may well be that your Lord is going to destroy your enemy and make you the successors in the land so that He can see how you behave." (Surat al-Araf: 128-129)

Aasiya and other women who were the best
One of those to have put her faith in the Prophet Musa* was the wife of Pharaoh. This noble woman, who previously shared so many worldly favours with Pharaoh, not only dared to leave all such riches behind, but also to make herself the object of Pharaoh's violence. Her choice is clearly the sign of a very profound and sincere faith. Indeed, along with Maryam, the Qur'an refers to the wife of Pharaoh as a faithful woman whose conduct was exemplary:
Allah has made an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh when she said, "My Lord, build a house in Paradise for me in Your Presence and rescue me from Pharaoh and his deeds and rescue me from this wrongdoing people." (Surat at-Tahrim: 11)
The sincere devotion of Pharaoh's spouse to Allah is a great example for all Muslims. This true believer abandoned the riches of this world, and acknowledged that the real life would be in the hereafter. She preferred the blessings of the hereafter over the benefits of this short, though deceptively dazzling life. She prayed to Allah only for a house in Paradise. Without a doubt, such a sincere prayer, filled with a spiritual devotion towards the hereafter, is a fine example for all those who believe.
The four best women mentioned by the Prophet*
Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari: Allah's Messanger* said, "Many amongst men attained perfection but amongst women none attained the perfection except Maryam (Mary), the daughter of 'Imran, and Aasiya, the wife of Fir'aun (Pharaoh)…." [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
The Messenger of Allah* drew four lines on the ground, then he said, “Do you know what this is?” We said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The Messenger of Allah* said: “The best of the women of Paradise are Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, Faatimah bint Muhammad, Aasiyah bint Mazaahim the wife of Pharaoh, and Maryam bint ‘Imran. [Imaam Ahmad]

3 babies who spoke
There are many hadith about babies who spoke when they were babies. Generally accepted as:
- Prophet Isa
- The Pharaoh’s hairdresser
- The child in the Boy and the King story

Main Topic: 10 Days Dhul-Hijjah and Iraq War part 3

Importance of first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah
Encouraged all to increase their good deeds and fasting to benefit from these 10 days. Immense benefit from doing good.

Iraq War (Part 3)
Brief discussions on the Iraq War part 3 vote in Parliament where the UK has (yet again) voted to bomb Iraq and the Muslims - yet again.
Although not many people and Muslims support ISIS (as they do not represent Muslims and do many openly unislamic things) there is no real justification for more war and bombs on the innocent Muslims in the region – especially from countries continually engaged in war on the Muslims there (direct or indirect through their proxies and puppets)
This also demonstrates the power of our media which is far from a ‘free press’ as it always promotes the government agenda. This is manipulation of public opinion by the controlling elite (much like in the times of Musa / Pharaoh).
And then these war-hungry countries wonder why there follows ‘Blowback’ when the chickens finally come home to roost!!
We should not be fooled that this is a 'humanitarian' war because these same people did not care about the massacre in Gaza or Syria.
It is also shocking how quiet the Muslim community and scholars and imams are with the bombing of Muslims. It is okay and right to criticise ISIS for the wrong they do, but please be consistent! Where were the Saudis and Qataris a few months ago in Gaza, where were they when Assad was butchering the Syrian people etc.
There is rank hypocrisy in these wars and the Muslims should not be duped.

21 September 2014: Musa and Magicians Duel, Scottish Independence

21 September 2014: Musa and Magicians Duel, Scottish Independence

Musa and Magicians Duel
 
Musa* has 2 objectives from Allah:
- Talk to Pharaoh and convince him about Islam
- Ask Pharaoh to free Bani Israel as he has been oppressive
He entered into Pharaoh’s court and made his demands and showed his miracles but Pharaoh didn’t but it.
Egyptian Headlines

We started off with some mock news headlines that we could expect from this propaganda battle between Pharaoh and his elite with the Muslims of the day = Musa* (referenced to today’s tabloid reaction to Muslims):

Egyptian Propaganda
Issues from the discussion of headlines and how the propaganda would be spun!:
- Terror threat as Musa challenges Pharaoh
- No real magic
- Ministry of Magic to train the best / brightest talent
- Society based upon superstitions and magicians (as priests) provide link between gods and people
- Role of magic in Egyptian society to control the people and show godliness of Pharaoh
- Egypt was the most advanced society and yet Bani Israel wanted out of the structure of civilisation
- Musa*’s demands were a direct challenge to the authority of Pharaoh and if Pharaoh accepted demands it would show weakness and his power would collapse
- Bani Israel was a foreign community and kept themselves distinct and easy target for bigotry
- Not too different between how Muslim’s of today are exposed to propaganda when compared to the Muslims at the time of Musa*
Pharaoh was not impressed with the display of miracles and said it was cheap magic and assumed that Musa* wanted to overtake his authority and take control, come to power and overthow the government of the time. Pharaoh knew that he couldn’t give in to Musa* if he wanted to keep his power and control. Hence, this was an existential threat to how society has been run.
[ Just like to day Muslims want to dismantle the oppression of modern governments and implement the Justice of Allah over the people. For example, aim to eradicate poverty and provide basic necessities for all citizens. This would be funded by exploiting natural resources (oil wealth, whatever is mined underground) for the benefit of the whole population not just a few families or elite. ]

Pharaoh rejects the Miracles and summons his magicians
Pharaoh claimed the miracles of the Prophet Musa* were a magician's tricks, and according to his shallow mindset believed that they could be undone by his own magicians. Therefore, he could allegedly defeat the Prophet Musa* to regain his leverage.
He said, "Have you come to us to expel us from our land by means of your magic, Moses? We will bring you magic to match it. So fix a time between us and you which neither we nor you will fail to keep at a place where we can meet halfway."
He (Moses) said, "Your time is the day of the festival. The people should gather in the morning." (Surah Ta-Ha: 57-59)
Musa* chose the festival where most people would be and he knew this as he grew up in this environment. In this way, all the people would hear the message of the Prophet Musa* and witness the defeat of Pharaoh and his magicians. Pharaoh summoned the top magicians from all over Egypt and told them of what ‘tricks’ Musa had which they needed to compete with. They demanded what payment they would receive and they were promised fame, money, power and influence.
(They said) "To bring you all the skilled magicians."
The magicians came to Pharaoh and they asked, "Will we receive a reward if we are the winners?"
He (Pharaoh) said, "Yes, and you will be among those brought near." (Surat al-A'raf: 112-114)


The Battle commences...
The most able magicians of Egypt were brought against the Musa* and the Harun. The Prophet Musa* was asked to decide who should start after he gave them one last chance to change their mind:
Moses said to them, "Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah or He will annihilate you with His punishment. Fabricators of lies are bound to fail."
They argued among themselves about the matter and had a secret conference.
They said, "These two magicians desire by their magic to expel you from your land and abolish your most excellent way of life, so decide on your scheme and then arrive together in force. He who gains the upper hand today will definitely prosper." (Surah Ta-Ha: 60-64)
They said, "Moses, will you throw or shall we be the first to throw?" He said, "No, you throw!"
And suddenly their ropes and staffs appeared to him, by their magic, to be slithering about. (Surah Ta-Ha: 65-66)
He (Moses) said, "You throw." And when they threw, they cast a spell on the people's eyes and caused them to feel great fear of them. They produced an extremely powerful magic. (Surat al-A'raf: 116)
When the (about 70 or so) magicians performed their magic, their ropes and staffs appeared to slither. As Allah informs us in the verse, all were deceived into seeing ropes and staffs as moving by themselves. Just an optical illusion. All the top people in society were invited to show up Musa* but this worked against Pharaoh in the end. With their illusions, the magicians of Pharaoh won the public over.
These are the top magicians in the world at the time and if there was anyone else who could do ‘magic’ they would certainly know about it. Just like the top scientists know each other. The example of Ben Johnson ‘coming from nowhere’ to win the Olympic medal – had to be cheating! Hence, they were confident they would win and ‘magic’ was the thing that the people in society excelled in. Hence, the miracle was all the greater.
They threw down their ropes and staffs and said, "By the might of Pharaoh we are the winners." (Surat ash-Shu'ara: 44)
Moses experienced in himself a feeling of alarm. We said, "Have no fear. You will have the upper hand. Throw down what is in your right hand. It will swallow up their handiwork. Their handiwork is just a magician's trick. Magicians do not prosper wherever they go." (Surah Ta-Ha: 67-69)
When they had thrown, Moses said, "What you have brought is magic. Allah will certainly prove it false. Allah does not uphold the actions of corrupters." (Surah Yunus, 10: 81)
Following these words related in the verses, the Prophet Musa* threw down his staff. The result was terrifying for the magicians. The Prophet Musa’s*staff swallowed the sorcery of Pharaoh's magicians:
We revealed to Moses, "Throw down your staff." And it immediately swallowed up what they had forged. So the Truth took place and what they did was shown to be false. They were defeated then and there, transformed into humbled men. (Surat al-A'raf: 117-119)
Unlike the illusory tricks of magicians, the Prophet Musa* worked a real miracle by his staff. Consequently, contrary to what the unbelievers expected, the Prophet Musa* defeated the magicians. So, everybody witnessed that Allah's promise was true. 


Main topic: Scottish Independence

What can link Scottish Independence vote with Islam...?
55% has voted for Scotland to remain as part of the Union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland against 45% who voted for independence. So what can be learned?
- Turnout: The very high turnout of around 90% indicates something important – people are generally disillusioned with main-stream politics / democracy where only 60% vote. Westminster politicians are disconnected from the ordinary people with politicians considered to be amongst the least trustworthy of all.
- Britain has an identity crisis! Does being ‘British’ or ‘Scottish’ depend upon geography, ancestry, tribe, skin colour or language? It is simply not about culture or a shared history. It is about beliefs and values. After 300 years the Union of England and Scotland, capitalism has failed to melt people together in a single nation state into one identity. What do we consider our identity to be here?
- As a Muslim we should be unified as we are One Ummah: One Book, One Allah, One seal of Prophets. The idea / concept of a ‘Nation State’ was and is associated with the rise of the modern system of states, often called the "Westphalian system" in reference to the Treaty of Westphalia (1648). Modern Muslim countries are only about one hundred years old or younger and have no justification in Islam. Nationalism is an alien concept to Muslims – although we acknowledge where we come from we don’t have allegiance to the soil. Many countries were drawn up by 2 people: The Sykes–Picot Agreement was a secret agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and France defining their proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East upon defeating the Ottoman Empire. The agreement was concluded on 16 May 1916.