hope !

[kalamazoo]

وَالَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿29:7﴾

(29:7) Those who believe and do good deeds, We shall cleanse them of their evil deeds and reward them according to the best of their deeds. *10



.........................


*10

Iman means to believe in and accept sincerely all those things to which the Messenger of Allah and this Book invite; and "good works" are those which are performed in accordance with the guidance of Allah and His Messenger.

The good work of the heart and mind is that man's thinking and his ideas and his intentions should be right and pure.

The good work of the tongue is that man should refrain from talking evil things, and whatever he says should be just and right and true; and the good work of the limbs is that man's entire life should be spent in Allah's worship and in obedience to His Commands and Law.

Two results of the belief and righteous deeds have been mentioned:

(1) That man's evils will be wiped off; and

(2) that he will be rewarded for the best of his deeds better than what he will actually deserve.

Wiping off of evils means several things:

(1) All kinds of sins that man might have committed before his affirmation of the Faith will be pardoned as soon as he believes;

(2) the errors that man might have committed after the affirmation of the faith due to human weakness, but not because of a rebellious attitude, will be overlooked in view of his good deeds;

(3) man's self reform will automatically take place when he adopts a life of belief and righteousness. and most of his weaknesses will be removed from him.
The sentence,
"We shall reward them for the best of their deeds",

has two meanings:

(1) Man will be given his rewards on the basis of the best of his deeds;
and (2) he will be rewarded better and more handsomely than what he will actually deserve for his deeds.
This thing has been stated at other places also in the Qur'an.

For instance, in Surah Al-An`am. :160, it has been said:

"He who will bring a good deed before Allah, will receive a tenfold reward for it", and in Surah AlQasas :4: "Whoever brings a good deed, shall have a better reward than that", and in Surah An-Nisa :40: "Indeed Allah dces not wrong anyone even by a jot: if one does a good deed, He increases it manifold. "

 

[kalamazoo]

10-13) On the other hand, the heart of Moses' mother was sorely distressed. She would have disclosed his secret, had We not strengthened her heart so that she might have faith (in Our promise).She said to his sister, "Follow him up. " So, she watched him from a distance in a manner that (the enemies) did not notice it." *13And We had already forbidden the breasts of the nurses for the child. *14 (On seeing this) the girl said to them, "Shall I tell you of a house whose people will bring him up for you and look after him well?" *15Thus We restored Moses *16 to his mother so that her eyes might be cooled and she might not grieve and she might know that Allah's promise was true. *17 But most people do not know this.



meaning


*13

That is, the girl walked along and watched the floating basket in such a manner that the enemies could not know that she had anything to do with the child in it.
According to the Israelite traditions, this sister of the Prophet Moses was 10 to 12 years old. She followed up her brother intelligently and cleverly and ascertained that he had been picked up by the Pharaoh's household.


14

That is, "The child would not take to any nurse whom the queen would call for suckling him."


*15

This shows that the sister did not go and sit back at home when she found that her brother had reached Pharaoh's palace, but cleverly hung about the palace to watch every new development. Then, when she found that the child was not taking to any nurse, and the queen was anxious to get a nurse who would suit it, the intelligent girl went straight into the palace, and said,

"I can tell you the whereabouts of a nurse, who will bring him up with great affection." Here it should be borne in mind that in old days the well-to-do and noble families of these countries generally used to entrust their children to nurses for bringing up. We know that in the time of the Holy Prophet also nurses from the suburbs used to visit Makkah from time to time in order to get infants from the well-to-do families for suckling and nursing on rich wages. The Holy Prophet himself was brought up by Halimah Sa diyah in the desert.

The same custom was prevalent in Egypt. that is why the Prophet Moses' sister did not say that she would bring a suitable nurse, but said that she would tell them of a house whose people would take up the responsibility of bringing him up with care and affection.


::::::::

and..
(If i may add about this intelligent girl(the one who followed that floating basket)
She could be one of the slaves(as Israels' were treated) working there within the palace ladies side, after being aware as that basket been picked and as on daily basis (as i have assumed as she works there) hearing the cries of the very baby and as everyone was anxious to find solution; she THEN said as "i know a wet nurse"...(in my opinion I do not think that any young girl just to pop in and say as such)
abuali.as (2ngamaa)


*16

According to the Bible and the Talmud, the child was named "Moses" in Pharaoh's house. It is not a Hebrew but a Coptic word, which means, "I drew him out of the water", for in Coptic mo meant water and oshe rescued.

*17
Another good thing that resulted from this wise device by Allah was that the Prophet Moses could not become a real prince in Pharaoh's house, but grew up among his own people and became fully aware of his family and community traditions and his ancestral religion. Thus, instead of growing up as a member of Pharaoh's class and people he arose sentimentally and intellectually as a full-fledged Israelite.

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet has said:

"He who works to earn his livelihood and keeps in view Allah's goodwill also, has a likeness with the Prophet Moses' mother, who suckled her own son as well as received her wages for the service, too." That is, although such a person works to earn a living for his children, since he works honestly with a view to pleasing God he is just and upright in his dealings with others, seeks lawful provisions for himself and his children in the spirit of God's worship he does deserve a reward from Allah even for earning his own livelihood.

 

[kalamazoo]

charity

(2:263) A kind word and forbearance is better than that charity which is followed up by insult or injury. Allah is Self-Sufficient and Forbearing. *302



**302

This implies two things.

First, Allah does not stand in need of anybody's charity, for He is Self-Sufficient.

Secondly,He likes those people who are generous and large-hearted, but does not like frivolous and narrow-minded people, for He Himself is Generous, Clement and Forbearing. How, then Allah, Who bestows on the people the necessities of life without stint, and forgives and pardons them over and over again in spite of their errors, would like those who mar the self-respect of a person by sending repeated reminders of their charity and making pointed references to it even though they might have given only a farthing.

A Tradition of the Holy Prophet says that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will neither speak a word nor even so much as look at a person who makes pointed references to the gift he gave to some one.

 

[kalamazoo]

Surah 28. Al-Qasas

SURA(28:
verse26-28)

One of the two women said to her father, "Dear father, employ this man as a servant, for the best man for you to employ as a servant can be the one who is strong and trustworthy. " *37
Her father said (to Moses), *38 "I wish to give you one of my daughters in marriage provided that you serve me for eight years; and if you wish you may complete ten. I do not want to be harsh to you; if God wills, you will find me a righteous man. "
Moses replied, "Be it an agreement between me and you. Whichever of the two terms I complete, let there be no injustice to me after that; and Allah is a witness to what we have agreed upon. *39


meaning



*37

It is not necessary that the girl said this to her father in his very first meeting with Moses. Most probably her father made the traveller stay with him fo a couple of days, and the girl counseled him thus during that time. What she meant by this counsel was:

"Father, you are old, and therefore, we girls have to go out to perform outdoor duties. We have no brother either, who could take up these chores. You may therefore, employ this man as a servant: he is strong and will be able to face all kind of rigors, and he is also trustworthy. He helped us only due to his noble nature when he found us standing helpless, but he never raised his eyes at us."



*38

It is also not necessary that the father should have said this to Moses immediately at the daughter's counsel. One feels that he must have formed this opinion after due consideration. He must have thought:

"No doubt he is a noble person, but employing a healthy and strong young man like him as a servant in a house where there are grown up daughters would not be the right thing. When he is a gentle, educated and civilized man of a noble family (as he must have come to know from the story told by Moses), why shouldn't he be kept as a son-in-law in the house?" After reaching such a decision, he might have spoken to Moses at a suitable time.

Here again the lsraelites have done a grave injustice to their illustrious Prophet, greatest benefactor and national hero.

The Talmud says,

"Moses lived with Re'uel, and he looked with favour upon Ziporah, the daughter of his host, and married her."

Another Jewish tradition related in the Jewish Encyclopedia is to the effect:

When Moses related his story to Jethro, the latter understood that he was the person at whose hand the kingdom of Pharaoh was to be destroyed according to prophecies. Therefore, he immediately imprisoned Moses so that he should hand him over to Pharaoh and get a reward. He remained imprisoned for seven or ten years in a dark underground cell, but Jethro's daughter, Ziporah, whom he had first met at the well of water, kept visiting him in the cell secretly and providing him with food and drink;. They had even decided to marry. After seven or ten years Ziporah said to her father, "Years ago you put a man in the cell and then forgot him altogether. He should have died by now. But if he is still alive, he must be a godly person."

Hearing this when Jethro went to the prison, he found Moses alive and was convinced that he had miraculously remained so. Then he married Ziporah to him.
Have the Western orientalists who are ever on the lookout for the sources of the Qur'anic narratives ever cared to see this manifest difference that exists between the Qur'anic version and the Israelite traditions?


*39

Some people have taken this conversation between the Prophet Moses and the girl's father for a contract of marriage, and have started the dispute whether service under the father can be looked upon as a dower of the daughters marriage, and whether such external conditions can be laid down for the marriage contract; whereas the words of the verses under discussion themselves indicate this was not the contract of marriage but the initial proposal that is generally made before the execution of the marriage contract itself. After all, how can this be taken for a contract of marriage when it had not yet been decided which of the two girls was to be given away in marriage. The purport of the conversation was that the girl's father said,

"I am prepared to marry one of my daughters to you provided that you promise that you will stay in my house for eight to ten years and help me in performing household chores, for I am old and have no son either, who could manage my properties. I have only daughters whom I have to send to perform outdoor duties. I want you to strengthen me as my would-be son-in-law.If you are willing to accept this responsibility, and do not intend to take away your wife soon after marriage, I will marry one of my daughters to you."

The Prophet Moses himself was in search of a shelter at that time, so he accepted the proposal.
Evidently, it was a sort of contract that had been agreed upon between the two parties before the marriage. After this the actual marriage must have taken place according to the law and the dower also settled.

There could be no question of including the condition of service in the marriage bond itself.

 

[kalamazoo]

Chapter : 28. Al-Qasas

(28:38)

And Pharaoh said, "O chiefs, I do not know of any other god of yours than myself. *52 Burn for me bricks of clay, O Haman, and build me a high tower so that I may climb it to see the God of Moses for I consider him to be an utter liar. " *53


meaning

*52

By this Pharaoh did not, and could not, mean that he was the creator of his people and the earth and the heavens, for such a thing be uttered only by a madman. Likewise; he also did not mean that they had no other deity besides him for the Egyptians worshipped many gods, and the Pharaoh himself had been made the incarnation of the sungod.

The Qur'an testifies that the Pharaoh himself worshipped many gods:

"The chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, `Will you leave Moses and his followers free to spread disorder in the land, and to discard you and your deities'?" (A1-A`raf: 127) Therefore, inevitably, the Pharaoh had not used the word "god" here for himself as a creator and deity, but as an absolute and supreme sovereign. What he meant was this:

"I am the owner of this land of Egypt: I alone will rule here: My law will be the law of the land; I alone shall be accepted as the fountainhead of all commands and prohibitions here. None else is entitled to give commands in this country. Who is this Moses, who has appeared as the delegate of the Lord of the universe and is conveying orders to me as though he is the ruler and I am his subordinate?" That is why he addressed his courtiers, thus:
"O people: Is not the kingdom of Egypt mine? And are not these canals flowing beneath me?" (Az-Zukhruf: 51)

And that is why he said to Moses again and again,

"Have you come to turn us away from the faith of our forefathers so that you too may dominate over the land?" (Yunus: 78)

"O Moses, have you come to drive us out of our land by the power of your sorcery?" (Ta Ha: 57)

"I fear he will change your religion, or cause mischief to appear in the land." (Al-Mu'min: 26)



If the matter is considered from this angle it will become evident that the position of Pharaoh was no different from the position of those states which claim political and legal sovereignty independent of Divine Law brought by the Prophets. Whether they accept a king as the fountainhead of law and commands and prohibitions, or the will of the nation, in any case as long as they stick to the position that the country will be ruled by their law and not by the Law of AIlah and His Messengers, there will be no fundamental difference between their position and that of Pharaoh. It is, however, a different thing that the ignorant people curse Pharaoh but approve these as lawful. A person who understands reality will look for the spirit and sense and not merely for words and terminology. Pharaoh had used the word "god" for himself but these stales use the term "sovereignty" in the same sense. (For further explanation, see E.N. 21 of Ta'Ha.

*53

This was the same kind of mentality as the Russian communists of today are displaying. They launch Sputniks and Lunics and tell the world that these balls have not found God anywhere above. That stupid man of yore wanted to see God from the top of a tower. This shows that the extent of the imagination of the straying people during the past 3,500 years has remained where it was. They have not advanced even an inch.

It is not known who told them that the Being Whom the God-worshippers acknowledge as the Lord of the universe resided some where above according to their belief. And if they do not see Him a few thousand feet or a few lakh miles above the earth's surface in this limitless universe, it will be a proof that He exists nowhere.


The Qur'an does not specify whether Pharaoh actually got such a tower built and tried to see God from the top of it, but it only relates what he said. Apparently, he did not commit the folly. He only meant to befool the people.


This also is not clear whether Pharaoh was, in actual fact, a disbeliever in the Being of the Lord of the universe, or talked atheism only due to stubbornness. In this regard his sayings point to the same mental confusion which one finds in the statements of the Russian Communists. Sometimes he wanted to climb into the sky and come back to tell the world that he had nowhere seen the God of Moses, and sometimes he would say,

"Why were not bracelets of gold sent down on him, or a company of angels as attendants?" (Az-Zukhruf: 53)

These things are not much different from what a former Prime Minister of Russia, Khrushchev, said. He sometimes rejected God and sometimes invoked Him and swore by Him. We are of the opinion that after the passage of the period of the Prophet Joseph and his successors when Egypt was dominated by the Coptic nationalism and a political revolution took place in the country owing to the racial and nationalistic prejudice, the new leaders, in their nationalistic enthusiasm, revolted against the God also towards Whom the Prophet Joseph and his followers, the Israelites and the Egyptian Muslims, had been calling the people. They thought that if they believed in God, they would never be able to shed the influence and impact of the civilization brought about by the Prophet Joseph. For if that civilization remained, they would never be able to consolidate, their political influence.

For them belief in God and Muslim sovereignty were inseparable and inter-dependent. Therefore, to get rid of the one it was necessary to reject the other, although they could not root out belief in One God from the depths of their hearts.