Surah Ash-Shu'ara, Ayah 13

Between Musa and Fir`awn

Allah tells us what He commanded His servant, son of `Imran and Messenger Musa, peace be upon him, who spoke with Him, to do, when He called him from the right side of the mountain, and conversed with him, and chose him, sent him, and commanded him to go to Fir`awn and his people. Allah says:

وَإِذْ نَادَى رَبُّكَ مُوسَى أَنِ ائْتَ الْقَوْمَ الظَّـلِمِينَ - قَوْمَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَلا يَتَّقُونَ - قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى أَخَافُ أَن يُكَذِّبُونِ - وَيَضِيقُ صَدْرِى وَلاَ يَنطَلِقُ لِسَانِى فَأَرْسِلْ إِلَى هَـرُونَ - وَلَهُمْ عَلَىَّ ذَنبٌ فَأَخَافُ أَن يَقْتُلُونِ

(And when your Lord called Musa: "Go to the people who are wrongdoers. The people of Fir`awn. Will they not have Taqwa" He said: "My Lord! Verily, I fear that they will deny me, And my breast straitens, and my tongue expresses not well. So send for Harun. And they have a charge of crime against me, and I fear they will kill me.") So, Musa asked Allah to remove these difficulties for him, as he said in Surah Ta Ha:

Commentary

Request for favourable conditions for obedience is not tantamount to making excuses

قَالَ رَ‌بِّ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَن يُكَذِّبُونِ ﴿12﴾ وَيَضِيقُ صَدْرِ‌ي وَلَا يَنطَلِقُ لِسَانِي فَأَرْ‌سِلْ إِلَىٰ هَارُ‌ونَ ﴿13﴾ وَلَهُمْ عَلَيَّ ذَنبٌ فَأَخَافُ أَن يَقْتُلُونِ ﴿14﴾

He (Musa) said, "My Lord, I fear they will belie me. [ 12] And my heart gets straitened and my tongue is not fluent; so send for Harun. [ 13] And they have a charge of offence against me and I fear they will kill me;" [ 14]

This verse indicates that Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) requested Allah to provide him with some resources to help them in carrying out his mission. It leads to the principle that so far as the objective is to obey Allah's command, praying for some helping resources cannot be regarded as seeking ruses and excuses to escape from the required act. The request of Sayyidna Musa علیہ السلام was only to facilitate the implementation of Allah's command which is quite lawful.

The sprouting of a green and flourishing tree from the earth is as wonderful an event as the sudden emergence of a camel from the earth and its starting to walk on its surface. People are wonder-struck by the second type of incident, though the more wonderful incidents are always happening on the earth without their learning any lesson from it. Almighty God wants man to notice the extraordinary but hidden aspects of ordinary events. In the events happening in the chain of cause and effect, he should be able to observe the direct role of God. Those who display this high degree of insight are the ones who will be treated as having faith in God and the ones who will be blessed with the eternal grace of God.