The Defeat of the Pharaohs through Ashura II

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the
Worlds. May Allah send prayers and peace upon our master Muhammad, and upon his Family and
Companions entirely.

Dear brothers and sisters, today Id like to pick up from where I left off last Friday when I spoke
about the day of Ashura. As we stated last week, the Prophet (salla Allah alayhi wa sallam)
commanded us to fast on the day of Ashura as an expression of gratitude to Allah for having saved
Musa and the Children of Israel from Firawn and his forces. Ashura is one of the Days of Allah
which He ordered the Prophet to remind us so we derive lessons. He said, And remind them of the
Days of Allah.

Dear brothers and sisters, there are a number of lessons we derive from the day of Ashura. The first
of these lessons is that by repeatedly mentioning the story of Musa and the believers of the Children
of Israel, Allah teaching us that we as the Umma of Islam must love and have allegiance towards all
of the Prophets and their believing followers, and derive lessons from their experiences and
patience.

The second lesson of Ashura is that Allah has warned us from behaving arrogantly on the earth and
humiliating others. Behaving with arrogance will inevitably lead to corruption on the earth, as Allah
say, Verily Firawn exalted him on the earth and turned its people into factions. The first method of
Firawnic tyranny is to spread strife among people and divide and conquer to make it easy to rule
over them. We see this in every age and place. Therefore it is necessary for Muslims and people who
want to rectify wrongs in the world to unite against Firawnic oppression.

The third lesson of Ashura concerns women. We see in the Quranic account of Musa and Firawn
an illuminating example of women who devoutly obeyed Allah and who embodied wisdom and
patience and trust in Allah. This is seen in the mother of Musa and in Asiya the wife of Firawn.

The fourth lesson of Ashura is found in the part of the story where Firawn killed the magicians and
sorcerers and wise men who expressed their belief in Musa. After he killed them there was no one
left of wisdom to advise him, and so we see that he along with his soldiers eventually pursued Musa
and the Children of Israel into the sea and were drowned. The lesson here is that anyone who
distance himself from people of knowledge will inevitably be among the foolish.

The fifth lesson of Ashura is that we see in this oft-repeated story of Musa and Firawn in the
Quran that there is a confrontation and struggle between truth and falsehood, between the
oppressed and the oppressors. This reality is in every age. It happened with our beloved Prophet
(salla Allah alayhi wa sallam) when he confronted Abu Jahl, the Firawn of this Umma. And it will
occur with every human being, because Firawn is an archetype that is seen in every oppressor and tyrant
whether in the form of a country, a ruler or individual citizen. Allah puts our hearts at ease by telling us that
every Firawn is ultimately defeated and that no matter how strong he may appear, he is weak in the sight of
Allah. Dear brothers and sisters, the Firawn whom Musa confronted, the Firawn who transgressed and
oppressed, is on display today, and people pay a few pounds to see his corpse in Egypt. Let that be a lesson
for every tyrant!

The sixth lesson of Ashura is that our master Musa (alayhi salam) did not defeat Firawn through weaponry
or fighting; instead he gave us a splendid example of what it means to trust in Allah. Consider the following
verses. Allah said, And Musa said, O my people, if you truly believe in Allah then in him put your trustif
you are indeed people who submit. Listen to the reply of the believers. So they said, Upon Allah alone do
we put our trustour Lord, do not make us a source of fitna for the oppressive people; and deliver us by
Your mercy from the disbelieving people! One must be steadfast with this sort of trust and reliance on
Allah to the very last breath. Thats what we see in this story, for in the most difficult moment Musa consoled
the believers who were fearful shortly before he entered the sea. Allah says, And when the two groups saw
each other the companions of Musa said, Verily are caught! Musa said, Nay, verily my Lord is with me; He
shall guide me. Who was victorious on that day? This contains a message for us all, that we must be with
Allah and put our trust in him so that He helps us and extends to us His divine aid.

Dear brothers and sisters, do you face any difficulties in your life? Any difficulties in your work or in your
family? Are you dealing with illness? Put your trust in Allah and say, Verily my Lord is with me; He shall
guide me. Do that, and Allah will open up for you a path in the sea of your life.

It behooves us, dear brothers and sisters, to remember the greatness of Allah increase our reliance upon Him
and certainty that He will defeat all tyrants around the world.
I ask Allah, by His mercy, to bless all of us in the month of Muharram and the day of Ashura and to allow us
to witness it again next year with all of our hopes attained and wishes granted, and with al-Quds liberated and
our foes defeated, and truth made clear from falsehood. I ask Allah to bless all of us in the month of
Muharram and the day of Ashura with unity among all Muslims and defeat of all Firawns around the world.
O Allah, forgive us on the day of Ashura and make us of those who imbibe its lessons and warnings, and
resurrect us on the Day of Judgement with the master and chief of the Prophets and Messengers, amin!