For the Muslims of the world, the month of November 2013 witnessed the beginning of one of the sacred months in Islam which is the month of Muharram. There are four of these months which are Dhul Qa’adah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. Muharram is also the first month of the Islamic calendar and two major events in Islamic History took place during this month. The first event was when Allah allowed Musa (Moses) and his followers to be freed from the clutches and slavery of Pharaoh. The second event was the Hejirah (migration) of Allah’s last Prophet and Messenger Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abu Mutallib (May the peace and blessings of Allah be Upon Him) from Makkah to Madinah.
In the case of Musa, Pharaoh wanted to assassinate Musa (May Allah’s Peace be Upon Him) and his brother Haruun (Aaron) (May Allah’s Peace be Upon Him) and return Banu Israel to slavery. Allah caused the Red Sea to part allowing Musa, Haruun and their followers to cross safely and then caused it to return to its normal state thereby drowning Pharaoh and his forces.
In the case of Muhammad (PBUH), he was also forced to flee an assassination attempt. He and his most trusted companion Abu Bakr (May Allah be Pleased With Him) departed Makkah and sought refuge in Cave Thaur, south of Makkah for a few days before making their way to Madinah. Ironically, the search for his capture was lead by Abu Jahl who Rasulullah (PBUH) called the Pharaoh of his time due to his oppression of the early Muslims in Makkah.
The similarity of this aspect of Rasulullah’s (PBUH) mission with the mission of Musa (May Allah’s Peace be Upon Him) should not be surprising to anyone who has studied Islamic History and/or the biography of Rasulullah (PBUH). After he received his first revelation from the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel), he returned home in a severely panicked state. His loving wife Khadijah (May Allah be Pleased with her) took him to her cousin Waraqah son of Naufal who was well versed in Christian doctrine. Waraqah told them that this sounded like the same angel who had brought revelation to Musa (PBUH). He also told them that like Musa, Rasulullah would be driven from his home of Makkah by his people.
The Hejirah of Allah’s last messenger and the Muslims from Makkah to Madinah saw the Muslims go from a position of weakness to strength overnight. When the Muhaajiroon (those who had migrated from Makkah to Madinah) joined with the Ansaar (the people of Madinah who had embraced Islam), together they became the ruling party in Madinah under the leadership of Rasulullah (PBUH).
After arriving in Madinah, Rasulullah (Peace be Upon Him) saw that the Jews of Madinah fasted on the 10th day of Muharram. When he (Peace be Upon Him) asked them why they fasted on this date, they replied that this was the day that Allah caused Musa and his followers to be freed from the Pharaoh of Egypt. He (Peace be Upon Him) replied to them by saying that the Muslims had more of a right to Musa than they did. He then began to fast on this date and instructed the Muslims to do so also.
With this we see the closeness of the missions of Musa and Rasulullah. In shaa Allah (God willing) we’ll discuss more of this in upcoming articles.
Sabur Abdul-Basit is a freelance author from Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in the United States of America .

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عربي