Why the Story of Mūsā Is Told at Length

Since Mūsā (peace be upon him) is held to be, of the six prophets whose accounts are given here, the most famous of them — and there are other reasons besides — Allah (swt) from verse 103 begins to set out the account of Mūsā (peace be upon him) in far greater detail than the rest. All the others were brief; Shuʿayb (peace be upon him) was somewhat longer, and after him came a summing-up; and then the account of Mūsā (peace be upon him) is given at length, with certain incidents of his life — some of great interest, which took place with Pharaoh.

One of the reasons the account of Mūsā (peace be upon him) is given more prominently, more frequently and in more detail is that there is much resemblance in it. There is much for us to learn as an ummah, the Qur'an being intended for the last generations until the Day of Judgement — the ummah of Muḥammad (peace be upon him), and all who are to come until that Day. There is much resemblance, and many lessons to be drawn. For, first, many if not most of the people of Mūsā (peace be upon him) were in great ignorance. Though so many prophets came to them, one after another, they held this attitude against it. Allah (swt) gives us lessons through them, that we should not hold such an attitude — for ignorance is among all people, and any may act so ignorantly. And second, the mark of the age of Mūsā (peace be upon him) is that the foe he always had was a claimant to lordship, to godhood: Pharaoh. He claimed himself to be a god. Anā rabbukumu al-aʿlā, he said. And in our own day there are those who, while they may not say "we are god", say very nearly that in other words. For: we have everything at our disposal, we shall beat this virus. There is no conception of how it is to be beaten. These are, of course, only rallying words — only rallying words — but it is a time for humility.

What is surprising is that although those from whom such words come may be of Christian background, it does not appear that they read the Bible or draw any inspiration from it in that respect. Otherwise humility before God would surely be taught there, for this virus comes from God. This virus is from the Lord, from Allah (swt), from your Creator. And there is a reason in it. Or perhaps it is not politically astute to use such words. But it is a time of vulnerability. Countries are permitting the adhān to be given that were set hard against Islam — in Europe, for example. In America it has been done as well. One may certainly tell that there is a thawing. The same country, Belgium, which two years ago, in 2017^* or thereabouts, banned the niqāb, is now to make it mandatory — perhaps only in a different colour, not black but another, perhaps of a slightly different shape. It is to be made mandatory for certain sections of the people, for schoolchildren and for some in frontline work. What a way is the way of Allah (swt). Set the two editorials in the newspapers side by side, from 2017 and from 2020, and see the change. Allah says: if you will trifle so, We shall do it another way. You take the most vulnerable and the weakest — those you count the weakest — and then you persecute them. You know very well that they wish to wear the niqāb for themselves. The only reason the niqāb is brought up here is that it is a prominent point bearing a strong resemblance, a strong likeness of tone, to the whole question of masks. That is the only reason for mentioning it. They had this too in their time; and that is why the account of Mūsā (peace be upon him) is so relevant.