Two Halves of One Story

Number four: the story of Mūsā has two halves. One half is Mūsā and Firʿawn, and the other half is Mūsā and Banū Isrāʾīl. Both of these are very, very important for us to know.

The conflict between Mūsā and Firʿawn is very important for us because Firʿawn is the symbol of tyranny, dictatorship and oppression. And glory be to Allah, we find that this is exactly the problem the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is suffering from. We have suffered from oppression, tyranny and dictatorship for a very, very long time — for centuries. That is why it is very helpful for us to know the story of Firʿawn. The symbol of oppression in the Qur'an is Firʿawn. So how can we deal with that oppression? The way Mūsā dealt with it; we learn a great deal from that experience.

Firʿawn is also a king — power through a kingdom. And that is how Islam is being fought against: through the governments and powers of the throne. The Dajjāl is only an extension of that. The Dajjāl is a king and a throne who will rule over the world. That is why the story of Firʿawn has a great deal in common with the story of the Dajjāl.

And then there is the other half of the story of Mūsā: Mūsā dealing with his own people — how Mūsā dealt with the Muslim ummah of his time, Banū Isrāʾīl. When you see the faults and problems of Banū Isrāʾīl, even though they were the ummah of tawḥīd, the ummah of the Oneness of Allah, and you see the faults that we are falling into, you see how important it is to know the story of Banū Isrāʾīl.