Husayn al-Khushaymi*
What must I do when I fall into a closed circle of bewilderment and intense darkness, so that seeing the road becomes difficult for me, and pressures and problems assail me one after another, and I find myself helpless, searching for a (straw) to cling to.
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And as is my habit.. I will find no refuge other than the Book of Allah, so I hastened to it to search for deliverance from what had befallen me, and I read His words, Exalted is He: “Did the story of Moses come to you” (Qurʾan 20:9), and I called to mind the bewilderment and fear of Moses (a) when he journeyed with his family from Midian to Egypt; that journey was a new beginning for him, as he was charged with a great mission, namely resisting unbelief and tyranny and spreading faith and justice..
And on a dark, cold winter night, in the company of his family, his belongings and whoever was with him, Moses (a) lost the way and was bewildered in the extreme, and behold, labor pains had come upon his wife!! That was one of the hardest hours that passed over Moses (a).. But, as was his habit, he sought help from his Lord to rescue him from this predicament, and he set about searching for the thing that his Lord had made subservient to him, to bring him out of these crises that had surrounded him; and behold, he saw a light from afar, and he quickly headed for that light, believing that it was a fire through which he would be able to provide light and warmth for his family. He, Exalted is He, says: “when he sighted a fire, and said to his family, ‘Wait! Indeed, I descry a fire! Maybe I will bring you a brand from it, or find some guidance at the fire.’” (Qurʾan 20:10).
Then he (a) was called from behind that tree blazing with light, and the divine address came to him, charging him with the divine message and the great responsibility.. The Lord's support and guidance of Moses (a) were the fruit of his returning to his Lord in every matter, even in the simplest and easiest of matters; consequently Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, was with him at every time and place and addressed him in all his states. It has been narrated that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, once addressed him: (O Moses, ask of Me even the salt of your food)!!
And in proportion to this responsibility comes the divine support and guidance. A person may plan and manage, but he quickly finds himself in great bewilderment, and that matters have gone contrary to what he wanted; then he returns to the starting point, to find that the only refuge is Allah, in whose hand is the dominion of all things, and for whom no matter is difficult. But there is a difference between one who takes refuge in Allah before anything else and one who takes refuge in Him after trying to set up some human being as a substitute for Allah, or a position as a means of protecting himself instead of the fortress of Allah, and other such things that quickly vanish without returning; but Allah's guidance continues without interruption so long as the human being awaits that from Allah alone. On this basis Moses (a) had that great rank: he is the one to whom Allah spoke (Kalim Allah), and perhaps he (a) attained this rank because of his continuous connection with his Lord, his seeking help from Him in all matters, and his brokenness and submission before Allah. And in the hadith: { Allah, Almighty, revealed to Moses (a): O Moses, do you know why I chose you for My speech over My creation? He said: O Lord, and why is that? He said: So Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, revealed to him: O Moses, I turned My servants over, back to belly, and did not find among them anyone more humble in soul toward Me than you. O Moses, when you pray, you place your cheek upon the dust}
The story of Moses (a) is rich in lessons and stances which, if we contemplated them, we would find that we are before a giant personality that was able, through obedience to Allah and humbling itself before Him, to attain a great rank. The story of his journey from Midian to Egypt is one of the most important stories that every human being may go through, especially those who have vowed themselves in the way of Allah and the conveying of His message; and contemplating this story when falling into trials and problems is sufficient to remove worry, sorrow and weariness, for it reminds us to return to Allah and teaches us an important lesson, namely that Allah, the Exalted, is the rescuer of human beings from the problems of life and its many obstacles, and that were it not for the existence of Allah and our reliance upon Him, we would lose hope of continuing and living. So we ought not to fall easily into the tunnel of despair and helplessness; rather, we ought to make it the starting point for setting out into the expanses of obedience to Allah and reliance upon Him, as Moses (a) did.
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* Iraq
