Allah tells us that when Musa Alaihissalaam killed that Coptic,he became afraid of the consequences of his action. He went out and about, and saw the man who sought his help the day before, fighting with another Coptic. When Musa Alaihissalaam passed by him, he called for his help again, against this other Coptic
Musa Alaihissalaam said to him:
(Verily, you are a plain misleader!) meaning, `you obviously lead people astray and are very evil.’
Then Musa Alaihissalaam intended to attack that Coptic, but the Israelite — because of his own cowardice and weakness — thought that Musa Alaihissalaam wanted to hit him because of what he had said, so he said, in self-defence .
(O Musa Alaihissalaam! Is it your intention to kill me as you killed a man yesterday) Nobody except him and Musa Alaihissalaam, peace be upon him, knew about it, but when the other Coptic heard this, he took the news to Fir`awn’s gate and told him about it. So Fir`awn came to know of it, and he became very angry and resolved to kill Musa Alaihissalaam, so he sent people after him to bring him to him.
Allah says in the Holy Quran:-
(20. And there came a man running, from the farthest end of the city. He said: “O Musa Alaihissalaam! Verily, the chiefs are taking counsel together about you, to kill you, so escape. Truly, I am one of the good advisers to you.”)
When the man told Musa Alaihissalaam about how Fir`awn and his chiefs were conspiring against him, he left Egypt on his own. He was not used to being alone, because before that he had been living a life of luxury and ease, in a position of leadership.
At that point,he made this dua.
(My Lord! Save me from the people who are wrongdoers!) means, from Fir`awn and his chiefs. It was mentioned that Allah sent to him an angel riding a horse, who showed him the way. And Allah knows best.
(And then he went towards (the land of) Madyan,) he took a smooth and easy route — and he rejoiced because of that.
(he said: “It may be that my Lord guides me to the right way.”) meaning, the most straight route. And Allah did indeed do that, for He guided him to the straight path in this world and the Hereafter, and caused him to be guided and to guide others.
Allah Subhaanahu wataa’la says in the Holy Quran:-
(69. And recite to them the story of Ibrahim.)
Here Allah Subhaanahu wataa’la tells us about His servant, Messenger and Close Friend, Ibrahim, upon him be peace, the leader of the pure monotheists.
Allah commanded His Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to recite this story to his Ummah so that they could follow this example of sincerity towards Allah, putting one’s trust in Him, worshiping Him Alone with no partner or associate, and renouncing Shirk and its people.
Allah granted guidance to Ibrahim Alaihissalaam before, i.e., from a very early age he had denounced his people’s practice of worshiping idols with Allah, may He be exalted.
(70. When he said to his father and his people: “What do you worship”) (71. They said: “We worship idols, and to them we are ever devoted.”) (72. He said: “Do they hear you when you call”) (73. “Or do they benefit you or do they cause harm”) (74. They said: “(Nay) but we found our fathers doing so.”) (75. He said: “Do you observe that which you have been worshiping –”) (76. “You and your ancient fathers”) (77. “Verily, they are enemies to me, save the Lord of Al-`Alamin,”)
(78. Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me.) (79. And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink.) (80. And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me.) (81. And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life. ) (82. And Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense.)
Here Ibrahim Alaihissalaam mentions Allah Subhaanahu wataa’la‘s Kindness towards Him
Ibrahim Alaihissalaam said,
(And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me.) meaning, `when I fall sick, no one is able to heal me but Him, Who heals me with the means that may lead to recovery’. Here he attributed sickness to himself, even though it is Allah Who decrees it, out of respect towards Allah Subhaanahu wataa’la.
Rabbanaa walaa tahmil ‘alaynaa isran kamaa hamaltahu ‘alal-latheena min qablinaa
It can be recited for
Protection from afflictions and calamities
Word-by-word Meanings:-
Transliteration
Arabic
Translation
Rabbanaa
رَبَّنَا
Our Lord
walaa
وَلَا
and (do) not
tahmil
تَحْمِلْ
lay
‘alaynaa
عَلَيْنَا
upon us
isran
إِصْرًا
a burden
kamaa
كَمَا
like that
hamaltahu
حَمَلْتَهُ
(which) You laid
‘ala
عَلَى
upon
al-latheena
الَّذِينَ
those who
min
مِن
(were) from
qablinaa
قَبْلِنَا
before us
Our Lord, and lay not on us a burden greater than we have the strength to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so Help us against the disbelieving people.”
Allah said, (mentioning what the believers said) while directing His servants to supplicate to Him, all the while promising them that He will answer their supplication:
“Our Lord! Push us not if we forget or fall into error,” meaning, “If we forgot an obligation or fell into a prohibition, or made an error while ignorant of its ruling.”
Muslim collected, wherein Allah said, “I shall (accept your supplication).” There is also the Hadith by Ibn `Abbas that Allah said, “I did (accept your supplication).”
“Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians)” means, “Even if we were able to perform them, do not require us to perform the difficult deeds as You required the previous nations before us, such as the burdens that were placed on them. You sent Your Prophet Muhammad Sallal laahoo alaihi wassallam , the Prophet of mercy, to abrogate these burdens through the Law that You revealed to him, the Hanifi (Islamic Monotheism), easy religion.”
There is the Hadith recorded through various chains of narration that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said,
“Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear” of obligations, hardships and afflictions, do not make us bear what we cannot bear of this.
“Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.”
Allah said, `I shall.”’
“Pardon us” meaning, between us and You regarding what You know of our shortcomings and errors.
“And grant us forgiveness” concerning what is between us and Your servants. So do not expose our errors and evil deeds to them.
“Have mercy on us” in what will come thereafter. Therefore, do not allow us to fall into another error.
They say that those who commit error need three things: Allah’s forgiveness for what is between Him and them, that He conceals these errors from His other servants, and thus does not expose them before the servants, and that He grants them immunity from further error.” We mentioned before that Allah answered these pleas, “I shall,” in one narration and, “I did,” in another narration.
“You are our Mawla” meaning, You are our supporter and helper, our trust is in You, You are sought for each and every type of help and our total reliance is on You. There is no power or strength except from You.
“And give us victory over the disbelieving people” those who rejected Your religion, denied Your Oneness, refused the Message of Your Prophet , worshiped other than You and associated others in Your worship. Give us victory and make us prevail above them in this and the Hereafter. Allah said, “I shall,” in one narration, and, “I did,” in the Hadith that Muslim collected from Ibn `Abbas.
Further, Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Ishaq said that whenever Mu`adh would finish reciting this Surah (Al-Baqarah),
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people), he would say “Amin.”
The Hadiths on the virtue of these last two ayats of surah Al-Baqarah:
Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said,
“Whoever recites the last two Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice for him.”
The rest of the six also recorded similar wording for this Hadith. The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith using various chains of narration, and Imam Ahmad also recorded it.
Muslim recorded that `Abdullah said, “When the Messenger of Allah went on the Isra journey, he ascended to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha in the sixth heaven, where whatever ascends from the earth ends at, and whatever descends from above it ends at.
The Messenger of Allah was then given three things: the five prayers, the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah and forgiveness for whoever did not associate anything or anyone with Allah from his Ummah.”
Ibn `Abbas stated ‘’While the Messenger of Allah was with Jibil Alaihissalaam, he heard a noise from above. Jibil Alaihissalaam lifted his sight to the sky and said, `This is a door that was opened just now in heaven, and it was never opened before.’ An angel came down through the door to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and said, `Receive the good news of two lights that you have been given and which no Prophet before you was given: the Opener of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah. You will not read a letter of them, but you will be granted its benefit.”
This Hadith was collected by Muslim and An-Nasa’i, and this is the wording collected by An-Nasa’i.
This is the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim Alaihissalaam and his followers.
Listen to the recitation of this dua.
Allah says in the Holy Quran:-
”(4. Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: “Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone,” — except the saying of Ibrahim to his father: “Verily, I will ask forgiveness for you, but I have no power to do anything for you before Allah.” “Our Lord! In You we put our trust, and to You we turn in repentance, and to You is the final Return.”) (5. “Our Lord! Make us not a trial for the disbelievers, and forgive us, Our Lord! Verily, You, only You, are the Almighty, the All-Wise.”)
Allah mentions the good example of Ibrahim Alaihissalaam and his followers, when they disowned their disbelieving people.
They said
(Our Lord! Make us not a trial for the disbelievers,) Mujahid said, “It means, `Do not punish us by their hands, nor with a punishment from You.’ Or they will say, `Had these people been following the truth, the torment would not have struck them’.” Ad-Dahhak said something similar. Qatadah said, “Do not give the disbelievers victory over us, thus subjecting us to trials by their hands. Surely, if You do so, they would then think that they were given victory over us because they are on the truth.” This is the meaning that Ibn Jarir preferred. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas: “Do not give them dominance over us, lest we suffer trials by their hands.”
(and forgive us, Our Lord! Verily, You, only You, are the Almighty, the All-Wise.) means, `cover our mistakes from being exposed to other than You, and forgive us for what (sin) is between us and You.. Those who seek refuge in Your majesty are never dealt with unjustly. You are the All-Wise in Your statements, actions, legislation and decrees.’
Allah the Exalted said,
(6. Certainly, there has been in them an excellent example for you to follow – for those who look forward to (the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day. And whosoever turns away, then verily, Allah is Al-Ghani, Al-Hamid.)
Our Lord, grant us the good things in this world and the good things in the next life and save us from the punishment of the Fire.
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا في الدُّنْيَا حسَنَةً وفي الآخِرَةِ حسَنةً وقِنَا عذَابَ النَّارِ
Rabbanaa ‘aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wa fil-‘aakhirati hasanatan wa qinaa ‘athaaban-naar
Abu Dawud 2/179, Ahmad 3/411, Al-Baghawi, Sharhus-Sunnah 7/128. Al-Albani graded it good in Sahih Abu Dawud 1/354. The Ayat is from Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:201.
O Allah, Your male slave and the child of Your female slave is in need of Your mercy, and You are not in need of his torment. If he was pious then increase his rewards and if he was a transgressor then pardon him.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to stop after burying the dead and say to the people: “Ask Allah to forgive your brother and pray for him to be strengthened, for indeed he is now being questioned.”
“O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, strengthen him.”
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ الَّلهُمَّ ثَبِّتْهُ
Allaahum-maghfir lahu Allaahumma thabbith
Abu Dawud 3/315, and Al-Hakim 1/370 who graded it authentic and Ath-Thahabi agreed.
