Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:13

Between Musa and Fir`awn

Allah tells us what He commanded His servant, son of `Imran and Messenger Musa, peace be upon him, who spoke with Him, to do, when He called him from the right side of the mountain, and conversed with him, and chose him, sent him, and commanded him to go to Fir`awn and his people. Allah says:

(And when your Lord called Musa: "Go to the people who are wrongdoers. The people of Fir`awn. Will they not have Taqwa" He said: "My Lord! Verily, I fear that they will deny me, And my breast straitens, and my tongue expresses not well. So send for Harun. And they have a charge of crime against me, and I fear they will kill me.") So, Musa asked Allah to remove these difficulties for him, as he said in Surah Ta Ha:

(Musa said: "O my Lord! Open for me my chest. And ease my task for me.") (20:25-26) until:

(You are granted your request, O Musa!) (20:36)

(And they have a charge of crime against me, and I fear they will kill me.) because he had killed that Egyptian, which was the reason that he left the land of Egypt.

((Allah) said: "Nay!...") Allah told him: do not be afraid of anything like that. This is like the Ayah,

(Allah said: "We will strengthen your arm through your brother, and give you both power) meaning, proof;

(so they shall not be able to harm you, with Our signs, you two as well as those who follow you will be the victors) (28:35),

(Go you both with Our signs. Verily, We shall be with you, listening.) This is like the Ayah,

(I am with you both, hearing and seeing) (20:46). Meaning, `I will be with you by My protection, care, support and help.'

(And go both of you to Fir`awn, and say: `We are the Messengers of the Lord of the all that exists.') This is like the Ayah,

(Verily, we are both Messengers of your Lord) (20:47). which means, `both of us have been sent to you,'

(So allow the Children of Israel to go with us.) Meaning, `let them go, free them from your captivity, subjugation and torture, for they are the believing servants of Allah, devoted to Him, and with you they are in a position of humiliating torture.' When Musa said that to him, Fir`awn turned away and ignored him completely, regarding him with scorn and thinking little of him. Saying:

(Did we not bring you up among us as a child) meaning, we brought you up among us, in our home and on our bed, we nourished you and did favors for you for many years, and after all that you responded to our kindness in this manner: you killed one of our men and denied our favors to you.' So he said to him:

(While you were one of the ingrates.) meaning, one of those who deny favors. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam, and was the view favored by Ibn Jarir.

((Musa) said: "I did it then...") meaning, at that time,

(when I was in error.) meaning, `before revelation was sent to me and before Allah made me a Prophet and sent me with this Message.'

(So, I fled from you when I feared you. But my Lord has granted me Hukm, and made me one of the Messengers.) means, `the first situation came to an end and another took its place. Now Allah has sent me to you, and if you obey Him, you will be safe, but if you oppose Him, you will be destroyed.' Then Musa said:

(And this is the past favor with which you reproach me, -- that you have enslaved the Children of Israel.) meaning, `whatever favors you did in bringing me up are offset by the evil you did by enslaving the Children of Israel and using them to do your hard labor. Is there any comparison between your favors to one man among them and the evil you have done to all of them What you have mentioned about me is nothing compared to what you have done to them.'

Pada ayat ini, Allah menerangkan bagaimana tanggapan Musa a.s. terhadap perintah Tuhannya. Musa a.s. menyadari sepenuhnya bahwa dia harus melaksanakan perintah Allah karena merupakan tugasnya sebagai rasul. Akan tetapi, Musa a.s. membayangkan bagaimana kaum Fir'aun itu telah tersesat dari jalan yang benar. Ia juga tahu bagaimana keras dan kasarnya sikap mereka terhadap orang yang menentang kepercayaan mereka, sedangkan dia sendiri merasa sebagai seorang yang lemah tak berdaya. Musa merasa sangat khawatir kalau kaum Fir'aun itu menuduhnya sebagai seorang pembohong dan pendusta. Apalagi jika terjadi perdebatan yang sengit dengan Fir'aun dan kaumnya, Musa yang tidak begitu fasih lidahnya akan menjadi gugup dalam memberikan alasan yang tepat dan kuat, sehingga menjadi sempitlah dadanya ketika menghadapi mereka.

Musa mengadukan semua yang dirasakannya kepada Allah dan memohon agar Dia mengangkat Harun a.s., saudaranya, menjadi rasul untuk membantu dan menolongnya. Harun adalah seorang yang fasih lidahnya dan pandai mengungkapkan apa yang ada dalam hatinya dengan bahasa yang baik dan menarik. Hal ini disebutkan pula pada ayat lain:

Dia (Musa) berkata, "Ya Tuhanku, lapangkanlah dadaku, dan mudahkanlah untukku urusanku, dan lepaskanlah kekakuan dari lidahku, agar mereka mengerti perkataanku, dan jadikanlah untukku seorang pembantu dari keluargaku, (yaitu) Harun, saudaraku, teguhkanlah kekuatanku dengan (adanya) dia, dan jadikanlah dia teman dalam urusanku. (thaha/20: 25-32).

Demikian pula disebutkan dalam firman-Nya yang lain yaitu:

Dan saudaraku Harun, dia lebih fasih lidahnya daripada aku, maka utuslah dia bersamaku sebagai pembantuku untuk membenarkan (perkataan)ku; sungguh, aku takut mereka akan mendustakanku." (al-Qasas/28: 34).

Musa merasa khawatir kalau dia menghadapi Fir'aun dan kaumnya seorang diri karena pernah membunuh seorang Qibthi (penduduk Mesir asli) dengan tidak sengaja. Hal itu terjadi ketika Musa melihat perkelahian yang terjadi antara orang Qibthi itu dengan seorang Bani Israil. Ia berniat membantu anggota kaumnya tersebut dan memukul orang Qibthi itu dengan kuat sehingga jatuh dan langsung meninggal. Musa khawatir akan dibunuh oleh kaum Fir'aun karena peristiwa tersebut, sehingga dia tidak dapat menyampaikan dakwahnya. Akan tetapi, seandainya Harun di sampingnya dan dia mati terbunuh, maka saudaranya itu dapat melanjutkan risalahnya. Jadi permintaan Musa supaya Harun diangkat menjadi rasul untuk membantunya bukan karena ia takut mati dalam menyampaikan dakwah dan risalahnya, tetapi agar dakwah dan risalahnya itu jangan terhenti kalau dia meninggal, karena dilanjutkan oleh saudaranya, Harun.