Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:15

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-ayat ini, Allah menegaskan kepada Musa a.s. bahwa semua yang dikhawatirkannya itu tidak akan terjadi. Dia tidak akan dapat dibunuh oleh Fir'aun karena Fir'aun tidak akan dapat berlaku sewenang-wenang terhadapnya. Adapun permintaan Musa agar saudaranya, Harun, diangkat menjadi rasul telah dikabulkan oleh Allah. Dengan begitu, perintah untuk pergi berdakwah kepada Fir'aun dan kaumnya dibebankan kepada Musa dan Harun. Di dalam ayat lain, Allah menegaskan bahwa permintaan Musa itu dikabulkan yaitu:

Dia (Allah) berfirman, "Sungguh, telah diperkenankan permintaanmu, hai Musa! (thaha/20: 36).

Allah menceritakan kepergian Musa dan Harun menyeru Fir'aun dan kaumnya kepada agama tauhid dengan membawa mukjizat yang akan menguatkan seruannya yaitu tongkat Musa yang dapat menjadi ular, dan tangannya bila dimasukkan ke ketiaknya akan menjadi putih bercahaya. Untuk menghilangkan segala was-was dan kekhawatiran dalam hati Musa dan Harun, Allah menegaskan bahwa Ia selalu akan mendengar dan memperhatikan apa yang akan terjadi di kala keduanya telah berhadapan dengan Fir'aun. Hal ini dengan jelas diterangkan pada ayat lain yaitu:

Dia (Allah) berfirman, "Janganlah kamu berdua khawatir, sesungguhnya Aku bersama kamu berdua, Aku mendengar dan melihat. (thaha/20: 46).

Allah menyuruh Musa dan Harun agar mengatakan dengan tegas kepada Fir'aun bahwa mereka datang menghadap kepadanya untuk menyampaikan bahwa mereka berdua adalah rasul yang diutus Allah, Tuhan semesta alam, kepadanya dan kaumnya. Selain itu keduanya harus meminta kepada Fir'aun agar membebaskan Bani Israil yang telah diperbudak selama ini. Keduanya ingin membawa mereka kembali ke tanah suci Baitul Makdis, tanah tumpah darah mereka, di mana nenek moyang mereka semenjak dahulu kala telah berdiam di sana. Hal ini bertujuan agar mereka dapat dengan bebas memeluk agama tauhid tanpa ada tekanan atau hambatan dari siapa pun.

Dalam Tafsir al-Maragi diterangkan bahwa menurut riwayat, Bani Israil yang tinggal di Mesir diperbudak oleh Fir'aun dan kaumnya dalam waktu yang lama, yaitu selama 400 tahun. Fir'aun memang sangat berkuasa dan berbuat sewenang-wenang terhadap rakyatnya, terutama Bani Israil. Menurut al-Qurtubi, sebagaimana dikutip oleh al-Maragi, Musa dan Harun harus menunggu satu tahun untuk dapat menghadap Fir'aun.