prophet-musa-as-dua-for-forgiveness

“What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing.”

Surah An-Nisa Ayat 147

رَبِّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي

Rabbi innee zalamtu nafsee faghfir lee
“My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me.”
28:16

Key Takeaways:

  •  A du’a asking for repentance is one of the best du’as a believer can make. The problems arise when we can’t see the mistakes, or worse off, refuse or deny the errors of our decisions.
  • To err is to be human. When we make mistakes and  can feel guilty we often overcompensate by doing more good than if we hadn’t made any mistake at all. We can see this firsthand with Musa (as) when he helped the ladies at the well and then made this du’a, “My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need.” 28:24
  • It is a difficult thing to do but take a hard look in the mirror and see your flaws and your mistakes, if you can do that, you’ll be better for it. Let the past be a school, it can be a hard school for many, let it instruct you but don’t let it abuse you. The process begins when we can have an honest discussion with ourselves about ourselves.
  • We can learn from the behavior of both Prophet Musa (as) and Adam (as) who after making their mistakes, recognized where they erred and then asked for the mercy of their Lord. Allah responded to Musa (as), “Then He forgave him. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (28:16)

In Surah Al-Qasas, we first learn about the hostile environment Prophet Musa (as) was born into, “Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was of the corrupters.” (28:4)

Prophet Musa (as) mom had no choice, if she wanted to give her newborn son a chance to survive, she had trust Allah’s plan and do the most selfless act in giving him up, “and We inspired to the mother of Moses, “Suckle him; but when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear and do not grieve. Indeed, We will return him to you and will make him [one] of the messengers.” (28:7) He drifted along the river and in he ended up at the Pharaoh’s palace, “And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief. […] And the wife of Pharaoh said, “[He will be] a comfort of the eye for me and for you. Do not kill him; perhaps he may benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son.” And they perceived not.” (28:8-9)

From recounting the early childhood of Musa (as) the Surah then shifts attention to his adult life. We’re told “… he attained his full strength and was [mentally] mature, We bestowed upon him judgment and knowledge. And thus do We reward the doers of good. And he entered the city at a time of inattention by its people and found therein two men fighting: one from his faction and one from among his enemy. And the one from his faction called for help to him against the one from his enemy, so Moses struck him and [unintentionally] killed him. [Moses] said, “This is from the work of Satan. Indeed, he is a manifest, misleading enemy.” (28:14-15)

We learn from these verses Musa (as) was a grown adult and given a mind capable of reasoning and learning. We also learn he was also physically gifted. This was shown when he tried to break up the altercation, he struck the man once and unintentionally killed him. Now, the due process of law should have been to arrest him, bring him to court, and to give him a fair chance at defending himself but we learn the policing order was to shoot on-site, “And a man came from the farthest end of the city, running. He said, “O Moses, indeed the eminent ones are conferring over you [intending] to kill you, so leave [the city]; indeed, I am to you of the sincere advisors.” (28:20) And so Musa (as) had no choice but to flee into the desert and he ultimately ended up at a place called Madyan.

Musa (as) had no intention to kill the man, as soon as he realized what he had done he says, “This is from the work of Satan. Indeed, he is a manifest, misleading enemy.” Immediately he felt remorseful and began praying to Allah, Rabbi innee zalamtu nafsee faghfir lee meaning, “My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, so forgive me”. In the same ayah, we are told Allah responded to this call, “and He forgave him. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (28:18) The Prophet’s all exhibit a superior level of sensitivity, once he felt that his du’a was heard he vowed to never repeat the same mistake twice, “My Lord, for the favor You bestowed upon me, I will never be an assistant to the criminals.” (28:17)

A du’a asking for repentance is one of the best du’as a believer can make. The problems arise when we can’t see the mistakes, or worse off refuse or deny seeing the errors in our decisions. If we continue to do that no progress can be made, and we’re likely to repeat the same wrong behavior over and over again. It is a difficult thing to do but take a hard look in the mirror and see your flaws and your mistakes, if you can do that, you’ll be better for it. Let the past be a school, it can be a hard school for many, let it instruct you but don’t let it abuse you. The process begins when we can have an honest discussion with ourselves about ourselves. This was the behavior of both Prophet Musa (as) and Adam (as) who after making their mistakes, recognized where they erred and then asked for the mercy of their Lord.