وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ

فَانْفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا

قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَشْرَبَهُمْ

كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا مِنْ رِزْقِ اللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ

"And when Musa sought water for his people! We said, 'Strike the rock with your staff!' So, gushed forth twelve Springs from it. Each group of people came to know their drinking place. 'Eat and drink of what Allah has provided, and do not go about the earth spreading disorder!'" (2:60)

This incident too belongs to the story of the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness. Parched with thirst, they requested Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) to pray to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for water. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) commanded , him to strike a certain rock with his staff. As he did so, twelve streams gushed forth out of the rock, one for each of the twelve tribes. Sayyidna Ya'qoob (Jacob - عليه السلام) had twelve sons, and each had a large family of his own. So, the families were considered as tribes, each with its own administrative organisation and its own head. Hence, the number twelve. What they have been asked to eat is the Mann and the Salwa (manna and quails), and the water is, of course, the one which had come out of the rock.

The Israelites have, in this verse, been asked not to spread disorder which in this context signifies disobedience to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and transgression of His Commandments.

The great Commentator al-Qadi al-Baydawi (رحمه الله) points out that it is a great error (even a great error in logic) to deny miracles. When Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has given a certain stone the unusual property of drawing iron to itself, it cannot be, logically and rationally speaking, impossible that He should also give another stone the property of absorbing water from the earth and of releasing it again. Even this explanation is meant for those who take a superficial view of things. Otherwise, it is in no way impossible that Allah should produce water within a stone itself. Those who call it impossible do not actually understand the technical meaning of the term "impossible."

An Answer To A Doubt About The Israelites

It has been asked whether it is necessary, in times of drought, to offer formal prayers in order to beseech Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for rains. The present verse tells us that Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام) just prayed for water, and Allah made a miraculous provision. It shows that the essential thing in beseeching Allah for rains is just a prayer. In the Shari'ah of Sayyidna Musa (عليه السلام), a mere prayer was considered to be sufficient for the purpose. According to Imam Abu Hanifa (رحمه الله), this principle holds good for the Islamic Shari'ah too. The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has, in this respect, acted differently on different occasions. An authentic hadith reports that once he went outside the city to the open space where the
congregational prayers were held on the day of the 'Id, offered formal prayers, delivered a Khutbah (address), and then prayed to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for rains. According to another hadith reported by al-Bukhari (رحمه الله) and Muslim (رحمه الله) from the blessed Companion Anas (رضي الله عنه), once the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) prayed for rain while delivering the Khufbah on Friday, and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) sent down rain.

No matter what form the prayer takes, all the scholars agree that it cannot be effective unless it is accompanied by a repentance for one's sins, a confession of one's powerlessness, a sincere expression of humility and an affirmation of servitude to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). So long as one persists in sin and transgression, one has no right to hope that the prayer would be answered. But if Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) may, in His mercy and benevolence, grant the prayer without this condition being fulfilled, it is His will, and He is All-Powerful. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 31st January 2011

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