IN the days when Musa (peace be upon him) wandered with the tribe of Bani Isra'eel in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands praying for rain. To the astonishment of Musa (peace be upon him) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished and the heat intensified. It was revealed to Musa that there was a sinner amongst the tribe who had disobeyed Allah for more than forty years of his life. “Let him separate himself from the congregation,” Allah told Musa (peace be upon him). “Only then shall I shower you all with rain.” Musa (peace be upon him) then called out to his people, “There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought.” That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow. He knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated. At that moment, he supplicated to Allah with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, “O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!” As Musa (peace be upon him) and the people were waiting for the sinner to come forward, clouds hugged the sky and rain poured. Musa asked Allah, “O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward.” Allah replied, “O Musa, due to the repentance of that very person I blessed all of Bani Isra'eel with water.” Musa (peace be upon him), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, “Show him to me O Allah!” Allah replied, “O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?” Destiny There shall be a night, some night in your life, that you shall awaken in Jannah or Hellfire. On his deathbed, Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed to Allah, “O Allah, protect me from a night whose morning brings a journey to Hellfire.” Think about that morning. Only two more nights remain Ibn Jareer narrates on the authority of Mujahid, that there was a man from Bani Israeel who used to spend the night in prayer. Then during the day he would fight the enemy in the way of Allah until the evening and he did this for a thousand months. Allah revealed for us the Surah about the Night of Al-Qadr. “The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allâh in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months.” (Qur'an, 97:3) Peace shall descend on Laylatul Qadr until the dawn. It may be that we leave the masjid after Fajr in the next few fays forgiven by Allah, Glorious and Most High. – Adapted from Khutbah.com __
