From manslaughter to Messenger

The prophet Musa(peace be upon him) is one of the 5 Messengers of Strong Resolve (ulul 'azmi) and perhaps the greatest prophet of the children of Israel. His story is the one that is most told in the Quran in different surahs (chapters). We learn in surah al-Qasas about an incident that would set him on an adventure which would lead to him becoming a Messenger of God. This incident ironically however is not one anybody would be proud of. He had accidentally killed a coptic who was arguing with a person from amongst the Children of Israel. He struck him once without any intention to kill, but the man died anyway. Musa (pbuh) of course was shocked himself and attributed the evil that had happened to syaitan. He immediately repented to Allah, and Allah immediately forgave him, for Allah is indeed Most forgiving, Most Merciful.


 "He said: "My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, so forgive me." Then He forgave him. Verily, He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful." al-Qasas 28:16

Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance after committing a sin. In fact, He loves to forgive so much that a hadith tells us, if we were a people who never sinned, Allah would replace us with another people who would sin and then turn to Him in repentance so He could forgive them:

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “I swear by Him in whose hand is my soul, if you were a people who did not commit sin, Allah would take you away and replace you with a people who would sin and then seek Allah’s forgiveness so He could forgive them.” [Sahīh Muslim (2687)]

Going back to prophet Musa's unintentional crime, Allah not only forgave him but raised him to high rank of becoming one of the greatest Messengers of God. This teaches us that committing a sin, even if it is very grave will not result in our inevitable doom if we turn to Allah in repentance and strive to make things right. Musa (pbuh) swore to Allah to never help any criminal after that incident:



He said: "My Lord! For that with which You have favoured me, I will never more be a helper of the Mujrimûn (criminals)!" al-Qasas 28:17

People may have had bad beginnings but Allah can erase that painful past and turn in into something so great we could not even imagine. We will surely meet many people like this in our lives, people whose pasts were tainted with the darkness of sin, but they have turned over a new leaf. What we must never ever do then, is bring up the past of someone who has repented and is trying to start things over. People usually resort to this dirty trick when they are not happy with someone due to an argument or disagreement etc. This abominable act of bringing up someone's past shifts the focus away from one's self, as was done by none other than Pharaoh, the most abominable of all human beings to have ever lived, when Musa came to him with the Message and to deliver the children of Israel. His words are preserved in surah asy-syu'ara verse 19 as a lesson for us:


"(Allâh) said: "Nay! Go you both(Musa and Harun) with Our Signs. Verily! We shall be with you, listening.
And go both of you to Fir'aun (Pharaoh), and say: 'We are the Messengers of the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists), So allow the Children of Israel to go with us.' [Fir'aun (Pharaoh)] said [to Mûsa (Moses)]: "Did we not bring you up among us as a child? And you did dwell many years of your life with us. And you did your deed, which you did (i.e. the crime of killing a man). And you one of the ingrates."

al-Qasas 28:15-19

Thus, if we bring up someone's hurtful past just because we're angry, displeased with him/her, then we have become pharaohs ourselves, wal'iyazbuillah, we seek Allah's refuge from walking in the footsteps of those who are doomed to the fire.

And as for those of us who have done bad things in the past, remember that all hope is not lost. The doors of mercy are always upon. Let us turn to Allah in sincere repentance, seek His forgiveness, turn over a new leaf and constantly make dua' for guidance as Musa did. He was constantly making dua' to Allah to guide him, to save him from those who are evil, to make his affairs easy for him etc. We will be surprised at how Allah will bless us. Indeed, in Musa's case (pbuh), it was from the crime of manslaughter, to becoming one of the greatest Messengers of God to walk upon the earth, Subhanallah! What a blessing! :)