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There is in the Qur’an a unique story about Prophet Musa, Moses, which is not found in the Old Testament. It is about a wise man that taught Musa a valuable lesson about divine wisdom. It is said that once Musa unintentionally claimed to be the wisest of all men. God then revealed to Musa that there was a man far superior to him in wisdom and that he should learn from him.
Once Musa found the man, the Sage agreed to impart his wisdom to the Prophet provided that the latter refrained from questioning the Sage’s actions until their wherefores timely unfolded before him. Musa agreed.
The two men embarked on a journey across a river. Once they reached the shore, the Sage poked a huge hole in the boat causing it to sink. Musa reacted with dismay and said, "You have done a terrible thing!" The Sage reminded Musa about the agreement they made at the start of the journey. "Did I not say your patience would run out?" The Sage said. The Prophet then apologized and promised to remain patient.
The journey proceeded until they encountered a young man. Without warning, the Sage struck him dead. The Prophet could not control his temper. "Why did you kill an innocent man without cause?" asked Musa. The Sage smiled and said, "I did say you would not be able to be patient with me, didn’t I?" Musa again apologized and promised that if he prematurely questioned the Sage’s actions again this latter should be free to leave.
The journey went on until the two walked into a village and were denied hospitality. When they came upon a crumbling wall, the Sage pulled his sleeves up and started building it. The Prophet suggested the Sage should at least seek payment for his labor.
"Here we must part company," the Sage said. "Now I will tell you the wherefores of my actions which you were unable to bear with patience. As for the boat, it belonged to some needy people who toiled upon the sea, and I desired to damage it because there was an oppressive king who sought to unjustly confiscate it. And as for the young man, his parents were believers – whereas we (meaning he was acting on God’s authority) had every reason to fear that he would bring bitter grief upon them by his overbearing wickedness and denial of all truth – and so we desired that God grant them in his stead a child of greater purity than him. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town, and beneath it was buried a treasure, and their father was a righteous man and God willed that when they come of age they should unearth their treasure. This, in brief, is the wisdom which surpassed your patience."
The Qur’anic parable teaches that God is All-Knowing and that no matter how knowledgeable man is he should always wear the mantle of humility. Even though Prophet Musa was very humble and possessed great wisdom, God wanted to teach him that absolute knowledge was beyond man.
At a time when humanity lives in turmoil and many question the purpose of existence, the Sage’s wisdom is much needed. The modern man’s scientific and artistic quests have been geared towards explaining why we are here. "What is the purpose of life?" they ask. "If there was a God, why does he allow war and famine?" "If God knew that thousands of people were going to be massacred, why did He not do something to save them?" And so on and so forth.
Just as Prophet Musa questioned the Sage, our mortal and imperfect intellect constantly keeps asking similar shortsighted questions. That which seems irrational triggers our moral outrage. We are always quick to lay blame on everyone except ourselves. Often our suffering blinds us from seeking the truth and we choose instead the most simplistic answers to the most complex problems. We deflect the pressure of accountability by denying God’s existence. Instead of taking responsibility for war, famine, disease and misery and acknowledging that these cruelties are man-made, we choose instead to blame God.
If we were to examine our personal lives, we would find this truth to be abundant. For instance, many blame illness that is often caused by a poor diet and a lack of exercise on fate. "God willed that I get sick," one would say. But has He willed that one eat junk food and refrain from physical activity as well? Sometimes we want to succeed so badly at something but when we fail we assume that God did not want us to be happy. The Qur’an says, "You may dislike something and it is better for you. And you may like something and it is bad for you." In other words, there is wisdom behind what happens to us and just as Prophet Musa failed to see the reason behind the Sage’s actions we fail to see the reasons behind the calamities that befall us.
A poor man who lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad once vowed that if God made him rich he would be very generous towards the poor. The Prophet cautioned him that wealth corrupted but the man was persistent that if God came through for him, he would come through for God. As time wore on, the man’s prayers were answered and he became very wealthy. Soon, he started skipping prayers at the mosque. He then stopped coming all-together including to the mandatory Friday prayer. Eventually, he became miserly and did not give money to charity. God revealed a verse that exposed the man’s failure to honor his covenant with Him and soon his punishment was the loss of his entire wealth.
The lessons taught by the Prophets are timeless. They cautioned that God’s wisdom is superior to man’s and that no matter what we think of our misery, we would always come out short on understanding the reasons behind it. The Qur’an and the Bible teach that God’s design for man is beyond man’s comprehension and that it is healthier to submit to Him and accept faith. If we surrender to God’s superior wisdom and acknowledge our shortcomings, we would have happier lives. The Sage taught Prophet Musa that knowledge and wisdom are traits of the Almighty alone and that only He knows best.
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