Upheld by Allah: Women in the Quran
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Ep. 1: Courage Against Evil: Asiyah bint Muzahim (as)
From the spiritually dark palaces of the cruel and oppressive Pharaoh of Egypt comes a woman whose belief in God gave her eternal reprieve and bliss with a home near the Most High. Asiyah bint Muzahim, who raised Musa (as) when Allah caused his basket to float to the Pharoah's home, was a woman of unparalleled courage, faced with the cruelest of torture and ridicule.
And yet she stood firm in belief, hopeful in Allah, and persevering in the face of adversity, leaving her with a beautiful status and reward, eternally preserved in the Qur'an and upheld by Allah Himself.
Tune in to the first episode of Upheld by Allah: Women in the Qur'an with Ustadha Lobna Mulla.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Have you ever wanted to become closer to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, grow in your spirituality, your practice, only to be faced with criticism, intense questioning, or even worse? Have you ever felt like you had to give up certain things so that you could practice your Islam, despite it going against your friends, family, or even your own spouse? This is no doubt a lonely place to be, but we have a role model preserved in the Qur'an for us to connect with. I'd like to introduce you to Aisya bint Muzahim, the wife of not only one of the most powerful, but one of the most corrupt rulers of all time, Fir'aun, the ruler of ancient Egypt. Imagine a woman who has it all, access to power, wealth, and high status. She's a believer in the one true God, but is married to one who claims to be a God. And on top of his grave delusion, he is a cruel and an oppressive tyrant, massacring the people of Bani Israel, simply for believing in Allah. Fir'aun's desperation for power blinds him, but not the one closest to him, his wife, Aisya alayhi s-salam. Aisya not only had deep faith, but an optimism in Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala, a trust in him that would spark the dua she made to her Lord, the dua that is forever preserved in the Holy Qur'an. My Lord, build me a house in paradise near you, and deliver me from Fir'aun and his evil doing, and save me from the wrongdoing people. Who is Aisya and why is she so inspirational? What is her story and what led up to this famous, hope-filled dua? To understand her story and why she's mentioned in such high regard by Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala in the Holy Qur'an, let's start from the beginning. Not many details of her childhood is known, but we do know that Aisya alayhi s-salam was a queen her entire life. She lived a luxurious life, as her father was a wealthy and powerful man. Her marriage to Fir'aun was an arranged one. And as royal marriages go, this was the making of a power couple. Aisya's faith and determination is amazing
and inspiring on its own. But what is unique to her story is that it intersects with another revered member of religious history, our beloved prophet Musa alayhi s-salam. As we understand, Aisya alayhi s-salam wasn't able to have children of her own, and as such was superbly delighted to find baby Musa alayhi s-salam floating in the Nile River in a basket. And as we'll talk about in another video, Musa's mother was inspired by Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala to save her son from the torment inflicted by the order of Aisya's very own husband, Fir'aun. Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala says, and we inspired the mother of Musa, nurse him, but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily, we shall bring him back to you and shall make him one of our messengers. So here you have Fir'aun on the one hand, ordering the killing of all boys of Bani Israel that year, out of fear that the interpretation of his dream, that one day a son of Bani Israel would kill Fir'aun and overtake his kingdom, would come true. And on the other hand, you have Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala inspiring Musa's mother to send him down the river to the very house of Fir'aun. The irony is just amazing and reminds us that truly Allah is the best of planners. And as Allah would have it planned, Aisya would be outside of the palace at the very instant when the basket carrying baby Musa would pass right in front of her. Thinking it was a treasure, and it truly was, she had the basket retrieved from the river and brought it to her. Upon opening the basket, her heart was filled with joy as she found baby Musa Alayhi Salaam. Allah says, then the household of Fir'aun picked him up that he might become for them an enemy and a cause of grief. Verily Fir'aun, Haman and their armies were sinners. And the wife of Fir'aun said, a comfort of the eye for me and for you. Kill him not, perhaps he may be of benefit to us, or we may adopt him as a son. And they perceive not the result of that. Now the very boy that Fir'aun and Aisya welcomed into their own home was raised lovingly as their own son. Aisya loved Musa Alayhi Salaam. And after he left the palace
and later became a prophet of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, she would later come to believe in his message of Tarheed. Despite the cruelty and tyranny of Fir'aun against anyone who believed, she set aside her fears and accepted the message of Musa. Fir'aun, as it stands, had children from other wives. Now there's an amazing intersection that happens with the hairdresser of one of the daughters of Fir'aun and Aisya, Queen of Egypt. One day, the hairdresser of one of Fir'aun's daughters was tending to her hair. The hairdresser dropped her comb and said, Bismillah, in the name of Allah. The daughter taken aback said, Abi, Allah my father? And the hairdresser said, No, the Lord of your father, the Lord of me and the Lord of you, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. Knowing this would upset her father, the daughter told Fir'aun about the incident. Of course, Fir'aun was furious. So he decided to make an example of the hairdresser in front of everyone. Fir'aun orders a pit to be dug and copper to be melted in that pit. So that the hairdresser and all of her children would be thrown into it. After her children were forced to jump in before her, now all who was left was the hairdresser and her baby whom she was nursing. She hesitated to jump in with her baby, but then miraculously, this baby spoke. The baby said, go ahead and jump for the punishment of this life is lighter than the punishment of the next life. And with that, the blessed woman full of hope and optimism in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la jumped in. The irony of it all is that Fir'aun gathered the people to witness this cruelty as a form of intimidation and as a means for setting an example for those who may wish to join this woman in her tawheed. But it is Allah who made an example of Fir'aun by preserving his body for all time so that people today and tomorrow can see the end of those who claim superiority and oppress others. SubhanAllah, this woman on the other hand, although she was powerless and poor in the material sense, she was rich in her Iman. So much so that she also was made as an example for those who believe. In a Hadith in Sahih Muslim, it is narrated that during al-Isra' wa l-Ma'raj, when Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam traveled through Jannah,
he smelled a beautiful scent of which he asked Jibreel Alayhi Salaam and Jibreel told him that this was the scent of the hairdresser of the daughter of Fir'aun. After seeing the courage and deep faith of the servant of Fir'aun declare her servitude to the Almighty Allah, Asiya Alayhi Salaam decided it was time for her to do the same. So Asiya confronts Fir'aun about her Iman the same night the hairdresser was killed. Knowing what just happened to the servant who expressed her faith, Asiya told Fir'aun that she disbelieves in him and does not care what will happen to her. She then goes on to express her belief in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. When she confronts Fir'aun, the horrible and cruel tyrant that he is, he orders his servants to drag her to the desert, tortures her in front of his own daughters and they laugh at her. The scene is really heart-wrenching, but we only share this to understand the perseverance and strength of this amazing woman. SubhanAllah, there is Asiya with no supporter, deprived of food, water, protection from the scorching sun and having the children of her powerful and evil husband laugh at her in her most painful moment. And despite all of this suffering, we see this beautiful expression of the deep hope in the only truth in this world, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. And in this moment, the Queen of Egypt, Asiya, looks up to the sky and makes this famous and beautiful du'a in Surat Al-Tahrim. Oh my Lord, build me a house in paradise near you and deliver me from Fir'aun and his evil doing and save me from the wrongdoing people. What beautiful companionship she seeks in the next life. Before asking for a house in Jannah, she asked that it be near Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. In essence, she traded the companionship with the most powerful yet worst man on earth with Allah, the most merciful, and traded her palace on earth for a far greater one in Jannah. What an amazing believer to not despair in the mercy of Allah despite her extreme hardship. Allah answers her du'a. When she looks up at the sky, she sees her palace in Jannah. Asiya Alayhi Salaam also sees the angels sent by Allah to shade her. What a mercy from Allah. What an expression of his love for her.
After seeing the angels, Asiya laughs at Fir'aun. Now picture this, Fir'aun thinks he has the upper hand and as the most powerful ruler in the land as he tortures her for her faith, but she owns her faith, her heart and mind. He cannot take away her most precious asset, her belief in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. And on top of that, Allah is comforting her physically in this world and morally by showing her a glimpse of her reward in the next life. Seeing Asiya laugh infuriates Fir'aun and he thinks she's crazy. He orders his guards to go to the highest peak and to push over a giant boulder that would crush her body down below. Again, Allah, the most merciful, answering Asiya's du'a to save her from Fir'aun, took her soul before her body was further tormented. Asiya's story is a clear example of the reward of those who put Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la first. Asiya's deep commitment to her faith reminds us that sometimes there is great sacrifice in staying on the straight path. Sometimes it means giving up that very tempting job offer because aspects of the work may involve haram or maybe passing up some material gain because it might bring you more distraction than benefit. Her story also reminds us that the more yaqeen you have in this life of the hereafter, the less the trials of this world hurt us. And Allah sets forth an example for the believers, the wife of Fir'aun, who prayed, my Lord, build me a house in paradise near you, deliver me from Fir'aun and his evil doing and save me from the wrongdoing people. What's amazing here is that with Asiya's story, Allah does not set her as an example for women only. And Allah doesn't set her as an example for the people of Arabia or for a certain group of people. Allah sets an example for the believers, both men and women for all time. Asiya, a woman of power, wealth, and high status, gave up everything for her faith in Allah. And Allah shares her dedication to faith, her deep hope and optimism in Allah with all of humanity. Sometimes when you want to become more religious or for those of you who have converted to Islam, you experience a harsh backlash to your religiosity. Are you a shaykh or shaykha now? Who do you think you are?
You may not have a Fir'aun in your house, but you may very much have great hardship in progressing in your faith journey or even maintaining your base level of worship. Some get kicked out of their homes. Others are chastised for being too religious as if their devotion will lessen their chances of finding a good job or of getting married, et cetera. May Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la make all of us like Asiya Alayhi As-Salam, firm in belief, hopeful in Allah, and persevering in the face of adversity. Ameen.
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