A Community with Significant Semitic Heritage

It's unfortunate that civic protests against the oppressive and inhumane policies of Israel's apartheid regime against the Palestinian Muslims are unjustly labeled as anti-Semitism.

It is interesting to see that the Islamic doctrine carries a significant Semitic heritage, as it is elucidated in the Quranic verses and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Quran highlights the Pharaoh (Fir'aun in Arabic) of Egypt as the paramount oppressor and an extremely arrogant autocratic ruler. He subjected the children of Israel to prolonged enslavement and oppression. Within its historical narrative, the Quran emphasizes the profound suffering endured by the Children of Israel.

"Remember how We delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with dreadful torment, slaughtering your sons and keeping your women. That was a severe test from your Lord." - Quran 2:49.

This verse serves as a reminder of the trials they faced and the divine intervention that ultimately led to their liberation through the Prophet Moses (Musa) peace be upon him. The context of this verse is an important part of the broader narrative about the Israelites and their journey to freedom, as described in the Quran.

Muslims around the world regularly reflect on this narrative as a guiding lesson in their sermons, particularly during Friday sermons. They emphasize the importance of placing trust in Almighty God and avoiding the arrogance and oppression exemplified by Pharaoh and his followers.

It could provoke either a paradoxical reaction or surprise that Muslims also commemorate the Children of Israel's liberation from Pharaoh's oppression through an annual two-day fast during the Islamic month of Muharram. This practice persists, even as Palestinian Muslims confront ongoing blatant injustice in the name of Israel!

The story of the wife of Pharaoh in the Quran serves as another powerful illustration of how faith and righteousness can prevail even in the most challenging and oppressive circumstances. It encourages believers to remain steadfast in their faith and to seek God's guidance and protection.

Remarkably, within the two role models offered to the community of believers, one of them happens to be the wife of Pharaoh. She professed her faith in the oneness of God, acknowledged Moses (Musa), peace be upon him, as a messenger of God, and rejected the notion that Pharaoh himself was a deity.

"And Allah presents an example of those who believed: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, 'My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrongdoing people.'" - Quran 66:11-12.

It is part of the prophetic teachings that the wife of Pharaoh endured harsh torture under the sun. When Pharaoh concluded the torment, angels would provide her shade with their wings, and she was granted a vision of her heavenly abode. There is also an account of Pharaoh sending his aides to her with a directive to locate the largest stone. They were instructed to cast the stone upon her if she persisted in her faith, but if she renounced it, she would remain his wife. When they approached her, she gazed up at the sky and beheld her home in Paradise. She steadfastly adhered to her faith, and her soul was then taken from her as the stone was hurled upon her lifeless body.

Once more, it may come as a surprise that Islamic beliefs feature two distinctive personalities, one exemplifying extreme arrogance and the other being among the two most revered figures, both intricately tied to the narrative of the Children of Israel.

​It is imperative to acknowledge that, even in the face of the decades of inhumane treatment of Palestinian Muslims by the Israeli regime, we, as Muslims, remain unwavering in our connection to the lineage of the Children of Israel. We are determined not to follow in the footsteps of the preceding generations that distorted divine guidance ​a​ccording to their whims, and subsequently faced the consequences of divine judgment. Instead, we are wholeheartedly dedicated to safeguarding this heritage until our very last breath.

Abu Abdul Mannaan