Once, the Prophet (SAW) was helped by an Arab during one of his journeys. After being helped by this man, the Prophet (SAW) asked what the Arab would like in payment for his actions. The Arab asked for a number of livestock—twice—upon which the Prophet (SAW) said:
“Could you not even be like the old woman of Bani Isra’il?”
The companions of the Prophet (SAW) asked about this story, and the Prophet (SAW) told them:
Musa (AS) had decided to migrate with Bani Isra’il but got lost along the way. One of his companions said:
“Yusuf (AS) made our ancestors promise to take his body with them if we were ever to migrate. Perhaps this is why we cannot find our way.”
Musa (AS) asked:
“Which one of you knows where the grave of Yusuf (AS) is?”
The companions told him of an old woman from Bani Isra’il who knew the whereabouts of his grave. Musa (AS) sent a messenger to find her, and when she was brought to him and asked about the location, she said:
“I will grant you the location of his grave on one condition: that I may enter Paradise alongside you.”
Musa (AS) was hesitant, but Allah (SWT) revealed to him that he should fulfil her condition, and so he agreed. The old woman took them to a lush, swampy land and said:
“Drain the water and dig here.”
They did so, and they found and removed the body of Yusuf (AS)—as the bodies of prophets do not decompose. They then continued on their journey.
This incident is mentioned in the hadith collections, including:
The Prophet (SAW) said:
“When Yusuf was dying, he advised the Children of Israel to carry his bones with them when they left Egypt. So when Musa wanted to take them out, he lost his way until he found an old woman of Bani Isra’il…”
Now, back to the story of Musa (AS). His people were unpredictable and inconsistent, constantly changing their attitudes and behaviours.
Before Fir‘awn was destroyed, Allah (SWT) sent nine major signs as warnings, to give him and his people a chance to repent. There were storms, clouds, swarms of locusts, water turning to blood, and more.
Allah (SWT) says:
“So We sent upon them the flood and locusts and lice and frogs and blood as distinct signs, but they were arrogant and were a criminal people.”
(Quran 7:133)
These signs were given in the hopes that Fir‘awn and his army would change, but they remained ignorant. Things would change temporarily, but they would always go back to their old ways.
The tenth and final sign was the parting of the sea, and the people walking on dry land. The same sea then closed upon Fir‘awn and his army, destroying them.
What did Bani Isra’il do right after that?
They came across people worshipping idols, and they asked for an idol of their own—something visible, something they could carry with them. So they made a golden calf to worship.
Musa (AS) admonished and scolded them, and then he selected seventy people to go with him to Mount Tur to speak to Allah (SWT). There, he received the slates upon which the Torah was written.
But upon his return, even those seventy people were not satisfied. They doubted that Musa (AS) had received the Torah and demanded to see Allah (SWT) face to face.
Allah (SWT) says:
“And [recall] when you said, ‘O Musa, we will never believe you until we see Allah outright’; so the thunderbolt took you while you were looking on.”
(Quran 2:55)
Allah’s anger descended upon them, and they were struck down by lightning. But then, Allah (SWT) brought them back to life, to show His power and mercy.
While all of this was happening, the rest of Bani Isra’il, whom Musa (AS) had left behind under the care of his brother Harun (AS), had already started worshipping the golden calf.
In just a couple of weeks, the people had gone from witnessing a miracle and worshipping Allah (SWT), to worshipping an idol. They had no steadfastness in their faith.
All of this was happening during the journey of Musa (AS) to Bayt Al-Maqdis.
Interestingly, the Qur’an repeats these stories over and over again—not for Bani Isra’il, but for us, the Ummah of Muhammad (SAW).
Allah (SWT) wants to warn us not to make the same mistakes.
Isn’t it strange? They received the entire kingdom of Egypt in one day—the tables turned, and the same people who were persecuted became the rulers of the land. But their instability and ungratefulness remained. They were always questioning and doubting.
Allah (SWT) shares these stories so that we don’t go down that path. He shares them so that we may learn from them, to have strength, conviction, and to remain steadfast.
When we see the help of Allah (SWT), it should strengthen our iman, and when we see a test from Allah (SWT), it should be viewed as a test of iman.
If iman is missing from a community, then it doesn’t matter what resources, power, or wealth they have. You can have all of these things, but there is no replacement for faith.
Without faith, everything is hollow. These things—power, resources, wealth—are temporary. But iman is not.
So, we should look at ourselves and our own lives and ask:
“How stable are we in our faith?”
Here, Allah (SWT) is telling us the story of a people who had no stability in their faith. And as the story continues, we’ll see even more examples of how quickly they were tempted, how easily they were led astray.
We must ask ourselves:
How strong and resolute are we in our faith? Can we go through life and still remain firm on our path to Allah (SWT)?
May Allah (AWJ) give us the insight and steadfastness to understand this.
