Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim (in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)

فَلَمَّا تَرَٰٓءَا ٱلْجَمْعَانِ قَالَ أَصْحَـٰبُ مُوسَىٰٓ إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ (٦١) قَالَ كَلَّآ ۖ إِنَّ مَعِىَ رَبِّى سَيَهْدِينِ (٦٢)

When the two groups came face to face, the companions of Moses cried out, “We are overtaken for sure.” (61)

Moses reassured ˹them˺, “Absolutely not! My Lord is certainly with me—He will guide me.” (62)

Translation from Quran.com. Surah Ash-Shu'ara (the Poets), verses 61-62.

Prophet and messenger Musa (Moses in the Bible), peace be upon him (pbuh), is the most frequently mentioned in the Quran

In bits and pieces, his story unfolds — across the chapters, under different themes, with different details serving each

Each detail serves a purpose, each mention with intention; this is not a “once upon a time” distant tale

It is a living story with timeless lessons; always relevant, but perhaps now even more than ever

“We are overtaken”

The companions of Musa (pbuh) cried out

As their plan to escape tyranny was seemingly falling apart

Years upon years of enduring oppression, enslavement, and injustice

Now trapped between the mighty army of their pharaoh behind and the Red Sea ahead

They see no way out, and the odds stack so clearly against them; “we are overtaken for sure”

“We are overtaken for sure,” words full of hopelessness, doubt, and defeat that sound so familiar

So similar to the “Gaza is gone“, “give up this cause“, or “Israel has the upper hand” of today

To say such words makes sense if our faith is in the odds and not the Lord of the odds

“My Lord is with me - He will guide me”

Musa (pbuh) replied, although he too did not see a way out

But his faith is firm; it’s placed in God, and not the means and the odds

Because what are the odds of facing an army unarmed or running into an endless sea?

Still, Musa (pbuh) knew the divine scheme was intact; “my Lord is with me - He will guide me”

Words of certainty like those of the people of Gaza, for 700 days, they continue to say “hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel”

“Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs” in the face of the worst crimes we’ve ever seen

In the midst of slaughter, destruction, displacement, and scenes unbearable to see even on a screen

In the face of the most barbaric occupation force and a genocide that only seems to get worse

Entrapped between the sea and the siege, and between rubble as far as the eye can see

When they speak, their words may shake, heavy with anger and pain, but not despair

They don’t see how or when, but they know God will make a way out for them

In the case of Musa (pbuh), the sea was split with a strike of a staff

Against the laws of nature, and how irrelevant it made the means and the odds

The same sea split for Musa (pbuh) and his people, then closed to end the Pharaoh and his tyranny

Tyranny that was at its height; it was the arrogance and sense of impunity that led the Pharaoh to follow Musa (pbuh)’s path

Feeling all-powerful while walking into his own destruction; that was the divine scheme, like always, playing out

And it continues to play out, but our faith is tested when we cannot see a way out

Do we let our hope, prayers, and efforts fade out; “we are overtaken for sure”?

Or do we keep our faith firm; “my Lord is with me - He will guide me”?

The story of Musa (pbuh) in detail: https://myislam.org/prophet-musa/

My Lord is with me; He will guide me (26:61-62) | إِنَّ مَعِىَ رَبِّى سَيَهْدِينِ

Conviction & Courage (20:72)