28.16 Musa's supplication after killing the Egyptian
This supplication, filled with sincerity and beautiful in its simplicity and brevity, is among the supplications with which the Book of the Almighty acquaints us. Long ago, long before we came into the world, one of His greatest and best-known prophets turned to the Almighty Lord with it. This is the prophet Musa (peace be upon him).
The supplications of the Quran are beacons that light our way in this world and help us not to get lost, not to go astray in the darkness of strife and temptation that surrounds us throughout our earthly existence. They not only remind us of the Lord and of the need to turn to Him in supplication in both hard and prosperous days. In fact they teach us to think rightly and correct our ideas about the world and about our role in it. These supplications guide us, help us to set priorities, teach us to cast aside what is unimportant and unnecessary, and to concentrate on the main thing: on what we should ask of the Lord of the worlds and what we should strive for.
These supplications become a faithful helper for a Muslim, helping him to maintain his connection with the Almighty Creator. The Lord, as we all know, can work miracles, and supplication is one of the shortest and surest paths not only to the pleasure of the Lord and to Paradise, but also to the transformation of our earthly life, so that our life too may have a share of these miracles. And supplication is undoubtedly a saving rope that helps one to stand firm against the whirlwind of temptations and trials.
With these astonishingly simple words, coming from the heart, the noble prophet Musa (peace be upon him) turned to the Lord after he had killed the Egyptian. When a man of Musa’s people, an Israelite, called for help, Musa heeded his call and struck his assailant, felling him with that one blow. The prophet at once asked the Lord for forgiveness, considering this action sinful, for he had killed a man he had not been commanded to kill. Calming down at once after this impulse, Musa (peace be upon him) was filled with humility, admitted his guilt and asked the Lord for forgiveness.
In the way he turned to the Lord with this supplication we see clear courtesy and modesty towards Allah: Musa (peace be upon him) first acknowledged the Lordship of the Almighty and his own offence, and only then turned to Him with a request for forgiveness: “My Lord! I have definitely wronged my soul, so forgive me.”
This was a prophet of God, who knew that the Lord had forgiven him. What, then, of us, who do not know what fate is prepared for us and where our path lies, to Paradise or to Hell? This is an important lesson for every believer: not to treat one’s sins carelessly, not to regard them as insignificant, and not to be presumptuous, thinking that since our Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself and since His mercy outstrips His anger, He will certainly forgive us our evil deeds without any effort on our part. Is it far-sighted to live for today and give no thought to the future and to one’s fate in the Hereafter, in a world in which our life can be cut short at any moment, with no way back and no second chance?..
This supplication teaches us the importance of sincere repentance, which implies acknowledging the sin, regretting what one has done, ceasing to commit it and firmly resolving not to return to it in the future. And one must hasten to repent, for a person does not know how much time he has been allotted, and by putting off repentance he may leave this world before he manages to repent.
The prophets and messengers of the Almighty, beginning with Adam (peace be upon him), repented to the Lord and asked Him for forgiveness, and these righteous, God-fearing and wise people were an example for us.
It is important for every believer to refrain from sins and to try not to disobey the Almighty Lord. But if he has nevertheless stumbled and done something displeasing to Allah, the most correct and most natural thing for him is to hasten to repent, to call upon the Merciful Lord, to admit his guilt and to ask His forgiveness sincerely, with all his heart. For if a sin is forgiven by the Lord, it is as if it had never been. And to walk light towards the pleasure of the Lord, towards salvation, success and Paradise is, of course, much easier than bending under the burden of sins.