Prophet Haroun (pbuh) Compromising?
Question:
Re verse 20:94, do prophets of God compromise on doing and saying the Truth?
Why did Haroun pbuh fear the wrath of people and kept quiet.
Answer:
First let us look at verse 7:150 that reports on the same incident:
وَ لَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسىَ إِلىَ قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونىِ مِن بَعْدِى أَ عَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ وَ أَلْقَى الْأَلْوَاحَ وَ أَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يجَرُّهُ إِلَيْهِ قَالَ ابْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ اسْتَضْعَفُونىِ وَ كاَدُواْ يَقْتُلُونَنىِ فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بىَِ الْأَعْدَاءَ وَ لَا تجَعَلْنىِ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّلِمِين
“And when Musa returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said 'what a bad thing you have done in my absence, were you hasty about the command of your Lord' and he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, dragging him towards him. (Haroun) said: Son of my mother! surely the people treated me as a weak and were close to kill me, so make not the enemies to rejoice over me and count me not among the oppressing people.” (7:150)
Then verses 20:92-94 are as follows:
قَالَ يَاهَارُونُ مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذْ رَأَيْتَهُمْ ضَلُّواْ
أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِ أَ فَعَصَيْتَ أَمْرِى
قَالَ يَبْنَؤُمَّ لَا تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتىِ وَ لَا بِرَأْسىِ إِنىِّ خَشِيتُ أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقْتَ بَينَْ بَنىِ إِسْرَ ءِيلَ وَ لَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلى
(Musa) said: O Haroun! what prevented you, when you saw them going astray
That you did not follow me? Did you then disobey my order?
He said: O son of my mother! seize me not by my beard nor by my head I was afraid lest you should say: You have caused a division among the children of Israel and not paid attention to my word (20:92-94)
It is obvious from 7:150 that firstly Haroun (pbuh) did try to stop Bani Israel from going astray but Bani Israel did not listen to him and this went on to the point that they even thought of killing him (which also implies fighting with those who were supporting him).
Then in 20:92-94 Musa (pbuh) complains to Haroun (pbuh) that why he did not stop Bani Israel from this (i.e. by using what ever it takes to stop them, like fighting). The answer that Haroun (pbuh) gives to Musa (pbuh) implies that he (Haroun) did not think that he had a complete authority over Bani Israel while Musa (pbuh) was temporary away and that if he had done something that had caused disunity among the children of Israel, then Musa (pbuh) might had disapproved it.
It is clear from the above that the reason that Haroun (pbuh) did not take 'sever' action against Bani Israel was not because of fear for his own life, but was because of fear that (not having complete authority upon Bani Israel) his action could be disapproved by Musa (pbuh) - who had complete authority among Bani Israel. The underlined verses above are very clear about this.
To illustrate this, think of this example: Parents of some kids have asked you to look after their kids in their absence. In the absence of the parents some of the kids disobey you and start breaking all the rules in the house. You try to stop them but they do not listen to you. You might be able to stop them by punishing them but you are not sure whether this will be approved by their parents, so you have no choice but to tolerate them till the parents arrive. Now the parents have arrived and are complaining to you that why you did not stop them.
Appreciating the concerns of Musa (pbuh) and the concerns of Haroun (pbuh), the above verses are among the most beautiful verses of the Qur'an, narrating and illustrating the sense of huge responsibility and extreme passion in two of the best servants of the Almighty and in this way giving us many lessons and advice.
---------------------
June 2013
Re verse 20:94, do prophets of God compromise on doing and saying the Truth?
Why did Haroun pbuh fear the wrath of people and kept quiet.
Answer:
First let us look at verse 7:150 that reports on the same incident:
وَ لَمَّا رَجَعَ مُوسىَ إِلىَ قَوْمِهِ غَضْبَانَ أَسِفًا قَالَ بِئْسَمَا خَلَفْتُمُونىِ مِن بَعْدِى أَ عَجِلْتُمْ أَمْرَ رَبِّكُمْ وَ أَلْقَى الْأَلْوَاحَ وَ أَخَذَ بِرَأْسِ أَخِيهِ يجَرُّهُ إِلَيْهِ قَالَ ابْنَ أُمَّ إِنَّ الْقَوْمَ اسْتَضْعَفُونىِ وَ كاَدُواْ يَقْتُلُونَنىِ فَلَا تُشْمِتْ بىَِ الْأَعْدَاءَ وَ لَا تجَعَلْنىِ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّلِمِين
“And when Musa returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said 'what a bad thing you have done in my absence, were you hasty about the command of your Lord' and he threw down the tablets and seized his brother by the head, dragging him towards him. (Haroun) said: Son of my mother! surely the people treated me as a weak and were close to kill me, so make not the enemies to rejoice over me and count me not among the oppressing people.” (7:150)
Then verses 20:92-94 are as follows:
قَالَ يَاهَارُونُ مَا مَنَعَكَ إِذْ رَأَيْتَهُمْ ضَلُّواْ
أَلَّا تَتَّبِعَنِ أَ فَعَصَيْتَ أَمْرِى
قَالَ يَبْنَؤُمَّ لَا تَأْخُذْ بِلِحْيَتىِ وَ لَا بِرَأْسىِ إِنىِّ خَشِيتُ أَن تَقُولَ فَرَّقْتَ بَينَْ بَنىِ إِسْرَ ءِيلَ وَ لَمْ تَرْقُبْ قَوْلى
(Musa) said: O Haroun! what prevented you, when you saw them going astray
That you did not follow me? Did you then disobey my order?
He said: O son of my mother! seize me not by my beard nor by my head I was afraid lest you should say: You have caused a division among the children of Israel and not paid attention to my word (20:92-94)
It is obvious from 7:150 that firstly Haroun (pbuh) did try to stop Bani Israel from going astray but Bani Israel did not listen to him and this went on to the point that they even thought of killing him (which also implies fighting with those who were supporting him).
Then in 20:92-94 Musa (pbuh) complains to Haroun (pbuh) that why he did not stop Bani Israel from this (i.e. by using what ever it takes to stop them, like fighting). The answer that Haroun (pbuh) gives to Musa (pbuh) implies that he (Haroun) did not think that he had a complete authority over Bani Israel while Musa (pbuh) was temporary away and that if he had done something that had caused disunity among the children of Israel, then Musa (pbuh) might had disapproved it.
It is clear from the above that the reason that Haroun (pbuh) did not take 'sever' action against Bani Israel was not because of fear for his own life, but was because of fear that (not having complete authority upon Bani Israel) his action could be disapproved by Musa (pbuh) - who had complete authority among Bani Israel. The underlined verses above are very clear about this.
To illustrate this, think of this example: Parents of some kids have asked you to look after their kids in their absence. In the absence of the parents some of the kids disobey you and start breaking all the rules in the house. You try to stop them but they do not listen to you. You might be able to stop them by punishing them but you are not sure whether this will be approved by their parents, so you have no choice but to tolerate them till the parents arrive. Now the parents have arrived and are complaining to you that why you did not stop them.
Appreciating the concerns of Musa (pbuh) and the concerns of Haroun (pbuh), the above verses are among the most beautiful verses of the Qur'an, narrating and illustrating the sense of huge responsibility and extreme passion in two of the best servants of the Almighty and in this way giving us many lessons and advice.
---------------------
June 2013
