Behold! Moses said to his family: “I perceive a fire…

Question 106: What is the meaning of the Al-mighty’s saying: {Behold! Moses said to his family: “I perceive a fire; soon will I bring you from there some information or I will bring you a burning brand to light our fuel, that ye may warm yourselves.” * But when he came to the (Fire), a voice was heard: “Blessed are those in the Fire and those around: and Glory to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!”.}[1]?

Answer: In order to show what was intended from this blessed verse I will give this example as an introduction for understanding it: If there was a burning fire in a particular location, then you would believe that this burning fire is in that particular location, and you will be certain of its burning from one of these ways:

1 – That a group of people comes to you and notifies you of its (fire’s) burning.

2 – That you go and see it with your eyes.

3 – That you go and see it with your eyes and you place your hand in it until your finger burns.

4 – That you go and see it with your eyes and you place yourself in it until you burn.

It maybe possible to disprove the first and second perception, so if (later) a group of people came to you and notified you that the fire doesn’t exist then you would receive doubt about the first notification, and if a group of people came to you and notified you that what you saw was great sorcery then you would receive doubt about what you saw with your own eyes. But as for the third and fourth perception then it can’t be disproved; because the fire’s impact is present on your hand or body, or you were burnt until you became the fire.

Certainly the knowing of the fire’s reality for the person who burnt his finger is less than the person who burnt his hand or a big portion of his body, and the knowing of the fire for all of them is less than the knowing of the person who was burnt until he became the fire.

And if you use this example for knowing the representative of Allah the Glorified and Al-mighty then you would find that he is the one who had the like of the eye of the needle opened for him, and it started to throb, and it is revealed throughout generations about the page of his existence (that it) lacks impurity, he is the one who the Al-mighty said about him: {We have opened for you a clear opening * That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past and the future…}[2].

The Opening, and it is Muhammad ibn Abdullah (pbuhaf), servant of Allah (Abdullah) and Isra’eel (servant) of Allah and the Face of Allah within His creation, nay he is Allah within the creation, (“And your emergence in Mount Faran.”)[3] meaning the emergence of Allah in Mecca by Muhammad (pbuhaf).

Thus Muhammad (pbuhaf) is the fire in this verse, and he is the blessing that Allah blesses with upon those in the fire and those around it as for the one who is in the fire then it is Ali (a.s), he (a.s) said in one of his sermons: (“I am from whom talked to Musa.”)[4], and do not reject this saying from the Prince of the Believers Ali (a.s) and become of those who perished, the Al-mighty said:

{It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, …}[5].

{Say: “The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, …}[6].

{Whom the angels cause to die while they are wronging themselves. …}[7].

{Those whom the angels cause to die (when they are) good..}[8].

{..Until when death approaches one of you, Our angels take his soul..}[9].

{..until, when Our messengers (of death) arrive and take their souls..}[10].

Contemplate on these verses in order to know what Ali (a.s) wanted from his blessed saying that unfortunately many of the people reject from their ignorance and lack of contemplation, so Allah the Glorified and Al-mighty takes the soul; because He is the Creator that is the Controller over all the worlds of the living and the dead, and the Angel of death (Izra’eel (a.s)) takes the souls; because he is the leader of the Angels of death, and the Angels take the souls; because they are the executors to the command of the Prince of death who is the executor to the command of Allah the Glorified.

As for the ones around – i.e. around the fire – then they are the Imams (pbut), like a ring which is the closest to the fire’s center, then they are followed by rings that are coiled around the fire’s center, and they are the twelve Mahdis after the Qa’im (a.s), and the Prophets and Messengers and the specialized Shia from the protectors that have no fear over them nor will they grieve like the 313 companions of the Qa’im (a.s) and Salman Al-Muhammadi and their similitude.

So , accordingly, Musa (a.s) wanted to bring the news of guidance from the fire to his family that perhaps they may warm themselves with the fire i.e. that they burn their selves in it, in order to be in certainty that is not mixed with (any) doubt, {Has there come to you the story of Musa? * When he saw a fire and said to his family, “Stay here. I have noticed a fire. Perhaps I can bring you an ember from it, or find some guidance by the fire.}[11].

As for this worldly life then inside it the fire is the difficulties and the pain that it (the Hujjas – pbut) is exposed to from the harm of the tyrants and the Pharaohs (may Allah curse them), and it is narrated that the Dajjal will come and there will be a mountain of fire with him and whoever enters it will enter Heaven([12]), and the Dajjal is America and the mountain of fire is their massive military war units, and the believers will enter Heaven by fighting America, and Ibrahim (a.s) entered the fire inside this worldly life, the fire that was lit by the tyrants and Pharoahs (may Allah curse them) through the oppression and inequity and corruption that they use to burn any one who hinders them by facing their oppression and inequity and corruption, however this fire upon Ibrahim (a.s) was cold and peaceful.

And it will also become cold and peaceful upon anyone who throws himself in it, this is the Way of Allah and you will not find an alteration to the Way of Allah nor will you find a change to the Way of Allah.

[1] The Holy Qur’an: Surat Al-Naml (27: 7-8).
[2] The Holy Qur’an: Surat Al-Fath (48: 1-2).
[3] Dua Al-Samat, Prayer of the Skies.
[4] Look in the Sermon of the Gulf by Imam Ali (a.s), Mashaariq Anwar Al-Yaqeen (Rising of the Lights of Certainty): page 263-265.
[5] The Holy Qur’an: Surat Az-Zumar (39: 42).
[6] The Holy Qur’an: Surat Al-Sajda (32: 11).