Faith that split the sea

At certain instances in his life, a believer might feel like an individual walking in the blinding darkness of an endless tunnel — scared, tired, thirsty, with hardly any hope left in him to find light or a way out.

But there’s something in him that always cures and heals his aching soul. It is his faith and trust in His Master that He, the One who has been taking care of Him all this while, is with Him and will never desert him. Whenever a crisis comes his way, he utilizes his faith and good expectations of Allah in order to hold on and be strong in repelling the whispers of shaytan to give up. The Prophet (peace be upon him) related to us in a Hadith narrated by Muslim that Allah says: “I am as My servant thinks of Me.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6856; and Sahih Muslim, 4832)
These good expectations of Allah bring him closer to relief. No matter what worries, concerns, anxiety, distress, apprehension, or calamities touch him he will find extreme peace, contentment, joy, and solutions through the belief that Allah is with him and that He will guide him to everything that is good for him even if it is by making him suffer all that he dislikes.
This is exactly what made the red sea part into two with the command of its Creator, thousands of years ago...to make way for an honorable believer, the servant and Prophet of Allah; Musa (peace be upon him) and his followers as they crossed it and made their way to the other end. Prophet Musa’s strong faith in Allah, despite the atrocities that he and his followers faced under the oppressive rule of Pharaoh was unshakeable. He inspired his people to hold on to belief in Allah, His promises and be patient in tough times. On the command of Allah when he set off to move from the enemy’s land with his followers, he got stuck between pharaoh and his army pursuing them and the huge sea before him, it was this relentless belief and trust in the Almighty that He will never forsake his side, which made him proclaim, in spite of all the impossibilities around him: “Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me.” (Qur’an, 26:62)
What he possessed was the kind of faith which did not move mountains rather made the vast sea split in two by the order and might of the Most High, Lord of everything that exists.
Allah says: “Then We inspired to Musa, ‘Strike with your staff the sea,’ and it parted, and each portion was like a great towering mountain. And We advanced thereto the pursuers. And We saved Musa and those with him, all together. Then We drowned the others. Indeed in that is a sign, but most of them were not to be believers. And indeed, your Lord; He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful. (Qur’an, 26:62-68)
Indeed Allah is Great. He keeps testing His servants until the sincere believers are clearly differentiated from the weak ones. He gives His servant what is most beneficial to him with wisdom, kindness and in a loving way, even if they are through ways which he might hate.
The servant’s duty is to hold on to his faith in Allah, strive in drawing closer to Him through the blessings or the tests He sends and avoid being of those whom Allah Almighty describes: “And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face (to the other direction). He has lost (this) world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss.” (Al Qur’an, 22:11)
Being a servant of Ar-Rahman (The Entirely Merciful), one must strive not to be of the ones who are happy in worshiping Allah as long as He showers them with blessings and bounties and turn depressed, doubtful and frustrated as soon as Allah tests them with trials and problems.
As a believer one ought to know and understand that Allah calls Himself Al Wahhab (The Bestower) and He may gift him with things he did not expect, without asking for anything in return. He is also Al Lateef (The Subtle One) so He takes care of his worries in a very loving and gentle manner by putting trials as stepping stones in his way so that his servant’s footsteps reach a destination where he is taken by surprise by His Mercy.
These trials may seem as difficult challenges in a believer’s limited vision but they may be His Form of Mercy to His servant to gain more understanding and awareness of Him and ultimately improve his relationship with his Creator.
Notice how, Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) and his followers were oppressed but waited patiently for years for the help and mercy of Allah and when Allah’s help eventually arrived, it was beyond anything they ever imagined, in the form of a miracle, a supernatural phenomenon.
It’s clear from this, that whenever Allah deprives someone of something, it is only so that he can come closer to Him by ways of du’a and worship, persistently asking Allah to fulfill that need. And then Allah gives and fulfills that need according to his own timing, his own way it is only so that the servant can rise in faith and gratefulness.
Sufyan Ath Thawri (May Allah have mercy on him) rightly said: ‘Verily, when Allah withholds, He actually gives, because He did not withhold on account of miserliness or stinginess, but rather He looked at the benefit of the servant. So the fact that He withheld is actually His choice for the servant and His excellent decision.”