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fa-jāʾathu ʾiḥdāhumā tamshī ʿalā stiḥyāʾin qālat ʾinna ʾabī yadʿūka li-yajziyaka ʾajra mā saqayta lanā fa-lammā jāʾahū wa-qaṣṣa ʿalayhi l-qaṣaṣa qāla lā takhaf najawta mina l-qawmi ẓ-ẓālimīna
Then one of the two women approached him, walking bashfully. She said, ‘Indeed my father invites you to pay you the wages for watering [our flock] for us.’ So when he came to him and recounted the story to him, he said, ‘Do not be afraid. You have been delivered from the wrongdoing lot.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Qasas - Verse 25
25. “Afterwards one of the two (damsels) came to him walking bashfully. She said: ‘Verily my father invites you that he may give you the reward of your having watered for us’. So when he came to him and narrated unto him his story, (the old man) said: ‘Be not afraid; you are secure from the unjust people’.”
According to the holy Qur’an, modesty is one of the most distinguished accomplishments of a chaste woman. Therefore, a woman must ply outside of the house with modesty and chastity. Father must be aware of the conduct of his children and show a suitable reaction for their actions. (When Shu‘ayb noticed that his daughters came back sooner than other days, he asked them its reason and decided to thank Moses.) Now, look that how significant a deed of benevolence is! And how much marvellous bounties it has!
Doing a single action for Allah, and bringing one bucket of water out of a well in order to support an unknown oppressed person, causes a new chapter to appear in the life of Moses, and brings so much material and spiritual bounties for him. He obtained a gift, his wife, for which he had probably to search for many years. It began as follows:
A special light of hope appeared in his heart, as if Moses (as) felt that an important event was going to happen, and he would meet a great man, a gratitude man who did not agree that even the labour of a person, even as much as driving a bucket of water from the well, remained without being rewarded. He must be a particular man, a godly man. O my Lord! What a precious chance! Yes, that old man was Shu‘ayb, the Divine prophet, who had been inviting people to Allah in that city for many years. He was an example of ‘gratitude’ and devotion to truth and justice, and when he was informed of the subject, he decided to pay his debt to this unacquainted young man, whoever he might be.
Moses started going towards Shu‘ayb’s house. According to some Islamic narrations, in order to show the way, the girl went ahead and Moses walked behind her. The wind was blowing to the girls’ clothing so hard that the clothes might be removed from her body. The modesty and chastity of Moses (as) did not let him be so. Then he told the girl that he would go ahead and on the crossroads she could guide him.2 Moses entered Shu‘ayb’s house. It was a house in which the light of prophethood and spirituality was seen everywhere. An old man, with majesty and dignity, having white hair on his head, said welcome to Moses.
He said to Moses:
“Where do you come from? What is your business? What do you do in this city? What is your purpose here? Why are you alone?”
And some other questions like them. Moses told his own story for Shu‘ayb. The Qur’an says:
Our region is out of their realm, and they do not dominate here. Let no horror be in your heart. You are in a secure land, and you may not suffer from loneliness and strangerhood, because everything will be solved by the Grace of Allah. Soon Moses (as) realized that he had found a great teacher, Shu‘ayb, in whose entity there were pure springs of knowledge, gnosis, piety, and spirituality, and he could satiate him well. Shu‘ayb also felt that he had got a worthy, receptive and qualified learner to whom he could transfer the science, knowledge and experiences of his whole life. Yes, as much as that a learner gets gratification from finding a great teacher, the teacher is also happy for finding a worthy student.
Footnotes