اِسْتَعِيْنُوْا
seek help!
اِسْتَعِيْنُوْا : seek help!
# of times in Qur’an: 4
root: عون : help, aid, assistance
Sūra al-Aʿrāf 7:128
Our Qur'anic Word of the day today is part of some beautiful words that Prophet Musa uses to reassure his people when Fir’awn announces that he is going to kill all of the men and boys of the Bani Isra’il. It’s also a word that we recite in our prayers at least 10 times a day. The verb اِسْتَعَانَ – يَسْتَعِيْنُ: which means ‘to seek help’. We say: إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْنُ – It is You we worship, and it is You we seek help from.
So when the Bani Isra’il are terrified of such persecution, he says:
قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِينُوا بِاللَّـهِ وَاصْبِرُوا ۖ إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لِلَّـهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۖ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿١٢٨﴾
Musa said to his people, ‘Seek help from God and be steadfast: the earth belongs to God– He gives it as their own to whichever of His servants He chooses– and the happy future belongs to those who are mindful of Him,’
Although we claim to be ‘seeking God’s help’ 10 times a day, sometimes we too need reminding to actually seek His help in our affairs, or when we’re terrified of something or are at the end of our tethers like they were, where they saw no way out from their predicament.
Prophet Musa was not just saying that to appease them, but to remind them that God is in charge of the whole earth and all that is in it, and He is the only one that can save them. All it takes is ṣabr and salāt: the two keys that the Qur’an teaches us to use when seeking help from God:
وَاسْتَعِيْنُوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلاةِ ، إنَّ اللهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِيْنَ
And seek help through perseverance and prayer!