The waves of the Nile welcomed the box as soon as it hit the water. They played with it, bouncing and eager. Kissing it, caressing it, guiding it. The baby it housed was far too beautiful to be harmed. So the baby rested in comfort amid the dark waters of the Nile.
He was alone in the vast river, closed in a small and dark wooden box. But yet, he did not cry. But yet, he was smiling.
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The palaces of the Pharaoh were dazzling, incomparable to any other in the world. They all sat at the foot of the Nile, as the Pharaoh quite enjoyed seeing the power of Egypt beneath his feet. Reassuring himself that he was god.
He would go from palace to palace with his wife, enjoying luxuries and taking walks by the Nile, while his soldiers were out butchering hundreds of infants per day. Almost like a normal couple.
It was one such day when the Pharaoh and his wife were walking by the Nile, looking at it flowing by, when suddenly, there was a disturbance in the calm blue. A dark shape was rushing towards the large party, riding the waves.
"Do you see that, my Lord? It's a box!" exclaimed the queen, grabbing her husband's attention.
"How can there be a box in the Nile? That's just wood," replied the Pharaoh, brushing off her words. The greatest tactician in the world, but still so ignorant.
But as the dark shape drew nearer, the servants exclaimed that it was indeed a box. Even the tyrant couldn't deny it. He gestured towards his servants to bring him the box- and that gesture was the biggest mistake of his life.
He could have overlooked it. The waves could have carried the box to any other palace, any other path. The Nile didn't flow straight- it branched out. But there was that child in the box, being led towards his worst enemy. The butcherer.
Could that truly have been a coincidence? Could the Pharaoh really claim that the Nile lie in his hands, when it was so clearly flowing at the command of the one and only God, Allah?
We often forget that little truth about the world. The truth that even if you have the greatest mind in the world, it will always fail you if you don't have the power of belief to fuel it. Belief in Allah.
How can the people of the past ever be called clever when their cleverness was of no help to them in this world or the hereafter? All that knowledge, but if it doesn't help you realize the truth, doesn't stop you from making a place for yourself in hell, of what use is it?
And that does not only apply to the people before us. It applies to us as well. It applies to us when we think that we are literate and honest and experienced, but none of that helps us improve ourselves. Improve our connection to Allah.
The ones that are truly clever are the ones that are working to make the life they will live forever beautiful by sacrificing only two days worth of luxury. Because that's how long the lifespan of this world is compared to paradise. Two days. Then just how many seconds would our life be of? Less than one?
Hilariously oblivious of his fate, the Pharaoh ordered his servants to pick up that box. The servants rushed forward to grab it before it could flow by, not realizing that the box would go nowhere, for it had reached its destination.
The box was opened, and inside it was a child as beautiful as the moon, smiling up at them.
"Oh, it's a child!" Everyone wanted to see the infant. The box was passed around, eagerness for even a single glance evident in the atmosphere. But then the box landed in the hands of the queen, and the moment her gaze happened upon the child, that innocent smile of the lovely baby stole her heart.
"The child is of Bani Israel. It is necessary for the Pharaoh to kill it," remarked one of the servants with sorrow.
But the queen would not have it. She felt an attachment to the child that she had never felt before. Turning towards her husband, she held the child close to her chest, and said, "Slay him not. Only this child. He may become the joy of the eye for me and thee, or we may adopt him as a son."
Haaman, advisor and close companion to the Pharaoh, considered the child. He was the one that helped the Pharaoh in any and all acts of tyranny. He was the only one that the Pharaoh ever listened to.
"He may become the joy of your eyes, but he can never be of mine. Do as you please," replied the Pharaoh.
Haaman did not object. He and the Pharaoh made a very big mistake. They did not perceive what they were doing, did not perceive what was happening to them, did not perceive Allah's plans.
Did not perceive that while their armies were out slaughtering infants to stop them from growing up, from disturbing the Pharaoh's rule, they were letting the very boy that would bring about their ends into their home.
Did not perceive that they were welcoming the very child they were so terrified of. The very child that they were spending every second plotting to kill.
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A/N: This is the first time I've had the courage to publish my work, and if someone's reading this, I'd love to know that you are there! Leave a comment as inspiration to continue!
