The Story of Prophet Moses (pbuh) Striking the Angel of Death Until His Eyes Were Restored by Allah SWT, What Happened?

Dream - The Story of Prophet Moses (pbuh) is a story full of wisdom from the birth of the chosen human being until his death. One of the popular episodes in the life of Prophet Moses is when his parents tried to save him from the evil Pharaoh who was killing all newborn baby boys.

Not only that, the story of Prophet Moses is also famous for the miracles bestowed upon him by the Almighty. One of the most famous miracles of Prophet Moses is his ability to turn a staff into a large snake and to split the sea.

But there is a story about him that may not be well known to Muslims. It is when he met the angel of death and discussed about death.

In that meeting, Prophet Moses even struck the angel of death and caused his eyes to be restored by Allah SWT. What actually caused Prophet Moses and the angel of death to argue until such an event occurred?

To find out the story, here is a summary as compiled by Dream from various sources.

The Angel of Death Sent to Prophet Moses

In a narration from Abu Hurairah, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) narrated:

"One day, the angel of death was sent to Prophet Moses. When he met him, Prophet Moses struck his eye. So the angel of death returned to his Lord and said, 'You sent me to a servant who does not want to die'."

Seeing the condition of the angel of death, Allah SWT restored his eye and said:

"Go back and tell him to put his hand on the back of a male cow, and for every hair on the cow that his hand covers, it will represent one year of his life."

Prophet Moses Requests for His Death to Be Near the Holy Land

In a conversation with Allah SWT, Prophet Moses pleaded to Him to take his life near the sacred land (Baitul Maqdis) as close as a stone's throw.

"O Lord, what will happen after that?" asked Prophet Moses.

"Death," answered Allah SWT.

"Now is the time." said Prophet Moses.

Prophet Moses' request to be near the sacred land shows his deep love for it. He even wanted to be buried near it.

However, he did not ask Allah SWT to take his life right on the sacred land. This is because he knew that Allah SWT had prohibited that land for the generation who were punished for their disobedience to Allah SWT when they were commanded to enter it. As a result, Allah SWT condemned them to wander in the Sinai Desert for 40 years.

Then, Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"If I were there, I would have shown you the location of his grave on the side of the road under a pile of red sand."

Lessons to Be Learned

Through the story of Prophet Moses above, there are several lessons that we can learn, including:

1. Before their lives are taken, the prophets are always given a choice. Whether to choose additional life or to return to Allah SWT.
2. Death is a certainty and cannot be changed by anyone except Allah SWT.
3. In this story, it shows the high status of Prophet Moses, who was able to strike the angel of death until his eyes had to be restored by Allah SWT. If it were not for his status in the sight of Allah SWT, the angel of death would have retaliated.
4. Prophet Moses pleaded for his grave to be near a blessed land. Therefore, it is not wrong for someone to desire to die in that blessed land.