• Among the lessons is that mercy and beneficence toward all people—those one knows and those one does not—are traits of the Prophets. Part of such beneficence is helping with the watering of livestock, especially assisting the helpless, just as Moses did for the two daughters of the man of Midian when he watered their flock after seeing that they were unable to do so before the other shepherds had finished.
• Another lesson: Just as Allah loves the supplicant to draw near to Him by invoking His names and attributes and by recalling His general and specific favors, He also loves the servant to come to Him by acknowledging his own weakness, incapacity, and poverty, and his inability to secure benefits or ward off harm. Moses expressed this when he said, “My Lord, I am truly in need of whatever good You may send down to me” (Q 28:24). Such words display humility, destitution, and dependence on Allah—the true state of every servant.
• Another lesson: Modesty and reciprocating kindness have always been the way of righteous nations.
• Another lesson: When a person performs a deed purely for Allah’s sake and then, without intending it, receives a recompense for that deed, he is not blameworthy; this does not diminish his sincerity or his reward. Moses accepted the compensation offered by the man of Midian for a favor he had neither requested payment for nor sought in exchange.
• Another lesson: It is permissible to hire someone for any well-defined task that yields a known benefit or for a specified period, and the details are referred to customary practice. The wage may even be al-buḍʿ (marital rights), as when the man of Midian said, “I wish to marry one of these two daughters of mine to you” (Q 28:27). Likewise, a guardian may offer a suitable man the hand of his daughter—or anyone under his guardianship—in marriage; there is no deficiency in this, and it can in fact be advantageous and virtuous, just as the man of Midian did with Moses.
• Another lesson appears in his words, “The best man you can hire is the strong and trustworthy” (Q 28:26). These two qualities perfect every undertaking, for every position of authority, every service assignment, or any