Today I want to share with you a small snippet from the story of Moses (peace be upon him) in which what amazes me is how many things you can learn from such a small phrase like so many different lessons and pieces of wisdom that are incredible for life are coming just out of one small quote that is so unassuming.

What happens is that Moses is discovered by the two girls who he helps and he’s invited to their house to be paid for his services.

He comes to the house and tells his entire story of about how he fled Egypt and he’s wanted for murder and he’s completely homeless and desperate.

The girls were listening from the other side of the room and one of them calls her dad over and tells him: “My beloved father, hire him.”

This old man has two daughters but doesn’t have any son, obviously that’s why he sends these girls out to do the work. And the girl knows that if he’s going to hire him, then he’s going to have to work around these two unmarried girls, which is going to create an awkward situation.

So she knows in between the lines that if he’s going to be hired, then chances are one of us is going to get married to him. Since she’s the one suggesting it, chances are the father understands her code that “dad, I think he’s a good guy for me to marry.”

One of the first thing you learn here is that this girl has the confidence to suggest someone for her own marriage to her father. There is no wrong with the daughter suggesting to her father that she’s interested in someone for marriage.

First thing that epic thing that comes out of this. There is nothing harmful in that, there is nothing shameless in that.

The second thing that comes out of this is that actually fathers need to understand code, daughters are shy so they’re not necessarily going to explicitly come out and say: “Dad, come on look at him he’s amazing. I love this guy, can I just marry him?”

She’s not going to say that, she’s going to say hire him.

Then the third is that she knows that this is a delicate matter, so she breaks it to her father, not just said “hire him” but she actually said: “O my beloved father hire him.” She softened her dad up when she says this.

And of course she made a case for why you should hire him: “The best kind of person you can hire is the strong the honest”. Even these two phrases are amazing because in Arabic you say someone strong, someone honest but she said “the strong, the honest”.

By using ‘the’ she’s actually saying “I’m not interested in just any strong one or any honest one, actually I’ve never seen a stronger and honest than him. That’s so honest that he came here and told us all about his rap sheet and how bad he’s doing.”

Another incredible lesson that comes from the same verse is in fact that Moses got proposed to by a girl who knows that he’s homeless, wanted for murder, and completely desperate… “dude, you can’t get married, and you’re like your resume is not impressive enough…”

Moses’ resume doesn’t look impressive but he has capability that he’s demonstrated through action and character because he was a man of dignity, he came and just helped them for a good noble reason because these people needed help, then he sat back down… he didn’t beg, he didn’t ask for money which showed his integrity, his honesty that he demonstrated in his character.

Character will get you a lot further than a resume with a job description in an educational background. And you’ll find the right kind of girl, actually you won’t have to find her, she will find you and she will even make a case to her dad for you. You just have to be a person of integrity.

Amazing thing in this verse. One lesson after the other, after the other, just embedded inside.

One of my favorite lessons in this verse is actually the father is so wise, a man of old age. Moses is a smart man whom Allah has given wisdom and knowledge already. So in decision-making, a wise person can tell who they should or shouldn’t be divulging to. So when Moses meets him, he actually opens up to him and tells him his entire story because he felt “this is a person who is wise who can give me advice.”

The point I’m trying to make is the father of these two girls is in fact a wise man. But even if you’re wise, old, and experienced, and you know so much… there maybe an opportunity right in front of you that you might miss out on, and it might be that your daughter who’s much younger than you, less experience, has much less wisdom than you might present to you a case and might make you aware of a chance, an opportunity, a solution for your family.

That might have just passed you by. Just because you’re older and wiser and you know more, and you have more experience doesn’t mean that you’ve considered everything, you’re still human and you still might be in need of a suggestion or advice.

And just because someone younger especially someone under your roof, your own child is giving you a suggestion there is no reason to dismiss it, you should consider that advice.

There is advice in this verse for young people, for daughters, for parents, for a man looking to get married, and all of it in just the phrase in the verse “Dad hire him”.

The course of history. This man’s career, his next 8 to 10 years, his entire incredible facing off against Pharaoh, the family that he walked with over to get to the mountain… all of that happened in that one conversation. That’s how it happened because she made that suggestion.

So don’t underestimate the value of a good suggestion and don’t underestimate when you miss out on a good advice out of pride. I just won’t listen to this advice because it’s coming from you. Because why can I, someone older and wiser, listen to you, you should be the one listening to me. If that pride gets in the way, then you might miss out on some incredible goodness that comes after.

Can you imagine all the good that Moses does after because of having gone through those years that were part of his formative years? You know that marriage, that shepherding, that shelter he was provided… all the good that he did.

You know who gets the share? That father who made the decision to let his daughter to get married, also that woman who wanted to marry him and had the courage to speak up and say “I think you should hire him.”

This video is transcribed by Discovering Islam team.