My Lord, I am in dire need of whatever good you might send down to me

 فَسَقَىٰ لَهُمَا ثُمَّ تَوَلَّىٰ إِلَى الظِّلِّ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ

So he drew water for them, and then withdrew to the shade, and said, “My Lord, I am in dire need of whatever good you might send down to me."

This is the dua which Musa A.S made when he was in exile. Musa AS gets involved in a murder by accident. Now the authorities are after him to kill him if they spot him. So the only option for him is to run away and Allah inspires him to run in the middle of the desert towards the direction of Madyan. At this point he see's two girls trying to quench the thirst of their goats by trying to draw water from a well. He was very exhausted from the tiring journey in the desert and had not eaten anything for almost 7 days. He himself was in search of some water and then he see's this sight. So Musa AS out of his good heart , took the goats and drew out water from the well and satiated the goats.It is reported in some narrations that the shepherds after making their cattle drink water used to place a very heavy stone on the mouth of the well to make it unusable, and hence these girls would have only the left over water for their herd. The stone was so heavy that ten men together could move it, but Musa AS removed it all by himself, and drew water from the well.

After a long time and doing this enduring work for them, he then came under the shade of a tree and prayed to Allah describing his condition and need in an exquisite manner. He is making this dua mentioned above. One of the reasons he is making this dua is because he is filled with remorse and guilt after killing a copt even though it was completely unintentional, he was desperately looking for ways to correct or rectify his error. Many times people commit mistakes and it happens so that once they realize their error they are filled with remorse and they are desperately looking for opportunities to correct their error or do something good. The opportunity to help someone makes them feel like an opportunity to be forgiven. So Musa A.S is beseeching Allah to send him whatever good (meaning whatever good opportunity) you send down to me , I am in need of it. So he wants to make it up and he sees every opportunity as an opportunity send down to him by Allah.

And at this point the only this he right now has is a shade of a tree. The sense of urgency to want to good is what occurs when we realise our mistake even if we are exhausted. Another thing to note is that Musa AS turned away immediately after helping the girls without having to wait for gratitude from their end or ask them questions of their background or homes. He immediately turned to the shade of a tree and started calling out to his Lord. This is an exquisite quality to note that he keeps his Creator above everything, he calls out to him for each and every need and remembers him in every occasion and presents all his desires and needs only to his Rabb. He did not help those 2 girls in a strange land out of any greed for something in return or expecting anything back. Just an action to please Allah and this is how we need to keep our intentions when we help someone. He came to the shade of the tree and asked Allah SWT instead. We help someone and do not expect anything in return, instead we employ the attitude of presenting ourselves humbly before Allah - ArRazzaq who can compensate for us and give us everything we need. This is Amal Assalih (righteous deed). When we help we do not do it with the intention of getting some help in return, or some other greed or materialistic agenda in mind instead only with the intention to please Allah.We help with no strings attached.

And who do we ask for something in return? Or who do we ask for any of our needs, wants, desires or wishes that need to be fulfilled? We ask the one who when asked , our honor and status only increases and does not diminish in the slightest sense. But when we ask humans, and when they realize we are in need of them, then we become humiliated and we lose our reputation. If we ask then , ask only Allah to fulfill. Musa (A.S) is not entrusting himself for the help of the people of that land, even when he is a foreigner in an unknown land with no food or water or a home to shade him. He trusts and has tawakkul only on his Rabb.

What is the first thought we have when we are facing some sort of difficulty? We start thinking of who we can speak to so we can lighten our hearts or who we can present this problem to so they can fulfill our needs. Rarely does man think of Allah right at the first stroke of adversity. We never think Allah is there to hear me out , he is the one who resolves and fulfills needs. The first thought should be to seek help with Allah first. Immediately we must try to perform dua before the thought of some person or group comes in our minds. In this way Allah will open our paths even if one has shut ,which even the person whom we depend on can never open for us. Perhaps those paths open even before we make the Dua. The Sahabah's used to make dua to Allah for even the tiniest things, perhaps things like even a shoelace.

Allah fulfills our needs the one that are apparent and the ones that are not apparent. Have you thought about how Allah takes care of even those needs which we ourselves are not aware of. Perhaps if those needs which we are not aware of is not looked after we might not even exist.This is the difference between someone that is special to Allah and a common man.

Musa (AS) being homeless and a fugitive is pleading with Allah for any Khayr. Khayr here means any good thing. It could even be for wealth or strength or worship or any kind of benefit or anything good big or small. So Musa AS is calling himself Faqeer , (someone poor) this shows his humility and absolute submission to Allah, even though he grew up in the most lavish and luxurious palaces with honour and dignity in Egypt. We need to beg Allah with the humility of a poor person, with the heart of beggar, in absolute humbleness. But yet here we are when we make Dua we make with thoughts of entitlement and pride. He asks for every good that is coming from Allah. He is desperate for any help from Allah. Allah loves those who ask him and begs him. And those who dont ask Allah , Allah is upset with such a person.

Then Allah responded to his dua and the father of the girls send for him, to be able to pay him. If we ask other people for help it is humiliating, but if we get offered help without even asking, this is a khayr from Allah himself. Here Musa As asks for any good, as any good thing is acceptable, anything good without any conditions. He also got an offer to marry one of the 2 girls and he gets married , this was another khayr Allah bestowed on him in response to his dua. He ended up working for his father in law for 10 years.This was all a part of the rizq Allah showered him with upon making the above dua. These are some of the lessons this dua teaches us from Surah Qasas.