In the month of Muharram: Sunnahs and Lessons; Allah Saved Musa from Pharaoh.

The Shaykh : First, in the month of Muharram, there are Sunnahs and lessons.
As for the Sunnahs, the month of Muharram is one of the four sacred months. The four sacred months are with me: Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab, which is between Jumada and Sha'ban; Rajab of the Mudar tribe, which is between Jumada and Sha'ban. So the month of Muharram is one of the sacred months, and Allah the Exalted has forbidden us to wrong ourselves in them, saying: Therefore, the stronger opinion among the scholars' views is that fighting is not permissible in it, except for what is defensive or whose causes had already been established beforehand. In other words, it is not permissible for us to initiate fighting the disbelievers in these sacred months unless it is defensive, meaning they initiated the fighting against us, or it is an extension of a previous fight that occurred before these months. Regarding the month of Muharram, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he emphasized the tenth day, then the ninth: meaning along with the tenth. So it is recommended to fast the tenth day, and to fast a day before it or a day after it, in order to differ from the Jews.
And in the month of Muharram, there are lessons, the greatest of which is what happened to Musa and his people, and Pharaoh and his people. Musa (peace be upon him) was sent to two groups of people: the Children of Israel, and Pharaoh. As for Pharaoh, the message did not benefit him in any way, and he did not believe. Rather, he only increased in arrogance, fleeing, and threatening Musa. He began to kill the Children of Israel and keep their women alive. What happened from him is known to you in the Book of Allah the Exalted. He used to boast to his people, saying: When Musa had proceeded in his calling as he had, Allah the Exalted revealed to Musa: "Depart with My servants by night." So he departed with them by night and left Egypt, heading east toward the Red Sea. When Pharaoh learned of them, he called his people to go out to them—to Musa and his people—to destroy them. When Musa reached the sea, his people said to him: meaning we must perish. Why did he answer?
The student: Because Pharaoh is behind them.

The Shaykh : Because Pharaoh is behind them and the sea is in front of them. Pharaoh, with his soldiers and his numbers, is behind them, and the sea is in front of them. So if they fall into the sea, they will drown, and if they stand still, Pharaoh will destroy them. But Musa (peace be upon him) said, with certainty: meaning we will not be overtaken. And through this, we know the strength of the reliance of the messengers on Allah the Exalted and the strength of their trust in the promise of Allah. So Allah guided him and commanded him to strike the sea. He struck the sea with his staff, and the sea split into twelve paths, according to the tribes of the Children of Israel. The strange thing is that the sea did not distinguish itself and flow away, but it remained as walls and paths, with masses of water like mountains between them, even though water is a fluid essence that flows. But the water stood like mountains. It is said that there was a gap in each section so that the Children of Israel would be reassured of one another. Did these paths that opened with the strike of the staff remain for days until they dried up and could be walked on? The answer is no. Allah the Exalted said: Immediately, it became dry land. Musa and his people were able to walk on it until they had all exited from it. And as they had all entered, Pharaoh and his soldiers entered. When they had all entered, Allah the Exalted commanded the sea to return to its state, and it closed over Pharaoh and his people. So Pharaoh drowned. Pharaoh drowned in the water that he used to boast about yesterday, saying: He drowned in the water. And when drowning overtook him, Look, my brother, at the great humiliation. He did not say, "I believe that there is no god but Allah." He said: And this is an admission from him of the favor of the Children of Israel over him, and an admission from him that he was now following them and imitating them, whereas yesterday he was killing them for the religion of Allah. But now, Allah humiliated him until he said that he was on the religion of the Children of Israel. But when did he say that? When he saw death. And when a person sees death, repentance does not benefit him. Therefore, it was said to him: meaning, do you testify now that there is no god but Allah? meaning, it will not benefit you. But Allah said: only, not with your body and soul. [He was made] to be a sign for the Children of Israel who were behind him, to be a sign that this man who used to terrify them, frighten them, kill their sons, and keep their women alive is now a corpse in the sea. Because you know that if a person has a frightening enemy, and someone comes to him and says that his enemy has died, will he be reassured, and will his reassurance be the same as if he had seen it? The answer is no. Therefore, Allah kept the body of Pharaoh until the Children of Israel saw it and knew that he had perished, so they were reassured and settled. This is one of the great lessons that occurred on this day, the day of Ashura.