Hearing this, Bal’am Bin Ba’oora` trembled and said, ‘May you be destroyed! I seek refuge in Allah! Sayyiduna Musa عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام is a Messenger of Allah and his army consists of believers and angels. How can I supplicate against him?’ But his nation begged and pleaded to him, thus, he was compelled to say, ‘If I receive permission after performing Istikharah, then I will supplicate against him.’ When he did not receive permission in the Istikharah for supplicating against them, he categorically denied supplicating against them, saying that, ‘If I supplicate against them, both my world and Hereafter will be destroyed.’

The next time, his nation placed many expensive gifts before him and insisted that he should supplicate against them, so much so that Bal’am Bin Ba’oora` was overcome with greed and he agreed to fulfil their request. Thus, he mounted his donkey and set off to supplicate against them. 

On the way, his donkey would constantly stop and try to run away, but he would hit it and force it to move forward. Then Allah Almighty gave the donkey the power to speak, and it said, ‘Alas! O Bal’am! Where are you going? Look! There are angels in front of me that are blocking my path and are pushing me back. O Bal’am! May you be destroyed! Will you supplicate against a Prophet of Allah Almighty and a group of believers?’

But Bal’am Bin Ba’oora was blinded by greed, hence, he did not return despite the donkey’s warnings. He climbed a mountain called ‘Husbaan’ and began to imprecate from a height, whilst looking closely at the army of Sayyiduna Musa عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام. But, look at the will of Allah Almighty, though he intended to supplicate against Sayyiduna Musa عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام, he ended up supplicating against his own nation.

Witnessing this, his nation admonished many times, saying, ‘O Bal’am! You are supplicating against the wrong people!’ He replied, ‘What can I do; I say what you want me to say but something else leaves my