Living The Quran Through The Living Quran

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Commentary of Surat al-Saff (61): The Ranks - The Truthful Liars - Verses 2 and 3 Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

In this Podcast, we go over the commentary of the second and third verses of Surat al-Saff (Chapter 61) - The Ranks - as authored by Shaykh Mohsin Qaraati in Tafseer-e Noor.

Verses 2 and 3: "O you who have faith! Why do you say what you do not do? It is greatly outrageous to Allah that you should say what you do not do."

Commentary of Surat al-Saff (61): The Ranks - Introduction and Commentary of Verse 1 Oct 28, 2019

Show notes

In this Podcast, we introduce the 61st chapter of the Quran, Surat al-Saff, The Ranks, and go over the commentary of the first verse as authored by Shaykh Mohsin Qaraati in Tafseer-e Noor.

Verse 1: "Whatever there is in the heavens glorifies Allah and whatever there is in the earth, and He is the All-mighty, the All-wise."

This chapter has fourteen verses and is considered as a Madanī chapter – that is, it was revealed in the post-migration period.

Due to the word ṣaff which is mentioned in the fourth verse, this chapter has been named al-Ṣaff.

Most of the focus of this chapter is in regards to the pre-eminence of the religion of Islam over all other Divinely revealed teachings and the necessity to engage in the sacred struggle – jihād – in the way of God and supporting the Prophets of God.

In addition, it is worth noting that this chapter along with Sūrats al-Ḥadīd (57) and al-Ḥashr (59) begin with the word ‘sabbaḥa’(سَبَّحَ) – meaning ‘declared the glory’; while Sūrats al-Jumuʿah (62) and al-Taghābun (64) begin with the word ‘yusabbiḥu’ (يُسَبِّحُ) – meaning ‘declares the glory’; while Sūrat al-Isrāʾ (17) begins with the word ‘subḥān’ (سُبْحَانَ) – meaning ‘Glory be to…’ and Sūrat al-Aʿlā (87) begins with the command of ‘sabbiḥḥism rabbika’ (سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ...) – meaning ‘Glorify the name of Your Lord…’.

Part I: Universal Glorification - Verse 1

سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ١

Whatever there is in the heavens glorifies Allah and whatever there is in the earth, and He is the All-mighty, the All-wise.

Thinking Points

Fighters like a steel barrier!

This chapter (like other chapters of the Quran) begins with the glorification of God and it is for this reason that it is known as one of the chapters of the ‘Musabbihāt’ – those chapters of the Quran which begin with the glorification of God.

In this initial verse we read that everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies God and why should they not glorify Him and consider Him as being free from all defects and short comings seeing as how He is the All-Mighty and the All-Wise!

This chapter is known as the chapter of faith (al-īmān), monotheism (al-tawḥīd), and cognizance (al-maʿrifah) and its focus is on the issue of the general glorification of all in existence, which is either through the metaphorical tongue or through their actual verbal declarations. In addition, it is through an amazing system of creation which governs over all of them and this is the best proof that there exists an All-Mighty and All-Wise creator – one who fortifies the foundations of faith in the hearts and who establishes the way to command towards the sacred struggle (jihād).

Take Away Messages

1. In the world-view of Islam, all of the creations in existence have a type of intelligence and they are all engaged in the glorification of Allah.

2. That entity which is truly worth of glorification and sanctification is the one who possesses never-ending power and incomparable wisdom.

Returning Back to God - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Eid Day] Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

Jesus, son of Mary, prayed, “O Allah! our Lord! send down to us a table spread with a sure and lasting food from heaven that it may be to us a (source of) festival ever recurring, to the first of us and to the last of us and (serve as) sign from You and provide sustenance for us, for You are the Best of providers of sustenance.” (5:114)

Commentary

The sighting of the new moon to herald in the new month takes on extra special importance two times during the year – to begin the month of Ramaḍān and to end the Blessed Month.

After having spent a month in a spiritual retreat, seeking proximity to Allah through not only fasting, but extra prayers, supplications, feeding community members, supporting great causes locally and internationally, the special blessing of Allah must come to an end – however the ‘last taste’ of such mercies are found at the end of the month of Ramaḍān with the coming of the 1st of Shawwāl - ʿEid al-Fiṭr – a night and a day which is no less important than Laylatul Qadr!

The actual day of ʿeid is such a joyous and special day that fasting is impermissible - ḥarām! Allah wants us to fully enjoy this day and this is seen in the beautiful supplication we read in the qunūt of the ʿeid prayers in which we say:

I ask you, O Allah, by the right of this day which You have made as a day of ʿeid – celebration – for the Muslims!

Just as the new crescent moon which was seen 30 days ago to start the month of Ramaḍān went through so many phases however it returns back to its original form and shape to herald in the new month of Shawwāl, so too as believers, we have and we continue to go through phases and stages in our lives and the beauty of ʿEid al-Fiṭr is that we have hopefully returned to our “true nature” that we were born with:

So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fiṭrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. (30:30)

What does this word “al-fiṭr” mean – we refer to this 1st day of Shawwāl as ʿEid al-Fiṭr, but why?

There are multiple meanings of this word, including:

· To split, cleave, break;

· To create (as in the act which Allah X performs);

· It is also refers to our innate disposition (human nature) which we were created upon.

Just as a seed which is planted into the ground and is watered, given air, light and all that it needs to grow into a plant or tree, so too, in the past month, we were nurtured by the greatest of caretakers – Allah:

“And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth.” (71:17)

We were given all that we need to bloom and blossom and thus, the day of ʿEid al-Fiṭr is the day when we break out of our seed and sprout new roots as spiritually rejuvenated believers.

Not only are we – spiritually – new believers however we see that on the day of ʿeid we are recommended to engage in many actions to present ourselves outwardly as being ‘new’:

1. Take a ghusl to physically clean ourselves;

2. We are encouraged to wear new, clean, white clothing;

3. We are encouraged to put on perfume or cologne to smell good;

4. Pay Zakāt al-Fiṭr BEFORE ʿeid prayers.

All of these things perfect our ‘outer shell’ while the month long fasting, prayers, supplications have hopefully perfected our ‘inner core’...

Lessons from the Quran - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 30] Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

And We sent him (back as a Messenger at Nineveh) to a people hundred thousand strong, rather they were even more. (37:47)

Commentary

NUMBER 100,000: This verse from Sūrah al-Sāffāt speaks about the great Prophet, Yūnus, known in English as Prophet Jonah - the one who was swallowed by a large fish – in a significant trial which Allah put him through and which the faithful remember every night when the perform ṣalāt al-ghufaylah.

As we mentioned in our 2016 publication entitled, Salvation Through Patience and Perseverance: Salat al-Ghufaylah, Prophet Yūnus is a prophet of many ‘exceptions’.

He was born in 825 bce and is buried in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. He was a prophet from the Children of Israel (Banī Isrāʾīl) and came after Prophet Sulayman and is spoken about in the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament of the Bible and has been mentioned five times in the Quran.

In Sūrah al-Nisāʾ (4), he is mentioned alongside other prophets as having received revelation; in Sūrah al-Anʿām (7), he is referred to alongside other prophets as being “rightly guided”; in Sūrah Yūnus (10), his community is the only one in the history presented by the Quran as having been spared the Divine punishment; and in the last mention of him in Sūrah al-Sāffāt, many parts of his mission and his tribulation are meticulously detailed.

When it comes to our final verse for review this Ramaḍhān, we see that Allah has made use of the number 100,000 – and it is in the context of the outcome of Prophet Yūnus returning back to his community after he had survived being stuck in the belly of the huge sea creature. Once he was able to fully recover his health and make his way back to his community in Naynawa in Iraq, he noticed that contrary to what he thought, they were still alive and the punishment of Allah had not befallen them! Shocked, he was told that when he left them, they mended their ways, repented and so Allah did not punish this group of people. In conclusion, Allah presents us with a fact which He has never mentioned in regards to any other prophet – and that is the number of followers or believers which they had – no matter how large or small they were! Here He tells us that Yūnus came back to his community and they were 100,000 – or more!

Point of Reflection

The Quran presents the stories of prophets of the past – not just to read them and marvel at their accomplishments or lament over their tragedies – but rather, so that we can read, reflect and learn lessons from these great men of Allah and to realize our responsibility to Islam and to our living Imam, al-Ḥujjah – may Allah hasten his return.

Lessons from the Quran - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 30] Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

And We sent him (back as a Messenger at Nineveh) to a people hundred thousand strong, rather they were even more. (37:47)

Commentary

NUMBER 100,000: This verse from Sūrah al-Sāffāt speaks about the great Prophet, Yūnus, known in English as Prophet Jonah - the one who was swallowed by a large fish – in a significant trial which Allah X put him through and which the faithful are recommended to remember every night when performing ṣalāt al-ghufaylah.

As we mentioned in our 2016 publication entitled, Salvation Through Patience and Perseverance: Salat al-Ghufaylah, Prophet Yūnus is a prophet of many ‘exceptions’.

He was born in 825 BCE and is buried in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. He was a prophet from the Children of Israel (Banī Isrāʾīl) and came after Prophet Sulayman and is spoken about in the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament of the Bible and Prophet Yūnus has been mentioned five times in the Noble Quran.

In Sūrah al-Nisāʾ (4), he is mentioned alongside other prophets as having received revelation; in Sūrah al-Anʿām (7), he is referred to alongside other prophets as being “rightly guided”; in Sūrah Yūnus (10), his community is the only one in the history presented by the Quran as having been spared from a the Divine punishment; and in the last mention of him in Sūrah al-Sāffāt (37), many parts of his mission and his tribulation are meticulously detailed.

In our final verse for review this Ramaḍhān, we see that Allah has made use of the number 100,000 – and it is in the context of the outcome of Prophet Yūnus when he returned back to his community after he had survived being stuck in the belly of that huge sea creature.

Once he was able to fully recover his health, he made his way back to his community in Naynawa in Iraq, and he noticed that contrary to what he thought, they were still alive and well and the punishment of Allah had not yet befallen them!

Shocked, he was told that when he left them, they mended their ways, sincerely repented to Allah and thus, He did not punish this group of people.

In conclusion, Allah presents us with a fact which He has never mentioned in regards to any other prophet – and that is the number of followers or believers which they had – no matter how large or small they were! However in his verse of the Quran, this verse us that when Prophet Yūnus came back to his community and they were 100,000 people – or maybe even more!

Point of Reflection

The Quran presents stories of prophets of the past – not just to read and marvel at their accomplishments, or lament over their tragedies – but rather, so that we can read, reflect and learn lessons from these great men of Allah X and realize our responsibilities to Islam and to our living Imam, al-Ḥujjah – may Allah hasten his return.

Fast-Tracking our way to Paradise - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 29] Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

The angels and the Spirit (of the faithful) ascend to Him in a day the measure of which is (equal to) fifty thousand years (a day of spiritual advancement of the faithful is equivalent to fifty thousand years of material advancement, thus the development and progress of the human soul knows no end). (70:4)

Commentary

NUMBER 50,000: In Sūrah al-Maʿārij (chapter 70), after speaking of the punishment which befell a specific person, which according to the history of revelation, was in regards to a person who mocked the Prophet’s proclamation on the day of Ghadeer of the mastership of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭalib, Allah then states that the Angels and the Rūḥ ascend to Him in a day which is equivalent to 50,000 of “our” days.

What does this mean? Does it really take 50,000 of “our” days for the Angels and this creation known as the Rūḥ to ascend to Allah? Is He that far away? Don’t they travel at the speed of light or something even faster? Why make mention of this number in the Quran? Is it metaphorical?

Without a doubt, this ‘ascent’ is not physical, rather, it carries with it spiritual connotations – these creations of Allah ascend to Him with haste seeking proximity to their Lord –preparing themselves to take orders from Him and then fulfill them.

Scholars believe that the meaning of the Rūḥ in this verse is the Rūḥ al-Amīn – the great Angel also spoken about in Sūrah al-Qadr where Allah said:

تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ٤

And as for the phrase that this ascent takes, “…50,000 years…” to complete, well this may be an allusion to the fact that the Day of Judgement, according the days of our world and as mentioned in Sūrah al-Sajdah, verse 5, is 1,000 years and when we combine that figure with the ḥadīth which states that the Day of Judgement has 50 stations which we must traverse, doing the math of 1,000 years x 50 stations gives us the total of 50,000 years.

Other commentators of the Quran have the opinion that the usage of the term, “…50,000 years…” is metaphorical and refers to a large amount – not necessarily the actual number – but that the Day will be extremely lengthy.

In any case, as the aḥādīth tell us, the Day of Judgement and accounting on that day will be that long for the guilty ones, the oppressors and the disbelievers.

In a ḥadīth related by Abū Saʿid al-Khudrī it has been mentioned that when this verse was revealed, someone asked the Prophet, “O Messenger of Allah! How long is that day!?” To this the Prophet replied:

وَ الَّذِى نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِیَدِهِ إِنَّهُ لَیَخِفُّ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ حَتَّى یَکُونَ أَخَفَّ عَلَیْهِ مِنْ صَلاَةِ مَکْتُوبَةِ یُصَلِّیْها فِى الدُّنْیَا

I take an oath by the One who holds the soul of Muḥammad in His hand that that Day (of judgement) will be so effortless for the true believer such that it will be less strenuous than the obligatory prayer which they prayed in the transient world.[1]

Point of Reflection

The challenges of the world to come are, without a doubt, extremely difficult and stressful, however if we maintain our akhlāq in this world, perform our obligations in terms of the aḥkām – the rules and regulations - and ensure that we have the correct ʿaqīdah – the belief system - then with Allah’s permission, we will be able to fast-track ourselves on that day.

[1] Tafsīr Majmaʿ al-Bayān, v. 10, p. 353; Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī, v. 10, p. 6,761.

Working on our Spirituality - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 28] Jun 02, 2019

Show notes

Indeed (it does); and if you patiently persevere and guard against evil and they (the enemies) come upon you suddenly and in hot haste of theirs, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand swooping and havoc-making angels. (3:125)

Commentary

NUMBER 5,000: This verse was revealed to the Prophet ] as it related to the aftermath of the battle of Uḥud in which the Muslims took heavy losses. However as they were returning to Mecca, the polytheists of Mecca realized that they should have ‘finished off’ the Muslims by attacking the city of Medina and if possible, killing the Prophet. Thus, they would have been able to do away with this religion and the Muslims once and for all.

The Meccan army commanders gave the order to turn back and proceed towards Medina. The Muslims who had lost many people in the battle and had countless injured were definitely in no position to defend themselves in another battle however, the polytheists had both strength and numbers and the adrenaline to make the attack all the more lethal. When the Prophet ] received notice that the polytheists were coming back, he ordered the Muslims, including Imam ʿAlī who had over 60 injuries on his body from the Battle of Uḥud, to get ready for a second stage of the battle.

The Meccans were informed about the Muslims stand and were shocked at this news and thought that perhaps there were others from neighboring cities and tribes who were going to be assisting the Muslims and that they may end up losing this stage of the war. Thus, they decided that it would be best to return back to Mecca and rejoice in their victory rather than to risk a loss of life and morale.

However, the traits which Allah emphasizes in this verse which we need to keep in mind in our daily battles in life and which will help us overcome our adversaries and even result in hidden support from the Most High are two traits that are easy to speak about but difficult to attain and maintain:

1. Ṣabr – patience, fortitude and perseverance;

2. Taqwā – Consciousness and awareness of Allah;

If we can maintain these traits in our lives and continuously build upon them, then we will have success in our daily lives and that just as Allah promised the Prophet and the early companions that He will provide hidden assistance, that we too can be the recipients of such support from Him and the guardian angels that He has appointed to look after us.

Point of Reflection

Many times we fail to succeed due to previous setbacks which may drain our spiritual energies and leave us feeling depressed; we need to pick ourselves up and move forward with life – we must build our ṣabr – the fortitude and perseverance to deal with adversity, and our taqwā our realizing that Allah is ever present and will support us IF we take the first step.

When the Help Comes from Allah… - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 27] Jun 01, 2019

Show notes

(Recall the time) when you said to the believers, ‘Does it not suffice you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down (by Him)? (3:124)

Commentary

NUMBER 3,000: Although as humans, we have been given the freedom to act as we please, however Allah has not created us and simply “left us alone” – there is still the ‘hidden hand’ of Allah which plays a role in the workings of this world.

More often than not, Allah does not interfere with the mechanics of our lives, although He has put various rules in place – such as the fact that when we break His laws, there is an outcome which we may see in this world; and as well, when we do good and follow His ordinances, there is a benefit which we will receive in this current life. The laws of cause and effect govern this world – both at the physical and at the meta-physical level.

At the same time, as we see in the Quran and the lives of the previous prophets and also directly in the life of Prophet Muḥammad, that there are times when Allah directly intervenes and through the assistance of the angels, they have turned the tides on the belligerent opponents of this faith.

We see this in the migration (hijrah) of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina and also in some of the battles which the Muslims were involved in – and none is more clear than the first battle of Badr which the Muslims fought which took place around the 17th of the Month of Ramaḍān in the second year after the migration.

This was a fierce battle in the history of the Muslims, because up until this point, Allah had prohibited the Muslims from engaging in warfare and so for the Muslims to be victorious and deal a severe blow to the psyche of the polytheists of Mecca and damage their prestige, this was a major turning point in Islam.

Although Allah confirms in another verse that He brought down Angels to aide the Muslims, however we must also realize that as much as this was a physical support for the early Muslim community, we should also look at it as being an emotional backing for the believers and a form of psychological warfare against the enemies.

The fact that the Prophet confirmed to the believers through the verses of the Quran that Allah will come to the aide of the Muslims with unseen Angels was a huge boost in the morale of the believers, and without a doubt, it made them even more enthusiastic to press forth in their mission.

Point of Reflection

The Quran constantly tells the Muslims that we must always prepare ourselves and ensure that we have adequate resources – whether this be human resources, wealth, or anything else so as to protect ourselves and our faith, however, Allah has also promised us that we should do all that we can, and then He will help and support us.

Doing our Best in Connecting to Allah - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 26] May 31, 2019

Show notes

For the present Allah has lightened your burden, for He knows that there is yet some weakness in you, thus, if there be of you one hundred persevering and steadfast persons they shall (still) overcome (at least) two hundred and if there be a thousand of you they shall overcome two thousand by the leave of Allah. And Allah is with the steadfast. (8:66)

Commentary

NUMBER 2,000: We reviewed this same verse when we looked at the number 200, and once again, we look back into it, albeit in another light.

In this verse, as we saw, there are multiple numbers mentioned – and this time, we focus on the number 2,000 and another lesson which we can take from the guidance of Allah.

One of the prime factors for the victories and defeats in the history of the Prophets and their followers is their level of faith and conviction in Allah and their Prophet. In fact, in many verses of the Quran, Allah shows us that faith (īmān) is not something which can remain stagnant, it must always be evolving and expanding. Faith is not like some of the acts of worship, such as the ḥajj that once it is “done” there is no need to revisit it; rather, faith is like the ṣalāt that it continues on a daily basis until death.

This verse under review shows us that sometimes amongst the Muslims, there are those who are weak in faith – due to numerous factors – and that they need to be given that boost to revitalize their conviction. This rejuvenation of īmān can be carried out in many ways – such as ḥajj, ʿumrah, and ziyārāt. However these are merely strong boosters, what happens after is much more important because if we do not keep the spirit of submission alive on a regular basis, then over time, just as the battery in our cell phone can die after excessive usage, so too do our spiritual batteries drain out, leaving us looking for another powerful charge.

Keeping our spiritual energies constantly charged can be done even though we do not live in an Islamic environment – however we need to make changes in our lives to ensure that we are constantly being fed with the religious vibes to keep us from going astray. Simple things such as beginning the day with our morning prayer, listening to the Quran or Duʿa al-Ṣabāḥ as we have our morning breakfast; listening to short daily talks on our commute to work or school; making our best effort to pray on time every prayer; and dedicating ourselves to Allah during the blessed months of Rajab, Shaʿbān and of course the Blessed Month of Ramaḍhān.

All of these little changes in our lives can help us to slowly charge our spiritual batteries and to keep us in constant connection with the highest of all powers in the world and beyond – Allah.

Point of Reflection

Allah realizes that we are weak and that sometimes, our faith will have ebbs and flows, and so He is easy with us – He does not expect us to spend our entire day and night in prayer – He expects very little from us – but at the same time, out of His intense mercy, He gives us several opportunities throughout the year, like the Month of Ramaḍān to get a quicker charge to help us out.

The Universality of Islamic Laws - Ramadhan Reflections 2019 [Day 25] May 30, 2019

Show notes

He that cannot afford (a slave to be set free) shall then (observe) fasts for two consecutive months before he and his wife touch each other (for conjugal relationship). But he who has not even the strength (to fast for that time) shall feed sixty poor people. This has been so (ordained) that you may have faith in Allah and really submit before Him and His Messenger. These are the limits (enjoining you to give up foul practices and injustice to women) prescribed by Allah. And the deniers of these shall receive grievous punishment. (58:4)

Commentary

NUMBER 60: The first four verses of Sūrah al-Mujādila speak about the practice of ‘ẓihār’ – a form of divorce which was common at the time of jāhiliyyah (pre-Islam) – however it was a divorce in which the man and woman could not reconcile and get back together, nor was the woman free to marry again – she was left in a legal limbo. According to the history of why this chapter was revealed, scholars note that at the time of the Prophet, a married couple in Medina got into an argument and the Muslim man ‘divorced’ his wife by using this pre-Islamic custom (which had not yet been abrogated in Islam). However, a problem arose that the man had “divorced” his wife out of anger – was there any way out to save their marriage and family life?These verses were revealed to the Prophet ] and he told the couple that in order to get back together the man must:1. Free a slave;2. Fast for two months;3. Feed sixty needy people.The man told the Prophet he did not have the means to free a slave as the cost of that was just too high for him to bear; he also told the Messenger that he can’t fast as if he does not eat, he begins to have problems with his vision and he feared that he may go blind; he also did not have the ability to feed sixty poor people – unless the Prophet could provide him some financial support or some other support in these regards. The Prophet agreed and gave the man 15 sāʿ (an ancient measurement of volume) which was enough to feed sixty people and so the man did as he was required and paid the expiation of his oath by feeding the poor, and went back to his wife and their family life. Thus did Islam do away with backwards practices and restore the dignity and honour to its followers by ensuring that they only practiced that which the faith of Islam had endorsed.

Point of Reflection

A religion which claims that it is applicable to the entire world must have rules in place that can resonate for all eras and all places so that people do not ever find themselves stuck at a dead end because of what they have done. There must always be a way out for our inappropriate actions as Allah is the All-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.