قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ Qālū labithnā yawman aw ba‘da yawmin fas-alil-‘āddīn They will say: We stayed a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate (Sūratul Mu’minūn, No. 23, Āyat 113) The above verse is the reply of people in the Hereafter when they will be asked about their … Read more
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ Innallāha ya’muru bil-‘adli wal-iHsān Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (Sūratun Nahl, Āyat 90) In the verse above, Almighty Allah orders the human being to be just and do good to others. This is part of a verse that actually enjoins the human being … Read more
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّة ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِيُ Yā ayyatuhan-nafsul-muTma’innati-rji‘ī ilā rabbiki rādiyatam-maridyyah. Fadkhulī fī ‘ibādī wadkhulī jannatī O soul at peace! Return to your Lord, well-pleased (with Him), well-pleasing (Him), So enter among My servants, And enter into My garden. (Sūratul Fajr, No. 89, Āyāt 27 – 30) … Read more
كَذَٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ Kadhālika zuyyina lil-musrifīna mā kānū ya‘malūn Thus are the deeds of the extravagant ones made fair seeming to them (Sūrat Yūnus, Āyat 12) According to this holy verse, those who are extravagant do not see their deeds as evil, they actually think the deeds they do are good. … Read more
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا Yā ayyuhalladhīna āmanūt-taqullāh wa-qulū qawlan sadīda O you who believe! Be God conscious and speak upright words (Sūratul AHzāb, No. 33, Āyat 70) Words of the human being are a reflection of what goes on in the heart and mind of the person. The cleanliness … Read more
قَالَ لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ ۖ يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ Qāla lā tathrība ‘alaykumul-yawma, yaghfirullāhu lakum, wa-huwa arHamur-rāHimīn He said: There shall be no reproof against you this day; Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful (Sūrat Yūsuf, No. 12, Āyat 92) When the brothers of Nabī Yūsuf (a) recognized … Read more
وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا – Wa’mur ahlaka bi-SSalāti wa-STabir ‘alayhā And bid your family to prayer and be steadfast in its maintenance. (Sūra Tāhā, Āyat 132) Out of all the actions that Allah has made obligatory on us, none is as quintessential to spirituality and closeness to Allah as is Salāt. Salāt, i.e. the ritual prayer, … Read more
اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ I‘dilū huwa aqrabu lit-taqwā Be just, that is closer to piety (Sūratul Mā’idah, No. 5, Āyat 8) There are few things as important as the concept of justice in Islam. Justice, like the oneness of God, pervades all roots and branches of religion. According to Tafsīr-e Namūne, just as all beliefs … Read more
وَالصُّلْحُ خَيْرٌ waS-SulHu khary; And reconciliation is better (Sūratun Nisā’, No. 4,Āyat 128) The word ‘sulh’ means to make peace, improve a relationship, to help overcome conflict, and create amicability between warring parties. This short sentence from verse 128 of Sūratun Nisā’signifies an essential truth. For human beings harmony, affection, reconciliation, are natural … Read more
مَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ حَسَنَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ ۖ وَمَا أَصَابَكَ مِنْ سَيِّئَةٍ فَمِنْ نَفْسِكَ Mā aswābaka min Hasanatin famimallāhi, wamā aswābaka minsayyiatin famin nafsika Whatever good happens to you, it is from Allah, and whatever evil happens to you, it is from yourself (Sūratun Nisā’, No. 4, Āyat 79). Questions about (the origin of) evil … Read more