Bismillāh أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ الْأَرْضِ Is He who answers the call of the distressed [person] when he invokes Him and removes his distress, and makes you successors on the earth…?. Sūrat an-Naml No. 27, Āyat 62 In the verses prior to the above verse in Sūrat an-Naml, Allah ‘azza … Read more
Bismillāh إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا If you do not help him, then Allah has already helped him when the unbelievers expelled him, he being the second of the two, when the two of them were in … Read more
Bismillāh إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ Excepting someone who is compelled [to recant his faith] while his heart is at rest in it. Sūrat al-Nahl, No. 16, Āyat 106 The above verse states that there is a great punishment for those who disbelieve in Allah after affirming belief. However, an important exception is made … Read more
Bismillāh مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. And Allah is All-Knowing of everything. Sūrat Ahzab, No.33, Āyat 40 In this blessed verse of the Noble Qur’ān, … Read more
Bismillāh وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَآ إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنصِتُوا۟ ۖ فَلَمَّا قُضِىَ وَلَّوْا۟ إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِم مُّنذِرِينَ When We dispatched toward you a team of jinn listening to the Qur’ān, when they were in its presence, they said, ‘Be silent!’ When it was finished, they went back to their people as warners. … Read more
Bismillāh عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ أَن جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَىٰ He frowned and turned away. When the blind man approached him. Sūrat ‘Abasa, No. 80, Āyāt 1-2 There is no difference among Muslims that this sūrah was revealed when a blind companion of the Messenger of Allah sallā Allāhu ‘alayhi wa-ālih, ‘Abdullāh ibn Umm Maktūm, once came seeking to … Read more
Bismillāh وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِي أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَاهُ When you said to him whom Allah had blessed, and whom you [too] had blessed, ‘Keep your wife for yourself, and be wary of Allah,’ and you concealed within … Read more
Bismillāh اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ Read in the name of your Lord who created. Sūrat al-‘Alaq, No. 96, Āyat 1 The first word revealed from the Qur’ān was a command: iqra’ — read! To appreciate the meaning of this opening instruction, it is helpful to examine what qirā’ah means from a linguistic perspective. The … Read more
Bismillāh وَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَا أَسَفَىٰ عَلَىٰ يُوسُفَ وَابْيَضَّتْ عَيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْحُزْنِ فَهُوَ كَظِيم And he turned away from them and said: ‘O my sorrow for Yūsuf!’ And his eyes had become white (blind), because of the sorrow that he suppressed. Sūrat Yūsuf, No. 12, Āyat 84 Tragic events in life can leave people overwhelmed … Read more
Bismillāh إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا …Indeed, Allah only desires to remove from you all impurity, O Ahl al-Bayt, and to purify you with a thorough purification.? Sūrat al-Ahzāb, No. 33, Āyat 33 In an earlier reflection, we established—through extensively transmitted (mutawātir) narrations—that the five figures referred to in this … Read more