شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ Shahru ramadānal-ladhī unzila fihil-qur’ānu hudan linnāsi wabayyinātin minal-hudā wal-furqān The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, as guidance to mankind and with clear proofs of the guidance and the Criterion (Sūratul Baqarah, No. 2, Āyat 185) Muslims around … Read more
وَنُرِيدُ أَنْ نَمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ Wanurīdu an namunna ‘alal-ladhīnas-tudh‘ifū fil-ardhi wanaj‘alahum aimmatan wanaj‘alahumul-wārithīn And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them Leaders, and to make them the heirs. (Sūratul Qasas, No. 28, Āyat 5) This verse … Read more
ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً Thumma qasat qulūbukum mim-ba ‘di dhālika fahiya kalHijārati aw ashaddu qaswata Then your hearts hardened after that, so that they were like rocks, rather worse in hardness (Sūratul Baqarah, No. 2, Āyat 74) The above verse refers to the Banū Israel who were told … Read more
وَلَا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُون إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ Walā tukhzinī yawma yub‘athūn yawma lā yanfa‘u māluwn-walā banūn illā man atallāha biqalbin salīm Do not disgrace me on the day they will be resurrected, the day on which neither wealth nor children will avail, except one who comes … Read more
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ laqad khalaqnal-insāna fī kabad Certainly We have created man to be in distress (Sūratul Balad, No. 90, Āyat 4) In the above verse Allah declares an important truth; a truth that may not be palatable to the human being. Life for human beings is often distressful and replete with travail. … Read more
وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنْسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنْبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَائِمًا فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهُ مَرَّ كَأَنْ لَمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَىٰ ضُرٍّ مَسَّهُ Wa-idhā massal-insānadh-dhurru da‘āna li-janbihi aw qā‘idan aw qā’iman falammā kashafnā ‘anhudhurrahū marra ka-al-lam yad‘unā ilā dhurri massah When distress befalls man he supplicates to Us [lying] on his side, sitting, or standing; but when … Read more
وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا walam akum bidu‘āki rabbi shaqiyya And never have I been disappointed, my Lord, in my supplication to You. (Sūrat Maryam, No. 19, Āyat 4) When a believer supplicates and prays to Allah, he prays with full conviction that Allah will hear and answer. The answer may not always come in … Read more
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُم Inna ‘iddatash-shuhūri ‘indallāhi-thnā ‘ashara sharan fī kitābi-llāhi yawma khalaqas-samāwāti wal-ardha minhā arba‘atun hurum Indeed the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah’s Book, the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of … Read more
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُو ا . . . وَتَعَاوَنُواعَلَىالْبِرِّوَالتَّقْوَىٰ Yā ayyuhal-ladhīna āmanū . . . wa-ta‘āwanū ‘alal-birri wat-taqwā O, You who believe . . . help one another in goodness and piety (Sūratul Mā’idah, No. 5, Āyat 2) This verse emphasizes the necessity of cooperating and supporting in virtue and piety. Āyatullāh Nāsir Makārim Shirāzī … Read more
ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ Idfa‘ billatī hiya aHsan Repel evil with what is best (Sūrat Fussilat, No. 41, Āyat 34) One of the highest signs of a noble character is to be able to do good to someone who has been mean to you. It requires strength of character and an ego free mind. … Read more