Reflection No. 192 on Q 9:128 – Holy Prophet’s Love for his Ummah

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ Laqad jā-akum rasūlun min anfusikum ‘azīzun ‘alayhi mā ‘anittum HarīSūn ‘alaykum bil-mu’minīna ra’ūfun raHīm Certainly a Messenger has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your distress, he has deep concern for you; to the believers (he is) … Read more

Reflection No. 191 on Q 44:29 – Weeping of the Heaven and the Earth

فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ Famā bakat ‘alayhimus-samā’ wal-ardhu And the Heaven and the Earth did not weep for them (Sūratud Dukhān, No. 44, Āyat 29)  When a believer dies the loss is felt by creation beyond the immediate circle of family and friends. The world loses a worshipper of God, and the vacuum this … Read more

Reflection No. 190 on Q 16:52 – Obedience to Allah

وَلَهُ الدِّينُ وَاصِبًا Walahud-dīnu wāsibā And to Him belongs the enduring religion (obedience) (Suratun Nahl, No.16, Āyat 52)   The holy Quran tells the human being to desist from taking a god other than Allah for God is the true Creator and King of the Heavens and the Earth. Such a Lord is worthy not … Read more

Reflection No. 189 on Q 10:44 – Injustice to the Self

إِنَّاللَّهَلَايَظْلِمُالنَّاسَشَيْئًاوَلَٰكِنَّالنَّاسَأَنْفُسَهُمْيَظْلِمُونَ Innallāha lā yazlimun-nāsa shay’an walākinnan-nāsa anfusahum yazlimūn Surely Allah does not wrong people in the least; rather it is people wrong themselves. . (Sūrat Yūnus, No.10, Āyat 44) The Holy Quran often talks about injustice against the self. Human beings know that oppression and injustice is wrong and condemned but strangely enough they often … Read more

Reflection No. 188 on Q 3:178 – The Respite to Sin

وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِثْمًا ۚ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ Walā yaHsabannal-ladhīna kafarū annamā numlī lahum khayrun lianfusihim. Innamā numlī lahum liyazdādū ithman, walahum ‘adhābun muhīn Let the faithless not suppose that the respite We grant them is good for themselves; We give them respite only … Read more

Reflection No. 187 on Q 39:42 – Journey of the Soul during Sleep

اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنْفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا ۖ فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى Allāhu yatawffal-ansfusa Hīna mawtihā wallatī lam tamut fī manāmihā, fayumsikul-latī qadhā ‘alayhāl-mawta wayurlsilul-ukhrā ilā ajalin musammā God takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die during their … Read more

Reflection No. 186 on Q 33:23 – Waiting for Martyrdom

مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا Minal mu’minīna rijālun Sadaqū mā ‘Āhadullāha ‘alayhi, faminhum man qadhā naHbahu wa-minhum yantaziru, wa mā baddalū tabdīlā Of the believers are men who are true to the covenant which they made with Allah: so of … Read more

Reflection No. 185 on Q 16:92 – A Firm Promise

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَهَا مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنْكَاثًا Do not be like the one who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly (Sūrat an-Nahl, No. 16, Āyat 92)   Commentary  When Bibi Zaynab (a) was taken prisoner along with Imam al-Sajjad (a) and the womenfolk and children to Kufa, … Read more

Reflection No. 184 on Q 2:74 – Softening of the Heart

ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً ۚ Thumma qasat qulūbukum min ba‘di dhālika fahiya kal-Hijārati aw ashaddu qaswah Then your hearts hardened after that, so that they were like rocks, rather worse in hardness; Sura al-(Sūrtual Baqarah, No. 2, Āyat 74) Commentary  The above verse refers to the Banū Israel … Read more

Reflection No. 183 on Q 64:14 – Forgive and Move On

وَإِنْ تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ Wa-in ta‘fū wataSfaHū wataghfirū fainnallāha ghafūrur-raHīm And if you pardon, and forbear, and forgive, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (Sūratut Taghābun, No. 64, Āyat 14) This verse talks about the different stages of forgiveness. According to Tafsīr Namūne, verse 14 of Sūratu Taghābun was sent after … Read more