Reflection No. 168 on Q 15:3 – Qualities of disbelievers

 ذَرْهُمْ يَأْكُلُوا وَيَتَمَتَّعُوا وَيُلْهِهِمُ الْأَمَلُ ۖ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ Dhar-hum ya’kulū wayatamatta‘ū wayulhihimul-amal, fasawfa ya‘lamūn Leave them to eat and enjoy and to be diverted by longings. Soon they will know. (Sūratul Hijr, No. 15, Āyat 3)  The above verse gives us three qualities of disbelievers who have reached a stage where there is not much … Read more

Reflection No. 167 on Q 2:183 – Fasting

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ Yā ayyuhal-ladhīna āmanū kutiba ‘alaykums-siyāmu kamā kutiba ‘alal-ladhīna min qablikum la-‘allakum tattaqūn O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may become God conscious.  (Sūratul baqarah, No. 2, … Read more

Reflection No. 166 on Q 2:185 – Month of Ramadan

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

Reflection No. 165 on Q 28:5 – The Triumph of Truth

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

Reflection No. 164 on Q 2:74 – Hardness of the heart

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

Reflection No. 163 on Q 26:87-89 – The sound heart

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

Reflection No. 162 on Q 90:4 – Difficulties in life

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

Reflection No. 161 on Q 10:12 – Attitude in difficulties and in ease

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

Reflection No. 160 on Q 19:4 – Certainty in supplication

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

Reflection No. 159 on Q 9:36 – Month of Rajab

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