Surah ar-Rahman - A Literary Appreciation [Ayat 4-9]

Allah continues informing us on what he taught us. After he taught the greatest revelation; the Qur'an and made the greatest creation; humans, he gave them the greatest gift. He taught them clear, accurate, well pronounced speech - ayat 4. Allah taught speech because Allah revealed speech itself. He taught Adam [as] the names of all things. So, we need to respect our speech. Surely the same tongue that is used for the Qur'an is not going to be used for such disrespective and foul language. This is certainly something to bear in mind the next time we open our mouths. Additionally, we have to respect languages, all languages are products of what was taught to Adam [as].

When the Prophet [saw] was preaching his message of the oneness of Allah swt, people of Makkah had thought he had lost his mind when he taught his message. "I'll believe it when I see it." became the Quraysh's stubborn response. This beginning of Surah ar-Rahman is a response to the Quraysh's response above. Human beings are able to make sound conclusions based on profound speech. To resort to the level of an animal who needs to see or feel a danger to escape a fire in a room for example is neglecting the greatest gift of language and intellect given to man. We don't need to see it to believe it when our speech allows us to process our thoughts into words, when we use the the gift of language to explain abstract phenomenon. Allah still responds to their stubbornness and mentions in ayat 5: the sun and the moon are in reckoning - they are about to be destroyed which is a sign of the end of times. We use the sun as day clock and the moon for our calendar. Someone who observes the sun and the moon has respect for their time.

Starry night in the Chilean desert

In ayat 6 Allah mentions the two beauties of the desert, by day, trees which are scare and by nightfall the vast amount of stars in the sky all in submission to Allah swt. Allah informs the Quraysh, you want to see it to believe it, well here is what you should be seeing. The creation of Allah are ayaat: signs - they can't be purposeless, they should lead to guidance. Abu Bakr Sideeq, a great companion of the Prophet [saw] already had imaan or faith, he believed in creation.

In ayaat 7-8, Allah says: And the heaven He has raised high, and He has set up the Balance. In order that you may not transgress (due) balance. Allah swt raised up the sky and laid down the scale, so you don't mess around with the balance. Whenever we wake up, we should look at the sky and see its balance, it should be a reminder for us to keep your life and work balanced. Allah continues further in ayat 9: And observe the weight with equity and do not make the balance deficient. A balanced life is our goal by keeping the balance with equity and making not the measure deficient. How did the Muslims in Makkah look different to the non-Muslims? It wasn't through the 5 prayers, hijab or hajj, these rules came later when they migrated to Medinah. But it was through justice. Today the biggest emphasis is on appearance - but keep things in proportion. You should be the best of people, after all we are Muslim. And the sky is enough to remind us of being just and balanced.

[This post was a write up of my notes from Nouman Ali Khan's Tafseer of Surah ar-Rahman]

Surah ar-Rahman - A Literary Appreciation [Ayat 1-3]

Surah ar-Rahman is one of the most recognised and known surahs from the Qur’an because of it’s oft-repeated question ‘Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?’

This surah can be broken down into 5 parts in which it covers the following:

1.  The greatness of the Qur’an

2. A list of Allah’s favours

3. The consequences for the ungrateful (Judgement Day and Hellfire)

4. Jannah – The deluxe package

5. Jannah – The platinum package

This entire sequencing of surah ar-Rahman is then re-taught in reverse order in the following surah – surah Waaqi’ah. Upon reflection, this is Allah’s method of teaching. This is how Allah teaches us how to teach. Revision of these key components is re-taught straight away as we as humans are bound to forget.

We believe the Qur’an is the best form of communication. Why is Allah repeating this phrase over and over again? ‘Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?’
 Effective communication has 3 key components:

1. You need content – you need to have something meaningful to say.
2. Style – it’s how you say it
3. Knowing your audience

This surah deals with the absolutely stubborn that repetition is the best form of communication here. The curriculum being that of the Qur’an was taught to Muhammad pbuh who then taught it to Quraysh over a period of 10 years in which the underlying message was to worship and believe in one God. Now the key element here was the Prophet pbuh’s teaching quality of patience and perseverance with the Quraysh, in which through endless surahs with different styles of teaching of the same message, the students still did not get the lesson!

The surah begins with the mention of Allah's attribute and title of the surah, ar-rahman. This is often translated as 'mercy.' However, the connotations of mercy usually imply sparing someone, thus used in a negative context. For example, a punishment was coming to you and you were spared or you begged for mercy. However, as we know in the Arabic language, all words have root words and in this case the root word of ar-rahman is 'rahim' referred to as the womb of a mother. The baby is enveloped around care and protection in the womb of its mother. The mother takes the pain of the baby so he/she does not feel a thing because the mother's feeling of love for her unborn baby motivates her. In the same way, Allah being ar-Rahman has enveloped us in his mercy, the love he has for his creation. The ayat itself is a call for reflection; how is Allah taking care of me with his love at this moment?

Whenever you recite an ayat of the Qur'an, change it into a dua or prayer. Think of the blessings Allah has given you. Of all the things, his greatest act of kindness is that he taught the Qur'an as this is the ayat that follows Allah's attribute of ar-Rahman. You are truly missing out on Allah's greatest gift to humanity if you don't study the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is the perfect curriculum but Muhammad [pbuh] had to be there to deliver that curriculum. You are never going to get more prestige than being taught by Allah swt. Allah is in fact the one who taught the Qur'an. We have a love-based relationship with Allah. In the second ayat, what Allah teaches is addressed but not who he teaches as the invitation is open to all. You should see the Qur'an as your journey to develop a relationship with Allah and develop a love for Allah swt. The Qur'an is best consumed with quality and not quantity. Memorise, memorise, memorise - at least we know we died trying as the Qur'an lies inside our hearts. The actual meaning of the Qur'an as it appears in the infinitive [masdar] form of recitation means to read or recite excessively. The Qur'an defines the word reading itself.

  You haven't properly started reading anything until you've read the Qur'an. 

In the 3rd ayat of surah ar-Rahman, Allah mentions creating us, the insaan, humans. First he taught us the Qur'an, then he created us second. The manual comes before the product and the gift of guidance as in the Qur'an is way more than Allah creating us.

[This post was a write up of my notes from Nouman Ali Khan's Tafseer of Surah ar-Rahman]

Have you weighed your Deeds lately? The degree of Accountability...

There are 3 types of Souls mentioned in the Qur’an:

1. Soul prone to evil  - nafs al-amaara bisoo’ [Example from Surah Yusuf 12:22-28, when the Egyptian Minister’s wife tries to seduce Yusuf]

2. Self-reproaching soul – nafs al-lawaama [Example from Surah Qiyamah 75:2 ‘Nay I swear by the accusing soul’ – The self-reproaching soul is one that blames when it does good as well as bad.

3. Righteous soul – nafs al-mu’mainna [Example from Surah al-Fajr 89:27, the Righteous Soul is the soul at peace]

Ways to Cure the diseased Soul:

1. Ignore it!
2. Dislike it! – compare to the bounties of Allah give to you and how you are repaying Allah swt back.
3. Be sceptic about your soul – How do you know that Allah has accepted my ibaadah
4. Trick your soul – start off little by little and gradually increase your level of action. Ie Qiyaaml al layl, start by praying 2 raka’ each night, then once the habit is made of getting up, increase it to 4, gradually though.

‘So whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom [or small ant] shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom [or a small ant] shall see it.’ [surah az-zalzalah: 7-8]

The Right of Allah upon the servant in every act of obedience consists of six matters:

1. Sincerity in the action [for the sake of Allah]
2. Pure devotion to Allah in it
3. Following and imitating the Messenger [pbuh] in it
4. Seeing and observing excellence in it
5. Seeing Allah’s Benevolence in it
6. Seeing one’s shortcomings [in performing this action] after all this

*Remember if you fulfil Allah’s rights, He shall fulfil yours!

Your Enemy – firstly is the soul = the nafs, then the shaytaan who’s ultimate goal is for us to commit shirk! Allah mentions in the Qur’an 13 times, that the Shaytaan plays with the soul. He leads you astray by beautifying haram things for you, and promises you poverty and hardship, thus decreasing your trust in Allah swt. Allah is the provider, the sustainer! Do not follow the footsteps of Shaytaan...

Remember, the correct intention does not purify the wrong action, and the wrong intention corrupts the good action!!!!!

-          Umar ibn al-Khattab said, “Call your souls to account before you are called to account and weigh your souls [ie your actions] before you are weighed for it will make the accountability easier for you tomorrow if you call your selves to account today.” [Ahmad]

Weigh your deeds; is it good enough to meet Allah swt with? If you were to die tomorrow, would your deeds be sufficient to meet your lord with, we need to do muhaasabah, other nations did not get this privilege, Allah is forever giving us chances to come back and repent to him. Weigh out your deeds, jot down your good and bad deeds, do some accountability, where do you lay? Ponder upon this before you sleep each night, if I don’t live to see tomorrow, have I repented for my bad deeds? Can I say my good deeds outweigh my bad ones?

“O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allah. Verily, Alllah is All-Aware of what you do.” [al-Hashr: 18]

Rescuing Your Soul - The Degree of Repentance

REPENTANCE IS AN OBLIGATION!

“Verily Allah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves.” [al-Baqarah: 222]

The Prophet (pbuh) used to make istighfaar more than 70 times a day, although he was promised jannah – but he was teaching his ummah. He would cry at night until his beard would be soaked in his tears.

“Say: ‘O my slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by committing evil deeds and sins) Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [az Zumar: 53]

There was once a draught in the time of Musa [as]. Allah did not send the rain as there was a sinner amongst the people and only once the sinner had left the town would Allah send the rain. Musa [as] called out for the sinner to come forward, but no one did. And suddenly it began to rain, the sinner had repented, and Allah accepted his repentance, subhanallah!!

The reality of repentance is to:

1. Magnify the sin – think of it like this – YOU SINNED AGAINST ALLAH SWT! Don’t just look at your sin, look at the greatness of the one you sinned against!
2. Question your repentance – accuse your repentance, question it, was it sincere, was it enough? Check your heart; if your heart is not moved by the recitation of the Qur’an, by the circles of knowledge, during dhikr, you really need to ponder on your relationship with Allah swt.
3. Acquire protective jealousy – Do you feel the pain of your brothers and sisters when in oppression, are you moved to do something?

  

REPENTANCE IS BELOVED TO ALLAH!

Repentance must meet 5 conditions:

1. Sincerity to Allah, the Most High
2. Remorse for the sin that was committed
3. Ceasing to commit the sin immediately
4. Determination to not go back to doing that sin again in the future
5. The repentance should not occur before the time when its accepted is terminated, either by death or by the sun rising from the west.

Repent every time we feel we have committed a sin, we are always in need of repentance

“O ye who believe! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, on the day when Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands; they will say, ‘Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and forgive us! Lo! Thou art Able to do all things.’” [at-Tahreem: 8]

The Clock is ticking! The importance of time...

To show the importance of time, Allah swears by time in the Qur’an for example in Surah ‘Asr [wal ‘asr...] and many others. Time is like a vehicle without reverse – you can never turn back time. Time is limited by hours, days, weeks, months and years. Ibn ‘Abbas narrates that the Prophet [pbuh] said: “There are two blessings which many people do not make the most of: good health and free time.” [al-Bukhari]

The main essentials of Time Management: 

1.  Beating procrastination

2. Activity log

3. Action plans

4. Prioritized to do lists

5. Scheduling skills

6. Personal goal setting

The KEY to time management is filtering your priorities! Ask yourself what are you priorities?

Take the following example, in a pot you have a few large pebbles, these are the “core values” – your KEY priorities, then pour sand into the pot, until it is filled to the top. The sand represents the other activities in your life that you fit around your core values ya’ni your important activities for the day. Had you filled the pot with sand BEFORE putting the pebbles in, you would not have managed to have put enough pebbles into the pot. Therefore, the importance of the core values or priorities is highlighted by this, they are non-negotiable and everything else comes in later! In other words, sometimes we worry about the sand more than the pebbles, when really it’s the pebbles that are our priorities.

The productivity pyramid

The above Productivity Pyramid begins at the base. First things first, you need to identify your values, clear and convicted values. For example, your deen, family, parents, work, friends, education etc. These are non-negotiable! Once these are in place, then you can set your goals.

The Four Quadrants of Goal Setting:

1. Personal
2. Professional
3. Financial
4. Health

Three Main types of Goals:

1. Short-term goals (0 -1year goal)
2. Mid-term goals (1 – 5 years goal)
3. Long-term goals (1 – 20 years goal)

How to set your goals?

1. You have to know what you want!
2. You need SMART Goals [Specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals]
3. You have to have a strong desire
4. Visualise your goal, repeat your goal inshallah
5. Write your goals down
6. Action
7. Need to be flexible if circumstances change
8. Be persistent with your goal

Use the Time-Matrix below to help Plan Weekly and Act Daily on your goals in order to manage your time well inshallah.

Use the above time-matrix to plan out and filter your priorities inshallah in order to manage your time and be on top of your goals and ensuring all time spent is spent well rather than wasted in the unimportant, non-urgent box!

Shaykh Riad’s ‘How to live a whole 13 months in the year!’ By waking up 1 hour earlier than usual time each day can earn you an extra month in the year!

It was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet [pbuh] said, “The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he has been questioned about five things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and how he disposed of it, and how he acted upon what he acquired of knowledge.” [at-Tirmidhi]

[This post was a write up of my notes from Shaykh Riad Ourzazi's 'A Heart Serene' course with the al-Maghrib institute in London.]

To Please or not to Please: That is the Question

Ibn al-Qayyim categorizes Worship into 3 main categories:

1.  Worship of the heart

2. Worship of the tongue

3. Worship of the physical faculties

Worshippers are divided into 4 categories:

1. Those who pursue the hardest form of worship

2. Ascetics

3. Those who pursue beneficial acts of worship

4. Those who pursue specific acts of worship at the appropriate time.

The question is asked, “Why worship Allah?” Why? Because it is his right, Allah swt has made us as we are supposed to be, with 2 eyes, ears, a nose, tongue, a heart that beats, does he not have the right to be worshipped? Think of those with kidney problems, they suffer so much because their kidneys do not function as they should - something we take for granted, should Allah not be worshipped for cleaning our kidneys 30 times a day! Surely his favours upon us are enough for us to give him his right to be worshipped! So, the right of Allah swt over us is that WE worship HIM, and our right if we do not associate partners with Allah is that we enter jannah inshallah. It is Allah’s rahma that will get us into jannah, so we must seek help from him alone.

Ibadah or worship is the sustenance of our soul, our souls are screaming for Islam, for peace. Sweden has the highest rate of suicide, why? Because people cannot find peace of heart, we forget what our soul needs, like our bodies need nourishment, so does our soul in the remembrance of Allah swt.

Ibadah or worship is a way to freedom and dignity.

When you are the slave of humans, your boss, money; you are disgraced... but when you are the slave of Allah you have a say! Worshiping Allah is our resort that rescues us in times of calamities. When locked up, literally or metaphorically, one resorts to Allah for help, therefore ibadah comes to your rescue at times of calamities. Have we asked ourselves, will Allah be pleased with us on Day of Judgement?

We are longing for jannah, because we don’t want the hellfire. So worship Allah because it is his right...which leads us to HOW do we worship Allah swt?

The worship needs to be CORRECT and PURE. [correct = in accordance with the sunnah, and pure=with good intentions]. Allah only accepts that which is pure and correct.

Ibn Taymiyya says: The Qur’an needs the sunnah more than the sunnah needs the Qur’an. The sunnah tells us HOW to pray, perform hajj etc whilst the Qur’an gives the hukm [law]. Bid’ah is more beloved to shaytaan than a sin, because the bid’ah is more difficult to let go of.

So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord , let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord [al-Kahf, 110]

[This post was a write up of my notes from Shaykh Riad Ourzazi's 'A Heart Serene' course with the al-Maghrib institute in London.]