Divine - Linguistic Miracle of Qur'an Gems!

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.


The Angels Write down What you Do [Taf'aloon].

وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ
And indeed, [appointed] over you are keepers,


كِرَامًا كَاتِبِين
Noble and recording;

يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ
They know whatever you do.


(Infitar 82: 10-12)

Two words could be used to describe the angels writing the actions that you do:

'Aml or Fi'l.

Both words loosely translated would mean; To do an action. So why do the angels write down what you Taf'aloon?



The definitions:

'Aml عمل :To do an action based on Intent. An action you do with intent/with conscience. Ie. Your intended actions/deeds; Eating, Watching with focused intent, hearing with focused intent, reading etc.

or

Fi'l فعل : To do any action. an action you do, even without thinking about it. Ie. Breathing. Seeing, hearing, blinking etc.

The Angels witness and write down what you Taf'aloon; anything you do - they write it down without exception.

They don't know your intentions, so they don't write down any of your intentions.


Allah will judge people on Judgment Day, and some people will have mountains of good actions recorded for them by the angels. However, they will not be rewarded for them - because they had no sincerety to Allah in their actions.



So we should strive to do good 'Aml, not just good Fi'l.

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.

وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ

Waamma assaa-ila fala tanhar.

And as for the beggar, do not repel [him]. [Duha 93:10]

The word used in that verse is Nahr, and Nahr means River.


Sometimes, when beggars come to people and ask them for something - people push them aside and ignore them or maybe give abit of money.


However, there are another type of people - these people actually stop at the beggar and start pressurising them. They start ridiculing them, abusing them, and flooding them with insults. The beggar can't do nothing except stand there, whilst a gushing flow of humiliation is being poured upon him.

You can imagine this beggar standing in the middle of a fast flowing River (nahr), being pushed and flooded with the waves of Insults being poured at them.

..and as for the beggar, do not drive [him] away, [do not] repel him on account of his poverty.. (Tafseer Jalalayn [Duha 93:10])

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.

عَبَسَوَتَوَلَّىٰ

Abasa watawal-laa
(The Prophet) frowned and turned away


أَن جَاءَهُ الْأَعْمَىٰ

An jaa'ahu al-a'maa
Because there came to him the blind man, [interrupting].


(Surah Abasa 80: 1-2)

What context was this aayah/verse revealed in?

One day the Messenger of Allah was addressing one of the great leaders of the Quraysh while hoping that he would accept Islam. While he was speaking in direct conversation with him, Ibn Umm Maktum [the blind man] came to him, and he was of those who had accepted Islam in its earliest days.

He (Ibn Umm Maktum) then began asking the Messenger of Allah about something, urgently beseeching him [repeatedly]. The Prophet hoped that the [rich noble Qurayshi] man would be guided, so he asked Ibn Umm Maktum to wait for a moment so he could complete his conversation...

Tafsir Ibn Katheer - Surah Abasa:
http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=80&tid=57084


However, the blind man kept repeating his question to the Messenger of Allah and - unintentionally - disturbing the conversation of Allah's Messenger. So he asked Ibn Umm Maktum to wait for a moment so he could complete his conversation with the other man.

Due to the persistence of the blind mans demands; He frowned in the face of the blind man and turned away from him in order to continue his discussion with the other man.


So Allah revealed these aayaat/verses:

(He frowned and turned away. Because there came to him the blind man. And how can you know that he might become pure) (Or he might receive admonition, and the admonition might profit him.) (As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient. To him you attend... ) [Surah Abasa 80: 1-5]

Now looking at the situation in context, we see that none of this is can really be blamed on Allah's Messenger.

Why? Let's see;

1) The blind man interrupted the conversation of Allah's Messenger and persisted in that. So really, it would be his error.

2) Allah's Messenger wanted to give dawah [invitation to Islam] to a noble from the Quraysh [elite] because they would hardly listen to his call beforehand, and now that someone's listening - they might accept Islam and influence many others to Islam too (since when an elite member of society accepts a truth, the masses look into that truth and more willingly accept it.)

3) The blind man persisted in asking when he had other times to ask too, which causes the listener - who is involved in an important project - to become annoyed when they're in a chance for huge success.

4) This leads to the 'frown' and turning away, which really - a blind person can't even notice. So is this really an insult to them?

5) Yet Allah would reveal aayaat/verses - which would be recited for many centuries by all people - about this scenario, to show the high level of expectations He has for His Messenger, and his followers. So that he should not even frown and turn away from a blind man (since Allah is still watching us), and that he should call the rich aswell as poor to Islam equally without biased precedence.

Now there are many words in Arabic to describe an angry face in the Arabic language. These are as follows:

Uboos عبوس [noun] -Abasa عبس [verb]. (Frown: Bulging of forehead only due to annoyance.)

Qalaha قله - Grinding Teeth due to anger.

Basar بسر - When the face becomes ugly due to Anger. [also see Surah Muddathir 74:22]

Basal بسل - The face made during extreme anger in war and fighting.

We see that the least minimum of just a frown [uboos] of slight frustration was just shown on the face of Allah's Messenger, yet Allah revealed aayaat/verses about it to forbid it and to raise the - already great - character of His Messenger to the next level.


Afterwards, whenever he [the blind man Ibn Um Maktum] came to him, the Prophet would say to him, (مرحبا بمن عاتبني فيه ربي ) ‘Greetings to him on whose account God reproached me!’, and would lay down his cloak for him. (Tafseer Jalalayn 80:2)



So we learn from this aayah/verse that Allah is watching even the smallest of things that we do, He is aware of the subtleties in our actions. And He will take us to account for them.

The Strangeness of Judgment Day...


Running away from those you Love:

In life, when you're scared of something - you run to your family for security and help. However, on this Day - the total opposite happens;

فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الصَّاخَّةُ

يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ

وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ

وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَبَنِيهِ

لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ


But when there comes the Deafening Blast. That Day shall a man flee from his brother, And his mother and his father. And his wife and his children, Everyman, that Day, will have enough to make him careless of others.

[Abasa 80: 33-37]

So the ones you ran to in this life for help - you will run away from, because they have caused the most harm or benefit to you, since you interacted with them the most in this life [the ones with the favours wanting their good back, and the ones you did evil to wanting to blame you].

So running away from them in that situation seems most suitable.



Uniting the ones who Hate:

However, the ones who ran away from each other in this life - they will be united and gathered together - whether they like it or not.

وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ

And when the wild beasts are gathered

[al-Takweer 81:5]

So when you see that lion chasing after that buffalo, then this Lion will be gathered together with the Buffalo on this Day, even though they were running away from each other in this worldly life.



What a Strange Day. The ones who are close to each other in this life will be running away from each other, and the ones who are distant and hate each other will be united. Each group will then be gathered for Justice in the Court of Allah.

Asalaam alaikum warahmatulah wabarakatuh.

وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ


..and when I fall ill, He is the One who restores me to health.

(ash-Shu'ara 26:80)


مَرِضْتُ

I fall ill, There is a very delicate point here; the respect and care that the Prophets'/Messengers' of Allah pay towards Allah (swt.)


Abraham/Ibraheem (peace be upon him) does not say "when Allah makes me ill" rather he says "when I fall ill", therefore not directly attributing his illness to Allah swt. Though he knows well that both health and illness is from Allah (swt). However because we all look at illness as a test, a trial, something difficult, so from the amount of respect he has for Allah (swt), he does not say when Allah makes me sick, but rather he acknowledges his illness as his fault.



فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

Then he continues, to say that Allah (swt) is the one who restores his health (i.e. attributing the good to Allah). Giving Allah (swt) the prestige, and position of goodness. يَشْفِينِ this is in a tense that demonstrate that it will happen more than once. So on the one hand Abraham/Ibraheem says when I fall ill, meaning he knows he will, then he acknowledges that Allah (swt) will give him shifa [cure] more than once.

It is due to the goodness of his heart and the goodness that he exhibited in his character, that Allah (swt) chose him - Abraham/Ibrahim - as His khaleel [close friend].




All these mannerisms of Prophet Ibrahim/Abraham towards Allah are described in just 5 words!

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

Thee (alone) we worship; and Thee (alone) we ask for help. (al-Fatiha 1: 5)

The most fundamental aspect of Islam is that of Tauhid - the oneness of Allah (swt). Nothing else is as important as this one concept. It thus the main theme of the Quran and this ayah makes an indirect reference to it.



A normal Arabic sentence might be: "Kataba Muhammad al-Darsa" - Muhammad wrote the lesson.

In this sentence the first word is the verb (to write) the second one is the doer (Muhammad) and the last word is the object (the lesson). So in normal Arabic sentence structure the verb comes first and then the object.



But in the ayah above the positions of the two are reversed: the object (Iyyaaka - You) is mentioned first and then the verb (Na'budu - we worship) second. And there is profound wisdom in this subtle difference.

In the normal sentence structure; it is possible to add on more objects after the first. For example one could say: 'We worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.' [notice that these objects came after the words; 'We Worship...']

But when the Object is placed firstbefore the action/verb, all attention is payed to that alone and nothing else. That is why the translation is given as "Thee (alone) do we worship" even though the word "alone" is nowhere mentioned in the Arabic of the ayah/verse.



So even the phrasing of the sentence has an effect on the meaning and it is here an allusion to the supreme Oneness of Allah, and the worship of Him alone.

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.



Allaah `azza wa jall, says in Soorah al-Nisaa:

مَّن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا ۖ وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّقِيتًا

“Whosoever intercedes for a good cause will have a ‘naseeb’ thereof, and whosoever intercedes for an evil cause will have a ‘kifl’ of it. And Allah is Ever All-Able to do everything.”

[al-Nisaa 4: 85]

Let’s have a look at these 2 separate words (in bold):

نصيبٌ

كِفْلٌ

They both mean the same thing – they both mean ‘ portion’ or ‘a part of something’.

Allaah (`azza wa jall) is informing us that the one who intercedes for a good or a bad cause will receive a portion of that deed written down for him.



But why the 2 different words if they both mean the same thing? Well, do they mean exactly the same thing? Let’s take a look.



Kifl:

The word ‘kifl’ is very ‘muhaddad’ – restricted and bounded. In language it means: a portion that is equal in all spheres, as they say النصيب المساوي – an equal portion, no shortcoming thereinnor any ‘ziyaada’ – increase.

Allaah `azza wa jall used this word here to inform us that the one who does intercede for an evil cause will only receive an equal portion thereof – there is no injustice. As He says in Soorah al-Ghaafir:

مَنْ عَمِلَ سَيِّئَةً فَلَا يُجْزَىٰ إِلَّا مِثْلَهَا ۖ وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ يُرْزَقُونَ فِيهَا بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

“Whosoever does an evil deed, will not be requited except the like thereof…” [al-Ghaafir: 40]

Naseeb:

As for the word ‘naseeb’ then again it also means ‘ portion’ but amazingly it has an added meaning of ‘ziyaada’ (increase) and that the portion can be multiplied. It is for this reason that when speaking of the reward/portion of the one who intercedes for a good cause, Allaah subhaanahu wa ta’aala uses the word ‘naseeb’. As is known, out the mercy, favour and generosity of Allaah, the reward for good deeds are multiplied by ten times and more (up to 700 times)whereas the evil deed is only written down once and this is highlighted ever so subtly and yet so profoundly in the simple ayah above:

“Whosoever intercedes for a good cause will have a ‘naseeb’ thereof, and whosoever intercedes for an evil cause will have a ‘kifl’ of it. And Allah is Ever All-Able to do everything.” [al-Nisaa: 85]

It is for this reason that the above ayah in Soorah al-Ghaafir ends with…

“Whosoever does an evil deed, will not be requited except the like thereof, and whosoever does a righteous deed, whether male or female and is a true believer, such will enter Paradise, where they will be provided therein without limit.” [al-Ghaafir: 40]

http://fajr.wordpress.com/2007/06/05/only-a-portion/

amazing stuff man keep it coming

Asalaam alaikum Warahmatulah Wabarakatuh.


By the (steeds) that run, with panting (breath) [al-'Aadiyaat 100: 1-7]


In the Qur’an, there is a relationship between oaths and what follows the oaths. When Allah ta’ala swears by something, it shows the importance of the object He is swearing by and that object will be elevated. Furthermore, whatever comes after the oath is very important as well. There are many examples in the Qur’an.


Allah ta’ala says in Suratul ‘Aadiyaat,

وَالْعَادِيَاتِ ضَبْحًا
فَالْمُورِيَاتِ قَدْحًا
فَالْمُغِيرَاتِ صُبْحًا
فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِ نَقْعًا
فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعًا


By the (steeds) that run, with panting (breath),
Striking sparks of fire (by their hooves),
And scouring to the raid at dawn
And raise the dust in clouds the while,
Penetrating forthwith as one into the midst (of the enemy).

(Surat ul ‘Aadiyaat 100:1-5)

Makki/Makkan surahs have amazing imagery, and these first five verses are dedicated to horses in battle.

1400years ago, when there was no TV, movies, picture books, all that was available was one’s imagination, especially when the audience of the Qur’an were people from a desert with nothing to look at. Allah (azza wa jal) is painting a magnificient scene in the mind of the Quraysh:


The horses being described here are feminine (الْعَادِيَاتِ), why? The Arabs preferred the female horses in battle because they were faster. Allah (azza wa jal) is describing the horses in the morning time, when there is still moisture in the air and instead of the dust rising as it does in a desert, the moisture causes the dust to settle.

Imagine: these horses who are fast by nature, running so fast that they are causing the dust to rise up–even with the moisture, sparks are flying - when their hooves strike the rocks - even though there is moisture on the rocks, and they don’t see infront of them because of the dust in the air–not knowing if there is an enemy or spear waiting on the other side.


Think of the amazement of the non Muslims listening to the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa salaam recite these verses…Anyone amongst them who has a horse realized how loyal their horse is to them; how it will even die for its owner just out of submission to the master.


Then right after these amazing images, Allah ta’ala says:

إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ

Indeed man is not loyal to his Rabb! (100:6)

Just as this horse submits to its master, going into the enemy range without even knowing what is there, completely loyal to the Master…Allah ta’ala reminds them: man is not loyal to his Rabb [Master].


Not only that he’s not loyal but also:

وَإِنَّهُ عَلَىٰ ذَ*ٰلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌ

And to that fact he bears witness (100:7)

Man bears witness to the fact that he is not loyal! He knows! How? Allah azza wa jal just reminded them of the loyalty of the steeds/horses to their owner in the previous verses; if your horse submits to you, then why do you not submit to your Owner?


SubhanAllah!