Tafseer

The word kaana is the past-tense masculine singular third-person (he) form of the verb to-be. So you can translate it as “he was”. (And the khabr takes the same rules as with any other verb.) So what does it mean when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) uses kaana to describe Himself? For example, in surah Nisaa, He says: إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً Translation: And seek the Forgiveness of Allah; surely, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful [Surah Nisaa, 4:106]

Allah says in the Qur’an: فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراً Translation: So verily, with the hardship, there is relief; Verily, with the hardship, there is relief! [Surah Ash-Shrah, verses 5-6] Two for the price of one! How’s that for a deal? So if you find yourself in a position of hardship, ask yourself: What ease am I forgetting? And also, the use of with, shows that the two are so closely related as to be companions–they are together!

Allah says in the Qur’an: الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيمِ مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ You might ask, why do rabb, Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem, and Maalik all have kasra on them? Why not dumma (the default), or fatha? The answer is that, wallahu ‘alim, they are na’at (adjactives) for Allah–words that describe His greatness. For example, Ar-Rahmaan means “the source of mercy” (that’s why, scholars say, you cannot name your son Rahman).

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an: اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ~َ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُه ُُ سِنَة ٌ وَلاَ نَوْم ٌ لَه ُُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ~ُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِه ِِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْء ٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ~ِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَئُودُه ُُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ “Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal.

Truly, Allah is most gracious and merciful to us, but most of us are not thankful. Try the alhamdulillah game – come up with a list of everything we should say alhamdulillah for. Try it with your brother and sister and mother and father and son and daughter. To start,- Alhamdulillah for the fact that Allah gave us the ability to thank and praise Him, yet we could never thank Him enough for what He gave us.

Humankind is witness to the blessings that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has bestowed upon them, yet they look the other way. Humankind is witness to the world and everything in it, yet they deny the very Creator of it. Subhanallah. Narrated Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه): The Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, “Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said: ‘The son of Adam tells a lie against Me, though he hasn’t the right to do so.

I walked by as I noticed a bunch of people moved by music, indulged in gossip, purchased tickets from each other … until I spotted my younger sister, Ayesha. I signed, looking at them, as I commented to her, “…bunch of losers.” “What makes you think they are all losers?” questioned Ayesha. “Well, look at all the things they are indulged in? They’re obviously losers,” I responded, as we both noticed other people carrying on with their activities disapprovingly.

There are many times throughout our daily activities that we do things without clarifying the intention to ourselves. We may buy a new car but end up doing it to raise our status in society or for pride. At the same time though, we may buy a car and do it solely for Allah’s cause, and in this there is good. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an: “So whomsoever does good equal to the wieght of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.

“Be not like those who forgot Allah, as a result Allah caused them to forget themselves, it is they who are the transgressors” – Surah Hashr V.19 A very powerful ayah in the Qur’an, very powerful indeed for those who ponder and reflect upon the words of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). This one ayah speaks to many amongst our ummah in this day and age at the same time shows us the results of their doings.

Inshallah what follows is a small gem from the Qur’an about Maryam (عليها سلام), mother of ‘Isa (عليه سلام). At the end of Surah Tahrim, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: وَمَرْيَمَ ابْنَتَ عِمْرَانَ الَّتِي أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِ وَكَانَتْ مِنَ الْقَانِتِينَ Translation: And Mary the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the Qanitiyn [Surah Tahrim, 66:12]