Tazkiyyah

This is post #36 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). In Surah Humazah, Allah (‘azza wa jal) says: وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُّمَزَةٍ Translation: Woe to every scorner (humazah) and mocker (lumazah). [Surah Al-Humaza, verse 1]. As we mentioned many, many times before in this series, wayl is a curse. And when Allah says wayl about someone, it’s not a curse, but a statement of reality–because He, ‘azza wa jal, is not in need of cursing anyone.

Umar (RA) passed by a garbage dump and stopped there, and it was as if his companions were bothered by it (the smell). He said [… full story at the end…] What would you think of someone who goes for umra on a 1 week trip. He goes there, buys a car, clothes, house, grocery, ….. He even takes dollars with him and doesn’t exchange them into local currency! We would think that something is wrong with that person.

Imagine this. You are speeding on the road. The police officer catches you, pulls you over and gives you a speeding ticket. What would your reaction be, next time you are driving especially driving through the same road. You would naturally slow down! Or you are stealing from your prayer (i.e. racing through it), you glance over and it seems like your friends might be looking at you. Your reaction…. In these and in countless other situations, we refrain from doing bad because we fear that we might be caught or someone might be looking at us.

Why not despair? The Islamic meaning of sabr is to stop ourselves from despairing and panicking, to stop our tongues from complaining, and to stop our hands from striking our faces and tearing our clothes at times of grief and stress. To have _sabr_ is to first realize within your own heart that a) there is a god that exists b) that this god is worthy of all my worship c) that this god is indeed characterized by attributes of perfectness and majesty, which can only be ascribed to god and no other.

So who’s down for a party this Saturday? Let’s do it! Meet at the closest masjid near your house at 7:45pm. Forget about these kiddish Halloween parties, be a person of dignity and honour, be amongst the party of Allah. وَيُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ أُوْلَئِكَ حِزْبُ اللَّهِ أَلَا إِنَّ حِزْبَ اللَّهِ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ And We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally.

This is post #34 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). The CN Tower, 150 stories high. Fa laa iqtahamaa al-aqabah. Continuing our discussion of Surah Balad, Allah (‘azza wa jal) says: أَلَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُ عَيْنَيْنِ وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ وَهَدَيْنَاهُ النَّجْدَيْنِ Translation: Have We not made for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And have shown him the two ways?

This is post #33 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). This is the first of two posts on the tafseer of Surah Balad. Allah says: لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَذَا الْبَلَدِ Translation: I swear by this city (Makkah) … [Surah Balad, verse 1] “Laa uqsim” literally means, “I will not swear by.” in Arabic language, it means “this thing is so truthful, I almost don’t even have to swear by it.

Bismillah This is a translation from the original article in Arabic. 1- It is a cause to receive the Love of Allah azza wa jal. The Most High says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves. (2:222) 2- It is a cause of success. The Most High says: وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ And all of you beg Allah to forgive you, O believers, that you may be successful.

Eid Mubarak! As the sahaba would tell each other: May Allah accept our good deeds and your good deeds (from Ramadan). Ameen! Ramadan is still fresh in your mind; the long days of fasting, the pain in your legs and back from taraweeh, and most of all, that biting regret that you didn’t do enough. Would you like to make the next Ramadan even better? With only five minutes worth of effort?

Ramadan is coming to a close. Like the last half-kilometer of a 10km race, the finish-line is in sight. This is the time to pull out all the stops and to sprint, flat-out. This is the time when Laylatul-Qadar, the night where deeds are multiplied by more than one thousand, hides. Are you ready for it? Maybe you felt like Ramadan breezed by. Maybe you felt like you didn’t do enough.