Tazkiyyah

This is post #27 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series).

Allah says, in Surah Al-Burooj:

وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ

وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ

وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ

قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ

Translation: By the sky containing great stars. And [by] the promised Day. And [by] the witness and what is witnessed. Cursed were the companions of the trench. [Surah Al-Buruj, verses 1-4]

The story of Ashaab-ul-Burooj, the People of the Ditch, is pretty well-known; in fact, we have an entire 15-part series on this surah. Check it out insha’Allah.

Allah opens this surahs with testifications. Then he testifies: qutila ashaabul-‘uqdood. ‘uqdood is another word for ditch. Qutila, literally, means “they were killed.” But Ibn Abbaas (radiallahu anhu) said, whenever you read qutila in the Qur’an, it means lu’ina–cursed.

Allah cursed the People of the Ditch. And Allah is not in need of cursing–He can do anything, to anybody, anytime, anywhere. Lu’ina means, they were destroyed.

And they _are_destroyed.

So what great sin did they perpetrate in order to deserve this immense reward–not only being cursed and destroyed, but being documented in the Qur’an, to be recited until the end of time?

Let’s see.

This is post #26 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series).

Surahs are usually named by something unique in their content. But the sun (ash-shams) is mentioned in several surahs; so why is this one called Surah Shams?

Bismillah.

This is a guest post by an author who compiled a wide number of resources related to fasting, reciting Qur’an, and sincerity of intention. This is a great resource of ahadith and ayaat related to fasting. May Allah grant them a great reward (ameen!) and forgive any mistakes I have made in re-formatting it and linking all the sources to their citations.

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah, we’ve been working in the background for a while to launch a new project. Jazakumullahu khayran to everybody who helped out, may Allah keep giving you reward for it insha’Allah long after your bones are dust–allahumma ameen!

First, check yourself, and fill out the poll below:

[poll id=”3″]

If you haven’t guessed, our new project is: Salah Support, a forum where you can find resources on salah–everything from videos on how to pray, to ebooks on khushoo’, to creative alarms for Qiaaym-ul-Layl.

This post is a brief and timely diversion from our tafseer series.

Michael Jackson was one of the most popular and well-known celebrities and icons of the western world; and now, he’s dead. As Muslims, what lessons can we learn from this event? I’ve listed below some of the lessons that came to my mind:

1. Your Life is a Box. The Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) once drew a dot in the sand, and lines radiating out from it; he said (paraphrased), “this is the human, and their plans/desires.” To live forever, to amass huge wealth, to do this or that thing in their life … he (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) then drew a box that cut through those lines, and he said (paraphrased): “This is a human’s life.” No matter what you intend, your goals, your dreams, your hopes, when Allah pulls the plug, He pulls the plug.
2. Your Appointment is Already Scheduled. If anyone would’ve escaped death by virtue of wealth, or status, or love of the people, it would’ve been Jackson–but he didn’t. He was a celebrity, and perhaps one of the top celebrities; and yet, all that did nothing for him–because the appointment with Malik-al-Mawt, the angel of death, cannot be delayed even one second.
3. You Die Doing What You Love. There was a statement (can’t remember the source) that malik al-mawt comes to a person when they’re doing the thing that they love most. If you look historically, you’ll see the validity; and here, too, it happened while Michael Jackson was planning the ultimate comeback. This is a wake-up call to everyone who thinks they’ll repent “later.” Later never comes; and by then, maybe your heart is already sealed from all the sins you accumulated on it. Turn back to Allah NOW. Don’t set yourself up to die in the midst of sins upon sins.
4. One Man Can Make a Difference. Rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) changed the world utterly and completely. Michael Jackson touched the lives of millions of people across the globe. Take heart from it: you, too, can make a difference in the world. So dream big, and have big goals. As Muhammad Alshareef reminded us, the reward is based on the intention–so if you intend huge, massive, amazing good deeds (with a sincere intention to do them–and the proof is in the action you take towards them), then you’ll get the reward insha’Allah, whether you make it or not! How awesome is that?
5. Start Early. One of the things about Michael Jackson is that he started practicing his trade at a very young age; while most people spend their time here and there, very few have the focus and willpower to remain upon one thing for hours upon hours. If you focus, and start early, you can achieve an extremely high degree of proficiency. As one rule of thumb says, it takes 10,000 hours (3.5 years if you work at it 8 hours a day) to become a world-class master. So choose what to work on, and start working on it!
6. Knowledge that Benefits. Rumours spread upon Michael Jackson’s death about whether he’s a Muslim or not; Muslim Matters has several posts on this topic. In the end, this is a lesson that we should learn what benefits us, and leave what doesn’t. Are you going to witness his janaazah personally? Then what difference does it make? The fact that there are still rumours about it, only guarantees that people will spend hours and hours and hours reading about it. (And then we complain that we “don’t have time to read Qur’an,” hmm …)
7. People Forget. At time of writing, it’s been about two and a half weeks since he died. Already, the media coverage is decreasing; within a month, a year, two, ten, hardly anybody will remember him or care anymore. This already happened to so many people before us–scholars, celebrities, scientists, charitable people, even prophets, who had their teachings left behind. So then why are we trying to earn the love of the people? We spend so much time and money and energy on it now, and if we disappear for even a year, we’re forgotten. So strive for the love of Allah instead, because the reward of that has no ending.

Wallahu ta’ala ‘alam. I want to reiterate that these are my personal reflections on this event; regardless, we should take benefit from those things around us, and leave what doesn’t benefit us.

Note: This is post #20 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series).

In Surah Kafiroon, Allah says:

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ

لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ

وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ

وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ

وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ

Translation: Say, “O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.” [Surah Kafiroon]

The mushrikeen (polytheists) of Mecca tried many, many different techniques to get the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) to stop spreading Islam.

Before this ayah was revealed, they decided to make a pact with him. They said, “Look, how about this–you worship our gods for one year, and we’ll worship your God for one year.” And to sweeten the deal: “And, we’ll go first.”

And they applied the Broken Record technique. Whenever the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) would try to speak to them about Islam, they would only repeat this.

And he, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, refused.

Those of you who are wondering why–although it seems on the surface like a fair trade, it’s not. Allah does not forgive shirk, worshipping other than him; not even a single sujood, or a single du’a, none of it is acceptable.

So clearly, this is not a contract the Messenger of Allah could engage with. So he refused.

And he refused.

And he refused.

Then, the Mushrikeen said, “ok, how about this–just speak highly of our gods, and we’ll do the same for you.” A smaller compromise.

And whenever people approached them, they would say, “Well, we’re trying to compromise (like we’re the good ones in this deal–even though we kill our daughters and murder on whims and …), but he’s not agreeing.”

So the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) went to the ka’bah.

Mushrikeen were there. And in front of everybody he said:

Note: This is post #19 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series).

In Surah Ma’oon, Allah says:

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ

الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ

وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ

Translation: So woe to those who pray; those who are heedless of their prayer, those who make show [of their deeds]; And withhold [simple] assistance (al-ma’oon). [Surah Ma’oon, verses 4-7]

Allah says, “so woe to those who pray.” Don’t stop at this ayah! People who pray are not cursed by Allah! Allah continues: those who show off in their prayer, …

Note: This is post #18 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series). Insha’Allah we’ll be kicking up the post frequency to three times a week in order to finish before Ramadan.

Allah says, in Surah Ma’oon:

أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ

فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ

Translation: Have you seen the one who denies the Repayment? For that is the one who drives away the orphan, and does not encourage the feeding of the poor. [Surah Ma’oon, verses 1-3]

Notice the connection here–verse one, the one who denies Ad-Deen, the Day of Repayment. And verse two and three? He drives away orphans, He doesn’t encourage feeding of the poor.

It’s not that he doesn’t feed the poor. It’s that he doesn’t encourange feeding the poor.

Note: This is post #17 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series).

Allah says, in Surah At-Takaathur:

أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ

حَتَّى زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ

Translation: Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you, until you visit the graveyards. [Surah At-Takaathur, verses 1-2]

Subhanallah, even though these verses were revealed over 1400 years ago, we still see the exact same situation today. Al-Haakum means, it makes you compete with each other. At-Takaathur is rivalry, competition, in accumulating material things; thinking that life is about toys, and the one with the most (or most expensive) toys wins.

What is Takaathur?

Note: this is our 12th post in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.

Insha’Allah in this post, we’re going to discuss three points:

1. The close relationship between Allah and His prophet
2. A glimpse of Paradise
3. A core theme of social services in Islam

The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) received revelation prior to Surah Duhaa. Then for a while, nothing. Umm Jameelah, the wife of Abu Lahab, came to him and said: “I hope your shaytaan has finally left you.” Because the Arabs used to say, if someone was really good at something, that they had a shaytaan helping them. (No doubt like some of the musicians today.)

Still nothing came. The people began to talk … and they said, maybe his Lord has left him. Maybe He has abandoned him.

And so Allah revealed:

In Surah Duhaa, Allah says:

وَالضُّحَى

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى

مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى

Translation: By duhaa (the morning brightness after Fajr), and [by] the night when it covers with darkness, your Lord has not taken leave of you, [O Muúammad], nor has He detested [you].

[This hadith is found in Bukhari and Muslim, and is quoted in Tafseer ibn Katheer]

This shows us two things: first, that the people knew when revelation came; that it was a big deal, and everybody knew about it. And second, the immense love of Allah for His prophet. How close their relationship–that even something as small as this stress, Allah revealed verses on behalf of the prophet, to reassure him. Subhanallah!

What’s more, Allah swears by duhaa–by the brightness of the day right after the sun has come up–and by the night, as it covers up the day with darkness. (This shows the greatness of these creations–that Allah swears by them. Who would deny these things? Nobody!)