Stories Of The Prophets In The Qur'an

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

When Allah tells us stories of the Prophets in the Qur'an, it is neither a story to entertain us, nor they are meant to be bedtime stories that we read to our children and they fall asleep with it. It is meant to guide us in our journey to Him. If we want to take a straight path, then we should reflect on these stories and learn from them.

We cannot learn from the stories if we don't know what is being read/said. So knowledge is key. If you don't know Arabic, learn it and meanwhile read a good translation and a good tafsir. Even if you know Arabic, you also should read a good tafsir for deep understanding. You don't have to read the entire book in one day or one week like you would read a best selling novel. Suffice to start with a few pages a day, contemplate and act upon the advice and guidance in your life.

According to the saying of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "The best actions are continuous ones, even if they are slight."

From one day to the next, from one year to the next, if you are continuous and consistent in your works, it all add up; you increase your knowledge, and if you act upon what you know, it will make you a better servant of Allah and a better human, and keep you on a straight path, the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked His anger or of those who are astray.

Busy yourself with the good, and you will find that the bad will leave you faster than you could ever imagine.

Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, from what he reported from his Lord Mighty and Exalted, that Allah said,

When a servant comes towards Me a hand-span, I go an arm-length towards him. When he comes towards Me an arm-length, I go a fathom towards him. When he comes towards Me walking, I go towards him running.

[Bukhari]

Remember, if you don't busy yourselves with good, you will busy yourselves with bad. An intelligent person will choose what benefit them, which is what is good. And what benefit us most are works for the Hereafter. Why? Because our lives in the Hereafter is for eternity.

Prophet Nuh alayhissalaam remained with his people for 950 years in difficulty and hard work to bring his contemporaries to believe and obey Allah. In spite of this long period, his contemporaries failed to listen, and they were destroyed. The story of the Ark remains an everlasting sign and warning to mankind--a sign of deliverance to the righteous and of destruction to the wicked.

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦ فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًا فَأَخَذَهُمُ ٱلطُّوفَانُ وَهُمْ ظَـٰلِمُونَ ﴿١٤

And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years, and the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers.

(14) [Qur'an Ankabut 29:14]

Note in the word years: In the English translation, you can’t really notice the difference in the word, but there are actually two different words in Arabic--

"...A thousand years (sana سَنَةٍ) minus fifty years (‘aam عَامًا)"

Both mean year, but usually in the Qur’an, when two synonyms appear in the same sentence, there is normally a key difference being highlighted between them.

One interesting view is that sana generally indicates a year of difficulty, hard work and hardship whereas ‘aam usually indicates a year of ease and goodness or blessing.

This is a glimpse of the beauty of the language of the Arabs. If you only read the Qur'an in English or recite the Qur'an without knowing Arabic, one miss out on experiencing the beautiful and powerful meanings of Allah's Speech.

May Allah make us among the righteous and those who He is pleased with and grant us with a sound understanding of the Qur'an. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam