بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
One of the highlights of Friday to the Muslim is reciting Surah Al-Kahf. In it there are many valuable lessons and reminders for all of us. Allah tells us at the beginning of the Surah,
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ ﴿١﴾ قَيِّمًا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا ﴿٢﴾ مَّـٰكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا ﴿٣
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. (1) [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward (2) In which they will remain forever (3) [Quran, Al-Kahf 18:1-3]
The word: عِوَجَا('iwaja) means crookedness of any kind, or inclination towards one side or deviation from the norms of rectitude. The Quran remains pure and free of all that in terms of the perfection of its words and meanings. It simply admits of no distortion anywhere, either in eloquence or in knowledge and wisdom. The sense which has been conveyed in a negative form through: وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا (and has not made therein any deviance) has been fortified positively through the word: قَيِّمًا (qayyima) which follows immediately for emphasis. The reason is that this word carries the sense of: مستقيما (mustaqim) and that which is: مستقيم (mustaqim: straightforward, straight, upright) will not have the least crookedness or tilt towards any side. However, قيم (qayyim) can also have another sense, that of caretaker, custodian and protector. Given this probability, the sense of the expression would be that the Quran, while perfect in itself as free from all kinds of excess, deficiency, deviance and crookedness, keeps others upright, firm and unflinching and protects the interests and advantages of all servants of Allah. Thus the gist of the two expressions would be that the Quran stands perfect in itself and has the ability to make men and women created by Allah become equally perfect. [Mazhari]
May Allah enable us to recite the entire Surah Al-Kahf every Friday until the end of our lives in this world and grant us the benefits of the reciting it and show us the depths of it and enable us to apply the lessons to our lives in the manner most pleasing to Him. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
Friday, July 27, 2018
Friday, July 6, 2018
Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- The Gardens of Paradise: How To Get There?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
In Surah Al-Kahf, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala tells us very clearly who will have the Gardens of Paradise -- those who have believed and done righteous deeds. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا ﴿١٠٧﴾ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا ﴿١٠٨
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging, (107) Wherein they abide eternally. They will not desire from it any transfer. (108) [Quran, Al-Kahf 18:107-108]
أَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَلَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ نُزُلًۢا بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٩
In Surah As-Sajdah, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala repeats the same kind of people who will enter the Gardens.
أَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَلَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ نُزُلًۢا بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٩
As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, for them will be the Gardens of Refuge as accommodation for what they used to do. [Quran, As-Sajdah 32:19]
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala also tells us about the believers in these verses:
إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهَا خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًا وَسَبَّحُوا۟ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۩ ﴿١٥﴾ تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ﴿١٦
Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant. (15) They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend. (16) [Quran, As-Sajda 32:15-17]
How do we build this relationship with Allah?
Everything starts with little things. We don't turn into a spiritual sage overnight. We have to instill certain healthy practices into our life that allow us to build a relationship with Allah.
First, do no harm. Do no harm to others and do no harm to others. Don't kill yourself spiritually with illicit relationship and other disobedience. Don't watch filth. Don't use foul language and don't be in company who use bad language. Don't backbite and slander people. If you harm yourself and others, your heart is damaged and that will push you further away from Allah.
Second, make small adhkar. Don't wait. Start with reading some Quran everyday. Recite the du'as that associated with daily actions that we do, like the du'a leaving and entering the house, eating, drinking, putting on clothes, entering and leaving the bathroom, etc. If you can instill 4 or 5 of these daily du'as everyday that is associated with daily actions anyway, you will feel closer to Allah that you have never felt in shaa Allah. All you have to do is to be cognizant of the fact that you are talking to Allah. You are making this du'a not because it is a subconscious habit but you are actually talking to Allah. You will notice a significance difference of how you feel about Allah and how you remember Allah. If you don't this, you will find very hard to think about Allah, to converse with Allah in salah (prayer) because God is too abstract a concept to you. This simple du'as that was taught by the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is a very easy way to get a head start in spirituality and to develop that for ourselves.
If there is one thing that you should be enthusiatic in memorizing is du'as. The entire salah is considered a du'a. Memorize the ayat of the Quran that has du'a in them and recite them in your salah. Memorize Surah Al-Kahf and recite it every Friday. Make this your project in the next month or so.
May Allah make us and our children of the righteous and grant us righteous deeds and the highest Paradise. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
In Surah Al-Kahf, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala tells us very clearly who will have the Gardens of Paradise -- those who have believed and done righteous deeds. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا ﴿١٠٧﴾ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا ﴿١٠٨
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging, (107) Wherein they abide eternally. They will not desire from it any transfer. (108) [Quran, Al-Kahf 18:107-108]
أَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَلَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ نُزُلًۢا بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٩
In Surah As-Sajdah, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala repeats the same kind of people who will enter the Gardens.
أَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَلَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ نُزُلًۢا بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٩
As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, for them will be the Gardens of Refuge as accommodation for what they used to do. [Quran, As-Sajdah 32:19]
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala also tells us about the believers in these verses:
إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهَا خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًا وَسَبَّحُوا۟ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۩ ﴿١٥﴾ تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ﴿١٦
Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant. (15) They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend. (16) [Quran, As-Sajda 32:15-17]
How do we build this relationship with Allah?
Everything starts with little things. We don't turn into a spiritual sage overnight. We have to instill certain healthy practices into our life that allow us to build a relationship with Allah.
First, do no harm. Do no harm to others and do no harm to others. Don't kill yourself spiritually with illicit relationship and other disobedience. Don't watch filth. Don't use foul language and don't be in company who use bad language. Don't backbite and slander people. If you harm yourself and others, your heart is damaged and that will push you further away from Allah.
Second, make small adhkar. Don't wait. Start with reading some Quran everyday. Recite the du'as that associated with daily actions that we do, like the du'a leaving and entering the house, eating, drinking, putting on clothes, entering and leaving the bathroom, etc. If you can instill 4 or 5 of these daily du'as everyday that is associated with daily actions anyway, you will feel closer to Allah that you have never felt in shaa Allah. All you have to do is to be cognizant of the fact that you are talking to Allah. You are making this du'a not because it is a subconscious habit but you are actually talking to Allah. You will notice a significance difference of how you feel about Allah and how you remember Allah. If you don't this, you will find very hard to think about Allah, to converse with Allah in salah (prayer) because God is too abstract a concept to you. This simple du'as that was taught by the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is a very easy way to get a head start in spirituality and to develop that for ourselves.
If there is one thing that you should be enthusiatic in memorizing is du'as. The entire salah is considered a du'a. Memorize the ayat of the Quran that has du'a in them and recite them in your salah. Memorize Surah Al-Kahf and recite it every Friday. Make this your project in the next month or so.
May Allah make us and our children of the righteous and grant us righteous deeds and the highest Paradise. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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