In Surat al-Jathiya, Allah Almighty says: ‘Have you seen him who has taken his desires as his god? Allah has let him go astray knowingly, and has sealed his hearing and his heart, and covered his eyes.’ [45:23] This ayah is addressing the issue of following your whims and desires, and treating them like your…
The earth where you do good deeds will miss you when you pass away. And not just your space in the mosque – at your work, in school, in the hospital, wherever you were active in doing good things. But if you didn’t do good deeds, the earth will not miss you and the heavens and earth will not weep for you.
Be sure to be among those whom the heavens and earth will weep for when you die. Leave a good legacy behind. We ask Allah to make our words and deeds righteous. Ameen.
Allah mentions the story of Musa and Firaun again and again in different surahs throughout the Quran. In Surat az-Zukhruf, we have the part of the story where Allah Almgihty talks about the relationship between Firaun and his people. ‘So he [Firaun] fooled his people, and they followed him. They were truly a sinful people.’…
The Quran is a soul In the last two verses of Surat ash-Shura, Allah describes the Quran: وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ رُوحٗا مِّنۡ أَمۡرِنَاۚ مَا كُنتَ تَدۡرِي مَا ٱلۡكِتَٰبُ وَلَا ٱلۡإِيمَٰنُ وَلَٰكِن جَعَلۡنَٰهُ نُورٗا نَّهۡدِي بِهِۦ مَن نَّشَآءُ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَاۚ وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهۡدِيٓ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٖ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ And thus We have revealed to you a revelation (ruhan) of Our command. You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith, but We have made it a light by which We guide whom…
One of the special features of Ramadan is ei’tikaf, which is going into seclusion to worship Allah Almighty. It is the sunnah to go into seclusion in the last ten days of Ramadan, as the Prophet (peace be on him) used to do and his wives continued do ei’tikaf in the mosque and continued this…
Don’t appoint yourself as God Among of the verses of Surat ash-Shura, Allah Almighty says: ‘Or do they have partner gods who have prescribed for them some other religion, which Allah did not permit?’ [42:21] Allah is talking about a common phenomenon in any community – those who are corrupting and changing what has been…
The first ten days of Ramadan have whizzed by and we await the next tens days and then the final ten. Alhamdulillah we have fasted and the most important thing is that Allah has accepted it from us. United Ramadan is a special month which Allah has given us and fasting was prescribed to believers…
Verses of healing Among the verses in Surah Fussilat, Allah Almighty describes the Quran, ‘It is a guidance and a healing for those who believe.’ [41:44] Allah is saying that the Quran is a book of guidance for the heart and mind, as well as a book of shifa – healing and cure. Scholars have…
In Surah Fussilat we have the stories of Ad and Thamud, two Arab tribes who were demolished. This is a Makki surah, and it shows the struggle to penetrate a community as it always entrenched in its existing customs, cultures, and idol worshipping. Allah is telling us this story of previous nation as a reminder….
The widespread exclusion of women from mosques There is a very strong and prevalent view that a woman’s place is in the home, and also by extension that her place to pray is in the home. Consequently, women are barred from entering many mosques in UK and in other parts of the world. Quite often…
What can we do when we are stressed? Four coping mechanisms to dealing with pressure.
The first principle of Islam is monotheism – to know Allah Almighty, His attributes, His beautiful names and so on and to this end we have been getting acquainted with Allah Almighty through His attributes from a chapter in the book, Shajarat al Maarif by Imam Al-Izz bin Abdus Salam. He talks about how we…
Surat Ghafir contains part of the story of Musa and Firaun. This is the most repeated story in the Quran, and when you read it over and over again, from different angles in different surahs, you start to notice a pattern. Truth vs falsehood Allah has repeated this story for many reasons. One of those…
One of the ayahs in Surat Az-Zumar is: ‘Every soul will be rewarded according to their actions.’ [39:70] Nothing is wasted, everything is written and recorded. The surah also says: ‘The best reward is for those who work hard.’ [39:74] Notice however, that in the hadith, the Prophet (peace be on him) said: …None of…
The word Zumar, from Surat Az-Zumar means ‘the crowds’, because Allah Almighty talks about two groups in this surah. ‘Those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in crowds… And those who were mindful of their Lord will be led to Paradise in crowds.’ [39:71,73] Who are the righteous people? In another of the verses…