1. Allah’s favours can be a test too In Surah Yusuf, we see that Yusuf (peace be on him)’s beauty was a test for him. Not only with his brothers, but also with the wife of al-Aziz, who would not have come near him if he was not beautiful. His beauty was a blessing from…
Surah Yusuf is the longest story in the Quran that is all told in one continuous stream. There are other long and detailed stories in the Quran, such as the story of Prophet Musa (peace be on him), but it is split up into many pieces in different surahs. The dangers of hasad One of…
Surah Hud contains the stories of several prophets, including Shuayb (peace be upon him). He said to his people: إِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلَّا ٱلْإِصْلَـٰحَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُ ۚ وَمَا تَوْفِيقِىٓ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِ I want nothing but to set things right as far as I can. My ability to do anything comes from none but Allah. [11:88] There…
In Surat Hud, Allah Almighty mentions different stories from different prophets and messengers, including Nuh, Hud, Salih and Ibrahim (peace be upon them). After the story of Nuh, Allah says to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): تِلۡكَ مِنۡ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ نُوحِيهَآ إِلَيۡكَۖ مَا كُنتَ تَعۡلَمُهَآ أَنتَ وَلَا قَوۡمُكَ مِن قَبۡلِ هَٰذَاۖ فَٱصۡبِرۡۖ إِنَّ ٱلۡعَٰقِبَةَ…
Surah Hud is a Makki surah, revealed during a time when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the early believers were facing intense pressure and rejection. The Quraysh, who prided themselves on their eloquence and mastery of the Arabic language, began questioning the very foundation of the message: Was this Quran truly divine,…
There are two important ayahs at the end of Surah Yunus. The first ayah is: قُلِ ٱنظُرُوا۟ مَاذَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَمَا تُغْنِى ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتُ وَٱلنُّذُرُ عَن قَوْمٍۢ لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ Say, “Look at what is there in the heavens and the earth.” But, signs and warnings do not suffice a people who do not believe….
Surat Yunus contains some extremely beautiful verses: يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَآءٌۭ لِّمَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ وَهُدًۭى وَرَحْمَةٌۭ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ قُلْ بِفَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِۦ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا۟ هُوَ خَيْرٌۭ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ O men, there has come to you an advice from your Lord, and a cure for the ailments of your hearts, and guidance and…
The immense reward of doing good One of the beautiful ayahs in Surah Yunus is: ۞لِّلَّذِينَ أَحۡسَنُواْ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ وَزِيَادَةٞۖ وَلَا يَرۡهَقُ وُجُوهَهُمۡ قَتَرٞ وَلَا ذِلَّةٌۚ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِۖ هُمۡ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ For them who have done good is the best [reward] and extra. No darkness will cover their faces, nor humiliation. Those are companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally (10:26) In this ayah, Allah is talking…
لَقَدۡ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ إِذۡ بَعَثَ فِیهِمۡ رَسُولاً مِّنۡ أَنفُسِهِمۡ یَتۡلُوا۟ عَلَیۡهِمۡ ءَایَـٰتِهِۦ وَیُزَكِّیهِمۡ وَیُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبۡلُ لَفِی ضَلَـٰلࣲ مُّبِین ٍ Indeed, Allah has bestowed a great favour upon the believers by sending them a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His signs, purifies them, and teaches them…
Ayah 122 of Surat at-Tawbah is a very important ayah and a major point of reference for scholars. ۞وَمَا كَانَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُواْ كَآفَّةٗۚ فَلَوۡلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرۡقَةٖ مِّنۡهُمۡ طَآئِفَةٞ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُواْ فِي ٱلدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُواْ قَوۡمَهُمۡ إِذَا رَجَعُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِمۡ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَحۡذَرُونَ, It is not necessary for the believers to march forth all at once. Only a party from each group should march forth, leaving the rest to gain religious knowledge then enlighten their people…
Background to Surat at-Tawbah The name of Surat at-Tawbah comes from the fact that Allah accepted the repentance of three companions who didn’t go to the Battle of Tabuk, despite not having any excuse. These were Murarah ibn Al-Rabi‘, Ka‘b ibn Malik and Hilal ibn Umayyah Surat at-Tawbah talks the most about hypocrites of any…
Surah At-Tawbah discusses hypocrisy more extensively than any other surah in the Quran. Although there is an entire surah named Al-Munafiqun (The Hypocrites), Surah At-Tawbah looks closer at the traits, actions, and consequences of hypocrisy. Allah Almighty says: وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ عَـٰهَدَ ٱللَّهَ لَئِنْ ءَاتَٮٰنَا مِن فَضْلِهِۦ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ فَلَمَّآ ءَاتَٮٰهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦ بَخِلُوا۟…
One of the alternative names of Surat at-Tawbah is al-Fadihah, which means the surah that exposed the hypocrites. This surah talks the most about the attributes of the munafiqeen (hypocrites) more than anywhere else in the Quran, so much so that numerous people have written PhD theses on it. Unfortunately, we can see many munafiqeen…
Surat at-Tawbah is a Madani surah in which Allah talks about Hajj. Hajj was the last of the five pillars of Islam that Allah made obligatory: it was only mandated in the year 9 AH, compared to fasting and zakat in 2 AH, salah being made obligatory 18 months before Hijrah, and of course the…
The unique feature of Surat at-Tawbah Surat at-Tawbah, (sometimes also called al-Bara’ah) is the only surah out of all 114 in the Quran which doesn’t begin with the basmalah. The reason for this has been discussed at length by scholars of the Quran. One opinion is that Surat al-Anfal and Surat at-Tawbah are actually one…