13
Aug 2020

Allah Almighty says; On the Day when every soul will come pleading for itself, and every soul will be paid in full for what it has done, and they will not be wronged. An-Nahl:111 Allah is here giving us a glimpse of the unseen, there are many things which will happen on that day and this is one of them. Ibn Abbas said: While Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) stood up to deliver a sermon, he said: O people, Allah would make you assemble barefooted, naked and uncircumcised (and then recited the words of......
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10
Aug 2020

Allah Almighty says, God commands justice, and goodness, and generosity towards relatives. And He forbids immorality, and injustice, and oppression. He advises you, so that you may take heed. An-Nahl:90 This particular verse, Abdullah bin Mas’ud said, is the most comprehensive in the Quran. It contains three commands and three prohibitions- justice (adl), goodness (ihsan) and generosity to relatives (eta dhil Qurba). It forbids immorality (fahsha’), evil (munkar) and oppression (baghi). Justice is one of the most important principles in Islam. It’s a universal principle and among the seven categories who will......
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06
Aug 2020

Allah Almighty says, Whatever blessing you have is from God. And when harm touches you, it is to Him that you groan. An-Nahl:53 In this verse we see Allah Almighty is confirming the obvious – which is not always obvious to us! All the blessings we have are from Allah but we often overlook them. Now with the pandemic and lockdown, we can see many of our favours more clearly. Whatever you have is not the result of your own brain and muscles, it is only from Allah’s support. Though you may......
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03
Aug 2020

Verses of the Qur’an revealed in Makkah challenge the intellect and are a wake up call for thinkers whose minds have been buried in the sand of culture, materialism and worldly concerns. The following verses are calling for independent thinking; pondering the creation of the heavens and the earth, the water which falls from the sky and which produces vegetation, without which we cannot survive. We also have the alternation of the day and night, the subjugation of the moon and the stars and the sun too. All these signs are challenging the......
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30
Jul 2020

Allah Almighty commanded Iblis to prostrate to Adam (peace be upon him) but he refused. The first sin was arrogance. Although the worst sin is to believe Allah Almighty has partners, Iblis did not commit shirk; it was arrogance which lead to Iblis being expelled from paradise. The details of the story are based on the first rejection of Allah’s command. Allah Almighty says, O Satan, what kept you from being among those who prostrated themselves? Al-Hijr:32 He said, I am not about to prostrate myself before a human being, whom You created......
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27
Jul 2020

Every verse in the Qur’an has plenty of lessons. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is saying: Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a valley of no vegetation, by Your Sacred House, our Lord, so that they may perform the prayers. So make the hearts of some people incline towards them, and provide them with fruits, that they may be thankful. Ibrahim:37 Ibrahim is commanded here to leave his wife and new born in the middle of a barren valley with only the Sacred House. The sacrifice he......
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24
Jul 2020

Allah Almighty says ; There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Beneficent as a slave. Maryam 19:93 And each one of them will come unto Him on the Day of Resurrection, alone. Maryam:95 No matter what position, wealth, bodyguards, throne or shield anyone has in this world, no one will come but as a slave, alone, on the Day of Judgement. The only thing we will all have are our deeds. Everything else will vanish. Allah gives comfort to believers. He says: Lo! those who believe and......
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24
Jul 2020

Maryam and the tree Why did Maryam AS have fruits from the unseen but had to shake the tree during her delivery? Maryam AS was not the same before and after her pregnancy. Before her pregnancy her heart was purely attached to Allah. And He provided her rizq from the unseen without her having to lift a finger. Her Lord accepted her with a gracious reception, and brought her a beautiful upbringing, and entrusted her to the care of Zechariah. Whenever Zechariah entered upon her in the sanctuary, he found her with......
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24
Jul 2020

Surah Kahf was revealed in Makkah. The reason behind the revelation was that Quraysh wanted to refute the message, so they sent two of their leaders to the Jewish tribe in Madina to ask about the truth of the Prophet’s message (peace be upon him). Was he a real prophet or not? They told Quraysh to ask him three questions and these would show whether he was authentic or not. They asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the people of the cave, and about Dhul Qarnain, a leader who has......
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24
Jul 2020

Allah Almighty says, And nothing has prevented Us from sending signs except that the former peoples denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel as a visible sign, but they wronged her. And We send not the signs except as a warning. Al-Isra:59 Allah Almighty is saying that He sent signs as warnings. This pandemic is a sign from Allah. It’s a very strong sign that something you can’t see and can’t fight, shoot or kill has confounded all the world’s leaders, politicians and scientists. They cannot do anything. Is it not......
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20
Jul 2020

Allah Almighty talks about specific criteria for specific people. Is he who knows that what was revealed to your from your Lord is the truth, like him who is blind? Only those who reason will remember. Those who fulfill the promise to God, and do not violate the agreement. And those who join what God has commanded to be joined, and fear their Lord, and dread the dire reckoning. And those who patiently seek the presence of their Lord, and pray regularly, and spend from Our provisions to them, secretly and openly,......
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09
Jul 2020

At the end of Surah Yusuf Allah Almighty mentioned that victory comes when you are tested to the limit. Until, when the messengers have despaired, and thought that they were rejected, Our help came to them. We save whomever We will, and Our severity is not averted from the guilty people. Yusuf:110 There are similar verses in the Quran that highlight that victory comes when it comes to the crunch. The point at which you feel you cannot bear it any more and you are poised on a knife edge between winning......
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09
Jul 2020

The bitter pill There are still many lessons in this surah. There is a long catalogue of troubles and trials that befell Yusuf (peace be upon him). Our perception is that these are all negative – from being thrown in the well to being falsely accused and imprisoned. Yet all these bitter events and challenges and different levels of suffering and patience and taqwa, lead him to becoming the ruler of Egypt. This story always reminds me of the ayah where Allah Almighty says; But it may be that you dislike something......
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09
Jul 2020

Temptations The trials and tests Yusuf (peace be upon him) endured during his life as a child and afterwards are well known to us. She in whose house he was living tried to seduce him. She shut the doors, and said, “I am yours.” He said, “God forbid! He is my Lord. He has given me a good home. Sinners never succeed.” Yusuf:23 Among these, Allah Almighty mentioned in detail, how this woman tried to seduce him and said, ‘I’m yours’. This was a very difficult situation – alone with her, with......
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