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…
Allah’s love for those who are committed to Him إِنَّ ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ سَیَجۡعَلُ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ وُدࣰّا Surely, those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them the All-Merciful (Allah) will give love. [Maryam, 19:96] This ayah is a very unique ayah in the Quran in which Allah talks about His love (mawaddah) for…
Brotherhood – To take a friend as a brother for Allah’s sake. Al-Okhuwwah is ‘taking brothers’ for Allah’s sake. This is a very interesting topic and scholars talk about it a great deal. In Imam Ghazali’s Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, The Forty Principles of the Religion, his last section on how to deal with…
General wilayah General wilayah is the closeness to Allah of anyone who always prays on time. He is among the awliya‘ (those close to Allah). This is known as general wilayah. This is a strong incentive to pray on time and be in the routine of never missing salah. This is good news for all…
Abu Hurairah May Allah be pleased with him reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: قَالَ اللَّهَ تعالى:”مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْحَرْبِ وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَمَا يَزَالُ عَبْدِي يَتَقَرَّبُ إِلَيَّ بِالنَّوَافِلِ حَتَّى أُحِبَّهُ فَإِذَا أَحْبَبْتُهُ كُنْتُ سَمْعَهُ الَّذِي يَسْمَعُ بِهِ وَبَصَرَهُ الَّذِي يُبْصِرُ…
Main principles in Islam: Know Allah (part 3) What does it mean to know Allah, love Allah, and call on Allah? What does remembering Him entail? Obligation to know Allah Knowing Allah is an obligation for every human. We know this but we need to dig deeper for it to impact our lives. In his…
Who are the Closest to Allah? Gifts from the Unseen to those Allah Loves So, her Lord accepted her, a good acceptance, and made her grow, a good growth, and made Zakariyya her guardian. Whenever Zakariyya visited her at the place of worship, he found food with her. 10 He said: ‘Maryam, from…