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…
Allah Almighty said: ‘And do not crave what Allah has given some of you over others.’ [4:32] In this ayah of Surat an-Nisa, Allah is addressing the very common disease of hasad, envy. For example, if someone is not happy with the division of inheritance that was laid out earlier in the surah, this stems…
Surat al-Baqarah contains so much wisdom that it’s difficult to know where to start talking about it! As well as being the longest surah, it also contains the longest ayah in the Quran (Ayat ad-Dayn, which is about debt) and the best ayah, which is the Ayat al-Kursi. Bani Israil There are 115 ayahs about…
Surah Muhammad is a Madani surah, so it has different characteristics compared to the previous Makki surahs. Madani surahs are full of rulings – prohibition of this, permissibility of that – and they also address the new phenomenon which cropped up in Madinah, that didn’t exist in Makkah, which was hypocrisy (nifaq). Makki surahs only…
Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : مَنْ تَعَاظَمَ في نَفْسِهِ، واخْتَال في مِشْيَتِهِ، لَقيَ اللهَ وهُوَ عليهِ غَضْبَانُ. ‘Whoever exalts himself and walks proudly, Allah will be…
Allah Almighty mentions in the Quran in different surahs, and on different occasions the continuous fight between truth and falsehood, since Adam was sent down to earth. There has been a battle between shaytan and his followers and Adam and his offspring, which will continue till the Day of Judgement. Every Friday, we read Surat…
Imam Ghazali’s book, Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, ‘The Forty Principles of the Religion,’ which he wrote before his death, is a summary of Ihya Ulumuddin, and his life’s works and thoughts. In the section on purification of the heart, Ghazali mentions 10 principles. Pride (kibr) is the eighth principle and Ghazali proposes how to…
Imam Ghazali’s book, Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, ‘The Forty Principles of the Religion,’ which he wrote before his death, is a summary of Ihya Ulumuddin, and his life’s works and thoughts. Envy is a fire that devours your account Envy is the fourth disease which effects the heart. The Prophet (peace be on him): Hasad eats…
Emily Bronte, in Wuthering Heights, noted the damaging impact that anger can have on those around us, as well as how self-destructive anger itself is. She said: ‘Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends, they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies’ We are all familiar with the Marvel figure…
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘There are three signs of a hypocrite; when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he betrays his trust.’ [Bukhari and Muslim] In another narration as well, in…
Anas (may Allah be please with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: By Him in whose hand is my soul, a servant of Allah does not believe perfectly till he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. This is a very important and well-known hadith. What the Prophet (peace…
Towards the end of Surat al Qasas, Allah Almighty mentions the story of Qarun. He says: Indeed Qarun was from the people of Musa – he then oppressed them; and We gave him so many treasures that their keys were a heavy burden for a strong group; when his people said to him, “Do not…
The Prophet (peace be on him) said: ‘He will not be admitted to Jannah, the one who has in his heart an atom’s weight of pride.’ A man asked the Prophet (peace be on him): ‘We like to have beautiful dresses and shoes. Is it out of pride? Will this be classified under kibr?’…
Envy – the Destroyer of Contentment Ill effects of envy on society Envy is said to be the roots of many diseases of the heart, originally displayed by the accursed Shai’tan. It shows up time and again in many of the social ills we have prevalent in our society like tale bearing, backbiting, slander, hatred,…