Monthly Archives: October 2008

Qur’an vs Kitaab

October 30, 2008 – 8:12 pm

Bismillah

The two most common names for the Book of Allah are: Qur’an and Kitaab.

We learn when studying the Qur’an that even the words chosen are a revelation from Allah with divine wisdom. So, in that case, what do these two names mean and what is the difference between them?

The word ‘Qur’an’ is said to be from two roots, one of them qaaf-ra-hamza, this root qara’a means to recite. So Qur’an would be: the Recital.

On the other hand, the word ‘Kitaab’ is from kaaf-ta-ba which means something that is written.

If we look in the Qur’an, we see that Allah ta’ala uses different words to point to it:

ذَ‌ٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ

That is the book! (2:2)

إِنَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ

Indeed this Qur’an. (27:76)

Why does Allah azza wa jal use ‘thaalika’ for Kitaab and ‘haatha’ for Qur’an?

Thaalika is a word that is used to point to something far. The meaning of kitaab again is something WRITTEN, and the Kitaab’s ultimate written location is Lawh al Mahfoodh (The Preserved Tablet) with Allah ta’ala, so Allah ta’ala uses thaalika to point to it because it is with Him above the seven heavens.

Haatha is used to point to something that is close. The meaning of Qur’an is something that is recited, the recitation is taking place HERE, so Allah ta’ala uses a closer pointing word.

How about this ayah?

وَهَذَا كِتَابٌ

and this is a Book. (6:92) Allah ta’ala uses haatha (the close pointing word) for Kitaab. This is one place in the Qur’an where Allah ta’ala uses haatha to point to the Kitaab…What’s the connection?

At the time of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, the Qur’an was not written as a book that we have nowadays…but of course Allah azza wa jal KNEW it would be in a book form one day, so He azza wa jal said: this book, pointing to it as if it was close.

But to keep the rank and status of the Qur’an, and to dispel any doubts that it was written by a man, Allah ta’ala says right after:

وَهَذَا كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ

And this is a Book, We have sent it down. (6:92)

SubhanAllah!

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Arabic, Gems, Qur'an | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

The Reasons Behind Seasons

October 23, 2008 – 5:03 pm

Bismillah.

Why did Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) create seasons? All of this–snow, leaves changing, hot summer days and freezing winter nights. In some countries–like Canada, and the US–you have places where Isha time starts around 11pm, or 12am (midnight), and Fajr starts arond 2-3am! You also have days where Isha starts at 6pm, and Fajr starts around 7am.

What can we learn from this?

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) gives this away when he narrates: “Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) made the night short so you can pray, and the day short so you can fast.”

Think about it! Have you ever fasted those long, hot summer days–days that are a shadow of the Day of Resurrection? Sure you have! But what about praying Tahajjud, when the night lasts only 3-4 hours? That’s easy! You don’t even have to sleep and wake up, you can even stay up a couple of hours and enter the blessed last third of the night, when Ar-Rahman (سبحانه وتعالى) descends!

But try praying Qiyam the long, cold winter nights. It’s tough–Isha is at 6pm. By the time you get home, eat, relax, etc. it’s already almost 11pm or midnight; try waking up early and you can’t! But how about fasting the short winter days, when the fast lasts only 8-9 hours? Easy! (Getting up a bit earlier to pray Tahajjud before Fajr is easy, too!)

So fast the short winter days, and pray in the long summer days–these are the two extremities where times are short and the deeds are easy.

And it’s not a loophole–Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) designed the universe like this for this exact reason! It’s in the above hadith! So take advantage of it!

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to become people of Tahajjud and Sawm and to get these deeds accepted by Him throughout our lives, ameen!

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Gems, Ibadah, Islam, Salaah, Sawm, Tazkiyyah | Comments (2)

Breaking News

October 17, 2008 – 5:36 pm

The news is out. Its a BIG one. Media won’t broadcast it. People wouldn’t talk about it. The most deadly serial killer is out after a month of imprisonment. He is back to take the revenge. He could in in your neighbourhood right now. To make it worse, he could be in your house with you eating and drinking right now! He is very dedicated, clever, motivated and doesn’t leave behind any traces! Who is he? What does he want? What crimes has he commited? How does he do it?

Who is he?

He is your biggest enemy Satan, out from his imprisonment, ready to mislead and take revenge from the sons and daughters of Adam. He wouldn’t stop until he carries all of us with him to the hell fire. He hates all of us. Let us study his profile:

  • He is working 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. No rest. Non stop. He is plotting and working against YOU all the time even while you are sleeping, eating, drinking, praying, having fun – all of the time. Find out how you can protect yourself from him while sleeping (see hadith#530)
  • He has experience of thousands and thousands of years working full time to deceive and mislead the humanity.
  • He has his whole army waging WAR against the mankind
  • He has a dedicated battlefield where he distracts people and causes lots of fitnah. This is the marketplace and this is why reciting this dua has many rewards
  • He and his army attack you from all directions not just through navy, airforce and ground forces and their weapons are even more deadlier than machine guns, F16s, submarines and what not
  • Lets look at some of the case studies to analyze his techniques, patterns and war strategies:
    • His first clients were our own great grand father Adam (AS) and mother Hawa(AS) when he was able to trick them into eating from the forbidden tree. How did he manage to do it? Did he just told them to eat from the tree? No, but rather he exploited the weaknesses and desires of the humans. He made them false promises
    • Fast forward 10 generations from Adam and we see this enemy working again to mislead people from the worship of one Allah.  Following upon the death of their righteous men, Satan inspired their people to erect statues in the places where they used to sit. They did this, but these statues were not worshiped until the coming generations deviated from the right way of life. Then they worshipped them as their idols.
    • The story of the worshipper Barsisa where he mislead him one step at a time each time bringing him closer to shirk. This pious worshipper who spent his entire life worshipping Allah finally fall into the traps of Satan and prostrated to him!
    What do we learn from these case studies? Observe how is very clever in deceiving people, exploiting the desires and weaknesses, giving false promises and hopes, beautifying the wrong deeds, make the right seem wrong and making the wrong seem right! Most of them his victims don’t even realized that they are being deceived and tricked by Iblees and his army
  • His techniques can be grouped into seven levels

Knowing all this, wouldn’t you want to take him as your enemy, wouldn’t you want to fight against him and his army, give him the black eye. Inshallah in the next post, we will expose this enemy even further.

By Student of Knowledge | Posted in Gems, Islam, Tazkiyyah | Tagged , | Comments (1)

NOW is the Time to Learn Arabic!

October 11, 2008 – 11:48 am

Bismillah walhamdulillah, was Salaatu was Salaamu ‘alaa Rasoolillaah.

“On the Day of Judgment, the Qur’an and its people who used to act by it in the world shall be brought, being lead by Surat ul-Baqarah and Al-e-Imraan, which shall be arguing on behalf of their companions.” (Reported by Muslim)

We all strive to become a companion of the Qur’an, but who are its true companions? The companions of the Qur’an are those who studied it, memorized it, implemented it and lived by it. It is not possible, in the least bit, for one to become a companion of the Qur’an and not know Arabic. Learning the language is the starting point of a life long journey with the Qur’an. Allah ta’ala chose this blessed language, as He states 11 times throughout the Qur’an: “A Book, whereof the verses are explained in detail as an Arabic Qur’an, for people who know.” (41:3), “An Arabic Qur’an, without any crookedness, so that they may have Taqwa.” (39:28), “We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an, in order that you may gain understanding.” (12:2).

For those who do not know the language of the Qur’an, they will be deprived of its true sweetness, of its blessings and most importantly, understanding the words of Allah ta’ala. It is a cause of much grief and sadness to know that the majority of our ummah has lost the connection with the Book of Allah because the language has been lost, as the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: “Allah raises up peoples by this Book, and puts down by it others.” (Saheeh Muslim) We have abandoned this book, and the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam will testify to Allah ta’ala on the day of judgment: “And the Messenger will say, O my Rabb, indeed my people deserted this Qur’an!” (25:30)

The righteous companions and scholars of the past have testified to the importance of learning this language and they themselves, who were native Arab speakers, were concerned with studying this language. Umar radi Allahu anhu said, “Learn Arabic for it is a part of your deen.” (Iqtidaa’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, 2/207) It is also reported that Ubay ibn Ka’b radi Allahu anhu said, “Learn Arabic just as you learn to memorize the Qur’an.” (Ibn Abî Shaybah, Al-Musannaf Vol.7 p150)

Many of us want to take the proper steps to learn Arabic, but do not know where to start. What is the solution? Where do we begin? The best option is to study overseas, however many of us do not have that option to learn Arabic, so inshaAllah we’ll cover in this article some easy steps one can take to begin the process of learning Qur’anic Arabic if they cannot travel to do so.

Read More »

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Arabic, Books, Qur'an | Tagged , | Comments (12)

ar Rahman and ar Raheem

October 10, 2008 – 8:56 am

Bismillah.

Ar-Rahman: The Entirely Merciful, Ar-Raheem: The Especially Merciful

Both of the names Rahman and Raheem come from the root Ra-ha-meem (ر ح م), these names are similar so they require a parallel explanation. What is Rahmah? Rahmah is mercy. In the dictionary it means: compassion, kindness and gentleness. Also when a person is kind, compassionate and tenderhearted towards the other. So Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem: The One who has a lot of Rahmah, The One who shows a lot of rahmah, He expresses a lot of Rahmah. There are two Names of Allah with the same root, to emphasize that Allah is really the MOST Merciful, there is no one else who is more merciful than Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.

Ar-Rahman is structure of fa’laan, Ar-Raheem is structure of fa’eel. They both have mubaalaghah (intensification). What is the difference? Rahman has more mubaalagah (intensification) than Raheem. So ar Rahmaan indicates the One who has extensive and great mercy. Who is Ar Raheem then? He is the One who has extensive and great mercy but He expresses it on the ones whom He chooses. So Ar-Rahman extends to all of His creation including disbelievers, and Ar-Raheem extends to Allah’s special mercy only for the believers.

Examples from the Qur’an

20: 5->Ar Rahman ‘alal ‘arsh istawaa’. The Most Merciful, upon the throne He rose. He established His throne and showed Mercy towards all His creation.

55:1-5->  Ar Rahman, Who is He? ‘alamal Qur’an, He taught the Qur’an,  khalaqal insaan and He created mankind. This mercy is not just for the believers, but for everyone (insaan).

Raheem only to the believers: 33:43-> wa kaana bil mu’mineena raheema. One who is especially merciful to the believers.

2:37-> Innahu huwa at-Tawwaabur Raheem. Indeed He is the Greatest Acceptor of Repentance, the especially Merciful. Tawwaab is for those who turn to Allah, ie the believers.

Combinations of these Names:

These Names appear many times together. First example, the basmalah, and second verse of Fatihah. They appear together to express a lot of Mercy, Allah is the One who is  THE MOST Merciful.

When we look at Ar-Raheem, it appears with other Names:

At-Tawwaabur Raheem, Ar-Raoufur Raheem, Ghafoorur Raheem, Al-Azeezur Raheem (surah Shu’ara). Remember His mercy, but also remember His might.

Ar-Rahman

Appeared many times in surah Maryam and Furqan. Why so many times? These surahs were makkee surahs and they were introductions to the deen, so one of the first ways of how Allah Introduces Himself is by which attribute? The attribute of Rahmah, which is why the Qur’an opens up with these Attributes as well (Basmalah and Faatihah). Why, what’s so important about them? First of all, when people learn about Allah, they shouldn’t learn He is the One who puts them into hellfire but that Allah is Ready to accept people and forgive people. This is why messengers are basheerun (giver of glad tidings) and natheer (warner). Of the first ways to introduce Allah ta’ala in da’wah is by His Mercy. Specifically for the believers, they should remember His Mercy then they should abstain from wrong actions. Think: ‘If Allah is SO Merciful to me, why should I disobey Him and do wrong? Allah is so Rahman and I am so disobedient.’ The siffah (characteristic) of Rahman and Raheem remind the believers that they should remain firm on Allah’s Obedience. Allah is So Merciful, So kind towards you, so why won’t you obey Him?

A Hadeeth in Bukhari states: “Verily Allah created Mercy. The day He created it, He made it into one hundred parts. He withheld with Him ninety-nine parts, and sent its one part to all His creatures.” Allah has saved the 99 parts for His true believers on the day of judgment, that is when Allah will be ar Raheem. Allah will say to the disbelievers: do not even speak to Me, remain in hell-fire (23:108). Why? Because they do not deserve the rahmah of Allah.   So if a person does not not benefit from His Mercy in this world, they do not receive in the aakhirah. To benefit is not to just receive it in this world, but to accept the guidance and stay away from disobedience.

How to Receive Allah’s Special Mercy?

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Asmaa-was-Sifaat, Islam | Tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Ismul Jalaalah

October 8, 2008 – 2:11 pm

Bismillah.

Ismul Jalaalah, The Grand Name: Allah الله. This is Allah’s Personal Name. His Identifying Name. This Name only belongs to Allah, no one else can have besides Allah. Allah is the Title, the Name, of the One True Ilaah. The Name of Allah, you cannot play around with: there is no plural, there is no feminine. The Name Allah appears over 3000 times in the Qur’an.

When we mentioned the Name “Allah” linguistically, we don’t say “the word Allah” or “the Name Allah” because it is not appropriate. It is only for Allah ta’ala, so we say: Lafdhul Jalaalah, لفظ الجلالة، the word that is Grand.

There are 4 opinions of the linguistic meaning of lafdhul Jalaalah:

  1. The first opinion is that it is Allah’s Proper Name and it is not derived from any root, any noun, and has no meaning to it. It is just a Name that has no meaning to it, and this opinion is the minority opinion.
  2. The second opinion is that it comes from hamza-laam-ha, and the verb from the root is a-li-ha ََََاَلِهَ and it means to astonish, surprise and amaze someone. So Allah, from aliha, is the One who Astonishes and Amazes His Creation. How? Firstly through His Attributes, when you know about Allah, you are amazed. He is Ar Rahmaan (The All Merciful), and yet Al Azeez (The Mighty) and yet Al Jabbaar (The Compellor) all at the same time, it’s amazing! When you know about the Names and Attributes, you are astonished and impressed. Another way how Allah amazes us is through His creation, all that He has created. When we learn about a bird or an ant, we are amazed and we say SubhanAllah (How Perfect is Allah and Far from any imperfection!), because Allah is truly Amazing and He Amazes His creation. Also, He amazes through His Decisions, Words, Rulings, Actions and Planning for us. When things don’t work out the way we planned, or we see great coincidences, we think: how did this happen?! It is Allah, He amazes us by His words and decisions for us. When we practice the ahkaam (rulings), we realize how much benefit there is in them. So truly He is the One who should be submitted too.
  3. The third opinion is that it is from the same root, hamza laam ha, and the noun is al-la-ha اَلَهَ with a fathah (not li, with a kasrah, as the second opinion) and alaha means to worship, be humble and show dedication to someone. The noun would be ma’looh. Allah is Ma’looh: One who is shown dedication too, One who everyone is humble too, One who is worshipped. Everyone is humble to Allah, and on the Day of Judgment the Mulk (Sovereignty) is only for Allah ta’ala. We also learn from this that Allah is the Only One we should show humbleness too, we should be ‘ebaad, servants, to Allah. In surah Furqaan ayah 43, Allah tells us: أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَـٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ ara ayta man ittakhatha ilaahahu hawaahu, have you seen the one who takes his desires as his ilaah? This ayah shows us the meaning of taking something as your ilaah, God. It meant that they gave their desires the utmost priority and everything else became unimportant and secondary. Their ilaah is the one whom the person never turns down. It became what they loved and feared the most. Allah is the One we should love most, fear most and give the most importance too. According to some linguists (ibn Manthoor of Sibawyh) this opinion is the strongest. Furthermore, when you attach ‘al’ with aliha and alaha, it becomes al-Ilaah, and that becomes Allah. According to this definition this translation would be: The One Only Worthy of worship, Allah is the Only One worthy of worship. Notice: even His Name has tawheed in it, so how can there be other beings attached to Allah?!
  4. The last opinion is that this word is from wow-laam-ha, the noun wilaah وِلَه comes. (the way you write ilaah, write a wow instead of hamzah/alif) Wilaah then turns to ilaah (based on an Arabic grammar rule), so wilaah means to turn to for protection. So Allah is the One Whom everyone turns to for help and protection. The One whose help and assistance is sought by the creation. This teaches us in times of difficulty and hardship, we turn to Allah azza wa jal, because the Name of Allah is the One whom ppl turn to for help and worship.

Review of the 4 opinions:

i.      There is no meaning, just a Proper Name

ii.      From aliha meaning to astonish and amazes, so Allah is the One who Astonishes the creation by His attributes, His creation, His Planning and His Rulings.

iii.      Allah is from alaha, so Allah is Ma’looh, One who is Worshipped.

iv.      Fourth opinion is from wilaah, so Allah means the One whom everyone turns to for help.

اسم الله الاعظم-Ismul Allahil A’tham: mentioned in hadeeth in Sunan Tirmidhi (saheeh): “To Allah belongs a Grand Name (Ismul A’tham), that, if you make du’a with it, it will be responded to. And if you plead or request with it, it shall be answered.” Several opinions on what this Name is, read Yasir Qadhi’s explanation here. Majority of the scholars say it is the Name “Allah” itself, that this is His Greatest Name. When a person makes duaa through this Name, it will be responded too.

wa Allahu ta’ala alam.

Reference: Ta’leem Al Qur’an course for women: Asma ul Husna class.

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Arabic, Asmaa-was-Sifaat, Gems, Ibadah | Tagged , | Comments (0)

How to Receive Allah’s Special Mercy

October 4, 2008 – 8:45 pm

Bismillah

We know that Allah ta’ala Name’s Ar-Raheem is specifically for the believers, so how is it that one can receive this special Mercy from ar Raheem?

  • Obedience to Allah and His Messenger. “and obey Allah and His Messenger so that you all may receive Mercy.” [3:132]
  • Taqwa of Allah ta’ala, fear and consciousness of Allah. “And this is a book, We have sent it down as one blessed, so follow it and fear Allah so that you all may receive Mercy.” [6:155]  Similarly Allah says: “and My Mercy encompasses all things, so soon I will write it for those who have taqwa.” [7:156]
  • Doing ihsaan (utmost good) towards Allah and the creation. “Indeed the Mercy of Allah is near to those who do utmost good.” [7:156]
  • Praying four rak’aat before ‘Asr prayer. The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: “May Allah have mercy on one who prays 4 raka’aat before the ‘Asr Prayer.” Narrated by at-Tirmidhi no. 395 and he declared it a hassan, Al-Albany rated the Hadith as hassan in Sahih al-Jami’ No. 3493.
  • Listening to the Qur’an attentively and remaining silent. “And when the Quran is recited, listen to it with attention, that you may receive Mercy.” [7:204]
  • Having rahmah towards the creation of Allah. A hadith in Musnad Ahmad states, “Show mercy so that you may be shown mercy, forgive and Allah will forgive you.” There is another hadith narrated in Sunan Abi Dawood that states, “The merciful will be give mercy by the Most Merciful. Have mercy to those on earth and the one in the heavens will have mercy upon you.”  Also Allah ta’ala says in the Qur’an, Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?  [24:22] So if you want mercy, you want knowledge of the Qur’an, you want Jannah, you want Guidance? Show mercy to others.

May Allah ta’ala shower His mercy upon us, Ameen.

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Asmaa-was-Sifaat, Gems, Islam, Qur'an | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)

Zaid Recognizes the Black Ant

October 1, 2008 – 1:58 pm

Zaid: As-Salamu ‘Alykum
Abdur-Rahmaan: Wa-Alykum As-salam…..how was your volunteer experience at the seminar?

Zaid: Alhumdullilah. But…. I worked so hard for this event but no one came to me and said any thanks or any words of appreciation!
Abdur-Rahmaan: Perhaps if you niyyah was correct, you wouldn’t be thinking like that. If only you were doing it sincerely for the sake of Allah and expecting reward only from Him. I think you need to see a heart specialist and get some x-rays!

Zaid: What?!?! But I’m not sick?
Abdur-Rahmaan: I am talking about the hidden disease of Riya. Its very hard to recognize. Imagine a black ant over a black road on a dark night; that’s how hard it is to recognize it. Riya means “to perform acts which are pleasing to Allah, with the intention of pleasing other than Allah.” You need to x-ray your heart and find the intentions behind your actions.

Zaid: Hmm … how do recognize this disease? What are the symptoms?
Abdur-Rahmaan: The primary cause of riya is a weakness of eman. When a person does not have strong faith in Allah, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allah. Here are some of the symptoms:

  1. Love of Parise: You must have heard the hadith about first three people to be thrown into the fire of Hell: the scholar, the martyr and the person who gave his money in charity. All three of these people desired the praise of people, over and above the pleasure of Allah.
  2. Fear of Criticism: Some people obey certain commandments of lslam, not for the sake of Allah, but because they fear people will look down on them and criticize them if they does not do it. eg: praying in jam’ah, woman wearing hijab at mosque etc

Lastly, if you discover that you are doing good deeds only in public, and doing evil deeds when you are alone, this is an indication that you are falling into riya! Tell me one thing–what if I ask you to volunteer, for example, in a parking lot, where no one would see you and wouldn’t know about it. Would you do it?

Zaid: Hmmmm … I guess you are right. How do I treat and cure this disease?
Abdur-Rahmaan: Here are some of the best ways:

  1. Duaa! The prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa salam) taught the specific duaa for riya:[O Allaah, I take refuge in You lest I should commit shirk with You knowingly and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do unknowingly.]
  2. Hiding one’s good deeds. Do them where nobody can see!
  3. Reflection upon’s oneself’s shortcomings.
  4. Accompanying the pious (and good companionship helps with many things).
  5. Knowledge of Riya, the evilness of it.
  6. Always ask yourself why you’re doing something, and if you’d still do it if nobody but Allah knew about it.

Zaid: Jazakallah khairan bro, any final piece of advice?
Abdur-Rahmaan: Usually when I feel like getting praised or someone praises me, I remind myself of the response of the righteous slave of Allah when they feed people:

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاء وَلَا شُكُوراً. إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِن رَّبِّنَا يَوْماً عَبُوساً قَمْطَرِيراً

Translation: We feed you only for the countenance of Allah . We wish not from you reward or gratitude. Indeed, We fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful. [Surah Al-Insaan, verses 9-10]

References

Qadhi, Yasir. “Riyaa: the Hidden Shirk.” Islamic Network. 16 June 2008 <http://islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1125&category=12>.

By Student of Knowledge | Posted in Islam, Tazkiyyah | Tagged , , | Comments (1)