Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
SubhaanAllah at the wonders we’re discovering together. We are blessed, and should be congratulating ourselves and thanking God for His immeasurable Grace. The further we advance through this reading of the Holy Qur’an the more we realize the value of what we are learning, as well as the extent of that which we do not know. Aristotle once said, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know,” and that is how a true Qare’ feels!
To assess how much we are getting out of this daily exercise, all we need to do is to assess our steadiness: Those who will benefit most are those who are most consistent, even if they spend 20 minutes a day. In response to the question, “Which deeds are most loved by God?” the Prophet, peace upon him, is reported to have answered:
“ Those that are most consistent, even if few,” adding, “charge yourself with the deeds/labors which you can take in.” [1]
How wonderful is that? Some might see this Hadeeth as a license not to try harder, but in fact, it is just the opposite: It challenges us to firstly be consistent, and then shows us how to outdo ourselves with mere consistency. Think about it. The load that will break our back if carried all at once is the exact same load which will strengthen our back if carried one part at a time… consistently. Later, if the time ever comes when we are faced with a huge load that has to be carried all at once, we’d find our backs strengthened enough for it.
Therefore, let’s not cram our Qur’an study. Let’s try to spend 20 minutes per day reading from this Blog rather than two hours every week. One very important outcome is that we’d have an entire day of reflection each time before proceeding to the next reading. The same goes for whatever we may be doing!
COMMENTS:
1. In Verse 174 we read:
“And they returned (from the battle) with God’s blessings and bounty without having been touched by evil…”
Muhammad Asad explains and says in his note 132 that this alludes to what happened to many Muslims at Uhud. Yusuf Ali also uses the word ‘returned.’
Actually, ‘inqalabu’ is a far stronger word than ‘return,’ which is (raja’u, or ‘aadu) in Arabic. Indeed, in this verse, the word ‘inqalabu’ denotes a total transformation, one that simulates being turned upside-down. The word becomes all the more potent seeing that it is from the root-verb ‘qalaba’[2] which also happens to be the root-verb of ‘qalb/heart,’ which gives us a sense of an inner, core transformation which came upon them.
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND that the Uhud experience was a turning point for them, and that learning from it could be a turning point for us:
Indeed, this last verse is wrapping-up the entire story, reminding us of its many important lessons. Perhaps most important of these lessons is the danger of losing focus on our ultimate goal, that initial failure serves to show us what we should not be doing, that ultimately, people will be people (the companions had human failings just like anyone else, and the Qur’an tells us that those who had deserted their posts were, in fact, after the bounties of this Immediate Life), that true remorse, making amends, and God’s forgiveness, always go together to make us better persons. Readers who know the history[3] might also add that Uhud teaches us that it is possible for enemies to become friends.
The Qur’an seems to be pointing to this transformation, this pivotal point in their understanding of Accountability, hence a more accurate explanation would be:
“Thereupon they returned transformed by God’s blessings and bounty, untouched by harm…”
2. In verse 175 the Faithful are told not to fear the Deviant/Sheytan or his allies, but to fear God Alone, for no one else is worthy of being feared. If one is truly Faithful, one would know that! Unfortunately, we still find people today believing in – and fearing- ‘forces of evil,’ some so absurd that even discussing them would be a waste of time.
Our inner weaknesses instill in us a lack of confidence in our abilities, and we feel thwarted, failing to accomplish what is of benefit to us. Any negativity we attract after that adds to our own fear. This is the main reason why the weak yet harassing force in our psyche that side-tracks us from our own benefit is also a ‘Deviant/ Sheytaan,’ to be countered by worship and awareness, as we rise above bodily desires.[4]
3. In Verses 176-178 we read of the Prophet’s disappointment at not being able to influence everyone by the truth, and his sorrow that many are quick to deny God. The Qur’an assures him that many among the Deniers will never change, and that Deniers should not think that God is not taking them to immediate account for any reason other than that He is letting them increase in their ‘ithm,’ exacerbate their hindrance; whereby their denial pulls them further and further behind. [5] In other verses it is mentioned that, had it been God’s will to enforce faith, He could have made all into one people, and even then they would have differed (HQ11:118).
Yusuf Ali’s note 480 “The appetite for sin grows with what it feeds on. The natural result is that the sinner sinks deeper into sin….The working of God’s Law is therefore both just and merciful.”
4. With regard to verse 179, see Yusuf Ali’s note 481 on the ‘Universal Plan.’ It is also important to read Muhammad Asad’s note 135 on the doctrine of natural law ‘sunnat Allah.’
Actually, we should ALWAYS remember this law when bad things happen. God has imposed on all His creation the law of cause and effect. Generally speaking, negativity begets negativity and positivity begets positivity, but since we are all living in one connected world, nothing is isolated and both benefit and harm spread beyond the people who initiate them (remember the movie Avatar?). We all affect the world in varying degrees, and innocence is no barrier to this law:
And beware of tumult or oppression which indeed does not strike specifically those of you who do wrong: and know that God is strict in bringing on the consequence. (8:25)[6]
When you think of God’s Law of cause and effect, each of us truly has a huge responsibility!
5. Verse 180 follows on the responsibility to spend out of God’s bounty; Yusuf Ali’s note 483 explains what those gifts are. This verse is quite a warning to those who think it better not to spend… we must all read it carefully.
Verses181-184 discuss those who belied the Prophet, peace upon him, and made fun of the Qur’an, saying “God is indeed poor while we are rich!” They were referring to verses such as HQ2:245 in which the Qur’an asks “..who will loan to God a beautiful loan..” See Muhammad Asad’s notes 139 in which he tells us about such people.
6. Read Ali’s note 491. There does not seem to be anything to comment on with regard to the two beautiful verses 185-186, here in Ali’s translation:
“Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception. (185)
Ye shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and ye shall certainly hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if ye persevere patiently, and guard against evil,-then that will be a determining factor in all affairs. (186)
Enough said!
Tomorrow’s Reading is from HQ 3:187-200, the final verse of our chapter!
Peace unto all!
[1] “عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا ، أَنَّهَا قَالَتْ : سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : أَيُّ الأَعْمَالِ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ : أَدْوَمُهَا وَإِنْ قَلَّ وَقَالَ : اكْلَفُوا مِنَ الأَعْمَالِ مَا تُطِيقُونَ” رواه البخاري
[2] قلب: خالِص شَيءٍ وشَريفِه. فالأوَّل القَلْبُ: قلب الإنسان وغيره، سمِّي لأنَّه أخْلصُ شيء فيه وأرفَعُه. وخالِصُ كلِّ شيءٍ وأشرفُه قَلْبُه.
والثاني رَدِّ شيءٍ من جهةٍ إلى جهة. والآخر قَلَبْتُ الثَّوبَ قَلْباً. وقَلَبْتُ الشَّيء: كبَبتُه، وقلَّبته بيديَّ تقليباً.
وفي لسان العرب:
وقد انْقَلَب، وقَلَبَ الشيءَ، وقَلَّبه: حَوَّله ظَهْراً لبَطْنٍ. وتَقَلَّبَ الشيءُ ظهراً لبَطْنٍ.
[3] Regarding two of the most famous close companions of the Prophet, peace upon him, Amr Ibn al Aass & Khaled Ibn al Waleed who, at that point in time, were the commanders in the Meccan army responsible for the strategy that brought Muslim defeat!
[4] If we merely undertake a day’s fasting/Sawm we weaken him, as a famous prophetic Hadeeth indicates, telling us that SheyTaan courses/passes through the son of Adam as courses his blood, and advises us to narrow his passage by fasting.
إن الشيطان يجري مجرى الدم من ابن آدم ، فضيقوا مجراه بالجوع
The Deviant’s guile is weak indeed! In Asad’s explanation:
Those who have attained to faith fight in the cause of God, whereas those who are bent on denying the truth fight in the cause of the powers of evil. Fight, then, against those friends of Satan: verily, Satan’s guile is weak indeed! (4:76)
[5] M. Asad and Y. Ali translate إِثْمًا/ithm as ‘sinfulness’ and ‘iniquity’ (Ali mentions sin in his commentary). We already spoke of ‘ithm’ on Day 15, and explained it as Hindrance; delay.
أثم: البطء والتأخُّر. يقال ناقة آثِمةٌ أي متأخِّرة… والإثم مشتقٌّ من ذلك، لأنَّ ذا الإثمِ بطيءٌ عن الخير متأخّر عنه.
[6] وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ ﴿الأنفال: ٢٥﴾