Surah Al-Rum (The Romans) was revealed in 615 CE, a time of great power imbalance in the Middle East. Sassanid emperor Khosrow II had launched an invasion into the Eastern Roman Empire to avenge the ousting of his ally Maurice. By this time, Damascus and Antioch had already fallen and Roman emperor Heraclius failed to defend Jerusalem.
Don’t make this mistake when you’re reading Qur’an! In Surah Fatir: 28, If you change the vowel at the end of the word Allaha (ٱللَّهَ) to Allahu (ٱللَّهُ), you would be speaking blasphemy without knowing it. Why?
No one knows for certain when Laylat Al-Qadr (the night of glory) falls. The Prophet ﷺ had once come to inform us about its precise timing. Obadah bin As-Samit narrates:
The Prophet (ﷺ) came out to inform us about the Night of Qadr but two Muslims were quarrelling with each other [about it]. So, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “I came out to inform you about the Night of Qadr but such-and-such persons were quarrelling, so the news about it had been taken away; yet that might be for your own good, so search for it on the 29th, 27th and 25th (of Ramadan).
[Bukhari]
When news arrived of an unprecedented Confederate army had gathered to destroy the Muslims, larger than any ever seen before in Arabia, the companions immediately began digging a trench to protect the exposed front of Madinah. With little time on their side, the smallest setback could prove fatal for the believers as the marching army would arrive in a matter of days. In that moment, as unfortunate as it was symbolic, they were blocked by a boulder so large even the strongest of them could not break it. These great companions, full of faith and understanding, knew immediately who to turn to; the Prophet ﷺ.
“Allah intends ease for you, not hardship”. It’s an intriguing phrase, even more so within the context of fasting. Ask any non-Muslim and the idea of abstaining from food and drink seems anything but ease, especially in the hot summer months! So why, of all the commands Allah ﷻ gave us, did He make this point here?
Some people worship Allah ﷻ on a (حرف) – commonly translated to mean “on the edge”, making sense in the broader context of the verse and the general usage of the Arabic language. But a deeper linguistic analysis reveals some interesting observations behind this choice of word.
Have you ever heard the tweets of a bird? In the story of Prophet Sulaiman (as), we are given a glimpse into the way these creatures think and speak, translated to us by Allah ﷻ. Its chirping would not have been dissimilar to the tweets at the start of this podcast, yet they are completely inaccessible to us. How strange it is to think these tweets carry sophisticated language and meaning within them, yet to us sound nothing more than a few simple sounds.
There is a subtle difference between these two verses which doesn’t translate in the English. When describing an atoms weight of good, the words (ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًۭا) have no ghunnah (i.e. stretch) between them, requiring the reader to continue without elongating the word. In the following verse, Allah ﷻ repeats a similar phrase but this time describing an atoms weight of sin: (ذَرَّةٍۢ شَرًّۭا). This time, a ghunnah is found between the two words, requiring a reciter to stretch the end of the first word for 2 moments before continuing with the rest of the verse.
When describing people on the day of judgement, Allah ﷻ divides them into 3 camps: the people of the right, the people of the left, and the foremost – or at least that’s how they are commonly translated! Delve deeper, and you find a much richer meaning to them
Throughout the Quran, you will find the day of judgement described through the terror of an earthquake. In surah Al-Hajj, Allah ﷻ gives vivid imagery to describe it:
Quran Reflections by Imam Tom Facchine & Talha Ghannam خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ ۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ غِشَـٰوَةٌۭ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ ٧ Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and their sight is covered. They will suffer a tremendous punishment. Before reading this, make sure you watch the video! A wonderful reflection…
The examples of scholars having decorum and etiquette in their disagreements are too many to relate. But one example came up today while I was doing some reading around this verse in Surah Al-Ankabut.
After Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, spends a significant number of pages responding to some Mu’tazilite theological arguments – something he spends a lot of time doing in his exegesis – he then says something quite profound about this whole back-and-forth he’s engaging in.
Ibn Kathir mentions in his Tafsir:
“Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (ra) was asked about the meaning of this verse. He replied:
`What sky would shade me and what earth would carry me if I said about the Book of Allah that which I did not have knowledge of.’ ”
Many of us are quick to interpret the words of Allah ﷻ with little study or knowledge, particularly when asked a question.
My uncle Adnan has finally returned home. As a Syrian refugee, his life was filled with challenges and hardships, forced to move from country to country as none would truly welcome him as their own. But through it all, he remained grateful, patient, and strong, never complaining about his plight, and always seeing the blessings in what he had.
Notice the order which Allah ﷻ gives His commands; you will find a wonderful subtlety which hides an ocean of meaning. As Musa’s (as) heart filled with fear at the sight of his staff turning into a snake, Allah ﷻ commanded him to “take it, and have no fear”. He leads with the action before addressing the emotion.
On the Path of Knowledge 