Category: Understand the Qur’an Ayah by Ayah

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Blind following has been an issue throughout the ages. There are many places in the Qur’an that mention different nations and this mentality towards the religion. Allah highlights where blind following can lead:

Say, “Not equal are the evil and the good, although the abundance of evil might impress you.” So fear Allah, O you of understanding, that you may be successful.

[5:100]

We can see around us that many practices in and out of Islam are a result of being deceived by the number of people that carry them out. People tend to see the majority performing an action and suddenly it becomes the right thing to do. There are many stories in history pertaining to this, one that comes to mind is of a practice that was done in North Africa.

It all started with one person who decided one day that he was going to visit a random man’s grave who apparently was a Muslim scholar and make tawaf (circumambulate) around it. It then became a habit of his, every time he was going through the area he would do the tawaf then continue his journey.

Others from the village then blindly followed without knowing what they were doing or why, until it became widespread. After a while someone decided to dig up the grave and it turned out that not only were the people committing a form of treachery against Allah by doing tawaf around a grave but that the grave belonged to a dog.

Allah teaches us in this ayah that no matter how abundant or widespread an act might be, evil will always be evil. He teaches us that we must be weary of the fact that when bad things come in plenty they may not look so bad – people get desensitised to them. This is why keeping the religion in its pure form is so important.

Sometimes we include cultural practices within Islam which are variations in what the religion teaches us. These variations become so common and widespread that everyone in that culture starts doing it, to the point when the only proof as to why they do it is simply “everybody does it” – this becomes the only line of reasoning.

“Although the abundance of evil may impress you” – meaning simply that these people just follow everybody else.

Allah then adds beautifully: “So fear Allah, O you of understanding, that you may be successful” – those of understanding are those who are clear thinkers, unbiased people. These people do not take sides or blind follow for the sake of being part of the group. These are the people who do not cave into peer pressure, they think for themselves, they look at the proof not at the number of people who are carrying out the actions.

The surah continues:

O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be shown to you. Allah has pardoned that which is past; and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing.

[5:101]

A conversation with the prophet (ﷺ) was narrated around the time this ayah was released. He said to the people: “O people, Allah has enjoined Hajj on you, so perform Hajj.” A man said: “Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?” He remained silent until (the man) said it three times.

Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “If I said yes it would be obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said: “Be content what I leave with you, for those who came before you were destroyed because they asked too many questions and argued with their Prophets. If I tell you to do something then do as much of it as you can, and if I tell you not to do something then abstain from it.” [Muslim]

A story in the Qur’an that pertains to this topic is of the cow in the 2nd surah when the Israelites were told by Musa to slaughter a cow. Slaughtering a cow was the only detail given but they kept asking for more and more details making their own lives more difficult, to the point where the description was so specific that only one cow fit. If they had followed the first commandment, it would have been any cow but due to their persistence their lives were made a lot more difficult.

This ayah is not talking about searching for answers in the religion like how to carry out certain actions or whether something is permissible but rather it’s about going too deep. There are certain aspects of life that Allah has left out, things that He has not told us about. For example most of what is in the unseen. We have very limited narrations of what the unseen is like and that is due to our limited minds. Just as our eyes and ears have limits as to what we can see and hear, our minds have a limit as to what we can think.

Allah has made very clear what we need to know in this life to succeed.

Another aspect that is in line with this teaching is the notion of asking about something with a preconceived idea that we have no intention of changing based on truth. For example – we want to know if some sort of act is haram or not. We read something of one renowned scholar talking about a hadith or ayah from the Qur’an or gives a fatwa based on a ruling that says it is in fact impermissible, we didn’t like reading it.

Thus we search and ask another scholar – who says the same thing. Then we ask a local imam who agrees with the scholars, none of this is what we want. Then we move on to ask a relative or friend who has no qualifications or barely a connection with Islam and says the act is perfectly fine or “not that bad”, and with this we conclude that there is a “difference of opinion”, therefore it cannot be finalised as haram.

If we are to ask about things let us be genuine with ourselves – whatever verdict Islam has to offer we accept. Sometimes we are given answers that we are sincerely not convinced of, that’s a separate issue. Sincerity as in we go in asking a question with the mindset that whatever convincing answer there is from the deen we will place our desires to the side and submit.

Then if when we get an answer we feel that it’s not enough, we search some more for a deeper understanding. Allah calls us “the people of understanding”, so if something is not being understood it should be looked into further, thus why real scholarship is so important especially with fiqh matters – for what is haram or halal we look into what the people of knowledge have to say.

This of course only comes with pure intentions and we all know if we are being genuine. Whenever we have pure intentions Allah will guide us to the correct understanding of His deen.

May Allah give us all a clear understanding of His deen and guide those who are blind followers.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Allah says in the Qur’an:

Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and rebellion. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

[16:90]

This ayah is commonly mentioned when concluding the khutbah on Fridays yet for the most part it is usually just used as a cue to get up for prayer and the true essence of the beautiful ayah is lost. Let us explore what Allah is really telling us.

There are 3 things Allah orders us to stick with, along with 3 things we need to avoid.

He first commands justice and excellence. Justice is the bare minimum expected of any human being, Muslim or non-Muslim. When a person lives by justice it’s not necessarily an accomplishment – it just means they’re not a criminal. He then tells us to excel past that towards excellence. Both are mentioned which covers the entire spectrum of good deeds, big and small.

After this, Allah refers to giving to relatives. Interestingly, this act is part of justice towards the family – someone who gives towards relatives is performing an act of justice yet Allah says this separately. This tells us that there will be some people who simply cover their normal duties towards relatives and there will be those who go above and beyond – the people of excellence.

We usually associate justice with court cases or justice of country leaders upon their nations but Allah specifically mentions family. In Islam, justice starts with the relatives. There cannot be justice or excellence in a society unless it is first given to individual families. So the foundation of a society succeeding is the relationship between families and within families it starts on an individual level.

So what is the direct threat to this foundation?

Allah mentions “fahsha'” – shamelessness of which the worst form is zina. On one hand we have nikkah (marriage) – a structured concept of family, role and rights of man and woman, responsibilities towards spouse and children. Then the opposite is the chaotic concept – shamelessness – which destroys the family structure through obscenity.

Fahsha’ covers all types of shamelessness or obscenity. It could be obscene speech, obscene movies, obscene friends etc. The difference between fahsha’ and “munkar” is that munkar is something that is mutually agreed to be evil such as stealing or murder. Allah warns us about both then mentions “baghyi” which translates to rebellion – when this is mentioned in the Qur’an, it usually means rebellion against Allah. It could be said that fahsha’ and munkar is or leads to rebellion against Allah.

The ayah ends with “ya’ithukoum la’alakoum tathakaroun” – Allah warns us so that we may remember; ironically most of us start getting up for prayer at this statement (for those who were asleep throughout the lecture wake up from their nap). Interestingly Allah says “perhaps” we may remember through these warnings meaning it will take effort from us to take advantage of this reminder, it won’t just happen.

The few words in this verse are the essence of the entire range of Islamic teachings thus why many khateebs mention this verse in the Friday gatherings. It is for us to take this reminder and work on it every day of our lives in order for us to succeed.

May Allah make us of those who are just, those who excel in Islam and in our families while staying away from shameful acts, evil deeds and rebellion against Him.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.

Sirata allatheena an’amta alayhim ghayri almaghdoobi alayhim wala addalleen

In the final ayah of the surah, Allah lays out who we should be aspiring to be like and the path of those which we need to avoid.

We previously asked Allah to guide us to his straight path and now we mention those whom we want to be with: those that have already reached the end of His path – the companions of the prophet (ﷺ) and those who have passed away as noble Muslims.

Notice the word “an’amta” is in the past tense meaning those Allah had bestowed favour upon. The word is derived from “lo’ooma” which essentially means softness. We as humans see the path of Allah as difficult but what Allah is telling is here is that if His favour comes, the path will be made soft and easy.

Another point to mention here is that the ayah says that Allah is the one who has showered the favour upon His people, thus to remind us that even the most noble of people in the past were still only guided because of Allah’s mercy towards them.

Think of the poople who are alive today as the students and those who have passed away as the graduates. We as the students must learn from those who have completed the course of Islam. All the stories in the Qur’an about the good people Allah has guided. All the prophets and the companions mentioned in the hadiths. These are who we should be looking to follow. Allah has essentially showed us their portfolios and all we have to do is copy.

The paths we should avoid are mentioned as the path of those who have earned Allah’s anger and those who are astray. What’s interesting is that in the Arabic phrasing there is no mention of “Allah’s anger”. “Al maghdoob alayhim” basically translates to “those who are receiving anger” meaning that the anger is coming from more than one source – from Allah, from the angels, from the believers, from the disbelievers on the day of judgement etc.

Those who are “astray” is better translated as those who are “lost”. Allah uses the word “dalleen” which is a noun; in Arabic grammar, a noun is usually permanent while a verb is usually temporary. Thus what Allah is telling us here is that the lost ones will always be around, we will always have to look out for them.

So what separates the two?

Think of it this way: if you had 2 sons or daughters and you gave instructions to one of them that they are both not allowed to eat any sweets (candy) while you are out. You come back and you find them both eating, who will you be more angry at? The one you instructed directly of course. Those who are receiving anger are those who know what the right path is and still disobey, while those who are lost simply do not know any better.

However, is ignorance a justifiable plea of innocence? Let’s say someone was caught speeding and got pulled over. Would it be justified to simply let the speeder off simply because they claim they didn’t know? The ignorant one must study, ask, dig, search for answers. We are all born with the fitrah: a pre-disposition to yearn for the path of Allah thus being ignorant simply cannot be an excuse to be astray.

The prophet (ﷺ) said: “Those who have earned the anger are the Jews and those who are led astray are the Christians.” [Tirmidhi]

The example of the Jews is linked to those who have earned anger since they were given direct knowledge and they simply abandoned their beliefs. While the example of the Christians is used to portray those who are lost since they lost the true knowledge and thus were lead astray.

Interestingly though, this ayah is made as a general statement, meaning this can apply to any of us. The Jews and Christians were given as an example for us to avoid following their actions that are explained by Allah in the Qur’an. Therefore, it does not give anyone the right to look down upon other religions. At the end of the day someone who claims to be Muslim by name can very well be of those who have earned anger.

May Allah guide us all, Muslims and non-Muslims, to His straight path.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

Guide us to the straight path

Ihdina assirata almustaqeem

After making the statement that we seek help from the creator when we make our own efforts, Allah lines up another ayah which essentially summarises what we need help in: guidance. He is telling us here that in order to take care of everything else in life we must seek His guidance.

We look around the world and our idea of a better life is always some sort of wealth or materialistic success. If we compare someone living in a mansion compared to another that is homeless, immediately our assumption is that the guy in the mansion is the obvious winner.

Look at Islamic history, take the time of Musa for example – he was under the ruling of the Pharoah and after an incident that took place in the village Musa had to run away with no possessions whatsoever, while the Pharoah was living large in his palace. Yet if we understood the value of Islam we would know that Musa was always better off because he had guidance and the Pharoah did not.

It’s easy for us to talk about prophets who had a very clear belief in this notion but for us to think this way is very difficult. To see a beautiful villa or a really nice car or whatever it may be and truly remind ourselves that it is not real success is the challenge that we face every day.

We need to programme ourselves to remember that the ultimate success is with Allah – His guidance that will lead to eternal bliss. The fact is always the same in this world – whatever we see around us will end, whatever materialistic gain it may be it has an ending and that ending can be tomorrow, and even through it all it is still nothing compared to what Allah has prepared in the afterlife.

There’s an interesting point to mention with the grammar here – the ayah says “guide us” when Allah could have said “guide me“. Why is this?

The message being sent across here is that we as Muslims have to be together, there has to be a community – an individual being alone simply does not work in this life.

So where are we asking Allah to guide us? “Assirata almustaqeem” is commonly translated as the “straight path” yet it goes a little deeper than that. “Asirat” is derived from the word “surat” which is a long straight sword and linguistically it means a path to which there is no alternative route. Interestingly this word does not have a plural in the Arabic language to emphasise its singularity, the absolute one path.

Another point to make here is that guidance is not the same as knowledge. Guidance is a constant request that we must all seek every single day of our lives. One may have a lot of knowledge but lack in guidance.

There are many university lecturers or very knowledgeable people who have extensive understanding about the deen and teach it to others yet they themselves are non-Muslims. Another example are those who have a deep understanding about the Qur’an, Sunnah, islamic rulings, they can know all the references and theories, yet their behaviour completely contradicts their knowledge.

Guidance does not increase with knowledge, it increases with sincerely asking Allah for it. We live in a culture where knowledge is glorified and guidance is secondary. No doubt that knowledge is important, but guidance, transforming oneself for the better, begging Allah for His counsel, these should be the priority.

“Almustaqeem” comes from “istiqama” which is to stand straight. So together the phrase essentially means “the straight upwards path”. Let’s paint the picture: it is a straight path that goes up, as one climbs one moves away from the earth and gravity will be against that person pulling them down.

Now think of Allah path as a straight upwards ladder, the higher we climb the further away from the dunya we get and our temptations will be trying to pull us down. Also, the higher we are the more dangerous the fall is; for example if there was someone who was high up with Allah’s guidance then goes astray, the fall will be more devastating that those who are lower and this is the humbling notion of this ayah.

We strive and struggle to stay on Allah’s path but we should never tell ourselves that we have done enough or that we are fully guided or that temptations can never get to us. The only time gravity stops working on us is when we leave the dunya and it’s same with temptations, until then we must humble ourselves. No amount of worship or dua or knowledge can get rid of the desires and temptations of this world – all they can do is help us control them.

Allah knows best.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

Iyyaka na’budu wa-iyyaka nasta’een

Before getting to this ayah Allah gave us an introduction to Himself, each of which is individually enough to make us submit to Him. The first trait was the fact He deserves praise and thanks and His position as our master – if those weren’t enough then comes a’rahman and a’raheem – if that wasn’t enough He puts us in our place by reminding us of the day of judgement in which we will all stand.

After these reasons, we are more than ready to submit thus the introduction to the next ayah “it is you we worship”. What’s interesting here is that Allah did not say “you will worship me” which implies compulsion. Instead He puts those words in first person as in: this is what you should be saying: “iyyaka na’budu” which briefly translates to “it is only and entirely to you that we give ourselves into slavery and worship”.

The first 3 ayahs are talking about Allah, yet in this ayah we are talking to Allah and not about Him which is as a result of His trait as a master that listens to the slave. It is a very powerful notion and is mentioned in Al-Fatiha as a scope to the rest of the Qur’an for us to always keep in mind that He is always paying attention to each and every one us.

“Iyyaka na’budu” is a declaration of slavery to Allah. It is a statement telling Allah that we give up our independence and it is the only time we are truly free in this dunya.

Think about it this way: every single person in the world is enslaved to something whether they know it or not. Either they’re enslaved to their body or temptation or desires or peer pressure or culture or money or whatever it may be – we are all shackled one way or another.

Now when we enslave ourselves to the creator none of these things will keep us chained. You don’t have to look a certain way for society to accept you; you don’t have act a certain way or pretend to fit in because the one that you need to impress is Allah – it’s a form of independence from the shackles of the world.

Allah specifically uses the word “abada” here derived from the word “ibada” which does not merely mean worship but also enslavement. This is because it can be the case that a Muslim carries out worship but does not have the attitude of a slave.

What exactly is the definition of a slave? Essentially it comes down to: someone who carries out the instructions of their master and does not do what they want unless the master allows for it.

The main connection between master and slave is guidance and there cannot be guidance without instructions, thus the second half of the ayah “iyyaka nasta’een”. “Nasta’een” derived from “isti’ana” is the kind of help we ask for when we are struggling and to struggle with something means that we are already trying to fulfil it. Doing nothing and asking for help with something simply does not fit into this category.

This is essentially telling Allah that we are already struggling with something but we simply cannot do it ourselves, thus we need His help. It also tells us that if we’re not making any effort then we have no right to ask Allah for assistance. An example could be the person that wishes to stay away from zina yet they’re not fulfilling their daily prayers. How do we hope for Allah’s help when we are not trying?

“Isti’ana” is a formula for life. Throughout the Qur’an we read stories about previous nations and prophets and the main theme is these stories is that struggle is first then Allah’s help comes after. Musa suffers against the Pharoah then Allah gives Him victory over the whole nation; the wife of Pharoah struggles through being the spouse of a monster and then she’s guaranteed jannah; Yusuf is caged in prison then Allah gives Him leadership; Maryam suffers as a single mother alone in the desert then she’s given rest through the prophet Isa and an honourable status with Allah, and many more.

One thing we must be weary about is that we recite this ayah throughout the day in front of Allah. If we tell Allah that we submit to Him and that we are in need of help because we are already trying, yet we are constantly sinning and not struggling to get better at all then we are not just lying to ourselves.

Allah knows best.