Living the Quran- Proper Response

Al-Baqara (The Cow) - Chapter 2 : Verse 216 (partial)

"... It may be that you dislike something, though it is good for you. And it may be that you love something, though it is bad for you. And God knows, and you do not know."
There are four possible states in which the human being can live. A person is either receiving blessings (nima) or tribulations (bala) from God; or is either living in obedience (taa) or in disobedience (masiya). Each condition invites a response. What comes to a person in his or her life may help a person move closer to God when the response is right:

1. When God gives a person blessings, the response is gratitude in all of its manifestations. Gratitude is expressed first by performing what is obligatory then going beyond that by performing virtuous, recommended acts.

2. The response to tribulation is patience, as well as steadfastness and resolve. This is what God demands from people in times of trial - a beautiful patience.

3. As for obedience, one must recognize that obedience is a blessing from God. If a religious person starts to believe that he is better than other people - even if these "other" people are in the state of disobedience - he invites haughtiness.

4. When it comes to disobedience, the response is repentance to God (tawba), seeking His forgiveness, pardon, and mercy, feeling remorse for the past, and having the resolve never to sink into disobedience again.

Compiled From:
"Purification of The Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, pp. 69-71

Ayah 22- A review of verses linked together

Sahih International

[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].

1. 2nd verse of this surah (al baqarah) provides answer to supplication made in Surah Al Fatiha,"Guide us on the straight path"
2. guidance man prayed for is i this book from beginning to end
3. then surah divided men in three groups {you can further look here}
4. then the present verses 21 & 22 addressing all three together: the message for which the Holy Quran has been revealed
5. asking men to give up worship of created beings and worship Allah Alone
6. this above verse recounts some other qualities of Allah with regard act of nurturing

• man's being has 2 dimensions, internal (anfus) external (afaq)-encompass all kinds of blessings upon man from Allah
• among cosmic blessing, 1st is earth as a bed
• not soft nor fluid like water which none can settle nor hard like stone or steel(difficult to harness) BUT has a middle between soft and hard for man to utilize it best for daily living
• Firash in  Arabic means bed or spread out does not imply that earth is not round-the onlooker always sees it flat so that an average man literate illiterate can understand
• 2nd bount Sky :ornamented beautiful ceiling
• 3rd water from sky
• 4th fruits with this water and to provide nourishment
• These bounties are only from Allah alone

Replacements...by N.A.K.

Ayah 21 - A Message to All Mankind

Sahih International

O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous -

 

Tafseer 

Tafseer 

 This Ayah basically tells all three types of people mentioned in the previous surahs, the reason why the Holy Quran has been revealed to them. It is to give up worshiping other beings and worship Allah (swt) alone. It also explains that the Quran withholds such information and deep knowledge that make it so clear that Allah is the Only One God. Even a man using his common sense alone can witness that through the message of the Holy Quran. The word Rabb indicates that He is the only one who is worthy of worship. This knowledge is so easy to understand that even an iman looking upon this would be able to understand that Allah is the Creator and God is not a created being. This ayah addresses all groups of man. It indicates to the disbelievers to stop believing in created things and worship Allah alone, it tells the hypocrites to be sincere and truthful in their faith and it tells the Muslims to stop sinning and become closer to Allah (swt) and make their obedience towards him more sincere and perfect. 

Surah Baqarah Ayah 1-20 Mind Maps (summary)

 Surah Baqarah opens with the declaration that the Quran is beyond ALL doubt.

The first 20 ayaat describe the features of those who believe in the Quran and those who do not, as well as those who say they believe but they actually don't (hypocrites).

 

In ayah 1-5, The qualities of the Believers (Mu'minoon) are stated:

In ayah 6-7, we are introduced to those who reject faith, the disbelievers:

In ayah 8-20, the definition of a hypocrite and the features of the hypocrites are mentioned:

This is the summary of Surah Baqarah ayaat 1-20.
In sha Allah in the next post, I will summarize the various points of consideration relating to the three types of people. in sha Allah.

Waslaam
U.

A True Story About Salah- To Pray On Time or not

A moving and true story about salaat from a young sister and that can inspire all of us:

While on my way to Starbucks (my current location), I realized I hadn’t prayed dhuhr yet…it was about a quarter passed 3 and ‘asr would surely find me here 45 mins later. Through the cab ride, I kept wondering where I was gonna pray.

The thought of having to stop by one of many mosques in the city just to pray and then get another cab to continue to Starbucks or walk the remainding distance tired me itself; and I kept thinking of what to do…”Maybe I could go to Taj Mall, (across the street from the Starbucks) and find a prayer area (there tend to be designated prayer areas in the malls in the ME), but again, I didn’t want to do all that walking (yea, I have a thing with unnecessary walking). Then, as usual, I thought to myself, ugh, what the heck, just wait til you get home later and combine dhuhr with ‘asr…but THANK GOD before I could even make that decision, I remembered one of the articles I read on Suhaib Webb about people who just combine prayers (due to laziness), and I didn’t want to feel the guilt and face myself after the fact, so I made a decision that no matter what, I’d at least pray dhuhr while it was still in its time.

By the time I made the decision, I had arrived at the Starbucks, but still didn’t know where I was going to pray. I then realized how much I MISS to death the freedom in the U.S of praying literally anywhere and not feeling uncomfortable about it, nor being bothered. Numerous times I’ve prayed outside Panera Breads, Starbucks’, LaMadeleines’, and if anything, was completely respected in the space I chose to pray. I felt bummed that here I was in Jordan, and had to think so darn hard about where to pray, but I decided I’d pray in the big parking lot besides the Starbucks behind a big car where the guard of the parking lot wouldn’t see me. “Alright Shuruq, you got this, now just ask him for the qibla, and go pray behind a car,”. I approached the guard, he smiled and greeting me politely with a cigarette in his mouth, I asked him where the qibla was. “Al-gibla?” He asked a bit taken aback. “Aywa, al-gibla, li-salah.” Without responding, he simply got up, and went inside his “security booth” laid out a prayer rug for me, and said, “tafadhalee huna”.

I smiled, more to myself than to him, as I thought to myself regarding Allah, “I took a hesitant step towards You, while You responded Running, I love You.” I prayed a prayer with gratitude and the resolve to hopefully remember to always put Him first, by putting my prayers first. Allahumma thabbit aqdaamanaa 3laa deenik –Oh my Lord, make our feet firm upon Your way (religion-way of life), ameen.

Comment from Rafik Beekun:

A lesson to all those of us who delay prayer until the last minute or invent silly excuses to avoid prayer. Allah SWT says in the Qur’an, Surah Al Baqarah, ayat 252: Faothkuroonee athkurkum waoshkuroo lee wala takfurooni. “So remember me, and I shall remember you, and be grateful unto Me and deny Me not.”

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