Sahih International
This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah -
>In surah fatihah we ask for guidance, and the Quran is the answer to that prayer, but surah baqarah begins with haroof e muqattaat(which cannot be understand by humans and their meaning is known by Allah alone), By this Allah tells us that if you want guidance you have to approach Quran with an attitude of humbleness and sincerity, and not arrogance, first Allah starts with something that makes us realize that we cannot know everything,Allah puts our intellect in place,we cant possibly know EVERYTHING Allah knows, Ultimate knowledge belongs to Him,we have to submit to Him and then doors of wisdom will open for us.Nobody can tell what Huroof e Muqataat mean so Quran was even beyond their scholarly understanding. This is a humbling experience because when you start Quran, you have to admit that you cannot understand everything. We need to come to Quran like we are a lost person or a beggar. We cannot come to Quran with the attitude of criticism just like we criticise other books and teachers and things. Our attitude should be right and unless we have the right approach, we will only be misguided.
>2ndly Quran was revealed when one of the primary audiences were the Bani israel, they always used to pride themselves of knowledge and considered themselves highly educated, and they used to call Makkans unlettered as an insult,so when Prophet SAWW recited alif laam meem their attention was grabbed,how do they know this stuff?The ones who thought they had full knowledge of the language became shocked. How can a people who are illiterate use such letters which are only used in text?
One of the benefits of these letters is a rhetorical benefit; O you disbelievers, how come you
cannot come up with a similar Qur’an to this one? Aren’t these the same letters you use in your
daily speech? So why can’t you produce a similar Qur’an if it is not from Allah?
Madinah also had a lot of Christian and Jewish scholars who were called Ahbaar(as if they were dipped in ink), and imagine Prophet SAWW taught deeeen to people in Madinah although he was unlettered and UMMI compared to them. These people were shocked that how does Prophet SAWW know letters and arabic although he is unlettered and how is he speaking Arabic? They were shocked that who is his teacher who has taught him?ALLAH was his teacher. The Quran said things in a way nobody had heard before.
Haroof muqataat also teach us to curb our curiosity and to learn to have faith in Allah. Even worldly teachers tell us to stay on track and not get detracted by irrelevant questions. We need to ask useful questions and not useless ones. If Allah purposely did not explain something, then that means that not knowing it is beneficial for us and we should not go after what does not concern our actions. Allah has explained what is important. Whenever these letters come in Quran, Allah follows them with an ayah that Quran is a clear guidance. Once we guide our minds in the right direction, we can be guided by the Quran.
Madinah also had a lot of Christian and Jewish scholars who were called Ahbaar(as if they were dipped in ink), and imagine Prophet SAWW taught deeeen to people in Madinah although he was unlettered and UMMI compared to them. These people were shocked that how does Prophet SAWW know letters and arabic although he is unlettered and how is he speaking Arabic? They were shocked that who is his teacher who has taught him?ALLAH was his teacher. The Quran said things in a way nobody had heard before.
Haroof muqataat also teach us to curb our curiosity and to learn to have faith in Allah. Even worldly teachers tell us to stay on track and not get detracted by irrelevant questions. We need to ask useful questions and not useless ones. If Allah purposely did not explain something, then that means that not knowing it is beneficial for us and we should not go after what does not concern our actions. Allah has explained what is important. Whenever these letters come in Quran, Allah follows them with an ayah that Quran is a clear guidance. Once we guide our minds in the right direction, we can be guided by the Quran.
>Kataba means to write by etching onto something or scratching like people used to write in old times. Once you write, it is set and there is no delete button and no way to go back. We can easily delete and edit now but that was not possible in that era. Kitaab means that what it is, it is, so there is no room to modify/reconfigure/edit it. The Quran was an ORAL tradition but Allah called it Kitaab because it was meant to be set in stone.
Quran come from qara-a which means to read out loud. It is different from Kitab. Kitab refers to something that is written and Quran refers to something that is recited. Recitation happens in dunyaa but writing happened in lauhh e mahfoooz in the seventh heaven with karaamim barara the angels
>Zaalika means THAT, not THIS, Allah used Zaalika because the book is not with Prophet SAWW, its on the heavens, 2ndly it can be used to say that the book is on a high level,high stature
>Laa raiyba means that there is absolutely no room for any doubt whatsoever, fatha after Laa nafi jins means absolute negation. Raiyb means when a person is disturbed and shaken on the inside.
>It will only be a source of hidayah for those who have Taqwa, Taqwa includes the attempt to want to protect yourself, to be extra careful and cautious,to fear displeasing or disappointing Allah,it does not merely mean fear, otherwise Allah would have said khauf or khashya
Muttaqeen comes from wiqaya which means over and excessive protection.
Six different ways of looking at this ayah:
Alif lam meem, that is the book
Alif lam meem, that in fact is written(masdar)
Alif lam meem, IS in fact that book(alif lam meem is one of the mysterious names of the Quran) by making alif lam meem mubtada and followed by khabar.
Alif lam meem, that is in fact THE book( as if people were waiting for this book)
Alif lam meem, this is a powerful guidance who want to live life carefully
How do we know for sure that this is THE BOOK which has absolutely no doubt and is certainly by Allah? The Quran is a miracle on its own. The previous prophets only received miracles which were visual and for their own people and became only stories for the people to follow, but the Quran is an eternal miracle. This miracle is for the ears. The Quran is miracle only for those who look for this miracle.
Hidaya is closely related to hadiya which means gift so hidaya is a gift for us. HIdaya is like water and we are in constant need of it. We cannot just have one glass and say that is enough for life. Allah often describes Qurans hidaya as water because we are constantly thirsty for water and we are dependent on it. The water of revelation is Quran itself.
When we say the car is running, it means it is actively running, and when we say the car runs, it means that it has the ability to run. Allah says that this book has the power of guiding people and it is actively engaged in guiding(it is running). Hudan is a HAAL here.
In Surah fatiha, we look for role models in the past. But this might have made us think that all the good people who Allah favoured are gone. But IN Surah Baqarah, Allah uses al-muttaqeen which is a noun and nouns are permanent so such people were in the past, present and future. Some people think that good people were only in the time of Prophet SAWW and now they are gone and times have changed. And this invitation is for everyone who is a muttaqi, even if he is from non muslims who tries to protect himself from sins, so even nonmuslims can be guided through this book.
Sahih International
Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them,
Scientism is a new concept which states that only that thing is true which can be perceived by the 5 senses and proven by science. But not every thing can be gauged by science e.g. emotions. Even love is unscientific as you cannot explain why certain people love certain things and certain people.
>Muminoon is a present tense Muzaray which means that these people keep working on their imaan, and they don't give up on their imaan. They keep trying although they have highs and lows
Iman in the unseen also means to remember Allah when being tested with the temptation of sin. It means to remember Allah at such times when he is unseen but we need to remind ourselves of him. When we believe in the unseen, we know that what Allah has for us is much better than what is in the world so when we give up something for the sake of Allah, we will get something better in return. Unseen also includes the angels which protect us with the command of Allah. Unseen also includes that if we are going through a tough time, Allah will give us something better if we trust him. Muslims are not allowed to be depressed for the same reason, as we have to be grateful for Allah and believe in his perfect qadr and his decisions.
>from what WE have provided them they spend, it means Allah gave it to us,and THEN we are spending,we dont give anything thats ours, we give it back to Allah swt,and when we give it Allah is Ghani, its not like Allah needs it, we just transfer the money to the akhirah account
Mimmaa means from WHATEVER we provide them, so it not only includes money but every ability and everything Allah has given us.
We can only spend if we have imaan that money doesn't decrease by sadaqa as Allah will replace it with something better. When we give, we do not really give to the needy but we are actually giving to Allah who repays it to us in akhirah manifolds. Hazrat Ayesha RA used to put perfume on things when giving sadaqa as she knew the sadaqa was going to Allah SWT.
Children can be very selfish. They become very possessive of their things and their toys etc. Similarly, WE forget that whatever we own was given to us by Allah. To Allah we belong, and to Allah we will be returned. We need to understand that we don't really own anything in reality.
>the sequence is imp, the first fruit of imaan was establishing salaah,and after that spending becomes easy
Sahih International
And who believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain [in faith].>Muslims show respect not only to Prophet SAWW but also that which was revealed before it, although the content of the scriptures has changed we still cannot disregard their religion, we have to respect the old revelation,regardless of the poison the non muslims spew about islam,we cannot disrespect their prophets or the old revelations
Secondly,this ayah refutes the idea of any prophet coming after Muhammad SAWW, because the ayah says that they believe in what was revealed to YOU and to what was revealed BEFORE you,theres no possibility of revelation AFTER Muhammad SAWW. The only thing coming after the Prophet SAWW is the akhirah.
Jews were in two main groups, one were custodians of Aqsa and believed in worship and sacrifice to the temples. They did not believe in akhirah and they thought they would be turned to dust. They were Sarices.
The other group was Pharicis and they believed in akhirah. When the temple was destroyed, the sarices were destroyed and only the pharicis remained as their religion was not centered around temple. Even jewish scriptures did not have mention of akhirah for many years, and then some books began to have mention of akhirah once again round the time of Hazrat Isa AS. So this mention of akhirah is very significant for the people of the book.
>Yooqinoon means thoroughly convinced, SO convinced that its like you can SEE it, absolute certainty and conviction,we should have that kind of conviction about abandoning good deeds and doing bad deeds, we should be convinced of the outcome
yaqeen is mentioned about the akhirah, AFTERLIFE will mould our actions in dunya and will motivate us to do good. Every act of ibadah and standing before Allah and every act is a reminder of the akhirah.
The sequence is to first mention that revealed to them, and that revealed to those before and then the future(akhirah). This is to emphasise that the Quran which was revealed to them has the first priority in our lives and it will form the foundation of our deen. This is a guardian over all other scriptures and we have to see the previous scriptures in light of the Quran. We have to define religion through Quran and not on the basis of previous scriptures. If we put the previous scriptures first, then we will be confused as the previous scriptures are altered.
Yuqinoon is from baab Ifaal which has the meaning of something that is complete. These people have complete absolute belief in akhirah so that defines their life. This emphasises how important it is to have absolute conviction in akhirah.
Sahih International
Those are upon [right] guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful.
>Muflihoon and faaiyzoon both mean successful, but Muflih is actually the farmer who plants a garden and grows the crop,and then he harvests it,so at the time of harvest he is called Muflih, so although he does become successful he becomes successful after a hard labour, so Allah tells us that we will successful AFTER effort,not overnight. Muflih also means the one who will allow himself to remain, so that means they will remain successful in the akhirah.
There are two kinds of people, one are on that level of hidaya where they do ibadaat and spend a righteous life but have not been able to go out of the way to study deen in detail, and the other category is that people who are able to feed their family and also learn deen and become scholars or learned in deen(those who believe in what was revealed to them and before them) etc, so now Allah in this ayah bunches both groups together and say that both of them are on guidance and are successful. Allah values both of them.
Allah says that it is a hidaya for muttaqeen, but in the ayah about ramadan, Allah says it is hidaya for every person. These ayah did not contradict each other,because the true maximum benefit is only taken by muttaqeen but there is some level of hidaya for everyone. All humanity has the opportunity to become muttaqeen. Everyone is naas but if we strive to get taqwa we will get more hidaya.
Sahih International
Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe.
Sahih International
Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them is a great punishment.>The messenger is told that they are not going to believe whether you warn them or not,although he is the BEST daee, this ayah refers to a particular group of disbelievers, the prophet SAWW spent years inviting them but they only grew in animosity,although they know the truth they still reject it,they are adamant
Here, Allah is talking about a specific group who disbelieved and not ALL non muslims but this is a figurate expression to say it in a generalised manner e.g. if some people hurts us, we say people are hurtful, if students misbehave, we say students are very irritating, but that does not include ALL people or ALL students, so it is just a form of expression for those who had extreme animosity for Prophet SAWW
Warning refers to consequences, and the warning is related to what will happen to them in akhirah, this specific word is used because the Jews always rejected akhirah and they tried to remove traces of akhirah from their scriptures, so Allah keeps reminding them of the akhirah in the Quran again and again.
This ayah is often misused and generalised and applied to all nonmuslims that there is no point of guiding them and we should hate them. We should have the best ikhlaaq and try our best to guide them with love and pray for them. The moment the nonmuslim accepts Islam, they become our brothers in deen.
>Allah has placed a seal upon their hearts
Taba-a is another word used for seal, when something is filled completely and if more is poured then it will just pour out.
Khatamm is also used for seal of envelopes and letters. It does not mean that it is filled to the top. It just means that it is completed and finished.If someone gets diabetes, or heart disease etc because they had obesity or ate too much or did not take care, or if they did not take care of their car, home etc and it deteriorated, then that person is to be blamed for the consequences. Similarly, putting a seal does not mean Allah put a seal on their heart SO they did not get hidaya, rather it means that their actions were full of disobedience and they were full of disbelief so now Allah is done with them.
When the heart is sealed, rahmat and all good emotions are gone. Such people stop fearing for consequences, stop having hope in akhirah or in the good of this world, they lead meaningless lives. They stop feeling guilt and are able to do the most horrible things. They stop feeling shame on anything wrong or anything immoral. All these things lie in the heart.
Where does doubt rest?where does imaan rest?where does taqwa rest?where does hidayah rest?where does disbelief rest?inside the heart! everything rests inside the heart
so Allah places a seal first on their hearts and THEN on their hearing because first their hearts rejected the truth, then a seal was placed on it, and THEN hearing did not benefit them
In Surah jaasiyah the order is reversed, first the seal is placed on their hearing and then their hearts, because in ayah 8 the crime of the disbelievers is the refusal to listen,so first the seal is placed on that there
Hearing is singular but eyes and hearts are plural. Because different people have different views and vision and different states of heart. But ALL of them heard the same thing. The Quran addresses different people of different point of view and different states of heart, but all of them are inspired differently all of them react differently, just like the RAIN which grows different thing on different types of land.
>Their eyes are covered,they see the Messenger SAWW as a clear proof yet they have the audacity to reject it. They see everything but they are not able to appreciate imaan and deen so it is as if they have become blind. They cannot appreciate the ayaat of Quran. This ayah can also be used to point towards Judgement day where such people will be raised blind.
>Great punishment, not painful punishment. This seal is their biggest punishment! This disbelief is the biggest punishment for them
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