Divine Speech (Literary Analysis of Quran)

Transcription

1 Things t Remember abut Islam Divine Speech (Literary Analysis f Quran) Remarkable examples f the ayats and surahs f the Quran that prve this is a divine bk frm Allah, n ther explanatin Quran is made up f 114 surahs N ther bk has surahs Allah in the very beginning sets His wn standards Yu cannt cmpare the Quran t any ther bk Inside Surahs are Ayats Has several meanings: Smething valuable Smething that makes yu curius Smething that pints t a directin (which is Allah) Smething Amazing Smething Beautiful Surce f cnvictin/certainty Quran says the skies and the earth have enugh ayats t cnvince yu abut Allah Three kinds f Arabic Spken Arabic Knwn as street Arabic, such as rdering a shawrma Frmal Arabic

2 Arabic f the newspapers, Al-Jazeera Big difference between spken and frmal Old Arabic/Classical Arabic Arabic started ff as an islated culture and language befre the intrductin f Islam Resulted in a very refined Arabic Three prtectin mvements arse t prtect ld Arabic Mvement t prtect the Quran Mvement t prtect the hadith Mvement t prtect Arabic We can nly analyze the Quran in the Arabic f the desert r it s like we re lking at the Quran with dirty glasses Verbal Idims in the Quran Yu cannt take wrds literally in any language Befre Islam, the Arabs had figures f speech that Allah uses in the Qur an Clness f the Eyes & Warmth f the Eyes (Surah 25, Ayat 74) May Allah warm his eyes arabs wuld use it as a curse First meaning: hping ne sheds tears f srrw Cling f the eyes means t shed tears f jy When a desert dweller finds prtectin frm a sandstrm, he says: my eyes have becme cl Secnd meaning: finding relief

3 Allah says in the Qur an: Ya Allah, give us frm ur spuses and children the clness f the eyes Meaning: spuses and children are suppsed t be refuge frm the strm (utside wrld) When Musa (AS) s mther was reunited with him, her eyes became cl Cried with happiness When Firn s wife fund Musa (AS), she said This child, he cls my eye Third Meaning: when smething stays in ne place her eyes stay lcked n the baby and nthing else The Prphet (PBUH) stated: The clness f my eyes was put inside the prayer He has t talk t the Quraysh all day, wh use ful language against him He gets hurt because f hw pure hearted and sensitive he is He is in a strm all the time His relief frm the strm is praying t Allah Idea f crying during Salah is true It makes us cry ut f the clness f the eyes Mves us with jy T Lwer/Raise yur wings (Surah 17, ayat 24) Cmparing a persn t a bird When it flies up, it raises its wings When it lands, it lwers its wings A bird can raise/lwer its wings anytime it wants This ayat is abut ur relatinship with ur parents

4 Allah says even when yu becme independent, yu need t lwer yur wings when yu re with yur parents and act like yu dn t have wings at all Means: t shw humility and d it ut f lve and mercy fr them Why shuld yu d it? Because f mercy and yu shuld have lve and care fr them Even if they re annying r criticizing Years ag, yu were annying as a kid t Allah reverses the rle f parents and children ver time When yu re humble t them, yu genuinely shw yur lve and care t them Yu want Allah s rahma, then yu better shw them rahma Allah will test yu by making yur parents unusually agitating Secnd Meaning: t prtect yur parents when rles are reversed bird lwers its wings ver the nest t prtect the nest children sacrifice themselves fr the parent Untie the knt afflicting my tngue (Surah 20, ayat 27) First meaning: give me clarity in speech Dua f Musa (AS) when he was ging t speak publicly in frnt f peple This dua can be used befre public speaking The Quran is Beynd Explanatin Ab-brama

5 Wrd used fr tying things fr permanent purpses (tying tw beams tgether fr cnstructin) Quran uses it t describe peple wh d shirk (the Quraysh) Allah asks them a rhetrical questin: Have they tied the knt when it cmes t accepting Islam? If it is set fr them, then Allah says: Then we have tied the rpe als. Meaning, Allah will make them permanently that way, unable t accept Islam Huge difference when Allah ties his rpe vs when they tie their rpe When they tie their rpe, they use a verb (temprary) When Allah uses it, He uses it as a nun (permanent) Lessn: As firm as yu think yu are, yu re nt as firm as yu think. Hwever, Allah s decisin is supreme t all. Expressin in the Qur an describing pets Didn t yu see that they venture ff int every valley? Usage f valley dictates that a persn starts frm high elevatin t g dwn t a valley Meaning they g frm a state f dignity t a state f humiliatin Als, there may nt be a way back up nce yu g int the valley Allah describes the pet as smene wh is willing t humiliate themselves fr the attentin f thers and their willingness t cmprmise their dignity Pets back in the day started t write dirty petry, because they thught it wuld sell better and catch mre attentin Allah says these peple have n purpse in life, they nly live fr their fans

6 Quran teaches us t live in the wrld f What Is. Stry f Allah destrying a village and verturning it In this stry, Allah is saying that he destryed the twn in such a way that generatins went by that whatever walls were left als fell n tp f the rfs Span f destructin Hw cme the Qur an uses the wrld al-madina six times and Yathrib nce? They bth refer t the same city the City f the Prphet (PBUH) Medina nt the riginal name f the city, it is the given name f the city nce the Prphet (PBUH) mved there The hypcrites (Munafiqn) in the Quran used the wrd Medina until the battle f the trench when they thught they were ging t lse Lessn: Hypcrites will stay hidden during easy times and shw themselves during difficult times Tw ayats in the Quran Bal-Aji-B and Wal-Aji-B Bal-Aji-B: rather they fund it strange (Surah 50, Ayat 2) Wal-Aji-B: and they fund it strange (Surah 38, Ayat 4-5) Tw separate ayats that are fund in different surahs In ne f the ayats, there are three mre additinal things that the peple f shirk (Mushrikun) fund strange The Quran is s accurate that elsewhere in anther Sura entirely, when they fund 3 mre strange things, the expressin signifies three degrees f usage instead f ne The Quran remembers perfectly frm ne surah t anther surah and balances them

7 Take int accunt that the Qur an wasn t even written at the time It was nly said by the wrd f muth frm the Prphet (PBUH) We as human beings can t even remember what we said 5 minutes ag What des Allah see in yu? In the Quran, it is pssible t have multiple plurals f a wrd Weak plural (less than 10) and plural n sterids (uncuntable) Allah chses the right wrd in every place in the Quran Ni mah (1 blessing), Niaam (Many, Many, Many Blessings), An um (few blessings) Anuum is a weak plural while Niaam is a super plural Allah uses bth wrds nce in the prper place Allah released blessings n t yu (Niaam) Ibrahim (AS) was being grateful fr Allah s blessings (An um) It s a big deal that Ibrahim (AS) can even cunt a few blessings f Allah Allah says: If yu were t try t cunt the favr and blessing (singular) f Allah, yu wuldn t be able t d it Meaning: we can t even cunt ne blessing frm Allah Hw many times has ne blessing benefited me tday r my entire life? Lessn: we can never thank Allah enugh Quran has at least 3 wrds fr chice Al-Ikhtiaar A gd chice, a chice based n the gd in smething

8 Al-Istifah Persnal chice with n utside influence Purely yur wn chice Al-Ijtibah Chice based n qualificatins Ex: picking smene fr a jb Allah says, Allah chses frm amng his angels and frm amng the human beings t be the messengers Wrd used here is Al-Istifah Meaning, Allah made his wn chice, and yu dn t get t say why Allah says the reasn we are Muslim is because He has decided fr us t be Muslim He uses the wrd Al-Ijtibah We have qualificatins t be Muslim and that s why He chse us Jb: Struggle in the path f Allah with n gal in frnt f yu, except Allah and struggle like He deserves t be struggled fr Lessn: If Allah can make the impssible easy fr Ibrahim (AS), what can yu cmplain abut? He s nt asking much frm us Lessn #2: Every single Muslim wh is either brn r came and tk the Shahadah, Allah sees smething in them that He sees wrthy f struggling fr Him. Otherwise, we wuld nt have the hnr f saying Lailaha ill lalah Tw wrds fr the Heart in the Quran Qalb

9 Typical Heart is cnstantly changing (emtins/feelings) Fu ad Unusual A heart that is fired up: extremely angry, scared, r happy Ex: bad day at wrk results in yelling at yur wife Lessn: Allah says yu will be asked abut yur heart (Fu ad), because we d nt get t blame ur excited emtinal states t justify ur behavir Fu ad was mentined fr a specific reasn while Qalb was nt used here Cnsistency in the Quran Allah has the capacity t intervene in yur heart and calm it dwn. He can mve yu frward and heal the previus damage that was dne He des this fr Musa (AS) s mther when she drpped Musa (AS) in the river Fr peple wh say: my heart is scarred and I cannt mve n Allah uses Fu ad in this case f the heart Musa (AS) and Isa (AS) came t the same natin (Israelites) When Musa (AS) spke t the natin, he addresses them as HIS natin b/c his father was frm the same natin When Isa (AS) spke t the natin, he calls them Sns f Israel b/c he desn t have a father and his identity cmes frm his mther Just because Allah is angry with a peple des nt mean yu have the right t be angry with thse peple Every human being MUST be respected with dignity

10 Transitins in the Quran Allah is saying that believers cannt be purified unless they are put t the flame S Allah may cleanse thse wh believe in surah al-imran Abut the Battle f Uhud Like gld is being cleansed It has t be melted Small shifts/transitins between them and yu Allah des this in ne ayat where He speaks t ne grup, then starts speaking t anther grup Transitin between bin Israel and the Muslims Transitin Example abut Time Travel Ayat begins with They and abut what will happen in Jannah "They will be eating fruits, and they will be enjying themselves. And they will be smiling and He has prtected them frm the raring flames" Immediately, Allah says: "Eat and drink care free because f the wnderful things yu used t d" (future) Allah frces us t imagine urselves in Jannah, and He is telling us t eat and drink care free Gift f Allah in the ayat: yu will be talking directly with Allah Allah will be telling us we did a great jb SubhanAllah

11 Sequencing in the Quran In ur cnscience, we get used t saying things in a certain rder (i.e. saying Day and Nights ) Allah changes the rder f certain wrds thrughut the Quran, He desn t stick t ne rder Allah says in Surah tul Mulk: Say He is Ar-Rahmaan. we believe in Him and upn Him we rely Strange rearrangement fr humans Humans wuld say: We believe in Him and upn Him we rely When yu use unusual rdering, yu add the wrd nly Actual translatin: We believe in Him and we nly rely upn Him Reasn: We believe in Allah and many ther things, such as angels, day f judgment, bks, predestinatin, Jannah, and jahanam But we ONLY rely upn Allah, nt the angels nr the prphets This happens in a split secnd, n ne wuld even think abut this cnsciusly Thematic Overview (Big Picture f the Quran) Sectin 07 Ayat #16 f Surah Luqman Allah teaches us t give any advice in a lving and patient way Luqman is telling his sn that yu can get away with stuff frm me, but every wrd and detail is ging n recrd Allah says: Allah knws when the eyes cheat fr a single mment

12 Ayat #17 f Surah Luqman Gift in the Quran: If yu d certain gd deeds, Allah will give yu s much credit fr them, way ver what yu deserve, that it will verweigh all f the ther bad deeds frm the past First f thse actins is Salah Purpse f daily salah is t wipe ut all f the evil deeds yu ve made in that day Man up and dn t care if smene sees yu praying Yu ll get in weird situatins, but the advice is t always stick with the prayer Salah is suppsed t be a practice run fr Judgment Day itself Every time yu pray shuld be a reminder f when yu ll be standing in frnt f Allah n Judgment Day Other benefits f Salah There are things that will wrk ut in yur life Allah will prtect yu frm all kinds f fitna Allah will give yu the strength f character t stand up fr yurself just because yu re standing up fr Allah Luqman says t his sn t advise peple abut the right thing Speak ut against and prevent the wrng thing frm happening Allah has given yu the key t live life prperly, yu shuld never feel like yu re missing ut n anything in life When smene asks yu why d yu pray?

13 Respnse: Why wuldn t I pray? He is my Creatr and this is the least He expects frm me. Anyne wh speaks ut against the wrng thing will becme targets themselves Allah says: Be patient ver whatever hits yu When yu stand up fr the right thing, yu ll be tested, and yu just have t make sure yu stand thrugh it and have the curage fr Allah Things t Remember abut Sabr and kinds f Sabr 1.) patience/perseverance is when smething bad happens t yu, and yu have t stay strng 2.) when yu have the pwer t d the wrng thing and yu hld yurself back and dn t d it 3.) yu stay strng ver what Allah asks yu t d Ex: yur cmmitment t Salah Sectin 08 Ayats 18 and 19 f Surah tul Luqman Ayat #18 Dn t let yur facial expressins ffend peple In the Quran, yu can hld smene accuntable even fr their facial expressins Allah says He desn t like peple wh are s bsessed with their self-image Allah made yu the way yu shuld be, and that is gd enugh fr Allah, which shuld be gd enugh fr yu

14 Allah in the Quran in Surah tul Nisa tells us: Dn t wish fr what ther peple have Allah gave certain peple gifts, and He gave yu ther kinds f gifts Ayat #19 T nt becme fake, have real purpse in whatever yu d. Dn t just wander abut withut any purpse Ex: wanna g chill, but yu have n idea what t d When it s smething yu have t figure ut fr yurself, then we dn t use haram r halal Ex: raising yur vice deals with smene s mrals Haram has t d with certain laws Mrals f Islam have always stayed the same thrughut all prphets (AS) Shamelessness has always been wrng Arrgance has always been wrng Sectin 09 Ayats frm Surah Fusilat Allah talks abut peple that have lived a gd life and fulfilled the 4 requirements f Surah tul Asr Ayat Even befre yu die, ne f the gifts that Allah gives believers is letting them knw that they are the peple f Jannah In Jannah, yu dn t nly get t ask abut desires yu had befre, but yu als get new things that dn t even exist n this planet

15 Everything ffered in Jannah is nly described as appetizers. The real Jannah will be after the intrductry treats, and it has nt even been described in the Quran Ayat 33 If yu are mtivated t g this kind f place, Allah says the kind f peple wh will end up here are thse calling peple t Allah while acting crrectly themselves Yu never think f yurself better than anyne simply because yu are praying and they are nt Yur prayer may nt even be gd/accepted fr all yu knw Allah listens t everyne, He desn t listen t smene mre than thers, and He des nt give up n any f His creatins Just because peple have given up n yu desn t mean Allah has All we can cmment n is wrng behavir and even g ut f ur way t say that we are amng the Muslims, we are nt perfect either Sectin 10 Islam believes that every human being has natural gdness within them Ruh the spirit/sul f every human being that has a natural tendency t knw gd vs. evil Prf: when smething nice is dne fr yu, the very least yu will d is thank the persn Prf #2: Any decent human being will be grateful t his/her mther When yu re truly grateful, yu realize all f this is being taken care f by the One That s hw yu reach Allah

16 When yu g far back enugh in the chain, it will always end with thanking Allah Wh created everything and everyne Islam begins with the idea f being grateful Hamd is abut human beings remaining psitive Ex: yu see a tree, and yu can find it beautiful Allah gave us this POWER t appreciate things and enjy them Why is it that fd tastes gd? Yu didn t need taste buds t survive Gift frm Allah Earth didn t need t be beautiful fr us t live in it r have any clr We see beauty all arund us and it inspires us t make beautiful things Allah did nt just create life, He made life BEAUTIFUL First argument in Islam: If yu re feeling appreciative, then cntinue reading the Quran If nt, then dn t even bther because yu will be t self-centered t understand Hw many things has Allah given yu withut yu asking? Uncuntable Ex: Yur dad gives yu a new car because he lves yu nt because yu deserve it The very first thing yu shuld have is thanks and appreciatin fr all the gifts He has given Obnxius t cmplain abut gifts frm smene Even when yu re nt grateful, Allah des nt punish yu immediately r take away yur gift Nt nly are all the things arund us given by Allah, we are the prperty f Allah When yu wn smething, and it desn t wrk prperly, yu replace it

17 Allah has the right t replace us with smene wh actually praises Him and thanks Him Why desn t He just wipe us ut? He definitely has the pwer, right, and authrity t d s Tw pssibilities: 1.) Yu re ding a gd jb 2.) His Lve fr yu is beynd imaginatin n ther relatinship where yur entire life yu've ignred them, entire life yu've unappreciated them, entire life they wanted a handful f things fr yu t d, and yu ignred them Allah has sme kind f lve and sme kind f care that we've never witnessed r seen befre, beynd imaginatin Ar-rahmaan Ar-raheem (The Mst Lving and Caring) Sectin 11 The way Allah takes care f us (even thugh much greater and perfect) is similar t hw a baby is taken care f when he/she is in the wmb f a mther Allah als named the wmb f a mther as Rahm, which is related t Allah s Names: Ar-Rahmaan and Ar-Raheem When a child is in the wmb, it des nt d anything fr the mther. We d nt d anything fr Allah, He des everything fr us We are cmpletely wrapped up and envelped in the lve and care f Allah Allah s lve fr us is beynd lgical sense, similar t hw a mther s lve fr her daughter/sn is illgical

18 Ar-Rahmaan Means that this lve and care is extreme Quality f impermanence: meaning yu must mess up really badly fr it t g away He even lves and cares fr thse wh hate Him Only fr this wrldly life Ar-Raheem Means always lving and caring Als implies that it is fr thse believers wh made it t heaven In the Quran, it says that Allah will say salaam t the believers The wrd used here is raheem nt rahmaan Allah describes in the Quran the cncept that this wrld is actually nt designed t be perfectly fair, real justice will be served n the Day f Judgment Hwever, Allah tells us that we have t still be as just as we can Purpse f judgment day is t take all the little injustices and big injustices that smebdy gt away with OR all the gd deeds that smebdy didn't get paid fr, and all thse will all be paid n judgment day Sme pains yu've suffered in this wrld, and Allah will pay yu back fr the suffering n judgment day Being sick is actually purifying yur sins accrding t the Prphet (SAW) As slaves f Allah, we nly need t d a cuple f things He has asked us t d Pray five times a day Stay away frm haram things Fast nce a year

19 Make hajj nce in yur lifetime A slave shuld be wrking 24/7, but Allah has nly asked a little frm us When yu're a slave t Allah, it's easy and cmes with sme great deals He says t the slave: "If yu just becme grateful, I will keep n giving and keep n giving and keep n giving mre and mre and mre withut limit" Quran was sent dwn t prvide a balance t everything (straight path) When we are asking Allah t guide us n the straight path, we are als asking Him t becme fair peple T have better justice in this wrld, the Quran states that the pririty is that peple must be fair If peple are fair, there can be fair laws Sectin 12 Tw types f paths we ask Allah t guide us away frm Magdbe Peple that yu have a right t be angry at b/c they knw smething is wrng and they d it anyway Yu learn stuff, but yu dn t think abut it and yu dn t act n it A lt f the initial enemies f Islam had perfect knwledge abut the Daaaleen Arabic language, but they still cntinued t disbelieve Peple wh are lst and act incrrectly They d nt think abut what they are ding If yu d nt think abut what yu knw, yu will never mve frward

20 Yu ask these peple why they d smething, and they say: I dn t knw, we re just ding it because we ve always dne it like that There needs t be a balance between yur heart/emtins and knwledge Yu learn the Quran, but then yu must als pray the Quran If yu have knwledge, and then yu take actin, then yu are n the straight path Al-Fatihah begins with knwledge abut Allah, then speaks abut actin Wisdm: when yu have knwledge and yu act n that knwledge The entire Al-Fatihah is all abut wisdm Sectin 13 Seerat (Path) Is used fr the path that is the ONLY rad that ges smewhere Qualities: Wide path Straight path Only pssible path N plural exists fr this wrd In ther wrds, Allah has revealed nly ne true path All the Prphets that have cme thrughut the ages have taught the exact same mrals This path is made up f beliefs, mrals, and laws The Quran mentins thers frm the past as ur rle mdels

21 Hwever, we can nly fllw the laws f the Prphet Muhammad (SAW) Our true rle mdels t fllw are in the past accrding t Al-Fatihah 1.) Prphets 2.) Siddiquins (Truthful Ones) Peple wh believed in the Prphets n matter hw difficult 3.) Peple wh gave their lives fr their faith 4.) As-Saalihin (Gd Peple) Ex: Luqman The Prphet (SAW) has been given a special funtain in Jannah where he will give believers water, and we will ask him abut the stries we haven t heard Surat Al-Imran Ayats Stp and think abut the skies and the earth and hw they were actually created There is an actual cnflict between night and day Wind An actual delivery system fr life n this planet Withut breeze, plants wuldn t cme ut, which means ur envirnment wuld be plluted with carbn dixide One way r anther, all creatin is wrking with each ther t prduce a higher purpse Yu persnally have a relatinship with the sky and the earth Yur well-being is dependent n them Everything t us is prvided fr ur benefit and utilizatin

22 Everything fits s perfectly well with each ther Makes yu develp a greater appreciatin fr yur Maker If peple s minds are filled with junk, they will miss ut n all the signs f Allah They will be lst in trivial details rather than the imprtant meanings f life Clear minded peple are described with tw parts: Heart and mind Quran cnvinces bth yur heart and mind f belief in Allah Human beings are emtinal and ratinal creatures Peple f clean minds They remember Allah standing, sitting, and n their sides (Emtinal) They think deeply abut creatins f skies and the earth (Ratinal) Balance between bth heart and mind, but heart is given pririty Successful peple n Judgment Day will cme with a clean/sund heart When we praise and thank Allah in Fatihah, it is a matter f the heart, nt the mind When yur heart is in the right state, yur mind will wrk in the right directin When peple remember Allah a lt, they are nt alne anymre Allah is there 24/7 taking care f yu Everything arund us is way t intricate, way t invlved, way t perfectly designed (even urselves) Train yurself t think abut everything arund yu as sme kind f lessn frm Allah

23 Frm a believer s perspective, everything yu d Is cmpensated by Allah and guaranteed by Allah A pint system fr us Peple like games because they have smething they wrk twards We are wrking twards Jannah Even the Quran says this life is just a game Allah is way t perfect t create smething that has n purpse r meaning He desn t make mistakes He wuldn t tell us t d smething if it wasn t imprtant Islam des nt want yu t make lgical sense ut f every single rule, that is actually incrrect Once yu have the emtinal and lgical prf this is frm Allah, yu will nt questin Him Allah asks yu t think abut the big questins f life rather than being wrried abut why there are 5 prayers instead f 4 prayers Once big questins are answered, then whatever Allah asks yu t d, yu are fine with it Misc Nthing yu ever d fr Allah is wasted even if yu see results r nt Allah will nt waste the cmpensatin f any f thse wh believe

24 Allah says when peple get up fr Me, I will let n harm cme t them a. Battle f Uhud Dn't be afraid f Shaytaan and his friends, be afraid f Allah. Allah says: "Dn't let thse wh are making a lt f effrts t further disbelieve ever wrry yu" Allah is reminding us that whatever we wn desn't mean we get t keep it a. "Allah alne wns the entire inheritance f the skies and the Earth" Allah is saying t grw a spine, get strng, dn't be afraid f anybdy else, prve yurself t Allah and nne f the effrts yu d will g unacknwledged a. Battle f Uhud Abve and beynd everything else, make sure yu have Sabr: patience, cnsistency, cnstancy in everything yu d, like prayers, giving charity, and s n a. Allah is with the peple wh have Sabr (2:153) Allah says: "My lve and care held all things" a. Cmpared with the kursi, size f earth and skies (entire knwn universe) is like a ring in the desert. And size f kursi cmpared t arsh, is like a ring in the desert. b. kursi hlds skies and earth c. arsh hlds the kursi d. and the rahma hlds everything e. And Allah is greater than ALL f these cmbined In earthly life (duniya), it is abut listening, and in the Afterlife (Aakirah), it is abut seeing a. Believers listen first, then they see n judgment day b. Disbelievers want t see first, then they listen n judgment day When yu use the unusual rder, yu add the wrd "nly"

25 a. Ex: We believe in him and upn him we rely -> We believe in him and we nly rely upn him Qur'an will cnstantly require us t think and nly Allah knws truly We are students f knwledge fr the rest f ur lives a. Cannt ever say that we definitively knw smething The Qur an is in perfect, divine rder a. Example: Surah #17 and Surah #18 are perfect cmpliments f each ther b. Surahs #105 - #114 is an entire argument abut the neness f Allah and the legacy f Ibrahim (AS) c. Beginning and end f Surah tul Hijr (and ther surahs) are crrelated Islam abslutely discurages arrgance. If yu have even a little f it, yu can't get int Heaven (Jannah). Islam encurages cnfidence thugh. a. When nbdy else is there t take up the task, and yu knw Allah has given yu a gift that can help ther peple, then yu d it (Cnfidence) b. Tw prblems f arrgance: i. when yu are impressed w/ yurself 1. des nt mean yu deny the gifts Allah has given yu ii. when yu think yurself better than thers Allah made the Qur an easy fr remembrance, but yu need t dive deeper t understand it a. Yu cannt understand the Qur an in trn pieces Qur'an teaches us acknwledgement in the gd even in the ne yu're ppsing. a. Musa (AS) in Ash-Shu'ara w/ Firun when he admits that Firun prvided fr him as a child

26 Hld yur tngue back. Dn't say smething yu knw will hurt the ther persn. Dn't be dismissive fr the gd smene has dne fr yu. a. Ibrahim (AS) in Surah Ash-Shu'ara w/ his Father raising him Allah says: "Whever fllws my guidance when they cme t this Earth, then there will n fear n them nr grief" Islam is nt asking yu t be perfect r t attain a perfect sciety. It is asking yu t always d better and better a. Allah will nt judge yu n hw perfect yu and I were. Allah will judge us n hw much effrt we made t be better and better Qur'an is teaching us that the disabled believers that are struggling t learn are the real VIPs f Allah, nt the pwerful leaders Favrite Ayats 2:257 Allah is the friend f thse wh believe. He brings them ut frm darkness int the light. And thse wh disbelieve - their allies are Taghut (idls). They take them ut f the light int darkness. Thse are the cmpanins f the Fire; they will abide eternally therein. #1 Surah Al-Fatihah (The Opening) Fatihah is Allah intrducing Himself t us First three ayats gives a cmprehensive picture f wh Allah is Entire Fatihah Meaning:

27 1.) All Praise and Thanks Belng t Allah. Our religin begins with ptimism Has t be genuine and sincere praise Al-Hamdu is a nun, which is timeless and independent, which means praise and thanks t Allah is timeless, and it des nt require anyne, it exists n its wn Inna (indeed) was nt used in the beginning b/c yu can use Alhumdulliah fr bth emtin and infrmatin, inna is fr infrmatin By using Allah s name, yu cver all His attributes Al means All r Ultimate, but sme Hamd can belng t thers as well 2.) Master f the Natins/Peple Rab has several different pieces t it: Malik (wner) Sayyid (in charge) Al-Murabbi (Care Taker) One wh ensures smething grws and is taken care f Ensures smething gets better and better Al-Qayyim (Maintainer) Smene wh makes sure things remain in tact Things dn t fall apart Ex: Allah cntinuusly making ur hearts beat Al-Mumin(Giver f Gifts/Favrs) Everything we wn/experience is a gift

28 We have n right t cmplain if smething is taken away r smething is nt given t us Allah is ur Master (Rab) and we are his slaves (Abd) Slavery t Allah frees yu frm slavery t everything else Human beings enjy nly freedm and n ppressin with Allah Wrship is ne part f slavery Our relatinship with Allah is nt a few times, it is all the time Salah reminds us that we are slaves t Allah Al-Alamin Natins/Peple een at the end f wrds talks abut peple Peple need warning, nt the wrld r animals Allah cares abut all the natins and peple frm all cultures/cuntries Fatihah is abut PEOPLE nt abut anything else 3.) The ne wh Lves and Cares the Mst Rahm wmb f a mther Rahma Yu have n idea what Allah des t take care f yu Yu are nt capable f hw many ways He is prtecting yu Rahma cmes frm Rahm Ar-Rahmaan the AAN signifies 3 things: Extreme lve and care happens at an extreme scale Immediately Lve and care is happening right nw Temprary lve and care can pssibly be taken away

29 Guarantees Allah will take care f me right nw in extreme quality Ar-Raheem tw qualities Permanent Always lving and caring Nt necessarily happening right nw Ar-Rahmaan cvers the present while Ar-Raheem cvers the future (afterlife) Rahma f Allah is beynd human imaginatin 4.) Master f the Day f Judgment Balances ut the first tw ayats, s peple dn t start taking advantage f Allah s rahma Malik (Owner) Tw prnunciatins exist at the same time Maalik -> means wner Malik -> means king Owner small things King big things Allah takes wnership f bth the big and small details f judgment day Judgment day is a neutral ayat, nt a negative ayat because Allah will serve his justice t be fair, nt t punish peple 5.) It is nly t yu that we willingly give urselves in slavery and wrship. We seek yur help and nly yur help. Every Fatihah is revisiting slavery t Allah ver and ver We must g back t why we re Muslim ver and ver, which is a fundamental truth f Islam

30 Nt an easy cmmitment t be Allah s slave, which is why we ask fr his help We first d fr Allah, then we ask fr help urselves Isti Ana Help when yu are exhausted yurself Allah is asking fr yur best effrt Results will always be in the hands f Allah Allah will never give help when there is n effrt Guidance is the mst desperate help we need as human beings Guidance is like water, yu need it every few hurs We need t keep asking fr guidance in Salah all the time 6.) Guide us t the straight curse Guidance is the greatest f all gifts Ex: getting lst in the desert and having guidance can save yur life Sirat Straight path Wide rad Lng rad In this life, yur destinatin is the rad itself Our life as Muslims is nt abut perfectin, it s abut cntinual imprvement and prgress Everyne is n the path with peple mving slwly and quickly, but everyne is n it Cmpare yurself with yur prgress frm yesterday, nt t ther peple n the path

31 Mustaqim (Straight up) Upwards path If yu stp, yu will fall Lust, temptatin, greed, etc.. will all pull yu dwn as gravity The higher yu get, the mre dangerus it is if yu fall int dunya 7.) The path Wh yu made ease fr/wh yu favred and nt f thse whm anger was directed and thse wh are lst An Amta (Wh yu favred/made ease fr) It is in the past tense Rle mdels wh have already made the jurney Tw different grups wh we shuld nt be like magdbe Thse wh d wrng even when they knw what they re ding is wrng Allah des nt like t mentin Himself with this grup, which is why it says they will receive anger They were the bin Israel mentined in the Quran Had all the knwledge, but tk n actin daaaleeen (lst) These were the Christians mentined in the Quran Had all the actin, but n knwledge

32 Allah uses nuns fr bth grups b/c these grups are in the past, present, and future The entire Fatihah is a PERFECT balance, and Islam teaches us t balance ur lives. #12 Surat Yusuf 111 ayats The entire Surah is in perfect symmetry Nte that this was all recited nce, n edits invlved. SubhanAllah. Every prblem discussed in the first half f Surah Yusuf is slved in reverse rder in the secnd half f Surat Yusuf Teaches abut cnfidence Allah even says at the end: "It's nt speech that's made up. Yu can't make this stuff up" #15 Surah tul Hijr (The Rcky Tract) 99 ayats Beginning and end f surah crrelated Allah says in the beginning: "Alif. Lam. Rah. Thse are the miraculus signs, the ayats, f the bk and a clear and clarifying Qur'an" #105 - Surah tul Fil (The Elephant) Abut the city f Mecca and Kaaba being attacked by an army f elephants Allah prtected the city under any circumstances

33 #106 Surah Quraysh Ntes #107 Surah Al-Ma un (The Small Kindnesses) Ntes #108 Surah Al-Kawthar (The Abundance) Ntes #109 Surah Al-Kafirun (The Disbelievers) Ntes #110 Surah An-Nasr (The Divine Supprt) Ntes #111 Surah Al-Masad (The Palm Fiber) Abu-Lahab, wrse enemy f Islam, cndemned and taken care f by Allah #112 Al-Ikhlas (The Sincerity) Ntes #113 Al-Falaq (The Daybreak) Revealed t prtect frm attacks that cme frm the utside n Tawhid (Oneness f Allah)

34 #114 An-Nas (The Mankind) Revealed t prtect frm attacks f the whispering devils, r attacks that cme frm the inside n Tawhid Beautiful language that Allah uses in this surah Allah uses chest instead f heart t signify that the devils dn t have access t ur hearts Imagine the chest as a castle that has gates The nly ne wh can pen up thse gates t ur hearts is urselves Imprtant Peple Salman Al-Farisi Cmpanin f the Prphet Muhammad (PBUH) wh translated the Fatihah int Farsi His translatin has always been used in Persian translatins Islamic Terminlgy Seerah the life f the Prphet Muhammad (PBUH) Wahjib an act that is necessary in Islam Ihsan highest state f Islam Names f Allah Lathif

35 First meaning: kindness/niceness Allah knws s much abut what we d wrng, but He desn t punish us fr it and gives us a chance t ask fr frgiveness Allah desn t give up n yu. It s ne f his qualities as Lathif Secnd meaning: smene wh des things that are very subtle The way Allah keeps recrd f yu is very subtle, and yu dn t even knw yu re being recrded He als gets full news f everything that yu d, nt just bits and pieces