Surah Al Qamar (Ayah 52-55) 2nd February, 2013
Surah Al Qamar (Ayah 52-55) 2nd February, 2013 Introduction Surah Qamar talks about Allah s decree. The beginning of the Surah mentions the cursed nations and how they were destroyed due to their disbelief. Then Allah tells us about Qadr and the destruction of the previous nations was pre-ordained and pre-decreed. Now one can think that because Allah planned and wrote everything so this means that the disbelievers did not have a choice. The confusion is cleared in Ayah 52. It is important for us to understand that there are two types of Writings/Books. االلوحح االمحفوظظ Tablet 1. The first book is where Allah planned and wrote everything i.e. The Preserved Everything in detail is written in this book. The Preserved Tablet is also called االكتابب االسابقة which means The Previous Book 2. The second Book is the Writing of the Angels which is called االكتابب االاحقة which means things are recorded as they happen. Now the accounting on the Day of Judgment will happen according to the Writing of the Angels The Preserved Tablet has details of each and every creation i.e. the sky, the earth, humans, animals etc. It has in it all details from the birth of a person till he ends up in heaven or hell. Allah will not account us based on this book. The Writing of the Angels is the book based on which we will be judged. Allah says in the Quran that Angels record each and every deed whether good or bad. This records in this book can change which means 1
there can be erasures and/or additions to it e.g. if we repent after committing a sin then the bad deed will be erased from the record. An example of addition to the records in the Writing of the angels is when we guide or teach someone then the good deeds multiply. When a person dies this book (Writing of the Angels) is closed and no further records can be added to it except for any Sadaqa Gariya ( e.g. a tree that was planted, a word that was taught, a book given to someone etc.). Due to the Sadaqa Gariya the good deeds in the person s account will continue to be added till the Day of Judgment. This is why it is said that when you deal with Allah, you always emerge as a winner. In the end the records in the Writing of the Angels will be identical to the records in The Preserved Tablet. This is QudrutAllah. This is Allah s secret. Another thing to note is that The Preserved Tablet has details about everything e.g. where we are born, when are we born, who will be our family, what we eat, even the blink of an eye etc. however the Book of Records with the Angels will have only our deeds whether good or bad. This is the book we need to be worried about as we are guarded with so many witnesses (the angels, earth etc.) around us so we cannot escape as everything is recorded. Ayah 52 bad) means Everything (good and ك ل وو ش ى ء 2
means what they did. It is true that Allah pre-ordained everything but Allah has given humans the ف ع ل وهه will to choice between good and evil. We will be accountable for things we did whether good or bad. Our choice starts from our hearts. If we have determination for anything then Allah helps us to do it. Allah gave the human being the will to choose between good and evil. If we are sincere and truthful in our hearts, Allah accepts our deeds and he brings the means to us to achieve what we desire e.g. if we have determination and truthfulness in our hearts and we desire Paradise then we will have every chance to do deeds that will take us to Paradise. In return for our sincerity and truthfulness Allah appreciates every step we take and rewards us accordingly. means Maktoob. There are two types of writings. One is that of The Preserved Tablet and other is ٱٱل زب ر The Writing of Angels. It is true that the human being has a will and some will choose the path of righteousness and others will chose to sin. However at the end the records in The Writing of the Angels will be the same as the records The Preserved Tablet. Ayah 5 3 everything means وو ك ل ص غ يیر وو ك ب يیر means small means big This means everything small (minor) or big (major) that happens in this universe whether from creation, people or anything. line. which means a سطر is from مس ت ط ر 3
This means everything small or big is neatly written and organized in The Preserved Tablet. The Preserved Tablet is organized and arranged very well. Whatever is mentioned in Preserved Tablet will not change but we do not need to worry about the contents of the Preserved Tablet. We need to worry ONLY about our deeds as angels are recording every deed (good or bad). The Preserved Tablet makes us very content and satisfied because Allah has already preordained and pre-decreed everything. We should not regret if we loose anything in Duniya but if we loose the Akirah we loose everything. For e.g. if we desire anything in this Duniya the moment we get our desired object we loose our interest in it. We need to worry about the Akirah. Duniya is not real and is not important. Only the Arikah is important. May Allah give us all the wisdom to always remember the Akirah and to use the Duniya as a means for the Akirah. Till here the Ayat in Surah Al Qamar tells us about: Allah s Qadr, Allah s destruction of the previous nations so that we are aware and we don t follow in their footsteps. That everything is in the Preserved Tablet and that we have a will and we need to watch every step The records in the Preserved Tablet are arranged and organized. The above gives us the meaning of Taqwa. This means we need to guard ourselves. Our goal is Akirah. We need to struggle with the help of Allah. Our biggest challenge in life is that we don t know if we will go to Paradise. We don t know if we have attained the point where one can be guaranteed Paradise. Therefore we need Allah s help for this challenge. The only rope we can hold on to is Allah. This means we go back to square one. (4) Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek. (5) Show us the straight way ((Surah Fateha )) Always remember we are always in need of Allah and we cannot be self sufficient even if are guided and are on the straight path. Ahmed ibn u Humbul said, A believer will only relax when he will puts his first step in Paradise. When we do good deeds we need to go to Allah and ask him to accept our deeds. People will enter Paradise because of Allah s mercy. The challenge here is not how much we are doing but how much are we attached to Allah. The challenge can appear in our lives in different forms e.g. with worship, with our own selves, with our weaknesses, with people around us. However in any case the purpose of the tests is to upgrade us and to reform us. 4
Ayah 5 4 Here Allah tells us about the م ت ق يین. The goal of the م ت ق يین is to go to Paradise. We need to work towards Paradise in this life. The biggest obstacle in attaining Paradise is to be not pleased with what Allah decreed for us. Allah created us so we can do good deeds and enter Paradise. However we waste our energy by being unhappy and by being not content on Allah s decree. Our focus in on the Qadr, which Allah has already preordained and pre-decreed, and this is a waste of our time. We do not need to argue or be unhappy about the decree, as this is a distraction. If our goal is to go to Paradise then we don t need to be distracted with things that are not important. We need to worry only about our good deeds. The goal of م ت ق يین is Paradise so they guard their hearts and put it in a cage (this means they do not follow their desires and do not get distracted). They do good deeds, abstain from the sins and their motive is the light of Allah. They are only afraid of Allah and not afraid of people. Indeed means ا إ نن Taqwa means Mutaqeen - those having ٱٱل م ت ق يین in means ف ى (plural) means gardens ج ن ت rivers means وو ن ہ ر 5
The م ت ق يین guard themselves against Allah s anger and seek Allah s pleasure. They worry about one thing, which is Akirah. In life we worry about so many things, in our hearts, like our houses, our businesses, our spouses, our children etc. We should not worry if so and so did this or that. If we have one concern that is Akirah, then Allah will take care of all our concerns. Everything we do in this life should be to attain Allah s pleasure. If our concern is one (Akirah) then we will do everything in this life to reach that goal. We need taqwa and we need Allah s help to remove all our concerns and have just one concern i.e. Akirah. in means ف ى (plural) means gardens ج ن ت rivers means وو ن ہ ر The م ت ق يین in Paradise will have two gardens. م ت ق يین are those having taqwa. Taqwa means collection of all the actions of the hearts. It means fear, love, hope, tawakkul, isteanah etc. In short it means we put our hearts in a cage. We have all the means in front of us but we trust ONLY Allah and not the means. We do not rely on anyone but Allah. We love, fear and hope only Allah. Duniya is life of deception. Everything in this Duniya does even have the weight of a mosquito wing. Therefore we should not loose the hereafter for a little bit of Duniya. Ayah 5 5 in means ف ى position means seating, place, م ق ع د truthful means ص د قق In this Ayah we are told that the best delight that the م ت ق يین will enjoy in Akirah is their seating /position. Allah tells us here that their position of the م ت ق يین in Akirah is not an illusion. In Duniya our position is an illusion. In the Akhirah our position will be truthful and it will not perish. It will be ever lasting, firm, and stable. No one can take this position away from us. 6
of means close to, next to, neighborhood ع ند King means The King and The Owner Maleek is from Malik and Maalik. Malik means The م ل يیك and Maalik means The Owner. Allah is The King and The Owner from before and he is everlasting. Never will Allah s kingship and ownership perish or decrease. His position is forever. All affairs are in his hands. The origin of everything is in his hands. Everybody will return to Allah. Allah rose over the throne above all his creation. Not a single thing is hidden from him. Everyone is under his authority, under his will, م ت ق يین no one can object, resist or go against Allah. We cannot imagine Allah s kingship and ownership. The will have the honor to have their seating/position next to Al Maleek. means Al Qadir and Al Qadeer. Al Qadir means The one for whom nothing is difficult. Allah is مق ت د رر able to do anything and his ability is perfect. Al Qadeer means The one who does everything according to his will Al Qadir is about Allah s ability and perfectness in his ability. Al Qadeer comes with the decree. Qadeer tells us that everything is decreed by Allah. Allah will decree anything that he wills according to his knowledge and wisdom. The م ت ق يین are guarding themselves to attain Allah s pleasure so in return Allah gives them a great honour which is that they are near to the two powerful names of Allah. Their positon/seating will be next to the Maleek and Muqtaqir. Maleek is for the honor and Muqtadir is to tell us it is Allah alone who is able to put anyone in this position to be next to him. This makes us attach ourselves to Allah and flee to Allah alone. Now consider the connection between the start and end of the Surah Al Qamar which is that the Day if Judgment is very near so we need to work for our position, if we need honor from Allah then we need to ask for Allah s help to attain this. 7