Day Thirty Seventh (A Journey with Quran)

Surah Al Imran: Ayats 191 — 200

191. Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): “Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.

192. “Our Lord! any whom Thou dost admit to the Fire, Truly Thou coverest with shame, and never will wrong-doers find any helpers!

193. “Our Lord! we have heard the call of one calling (Us) to Faith, ‘Believe ye in the Lord,’ and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, blot out from us our iniquities, and take to Thyself our souls in the company of the righteous.

194. “Our Lord! Grant us what Thou didst promise unto us through Thine apostles, and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: For Thou never breakest Thy promise.”

195. And their Lord hath accepted of them, and answered them: “Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: Ye are members, one of another: Those who have left their homes, or been driven out therefrom, or suffered harm in My Cause, or fought or been slain,- verily, I will blot out from them their iniquities, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath;- A reward from the presence of Allah, and from His presence is the best of rewards.”

196. Let not the strutting about of the Unbelievers through the land deceive thee:

197. Little is it for enjoyment: Their ultimate abode is Hell: what an evil bed (to lie on)!

198. On the other hand, for those who fear their Lord, are Gardens, with rivers flowing beneath; therein are they to dwell (for ever),- a gift from the presence of Allah. and that which is in the presence of Allah is the best (bliss) for the righteous.

199. And there are, certainly, among the People of the Book, those who believe in Allah, in the revelation to you, and in the revelation to them, bowing in humility to Allah. They will not sell the Signs of Allah for a miserable gain! For them is a reward with their Lord, and Allah is swift in account.

200. O ye who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear Allah. that ye may prosper.

Translation: Abdullah Yusuf

The Ayats 193 — 194 is a lovely prayer which I say morning, and evening after saying my Farz prayers.

Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, blot out from us our iniquities, and take to Thyself our souls in the company of the righteous.

194. “Our Lord! Grant us what Thou didst promise unto us through Thine apostles, and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: For Thou never breakest Thy promise.”

This plaque hangs on my bedroom wall. I’m afraid my Arabic writing isn’t much, but this reminds me when I forget to recite it.

Day Thirty second (A Journey with Quran)

Surah Al Imran: Ayats 141 – 150

141. Allah’s object also is to purge those that are true in Faith and to deprive of blessing those that resist Faith.

142. Did ye think that ye would enter Heaven without Allah testing those of you who fought hard (In His Cause) and remained steadfast?

143. Ye did indeed wish for death before ye encountered it: now ye have seen it with your own eyes, (and ye flinch!).

144. Muhammad is no more than a Messenger: many were the Messengers that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude.

145. Nor can a soul die except by Allah’s leave, the term being fixed as by writing. If any do desire a reward in this life, We shall give it to him; and if any do desire a reward in the Hereafter, We shall give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve us with) gratitude.

146. How many of the prophets fought (in Allah’s way), and with them (fought) large bands of godly men? but they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah’s way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And Allah Loves those who are firm and steadfast.

147. All that they said was: “Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and anything we may have done that transgressed our duty: establish our feet firmly, and help us against those that resist Faith.”

148. And Allah gave them a reward in this world, and the excellent reward of the Hereafter. For Allah Loveth those who do good.

149. O ye who believe! If ye obey the Unbelievers, they will drive you back on your heels, and ye will turn back (from Faith) to your own loss.

150. Nay, Allah is your Protector, and He is the best of helpers.

Translation: Abdullah Yusuf

Tafsir (Explanation) for Ayat 144

When the rumour of the Prophet’s martyrdom spread during the battle, it disheartened most of the Companions. The hypocrites who were in the Muslim camp began to advise the believers to approach ‘Abd Allah b. Ubayy so that he might secure protection for them from Abu Sufyan. Some went so far as to say that had Muhammad really been the Messenger of God he would not have been put to death, and for that reason they counselled people to revert to their ancestral faith. It is in this context that the Muslims are now told that if their devotion to the truth is wholly bound up with the person of Muhammad (peace be on him), and if their submission to God is so lukewarm that his demise would cause them to plunge back into the disbelief they had cast off, then they should bear in mind the fact that Islam does not need them.

The ‘ones who are grateful’ are those who fully appreciate God’s favour in making the true religion available to them, and thereby intimating to them knowledge of a realm that is infinitely vaster than this world. Such people appreciate that God has graciously informed them of the truth so that the consequences of human endeavour are not confined to the brief span of earthly life but cover a vast expanse, embracing both the present life and the much more important life of the Hereafter.

A grateful man is he who, having gained this breadth of outlook and having developed this long-range perception of the ultimate consequences of things, persists in acts of righteousness out of his faith in God and his confidence in God’s assurance that they will bear fruit in the Hereafter. He does so even though he may sometimes find that, far from bearing fruit, righteousness leads to privation and suffering in this world. The ungrateful ones are those who persist in a narrow preoccupation with earthly matters. They are those who disregard the evil consequences of unrighteousness in the Hereafter, seizing everything which appears to yield benefits and advantages in this world, and who are not prepared to devote their time and energy to those acts of goodness which promise to bear fruit in the Hereafter and which are either unlikely to yield earthly advantages or are fraught with risks. Such people are ungrateful and lack appreciation of the valuable knowledge vouchsafed to them by God.

Forgiveness

I always pray for my dear ones and those whom I like. Sometimes I stop remembering those people in my prayers who hurt me with their words or deeds. I know I shouldn’t do it. I feel guilty all the time. Somehow my heart does not forgive easily. I do try to tell myself that God forgives so many of our mistakes. God loves those who FORGIVES.

I should BETTER myself but somehow forgiveness doesn’t come easily to me. It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? 😞

Anyway I hope I get over this trait of mine some day. Amen.

My Favorite Prayer

ربنا فغفرلنا ذنوبنا و كفر عنا سياتنا و توفنا مع الأبرار

ربنا و آتنا ما وعدتنا علا رسلك و تخذنا يوم القيامته

انك لا تخلف الميعاد

Translation

Our Lord, forgive us our sins, and wipe out our evil deeds and make us die with the truly pious

Our Lord, fulfill what you promised us through Your Messengers, and disgrace us not on the Day

of Resurrection; indeed You never go back on Your promise

Quran, chapter 3 Al Imran, verses (ayats) 193-194.