KHUTAB VIII by Muhammad Amin Samad

S E L E C T E D K H U Ṭ A B VIII (SERMONS & SPEECHES) 12 December 2014 – 12 June, 2015 * BY MUHAMMAD AMIN A. SAMAD CANBERRA, JULY, 2015 *** Edit: November, 2017

ِ ّ‫بِس ِم الل‬ ِ ‫الرِح ْيم‬ ‫ن‬ ‫حم‬ ‫الر‬ ‫ه‬ َّ ْ ّ ْ ‫َو بِه نَ ْستَ ِع ْين‬ ُّ ‫فِ ْي أ ُُم ْوِر‬ ‫الدنْ يَا َو الدِّيْن‬

For the Collection of my Islamic Speeches and Writings, please visit: [Google] muhamine.blogspot.com http://issuu.com/muhammadaminsamad independent.academia.edu/MuhammadAminSamad

Contents .……………………………. Transliteration ………………………………….......

iii v

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Preface ……………………………………………... A. Introduction to the Khuṭbah ………………... B. Some Examples of Du‘ā’ for the Second Khuṭbah …………………….. 1. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (1) …………… 2. Keep Praying Sincerely …….. 3. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (2) ………………… 4. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (3) ………………… 5. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (4) ……………………………… 6. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (5) ……………………… 7. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (6) …………………. 8. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (7) …………………………

vii x xii 1 7 11 17 23 29 35

9. Pious People’s Du‘ā’ (Supplication) in the Qur’ān (8) …………………… 10. Science of Tajwīd (1) ……………………… 11. Science of Tajwīd (2) …………… 12. Science of Tajwīd (3) ………………. 13. Science of Tajwīd (4) …………………… 14. Science of Tajwīd (5) ………………… 15. No Pork, Why? …… …… .….. 16. Oh, Rajab …………………………… 17. The Virtues of Sha‘bān) ……………… 18. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (1) ………………… 19. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (2) ………………..

47 53 59 65 71 77 83 89 95 101 107

TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM The English transliteration for Arabic names and terms followed in this booklet is as follows: a. Consonants: ‫ = ا‬a or ’

‫ = ب‬b

‫= ج‬j

‫ =ح‬ḥ

‫ = ذ‬dh

‫ = ر‬r

‫ = ز‬z

‫ = س‬s

‫ = ش‬sh

‫ =ص‬ṣ

‫=ض‬ḍ

‫ = ط‬ṭ

‫= ظ‬ẓ ‫= ق‬q

‘ =‫ع‬ ‫ = ك‬k

‫ = غ‬gh ‫ = ل‬l

‫ = ف‬f ‫=م‬m

‫ = ن‬n

‫ = ت‬t ‫ = خ‬kh

‫ = هـ‬h ‫ = و‬w ‫( ’ = ء‬like alif)

‫ = ث‬th ‫ = د‬d

‫ = ي‬y

b. Vowels: Short:

Long:

Fatḥah

--َ---: = a

‫ـا‬

Kasrah

--َ---: = i

‫= ـي‬

Ḍammah -- َ---: = u

‫= ـو‬

= ā

c. Tā’ marbūṭah: ah, e.g., sūrah (‫)س ُْو َرة‬ Tā’ marbūṭah in iḍāfah: at, e.g., sūrat alBaqarah (‫)س ُْو َرةُ ْال َب َق َرة‬ d. Alif maqṣūrah: á, e.g., qad.á (‫ضى‬ َ ‫ ) َق‬and shūrá (‫)شوْ رى‬

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ِ ‫الر‬ ‫ح ْيم‬ ِِ ‫الر ْح َم‬ َّ ِ‫ن‬ َّ ِِِ‫ِب ْس ِِمِللا‬ PREFACE This booklet is the eighth part of my collection of speeches and writings from 12 December 2014 – 12 June, 2015, entitled Khutab VIII. They were delivered at the muṣallā (place of prayer, prayer room) at the Multi-Cultural Centre, Canberra Museum and Gallery building, Civic Square, Canberra. The abbreviations used in this booklet are: (1) s.a.w. (and ‫م‬.‫ص‬.) for ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam (and ‫صلّى للا ُ َعلَيْه َو َسلَّ ْم‬ َ ) meaning “may Allah bless him and grant him salvation”, sometimes translated as “peace be upon him” (p.b.u.h.), an eulogy after the name of Prophet Muhammad, (2) a.s. (‫س‬.‫ع‬.) for ‘alayhis salām (‫ ) َعلَ ْيه السَّال ْم‬meaning “upon him be peace” usually used after the names of angels and prophets before Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., (3) and r.a. (‫ع‬.‫ر‬.) for raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu (and ‫ ) َرض َي للا َع ْن ُه‬meaning “may Allah be please with him” usually used after the names of the ṣaḥābah (companions of the Prophet).

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It has been like an accident that before leaving a certain place I left a booklet behind. The booklet Khuṭab I (the collection of speeches and sermons at the Canadian Islamic Centre, al-Rashid Mosque) before leaving Edmonton (Canada) for Australia; Khuṭab II (the collection of sermons at the Canberra Islamic Centre) at Monash, ACT, before leaving for overseas (the longest and happiest travel I have ever made); the Khuṭab III before leaving for Indonesia and Malaysia in September 2007; Khuṭab IV, was the collection of my sermon at the ANUMA delivered until the first quarter of the year 2011, and published later at the end of this year after recovering from the operation of removing the aortic aneurism of my stomach on 11 June; the Khuṭab V is the collection of my khuṭbah at the prayer room at the Multicultural of Canberra Museum and Gallery building, at Civic Square, Canberra, from the end of December, 2012 till the end of June, 2013 before leaving for Indonesia; the Khuṭab VI is the continuation of my collection of my khuṭbah at the same location at Civic Square, Canberra before leaving for Melbourne visiting friends. This visit is following the advice of Prophet

Muhammad s.a.w. «‫ َت ْزد َْد ُح ًّّبا‬،‫“ » ُزرْ غ ًّّبا‬Visit at intervals, so that you will increase love.” The Khuṭab VII is the continuation of my collection of my khuṭbahs at the same location at Civic Square, Canberra before leaving for Sydney and Melbourne visiting friends. This Khuṭab VIII is the continuation of my collection of my khuṭbahs at the same location at Civic Square, Canberra before leaving for Sydney. By this time I was very lucky to reach the age of 79 AH/77 CE. Praise be to Allah the Almighty Who has given me such a long life. I have confidence in Him that He would give me more extra bonus life. This booklet, like the booklets written before, is far from perfect. However, this is another attempt to introduce some Islamic teachings to the public. May Allah accept this humble contribution to Islam, and may He forgive any mistake in this booklet. Amin! Canberra, July, 2015 M.A.S.

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‫‪A. INTRODUCTION FOR THE KHUṬBAH‬‬ ‫‪This is an example for the introduction to the khuṭbah‬‬ ‫‪as follows:‬‬ ‫ أَ ْل َح ْم ُد ِّل َنحْ َم ُدهُ َو َنسْ َتع ْي ُن ُه َو َنسْ َت ْغف ُرهُ َو َنسْ َتهْديْه َو َنع ُْو ُذ باِل منْ‬‫ُ‬ ‫شر ُْور أَ ْنفُس َنا َو منْ َس ِّي َئات أَعْ َمالناَ‪َ ،‬منْ َيهْد للاُ َفه َُو ْال ُم ْه َتد َو َمنْ‬ ‫يُضْ ل ْل َفلَنْ َتج َد لَ ُه َول ًّّيا مُرْ ش ًّدا ‪َ ،‬و أَ ْش َه ُد أَنْ َل إلَ َه إلَّ ّ‬ ‫للا ُ َوحْ َدهُ َل‬ ‫ئ َو يُع ْي ُد َو ه َُو ْال َغفُ ْو ُر ْال َو ُد ْو ُد ُذو ْال َعرْ ش ْال َمجيْد‪َ ،‬فعَّال‬ ‫ك لَهُ‪ُ ،‬يبْد ُ‬ ‫َشر ْي َ‬ ‫الى َعمَّا‬ ‫ك اسْ ُم ُه َو َعال َشأْ ُن ُه ُسب َْحا َن ُه َو َت َع َ‬ ‫ار َ‬ ‫ل َما يُر ْي ُد‪َ ،‬ع َّز َجا ُرهُ َو َت َب َ‬ ‫َي ْف َتري ْال ُم ْف َتر ُْو َن َو َي َت َق َّو ُل ال ُ ْمشر ُك ْو َن‪َ .‬و أَ ْش َه ُد أَنَّ م َُح َّم ًّدا َع ْب ُدهُ َو‬ ‫ص َح‬ ‫صف ُّي ُه َو َخل ْيل ُ ُه َو َكل ْي ُم ُه ‪َ ،‬س َّل الرِّ َسالَ َة َو أَ َّدى ْاألَ َما َن َة َو َن َ‬ ‫َرس ُْول ُ ُه َو َ‬ ‫لى للا َو س َراجًّ ا مُنيْرًّ ا َمنْ‬ ‫ْاأل ُ َّم َة ‪ ،‬أَرْ َسلَ ُه للا ُ َبشيْراًّ َو َنذيْرًّ ا َو َداعيا ًّّ إ َ‬ ‫يُطع للاَ َو َرس ُْولَ ُه َف َق ْد َر َش َد َو َمنْ َيعْ صه َما َفإ َّن ُه ل َيضُرُّ إل ّ َن ْف َس ُه‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ك َو َرس ُْول َ‬ ‫لى َعبْد َ‬ ‫ص ِّل َو َسلِّ ْم َو َباركْ َع َ‬ ‫للا َش ْي ًّئا‪ .‬أَللَّ ُه َّم َ‬ ‫َول َيضُرُّ َ‬ ‫صحْ به أَجْ َمعي َْن‪َ َ .‬من اهْ َتدَى ب َه ْديه َو‬ ‫لى آله َو َ‬ ‫َسيِّد َنا م َُحمَّد َو َع َ‬ ‫ك ب ُس َّنته َو َسلِّ ْم َتسْ ل ْيمًّا َكثيْرًّ ا‬ ‫اسْ َت ْم َس َ‬

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‫ أَ ْل َح ْم ُد ِّل َنحْ َم ُدهُ َو َنسْ َتع ْي ُن ُه َو َنسْ َت ْغف ُرهُ َو َنسْ َتهْديْه َو َنع ُْو ُذ باِل منْ‬‫ُ‬ ‫شر ُْور أَ ْنفُس َنا َو منْ َس ِّي َئات أَعْ َمالناَ‪َ ،‬منْ َيهْده للا ُ َفالَ مُض َّل لَ ُه َو َمنْ‬ ‫ي لَ ُه ‪َ ،‬و أَ ْش َه ُد أَنْ َل إلَ َه إلَّ ّ‬ ‫ك لَهُ‪ ،‬لَ ُه‬ ‫للا ُ َوحْ َدهُ َل َشر ْي َ‬ ‫يُضْ ل ْل َفالَ َهاد َ‬ ‫لح ْم ُد يُحْ ييْ َويُمي ُ‬ ‫ْالم ُْل ُ‬ ‫ْت َوه َُو َعلَى ُك ِّل َشيْ ء َقديْر‪َ .‬و أَ ْش َه ُد أَنَّ‬ ‫ك َولَ ُه ْا َ‬ ‫لح ِّق لي ُْظه َرهُ َعلَى‬ ‫م َُح َّم ًّدا َع ْب ُدهُ َو َرس ُْولُهُ‪ ،‬أَرْ َسلَ ُه للا ُ باْل ُهدَى َوديْن ْا َ‬ ‫لى ْال َم ْبع ُْوث َرحْ َم ًّة‬ ‫صلَّيْ َوأ ُ َسلّ ْم َع َ‬ ‫ال ِّديْن ُكلَّه َولَ ْو َكر َه ْال َكافر ُْون‪َ .‬وأ ُ َ‬ ‫لى للا بإ ْذنه َو س َراجًّ ا مُنيْرًّ ا‬ ‫ل ْل َعالَمي َْن َهاديًّا َو ُم َب ِّشرًّ ا َو َنذيْرًّ ا َو َداعيا ًّّ إ َ‬ ‫الطيِّبي َْن ّ‬ ‫لى آله َوأَصْ َحابه َّ‬ ‫لى َي ْوم‬ ‫الطاهري َْن َو َمنْ َو َال ُه ْم بإحْ َسان إ َ‬ ‫َو َع َ‬ ‫ال َّديْن ‪.‬‬ ‫لي‪ ،‬أَحْ َم ُدهُ ُسب َْحا َنهُ‪َ ،‬و أَ ْش َه ُد أَنْ َل إلَ َه إلَّ ّ‬ ‫ أَ ْل َح ْم ُد ِّل ْال َعليِّ األعْ َ‬‫للاُ‬ ‫ْك لَ ُه‪َ ،‬خلَ َق َف َس َّوى َو َق َّد َر َف َه َدى‪َ ،‬و أَ ْش َه ُد أَنَّ م َُح َّم ًّدا‬ ‫َوحْ َدهُ َل َشري َ‬ ‫لى‬ ‫ص ِّل َو َسلِّ ْم َو َباركْ َع َ‬ ‫َع ْب ُدهُ َو َرس ُْول ُ ُه َنبيُّ الرَّ حْ َمة َو ْال ُهدَى‪ ،‬أَللَّ ُه َّم َ‬ ‫صحْ به األَئمَّة األَب َْرار‬ ‫لى آله َو َ‬ ‫ك َسيِّد َنا م َُحمَّد َو َع َ‬ ‫ك َو َرس ُْول َ‬ ‫َعبْد َ‬ ‫ْال ُن َج َباء‪َ ،‬وال َّتابعي َْن َو َمنْ َتب َع ُه ْم بإحْ َسان إلَى َي ْوم ْال َبعْ ث َو ْال ُن ُ‬ ‫ش ْور َو‬ ‫ْال َج َزاء‪.‬‬ ‫ي ب َت ْق َوى للا َف َق ْد َف َ‬ ‫از‬ ‫أَمَّا َبعْ ُد ‪َ ،‬ف َيا أَ ُّي َها ْالم ُْؤم ُن ْو َن‪ ،‬أ ُ ْوص ْي ُك ْم َو إيا َّ َ‬ ‫للا‬ ‫ْال ُم َّتقُ ْو َن‪ .‬قا َ َل َت َعالَى َو ُه َو أَصْ َد ُق ْال َقائل ْين‪َ ”:‬يا أَ ُّي َها الَّذ َ‬ ‫ين آَ َم ُنوا ا َّتقُوا َّ َ‬ ‫صدَ َق للا ُ ْال َعظيْم‪.‬‬ ‫ُون“ ‪َ .‬‬ ‫َح َّق ُت َقاته َو َل َتمُو ُتنَّ إ َّل َوأَ ْن ُت ْم مُسْ لم َ‬

xii

B. SOME EXAMPLES OF THE DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND KHUTBAH After performing the first khuṭbah stand up again for the second khuṭbah citing its introduction briefly, such as the following: ّ َّ‫ َو أَ ْش َه ُد أَنْ َل إلَ َه إل‬.‫ أَ ْل َح ْم ُد ِّل َربِّ ْال َعالَميْن‬‫للا ُ َو أَ ْش َه ُد أَنَّ م َُح َّم ًّدا‬ .‫صحْ به أَجْ َمعي َْن‬ َ ‫لى آله َو‬ َ ‫لى م َُحمَّد َو َع‬ َ ‫ص ِّل َع‬ َ ‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم‬.‫َرس ُْو ُل للا‬ Some examples of du‘ā’s and its meanings in the second khuṭbah, are as follows: ‫ َر َّب َنا َل ُت َؤاخ ْذ َنا إنْ َنسي َنا أَ ْو أَ ْخ َطأْ َنا َر َّب َنا َو َل َتحْ م ْل َعلَ ْي َنا إصْ رًّ ا َك َما‬ُ‫ين منْ َقبْل َنا َر َّب َنا َو َل ُت َحم ِّْل َنا َما َل َطا َق َة لَ َنا به َواعْ ف‬ َ ‫َح َم ْل َت ُه َعلَى الَّذ‬ ْ ‫َع َّنا َو‬ َ ‫اغفرْ لَ َنا َوارْ َحمْ َنا أَ ْن‬ ‫ين‬ َ ‫ت َم ْو َل َنا َفا ْنصُرْ َنا َعلَى ْال َق ْوم ْال َكافر‬ Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not lay on us such a burden as You placed on those before us. Our Lord! Do not

xiii

lay on us a burden that which we have not the strength to bear! Forgive us, have mercy on us. You are our protector, help us against the unbelievers. ْ ‫ َر َّب َنا إ َّن َنا َسمعْ َنا ُم َناديًّا ُي َنادي ل ْْلي َمان أَنْ آم ُنوا ب َر ِّب ُك ْم َفآ َم َّنا َر َّب َنا َف‬ْ‫اغفر‬ ‫ َر َّب َنا َوآت َنا َما َو َع ْد َت َنا‬.‫لَ َنا ُذ ُنو َب َنا َو َك ِّفرْ َع َّنا َس ِّي َئات َنا َو َت َو َّف َنا َم َع ْاألَب َْرار‬ .‫ك َل ُت ْخلفُ ْالمي َعا َد‬ َ ‫ك َو َل ُت ْخز َنا َي ْو َم ْالق َيا َمة إ َّن‬ َ ‫َعلَى ُرسُل‬ Our Lord! We have heard someone calling to the rue faith, saying ‘Believe in your Lord!’ So we believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, remove from us evil deeds and make us die with the righteous. Our Lord! Give us what You have promised through Your messengers and save from the shame on the Day of Resurrection; for You never break Your promise. ْ ‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم‬‫اغفرْ ل ْلمُسْ لمي َْن َو ْالمُسْ ل َمات َو ْالم ُْؤمني َْن َو ْالم ُْؤم َنات ْاألَحْ َياء‬ ‫ك َيا َم ْول َنا َسميْع َقريْب مُجيْبُ ال َّد َع َوات َو َقاضي‬ َ ‫إ َّن‬،‫م ْن ُه ْم َو ْاألَمْ َوات‬ ‫اجات َيا َربَّ ْال َعالَمي َْن‬ َ ‫ْال َح‬ O Allah! Forgive the Muslims, males and females, the believers, males and females, the living among them as well as the dead! Verily, You are, O our Lord, the

xiv

All-Hearing and Near, Who answer (our) prayers, and fulfil (our) needs, O the Lord of all creatures. ْ ‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم َنوِّ رْ َعلَى أَهْ ل ْالقُب ُْور قُب ُْو َر ُه ْم؛ اَللَّ ُه َّم‬‫اغفرْ ل ْْلَحْ َياء َو َيسِّرْ لَ ُه ْم‬ .‫أُم ُْو َر ُه ْم‬ O Allah! Lighten the graves of the dead, O Allah, forgive the living and facilitate their affairs. ْ ‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم ُتبْ َعلَى ال َّتائبي َْن َو‬‫ضى‬ َ ْ‫ب ْالم ُْذنبي َْن َو ا ْشف َمر‬ َ ‫اغفرْ ُذ ُن ْو‬ ْ ‫ْالمُسْ لمي َْن َو‬ ‫اك ُتب الصِّحَّ َة َو ْال َعاف َي َة َو ال َّت ْوفي َْق َو ْاله َدا َي َة لَ َنا َو ل َكا َّفة‬ .‫أُمَّة م َُحمَّد أَجْ َمعي َْن‬ O Allah! Forgive the repentant, forgive the sins of the sinners, heal the sick among the Muslims, prescribe well-being, vitality, prosperity and guidance for us and for the entire community of Muhammad. ْ ‫ َر َّب َنا‬‫اغفرْ لَ َنا َو ل َوالد ْي َنا َو ارْ َح ْم ُه َما َك َما َر َّب َيا َنا ص َغارًّ ا‬ “O Lord! Forgive us as well as our parents and bestow on them Your mercy as they did bring us up when we were young.”

ْ‫ َو اصْ لحْ لَ َنا ُد ْن َيا َنا الَّتي‬،‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم ْاصْ لح لَ َنا د ْي َن َنا الَّذيْ ه َُو عصْ َم ُة أَمْ ر َنا‬ُ ‫ف ْي َها َم َعا‬ ‫ َو اجْ َعل ْال َح َيا َة‬،‫ َو اصْ لحْ لَ َنا آخ َر َت َنا الَّتيْ إلَ ْي َها َم َعا ُد َنا‬،‫ش َنا‬ َ ‫ز َيا َد ًّة ل َنا َ فيْ ُك ِّل َخيْر َو اجْ َعل ْال َم ْو‬ ‫اح ًّة لَ َنا منْ ُك ِّل َشر‬ َ ‫ت َر‬ O Allah , set right for me my religion which is the safeguard of my affairs, set right for me my world wherein is my living, and my Hereafter to which is my return, make the life for me (a source ) of abundance for every good , and my death a source of comfort for me protecting against every evil. ‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم أَر َنا ْال َح َّق َح ًّقّا َوارْ ُز ْق َنا ا ِّت َبا َع ُه َوأَر َنا ْال َباط َل َباطالًّ َوارْ ُز ْق َنا‬‫اجْ ت َنا َب ُه‬ O Allah! Show us the truth as truth, and guide to follow it, and show us the falsehood as falsehood, and guide us to avoid it. ‫ين إ َمامًّا‬ َ ‫ َر َّب َنا َهبْ لَ َنا منْ أَ ْز َواج َنا َو ُذرِّ يَّات َنا قُرَّ َة أَعْ يُن َواجْ َع ْل َنا ل ْل ُم َّتق‬Our Lord! Bestow on us, our spouses and our offspring the comfort of our eyes and make us leaders of the pious. ‫ف ْالمُسْ لمي َْن َو َوحِّ د َكل َم َت ُه ْم َوا ْنصُرْ ُه ْم َعلَى أَعْ َدائه ْم‬ ُ ‫أَللَّ ُه َّم َوحِّ ْد‬ َ ‫صفُ ْو‬

‫‪xvi‬‬

‫‪O Allah, unite the Muslims and assist them‬‬ ‫‪against their enemies.‬‬ ‫ أَللَّ ُه َّم ام َْْل ُبي ُْو َ‬‫ين ًّخيْرًّ ا َو َب َر َك ًّة َوع ْلمًّا َود ْي ًّنا َو ه َدا َي ًّة َو َت َق َوى‪.‬‬ ‫ت ْالمُسْ لم َ‬ ‫‪O Allah, fill the houses of the Muslims‬‬ ‫‪with welfare, blessing, knowledge,‬‬ ‫‪religion, guidance, and piety.‬‬ ‫اب ال َّنار‪.‬‬ ‫ َر َّب َنا آَت َنا في ال ُّد ْن َيا َح َس َن ًّة َوفي ْاْلَخ َرة َح َس َن ًّة َوق َنا َع َذ َ‬‫اللَّ ُه َّم آميْن َيا َربَّ ْال َعالَميْن‬ ‫‪Our Lord! Give us the goodness, both in this‬‬ ‫‪world and in the Hereafter and save us from‬‬ ‫)‪the torment of Hellfire. (Q. 2:201‬‬ ‫للا َيأْ ُم ُر ب ْال َع ْدل َو ْاْلحْ َسان َوإي َتاء ذي ْالقُرْ َبى َو َي ْن َهى َعن‬ ‫ع َبا َد للا‪ ،‬إنَّ َّ َ‬ ‫ْال َفحْ َشاء َو ْال ُم ْن َكر َو ْال َب ْغي َيع ُ‬ ‫للا َي ْذ ُك ُر ُك ْم َو‬ ‫ظ ُك ْم لَ َعلَّ ُك ْم َت َذ َّكر َ‬ ‫ُون‪ .‬ا ُ ْذ ُكرُوا َ‬ ‫لى ن َعمه َيز ْد ُك ْم َو لَذ ْك ُر للا أَ ْك َب ُر َو للا ُ َيعْ لَ ُم َما َتصْ َنع ُْون‪.‬‬ ‫ا ْش ُكر ُْوهُ َع َ‬ ‫أَقم الصَّالة !!!‬

1. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (1) The du‘ā’ of people other than prophets is divided into a personal one starting with ِّ‫“( َرب‬My Lord!”), and as a group starting with َ ‫“( َربَّنِّا‬Our Lord!”). There are three personal du‘ā’ mentioned in the Qur’ān as follows: a. the du‘ā’ of Āsiyah bint Muzāḥim, the Pharaoh’s wife, who had adopted the baby Mūsā (Moses) mentioned in Q. 28:8-9, when she said: ِّ‫نِّ َو َع َمله‬ َِّ ‫كِّ َبيْتاِِّّفيِّ ْال َج َّنةِِّّ َو َنجنيِّمنِّفرْ َع ْو‬ َِّ َ‫َربِِّّابْنِِّّليِّعند‬ َّ ِِّّ‫نِّ ْال َق ْوم‬ ِّ )11:ِّ‫ين (التحريم‬ َِّ ‫الظالم‬ َِّ ‫َو َنجنيِّم‬ “My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir‘awn (Pharaoh) and his work, and save me from the people who are wrong-doers.” (Q. 66:11) The Qur’ān commentator al-Ṭabarī said that when Āsiyah was told that Mūsā and Hārūn prevailed over the magicians, she said: “I believe in the Lord of Mūsā and Hārūn.” Fir‘awn sent his aids to find out whether she had really become a believer, otherwise she was still his wife. As she insisted on keeping her faith the aides were ordered to find a biggest stone and to throw it to her. When they came to her, she looked up at the sky, and she was able to see her house in Paradise. When they threw a stone at her, her soul had been captured, and they were stoning her lifeless body. Classical Qur’ān commentators mention stories about of Āsiyah bint Muzāḥim. The commentator Abū’l-‘Āliyah said that Fir‘awn came to know that she had become a believer. He went to his council of elders and asked them what they thought about her. When they told him that she was a good woman, he told them that she worshiped a Lord other than him. So, they told him to kill her. Then they tied her hands and legs. She prayed, “My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise…” and when she saw it she laughed. “See how crazy she was,” said Fir‘awn, “she laughs while we are torturing her.” Then she passed away.

Another story reported by ‘Uthmān al-Nahdī from Salmān al-Fārisī, is that she was tortured with sunshine, but the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) shaded her with his wings. This is one parable of the pious woman, whereas the other parable is the story of Maryam (Mary), who guarded her chastity, and whom Allah breathed into the sleeve of her shirt or her garment through His Rūḥ (Gabriel)… (Q. 66:12). b. the du‘ā’ of the wife of ‘Īmrān’s wife, mother of Mary (Maryam). Her name was Ḥannah bint Fāqūdh ibn Qutayl. Ibn Isḥāq said that she could not have children. One day she saw a bird feeding its chick, and she wished she could have children. When she was pregnant she vowed to devote her child to worship Allah and serving the place of worship in Jerusalem as follows: ِّ‫لِّمني‬ ِّْ ‫كِّ َماِّفيِّ َب ْطنيِّم َحرَّ راِِّّ َف َت َق َّب‬ َِّ َ‫َربِِّّإنيِّ َن َذرْ تِِّّل‬ ِّ .)53ِّ:ِّ‫نت ِّالسَّميعِِّّ ْال َعليمِِّّ(آلِّعمران‬ َِّ َ‫كِّأ‬ َِّ ‫إ َّن‬ “My Lord! I have vowed to You what (the child that) is in my womb to be dedicated for Your services (free from all worldly work; to serve Your place of worship), so accept this from me. Verily, You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” (Q. 3:35) She had expected to have a baby boy, but after the delivery of the baby Maryam, she prayed: َّ ِّ‫ْس‬ ِّ‫الذ َكرِِّّ َكاألن َثىِّ َوإنيِّ َس َّميْت َها‬ َِّ ‫تِّ َولَي‬ ِّْ ‫ض َع‬ ِّّ ‫ضعْ ت َهاِّأن َثىِّ َو‬ َ ‫للاِّأَعْ لَمِِّّب َماِّ َو‬ َ ‫َربِِّّإنيِّ َو‬ .(56ِّ:ِّ‫ِّ)آلِّعمران‬.ِّ‫نِّال َّش ْي َطانِِّّالرَّ جيم‬ َِّ ‫كِّ َوذر َّي َت َهاِّم‬ َِّ ‫َمرْ َي َِّمِّوإنيِّأعيذ َهاِّب‬ “O my Lord! I have given birth a female child” – and Allah knew better what she brought forth – “And the male is not like the female, and I have named her Maryam (Mary), and I seek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast.” (Q. 3: 36).1 1

Both verses are located in the Qur’an chapter three called Āl ‘Imrān, “The House of ‘Imrān.” Muhammad Asad gives us an illustration of this, and said: “The House of ‘Imrān comprises Moses and Aaron, whose father was ‘Imrān (the Amram of the Bible), and Aaron’s descendants, the priestly caste among the Israelites – thus including John the Baptist, both of whose parents were of the same descent (cf. the reference, in Luke, i, 3, to John’s mother Elizabeth as one ‘of the daughters of Aaron’), as well as Jesus, whose mother Mary – a

What she meant is that a female cannot do the male’s job in remaining in the church worshiping, cleaning, and keeping its maintenance while, as a female, that something could happen to her like menstruation, and mix with men. Allah accepted her supplication, as Abū Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: “Every newly born baby is touched by Satan when it is born, and the baby starts crying because of this touch, except Maryam and her son.” (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim). This means, that the whole human beings including Prophets were touched by Satan when they were born, except Mary and her son Jesus. However, this does not mean that they are safe from Satan’s temptation. For every human being there is always a qarīn who always accompanies him/her. c. the prayer of the believer when he attained his full intellectual and spiritual maturity and reaches the age of forty. Allah said: ِّ‫ض َع ْتهِِّّكرْ ها‬ َِّ ‫ص ْي َناِّ ْاْل ْن َس‬ َّ ‫َو َو‬ َ ‫انِّب َوال َديْهِِّّإحْ َساناِّ َح َملَ ْتهِِّّأمُّهِِّّكرْ هاِّ َو َو‬ ِّ‫ل‬ َِّ ‫ينِّ َس َنةِِّّ َقا‬ َِّ ‫ونِّ َشهْراِّ َح َّتىِّإ َذاِّ َبلَ َِّغِّأَش َّدهِِّّ َو َبلَ َِّغِّأَرْ َبع‬ َِّ ‫صالهِِّّ َث ََلث‬ َ ‫َو َح ْملهِِّّ َوف‬ َ َ َ ِّ‫َي‬ َِّّ ‫يِّ َو َعلَىِّ َوالد‬ َِّّ َ‫تِّ َعل‬ َِّ ‫كِّالَّتيِّأ ْن َع ْم‬ َِّ ‫نِّأ ْشك َِّرِّنعْ َم َت‬ ِّْ ‫َربِِّّأَ ْوزعْ نيِّأ‬ ِّ‫حِّليِّفيِّذريَّتيِّإني‬ ِّْ ‫ضاهِِّّ َوأَصْ ل‬ َِّ ‫نِّأَعْ َم‬ ِّْ َ‫َوأ‬ َ ْ‫صالحاِّ َتر‬ َ ِّ‫ل‬ ِّ.(13ِّ:ِّ‫ينِِّّ)األحقاف‬ َِّ ‫نِّ ْالمسْ لم‬ َِّ ‫كِّ َوإنيِّم‬ َِّ ‫تبْتِِّّإلَ ْي‬ And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful and kind to his parents. His mother bears him with hardship. And she brings him forth with hardship, and the bearing of him, and the weaning of him is thirty months, till when he attains full strength and reaches forty years, he says: “My Lord! Grant me the power and ability that I may be grateful for Your Favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such close relation of John – is spoken of elsewhere in the Qur’an (19:28) as a ‘sister of Aaron’: in both cases embodying the ancient Semitic custom of linking a person’s or a people’s name with that of an illustrious forebear. The reference of the House of ‘Imrān serves as an introduction to the stories of Zakhariah, John, Mary, and Jesus.” Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’an, note 22 on Q. 3:33, p. 71.

as please You, and make my offspring good. Truly, I have turned to You in repentance, and truly, I am one of the Muslims (submitting to Your will).” (Q. 46:15) This verse states that Allah enjoined upon man to do good towards his parents, especially his mother who gave him birth and bearing him and his utter dependence on her took thirty months. This is also stated in another verse, as follows: ِّ ِّ‫صاله‬ َِّ ‫ص ْي َناِّ ْاْل ْن َس‬ َّ ‫َو َو‬ َ ‫انِّب َوال َديْهِِّّ َح َم َل ْتهِِّّأمُّهِِّّ َوهْ ناِّ َع َلىِّ َوهْ نِِّّ َوف‬ ِّ )11:‫يِّ ْال َمصيرِِّّ(لقمان‬ َِّّ َ‫كِّإل‬ َِّ ‫ِّفيِّ َعا َميْنِِّّأَنِِّّا ْشك ِّْرِّليِّ َول َوال َد ْي‬ And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardness, and his weaning in two years – give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the final destination. (Q. 31:14) The Qur’ān commentator Ibn Kathīr said that when a man reaches forty years his complete intellect, understanding, and patience reach the level of maturity. At this age Allah orders him to renew his repentance and to turn to Him with strong resolution. People of this age who followed Allah’s instruction to be dutiful to their parents and said the supplication in the above verse will be among the dwellers of Paradise, as it continues with the following verse: ِّ‫نِّ َسي َئاته ِّْمِّفي‬ ِّْ ‫نِّ َماِّ َعملواِّ َو َن َت َج َاوزِِّّ َع‬ َِّ ‫ينِّ َن َت َقبَّلِِّّ َع ْنه ِّْمِّأَحْ َس‬ َِّ ‫كِّالَّذ‬ َِّ ‫أو َلئ‬ (16ِّ:ِّ‫ون )األحقاف‬ َِّ ‫أَصْ َحابِِّّ ْال َج َّنةِِّّ َوعْ َِّدِّالص ْدقِِّّالَّذيِّ َكانواِّيو َعد‬ Those are the one from whom We shall accept the best of what they did and overlook their evil deeds. (They shall be) among the dwellers of Paradise. That is the promise of truth that they had been promised (Q. 46:16)

As mentioned earlier the age of full intellectual and spiritual maturity according to the verse mentioned above is at the age of forty, not the beginning of maturity as mistakenly understood by Dr. Rashad Khalifah, as the age of responsibility.2 Based on this verse he claimed that anyone dies before this “Crucial Age of 10” will go to Heaven. He said, “If the person believed and benefitted from belief by nourishing and developing the soul (see Appendix 5), he or she goes to the High Heaven. Otherwise, the person goes to the Lower Heaven.”3 This view is 2

Dr. Rashad Khalifah, an agricultural engineer, claimed to be “God’s Messenger of the Covenant”. He was the founder of the idea of denying the validity of the Sunnah of the Prophet. This idea is called Inkār al-Sunnah. He claimed to have been ascended to heaven and met all the prophets sent by Allah. He said: “During my Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and before sunrise on Tuesday, Zul-Hijjah 3, 1391, December 21, 1971, I, Rashad Khalifa, the soul, the real person, not the body, was taken to some place in the universe where I was introduced to all the prophets as God’s Messenger of the covenant…. What I witnessed, in sharp consciousness, was that I was sitting still, while the prophets, one by one, came towards me, looked at my face, then nodded their heads…. Except for Abraham, none of the prophets was identified to me. I knew that all the prophets were there, including Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Aaron, David, Noah and the rest. I believe that the reason for revealing Abraham’s identity was that I asked about him. I was taken aback by the strong resemblance he had with my own family – myself, my father, my uncles. It was the only time I wondered, ‘Who is this prophet who looks like my relatives?’ The answer came: ‘Abraham.’ No language was spoken. All communication was done mentally.” Rashad Khalifa, Qur’an the Final Testament, Appendix 2, p. 639. 3 Dr.Rashad Khalaifa gives the example of Theodore Robert Bundy who was executed in 1989, when he was 42 years old. The execution was delayed 11 years, although many people celebrated his execution for being “one of the most vicious criminals in history.” Therefore, he did not deserve Heaven. Had he been executed 5 years earlier, when he was 37 years old, he would have gone straight to Heaven, but he did not deserve it, as he was a criminal. This was, Rashad Khalifa claimed, not his personal opinion, but “revelation (?)” from Allah. He gives another example for people who would enter Heaven, namely, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X who were assassinated “just a couple of months before their 10s birthdays.” Ibid., Appendix 32, p. 703. Then

contrary to that of the majority of Muslims, that the age of maturity and responsibility starts when the boy starts having wet dream, and the girl having menstruation, at the approximate age of 15, and could be earlier or later. It was the time when a boy and a girl can become parents. Three conditions are required for the boy’s maturity: (a). wet dream, (b). the growth of hair on the groin, and (c). reaching the age of fifteen. For the girl’s maturity the same conditions are applied to her, but with an extra condition, (d). having menstruation. This age of puberty is the crucial one, where he or she has the full responsibility as a Muslim. Do not wait until you reach forty. Two expressions in the verse in question have to be taken into consideration, namely, ِّ‫“ إ َذا ِّ َبلَ َِّغ ِّأَش َّده‬when he attains full strength” and ِّ‫ين ِّ َس َنة‬ َِّ ‫“ َو َبلَ َِّغ ِّأَرْ َبع‬and he reaches forty years”. Some scholars, such as Ibn ‘Abbās and Qatādah say that full strength is reached at the age of thirty-three, and Ibn ‘Abbās said further that man’s strength becomes quite even at the age of forty, and weak at the age of sixty. (CIVIC, 12 December, 2014) ِِّّ:‫المراجع‬ ِّ ‫المكتبةِّالشاملة‬ )ِّ‫ِّهـ‬510ِّ.‫تفسيرِّالطبريِّ(ت‬ )‫ِّهـ‬671ِّ.‫تفسيرِّالقرطبىِّ(ت‬ )‫ِّهـ‬771ِّ.‫تفسيرِّابنِّكثيرِّ(ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ānِّ Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān Khalifa, Rashad. Quran the Final Testament. Tucson: Islamic Productions http://islamqa.info/ar/197392 Rashad Khalifa stressed the importance of observing the religious duties as our means of attaining certainty, quoting Q. 15:99 (99:‫كِّ ْال َيقينِِّّ(الحجر‬ َِّ ‫َّكِّ َح َّتىِّ َيأْت َي‬ َِّ ‫َواعْ ب ِّْدِّ َرب‬ which he translates as "Worship your Lord in order to attain certainty" whereas its translation is “Worship Your Lord until (death) which is certain has come to you”. When a companion passed away the Prophet said that al-yaqīn, meaning “what is certain” had come to him, namely, death.

2 . KEEP PRAYING SINCERELY A Pakistani surgeon, Dr. Ihsan, went to the airport to attend a world seminar on medicine to present his paper and explain his biggest discovery in the field of medicine. The plane he was taking was already one hour in the air when suddenly something was wrong with it and its pilot had to take an emergency landing at the nearest airport. As it would take about sixteen hours to repair the damage of the plane, and by then it would be too late for him to attend the seminar to fly with it. He was so specialised his field, and his discovery would have saved life in every minute. So, he asked the employee of the airport how long it would take to reach his destination by car. He was told that it would take about three hours. So, he rented a car and there he went. While he was driving for about five minutes the weather suddenly changed. It started to become cloudy, then it rained and thundered, but he kept driving. After about two hours driving he became tired, apparently he also lost his way. He saw a small house where he could rest, ask direction and hire a telephone. But the host, an old woman was so poor, that she did not have even electricity, let alone a telephone. She entertained her guest with food and tea. She was a pious woman, and after she prayed she made her supplication (duâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a) for her grand child who was beside her. She had been generous and liked to help needy people. She said that only one of her duâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;as which had not yet been accepted by Allah. She heard that her grandchild needed a surgeon, and there was only one surgeon who could treat the child wioth his new discovery, but she could not afford to take him the hospital. She prayed that Allah would solve this problem. She wept of joy when Dr. Ihsan told her that her supplication had been accepted, as he was the surgeon meant by her. Instead of going to the surgeon, the surgeon himself came to him. This is one of many examples of how Allah accepted our supplication. For Him it is more important to visit the sick child than attending the seminar which was so important for the surgeon,

where he could present his new discovery in medicine. “Misfortune” befell on him one after the other: the plane he was flying with had to take emergency landing. He could not wait until the damage of the aero-plane could be repaired which took about sixteen hours. Because of bad weather the car he rented led him to the house of the old women who had prayed for his assistance. Many things happened to us and to people around us which looked bad, but there is wisdom behind each of them. There is always something called “Allah’s wisdom” behind anything happens to us. :‫صلَّى للا ُ َعلَي هه َو َسلَّ َم‬ ُ ‫َعن‬ ‫ َقا َل َرسُو ُل ه‬:‫ َقا َل‬،ٍ‫ص َهيب‬ َ ‫للا‬ َ َ ‫س َذا‬ َ ،‫هن‬ َ ‫ َولَي‬،ٌ‫ إهنَّ أَم َرهُ ُكلَّ ُه َخير‬،‫هن‬ ‫ك هِل َح ٍد إه َّّل لهلمُؤم ه‬ ‫” َع َجبًا هِلم هر المُؤم ه‬ ،ُ‫ضرَّ اء‬ َ ‫صا َبت ُه‬ َ َ‫ َوإهن أ‬،ُ‫ان َخيرً ا لَه‬ َ ‫ َف َك‬،‫صا َبت ُه َسرَّ ا ُء َش َك َر‬ َ َ‫إهن أ‬ )‫ان َخيرً ا لَ ُه“ (رواه مسلم وابن حبان‬ َ ‫ص َب َر َف َك‬ َ It was narrated by Ṣuhayb r.a.who said that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: “How amazing is the condition of a Muslim, that all his case are good, and this would not be to anybody except to the believer: if happiness (prosperity) befalls him, and it is good for him; and if adversity befalls on him he becomes patient, and it is (also) good for him.” (Reported by Muslim and Ibn Ḥibbān) The well-known American writer Dale Carnegie said in his book entitled How to Stop Worrying and Start Living that he saw the Bedouins when something bad happened to them they said maktūb (“it has been written”). Therefore they had no worry and did not feel bad and blame anybody for what had happened. On the contrary, people who have pessimistic attitude in life see everything in a negative way. It is like wearing a pair of pink glasses, where there is pinkness in everything. In one of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, considered not only the palace he was living in to be a prison, but the whole country. He said: "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it

so."1 So, it is our attitude and thinking that would make a situation good or bad. ‫للا‬ ‫ُول َّ ه‬ َ ‫للا‬ ‫ َعن َرس ه‬،‫َعن أَ هبي ه َُري َر َة‬ َ َّ َّ‫ أَن‬:‫ َقا َل‬،‫صلَّى للا ُ َعلَي هه َو َسلَّ َم‬ ‫ َوإهن‬،ُ‫ إهن َظنَّ هبي َخيرً ا َفلَه‬،‫ "أَ َنا عه ن َد َظن َعبدهي هبي‬:‫َع َّز َو َج َّل َقا َل‬ )‫َظنَّ َش ًرا َفلَ ُه" (رواه أحمد و ابن حبان‬

Abū Hurayrah r.a. narrated that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: “Allah the Almighty said: “I am with the thinking of My servant of Me; if he thinks of Me good, then it will be so for him; and if he thinks of Me bad, then it will be so for him (too).” (Reported by Aḥmad and Ibn Ḥibbān) Therefore, we Muslims are supposed to be away from worry and stress, let alone of having mental breakdown, since we have good faith with our Creator, Allah the Almighty. The sufi Ibn ‘Aṭā’ Allāh al-Skandarī, said in his Wisdom no. 6 in his book entitled al-Ḥikam (Wise Sayings), as follows: َ َ َ ،‫ك‬ َ ‫ ُمو هج ًبا له َيأسه‬- ‫اح هفي الد َعا هء‬ ‫َّل َي ُكن َتأخ ُر أ َم هد ال َعطا هء َم َع اإلل َح ه‬ ‫ك‬ َ ‫ك َّل هفي َما َتخ َتا ُر له َنفسه‬ َ َ‫إلجا َب َة هفي َما َيخ َتا ُرهُ ل‬ َ ‫ك ها‬ َ َ‫ض هم َن ل‬ َ ‫َف ُه َو‬ ‫ت الَّ هذي ُت هري ُد‬ ‫ َّل هفي ا َلوق ه‬، ‫ت الَّ هذي ُي هري ُد‬ ‫َو هفي ا َلوق ه‬ Do not let the delay of the acceptance of what you are fervently asking for make you despair. He has guaranteed an answer to your prayers in those things He chooses for you, not in those things that you choose for yourself, and at the time He wants, not at the time you want. In other words, Allah guarantees that He will accept our prayer (du‘ā’) with His choice, either all of them, or half of them, or with something else as substitute, (such us protecting us from any harm or disaster), and not with our choice. The time of His acceptance is also up to Him; it could be tomorrow, next year, or even in the next

Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

life, the Hereafter. We leave it to Him, for He knows exactly what it good for us. However, there are some conditions for the answer of our du‘ā’: sincerity in our du‘ā’, not asking bad things, such as sins and cutting family relationship, being patient in waiting for the answer, and avoiding sin. The Prophet s.a.w. mentioned the case of a person who prayed to Allah, but his food was ḥarām and his clothing was ḥarām so that his prayer would not be answered.

3. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (2) The du‘ā’ (supplication) of pious people as groups mentioned in the Qur’ān can be divided into categories, as follows: a. of the followers of Prophet Mūsā (Moses), a.s.; b. of the followers of Prophet Samuel a.s.; c. of the followers of Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s.; d. of the people of the Cave )‫اب َاَلكَهَف‬ َ َ‫ ;(أَصَح‬e. of the people of the Heights or the Faculty of Discernment )‫اب َالَعَرَاف‬ َ َ‫ ;(أَصَح‬f. of oppressed people in their land; g. of the followers of good people of earlier generations; h. of the believers of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and other prophets in general in facing the enemy; and i. of believers in general. a. Prophet Moses told his followers to put their trust in Allah (tawakkul) if they really believed in Him. So, they said: َ َ‫ّللاَتو َكلناَربَناَلََتجعلناَفهتنةََلهلقو َم‬ ََ‫َونجِّ ناَ هبرحمتهك‬.َ‫الظالهمهين‬ َ‫علىَ َه‬ ‫ه‬ َ)58-58:‫مهنََالقومَ الكاف ههرينََ(َيونس‬ In Allah we put our trust. Our Lord! Make us notَََ a trial for the folks who are wrongdoers (i.e., do not make them over power us). And save us by Your Mercy from the disbelieving folks. (Q. 10:85-86) According to the classical Qur’ān commentator Mujāhid, the first verse means that they prayed to Allah not to let the people of Pharaoh or any other people torture them, so that they would say, “if these people (the Israelites) were following the truth, we would not have the ability to have authority over them or punish them” so that they would follow falsehood because of them (the Israelites). (Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī, Q. 10:85; Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, Q. 10:85). The right interpretation according to al-Ṭabarī is that the Israelites wished that Allah would prevent them from affliction and tribulation of the people of Pharaoh, as well as any of their affairs which would become an obstruction from following Prophet Moses, affirming him and what he had brought with him. This was undoubtedly a fitnah (a deceiving trial) for them. (Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, Q. 10:85).

The interpretation of the second verse: “And save us by Your Mercy from the disbelieving folks” is that they asked Allah’s protection from Pharaoh and his people who burdened them with hard labour. َTheir supplication was answered by Allah when they were delivered from the Pharaoh’s bondage led by their Prophet Moses a.s. They successfully crossed the Red Sea to the desert of Sinai. The magic of Pharaoh’s magicians were defeated by that of Prophet Moses. As they knew that this magic was really from Allah, that Moses’s staff did really turn into a real snake, they believed in Prophet Moses a.s., Prophet Aaron a.s. and in Allah Who sent them without the Pharaoh’s permission. This made him very angry, and threatened to punish them severely. He would cut off their hands and their feet from opposite side and then he would crucify them, but they defied the threat (Q. 7:117-125). They prayed: )628:‫ربَناَأف هرغََعليناَصبراَوتو َفناَمس هلمهينََ(العراف‬ Our Lord! pour on us patience, and cause us to die as Muslims. (Q. 7:126) According to the Qur’ān commentator al-Ṭabarī, the verse means: “Our Lord! When the Pharaoh tortured us send us an obstruction to keep us away from disbelieving You, and when we die, let us die following Islam, the religion of Your friend Ibrāhīm (Abraham), a.s., not associating You with anything.” (Tafsīr alṬabarī, Q. 7:126). Ibn ‘Abbās, ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umar, Qatādah, and Ibn Jurayj commented that these people started the day as sorcerers and ended it as martyrs. b. Allah mentioned the story of a group among the Children of Israel after the time of Prophet Moses who asked their prophet at that time to appoint for them a king. The prophet was not mentioned by name in the Qur’ān, but according to some mufassirīn (Qur’ān commentators) his name was Shamwīl, Samuel, meaning “Allah has heard my pleas” (Some say that his name was Sham‘ūn,

Simeon or Simon which has the same meaning).1 They promised him that with the new king they would fight for Allah’s way. Prophet Samuel asked them whether they would refrain from fighting when it became prescribed for them. They said that they would never refrain from fighting in Allah’s way while they had been driven out of their homes and families (kept as captives). But when fighting was ordered for them, they turned away except a few of them. (Q. 2:246). When Prophet Samuel a.s. told them that Allah had appointed Ṭālūt (Saul) as a king over them, they said: “How can he be a king over us when we are fitter than him for the kingdom, and he has not been given enough wealth.” (Qatādah said that Ṭālūt belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, neither the tribe of prophethood through Levi to which Prophet Moses belonged, nor that of kingship through Yahudha to which Prophet David and Solomon belonged. They wondered how a person who did not belong to the tribe of prophethood nor kingship became their king. They also said that he was poor to be a king. Some said that he used to bring water to the people, others said his profession was dyeing skins). Prophet Samuel a.s. said: “Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah grants His kingdom to whom He wills. Allah is All-Sufficient for His creature’s needs, AllKnower.” (Q. 2:247). Ibn ‘Abbās said that Ṭālūt at that time was the most knowledgeable person among the Children of Israel, the most handsome and the most physically perfect among them which scared the enemy. It was said the he was called Ṭālūt because of his tallness. It did not mean the bigness of his body, but rather his goodness in many ways and his bravery.

In the Old Testament Samuel was a prophet and a judge (1Samuel 1:20; 3:1921). The Old Testament mentioned that the Children of Israel asked for a king (1Samuel 8), and Saul was made king (1Samuel 10:9-26).

Then when Ṭālūt (Saul) set out with his army, he said: “Verily, Allah will try you by a river.2 So, whoever drinks thereof, he is not of me (shall not accompany me today), and whoever tastes it not, he is of me, except him who takes (thereof) in the hollow of his hand.” Yet, all except a few of them, drank thereof. So, when they had crossed the river, he and those who believed with him said: “We have no power this day against Jālūt (Goliath) and his host.” But those (knowledgeable scholars among them) who knew with certainty that they were going to meet Allah, (strengthened their resolve and) said: “How often a small group overcame a mighty host by Allah’s leave!” And Allah is with the patient.3 (Q. 2:249). And when they advanced to meet Jālūt (Goliath) and his forces they invoked: َ‫َربَناَأف هرغََعليناَصبراَوثبِّتََأقدامناَوانصرنا‬ )282:‫علىَالقو هَمَالكاف ههرينََ(البقرة‬ Our Lord! Pour forth on us patience, and set firm our feet [i.e., save us from running away and from feebleness] and make us victorious over the disbelieving people. (Q. 2:250) So they routed them by Allah’s leave, and Dāwūd (David) killed Jālūt (Goliath). Then Allah gave him the kingdom (after the death of king Ṭalūt and Prophet Samuel) and wisdom (prophethood) and taught him that which Allah willed. (Q. 2: 251). He was known in the Bible as King David, and among Muslims as Prophet Dāwūd

The river was the Jordan river. See al-Dāmaghānī (d. 475/6258-6), Qāmūs alQur’ān, s.v. n-h-r. According to Ibn ‘Abbās and others, the name of the river was the Sharī ‘ah river which flowed between Jordan and Palestine. 3 According to mufassirīn the term ṣabr (patience) has many meanings in the Qur’ān depending on the contexts. In facing the enemy it means “bravery”, the opposite of “cowardice”. See al-Rāghib al-Aṣfahānī (d. ca. 428/6632) Mufradāt Alfāẓ al-Qur’ān, s.v. ṣ-b-r.

(Dā’ūd) a.s. he was actually a prophet-king, like his son who inherited his kingdom, the Prophet-King Solomon (Sulaymān).4 c. The disciples of Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s who helped him was called in the Qur’ān al-ḥawāriyyūn (supporters). When he came to know their disbelief, he asked them, “Who will be my helpers in Allah’s cause?” In other words, “Who will help me convey the Message of Allah?” The ḥawāriyyūn replied, “We are the helpers of Allah; we believe in Allah, and bear witness that we are Muslims.” (Q. 3:52). Then they prayed to Allah, saying: )83:‫ربَناَآم َناَ هبماَأنزلتََوا َتبعناَالرَ سولََفاكتبناَمعََال َشا ههدهينََ(آلَعمران‬ Our Lord! We believe in what You have sent down and we follow the Messenger [‘Īsá, Jesus]; so write us down among those who bear witness (to the truth). (Q. 3:53)َ 4

According to Islam prophets sent by Allah, including Biblical prophets mentioned in the Qur’ān and King David as well as King Solomon, are ma‘ṣūm (infallible, sinless, protected by Allah from committing sin). Therefore, any kind of sin claimed to have been committed by any of them in the Bible is rejected in Islam, such as: Aaron took the gold earrings of the Israelite women “and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, ‘These are your gods [in another version ‘This is your god’] O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’” So, according to the Bible, Aaron was guilty of making and worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32:1-5). According to the Qur’ān, instead of Aaron, it was the Sāmirī, the Samaritan, who did it. However, tranlating al-Sāmirī as “the Samaritan”, i.e., a man of the Jewish clan of the Sāmirah would be unlikely, as Muhammad Asad put it, “… this sect did not exist yet at the time of Moses, it was possible that—as Ibn ‘Abbas maintained (Rāzī)—the person in question was one of the many Egyptians who had been converted to the faith of Moses and joined the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt ... in which case the designation sāmirī might be connected with the ancient Egyptian shemer, “a foreigner” or “stranger….” (Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, Q.20:85, n. 70). In other words, it was the newly Egyptian convert who made the idol. As punishment Prophet Moses banished him and that he would say throughout his life lā misāsa (“don’t touch me!”). (Q. 20:97). This expression, according to Muhammad Asad, was “a metaphorical description of the loneliness and the social ostracism in which he would henceforth find himself.” (Ibid., Q.20:97, n. 83).

Similarly, the Prophet before his migration to Madinah, did not find anybody who would help him in conveying the Message of Islam, as the Quraysh tribe had prevented him from doing so. In Madinah, the anṣār (“helpers”, the people of Madinah) helped him, and gave him refuge. They comforted him and protected him from his enemies. When the Prophet s.a.w. encouraged people to fight in the battle of al-Aḥzāb (Confederates) also called the Battle of Khandaq (Trench) which took place in Shawwal 5 A.H, al-Zubayr came forward, and when he called again, al-Zubayr came forward again. The Prophet s.a.w. then said; “Every Prophet has a ḥawārī (a helper), and my ḥawārī is al-Zubayr.” (CIVIC, 30 January, 2015) ََ:‫المراجع‬ َ ‫المكتبةَالشاملة‬ )َ‫َهـ‬362َ.‫تفسيرَالطبريَ(ت‬ )‫َهـ‬876َ.‫تفسيرَالقرطبىَ(ت‬ )‫َهـ‬774َ.‫تفسيرَابنَكثيرَ(ت‬ َ .‫َمفرداتَألفاظَالقرآن‬.)‫َهـ‬428َ.‫الراغبَالصفهاني(ت‬ ‫َقاموسَالقرآن‬.)‫َهـ‬475َ.‫الدامغانيَ(ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005. Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān.Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984. Abu Khalil, Dr. Shawqi. Atlas of the Qur’ān. Riydh: Maktabah Dar-usSalam, 2003

4. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (3) Among other groups of pious people whose supplications are mentioned in the Qur’ān are: the people of the Cave (‫)أَصْ َحابُُ ْال َكهْف‬ d. The people of the cave were people who took refuge in a cave escaping from the persecution of their rulers for their belief. They fell asleep for over 300 solar years (309 lunar years). This story was told in the Qur’ān as the Prophet’s answer requested by alNaḍr ibn al-Ḥārith and ‘Uqbah ibn Abī Mu‘īṭ suggested by the Jewish rabbis in Madinah to test him. The rabbis told them: “Ask him about three things which we will tell you to ask, and if he answers them then he is a Prophet who has been sent by Allah; if he does not, then he is saying things that are not true… Ask him about some men in ancient times, what was their story, for there was a strange and wondrous tale (i.e. “People of the Cave”), about a man who travelled extensively and reached the east and the west of the earth (i.e., Dhū ’l-Qarnayn), and about the Rūḥ (soul or spirit).” When they asked the Prophet, he told them: “I will tell you tomorrow about what you have asked me,” but he did not say in shā’ Allāh (“If Allah wills”). For this, Allah delayed giving the answer through Jibrīl (Gabriel). Fifteen days had passed, and Jibrīl did not come to tell him stories they had asked him. This grieved him, as the Makkan people started doubting him. Eventually, Jibrīl came and the Prophet complained for his delay. Gabriel told him that it was up to Allah when he should come. This was a lesson for us to say in shā’ Allāh (“If Allah wills”) before we start doing something. Jibrīl told him about the young men who fled from the persecution of their pagan king for their belief in Allah and took refuge inside a cave. Like the story of Prophet Yūsuf (Joseph) a.s. and many other stories in the Qur’ān, the names of people and places in them were not given, as it is a book of guidance and awakening, not a book of history.

Although the story of the People of the Cave is given in brief and general terms in the Qur’ān, Allah explains it in more detail. He says: ُ ُْ‫ِيمُ َكانواُمِن‬ ُِ ‫ابُ ْال َكهْفُُِ َوالرق‬ َُ ‫ْتُأَنُُأَصْ َح‬ َُ ‫أَ ُْمُ َحسِ ب‬ ُ )9:‫ُآ َيا ِت َناُ َع َجبًاُ(الكهف‬ “Do you think (O Muhammad) that the peopleُof the Cave and al-Raqīm1 were a wonder among Our Signs?” (Q. 18:9). It means, as put by Ibn Kathīr, their case is not something amazing compared to Allah’s power and ability in creating the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, the subjugation of heavenly bodies (the sun, the moon and the stars), and other mighty signs, all indicate Allah’s great power to do whatever He likes, and doing more amazing things than the story of the people of the Cave. In the next verse Allah said: ُ ُُْ‫كُ َرحْ َم ًُةُ َو َهيِّئ‬ َُ ‫إِ ُْذُأَ َوىُ ْال ِف ْت َيةُُإِلَىُ ْال َكهْفُُِ َف َقالواُ َرب َناُآ ِت َناُمِنُُْلَدُْن‬ ُ )01:‫لَ َناُمِنُُْأَم ِْر َناُ َر َش ًداُ(الكهف‬ (Remember) when the young men fled for refuge (from their disbelieving folk) to the Cave. They said: “Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!”(Q. 18:10) 1

The cave was located in a mountain. There are many views regarding the alRaqīm in the above verse, among which are as follows: (1) it is a valley near Aylah (Ibn ‘Abbās, ‘Aṭiyyah, Qatādah and al-Daḥḥak); (2) it is the name of the mountain where the Cave was located (Ibn ‘Abbas as reported by Ibn Jurayj); (3) it is the name of the village where the cave is located which is now called alRajīb in the present Jordan; (4) al-Raqīm means “the Inscription”; it was a tablet of stone on which they wrote the story and the names of the people of the Cave, then they placed it at the entrance of the Cave (Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr). According to Western tradition the names of the Seven Sleepers are: Maximian, Malchus, Marcian, John, Denis, Serapion, and Constantine, whereas according to Eastern tradition their names are: Maximilian, Jamblichus, Martin, John, Dionysius, Antonius, and Constantine.

Here they prayed to Allah to give them mercy and to conceal them from their people, and to direct their matter well, namely, to grant them a good end. Then Allah caused them to sleep many years when they entered the cave. Then He raised them from their slumber. They disputed how long they stayed in the cave. Allah said: ُ ُ‫ُثمُُ َب َع ْث َناه ُْمُلِ َنعْ لَ َُم‬.‫ِينُ َع َد ًدا‬ َُ ‫ض َر ْب َناُ َعلَىُآ َذان ِِه ُْمُفِيُ ْال َكهْفُُِسِ ن‬ َ ‫َف‬ ُ ُُ)01-00:‫صىُلِ َماُلَ ِبثواُأَ َم ًداُ(الكهف‬ ُِ ‫أَيُُ ْالح ِْز َبي‬ َ ْ‫ْنُأَح‬ Therefore, We covered up their (sense of) hearing (causing them to go in deep sleep) in the Cave for a number of yearُ. Then We raised them up (from their sleep), that We might test which of the two parties was best at calculating the time period that they had tarried.(Q. 18:11-12). There is an indication that the entrance of the cave faced north, as when the sun rose its shade decreased to the right, and when it set it entered their cave from the left. (Q. 18:17). Ibn ‘Abbās said that the sunshine did not directly hit them, so that it did not harm them. While sleeping they turned their bodies on their right and on their left sides, and their dog lay down at the door of the cave as if guarding them. Allah made their appearance frightening, so that no one would come near them or touch them until they woke up from their sleep. Allah said: ً ‫َو َتحْ َسبه ُْمُأَ ْي َق‬ ُ‫ال‬ ُِ ‫اتُال ِّش َم‬ َُ ‫ِينُ َو َذ‬ ُِ ‫اتُ ْال َيم‬ َُ ‫اظاُ َوه ُْمُرقودُُ َون َقلِّبه ُْمُ َذ‬ ‫ْتُ ِم ْنه ُْم‬ َُ ‫علَي ِْه ُْمُلَ َولي‬ َُ ُ‫ت‬ َُ ْ‫َو َك ْلبه ُْمُبَاسِ طُُذ َِرا َع ْي ُِهُ ِب ْال َوصِ ي ُِدُلَ ُِوُاط َلع‬ ُ)01:‫تُ ِم ْنه ُْمُرعْ بًاُ(الكهف‬ َُ ‫ُف َِرارً اُ َولَملِ ْئ‬ And you would have thought them awake, whereas they were asleep. And We turned them on their right on their left sides, and their dog stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance [of the Cave or in the space near to

the entrance of the Cave (as a guard at the gate)]. Had you looked at them, you would certainly have turned back from them in flight, and would certainly have been filled with awe of them. (Q. 18:18) As they entered the cave at the beginning of the day and woke up at the end of the day they thought that they had stayed in the cave a day or part of a day. They sent one of them to the town to buy good and lawful food with a silver coin.2 He was very careful not to disclose his identity, or people would stone him, abuse him or harme him, or turn him back to their religion. (Q. 18:20) The number of people of the Cave was not explicitly mentioned in the Qur’ān, but there were three views mentioned in it: a. three people, their dog being the fourth; b. five people, their dog being the sixth; c. seven people, their dog being the eighth. Both the first and the second view were rejected because they were based on ‫“( َرجْ مًا ُ ِب ْال َغيْب‬guessing at the unseen”(, whereas the third view was not, and therefore could be correct. However, Allah told the Prophet to say, ُ)11:‫ُبعِدت ِِهمُ(الكهف‬ ِ ‫َر َبي أَعْ َلم‬ “My Lord knows best their number…" (Q. 18:22) Western scholars have different view on the location of the cave. Some say it was in Turkey, others in Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan. The story was popular in the Middle Ages and in several versions, including Greek, Syriac, Coptic, and Georgian. According to this story during the persecution of the Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius (249-251 CE) seven or eight Christian soldiers took refuge at a cave near their native city Ephesus, as they refused to practise pagan sacrifices. They fell miraculously asleep, and they woke up during the reign of the 2

According to Western tradition the name of the person was Malcus, whereas according to Eastern tradition his name was Jamblicus.

Eastern Roman Emperor, Theodosius II (408–450 CE). They explained to him the profound meaning of their experience, and then died. The emperor was moved by their miraculous presence as evidence of the resurrection of the body in the Christian doctrine, and then absolved all bishops who had been persecuted for their belief in the Resurrection. The ruin of Ephesus is located near the present city of Izmir at the Eastern coast of Turkey. Not far from the ruin there was a cave at the slope of a hill where it was written at its gate THE CAVE OF THE SEVEN SLEEPERS, but was not very attractive to visitors (I was the only visitor of the cave at that time). Although we find some similarities between this story and that of the people of the Cave mentioned in the Qur’ān, the sleepers slept 208 years, whereas in the Qur’ān it was mentioned that they slept 300 solar years, equal to 309 lunar years, as follows: ْ ‫ِينُ َو‬ ُُ)12:‫از َدادواُتِسْ ًعاُ(الكهف‬ َُ ‫ثُمِا َئةُُسِ ن‬ َُ ‫َولَ ِبثواُفِيُ َك ْهف ِِه ُْمُ َث ََل‬ And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, adding nine for nine.(Q. 18:25) In 0963 the Jordanian archaeologist Muhammad Taysīr Ẓubyān discovered the cave of the people of the Cave near the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. This is what Muslim scholars believe to be the one mentioned in the Qur’ān. At the entrance of the cave it is written in Arabic and English as follows: ‫كهفُأهلُالكهف‬ ‫(قبورُبيزنطية)ُوردتُقصتهمُفيُالقرآنُالكريم‬ CAVE OF THE SEVEN SLEEPERS BYZANTINE TOMBS – ONE MENTIONED IN THE KORAN IN THE STORY OF THE SEVEN SLEEPERS

(CIVIC, 6 February, 2015) ‫المراجع‬: ‫المكتبةُالشاملة‬ (‫ُهـ‬301ُ.‫تفسيرُالطبريُ(ت‬ (‫ُهـ‬670ُ.‫تفسيرُالقرطبىُ(ت‬ (‫ُهـ‬774ُ.‫تفسيرُابنُكثيرُ(ت‬ http://www.thaqafnafsak.com/2014/01/‫عمان‬-‫في‬-‫الكهف‬-‫أهل‬-‫مكان‬.html http://mawdoo3.com/ ‫قصة_اهل_الكهف‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005. Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984. Abu Khalil, Dr. Shawqi. Atlas of the Qur’ān. Riyadh: Maktabah Dar-usSalam, 2003 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/536521/SevenSleepers-of-Ephesus http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/10/historicity-of-sevensleepers-of.html

5. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (4) Among other groups of pious people whose supplications are mentioned in the Qur’ān are: e. of the people of the Heights (aṣḥāb al-A‘rāf, ‫)أصحاب األعراف‬. These people would be placed in a place called al-A‘rāf. The word alA‘rāf is the plural of ‘urf meaning “an elevated land”. Al-A‘rāf here means a high place or a wall from which they see the dwellers of Paradise, and the dwellers of Hell. This area is also “a gate therein inside it will be mercy [i.e., Paradise], and outside it will be torment [i.e., Hell].” (Q. 57:13). It is, then, a barrier between Paradise and Hell which prevents the dwellers of the Hellfire from entering Paradise. Who are the people who will be placed in the heights, wall or gate who will not be admitted, neither Paradise nor Hell, although eventually will be admitted to Paradise? There are many interpretations, among which are as follows: 1. They are those whose good and bad deeds are equal. So, they are not very pious. Their evil deeds prevent them from being qualified to enter Paradise, and their good deeds prevent them from being qualified to enter Hell. Therefore, they stop there until they are admitted to Paradise (the interpretation of Ibn ‘Abbās, Ḥudhayfah, Ibn Mas‘ūd, and other companions of the Prophet, as swell as of people of later generation; this is the most acceptable interpretation). 2. They are people who joined the Muslims in the jihād defending Islam without their parents’ permission. They will not be admitted to Paradise because they disobeyed their parents, but will not enter Hell either, because they were martyrs. This view is similar to the first one. 3. They are people who also joined the Muslims in the jihād without the permission of one of their parents. This view is similar to the previous one (2) 4. They are people who lived in the era of fatrah (the interval between two prophets, where there was no new prophet to

follow, and the earlier prophet was unheard of, so that he could not be followed), and the children of idolaters who died young. The condition of the aṣḥāb al-A‘rāf in the Hereafter is portrayed in the Qur’ān , as follows: ‫ون ُكلا ِبسِ ي َما ُه ْم َو َنادَ ْو ْا‬ َ ُ‫َو َب ْي َن ُه َما ح َِجاب َو َعلَى األَعْ َرافِ ِر َجال َيعْ ِرف‬ )44:‫ُون )األعراف‬ َ ‫اب ْال َج َّن ِة أَن َسلَم َع َل ْي ُك ْم َل ْم َي ْد ُخلُو َها َو ُه ْم َي ْط َمع‬ َ ‫أَصْ َح‬ And between them there will be a (barrier) screen and on al-A‘rāf will be men, who recognize all, by their marks. And they will call out to the dwellers of Paradise, “Peace be on you” and at that time they will not yet have entered it (Paradise), but they will hope to enter (it). (Q. 7:46) When they look at the dwellers of Paradise they recognize them, greet them, and wish to enter Paradise, but Allah delays it. Allah said: ْ ‫ َوإِ َذا ص ُِر َف‬. ‫ار َقالُو ْا‬ ِ ‫صا ُر ُه ْم ت ِْل َقاء أَصْ َحا‬ َ ‫ت أَ ْب‬ ِ ‫ب ال َّن‬ َّ ‫َر َّب َنا لَ َتجْ َع ْل َنا َم َع ْال َق ْوم‬ )47 :‫ (األعراف‬.‫ِين‬ َ ‫الظالِم‬ ِ and when their eyes will be turned towards the dwellers of the Fire, they will say: “Our Lord! Place us not with the people who are wrong-doers.” (Q. 7:47) When they look at the dwellers of Hell they pray to Allah to disassociate them with wrong-doers. They will call people whom they know and tell them that their greatness in number and wealth they are proud of do not save them from Allah’s torment. Then Allah will say to the dwellers of Hell: “Are they, the aṣḥāb alA‘rāf, the people of the Heights, of whom you swore that I would never show them mercy? I (Allah) say to them, ‘Enter Paradise, no fear shall be on you, nor shall you grieve’” (Q. 7:48-49). Finally, they all enter Paradise, the last people who to enter it without being punished in Hell.

Although we enter Paradise not only because of our faith and good deeds, but also because of Allah’s blessings on us, there is much possibility of entering it, for the following reason: Allah says in the Qur’ān : ‫َمنْ َجا َء ِب ْال َح َس َن ِة َفلَ ُه َع ْش ُر أَ ْم َثالِ َها َو َمنْ َجا َء ِبال َّس ِّي َئ ِة‬ )141:‫ُون (األنعام‬ َ ‫َف َل يُجْ َزى إِ َّل م ِْثلَ َها َو ُه ْم َل ي ُْظلَم‬ Whoever brings a good deed shall have ten times the like thereof to his credit, and whoever brings an evil deed shall have only the recompense of the like thereof, and they will not be wronged. (Q. 6:160) This apparently means that if we do one good deed and one bad deed, we shall still have 9 credits, since one good deed will make 10 credits. Therefore, there is more chance of having more good deeds than bad deeds, and to enter Paradise. Moreover, the Prophet s.a.w. said in a ḥadīth qudsī1 narrated by Abū Hurayrah that Allah said: ُ ‫َمنْ َه َّم ِب َح َس َنة َفلَ ْم َيعْ َم ْل َها َك َتب‬ ‫ْت لَ ُه َح َس َن اة َفإِنْ َع ِملَ َها َك َت ْب ُت َها ِب َع ْش ِر أَمْ َثالِ َها إِلَى‬ ‫َسب ِْع مِا َئة َوإِنْ َه َّم ِب َس ِّي َئة َفلَ ْم َيعْ َم ْل َها لَ ْم أَ ْك ُتبْ َعلَ ْي ِه َفإِنْ َع ِملَ َها َك َت ْب ُت َها‬ )‫َعلَ ْي ِه سيئة واحدة (رواه ابن حبان‬ Whoever intends to do a good deed and he does not do it I will record (a reward of) a good deed for him; if he does it I will record tenfold to seven hundred of the merit of it. If he intends to do evil and he does not do it, I will not record it, but if he does it I will record (the demerit of) one evil deed against him. (Reported by Ibn Ḥibbān).2

Ḥadīth qudsī (‘holy tradition”) is a tradition of the Prophet s.a.w. where the wording is from him but the idea is from Allah. In this kind of tradition the Prophet s.a.w. said, “Allah the Almighty said…” It is different from the verses of the Qur’an where both the idea and the wording are from Allah. 2 Similar traditions were also narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās and reported by Ahmad, Bukhārī and al-Nasā’ī, and narrated by Abū Hurayrah and reported by Ahmad and Ibn Ḥibbān.

However, the kind of deed, either good or evil, has to be taken into consideration. A person who has just greeted people which is a good deed, then he robs the bank which is a grave evilness, does not automatically mean that he still has 9 credits (merits) left. Moreover, there is a condition he has to fulfill, namely, to be a believer, a Muslim. Allah says: ‫صالِحا ا مِنْ َذ َكر أَ ْو أ ُ ْن َثى َوه َُو‬ َ ‫َمنْ َع ِم َل َس ِّي َئ اة َف َل يُجْ َزى إِ َّل م ِْث َل َها َو َمنْ َع ِم َل‬ )41:‫ون فِي َها ِب َغي ِْر ِح َساب (غافر‬ َ ُ‫ون ْال َج َّن َة يُرْ َزق‬ َ ُ‫ك َي ْد ُخل‬ َ ‫م ُْؤمِن َفأُولَ ِئ‬ Whosoever does an evil deed, will not be requited except the like thereof; and whosoever does a right deed, whether male of female and is a true believer, such will enter Paradise, where they will be provided therein (with all things in abundance) without limit (Q. 40:40) In other words, you have to be Muslim, a believer, and do right deed to be admitted to Paradise where Allah will reward you with everything. f. of oppressed people in their land. In the early period of Islam, Muslims were ordered to be patient with the Makkan idolaters’ mistreatment. There are two main reasons for this: Firstly, they were too weak, as they were very few in number. Retaliation would mean suicide and self-destruction. We can understand why Jesus (Prophet ‘Īsá a.s.) did not allow his followers who were few in number to fight back the mighty Roman ruler in his time. Secondly, they were living in Makkah the most sacred city on the earth for Muslims. Many Muslims wished that they would be allowed to fight back out of frustration, but Allah did not revealed and prescribe the fighting in this sacred place. ‘Abd a-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf and several of his companions came to the Prophet s.a.w. and said: “O Allah’s Prophet! We were mighty when we were pagans, but when we embraced the faith, we become weak.” The Prophet said: ُ ْ‫إِ ِّني أ ُمِر‬ )‫ت ِب ْال َع ْف ِو َف َل ُت َقا ِتلُوا ْال َق ْو َم (رواه النسائي و البيهقى‬ I was commanded to pardon the people, so do not

fight them (Reported by al-Nasā’ī and al-Bayhaqī) After the Muslims’ emigration to Madinah to avoid the Makkan persecution, and after they had become strong enough, Allah allowed them to fight back. Allah said: ُ ‫ون ِبأ َ َّن ُه ْم‬ ‫ِين أ ُ ْخ ِرجُوا‬ َ ‫ الَّذ‬.‫ّللا َعلَى َنصْ ِر ِه ْم لَ َقدِير‬ َ ُ ‫ِين ُي َقا َتل‬ َ ‫أُذ َِن لِلَّذ‬ َ َّ َّ‫ظلِمُوا َوإِن‬ َّ ‫ار ِه ْم ِب َغي ِْر َحق إِ َّل أَنْ َيقُولُوا َر ُّب َنا‬ )41-33:‫ (الحج‬..ُ.‫ّللا‬ ِ ‫مِنْ ِد َي‬ Permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged; and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory—Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly, because they said: “Our Lord is Allah...” … (Q. 22:39-40) According to the classical Qur’ān commentator Mujāhid, a group of believers who had been prevented by the Makkan nonbelievers from emigrating to Madinah were overtaken and caught up by them. Then the above verses were revealed, allowing them to fight the non-believers, and they did. Other classical Qur’ān commentators Qatādah and Ibn Jurayj said that the verse was the first revelation where Muslims were allowed to fight After the prescription of fighting, some Muslims became weary and fearful, and wished the jihad against the idolaters to be delayed, because it would mean bloodshed, widows, and orphans. To this, Allah replied that that enjoyment of life was short, the Hereafter was better for him who feared Allah, Who would treat them justly. Moreover, they would not be able to escape death even if they were in a strong and high fortress (Q. 4:77-78). Then Allah said: ‫ال َوال ِّن َسا ِء‬ ِ َّ ‫يل‬ َ ‫ّللا َو ْالمُسْ َتضْ َعف‬ َ ُ‫َو َما لَ ُك ْم َل ُت َقا ِتل‬ ِ ‫ِين م َِن الرِّ َج‬ ِ ‫ون فِي َس ِب‬ َّ ‫ون َر َّب َنا أَ ْخرجْ َنا مِنْ َه ِذ ِه ْال َقرْ َي ِة‬ ‫الظال ِِم أَهْ ل ُ َها‬ َ ُ ‫ِين َيقُول‬ َ ‫ان الَّذ‬ ِ ‫َو ْال ِو ْل َد‬ ِ )75:‫ك َنصِ يرا ا (النساء‬ َ ‫ك َول اِيا َواجْ َع ْل لَ َنا مِنْ لَ ُد ْن‬ َ ‫َواجْ َع ْل لَ َنا مِنْ لَ ُد ْن‬ And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated, and oppressed among men women, and children, whose cry

is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town [i.e., Makkah] whose people are oppressors [i.e., Makkan idolaters]; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help.” (Q. 4:75) These weak, ill-treated, and oppressed people, were the Makkan Muslims who were too weak, and therefore, were excuse from emigrating to Madinah. They prayed to Allah to rescue them from the oppression of the Makkan idolaters who opposed the Prophet’s propagation of Islam. According to this verse rescuing the weak, the ill-treated and the oppressed, besides defending the religion of Islam is included in the jihad in the path of Allah. It includes freeing them from captivity by paying ransom or by force. (CIVIC, 13 February, 20150 ‫المراجع‬: ‫المكتبة الشاملة‬ (‫ هـ‬311 .‫تفسير الطبري (ت‬ (‫ هـ‬471 .‫تفسير القرطبى (ت‬ (‫ هـ‬774 .‫تفسير ابن كثير (ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005. Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984.

6. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (5) Among the pious people’s du‘ā (supplication) mentioned in the Qur’ān are: g. the people of later generation. g. the du‘ā of people of later generation. After the migration of the Prophet and his followers from Makkah to Madinah, the Muslims were divided into three categories: 1. the Muhājirīn (the emigrants), the Anṣār (lit. “the helpers”, the people of Madinah who helped the Prophet and the emigrants), 3. the people who came after them. The Muhājirīn were the inhabitants of Makkah who had converted to Islam and emigrated to Madinah before the conquest of Makkah, to avoid persecution of the Makkan pagans. Allah praised them when He said: ُ َِ ‫ينِالَّذ‬ َِ ‫لِم‬ ‫ِن‬ ِ ً ْ‫ونِ َفض‬ َِ ‫ار ِه ِْمِ َوأَمْ َوال ِِه ِْمِ َي ْب َت ُغ‬ َِ ‫ل ِْلفُ َق َرا ِِءِ ْال ُم َها ِج ِر‬ ِ ‫ِينِأ ْخ ِرجُواِمِنِِْ ِد َي‬ .)8:‫ونِ(الحشر‬ َِ ُ‫كِ ُه ُِمِالصَّا ِدق‬ َِ ‫ّللاِ َو َرسُولَ ُِهِأُولَ ِئ‬ ََِّ ِ‫ُون‬ َِ ‫صر‬ ُ ‫ّللاِ َو ِرضْ َوا ًناِ َو َي ْن‬ َِِّ (And there is also a share in the booty)1 for the poor emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and their property, seeking the bounties from Allah and (His) good pleasure, and helping Allah and His Messenger. Such are indeed the truthful. (Q. 59:8) The Anṣār were the Muslims of Madinah who welcomed and helped the Muhājirīn. They competed among themselves in taking 1

The fay’ (booty without fighting) was taken from the Jewish tribe Banī ‘l-Naḍīr who tried to kill the Prophet when he came to them in order to get rid of him and to avoid paying blood money demanded by the Prophet. The Prophet gave them an ultimatum to leave the Madinah within ten days. The leader of the hypocrites of Madinah, ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, told them that he and his people were on their side, and advised them not to leave their houses, but to protect themselves in their fortresses. The Prophet and his army sieged their fortress. Finally, they surrendered, and were allowed to leave and to take whatever they could except weapons. With 600 camels fully loaded, they set out for Khaybar. What was left behind became the spoils of war to be divided among the Muhājirīn, while the Anṣār, out of their sympathy with the Muhājirīn, did not want to take any share from the booty. This took place in 4 A.H.

them as guests in their houses. After 5 month of the Prophet’s arrival in Madinah he strengthened the brotherhood between the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār in the house of Anas ibn Mālik: each of the 45 hosts of the Anṣār took his guest among the 45 Muhājirīn as his brother, like blood brotherhood, so that they inherited each other after their death, without being relatives on the maternal side. Allah said: ِ ِ‫َتِأَ ْي َما ُن ُك ِْم‬ ِْ ‫ِينِ َع َقد‬ َِ ‫ُونِ َوالَّذ‬ َِ ‫انِ َو ْاْلَ ْق َرب‬ ِِ ‫كِ ْال َوالِ َد‬ َِ ‫ِيِ ِممَّاِ َت َر‬ َِ ‫َولِ ُكلِِ َج َع ْل َناِ َم َوال‬ ِ )33:‫انِ َعلَىِ ُكلِِ َشيْ ءِِ َش ِهي ًداِ(النساء‬ َِ ‫ّللاَِ َك‬ َِّ َِِّ‫َفآ ُتو ُه ِْمِ َنصِ ي َب ُه ِْمِإِن‬ And to everyone, We have appointed heirs of that (property) left by parents and relatives. To those also with whom you have made a pledge (brotherhood), give them their due portion (by wasiyyah-wills). Truly, Allah is Ever a Witness over all things. (Q.4:33). The example of this brotherhood is that the Prophet made brotherhood between Abu Bakr and Khārijah ibn Zuhayr, between ‘Umar and ‘Utbān ibn Mālik, between ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān and Aws ibn Thābit, between Abū ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ and Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh, between al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwām and Salāmah ibn Salāmah, and so on. Allah praised their hospitality in the Qur’ān as follows: ِ ِ‫اج َِرِإِلَي ِْه ِْم‬ َِ ‫انِمِنِِْ َق ْبل ِِه ِْمِ ُي ِحب‬ َِ ‫اْلي َم‬ َِ ‫ِينِ َت َب َّوءُواِال َّد‬ َِ ‫َوالَّذ‬ َ ‫ُّونِ َمنِِْ َه‬ ِ ْ ‫ارِ َو‬ ِ ِ‫ان‬ َِ ‫ونِ َعلَىِأَ ْنفُسِ ِه ِْمِ َولَوِِْ َك‬ َِ ‫اج ًِةِ ِممَّاِأُو ُتواِ َوي ُْؤ ِث ُر‬ ُ ِ‫ونِفِي‬ َِ ‫لِ َي ِج ُد‬ ِ َ ‫َو‬ َ ‫ور ِه ِْمِ َح‬ ِ ‫ص ُد‬ ُ ِ‫ُوق‬ .)9:‫ُونِ(الحشر‬ َِ ‫كِ ُه ُِمِ ْال ُم ْفلِح‬ َِ ‫حِ َن ْفسِ ِِهِ َفأُولَ ِئ‬ َِّ ‫ش‬ َِ ‫صةِِ َو َمنِِْي‬ َ ‫صا‬ َ ‫ِب ِه ِْمِ َخ‬ (And it is also for) those who, before them, and homes and had adopted the faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given, and give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own greed, such are they who will be successful.(Q. 59:9) We see here that the Anṣār loved the Muhājirīn, had no jealousy for their merit (of leaving their homeland and belongings

for Allah’s sake) over them (who remained in their homeland), and preferred them over themselves. Abū Hurayrah narrated that a man came to the Prophet. The Prophet asked his wives to entertain him, but they said that they had nothing for him except water. Then a man among the Anṣār said he would entertain his guest. He came home and told his wife to entertain the Prophet’s guest, but his wife told him that she had nothing except food for children. He told her to prepare the meal and to make her children sleep and to light the lamp. When the time for meal arrived, the children were asleep, and she pretended to repair the lamp, so that they had their meal in the dark, and he pretended to share the meal. In the morning he told the Prophet how he entertained his guest. The Prophet said that Allah admired what the couple had done, and revealed, “and give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own greed, such are they who will be successful.” (Reported by Bukhari). The Prophet told the Anṣār whether they would share their wealth and property with the Muhājirīn, and at the same time would share the spoils of war with them, or give the whole spoils of war to the Muhājirīn and without sharing their wealth and property with them. The Anṣār said that they would let the whole spoils of war to the Muhājirīn, and at the same time they would share their wealth and property with them. To this, Allah praised their sacrifice with the above verse, “… and give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that.” The Anṣār were so good to the Muhājirīn, that the latter asked the Prophet whether there would still remain for them thawāb (reward for doing good) left by the Anṣār for their enormous good deed to them. The Prophet told them that there was still reward, left as long as they appreciate what they had done and pray for them. This law of inheriting each other was put into effect till the occurrence of the Battle of Badr. Since then, this law became

abrogated, with the following verse, although the brotherhood remained. ِ ِ‫ّللا‬ َِِّ ِ‫ب‬ ِِ ‫ض ُه ِْمِأَ ْولَىِ ِب َبعْ ضِِفِيِ ِك َت‬ ُ ْ‫امِ َبع‬ ِِ ‫َوأ ُ ْولُوِْاِالرْ َح‬ ِ ِِِِ)55:‫ّللاِ ِب ُكلِِ َشىْ ءِ َعلِيمِِ(اْلنفال‬ ََِّ َِِّ‫إِن‬ …But kindred by blood are nearer to one another (regarding inheritance) in the decree ordained by Allah. Verily, Allah is All-Knower of everything.(Q. 8:75) The Anṣār loved the Muhājirīn very much, that they offered to the Prophet to divide their agricultural land between the Muhājirīn and themselves, but the Prophet rejected this proposal. But when they proposed to share the fruit of it, the Prophet accepted it. Sa‘d ibn al-Rabī‘ who was the riches man among the Anṣār, offered his emigrant brother ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf half of his land, and to let him marry one of his two wives, after divorcing her and the lapse of the period of ‘iddah. But ‘Abd al-Raḥman rejected the offer with appreciation, and asked the location of the Qaynuqā‘ market where he started his business. Soon after that he become prosperous and married a woman among the Anṣār. All these kinds of people were promised by Allah with Paradise, ِ ِِ‫ِينِا َّت َبعُو ُه ِْمِ ِبإِحْ َسان‬ َِ ‫ارِ َوالَّذ‬ ِِ ‫ص‬ َِ ‫ِنِ ْال ُم َها ِج ِر‬ َِ ‫ونِم‬ َِ ُ‫ونِ ْاْلَ َّول‬ َِ ُ‫َّابق‬ َ ‫ينِ َو ْاْلَ ْن‬ ِ ‫ِِ َوالس‬ َ َ َّ ْ ِ ‫ّللا ُِ َع ْن ُه ِْمِ َو َرضُواِ َع ْن ُِهِ َوأ َع َِّدِلَ ُه ِْمِ َج َّناتِِ َتجْ ِريِ َتحْ َت َهاِاْل ْن َها ُِر‬ ِ ِ‫ي‬ َِ ِ‫َرض‬ )011:‫كِ ْال َف ْو ُِزِ ْال َعظِ ي ُِمِِ(التوبة‬ َِ ِ‫ِينِفِي َهاِأَ َب ًداِ َذل‬ َِ ‫ِ َخالِد‬ ِِAnd the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhajirin (those who migrated from Makkah to al-Madinah) and the Anṣār (the citizens of al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhajirin) and also those who follow them exactly (in Faith). Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell there-in forever. That is the supreme success.(Q. 9:100) Allah prepares Paradise for the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār, and the Prophet said, as reported by Bukhārī and Muslims, that the best generation is his generation, then the one following it, and

then the one following it. He praised the Anṣār when he said, “Nobody loves the Anṣār, except he is a Muslim, nobody hates the Anṣār except he is a hypocrite; whoever loves them Allah will love him, and whoever hates them, Allah will hate them.” (Reported by Bukhārī). He prayed for the Anṣār; he said “O Allah, forgive the Anṣār, the children of the Anṣār, the spouses of the Anṣār, and the descendants of the Anṣār” (Reported by Ahmad). Based on this verse the Qur’ān commentator Ibn Kathīr indicates the twisting minds and the turning upside down of the heart of the Rāfiḍah (a sect in Shiites) who hate and curse the companions of the Prophet who have been promised with Paradise, such as Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. Allah said about the third group, who came after the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār, as follows: ْ ِ‫ونِ َر َّب َنا‬ ِِ ‫اْلي َم‬ ‫ان‬ َِ ‫ْل ْخ َوا ِن َناِالَّذ‬ َِ ُ ‫ِينِ َجاءُواِمِنِِْ َبعْ ِد ِه ِْمِ َيقُول‬ َِ ‫َوالَّذ‬ ِ ْ ‫ِينِ َس َبقُو َناِ ِب‬ ِ ِ ‫اغفِرِِْ َل َناِ َو‬ .)10:‫كِ َرءُوفِِ َرحِيمِِ(الحشر‬ َِ ‫ِينِآ َم ُنواِ َر َّب َناِإِ َّن‬ َِ ‫لِلِلَّذ‬ ًِ ِ‫وب َناِغ‬ ِْ ‫لِ َتجْ َع‬ ِ َ ‫َو‬ ِ ُ ‫لِفِيِقُل‬ And those who came after them say: “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.” (Q. 59:10) The third group is the Muslims who come after the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār till the Judgment day. It is our generation where we have to follow their examples in every aspect of piety, generosity, sincerity, and dedication to Islam. At least, love and pray for them as Allah taught us in the above verse. We ask Allah to forgive us and forgive our brothers who came before us, including the companions of the Prophet as mentioned in the above verse. When the Prophet was passing a cemetery he greeted the people in the graves, and then he said, “I wish to see our brothers.” When his companions asked him, “Are not we your brothers?” The Prophet s.a.w. replied, “No, you are my companions. Our brothers are those who have not come yet.”

A group of people from Iraq came to ‘Ali ibn al-Ḥusayn r.a. and cursed Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and ‘Uthmān r.a. He asked whether they belonged to the first category of Muslims, namely, the Muhājirīn. When they said “no”, he asked them whether they belonged to the second category of Muslims, namely, the Anṣār. When they said “no”, he said that they definitely did not belong to the third category of Muslims who prayed, loved, and asked forgiveness for them, as mentioned in the above verse. The number of the Prophet’s companions exceeds a hundred thousand, some thousands of them are known to us, and some hundreds were well-known to us. Abū’l-Qāsim al-Baghawī (d. 305 /929) and Ibn Qāni‘ (d.351/962) were among the earlier scholar recording the ṣaḥābah in their books entitled Mu‘jam al-Ṣaḥābah (Dictionary of the Ṣaḥābah). Ibn al-Athīr (d. 631/1232) recorded the names of over seven thousands of the ṣaḥābah in his work Usud al-Ghābah fī Ma‘rifat al-Ṣaḥābah in 8 volumes. Another writer was Ibn Ḥajar (d.852/1449) who wrote al-Iṣābah fī Tamyīz al-Ṣaḥābah, in 8 volumes, containing more than twelve thousand names, the most comprehensive dictionary of the Companions of the Prophet. (CIVIC, 20.02.15) :‫المراجع‬ ‫المكتبةِالشاملة‬ (‫ِهـ‬301ِ.‫تفسيرِالطبريِ(ت‬ (‫ِهـ‬650ِ.‫تفسيرِالقرطبىِ(ت‬ (‫ِهـ‬557ِ.‫تفسيرِابنِكثيرِ(ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005. Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984. http://islamqa.info/ar/218999 http://articles.islamweb.net/media/index.php?page=article&lang=A &id=13431. http://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/ ‫المؤاخاة_بين_المهاجرين_واْلنصار‬/‫سيدنا_محمد_صلى_ّللا_عليه_وسلم‬ http://www.oqba.ma/Article.aspx?C=5601

7. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (6) Among the pious people’s du‘ā’ (supplication) mentioned in the Qur’ān are: h. the believers in general, and they are, as far as I know, fifteen of them: three verses mentioned in sūrat al-Baqarah Q. 2: 201, 285, and 286); seven verses in sūrat Āl ‘Imrān (Q. 3:8, 9, 16, 191, 192, 193, and 194); one verse in sūrat al Mu’minūn (Q. 23:109); three verses in sūrat al-Furqān (Q. 25:65, 66, and 74), and one verse in sūrat al-Taḥrīm (Q. 66:8). We shall deal here the verses mentioned in in sūrat al-Baqarah as follows: 1. The believers make this du‘ā’ as mentioned in the Qur’an as follows: ْ‫لْ َر َّب َناْآ ِت َناْفِيْال ُّد ْن َياْ َح َس َنةْْ َوفِيْ ْاْلخ َِرِْةْ َح َس َنة‬ ُْ ‫َو ِم ْن ُه ْْمْ َمنْْْ َيقُو‬ )102:‫ارْ(البقرة‬ ِْ ‫ابْال َّن‬ َْ ‫َو ِق َناْ َع َذ‬ And of them there are some who say: “Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!” (Q. 2:201) This verse is dealing with the du‘ā’ of the believers during their pilgrimage. In the previous verse Allah told the pilgrims among Muslims to remember Allah as they remembered their forefathers, even more. But of mankind there are some who say: “Our Lord! Give us Your bounties in this world!.” and for such there will be no portion in the Hereafter. (Q. 2: 200). This is because, as mentioned by Ibn ‘Abbās, one among the people in the time of Jāhiliyyah, used to stand during the pilgrimage season, said that his father used to help the poor, help others by ending their disputes with his money. What they remembered were the good deeds of their fathers. Then Allah revealed to the Prophet and the Muslims in their pilgrimage to remember Allah as they remembered their fathers, but even more. When some Bedouins used to supplicate while they were in ‘Arafah asking Him to make a rainy day, a fertile year, and a year of good child bearing, without mentioning the affairs of the Hereafter. Then Allah reminds the Prophet and the Muslims

not to forget to supplicate for their affairs of the Hereafter which is more important. Then Allah taught us by praising the believers who made their supplication for all good aspects of this life and the Hereafter, as well as His protection from the Hellfire. The Prophet s..a.w. himself used to say this supplication. When the Prophet s.a.w. visited a weak and sick man whether he had made supplication, he said: “O Allah! Whatever punishment you saved for me in the Hereafter, give it to me in this life.” The man became very weak in his bed. The Prophet s.a.w. told him that he could not stand Allah’s punishment, and he advised him to cite the supplication to give him the goodness of this life, of the Hereafter, and protection from the Hellfire, as mentioned in the above verse, and he healed. 2. In the following verse Allah mentions that the Prophet as well as the believers believe in what was revealed to him, believe in Allah, His Angles, His Books and Messengers without making any distinction among His Messengers, and state that they obey and at the same time ask Him forgiveness and mercy. َِّْ ‫نْ ِب‬ ‫اّلل‬ َْ ‫ونْ ُكلْْآ َم‬ َْ ‫لْإِلَ ْي ِْهْمِنْْْ َر ِّب ِْهْ َو ْالم ُْؤ ِم ُن‬ َْ ‫لْ ِب َماْأ ُ ْن ِز‬ ُْ ‫نْالرَّ سُو‬ َْ ‫آ َم‬ َ ُ ‫ْنْأ َحدْْمِنْْْ ُر ُسلِ ِْهْ َو َقالواْ َسمِعْ َنا‬ َْ ‫قْ َبي‬ ُْ ِّْ‫لْ ُن َفر‬ ْ َ ْ‫َو َم ََل ِئ َك ِت ِْهْ َو ُك ُت ِب ِْهْ َو ُر ُسلِ ِْه‬ ْ)182:‫كْ ْالمَصِ ي ُْرْ(البقرة‬ َْ ‫كْ َر َّب َناْ َوإِلَ ْي‬ َْ ‫َوأَ َطعْ َناْ ُغ ْف َرا َن‬ The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) “We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers” – and they say, “We hear and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all). (Q. 2:182( The Muslims believe in all prophets sent by Allah to mankind. They are unlike the Jews who believe in Prophet Mūsá (Moses) a.s., but reject Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s., nor

the Christians who believe in Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s., but reject Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. 3. The verse continues with following one: ْ َ ْ‫تْ َر َّب َنا‬ ‫ل‬ ْْ ‫تْ َو َعلَ ْي َهاْ َماْا ْك َت َس َب‬ ْْ ‫لْوُ سْ َع َهاْلَ َهاْ َماْ َك َس َب‬ ْ َّ ِ‫ّللا ُْ َن ْفساْإ‬ َّْ ُْْ‫لْ ُي َكلِّف‬ َْ ‫لْ َعلَ ْي َناْإِصْ راْ َك َماْ َح َم ْل َت ُْهْ َعلَى‬ ْْ ‫لْ َتحْ ِم‬ ْ َ ‫ْ ُت َؤاخ ِْذ َناْإِنْْْ َنسِ ي َناْأَوْْْأَ ْخ َطأْ َناْ َر َّب َناْ َو‬ ْ ‫لْ َطا َق َْةْلَ َناْ ِب ِْهْ َواعْ فُْْ َع َّناْ َو‬ ‫اغفِرْْْ َل َنا‬ ْ َ ْ‫لْ ُت َحم ِّْل َناْ َما‬ ْ َ ‫ِينْمِنْْْ َق ْبلِ َناْ َر َّب َناْ َو‬ َْ ‫ْالَّذ‬ ْ )286:‫ينْ(البقرة‬ َْ ‫تْ َم ْو َل َناْ َفا ْنصُرْ َناْ َعلَىْ ْال َق ْو ِْمْ ْال َكاف ِِر‬ َْ ‫َوارْ َح ْم َناْأَ ْن‬ Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. “Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawlá (Patron, Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.” (Q. 2:286) Ibn ‘Abbās narrated that the companions of the Prophet told him that they knew how to repent from their bad deeds and bad words; they asked him how to repent from their temptation (devilish insinuation), and how to avoid it. The angel Gabriel came to him revealing, “Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope” It means that temptation cannot be avoided, but can be ignored. Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās also mentioned some Qur’ānic verses indicating Allah’s easiness in practising Islam, as follows: (88ْ:‫ينْمِنْْْ َح َرجْْ)الحج‬ ِْ ‫لْ َعلَ ْي ُك ْْمْفِيْال ِّد‬ َْ ‫َو َماْ َج َع‬ … and He has not laid upon you in religion any hardship…(Q. 11:88) (282ْ:‫ّللا ُْ ِب ُك ُْمْ ْاليُسْ َْرْ َولْي ُِري ُْدْ ِب ُك ُْمْ ْالعُسْ َْرْ)البقرة‬ َّْ ْ‫ي ُِري ُْد‬ ...Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you…(Q. 2:185) (21ْ:‫ّللاْ َماْاسْ َت َطعْ ُت ْْمْ(التغابن‬ ََّْ ْ‫َفا َّتقُوا‬

So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can…(Q. 64:16) Ibn Kathīr states that the previous verse, i.e., verse 284 worried the companions of the Prophets s.a.w. It runs as follows: )182:‫ْ(البقرة‬...ُ ‫ّللا‬ َّْ ْ‫ َوإِنْْْ ُت ْب ُدواْ َماْفِيْأَ ْنفُسِ ُك ْْمْأَوْْْ ُت ْخفُوْهُْي َُحاسِ ْب ُك ْْمْ ِب ِْه‬... … And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it… (Q. 2:284) Then revelation came to make easy for them, that any devilish insinuation or temptation would be tolerated as long as they do not act upon it. The verse that worried the Companions of the Prophet became abrogated by this verse. The Qur’ān commentator Ibn Kathīr gives the commentary of verse 286 above as follows: “Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error,” means “if we forget an obligation or make an error while we do not know its ruling.”1 “Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians)” means “do not require us to perform difficult deeds as You required the previous nations, even if we are able to perform them.”2 “Our Lord! Put not on us a burden In a ḥadīth narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas, the Prophet s.a.w. said: ْْ‫إِنَّْ ّْللاَْ ْ َت َج َاو َْز ْ َعن‬ )‫ان ْ َو َما ْاسْ ُت ْك ِرهُوا ْ َعلَ ْي ِْه ْ(رواهْابنْماجة‬ َْ ‫“ْ أ ُ َّمتِي ْ ْال َخ َطْأ َْ َوال ِّنسْ َي‬Verily, Allah tolerates from my community mistakes, forgetfulness, and being compelled.” (Reported by Ibn Mājah) 1

Muhammad Asad is referring “to the heavy burden of rituals imposed by the Law of Moses upon the children of Israel, as well as the-world renunciation recommended by Jesus to his followers”. We learn that in the Old Testament it states, “Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales.” (Leviticus 22:9; Deuteronomy 14:9). Therefore, shellfish which some people say contains high cholesterol such as lobsters, oysters, shrimps, clams and crabs are all forbidden. It is advised that shellfish should be avoided to lower cholesterol. But the other view states that shellfish has very little cholesterol, such as crabs, mussels, oysters, clams, scallops and lobster. According to Yale New Haven Hospital,

greater than we have strength to bear” means “do not inflict upon us misfortune or trial which we have no power over it.” Allah accepted the above three supplications. In a ḥadīth qudsī narrated by Abu Hurayrah, Allah said, ‫“ َن َع ْْم‬Yes,” (I shall accept your supplication), whereas in another version narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās, Allah said, ‫ت‬ ُْ ‫“ َق ْْد ْ َف َع ْل‬I did” (accept your supplication) (Both ḥadīths were reported by Muslim). “Pardon us” ‫ َواعْ فُْ ْ َع َّنا‬means “between us and You regarding what You know of our shortcoming and errors.” ْ ‫ َو‬means “between us and “And grant us forgiveness” ‫اغفِرْْ ْلَ َنا‬ Your servants, so that do not expose to them our errors and evil deeds.” “Have mercy on us” ‫ َوارْ َحمْ َنا‬means “in what will come in future, so that with your guidance do not let us fall into another error.” It is said that the offender (evil doer) needs three things: Allah’s forgiveness, His concealing it from people, and His protection from other errors in future. “You are our Mawla” ْ ‫ت ْ َم ْو َل َنا‬ َْ ‫ أَ ْن‬means “You are our protector, supporter and helper. We totally rely on You, and the power is solely from You.” “…and give us victory over the disbelieving people” ‫ين‬ َْ ‫ َفا ْنصُرْ َنا ْ َعلَى ْ ْال َق ْو ِْم ْ ْال َكاف ِِر‬means “those who reject Islam and the message of the Prophet, and worship other than You.” One example of the strict law in Judaism is the observant of the Sabbath (“Shabbat”) day where Jewish people have to rest. The Old Testament states: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. “those claims [that shellfish and seafood have high cholesterol] hadn't entirely stood up. Much of the excess cholesterol from seafood comes from polyunsaturated fats, which are actually beneficial to heart health. Knowing how much cholesterol is in seafood can help you incorporate it into your diet without going over the recommended 200 to 300 milligrams per day.” On the other hand, according to the New Testament, Jesus in his teaching on worldlyrenunciation said: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25).

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 10:22). “I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy” (Ezekiel 10:21). The Sabbath day is so holy that violating it is a grave offence and the punishment for the offender although was originally death, now with more lenient punishment. The observant Jews would obey 39 forbidden acts, and therefore, would not drive their cars on the Sabbath day. It is because it is prohibited on that day from forbidden act no. 37, namely, kindling a fire (the combustion of engine by burning gasoline and oil), and forbidden act no. 39, namely, taking an object from the private domain to the public, or transporting an object in the public domain (the movement of the car). The restrictions of the Sabbath day can only be violated in case of necessity, to save life. (CIVIC, 27 February, 2015) :‫المراجع‬ ْ ‫المكتبةْالشاملة‬ (‫ْهـ‬020ْ.‫تفسيرْالطبريْ(ت‬ (‫ْهـ‬182ْ.‫تفسيرْالقرطبىْ(ت‬ (‫ْهـ‬887ْ.‫تفسيرْابنْكثيرْ(ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005 Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984. Holy Bible: New International Version http://articles.islamweb.net/media/index.php?page=article&lang=A &id=13431. http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Animal http://www.sabbathtruth.com/free-resources/article.

8. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (7) Among the pious people’s du’a (supplication) mentioned in the Qur’ān are the believers in general, seven of them are in sūrat Āl ‘Imrān (Q. 3:8, 9, 16 , 191, 192, 193, and 194). We shall deal here the verses mentioned above as follows: ‫ك‬ َ ‫َر َّب َنا َل ُت ِزغ قُلُو َب َنا َبع َد إِذ َهدَي َت َنا َو َهب َل َنا مِن َل ُدن‬ َ ‫ك أَن‬ )8:‫ت ال َوهَّابُ (آل عمران‬ َ ‫َرح َمة إِ َّن‬ Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us (Q. 3:8) In a tradition narrated by Shahr ibn Ḥawshab he asked the Prophet’s wife r.a., Umm Salamah, what was the du’a he said most when he was with her, she said that he asked Allah to strengthen his heart in Islam. When she asked him why he did so, he said that it was because Allah had power to make the heart straight in the right path, or make it deviate (Reported by TirmidhĪ) The verse above continues with the following verse: ‫ّللا‬ َ ‫اس لِ َيوم َل َري‬ َ ‫َر َّب َنا إِ َّن‬ َ َّ َّ‫ب فِي ِه إِن‬ ِ ‫ك َجا ِم ُع ال َّن‬ )9: ‫َل يُخلِفُ المِي َعا َد (آل عمران‬ Our Lord! Verily it is You Who will gather mankind together on the Day about which there is no doubt.(Q. 3:9) When it was revealed that Allah beautified for men the love of things they covet: women, children, and wealth which are among the pleasures of this life, and that He had the excellent return (Q. 3:14), ‘Umar r.a. said, “O Lord! It is now the time we wish that You beautified these things for us!” Then Allah revealed that He would give better things for pious people, Paradise underneath which rivers flow, where they would have eternal homes and wives… (Q. 3:15). The next verse explains who these pious people are. Allah said: ‫ون َر َّب َنا إِ َّن َنا آ َم َّنا َفاغفِر َل َنا ُذ ُنو َب َنا َو ِق َنا‬ َ ُ ‫ِين َيقُول‬ َ ‫الَّذ‬ )11:‫ار (آل عمران‬ َ ‫َع َذ‬ ِ ‫اب ال َّن‬ Those who say: “Our Lord! We have indeed believed, so forgive us our sins and save us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Q. 3:16)

It was narrated by ‘Aishah r.a. that while the Prophet s.a.w. was standing to pray Bilāl r.a. came to perform ādhān (to call to prayer) and saw him weeping. So he asked him, “O Messenger of Allah, do you [still] weep, while Allah has forgiven your previous and past sins (misdeeds)?” He said, “O Bilāl, am I not a grateful servant [of Allah]? He has revealed to me last night the verse “Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth…” then he said, “Woe to whom who reads it and does not think deeply about it.” The verse runs as follows: ‫ض َواخت ََِلفِ اللَّي ِل‬ ِ ‫إِنَّ فِي َخل ِق ال َّس َم َاوا‬ ِ ‫ت َواْلَر‬ )191:‫ب (آل عمران‬ ِ ‫ار ََل َيات ِْلُولِي اْلَل َبا‬ ِ ‫َوال َّن َه‬ Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding (Q. 3:190). The verse continues with: ‫ُون‬ َ ‫وب ِهم َو َي َت َف َّكر‬ َ ‫ِين َيذ ُكر‬ َ ‫الَّذ‬ َ َّ ‫ُون‬ ِ ‫ّللا ِق َياما َوقُعُودا َو َعلَى ُج ُن‬ َ ‫ض َر َّب َنا َما َخلَق‬ ‫ت َه َذا بَاطِ َل‬ ِ ‫فِي َخل ِق ال َّس َم َاوا‬ ِ ‫ت َواْلَر‬ )191:‫ار(آل عمران‬ َ ‫ك َف ِق َنا َع َذ‬ َ ‫سُب َحا َن‬ ِ ‫اب ال َّن‬ Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): “Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted are You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.(Q. 3:191) ‫ّللا‬ َ ‫“ َيذ ُكر‬Remembering Allah”, means according to the Qur’ān َ َّ ‫ُون‬ commentators “establishing the prayer” which is not to be neglected, and if necessary, one prays sitting or on one’s side. The other interpretation is that remembering Allah is not only in prayer, but also outside prayer, while one is lying down, and reading the Qur’ān. This is also the view of Shaykh Abū Zahrah. Shaykh Abū Zahrah’s commentary regarding remembering Allah he says that if the believer remembered Allah in all aspects of his life the whole human community would live in harmony, quarrels

would become less, swords would not be unsheathed, and even two people would not dispute each another. Above all, whoever remembers Allah he would overcome the suffering of life and its troubles, and people would not be inconvenient with him and would not become confused with him, and therefore, Allah said, )88:‫ّللا َتط َمئِن القلُوبُ (الرعد‬ ِ ‫ّللا أَل ِبذِك ِر‬ ِ َّ ‫ِكر‬ َ ‫الَّذ‬ ِ ‫ِين آ َم ُنوا َو َتط َمئِن قُلُو ُبهُم ِبذ‬ Those who believed, and in whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah: verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.(Q. 13:28) ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ُون فِي َخل ِق ال َّس َم َاوا‬ َ ‫“ َي َت َف َّكر‬Think deeply about the creation ِ ‫ت َواْلَر‬ of the heavens and the earth” means being conscious of the existence of the Creator Who created and designed everything, Who is the Supreme, the Almighty. Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah talked about a man lying down, look up to the sky and the stars, and said to them, “I bear witness that you have a lord and a creator”. Then the man prayed, “O Allah, forgive me.” Then Allah forgave him. َ ‫“ َما َخلَق‬You have not created (all) this without ‫ت َه َذا بَاطِ َل‬ purpose”, means not in vain, not uselessly, not for fun, but Your creation indicates Your power and wisdom. You created this creature for something important; there will be reward, punishment, accounting, Heaven and Hell. ‫“ سُب َحا َن َك‬Glory to You!” means that Allah is free from any defect. When the Prophet was asked the meaning of ‫ّللا‬ ِ َّ ‫ان‬ َ ‫“( سُب َح‬Glory to Allah!” he said, “Purifying Allah from any defect” )‫ّللا َع ِن السو ِء‬ ِ َّ ‫( َتن ِزي ُه‬ Shaykh Abu Zahrah says that there are three levels in thinking deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth. The first and the lowest level is looking at the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars and others, and this is the common sight among common people and people of understanding. The second level which is higher than the first, is thinking deeply their creation, the secrets and the rules of their creation, and this is what astronomers and other scholars in their fields do. The third and the highest level is thinking deeply beyond the creature, namely, the Creator. He thinks deeply the

universe and its contents to realize the majesty of the Creator, so that he would know the mighty of the Creator through the beauty of the creature. This highest level of thinking deeply is the one intended in the above verse. The heart becomes submitted, and the tongue becomes humiliated, and said, “Glory to You. Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.” Then the pious people continued their du’a in the following verse: ‫ار َف َقد أَخ َزي َت ُه َو َما‬ َ ‫ك َمن ُتدخ ِِل ال َّن‬ َ ‫َر َّب َنا إِ َّن‬ َّ ‫ل‬ )198: ‫صار (آل عمران‬ َ ‫ِين مِن أَن‬ َ ‫ِلظا ِلم‬ “Our Lord! Verily, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him;’ and never will be Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) find any helpers.(Q. 3:192) Then their du’a continued with the following verse: ‫ان أَن آ ِم ُنوا ِب َر ِّب ُكم َفآ َم َّنا َر َّب َنا َفاغفِر‬ ِ ‫ِْلي َم‬ ِ ‫َر َّب َنا إِ َّن َنا َسمِع َنا ُم َنادِيا ُي َنادِي ل‬ َ ُ )193: ‫ار (آل عمران‬ ِ ‫لَ َنا ذ ُنو َب َنا َو َك ِّفر َع َّنا َس ِّي َئا ِت َنا َو َت َو َّف َنا َم َع اْلب َر‬ “Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one calling to Faith: ‘Believe in your Lord,’ and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and expiate from us evil deeds, and make us die (in the state of righteousness) along with al-Abrar (the pious believers) (Q. 3:193) ‫ان‬ ِ ‫ِْلي َم‬ ِ ‫ …“ ُم َنادِيا ُي َنادِي ل‬the one calling to Faith” was Muhammad s.a.w., and this was the view of Ibn Mas‘ūd, Ibn Zayd and the majority of mufassirīn. Another view was that of Qatādah, Muhammad ibn Ka‘b al-Quraẓī, that it was the Qur’ān, as not everybody had heard the Prophet calling people to Islam. Moreover, it was the Qur’ān which the jinn heard, and which guided to the right path, as mentioned in the Qur’ān, when they said: ) 1 – 8 :‫إِ َّنا َسمِعنا قُرآنا َع َجبا َيهدِي إِلَى الرش ِد" (الجن‬ They said: “We have heard a wonderful Recitation (this Qur’ān). It guides to the Right Path…”(Q. 72:1-2)

Here as mentioned in this verse, it was the Qur’ān which called to the Faith, not the Prophet. However, the argument of the first view is that whoever heard the Qur’ān it was as if he met the Prophet. Al-Ṭabarī said that the right view was the second one. It is because many people whom Allah described in this verse were not those who had seen the Prophet with their own eyes, so that they heard his call, but it was the Qur’ān. The expression ‫“ َفاغفِر لَ َنا ُذ ُنو َب َنا‬forgive us our sins” and ‫َك ِّفر َع َّنا َس ِّي َئا ِت َنا‬ “expiate from us evil deeds” are the same to emphasize the du’a in asking Allah’s forgiveness. The word kaffir means “cover”, and “covering evil deeds” means “expiate them” which also means “forgive”. The term kāfir literally means “coverer”, i.e., a person who “covers” the truth (Islam), a disbeliever. Shaykh Abu Zahrah makes distinction between forgiveness of dhunūb (sins), which is being neglectful or being slow in performing one’s religious obligation, and expiation of sayyi’āt (evil deeds), which is disobedience by doing what is prohibited. Forgiveness of sins means deliverance from Hellfire, whereas expiation from evil deeds means the removal of the trace of misdeed. The third contents of the du ‘a is their request that Allah would make them die among pious people. Then these people continue their du’a as follows: ‫ك َو َل ُتخ ِز َنا َيو َم ال ِق َيا َم ِة‬ َ ِ‫َر َّب َنا َوآ ِت َنا َما َو َعد َت َنا َعلَى ُر ُسل‬ )191 :‫ك َل ُتخلِفُ المِي َعا َد (آل عمران‬ َ ‫إِ َّن‬ “Our Lord! Grant us what You promised to us through Your Messengers and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection, for You never break (Your) Promise.”(Q. 3:194) They ask Allah to grant them what He has promised them through prophets sent to them. Prophets, even angels, pray to believers among their respective followers. They ask Allah not to disgrace them with punishment in the Hereafter Allah accepted their supplication when He said: ‫اب َلهُم َربهُم أَ ِّني َل أُضِ ي ُع َع َم َل َعامِل مِن ُكم مِن َذ َكر أَو‬ َ ‫َفاس َت َج‬

ُ ُ ‫اجرُوا َوأُخرجُوا مِن ِد َيارهِم َوأ‬ ‫وذوا‬ ُ ‫أُن َثى َبع‬ َ ‫ِين َه‬ َ ‫ض ُكم مِن َبعض َفالَّذ‬ ِ ِ ‫فِي َس ِبيلِي َو َقا َتلُوا َوقُ ِتلُوا َْل ُ َك ِّف َرنَّ َعنهُم َس ِّي َئات ِِهم َو َْلُد ِخلَ َّنهُم‬ َّ ‫ّللا َو‬ ِ َّ ‫َج َّنات َتج ِري مِن َتح ِت َها اْلَن َها ُر َث َوابا مِن عِ ن ِد‬ ُ ‫ّللا‬ َّ ُ‫عِ ن َدهُ حُسن‬ )195 :‫ب (آل عمران‬ ِ ‫الث َوا‬ So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered them), “Never will allow to be lost the work of you, be he male or female. You are (members) of one another, so those who emigrated and were driven out from their homes, and suffered harm in My Cause, verily, I will expiate from them their evil deeds and admit them into Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise); a reward from Allah, and with Allah is the best of rewards.” (Q. 3:195) Allah accepted their prayer, and mentioned the emigrants, either male or female, He would forgive them, and admit them to Paradise. He mentioned that He would reward the good deeds of the believers, male and female, as the Prophet’s wife Ummu Salamah had asked him why Allah did not mention the female gender in His revelation. As the merit of the above verses the Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq said that whoever had a serious problem let him make the du’a (supplication) by reciting surat Āl ‘Imrān (chapter 3) verse 191 till 194 above where ‫“( َر َّب َنا‬Our Lord!”) are mentioned five times, and Allah would accept his supplication. (Civic, 6 March, 2015) :‫المراجع‬ ‫المكتبة الشاملة‬ (‫ هـ‬311 .‫تفسير الطبري (ت‬ (‫ هـ‬171 .‫تفسير القرطبى (ت‬ (‫ هـ‬771 .‫تفسير ابن كثير (ت‬ ‫زهرة التفاسير‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005 Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus, 1984.

9. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā’ (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (8) The remaining pious people’s du’a (supplication) mentioned in the Qur’ān are in sūrat al-Mu’minūn (Q. 23:109), sūrat al-Furqān (Q. 25:65 and 74), and sūrat al-Taḥrīm (Q. 66:8). We shall deal here the verses mentioned above as follows: In the Hereafter Allah would rebuke the People of Hell for their disbelief and sins, because of which they were doomed to Hell. He would remind them of prophets sent to them but they did not believe in them. They would admit their mistakes and would ask Allah to send them back to this world, and promised that if they repeat the wrong-doing they would deserve punishment. But Allah would not accept their request. Instead, He would remind them how they used to make fun of His slaves who prayed for His forgiveness. (Q. 23: 104-110). Allah says: ُ‫ونُ َر َّب َناُآ َم َّناُ َفاغفِرُُ َل َنا‬ َُ ‫انُ َف ِريقُُمِنُُعِ َبادِيُ َيقول‬ َُ ‫إِ َّنهُُ َك‬ )901:‫ِينُ(المؤمنون‬ َُ ‫تُ َخيرُُالرَّ ا ِحم‬ َُ ‫َوار َحم َناُ َوأَن‬ Verily, there was a party of My slaves, who used to say: “Our Lord! We believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the Best of all who show mercy.” (Q. 23:109) This is one of many supplications of pious people mentioned in the Qur’ān. According to the Qur’ān commentator Mujāhid, among these pious people were weak believers, such as Bilāl, Khabbāb, and Ṣuhayb. But the disbelievers, such as Abū Jahl and his companions used to mock them for their belief. (Q. 23:110) At the last part of the Qur’ān sūrat al-Furqān (Q. 25) from verse 63 till 77 (the end of the chapter) Allah mentions in the Qur’ān the attributes of pious people whom He calls ‫ن‬ ُِ ‫“( عِ َبادُ ُالرَّ ح َم‬the servants of the Most Gracious” to indicate His graciousness to them). He also mentions their du’a, and the reward awaiting them in the Hereafter. As for the impious, Allah would punish them, unless they repent. This is another way to teach us how to be pious by following the examples of these people described by Allah in the Qur’ān, as follows:

- They walk on the earth with serenity, dignity and humility, not with arrogance or pride. - If ignorant people insult them, they forgive them, and if they respond they do it with good words. - They spend the night in worship of their Lord. - They pray to Allah to save them from Hellfire, as in the following verse: ‫ابُ َج َه َّن َُم‬ َُ ‫ونُ َر َّب َناُاص ِرفُُ َع َّناُ َع َذ‬ َُ ‫ِينُ َيقول‬ َُ ‫َوالَّذ‬ )56:‫ُ(الفرقان‬.‫انُ َغ َرامًا‬ َُ ‫إِنَُُّ َع َذا َب َهاُ َك‬ And those who say: “Our Lord! Avert from us the torment of Hell. Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable, permanent punishment.”(Q. 25:65). This Hell is an evil abode to rest in. - When they spend, neither extravagant nor niggardly, but between the two extremes. - They do not invoke any other (god) along with Allah, a major sin - They do not kill except for just cause, a major sin - They do not commit illegal sexual intercourse, a major sin. Whoever commits any of these major sins will be severely punished by Allah with double punishment and in disgrace on the Day of Resurrection. But if they repent with true repentance and do righteous deed, Allah will not only accept their repentance, but He will also change their sins into good deeds.1 - They do not give false testimony.

Ibn ‘Abbās r.a. narrated that some pagans committed murders in great number and committed illegal sexual intercourse excessively came to the Prophet s.a.w. asking him whether they could make an expiation for their past evil deeds. Then revelation came to accept their repentance if they repent as mentioned above. Allah also revealed: ُُ‫لُ َتق َنطواُمِن‬ ُ َ ُُ‫ِينُأَس َرفواُ َعلَىُأَنفسِ ِهم‬ َُ ‫ِيُالَّذ‬ َُ ‫قلُُ َياُعِ َباد‬ ُّ َّ َّ ُ)65:‫وبُ َجمِيعًاُإِ َّنهُُه َُوُال َغفورُُالرَّ حِيمُُ(الزمر‬ َُ ‫ّللاُ َيغفِرُُالذن‬ َُ َُُّ‫ّللاُإِن‬ ُِ ُ‫“ َرح َم ُِة‬Say: O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is OftForgiving, Most Merciful.” (Q. 39:53)

Lying deliberately is also is among major sins. Abū Bakrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said three times: “Shall I tell you of the greatest of major sins?” They Said: “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Associating others in worship with Allah and disobeying one’s parents.” He was lying down, then he sat up and added: “Beware false speech, and bearing witness to falsehood.” He kept repeating it until they thought, would that he would stop. (Reported by Muslim). - If they pass by evil play or evil talk, they pass by it with dignity. - When they are reminded of Allah’s āyāt (proofs, evidences, verses, signs, revelations, etc.) they do not fall deaf and blind. - They pray to Allah, as mentioned in the Qur’ān as follows: ُ‫ونُ َر َّب َناُ َهبُُلَ َناُمِنُُأَز َوا ِج َناُ َوذرِّ يَّا ِت َناُقرَّ َُة‬ َُ ‫ِينُ َيقول‬ َُ ‫َوالَّذ‬ )47:‫ِينُإِ َمامًاُ(الفرقان‬ َُ ‫أَعينُُ َواج َعل َناُلِلم َّتق‬ And those who say: “Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the pious.”(Q. 25: 74) Allah will reward them with the highest place in Paradise because of their patience in doing what they did, where they will be greeted with words of welcome and honour. Peace will be theirs and they will be wished peace, and will settle in Paradise forever. To disbelievers Allah told the Prophet s.a.w. to tell them that Allah paid attention only to those who made invocation to Him and worship Him, but because they denied Him, they would be punished in Hell. Allah calls the believers to turn to Him with sincere repentance, that He may expiate their sins and admit them to Paradise under which rivers flow. That day Allah will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run forward before them and in their right hands. They will say: )8:‫لُ َشيءُُ َقدِيرُُ(التحريم‬ ُِّ ‫كُ َعلَىُك‬ َُ ‫ور َناُ َواغفِرُُلَ َناُإِ َّن‬ َ ‫َر َّب َناُأَتمِمُُلَ َناُن‬ “Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us [and do not put it off till we cross over the Sirat (a slippery bridge over the Hell) safely] and grant us forgiveness.

Verily, You are Able to do all things.” (Q. 66:8) In the Hereafter, while the believers are crossing the Ṣirāṭ (bridge over the Hell) Allah gives them light depending on their good deeds, whereas the hypocrites will have no light. The believers will ask Allah to keep the light for them until they finish crossing the Ṣirāṭ. The hypocrites, having no light will ask the believers to wait for them and to give them some light, but they will be told to return to the rear where the believers get light, then seek a light… (Q. 64:95) The classical Qur’ān commentator al-Qurṭubī mentions various interpretations of the term “sincere repentance” (‫( َتو َب ًُةُ َنصوحا‬, among which are as follows: - not repeating or returning to the same sin, like milk will not return to the teat (the interpretation of ‘Umar, Ibn Mas‘ūd, Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal) - hating the sin one has committed and asking forgiveness whenever it is mentioned (the interpretation of al-Ḥasan) - being remorse with heart, asking forgiveness with tongue, refraining from the sin, and being confident that the sin will not be repeated (the interpretation of al-Kalbī) - three conditions to be fulfilled for the acceptance of the repentance: worry that it would not be accepted, hope that it would be accepted, and continuation of obedience (the interpretation of Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr) - its signs are: lack of talking, lack of eating, and lack of sleeping (the interpretation of the Ṣūfī Dhū ‘l-Nūn) - forgetting the sin, and never mention it, as the person who repents sincerely will love Allah, and whoever loves Allah he will forget other than Him (the interpretation of the Ṣūfī al-Junayd) Besides pious people, angels who carry the ‘Arsh also pray for the believers besides glorifying Allah. Allah aid: ُ‫ونُ ِب ُِه‬ َُ ‫ونُ ِب َحم ُِدُ َرب ِِّهمُُ َويؤمِن‬ َُ ‫شُ َو َمنُُ َحو َلهُُي َسبِّح‬ َُ ‫ونُال َعر‬ َُ ‫ِينُ َيحمِل‬ َُ ‫الَّذ‬ ُ‫لُ َشيءُُ َرح َم ًُةُ َوعِ لمًاُ َفاغفِر‬ َُّ ‫تُك‬ َُ ‫ِينُآ َمنواُ َر َّب َناُ َوسِ ع‬ َُ ‫ونُلِلَّذ‬ َُ ‫َو َيس َتغفِر‬ ُِ ‫ُ َر َّب َناُ َوأَدخِلهمُُ َج َّنا‬.ُ‫ِيم‬ ‫ت‬ ُِ ‫ابُال َجح‬ َُ ‫كُ َوق ِِهمُُ َع َذ‬ َُ ‫ِينُ َتابواُ َوا َّت َبعواُ َس ِبي َل‬ َُ ‫ُلِلَّذ‬ َُ ‫كُأَن‬ ‫ت‬ َُ ‫حُمِنُُآ َبائ ِِهمُُ َوأَز َوا ِج ِهمُُ َوذرِّ يَّات ِِهمُُإِ َّن‬ َُ َ‫صل‬ َ ُُ‫ُ َعدنُُالَّتِيُ َو َعد َتهمُُ َو َمن‬

ُُ‫تُ َيو َمئِذُُ َف َقد‬ ُِ ‫قُال َّس ِّي َئا‬ ُِ ‫تُ َو َمنُُ َت‬ ُِ ‫ َوق ِِهمُُال َّس ِّيَُئا‬.ُُ‫ُال َع ِزيزُُال َحكِيم‬ )1-4:‫كُه َُوُال َفوزُُال َعظِ يمُُ(غافر‬ َُ ِ‫َرحِم َتهُُ َو َذل‬ Those (angels) who bear the Throne (of Allah) and those around it glorify the praises of their Lord, and believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah) (saying): “Our Lord! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your Way, and save them from the torment of the blazing Fire! Our Lord! And make them enter the ‘Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens) which You have promised them—and to the righteous among their fathers, their wives, and their offspring! Verily, You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. And save them from (the punishment for what they did of) the sins, and whomsoever You save from (the punishment for what he did of) the sins (i.e. pardon him) that Day, him verily, You have taken into mercy.” And that is the supreme success.(Q. 40:4-9) The angles who are close to Allah and who bear His Throne, glorify Him, believe in Him, submit themselves to Him and ask forgiveness for the believers on the earth who repent, save them from Hellfire, save them from the sins, and make them enter Heaven which He has promised them together with their righteous parents, spouses, and offspring. Allah said that the angels continuously glorify Allah without being tired. He said: ُ ُ‫ونُ َعنُُعِ َبا َد ِت ُِه‬ َُ ‫لُ َيس َتك ِبر‬ ُ َ ُُ‫ضُ َو َمنُُعِ ن َده‬ ُ ِ ‫تُ َواْلَر‬ ُِ ‫َو َلهُُ َمنُُفِيُال َّس َم َاوا‬ ُ )00-91:‫ونُ(اْلنبياء‬ َُ ‫لُ َيفتر‬ ُ َ ُ‫ار‬ َُ ‫لُ َوال َّن َه‬ َُ ‫ونُاللَّي‬ َُ ‫ُي َسبِّح‬.‫ون‬ َُ ‫لُ َيس َتحسِ ر‬ ُ َ ‫َو‬ To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and on earth. And those who are near Him (i.e., the angles) are not too proud to worship Him, nor are they weary (of His worship). They (i.e., the angles) glorify His Praises night and day (and) they never slacken (to do so) (Q. 21:19-20)

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās r.a. asked Ka‘b al-Aḥbār the meaning of the above verses, namely, how do the angels glorify Allah continuously night and day without becoming weary and exhausted. “Is the blinking of your eyes a burden to you? Is your breathing a burden to you?” asked Ka‘b al-Aḥbār. “No,” answer Ibn ‘Abbās. “So are the angels, they are inspired by Allah to glorify Him, just like you are inspired by instinct to blink your eyes and to breathe,” said Ka‘b al-Aḥbār. In a tradition narrated by Jābir r.a. that he heard the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said: “The people of Paradise eat and drink, but they do not spit, not urinate, not defecate, and not blow their noses.” They asked: “What about food?” He answered: “Belching (i.e. sending out gas from the stomach noisily through the mouth), perspiring like the secretion of musk, and they are inspired to glorify and praise Allah like they are inspired by instinct to breathe.” (Reported by Muslim) We see that many du ‘ā’s we used to recite are derived from the Qur’ān. By doing it we shall have double merits: making du‘ā’s and at the same time we recite the verses of the Qur’ān which gives tenfold reward. (Civic, 95 March, 2015( :‫المراجع‬ ُ‫المكتبةُالشاملة‬ )‫ُهـ‬590ُ.‫تفسيرُالطبريُ(ت‬ )‫ُهـ‬549ُ.‫تفسيرُالقرطبىُ(ت‬ )‫ُهـ‬447ُ.‫تفسيرُابنُكثيرُ(ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005 ُ Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984

10. SCIENCE OF TAJWĪD (1) What is tajwīd? It is derived from the verb ََ‫( َج َّود‬to do well, to make better, to improve). The term tajwīd literally meansَ ‫ََتحَسَيَن‬ (beautification, improvement, betterment) and ‫( إَتَََقان‬perfection, mastery, proficiency). Technically, tajwīd is a science dealing with rules to be followed during recitation of the Qur’ān according to what Muslims learned from Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. It means every letter in has to be pronounced properly, and every word in the Qur’ān has to be articulated properly. It is a religious duty to do it when reciting the Qur’ān to the best of one’s ability. Arabic is the language of the Qur’ān which has to be recited in its original texts in prayers. As Islam is embraced by various nationalities other than the Arabs, each of them has its own problem with Arabic language in general, and citing the Qur’ān in particular. French people, for example, although they have letter “h” in their language, but it is not pronounced, such as “hôtel”, and “hôpital,” but when they say them in English, “hotel” and “hospital,” the letter “h” has to be pronounced clearly. They will encounter more problems in Arabic which has two kinds of “h” and which have to be articulated differently, such as the word “ḥalāl” )‫(حالل‬ َ meaning “lawful, legal” and “hilāl” )‫ (هالل‬meaning "crescent".َ Another problem is articulating the letter “kh”َ)‫(خ‬, such as the word “khilāl” َ )‫ (خالل‬meaning “during, between, through; pin, skewer”), but the Dutch and the Germans have no problem with it, as they have it in their languages, such as “gram”, and “doch” respectively. Letter “gh”َ )‫ (غ‬emitted from the throat is another letter difficult to articulate, such as “ghayr” )‫ ( َغير‬meaning “other than, different from.” A German student at al-Azhar in Cairo said that articulating letter “gh” in Arabic is close to letter “r” which is also emitted from the throat in German, so that to say ghayr properly it is like saying rayr, but the first “r” is slowly turned into “g”, namely, rgayr. There are two kinds of “t” in Arabic: dental “t” )‫(ت‬, such as َ ‫ (أَن‬meaning “you” (masc.), and the “heavy t” )‫(ط‬, such as “anta” )‫ت‬

“ṭayr” )‫ ََ( َطير‬meaning “a bird”. This letter sounds like letter “t” in the word “time” pronounced in the Australian accent. To make distinction between the two, we put a dot under the heavy letter t, namely, “ṭ” in its transliteration. There are two kinds of letter “k” in Arabic: the normal one is “k” )‫ (ك‬, such as “kalb” )‫( َكلب‬, meaning “a dog”, and the emitted from the throat k” )‫(ق‬, such as “qalb” )‫( َقلب‬, meaning “a heart”.َ Apparently, this letter ‫ ق‬is not so easy to pronounce, that it is dropped in the Egyptian slang, so that qalb becomes alb, whereas in the Saudi Arabian slang it is replaced with letter “g” so that it is pronounced “galb,” like “gulf” in English. In order to make distinction between the two “k”s, the emitted from the throat “k” is written in its transliteration with “q” (in the earlier transliteration it was written with a dot under letter “k”). There are two kinds of “a” in Arabic: the normal “a” )‫(أ‬, which is called alif in Arabic, such as “asā” )‫(أَ َسى‬, meaning “to be sad, to be distressed”, and the emitted from the throat “a” )‫(ع‬, which is called in Arabic ‘ayn )‫(ع‬, such as “‘asā” )‫( َع َسى‬, meaning “it might be, it could be”. There are two kinds of “z” in Arabic: the normal “z” )‫(ز‬, such as َ َ , meaning “oil”, and “z close to d” َ )‫(ظـ‬, such as “ẓālim” “zayt” )‫(زيت‬ )‫( َظالم‬, meaning “a wrong-doer”. For the “z” close to “d” (‫)ظـ‬, its transliteration is a dot is put under the letter z, namely, ẓ. There are two Arabic letters which are also hard to pronounce, namely, letterَ‫(َص‬its transliteration is a dot under letter s, namely, ṣ) which sounds like the whistle of boiling water in the kettle, such as the word ṣalāt )‫صالة‬ َ (, meaning “prayer”. The other letter is ‫( ض‬its transliteration is a dot put under letter d, namely, ḍ), such as “ḍalāl” 1 )‫ضالَل‬ َ (, meaning “straying from the right path or from truth, error”). 1

It is said that the Japanese language has no letter “l”, whereas the Chinese languages have no letter “r”, so that the Japanese and the Chinese in learning English will have problem in saying the word “really”, “lorry”, “rarely”. Our Japanese and Chinese Muslim brothers and sisters will confirm or deny this.

The Arabic language has no letter “p”, so that this letter is replaced with letter “b”, such as “Pakistan” becomes “Bākistān” )‫(باكستان‬, “Japan” becomes “Yābān” )‫(يابان‬, “Napoleon” becomes “Nābulyūn” )‫(نابليون‬, etc. Sometimes names are completely changed in Arabic, such as “Plato” becomes “Aflāṭūn” )‫(أفالطون‬, and “Nebuchadnezzar” becomes “Bukhtunaṣṣar” )‫(بختنصّر‬. There has been an attempt to invent a new letter for letter “p” in Arabic, namely, three dots: one dot for letter “b”, two dots for letter “y”, and three dots for letter “p”, but so far, this attempt has not been very successful, but adopted in Urdu language. However, in other languages that adopted the Arabic scripts, many new letters have been introduced in their Arabic scripts to accommodate letters not found in Arabic, such as letter “ch” for “church, chair” and letter “g” for “go, get”, letter “ng” for “long, sing” etc. The Urdu language which is the official language of Pakistan and the Persian language of former Persia, now called Iran have adopted the Arabic scripts and invented special scripts to accommodate their respective languages. In order to pronounce Arabic letters properly there are 17 emission points of the letter (makhārij al-ḥurūf). They are located in various regions of the throat, tongue, lips, and nose. Wrong pronunciation would give wrong meaning, such as qalb means “a heart”, whereas kalb means “a dog”. The word maṭar means “rain”, whereas maṭār (with long “a”) means “an airport.” In English we have to make clear distinction in pronouncing words, like: “later, latter, letter, litter, litre, etc.”2 There are two main branches of knowledge about tajwīd: The correct pronunciation of letters in different places, and the correct length and emphasis of the vowels under different circumstances. 1. The correct pronunciation of letters in different places, such as the following: a. Assimilation (‫) إدغام‬, which is divided into two: 2

A friend from Nigeria when he said “come” it was like saying “comb”, and “mother” like “modern.” I do not know whether this is his own English or the Nigerian English.

(1) Full Assimilation )‫(إدغام بال غنة‬, i.e., without nasalization. The sound “n” followed by either letter “l” َ )‫(ل‬or “r”َ )‫(ر‬, the sound “n” )‫ (ن‬disappears and the letter “l” or “r” are doubled and become “ll” or “rr”, such as, Ashhadu aN Lāَ (pronouncedَ aLLā) )‫(أشهدأن َال‬, … and anna muḥammadaN Rasūlullāh (pronounced muḥammadaR Rasūlullāh) َ ‫(محمدا‬ َ )‫رسول َهللا‬. To remember: “suddeNLy” (read “suddeLLy”) and “suNRise” (read “suRRise”) (2) Nasal Assimilation (‫)إدغام بغنة‬, occurs when the sound “N” is follows by one of the following letters, the sound “N” disappears and the letters that follow it are doubled, as follows” - “M”)‫(م‬, n+m=mm; rasūluN Minhum,, read rasūluMMinhum )‫( (رسولَمنهم‬Remember: “iNMate” and read “iMMate”) - “Y” )‫(ي‬, n+y=yy maN Yashā’, read maYYashā’ََََ)‫ََ(منَيشاء‬ (Remember: teN Years read teYYears) - “W” )‫(و‬, n+w=ww; hudaN Waraḥmah read hudaW Waraḥmah )‫(هدىَورحمة‬ (Remember: seveN Weeks read seveWWeeks) - “N”)‫(ن‬, n+n=nn jannātuN Na‘īm read jannātuNNa‘īm )‫( (جناتَنعيم‬the same). (Remember: uNNatural), no change! To remember all these, try to read this sentence based on assimilation: “It is suddenly sunrise, but it is unnatural to have an inmate for ten years and seven weeks.” However, there are four exceptions, namely, bunyānَ َ)‫(بنيان‬, dunyāَ)‫(دنيا‬, qinwānَ)‫َ(قنوان‬, and ṣinwānَ)‫(صنوان‬. b. Substitution )‫(إقالب‬. The sound “N” when it is followed by letter “B” )‫ (ب‬the sound “N” turns into “M”. n+b=mb. For example: samī‘uN Baṣīr read samī‘uM Baṣīr )‫(سميعَبصير‬ (Remember: CaNBerra shoud be read CaMBerra; in bed becomes im bed; umbearable, sumbeam, Hudsom Bay, cannom balls, etc. where sound “n” is turned into “m”.

(When I wrote “Ibn Ḥanbal” in my writing the editor “corrected” it with “Ibn Ḥambal” as it is pronounced so) c. Intensification )‫(قلقلة‬. There are five letters which should be very clearly articulated when they have no vowel, whether in the middle of the sentence or at the end of it. They are: - “Q” )‫(ق‬, such as: khalaqnā read khalaqənā,َ)‫َََ(خلقنا‬ min ‘alaq read min ‘alaqəَ)‫َ(منَعلق‬ This is extremely important to make it pronounced differently from letter “K” )‫(ك‬. “Khalaqənā” )‫ (خلقنا‬means “We have created”, whereas “halaknā” )‫ َ(هلكنا‬means “We have become perished” - ”Ṭ” )‫(ط‬, such as: fiṭrah read fiṭərah; mahīṭ read mahīṭəََ ‫محيط‬ This is also extremely important to distinguish between “Ṭ” َ )‫ (ط‬and “T” )‫(ت‬. “matrūk” )‫ َ(متروك‬means “heritage, legacy, (something) left” whereas “maṭərūqə”َ )‫ (مطروق‬means “(something) much frequented, much traveled, much discussed (subject)”. In the past we had ghalatَ )‫ (غلت‬which means “mistake” in calculation, but no longer found in modern Arabic dictionary, and ghalaṭə )‫ (غلط‬which is mistake in general sense. -“B” )‫(ب‬, such subḥānallāh read subəḥānallāh )‫(سبحانَهللا‬ waqab read waqabəَ)‫ََََ(وقب‬ This is also important to distinguish between “B” (‫ )ب‬and “F” )‫(ف‬. ”Kasabəta” )‫(كسبت‬ ََ َ means “you have earned, you win”, whereas “kasafta” )‫(كسفت‬ ََ َmeans “you have reproved (s.o.)”. “J” )‫(ج‬, such as yaj‘alūna read yajə‘alūna;َََََ)‫(يجعلون‬ burūj read burūjə.ََََ)‫(بروج‬ “D” )‫(د‬, such as yadkhulūna read yadəkhulūna )‫(يدخلون‬ yalid read yalidəَ)‫َ(يلد‬ This is also important to make distinction between “D” (‫)د‬ and “T” (‫)ت‬. yudəriku َ )‫ َ(يَدرك‬means “he understands, he realizes”, whereas yatruku )‫َ(يترك‬means “he leaves”.

In order to remember these 5 letters, 2 are not available in English letter: ‫( ق‬in transliteration “q”), and ‫( ط‬in transliteration “ṭ”), and we joined them and becomes ‫قط‬, pronounced “qiṭṭ” which means “cat”. The other three letters we remember the second, the third and the fourth letters of the classical Arabic alphabet, ‫ أبجد‬, namely, َ‫ َب‬, ‫ج‬, and ‫ د‬, or of the Greek alphabet, (Alpha α), Beta (β), Gamma (γ), Delta (δ), representing the three letters, B, J and D. If we read surūt al-Ikhlāṣ (chaper 112) we shall see that all of its five verses end with letter “d”, and should be articulated clearly, namely, “…də.” For walam yakuN lahū read walam yakuLLahū (‫)ولم َيكن َله‬. Remember “suddenly” becomes suddeLLy. The chapter which follows it, sūrat al-Falaq (chapter 113), its five verses end with “Q” twice, with “B” once, and with “D” twice, all should be clearly articulated, namely, …qə, …bə, and …də. Sūrat al-Masad (chapter 111) four of its five verses end with “B”, and the last verse ends with “D”, all have to be articulated clearly. For abī lahabiN Watabb read abī lahabiWWatabbə )‫(أبي َلهب َوتب‬. Remember seveN Weeks read seveWWeeks As Muslims, whatever background we come from and whatever mother-tongue we have, we need to learn reading the Qur’ān properly as good as we can, to avoid what the Arabs call laḥn (mispronunciation). We do not want to say, for example, “a dog” (kalb) when we mean “a heart” (qalb). (To be continued) (Civic, 20 March, 2015) Sources: Denffer, Ahmad von. ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: The Islamic Foundation, 1983 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajwid

11. SCIENCE OF TAJWĪD (2) When we introduce foreign words into English, sometimes we have to pronounce them as they are in order to be understood by people, such as Grand Prix (read “groŋ prie”; French, lit. “Grand Price”)1, ballet (Fr., read “balei”) dance, Giro d’Italia (read as “jiro ditalia” lit. “Italian tour”). As letter “z” is pronounced “ts” in Italian, we are supposed to say “pitstsa” for “pizza”, and “piatstsa” for “piazza” meaning “a place, a square. “Caffé e latte” and “café au lait” are nothing but “coffe-milk” made respectively in Italian and French way. As letter “j” is pronounced as a weak “h” in Spanish, the name José should pronounced “(H)osé” (for Joseph), and marijuana as mari(h)uana. Since the invention of “cheese burger” people might think that hamburger is made of ham which is not supposed to be so. The word is derived from the city “Hamburg” in Germany. And hamburger is originally (1) ground or chopped beef made into round flat cake and fried, (2) sandwich or bread roll filled with this. Any hamburger has to be with beef, and not with ham. If the meat is replaced by cheese, then it is called cheese burger. Even in the English language, American, Canadian, Australian and British English from which King’s English became the standard and educated English, they have some differences in their accents and slangs. When the American says “a letter” the sound is like saying “a ladder”, and when the Australian says “nine” it is as he is saying “neun” (9) in German. When an American tourist asked a Birtish man about the “Comedy Theatre” he did not understand it, because what he thought was “Cormedy Theatre”. When I asked for 1

The term Grand Price may refer to competitions, such as Shanghai Golden Grand Prix; to Racing, such as Grand Prix Motor Racing; to Combat Sports, such as International Wrestling Grand Prix; to Chess, such as, Grand Prix Attacks (a chess opening); to Equestrianism, such as, Grand Prix (horse race); to Awards, such as Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival); to Video games, such as, Formula One Grand Prix (video game)

“shipping bags” at the department store in Montreal, the girl who worked in the store did not understand me, until I found them myself and told her that these were what I wanted. She said she did not understand me, because she thought I was saying “sheeping bags”. Arabic language and its various dialects and slangs are more devastating for non-Arabs who learn classical or modern written Arabic, al-‘Arabiyyah al-Fuṣḥá )‫(العربية الفصحى‬, like the one used in the Qur’ān. The common expression for “yes” in the Arab world besides na‘am is iywā or aywā which is originally from iy wallah ‫(إي‬ ‫ (وهللا‬meaning meaning “yes, by Allah”. Learning Arabic in the Middle-East you are also to be familiar with the slang of the area you are visiting. When I taught Lebanese school children the word ummī meaning “my mother”, they said that it should have been immī. I told them, it was in Lebanese slang, only understood by Lebanese and some other Arabs, whereas ummī, was understood by the whole Arabs as well as non-Arabs who know Arabic, because it was a classical and modern standard Arabic. Similarly, the term bayyī and khayyī stand for abī and akhī meaning “my father” and “my brother” respectively. The verses of the Qur’ān were revealed murattal, i.e., cafrefully and precisely articulated, slowly recited in chanting manner, as well as mujawwad, i.e, verses read with correct and good pronunciation. The science of tajwīd was orally taught by the teacher to his students through repeated readings until they master it. The teacher read the verses of the Qur’ān to his students, and the students listened to him. Next, the students read them, and the teacher listened to them and corrected their mistakes. There had not been any guided book for teaching tajwīd until the 4th century of A.H. when the science of tajwīd was introduced as knowledge by itself. The first who laid down the rules of tajwīd were the leaders of readings and linguists at the beginning of the era of compilation. Some said it was laid down by al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad (100-170/718786)2, others said it was by Abū ’l-Aswad al-Du’alī (16BH-69/603– 2

Al-Khalil bin Ahmad was one of the great masters in the science of Arabic grammar, and the discoverer of the rules of prosody.

688)3, and another view is that it was laid down by Abū ‘Ubayd alQāsim ibn al-Sallām (157-224/774-839).4 The impact of the increase of Islamic conquest and the conversion of many non-Arabs to Islam, led to the mixure of Arabic with non-Arabic languages, and many Arabic words were wrongly pronounced. In order to save the Qur’ān from this laḥn (mispronunciation) it became necessary to teach them the proper pronunciation through the science of tajwīd. Dots and vowel signs were put in the verses of the Qur’ān, whereas in the ‘Uthmanic codex, there were only consonantal skeletons, and there was neither dots, nor vowel signs. The first who compiled and composed on the tajwīd which he called ‫ألداء‬ ُ ُ‫“( حُسُنُ ُا‬good rendition”) was Abū Muzāḥim al-Khāqānī (d. 325/937) in the form of poetry consisting of 51 lines. The term tajwīd at that time was not well-known yet.5 He urged the Qur’ān reciter to to improve his recitation. He said: ‫ ُأُحُسن ُأُدُاءُه‬،ُ‫“( أُيُا ُقُارُئُ ُاُلقُرُآن‬O reader of the Qur’ān, master its rendering”). Then many authors wrote on this subject, such as Abū ‘l-Faḍl al-Rāzī (371-454/981-1062), who wrote ‫“( فُضُائُلُ ُاُلقُرُآنُ ُوُتُالوُتُه‬The Virtue of the Qur’ān and its Reading”), and ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Qurṭubī (d. 461/1069) who wrote ُ ‫ح ُفُي‬ ُ ُ‫اُلمُوُض‬ ‫“( التُجُوُيد‬the Illustrator in the Tajwīd”). There are four positions of the sound “n” in its relation with letters following it, namely: a. Assimilation )‫ ;(إدغام‬b. Substitution )‫ ;(إقالب‬c. clarity (‫ ;)إظهار‬and d. Concealment )‫(إخفاء‬. We have dealt

Abū ’l-Aswad was a close companion of ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭalib and a grammarian. He was the first to place markings on consonants and vowels on Arabic letters to clearly identify them. He was the first to write on Arabic linguistics, and is said to be the first to write a book on Arabic grammar (nahw) which he took from the caliph ‘Ali ibn Abī Ṭalib. 4 Al-Wāsim Ibn al-Sallām was a linguist. In 192/807 became judge in Ṭarṭūs (Tortosa, a small coastal town in Syria) for 18 years and died in Makkah. 5 ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd, one of the Companions of the Prophet, was reported to have said: “Read the Qur’ān with the best rendering, and decorate (beautify) it with your best voice.” ( ‫ج و د وا ا لق ر آن و ز ي ن وه ب أ ح س ن‬ ‫) ا ل ص و ات‬

with the assimilation and the substitution in the prevous khuṭbah and shall deal with the clarity and concealment as follows: c. Clarity (‫)إِ ْظ َهار‬ There are six letters which have to be pronounced clearly whenever they follow the sound “n”. The sound “n” itself has to be sounded clealy as well. These letters are called “letters of clarity”. They are: ‫( أ‬alif) or ‫( ء‬hamzah), its sound could be “a”, “i”, or “u”. Example: maN Adbara, read maN Adəbara, ُ‫ُمنُأدبر‬ ‘adhābaN Alīmā, read ‘adhābaN Alīmā ‫عذابًاُأليمُا‬ ‫‘( ع‬ayn), its sound could be “ ‘a”, “ ‘i”, or “ ‘u” Example: maN ‘Amila, read man ‘Amila, ُ‫ُمنُعمل‬ mā’uN ‘Adhbun, read mā’uN ‘Adhbun ُ ٌ‫ماءٌُعذب‬ an‘Amta read an‘Amta ُ‫أنعمت‬ ُ‫( غ‬gh, ghayn), its sound could be “gha”, “ghi”, or “ghu” Example: miN GHillin, read miN GHillinُُُ ُ‫منُُغل‬ mā’aN GHadaqā read mā’aN GHadaqā ‫ماءًُغدقا‬ ‫( ح‬ḥ, ḥā’), its sound could be “ḥa”, “ḥi”, or “ḥu” Example:ُُrizqaN Ḥalālan read rizqaN Ḥalālan ُ‫رزقاُحالل‬ ً ‫قر‬ qarḍaN Ḥasanan, read qarḍaN Ḥasanan ‫ضاُحس ًنا‬ ‫( خ‬kh, khā’), its sound could be “kha”, “khi”, or “khu” Example:ُُُ miN KHilālih read miN KHilālih ُ‫منُخالله‬ iN KHiftum read iN KHiftum ‫ُ إنُخفتم‬ ‫( هـ‬h, hā’), its sound could be “ha”, “hi”, or “hu” Example: iN Huwa, read in Huwa ُ‫;إنُهو‬ miNHum read miNHum ُ‫منهم‬ The way to remember these clearly pronounced six letters after the sound “n” is by putting six words into one line of poetry. The first letter of these words is one of the six letters to remember. The first part of this line of poetry runs as follows: ...ُُ*ُ‫أخيُُهاكُعلمًاُحازهُغيرُخاسر‬ “My brother, here is knowledge whoever gets it will not become loser…”

For those who do not know Arabic, may be just to say the expression “Ah!” A=a+‘a=ghُ ) ‫ أ‬+ ‫ ع‬+ ‫ ;(غ‬H=h+ḥ+khُ (‫ هـ‬+ ‫ ح‬+ُ ‫ُ)خ‬ (Letter ُ‫ غ‬which should be included is letter ‫ ع‬with a dot on it) d. Concealment )‫(إِ ْخ َفاء‬ There are fifteen letters when it is preceded by sound “n” this sound should be concealed, although not completely. These letters are as follows:ُ tā’(‫)ت‬, thā’ (‫)ث‬, jīm (‫)ج‬, dāl (‫) د‬, dhāl (‫)ذ‬, zay (‫)ز‬, sīn (‫)س‬, shīn (‫)ش‬, ṣād (‫)ص‬, ḍād (‫) ض‬, ṭā’ ( ‫)ط‬, ẓā’(‫)ظ‬, fā’ (‫)ف‬, qāf (‫)ق‬, and kāf (‫)ك‬. These letters may be difficult to remember, but through practice they will be remembered. If we remember the letters in assimilation, substitusion, and clarity, all of the remaining Arabic alphabets belong to this category of concealment. Examples: - ‫ ت‬, ُ ‫ كنتم‬, kuntum read kuntum, like content we say content, just the equivalent of the French content. - ‫ ث‬, ‫ من ُثمرات‬min thamarāt read min thamarāt like anthem we say anthem - ‫ ج‬, ‫ إنجيل‬Injīl (Bible) read Injīl, like enjoy read enjoy. It is like French enjoué (playful) - ‫ د‬, ُ‫‘ عندهُم‬indahun read ‘indahum, like tendency we say tendency. It is the equivalent of the French tendance (tendency, leaning) - ‫ ذ‬, ُ‫ فأنذر‬fa’andhir read fa’andhir, like in this we read in this - ‫ ز‬, ‫ منزلين‬munzilīn read munzilīn, like ANZAC read ANZAC, - ‫ س‬, ‫ تنسى‬tunsā read tunsā, like insist, we say insist. It is like the French ensuite (then, later) - ‫ ش‬, ُ‫ فمن ُشاء‬, faman shā’a read faman shā’a, like sunshine we say sunshine, like the French mon choix (my choice) - ‫ ص‬, ‫ ُُأنصار‬anṣār read anṣār, close to insomnia read insomnia. (Fr. ensomnie). Although letterُ ‫( ص‬ṣ) is not found in English (as well as many other languages(, the sound is almost like s in the Australian accent when the say the word “side”, “inside” (also probably in French when they say incendie (fire).

- ‫ ض‬, ُ‫ فمن ُضل‬, faman ḍalla read faman ḍalla. Since we do not have this letter in English, it would be better to remember Nelson “Mandella”, close to faman ḍalla. - ‫ ط‬, ‫ مُن ُطين‬, min ṭīn read min ṭīn. This ‫( ط‬ṭ) letter is not found in English (as well as many other languages), the sound is almost like “t” in the Australian accent when the say the word “time”, (also probably in French when they say the name Antoin) - ‫ ظ‬, ‫ أنظر‬, unẓur read unẓur. We do not have this sound in English. - ‫ ف‬, ُ‫ ُينفقون‬, yunfiqūna read yunfiqūna; for infant, we say infant. It is the equivalent of the French word enfant (child). - ‫ ق‬, ُ‫ ينقلب‬, yanqalibu read Yanqalibu. We do not have this sound in English, but probably close to “inquiry”. - ‫ ك‬, ُ‫ منكم‬, minkum read minkum, like anchor we say éŋkə, similar to the French encore (still, again). This sentence may give help: “The infant Insists to enjoy the sunshine and has tendency to be content with Manḍella and the national anthem on this ANZAC day, but later he got inṣomnia.” In conclusion: There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, six of them belong to idghām (assimilation, remember “You aRe aLoNe With Me,” Ann, assimilate, disappear!), six letters belong to iẓhār (clarity, remember “AH”), one )‫ ُ(ب‬belongs to iqlāb (substitution, remember “Camberra”), and the remaining 15 letters belong to ikhfā’. We also remember the intensification (qalqalah) letters, as “Cat Beta Gamma Delta”, namely, ‫ دُجُب ُط ُق‬. Letter hamzahُ )‫ (ء‬is considered to belong to letter alif ُ)‫(ا‬.ُُُُُُ(to be continued). (CIVIC, 27 March, 2015) Bibliography: Denffer, Ahmad von. ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: The Islamic Foundation, 1983 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajwid https://ishfah7.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/belajar-tajwid-al-quran/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet#Hij.C4.81.E2.80.99.C4. ABُ

12. SCIENCE OF TAJWĪD (3) Further Assimilation We have learned about the assimilation of the sound “n” if it is followed by one of the six letters: Y‫ ي‬, R‫ ر‬, L‫ ل‬,N‫ ن‬,W ‫ و‬and M ‫) م‬remember: “You aRe aLoNe With Me,” ِ!!!Ann), such as man yashā’ ‫ َمن يَ َشاء‬read maYYashā’. These letters are called “letters of assimilation”, (ḥurūf al-idghām, ‫)حروف اإلدغام‬. The sound “n” assimilates with the letters that follow it. There is a further assimilation, but not of the sound “n”, but of two letters where the first assimilated to the other, the one that follows it. The purpose of it is for easy reading without obscuring the meaning. For example: -

“d” ‫ د‬followed by “t” ‫ ت‬, such as: qad tabayyana َ‫ قَد تَ َبيَّن‬. Qad alone should be read qadə (being one of the five letter of intensification; remember: “cat, beta gamma delta”‫) د ج ب ط ق‬, but because it is followed by letter “t” ‫ ت‬the letter “d” ‫ د‬becomes assimilated with letter “t” ‫ ت‬and it becomes double “t”, and should be read qat tabayyana. In English for “good time,” we say “goot time”; for “bad temper” we say “bat temper.” If I say “a heart time” you will understand that what I mean is “a hard time.” “t” ‫ ت‬followed by “d” ‫ ; د‬this is the opposite of the first. For example, athqalat da‘awā ‫ أَثقَلَت َد َع َوا‬should be read athqalad da‘awā . In English, for “hot day” we say “hod day”. If I say “hod dog” you will know that what I mean is “hot dog.”

- “t” ‫ ت‬followed by “ṭ” ‫ ; ط‬for example: hammat ṭā’ifatun ٌ‫هَ َّمت طَائِفَة‬ should be read hammaṭ ṭā’ifatun. Since we have no example in English, it may be close to the Australian accent “right time.”

- “ṭ” ‫ ط‬followed by t” ‫ ت‬, the opposite of the above, such as la’in

َ ‫ لَئِن بَ َسط‬should be read la’im basaṭəta, but because “ṭ” basaṭta¸ ‫ت‬ ‫ ط‬is followed by “t” ‫ ت‬, then it is read la’im basatta. Remember

hoṭ temper.

- “l” ‫ ل‬followed by “r”‫ر‬, such as qul rabbi ‫ قُل َرب‬we should read qur rabbi. For “full refund” we say “fur refund”. If I say “Or right” you will know that what I mean is “all-right”. - “q” ‫ ق‬followed by “k” ‫ ك‬, such as nakhluqkum ‫ نَخلُق ُكم‬which is supposed to be read nakhluqəkum, but because letter “q” ‫ ق‬is followed by letter “k” ‫ ك‬and has to be assimilated with it and becomes double “k” ‫ك‬, we read nakhlukkum. For Jaque Cartier say Jak Kartier. - “dh” ‫ ذ‬is followed by “ẓ” ‫ ظ‬, such as idh ẓalamtum ‫ إِذ ظَلَمتُم‬should be read iẓ ẓalamtum. For with ẓeal, say wiẓ ẓeal -

“th” ‫ ث‬followed by “dh” ‫ ذ‬, such as yalhath dhālika َ‫يَلهَث َذلِك‬ should be read yalhadh dhālika. For have a bath there! say

badh dhere! To remember all, try to memorize “All-right, JaqueCartier has hoṭ-temper, has hard-time, not right-time to have hot-dog with ẓeal, then have a bath there” Some important technical terms in the science of tajwīd. When we learn any branch of knowledge we cannot avoid learning some technical terms dealing with it. If you learn karate, for example, you have to learn and know the names of different kinds of standing, punching, and kicking in Japanese. If you learn yoga, you have to learn different kinds of postures, and breathings, such as deep and shallow breathing, in Sanskrit language. As we are dealing with tajwīd we have to learn some important technical terms in it in Arabic language, as follows: a. Vowel signs - fatḥah ‫فَت َحه‬, sound “a”. For example, “ba” ‫ب‬ َ (sounds like “ba” in “bar.”) The word fatḥah literally means “opening, gape, hole”. The verb fataḥa )‫ (فَتَ َح‬means “to open”. When we say this vowel “a” we open our mouth. In English we have this “a”

sound in hut, but, cut, some. Examples in Arabic which we read from right to left are: ‫س‬ َ ‫( َد َر‬darasa, to study), ‫س‬ َ َ‫( َرأ‬ra’asa, to lead). To remember this term just remember “fetter ” which is close to sound fatḥah. kasrah ‫ َكس َره‬, sound “i”. For example, “bi”‫ب‬ ِ (sounds like “be”). The word kasrah literally means “breakdown, collapse.” The verb kasara )‫ ( َك َس َر‬means “to break.” When we say this vowel “i” we break our sound. In English we have sit, big, and hit. The examples in Arabic are: ‫( قِف‬qif, stop!), and ‫( ِمن‬min, from). To remember this term just remember “casserole” (covered heatproof dish in which food is cooked and then served at table) which sounds almost like kasrah. ḍammah ‫ض َّمه‬ َ , sound “u”. For example, “du” ‫( ُد‬sounds like short “do”). The verb ḍamma )‫ض َّم‬ َ ( literally means “to bring together, to join, to embrace.” When we say this vowel “u” we join our lips. In English we have words like put, The examples in Arabic are|: ‫( قُل‬qul, say!), and ‫( ُخذ‬khudh, take!).To remember this term just remember “dummy” which is close to ḍammah. sukūn ‫( ُس ُكون‬silence). For example, ‫ ت‬in ‫“ بَت‬bat” (sounds like “but”). The word sukūn literally means “silence, quiet, calm, tranquility.” Here it means “vowellessness of a medial or final consonant.” The verb sakana ) َ‫ ( َس َكن‬means “to become still, to calm down, to repose, to rest, to be peaceful, to be tranquil.” The examples in English are: between (letter “t” and “n”), and helmet (letter “h” and “t”). The examples in Arabic are: ‫أَكبَر‬ (akbar, greater),1 and ‫( أَشهَ ُد‬ashhadu, I bear witness). To remember this term just remember “spoon” shaddah ‫ َش َّده‬or tashdīd ‫( تَش ِديد‬double consonant). For example, َّ َ‫( ب‬sounds like but-ter). The term shaddah and tashdīd “batta” ‫ت‬ mean “strengthening, intensification, and stress.” Here it means “doubling sign over a consonant”. The verb shadda )‫( َش َّد‬ means “to become firm, solid, hard, strong, intense.” We can hardly find any shaddah in English. Double consonant does not intensify the letter, but makes it pronounced fast, such as “later” and “latter”, but we find many in Italian, such as

‫( ه‬Allāhu Akbar) we just translate it as “God is great”. When we say ‫ّللا أَ ْك َبر‬

Gioseppe (Joseph), bello, (handsome, fine, nice), bellissima (most beautiful). In English when we say October and pronounce the letter ”c” with “t”, and read Ottober, we then double the letter “t” and it becomes shaddah, and this is in Italian language, Ottobre. In the same way if we say ham then mer (ham-mer), then the double “m” is pronounced shaddah.2 To remember this term, just remember “shady.” - madd ‫ َمد‬or maddah ‫( َم َّده‬prolongation). There are three letters used to assist the prolongation, namely, ‫( ا‬a, alif), ‫( و‬w, waw), and ‫( ي‬y, ya’), for example, ‫= َد‬da, ‫ = دَا‬dā; ‫ = ِد‬di, ‫ = ِدي‬dī; ‫= ُد‬ du, ‫ = ُدو‬dū. In English we have examples: father, rather, seen, feel, room, soon. The examples in Arabic are: ‫( دَار‬dār, home, abode, building, residence, seat), ‫( َمال‬māl, property, goods, wealth); ‫( ِدين‬dīn, religion, way of life), ‫( فِي‬fī, in, at); ‫( نُور‬nūr, light), ‫( سُو َره‬surah, chapter of the Qur’ān). To remember this term, just remember “mud” and “muddy”, close to madd ‫ َمد‬and maddah ‫َم َّده‬ - tanwīn ‫ تَن ِوين‬, nūnation, namely, adding sound “n” by doubling the vowel sign. For example, ‫ = َد‬da, ‫ = د‬dan (not “dada”), a letter alif is used to be put with it, so ‫ = دَا‬dā, and ‫ = دا‬dan (not dān); ‫ = ِد‬di, ‫ = د‬din (not “didi”); ‫ = ُد‬du, ‫= ٌد‬dun (not “dudu”). To remember this stern, just remember “tan-win” - waqf ‫ َوقف‬, stop, either compulsory to avoid changing the meaning, or preferred (at the end of the sentence), either recommended or not recommended, permissible or not permissible, etc. For people who know the meaning of what they are reading, most probably they will not stop in the wrong place. For example, you will never stop in the wrong place and say, “Tomorrow – morning I – shall go with my – friend John and his – cousin to the – market at – about ten – o’clock sharp,” but you would say: “Tomorrow morning – I shall go - with my friend John - and his cousin - to the market - at about- ten o’clock sharp.” The literal meaning of waqf is “stopping, stop; 2

There is a slight shaddah when the French people say words like famille (family) and fille (daughter) pronouncing almost like famiyyə’ and fiyyə’ respectively.

discontinuation, suspension; pausing, resting, pause, rest”; it also means, in religious term, endowment fund, “wakaf” and “haboos”). The verb waqafa ) َ‫ ( َوقَف‬means “to come to standstill, to come to stop, to halt, to pause”, and to remember the term waqf is just to remember giving endowment fund called waqf. lafẓ al-jalālah ‫( لَفظُ ال َجالَلَه‬lit. “the word of majesty”), namely “Allah” ‫للا‬ ُ ‫( َحر‬lit. “letter of superiority”), superior ḥarf isti‘lā’ ‫ف اِستِعالَء‬ letter. There are seven of them, and are difficult to articulate, available mostly in Semitic languages only, especially Arabic; they are: kh ‫ خ‬- ṣ ‫ ص‬- ḍ ‫ ض‬- gh ‫ غ‬- ṭ ‫ ط‬- q ‫ ق‬- ẓ ‫ ظ‬, combined in the expression ‫ضغطُ قِظ‬ َ َّ‫ ُخص‬. (lit. “It has been singled out to suppress Qiẓ”). These letters are always articulated strongly tafkhīm ‫ تَف ِخيم‬, it is emphatic pronunciation of a consonant, namely, pronouncing strongly. The verb fakhkhama )‫ (فَ َّخ َم‬means “to intensify, to honour, to pronounce emphatically or strongly.” tarqīq ‫ تَرقِيق‬, it is soft or weak pronunciation. The verb raqqa َّ ‫ ( َر‬means “to become soft, thin, tender; to soften, to have pity, )‫ق‬ to feel compassion.”

b. The definite article “al” ‫ال‬ In English language the definite article “the” is pronounced “thie” before the vowels, such as “the apple, the end, and the orange.” In Arabic, article “al” remains as it is before “moon” (qamariyyah) letters, whereas before “sun” (shamsiyyah) letters, the letter “l” in “al” becomes assimilated with the “sun” letter that follows it, and intensifies it. The moon in Arabic is called qamar, and if you put “al” before it, the “al” does not change, namely, al-qamar ‫أَلقَ َمر‬. The sun in Arabic is shams, and if you but the article “al” before it, it becomes ash-shams ‫ أَل َّشمس‬.3 The “l” is not pronounced, and the “sh” is doubled and intensified. 3

There are two systems of Arabic transliteration used nowadays: Library of Congress and McGill University. Both keep the “al” for the “sun” letters as

Half of the 28 Arabic letters belong to the “moon” letters, and the other half belong to the “sun” letters. The “moon” letters are: alif/hamzah (‫ا‬/‫)ء‬, bā’ (‫)ب‬, jīm (‫)ج‬, ḥā’ (‫)ح‬, khā’ (‫)خ‬, ‘ayn (‫)ع‬, ghayn (‫)غ‬, fā’ (‫)ف‬, qāf (‫)ق‬, kāf (‫)ك‬, mīm (‫)م‬, wāw (‫)و‬, hā’ (‫)ه‬ and yā’ (‫)ي‬. The “sun” letters are: tā’ (‫)ت‬, thā’ (‫)ث‬, dāl (‫)د‬, dhāl (‫)ذ‬, rā’ (‫)ر‬, zay (‫)ز‬, sīn (‫)س‬, shīn (‫)ش‬, ṣād (‫)ص‬, ḍād (‫)ض‬, ṭā’ (‫)ط‬, ẓā’ (‫)ظ‬, lām (‫ )ل‬and nūn (‫)ن‬. Since we are familiar with the verses of the Qur’an which we recite in our prayer we do not need to remember these “moon” and “sun” letters. By reading the Qur’an we shall become familiar with them. The first chapter of the Qur’an is called al-Fātiḥah, and the second one is called al-Baqarah, where letter “f” ‫ ف‬and “b” ‫ ب‬belong to the “moon” letters. In the first chapter we say al-ḥamdu, ‫“( اَل َحم ُد‬ḥ” ‫ ح‬is a “moon” letter), al-raḥmān ‫( الرَّحمن‬read ar-raḥmān, so “r” ‫ ر‬is a “sun” letter). (to be continued) (CIVIC, 10 April, 2015) Bibliography: Denffer, Ahmad von. ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: The Islamic Foundation, 1983 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajwid https://ishfah7.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/belajar-tajwid-al-quran/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet#Hij.C4.81.E2.80.99.C4. AB

it is, but in other matters they have slight difference. For example, for ‫ ال َّشمْ سِ يَّه‬the Library of Congress use al-shamsiyya (with double “y” but without “h”), whereas McGill University use al-shamsīyah (with “īy” and with “h”) , and I prefer the mixture of the two, namely, al-shamsiyyah, with additional “h” because of the presence of “h” at the end of the word, although slightly pronounced. People who are not familiar with this transliteration may write, for example, Abdurrahman, Abdul-Rahman, Abdur Rahman, etc, where in its transliteration it should be ‘Abd alRaḥmān.

13. SCIENCE OF TAJWĪD (4) Letter “l” ‫ ل‬and letter “r” ‫ر‬ Letter “l” ‫ ل‬is always pronounced lightly. But when it is in the lafẓ al-jalālah ( “the word of majesty”), namely, “Allah” ‫للا‬, ‫ ّه‬it could be pronounced with tafkhīm, namely, strongly or with tarqīq, namely softly or lightly. It is pronounced strongly if: a. it is standing alone, or in the beginning of the verse, such as “Allāh” ‫ألل‬, ‫ ّه‬Allāhu akbar ‫للا هأَ ْك َبر‬ ‫ َه‬, Allāhu lladhī .. (not Allāhu alladhī) ‫للا ههالَّذِي‬ ‫ ّه‬... b. it is preceded by a letter with fatḥah, such huwa llāh ‫للا‬ ‫ه َههو ه ّه‬, (not huwa Allāh), subəḥānallāh ‫للا‬ ‫انه ّه‬ ‫( هسب َْح َه‬not subəḥāna Allāh) c. it is preceded by a letter with ḍammah, such as ‘abədullāh ّ‫للا‬ ‫َع ْب ههد ه ه‬ (not ‘abədu Allāh) , raḥmatullāh ‫للا‬ ‫( َرحْ َم ههة ه ّه‬not raḥmatu Allāh) , salāmullāh ‫للا‬ ‫( َسالَ ههم ه ِه‬not salāmu Allāh), ṣalātullāh ‫للا‬ ‫صالَهةه ه ِه‬ َ (not ṣalātu Allāh). It is pronounced lightly if it is preceded by a letter with kasrah, such as al-ḥamdu lillāh ‫لل‬ ‫ ْال َح ْم ههده ِ ِه‬, and bismillāh ‫للا‬ ‫ ِبسْ ِهمه ِه‬. Letter “r” ‫ ر‬is pronounced strongly, if: a. its vowel is fatḥah, such as: raḥmah ‫ َرحْ َمه‬, barakah ‫ َب َر َكه‬, rabbanā ‫ َر َّب َنا‬, and raḥīm ‫ر ِحيْم‬. َ (Remember run, rough, rug, Russia). In order to pronounce letter “r”‫ ر‬strongly, the Javanese people (the natives of Central and Eastern Java) in Indonesia pronounce “ra” as “ro”, so that they say: roḥmah, barokah, robbanā and roḥīm. Even the “l” in “Allāh” they pronounce strongly and become “Allôh”, and therefore, they say roḥmatullôh ‫للا‬ ‫ َرحْ َم ههةه ّه‬. ( …ra…)1 1

The Javanese (not to be confused with “Japanese”) people are the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. They live in Central and Eastern Java. According to the year 2011 statistic they are approximately 100 million people representing 45 % of the total population of Indonesia, and the vast majority of them are Muslims. They have their own script called Hanacaraka (Carakan) derived from their alphabet ha na ca (pronounced “cha”) ra ka. As the dominant vowel in Javanese is “o” they pronounce it as ho no co ro ko. This is more evident in their names, such as: Yudhoyono (former president), and Joko Widodo (present president), and Dipo Negoro (an Indonesian hero). No wonder that in emphasizing “ra” they pronounce it as “ro”, and “Allah” as “Alloh”, as above.

b. its vowel is ḍammah, such as: rubbamā ‫ هر َّب َما‬, yakhrūju‫ج ه‬ ‫َي ْخ هر هه‬ (Remember rumour, ruler, rubie) (…ru…) c. its vowel is sukūn, but preceded by a letter with fatḥah, .. ar ) ْ‫(ــَر‬, such as Maryam )‫( َمرْ َيم‬, marḥaban. Remember: harmony, army. (…ar…) d. its vowel is sukūn, but preceded by a letter with ḍammah, such as burhān ‫ بهرْ َهان‬, qurbān ‫ قهرْ َبان‬, qur’ān‫( ههقهرْ آنهه‬Remember survey, furniture, purchase) (…ur…) e. its vowel is sukūn for stopping, and is preceded by “waw” or “alif” with sukūn, namely, …ūr (‫)وْهرْه‬, and ār )‫ (ــَار‬, such as: ْ al-jabbār… ‫(ال َجبَّارْ ) ه‬ ْ ‫ ه‬Remember: “room, car” al-ghafūr … ) ْ‫(أل َغفه ْور‬, (…ūr. and …ār.) f. its vowel is sukūn, but preceded by a letter called hamzah al-waṣl, )‫“ ( َهم َْزةه ه ْا َلوصْ ل‬conjunctive hamzah” linking with the word that preceds it. It is usually put either on the top of the letter alif )‫(أ‬ with a ḍammah )‫ (أه‬or with a fatḥah )َ‫ ه(أ‬or under the letter alif )‫(إ‬, and therefore it sounds “i”, and then the letter alif itself is called hamzah al-waṣl without the letter hamzah )‫(ء‬. When it is alone it is pronounced clearly, such as irji‘ ) ْ‫(ْهإِرْ ِجع‬. This alif is dropped in reading when we‫ ه‬connect it with the word that precedes it. For example: irji‘ (‫)إِرْ ِجعْه‬, but farji‘‫( َفارْ ِجع)ه‬, not fa ’irji‘ . irḥam )‫(اِرْ َحم‬, but rabbirḥam‫بهارْ َحم)ه‬ َ ‫(ر‬ َ , not rabbi ‘irḥam. This additional alif indicates du’a (supplication), request and command, and therefore, it has to be there, although it is not part of the original letters of the words, r-j-‘ )‫ع‬-‫ج‬-‫ ه(ر‬and r-ḥ-m ‫ه‬ )‫(رـهحه– هم‬. Otherwise, if the letter is original, then the letter‫ ر‬has to be pronounced weakly, such as firdaws (‫ )فِرْ د َْوس‬where the letter “f” )‫ (ف‬is original part of the word. ([i]r…)‫ه‬ As it is not easy to identify the hamzah al-waṣl in the verses of the Qur’an for people who do not understand Arabic, and most of the Muslims are non-Arabs, a small letter ṣād )‫ ه(ص‬is put on the top of the letter alif replacing the hamzah in order to

avoid reading it. However, if a word starts with ist the “i” is most probably a hamzah al-waṣl (hamzatu ‘l-waṣl). For example: istakbara ‫(ه إِسْ َت ْك َب َهر‬he became arrogant) wa stakbra‫“( َواسْ َت ْك َب َهر‬and he became arrogant”), and the “i” is gone istaghfir ‫“( إِسْ َت ْغفِرْه‬ask forgiveness!”) fa staghfir ‫“( َفاسْ َت ْغفِرْه‬then ask forgiveness!”), and the “i” is gone. In the English language if I say “bread n butter,” “wait n see,” and “what s matter,” you will know that what I mean is “bread and butter,” “wait and see,” and “what is the matter,” respectively.2 g. its vowel is sukūn, but it is succeeded by one of the letters of isti‘lā’ (i.e., kh‫ هخ‬- ṣ‫ ص‬- ḍ‫ ض‬- gh‫ غ‬- ṭ‫ط‬- q‫ ق‬- ẓ‫)ظ‬, such as qirṭās 3 ‫ قِرْ َطاس‬, firqah ‫ فِرْ َقه‬, and mirṣād ‫صاد‬ َ ْ‫مِر‬.‫…( ه ه‬rq…, …rkh… etc.) In the word arḍ ‫ أَرْ ض‬both letter “r” and “ḍ” that follows it have to be pronounced strongly. In English the letter ḍ is replaced with letter th, and it becomes “earth”, whereas in German it is replaced with letter d, and it becomes “Erde”. Whenever you find letter “r” followed by a letter difficult to pronounce in a word, or not found in your language, be careful, you might have to stress both letters, like the word arḍ above. (r + kh gh q ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ). To 2

In one of his cowboy movies John Wayne in early 50s asked about his boy, “Where’s boy” which was understood by my English teacher, Mr. Isa Rasyidi, but not by me, as the word “the” was not clearly said, if ever. For the word “transportation” the Americans say “transptation”. To go “to the station” the Germans say zum Bahnhof where the letter “h” of “hof” is almost unheard. 3 As these seven letters of isti‘lā’ are always pronounced with tafkhīm (strongly, with emphasis), when they are followed with fatḥah (vowel “a”), the Javanese َ people tend to pronounce it as “o”, such as: firqoh ‫فِرْ َقه‬, sôdiq ‫صـادِق‬, َ zôlim ‫ظالِم‬, kholaqo ‫ َخلَ َقه‬and qôla ‫ل‬ ‫ َقا َه‬. In order to avoid being fallen in to the pit of laḥn, I suggest that the mouth should be open a little to make sound “a”. Therefore, we say firqoah, soadiq, zoalim, khoalaqoa, and qoala (sounds like “koala”), rather than qôla (sounds like “coller”). The examples in their names are those of my friends: Kholidin ‫ َخالِ ِهديْن‬, Toriq‫ارقه‬ َ Mustofa ‫ مهصْ َط َفى‬, and ِ ‫ َط‬, Solihin ‫صالِ ِحيْن‬, َ Ghoromah ‫غ َرا َمهه‬.

remember these four rules, remember: “Purchase rough rubie+rock” or ra – ur –ru –rq, or Nauru Rock (na for ra, uru for ur and ru, and rock for r+q). The rock indicates that it has to be pronounced strongly. Letter “r” ‫ ر‬is pronounced weakly, if: a. its vowel is kasrah, i.e., namely, …ri… )...‫(ــر‬, such as: rijəsun ‫ ِرجْ سه‬, ِ ma‘rifatun ‫( َمعْ ِر َفةه‬Remember river, rigid, ritual) (…ri…) b. it is preceded by a letter with kasrah, namely …ir )‫(ــِر‬, on condition that it is NOT preceded by one of the letters of isti ‘lā’ (kh gh q ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ) such as , such yaghfiru )‫( َي ْغ ِفره‬, Firdaws )‫ (فِرْ َد ْوس‬. The examples in Arabic are: dirham )‫(دِرْ َهم‬, miryah )‫(مِرْ َيه‬. (Remember: circus, firm, sir) (…ir…) c. it is preceded by “y”‫ ي‬with sukūn, namely, …yr )‫(يْر‬, such as َ khayr ‫ َخيْر‬, al-baṣyr ‫( اَ ْلبَصِ يْر‬Remember tyre, lyric). khabyrun ‫خ ِبيْره‬, Examples in English: To remember a., b. and c. above, remember the weakening “irritating year” representing ir – ri – yr. Waqf )‫)و ْقف‬ َ . This term in the science of tajwīd means “stopping, pausing, resting.” It is like having a full-stop (“.”), a comma (“,”), or a semicolon (“;”). When we do this, we have to do it in the right place to avoid changing the meaning, and in the right way to avoid laḥn (solecism, mispronunciation, grammatical mistake). The basic rule in the waqf is to drop the vowel sign (, a, i, in, u, un), except “an” of double fatḥah becomes ”ā” such as: َ َ khalaqa‫;)خلَ َقه( ه‬ becomes halaqə )‫;(خلَ ْق‬ ‘amalan )‫ ( َع َم اال‬becomes ‘amalā‫ال) ه‬ ‫ ( َع َم َ ه‬. al-jamali )‫ج َم ِل‬ ‫(ال َه‬ ‫ ْه‬becomes al-jamal )‫(الج َمل‬ ‫ ْه‬, jamalin ‫ه‬ )‫ج َم ٍل‬ ‫ ( َه‬becomes jamal )‫ج َمل‬ ‫( َه‬. al-ḥasanu ) ‫ (ا ْل َح َسنه‬becomes al-ḥasan‫ه ه‬ ْ ḥasanun )‫(ح َسن‬ )‫;(ال َح َسن‬ ‫ص هر ْو َه‬ ‫ن‬ ‫( َي ْن ه‬yanṣurūna) َ becomes ḥasan )‫(ح َسن‬. َ becomes ‫صر ْهونْه‬ ‫( َي ْن ه‬yanṣurūn); ‫ب ه‬ ‫( ه َغ ْي ٍه‬ghaybin) and ‫( َغيْبه‬ghaybun) both become ‫( َغيْبْه‬ghaybǝ). Words ending with tā’ marbūṭah )‫( َتاء ه َمرْ بهو َطه‬, (lit. “tied “t” namely ‫)ة‬, it turns into ‫“( ه‬h”) when we stop, such as: raḥmatan

)‫(رحْ َم اة‬, َ raḥmatin‫(رحْ َمةٍ) ه‬ َ , and raḥmatun ‫(رحْ َمة) ه‬ َ all become raḥmah )‫) َرحْ َمه‬. However, some people, especially non-Arabs would like to keep the name without change, such as “Hikmat” and “Rahmat” which are the names of my nephews. When the last letter with a vowel is preceded by a letter with sukūn, namely a consonant without vowel, the waqf can be heard only by the reciter and the people close to him, such as: ‫ْر‬ ‫( َشه ٍه‬shahrin) becomes ‫( َشهْرْه‬shahr); ‫( هخسْ ٍهر‬khusrin) becomes ‫( هخسْ ر‬khusr) ; ‫ض‬ ‫فِى ه ْاالَرْ ِ ه‬ (fil-arḍi) becomes ‫( فِى ه ْاالَرْ ضْه‬fil-arḍ). In these examples, the sound “r” and “ḍ” are not clear, because they are all with sukūn. The letter ḍi‫ضه‬ ِ is supposed to be pronounced emphatically, because it belongs to the letter of isti‘lā’, but because it loses its ḥarakah, and does not belong to the letters of qalqalah (remember: CaṬ Beta Gamma Delta,‫)دهجهبهطهقه‬, then it is pronounced lightly. If it does, then it is pronounced emphatically, such as‫ هفِسْ ْق ه‬fisqə, (compare with ‫مِسْ كك‬ misk). Madd (Prolongation) a. Natural Prolongation (madd ṭabī‘ī). There are three letters with which the prolongation occurs. They are: alif )‫ (ا‬which prolongs the fatḥah (namely, “ā”), yā’ )‫ (ي‬which prolongs the kasrah (namely, “ī”), and waw (‫)و‬, which prolongs the ḍammah (namely, “ū”). They are called “the letters of prolongation”, and Arab grammarians call them “the weak letters” )‫( هحرهوفه هال ِعلَّة‬, for their ability to prolong vowels (a, i, and u), although they themselves are consonants. Examples: ‫به‬ ‫ = َه‬ja ‫ = َجاه‬jā = jaa َ = ba ‫ =ه َبا‬bā = baa‫ = َهر ;ه‬ra ‫ =ه َراه‬rā = raa; ‫ج‬ ‫به‬ ِ = bi ‫ = ِبي‬bī = bii ; ‫ = ِره‬ri ‫ = ِري‬rī = rii ; ‫ه=ه ِجه‬ji ‫ = ِجيه‬jī = jii ‫ = بهه‬bu ‫ = بهو‬bū = buu ; ‫ = رهه‬ru ‫ = رهو‬rū = ruu ; ‫ = جهه‬ju ‫ = جهو‬jū = juu b. Prolongation of Hamzah )‫(ء‬. The position of hamzah (‫ه)ء‬is either: (1) standing alone‫ (ء)ه‬and its vowel is generally fatḥah )‫;( َء‬ (2) sitting on the alif (‫)أ‬, and its vowel is either “a” )َ‫ه(أ‬or “u”)‫;ه(أه‬ (3) is placed under the alif (‫)إ‬, and its vowel is “i” )ِ‫;(إ‬ (4) sitting on the yā’)‫(ئ‬, and its vowel is “i” )‫ئ‬ ِ (

(5) sitting on the waw )‫ه(ؤ‬, and its vowel is “u”) ‫ه(ؤه‬ The prolongation of hamzah (‫ )ء‬occurs, when a vowel is followed by hamzah, either in one word or two words. In either case the vowel sound has to be longer than normal two taps, between three and six taps, at least three taps. For example: In one word:‫ إِسْ َرا ِئيْل‬Israaa’iil (3 taps); but ‫ إِسْ مَاعِ يْل‬Ismaa‘iil (2 taps) ‫‘ عِ ْز َرا ِئيْل‬Izraaa‘iil (3 taps); but ‫ إِسْ َرا ِفيْل‬Israafiil (2 taps). ّ ‫ إِنْ ه َشا َء‬in shaaaAllaah (“If Allah wills”, 3 taps); In two words: ‫هللا ه‬ ْ ‫اع‬ but‫هال َخ َبره‬ َ ‫ َش‬shaa ‘al-khabar (“the news has spread”, 2 taps). It is very important to be consistent regarding the length of the madd, whether 3, 4 or 6 taps. For exercise we read: ‫ = َال ه‬laa = no; ‫ = إِل َه‬ilaaha = god; َّ‫ال‬ ‫ = إِ ه‬illaa = except; ‫= ّللا ه‬allaah = Allah ‫ َالهإِله‬laaaa ilaaha. laaaa becomes longer because it is followed by hamzah. َّ َّ‫ = إِال‬Illa llaah. In reading one “a” is dropped in illaa, and the ‫هللا ه‬ “a” in allaah, for being a hamzatu ‘l-waṣl. ‫‘ = َعلَى ه‬alaa = on, upon; ‫للا‬ ‫ = ّ ه‬allaah = Allah. If we join them it becomes ‫للا‬ ‫‘ = َعلَى ّ ه‬ala llaah. (“upon Allah”, means “leave it to Allah”). ‘alaa loses one “a” and becomes short, whereas “allaah” loses the first “a” in reading for being a hamzatu ‘l-waṣl. (to be continued) (CIVIC, 17 April, 2015) Bibliography: Denffer, Ahmad von. ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: The Islamic Foundation, 1983 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajwid https://ishfah7.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/belajar-tajwid-al-quran/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet#Hij.C4.81.E2.80.99.C4. AB http://dhezun-notes.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/hukum-tajwidlengkap-dan-mudah.html

14. SCIENCE OF TAJWĪD (5) The Position of the sound of consonant mīm “m” )‫( ْم‬ There are three positions: 1. Followed by another mīm “m”ْ )ْ‫(م‬, so that we have two mīms, namely, “mm” )‫(م ْـْم‬, and we say it in idghām as one mīm with shaddah, namely, “mm” )‫ ْ( ّم‬with an extra “m” (or tap) to strongly indicate “the union” of the two. For example: ْ‫ َولَ ُكمْمَّاْ َك َسب ُتم‬wa lakum mā kasabtun is read ْ wa lakum mmaa kasabətun ‫ ُكن ُتمْْمْسلِمِين‬kuntum muslimīn is read kuntum mmuslimiin Originally, there was no vowel sign like ْ‫ْولكمْماْكسبتم‬ and‫كنتمْمسلمين‬, but in order to facilitate reading for non-Arabsْ the vowel signs are added like this ْ ‫ َولَ ُكم ْ َماْ َك َسب ُتم‬and this ْ ‫ُكن ُتم‬ ْ‫مُسلِمِين‬, and the whole Qur’ān are with vowel signs. Yet, in order to read it correctly, a shaddah sign is put on the letters concerned, in this case,ْ‫ َما‬and ْ‫ مُسلِمِين‬and it becomes ‫( َّْما‬mmaa = mma- =mmā) and ْ‫( مْس ِلمِين‬mmuslimiin or mmuslimi-n) as seen above. If we apply this rule in English, we will stress the sound “m” when we say “room mmate,” “immmoral” and immmature. Another example where shaddah sign is added is min ladun ‫مِن ْلَ ُدن‬. Since we have to read it as milladun a shaddah sign is put on the letter “l” ْ)‫ (ل‬and becomes “ll” )ّ‫(ل‬, namely, ْ‫مِن‬ ‫ْلَّ ُدن‬. Therefore, we have to drop the “n” and read it milladun. (We cannot read min-lladun). 2. Followed by letter bā’ )‫ (ب‬, namely, mbْ)‫ (مْـْب‬, the sound “m” becomes unclear )‫(إِخ َفاء‬, such asْ‫ارة‬ َ ‫ْ َترمِي ِهمْ َبح َِج‬tarmīhim biḥijārahْ should be read tarmiihiŋ biḥijaarah. We remember that when the sound “n” )‫ (ن‬is followed by “b”ْ)‫ ْ(ب‬the combined sounds become “mb” (rather than “nb”) called iqlāb (substitution), such as Canberra, rainbow and green beans (read as Camberra, raimbow and greem beans respectively), now the mb is read ŋb, such as cucumber is read cucuŋber, and you will know what

I mean if I say based on this rule of tajwīd: haŋburger, nuŋber, aŋbition, Noveŋber, etc. Before, we learned that nb is read mb, now mb is read ŋb. 3. Followed by any other letter than “m” )‫ ْ(م‬and “b” )‫(ب‬, the sound of letter “m” is always pronounced clearly (iẓhār). For example: )‫ هُمْ َنا ِئمُونْ(مْـْن‬hum nā’imūn; )‫ أَمْه َُوْ(مْ–ْهـ‬am huwa; )‫ لَمْ َيلِدْ(مْ–ْي‬lam yalidə ; ْ)‫ أَل َحم ُدْ(مْـْد‬al-ḥamdu; َ ‫ أَن َعم‬an‘amta; )‫‘ َعلَي ِهم َْوالَْ(مْ–ْو‬alayhim wa lā. )‫تْ(مْ–ْت‬ In order to remember these three rules of regarding “m” I suggest to remember the “MBA” degree. “M” stands for “mm” (strong m), “B” stands for “ŋb” (hidden m), and “A” stands for any other letter (clear m) than “m” and “b”. Two Kinds of Elongation: There are two kinds of elongation: a. Primary or Natural َّ ْ ْ‫(ال َمد‬, which has two taps and b. Elongationْ )‫ ْال َمد ْاألَصلِي‬or ‫الط ِبيعِي‬ Secondary Elongation )‫ (ال َم ًّّدْال َفرعِ ي‬which has between 2 – 6 taps. a. Primary or Natural Elongation occurs: 1. with the use of three “weak letters” used to elongate a vowel: they are alif )‫ (ا‬for the fatḥah, such as: ْ‫ = َدا‬dā, ‫ = َرا‬rā, and ‫= َجا‬ jā; yā’ )‫(ي‬, such as: ْ‫ = دِي‬dī, ‫ = ِري‬rī, and ‫ = ِجي‬jī; and wāw )‫(و‬, such as: ‫ = ُدو‬dū, ‫ = رُو‬rū, and ‫ = جُو‬A small alif (either half or one-third of the length of the alif) placed after and above the letter to be elongated. The example of these three kinds of elongation can be put in one simple sentenceْ‫( ُنوحِي َها‬nūḥīhā or nuuḥiihaa or nu.ḥi.ha.ْ or nu-ḥi-ha-, whichever you prefer, I am using all), meaning “We reveal it.” 2. the sound “n” in “an” is replaced with “a” and becomes “ā” (aor aa) when we stop, such as ‘alīman ْ ‫ َعلِيمًّا‬becomesْ ‘alīmaa ‫ َعلِي َما‬, except in “tan” of tied tā’ )‫) َتاء ْ َمربُو َطه‬, it becomes “h” when we stop, such as ṭayyibatan ْ‫ ْ َط ِّي َب ًّْة‬becomes ṭayyibah ْ‫َط ِّي َبه‬ the joined pronoun ‫( ـه‬h) with a word is prolonged read “hū” or “hī”, such as lā ta’khudhuhū ُْ‫ ْالْ َتأ ُخ ُذْه‬and ilā ahlihī ‫إِلىْأَهلِ ِْه‬. b. Secondary Elongation occurs:

1. with the presence of hamzah, either in one word or two. In one word: ْ‫ = َجا‬ja-; ‫ َْء‬+‫ = َجا‬ja-+’a becomes ja--’a. In two words: ‫ = َيا‬ya-; ‫ = أَيْ َْها‬ayyuhaa;ْ ْْ‫ْأَي َها‬+ْ‫ =ْ َيا‬ya- + ayyuha- = ya-- ayyuha-ْ ‫ْْْْْ َياْأَي َها‬ 2. with the presence of sukūn that causes the elongation, either: (a) occasionally, such as: al-‘a-lami--n ‫ن‬ َْ ْ‫ال َْعالَمِي‬, but if we do not stop we say al-'a-lami-na. Other examples are: .ْ‫ِيم‬ ِ ‫ الرَّ ح‬and ْ .ُْ‫ َنس َتعِين‬. (b) necessarily, the madd is followed by shaddah, such as in the following words: aḍḍa--l li--n ‫ ;الضَّالِّين‬aṣṣa--kh khatu َّ ‫الص‬, and alḥa--q qatu ‫ال َحا َّق ُْة‬. ‫َّاخ ُْة‬ 3. in the word ‫ن‬ َْ ‫( آْل‬Q. 10: 51, 91) is read a-l a-na (āl āna or a.l a.na) because it consists of: a (indicating a question) + al (the) + a-na (time), meaning “is it now?”. Without elongation the word will simply mean “now”, and not “is it now?” 4. in the alphabets in the beginning of some surahs (chapters) of the Qur’ān. There are 14 letters out of the entire 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet (if we consider ‫ ء‬belonging to ‫ )أ‬occur in the beginning of some chapters (surahs) of the Qur’ān in 14 combinations. They are all read according to their alphabetical names. Based on this, the only letter which is not elongated is alif. We can divide the remaining letters as follows: a. two taps elongation which is the normal one: ḥa- )‫(ح‬, ya)‫(ي‬, ṭa- )‫(ط‬, ha- )‫(هـ‬, and ra- )‫(ر‬. To remember them the Arab scholars put them into a sentence, namely, ‫ُر‬ َْ ‫َحيٌّ ْ َطه‬ “(he Is) alive (and) clean”.“Hi, You aRe ḤoṬ, Hi, YouR ḤaṬ!” b. three taps elongation: nu--un )‫ (ن‬, qa--af,ْ)‫ ْ(ق‬, ṣa--adْ)‫ ْ(ص‬, ‘ai--in )‫(ع‬, si--in )‫(س‬, la--am )‫(ل‬, ka--af )‫(ك‬, and mi--imْ )‫ ْ(م‬. To remember them the Arab scholars put them into a sentence, namely, ‫سْل ُ ُْكم‬ َْ ‫ع‬ َْ ْ ‫ص‬ َْ ‫“( َْنَْق‬Your honey has become diminished”). If you cannot remember this Arabic sentence, I suggest you to remember this sentence: “See-LeMoN CaKeS!” So, we read: ‫ =ْالم‬alif la--am mi--im (.--- ---); ‫ = الر‬alif la--am ra- (. --- --); ‫ = طسم‬ṭa- si--in mi--im (-- --- ---);

‫ = كهيعص‬ka--af ha- ya- ‘ai--in ṣa--ad (--- -- -- --- ---);ْ ‫ ْعسق‬،‫حم‬ = ḥa- mi--im, ‘ai--in si--in qa--af (-- ---, --- --- ---). The text of the Qur’ān was, is and will remain in its classical spelling to guard its originality. Here lies the importance of the small alif replacing the full one in its role for elongation. In quoting the verses of the Qur’ān modern spelling is used for easy reading, for example: ‫ِين‬ َْ ‫ ال َعالَم‬for ‫ِين‬ َْ ‫العـلَم‬, ُْ‫ ال ِك َتاب‬for ُْ‫الكِتـب‬, ‫ الص َََّلَْة‬for ‫الصَّلـوة‬, and ْ‫ َر َزق َناهُم‬for ْ‫ َر َزقنـهُم‬. Signs of pauses: When we read the Qur’ān, sometimes we have to stop, especially when we read long verses. Scholars of tajwīd give us signs where we can stop or not, have to stop or not. This stop could be like a comma (,) or a semi-colon (;). Here are some important stop signs put in the verses of the Qur’ān: 1. ‫ْالَ ِْزمْ= م‬compulsory stop, e.g., )63:‫ّللاُْ(األنعام‬ َّْ ْ‫ُونْمْ َوال َمو َتىْ َيب َع ُث ُه ُْم‬ َْ ‫ِينْ َيس َمع‬ َْ ‫إِ َّن َماْ َيس َت ِجيبُْْالَّذ‬ 2. ْ‫ = ال‬no, prohibited stop, e.g., (62ْ:‫ونْ َس ََلمْْ َعلَي ُْك ُمْاد ُخلُواْال َج َّن َْة (النحل‬ َْ ُ ‫ينْالْ َيقُول‬ َْ ‫ِينْ َت َت َو َّفا ُه ُْمْال َم ََل ِئ َك ُْةْ َطي ِِّب‬ َْ ‫ْْْالَّذ‬ 3. ‫ = أَل َوصلُْأَولَى = صلى‬continuing is better, e.g. )5:‫ُونْْ(البقرة‬ َْ ‫كْ ُه ُْمْالمُفلِح‬ َْ ‫كْ َعلَىْ ُه ًّدىْمِنْْ َرب ِِّهمْصلىْ َوأُولَ ِئ‬ َْ ‫أُولَ ِئ‬ 4. ْ‫ = أَل َوقفُ ْأَولَى = قلى‬stopping is better, e.g., )111:‫ُونْ(المؤمنون‬ َْ ‫حْال َكا ِفر‬ ُْ ِ‫الْيُفل‬ ْ َ ْ‫َفإِ َّن َماْ ِح َسا ُب ُْهْعِ ن َْدْ َرِّْبهْقلىْإِ َّن ُْه‬ 5. ‫ = َجائِز = ج‬possible, permissible, e.g., ْ )22:‫ّللاْ َعلَىْ ُك ِّْلْ َشيءْْ َقدِيرْْ(البقرة‬ ََّْ َّْْ‫ارهِمْجْإِن‬ َ ‫ِب َسمع ِِهمْْ َوأَب‬ ِ ‫ص‬ 6. ْ... ْ ْ ... two signs where we can stop, if we like, at any one of them, not both, found in Q. 2:2, 6, namely, ‫ ْ ُه ًّدى‬...ِْ‫ فِيه‬... ‫ب‬ َْ ‫ال ْ َري‬ ْ َ . If we stop at the first one, it will mean “(The Book) is no doubt, there is guidance in it”)ْ, and if we stop at the second, it will mean “(The Book), there is no doubt in it, as guidance”). If we do not stop, then it will include both meanings. Extra Signs for Easy Reading a. For the iqlāb, a small ‫ م‬is put on the ‫ن‬, such as ْ ‫ مِنم َبع ِد‬and ‫لَ َنس َف َعامِْبال َّناصِ َية‬.

b. For the idghām, shaddah is put, so that we do not pronounce the sound n such as ْ‫ َخيرْمِّن ُْه‬, ‫ َغفُورًّ اْرَّ حِي َما‬. The same is applied for the idghām of two different letters, such as: ‫أ ُ ِجي َبتْ َّدع َو ُت ُك َما‬, ‫تْطا ِئ َفة‬ َّْ َ‫ َو َقال‬, ‫أَلَمْ َنخلُقكم‬, ِّْ‫قُلْرَّ ب‬, ‫َماْ َع َبدتم‬ c. For the hamzutu ‘l-waṣl, a small ‫ ص‬is put on the top of the alif, namely, ‫ٲ‬, such as: ‫ْٲبْن‬،ْ‫ ٲسْم‬, ‫ٲنَْْت َْهى‬, ‫ٲلْ ِْكَْتاب‬. d. For the alif which does not function as a tool for madd¸a sukūn is given to it, such as: ْ‫( أَ َنا‬ana), and ‫َل‬ ْ َ ِ‫( َس ََلس‬salāsila) e. For the madd (elongation) before hamzah, a sign ~ is usually put, such as‫ َْْيآ ْأَي َها‬, ‫إِن ْ َشآ َء ّْللا‬, ْ ‫اْجآ َء‬ َ ‫ إِ َذ‬to indicate that it is longer than usual. There are more things to learn about tajwīd not included here, but due to the advance of technology there are many ways to know it: listening to the recitation of qurrā’ (Qur’ān reciters), reading a muṣḥaf (copy of the Qur’ān) containing more directions for correct reading, and sometimes with colours; for example, red colour for idghām, yellow for iqlāb, green for ikhfā’, etc. The qurrā’ learned not only the tajwīd; they also learned the qirā’āt (variant readings) which were also revealed to the Prophet and serve as explanation to the verse. When they repeat the same verse they may actually read the variant readings. For example, when Joseph (Yūsuf)’s brothers asked their father Jacob (Ya‘qūb) to let Joseph go out with them to enjoy himself and play, one of them said: “Send him with us tomorrow to enjoy himself and play, and verily, we will take care of him.” (Q. 12:12). That is one reading. The other brother said: “Send him with us tomorrow to enjoy ourselves ُ ‫أَرسِ ل ُْه ْ َم َع َنا ْ َغ ًّدا َْْير َتعْ ْ َو َيل َعبْ ْ َوإَ َّناْلَ ُه ْلَ َحاف‬ and play…” So, the qāri’ recites, ْ ‫ِظون‬ ْ )12:‫ (يوسف‬and then he repeats the same verse withْ ْ‫أَرسِ ل ُْه ْ َم َع َنا ْ َغ ًّدا َْْنر َتع‬ ...ْ‫وَْنل َعب‬.1 This variant reading indicates that at least two of the 1

This sūrat Yūsuf belongs to chapter 12. To remember this chapter, just remember Yūsuf and his brothers, all are 12 in number, and the verse is also in verse 12. The next surah/chapter is al-Ra‘d (the Thunder), chapter 13. Thunder is caused by lightning which could be dangerous, such as causing bush-fire. Some people are pessimistic with number 13, thinking that it is unlucky number, and chapter 16 is the “Thunder,” easy to remember.

brothers asked earnestly to their father to let Joseph go with them the next day, as they had plotted to get rid of him out of jealousy. Another example is: they read at first māliki (“the Owner”) and said ‫ين‬ ِْ ‫ َمالِكِْ ْ َيو ِْم ْال ِّد‬and repeat the verse with maliki (“the King”) and said ‫ين‬ ِْ ‫ َملِكِْ ْ َيو ِْم ْال ِّد‬, “the Owner (or the King) of the Day of Recompense” in Q.1:3; there is no change in the consonantal skeleton, namely, ‫ملك‬. The qurrā’ also learned about the art of recitation besides tajwīd and qirā’āt.2 Their tone also keep changing based on the verses they are reading. One qāri’ showed his sadness when he was reciting the verse dealing with Joseph’s brothers who sold him with a cheap price in Q. 12:20. The tone changed with relief when he recited the next verse where Joseph was rescued in Q. 12:21. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said: ْ )‫آنْ َو َعلَّ َم ُْه ) رواهْالبخاريْوأبوداؤدْوالترمذي‬ َْ ‫َخي ُر ُكمْْ َمنْْ َت َعلَّ َْمْالقُر‬ “The best among you is the one who learns the Qur’ān and teaches it.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī, Abū Dā’ūd and al-Tirmidhī). Learning the Qur’ān includes learning its tajwīd. May Allah include us among them, āmīn!!! (CIVIC, 24 April, 2015) Bibliography:

ْْ.‫ْهـ)ْالمختصرْالمفيدْفيْأحكامْالتجويد‬263ْ.‫(ت‬.ْ‫أحمدْبنْإبراهيمْبنْخالدْالموصلى‬ Denffer, Ahmad von. ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: The Islamic Foundation, 1983 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajwid https://ishfah7.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/belajar-tajwid-al-quran/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet#Hij.C4.81.E2.80.99.C4. AB http://dhezun-notes.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/hukum-tajwidlengkap-dan-mudah.html They usually start with Bayyātī key (‫) َْمَْقامَْْبَّْياِْتي‬, namely Key D in Western music, and end with it, and the listeners will know that it is the end of the recitation. Then they move to other keys, such as al-Ḥusaynī (‫سيْنِْي‬ َْ ُْ‫) َْمَْقا ُْم ْاْلح‬, Rast (‫) َْمَْقام ْ َْراسْت‬, namely, Key C, al-Sīkāh (‫سيْ َْكاه‬ ِّْ ‫ ) َْمَْقا ُْمْال‬which corresponds to Key E, and al-Jihārkāh 2

(‫ج َْهارْ َْكاه‬ ِْ ‫) َْمَْقا ُْمْاْل‬, namely, Key F, and Ṣabā (‫صَْبا‬ َْ ْ‫) َْمَْقام‬, namely, G which sounds sad.

15. NO PORK, WHY? There are many synonyms and names derived from pigs. They are: swine, boar, hog, pork, sow, lard, ham, porcine, and bacon. Pepperoni which is highly seasoned, hard sausage of beef and pork, should be avoided by Muslims as precaution. There are four verses in four chapters of the Qur'an mentioning the prohibition of pork, as follows: َّ ‫ير َو َما أ ُ ِه َّل لِ َغي ِر‬ "ُ‫َللاِ بِ ِه َوال ُمن َخنِقَة‬ ِ ‫ُح ِّر َمت َعلَي ُك ُم ال َميتَةُ َوال َّد ُم َولَح ُم ال ِخن ِز‬ )3:‫)المائدة‬...‫َوال َموقُو َذةُ َوال ُمتَ َر ِّديَةُ َوالنَّ ِطي َحةُ َو َما أَ َك َل ال َّسبُ ُع‬ Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which Allah’s name has not been mentioned while slaughtering, (that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns, and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal….(Q. 5:3) َّ ‫ير َو َما أ ُ ِه َّل لِ َغي ِر‬ ‫َللاِ بِ ِه‬ ِ ‫إِنَّ َما َح َّر َم َعلَي ُك ُم ال َميتَةَ َوال َّد َم َولَح َم ال ِخن ِز‬ َّ ‫فَ َم ِن اضطُ َّر َغي َر بَاغ َوال عَاد فَإ ِ َّن‬ )5:‫َللاَ َغفُور َر ِحيم (النحل‬ He has forbidden you only meat of dead animal, blood, the flesh of swine, and any animal which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols or on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, and not transgressing, --then, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.(Q. 16:115) ‫َللا فَ َم ِن اضطُ َّر‬ ِ َّ ‫ير َو َما أ ُ ِه َّل بِ ِه لِ َغي ِر‬ ِ ‫إِنَّ َما َح َّر َم َعلَي ُك ُم ال َميتَةَ َوال َّد َم َولَح َم ال ِخن ِز‬ )373:‫َللا َغفُور َر ِحيم (البقرة‬ َ َّ ‫َغي َر بَاغ َوال عَاد فَال إِث َم َعلَي ِه إِ َّن‬ He has only forbidden you carrion, blood and pork and what has been consecrated to other than Allah. But anyone who is forced to eat it--without desiring it or going to excess in it--commits no crime. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an, 2:173)

‫ي ُم َحرَّما َعلَى طَا ِعم يَط َع ُمهُ إِال أَن يَ ُكونَ َميتَة‬ َّ َ‫قُل ال أَ ِج ُد فِي َما أُو ِح َي إِل‬ )345 ‫أَو دَما َمسفُوحا أَو لَح َم ِخن ِزير فَإِنَّهُ ِرجس )األنعام‬ Say (O Muhammad): “I find not in that which has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be a dead animal, or blood poured forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine (pork); for that surely is impure …” (Q. 6:145) )357:‫)األعراف‬...‫ت َويُ َح ِّر ُم َعلَي ِه ُم ال َخبَآئِث‬ ِ ‫ َوي ُِحل لَهُ ُم الطَّيِّبَا‬... … and he allows all lawful and good things and prohibits them as unlawful all evil and unlawful things…Q. 7:157) Why Muslims are not allowed to consume swine flesh, Allah through the Qur’an simply said that it is because it is unclean, as mentioned in the above verses.1 Allah let people find themselves the reasons for this prohibition, some of which are as follows: 1. Pigs are dirty animals. They are not considered the source of food, because they are scavengers; they eat anything they can find, waste and garbage, not only bugs and insects, but also their own feces, and dead carcasses of sick animals, including their own young. 2. Pigs contain viruses dangerous to humans. Pigs were first domesticated in China around 7500 B.C., and pork is one of the most consumed meats in the world. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are more than 100 viruses enter the United States each year from China through pigs, and some of them are dangerous to humans. The swine flu (HIN1) is a virus that has made the leap from pig to human. Other sicknesses could be got from eating the meat of the pig. Pigs are primary carrier of Hepatitis E virus (HEV), Nipah virus, 1

The late Dr. Rashad Khalifa who claimed to be “Allah’s Messenger of the Covenant,” the founder and exponent of Inkār al-Sunnah said that based on the Qur’anic verses it is “the meat” of pigs which is prohibited, not “the fat.” (See Quran the Final Testament, Appendix 16, Dietary Prohibition, p. 663).What about pigs’ organs, which are not meat, are they also lawful like pigs’ fat (lard)?

Menangle virus, and PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome).2 A kind of virus called Japanese encephalitis was originally from birds, but infected pigs through mosquitoes, and from pigs to humans which causes inflammation of brain. The encephalo myocarditis virus that causes the inflammation of the brain and the heart was from large rats eaten by pigs, and from pigs it infected humans. 3. Pork is toxic, as it contains toxins more than most other meats such as chicken and beef. It is more saturated with toxins. This is caused by the poorest and quickest digestive system of a pig. It digests its food quickly, about four hours. Due to short period of the digestive process in a pigâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s short intestine, many of these toxins are not properly eliminated, but remain in its system and stored in its fatty tissues to be consumed by humans. On the contrary, a cow eats vegetation, digests its food in about twentyfour hours, as it has three stomachs. Therefore, it has more time to get rid of excess toxins and other components of food that could be dangerous to health. 4. Pigs do not have any sweat glands to get rid of toxins. This increases the toxins in the pigsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; body. A person eating pork meat these toxins will enter his body. 5. Pigs carry various parasites some of which are difficult to kill even with cooking. Danger increases with eating undercooked pork, especially the trichinella worm commonly found in pork. The larvae of this worm cause infection call trichinellosis or 2

The Nipah Virus was discovered in 1999, has caused disease in both animals and humans, and can lead to deadly encephalitis (an acute inflammation of your brain) in human. In 1998 this virus was discovered in Malaysia which was believed to have been from infected bats to pigs, where 117 pigs died, and then to humans; to prevent the spread of this virus one million pigs were destroyed. Menangle Virus was discovered in 1997 when sows at an Australian piggery began giving birth to deformed piglets. One year later, in 1998, it was reported that this virus could infect humans. The PRRS had been referred to as "swine mystery disease," "blue abortion," and "swine infertility," a nightmare since mid-1980s. It was first reported on in 2001 and is said that it may afflict about 75 percent of American pig herds.

trichinosis, a serious illness. Among its common symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, chills, swollen eyes, muscle pain, aching joints, breathing and coordination problems.3 Pigs are also primary carrier of taenia solium tape worm. 6. Pigs produce higher level of antibodies and growth hormones than other animals and human. Excessive quantities of growth hormone could cause excessive weight and as well as physical deformations. Pork contains higher levels of cholesterols and lipids causing a serious threat to human health, such as arteriosclerosis, sterility, damage of liver, and cancer. 7. Pigs excrete only 2% of its total uric acid content, the remaining 98% remains as an integral part of the body. The kidney extracts 98% of the uric acid from the blood and is removed through urination, whereas in pigs it is kept in their bodies. 8. Some diseases are unique to humans which are not shared by animals, except pigs, such as rheumatism and joint pain.4 9. Pork meat and fat contribute to obesity and related diseases that are difficult to treat.5 10. Pork meat and pork fat contribute to the spread of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and blood. 11. Pork is a kind of meat that contains the most cholesterol, an increase of which in the bloodstream leads to an increased 3

It is said that Mozartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sudden death at the age of 35 was caused by trichinellosis. He had suffered many of its symptoms, and he died after consuming pork forty-four days earlier. A local German police at Stadt Allendorf near Marburg (a/L) in 1965 told me that long ago many people died in Germany because of the parasite in pigs called trichine, namely, trichina (Trichinella spiralis). 4 In late 50s I happened to read a book claimed to be written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) who claimed to be a prophet, the mujaddid (divine reformer) of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah and at the same time the promised Mahdi awaited by Muslims, where he said this: The reason why swine flesh is prohibited for Muslims is because pigs are food for lions. I found this idea fascinating until I found myself in a film about animalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives in Africa where even lions did not like eating swine flesh; yet, most people do. 5 Mrs. Alma SchrĂśder, my former landlady at Stadt Allendorf in Germany, was advised by her doctor not to eat pork because of her obesity.

likelihood of blocked arteries. The fatty acids in pork are also of an unusual formation, compared with the fatty acids in other types of food, which makes them more easily absorbed by the body, thus increasing cholesterol levels. 12. Eating pork leads to scabies, allergies and stomach ulcers. Pork had been prohibited earlier in Judaism, as mentioned in the Old Testament: “And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.” (Leviticus 11:7-8). "The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat; for you it is unclean.” (Deu.14:8) In the time of Jesus (Prophet ‘Īsā, a.s.) early Christians might have also avoided pork, following him in observing the Biblical food restrictions when he said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18). The followers of Seventh-day Adventists also do not eat pork, but Catholics and other Christians, mostly eat it for the following reasons: a. Jesus said: “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean’, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” (Mathew 15:11). “Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” (Mark 7:15-16)6 6

It is said that “scholars believe Jesus was speaking here of the Pharisaic requirement to emulate the Priests by washing hands before eating, and not of the Bible’s dietary laws.” Rabbi Bernard J. Bamberger (1904-1980) said: "There is no reason to doubt that Jesus observed the Biblical food restrictions, and there is no reason to think that he called for their abrogation.”

b. Peter has a vision where a sheet is let down from Heaven with all sorts of animals (unclean) according to Old Testament Law. A voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord.” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven (Acts 10:13-16). For further details, see Acts 10 and 11). Act 10 abrogates two laws: food and Gentiles are no longer unclean. (He was hungry but did not have chance to eat from it). c. Paul declared that “Christ is the end of the Law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4), and “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:23-25). For the Muslims Islamic dietary law remains unchanged till the Last Day. Pork remains unclean and ḥarām for consumption, even if we burn it into ashes and kill its whole bacteria and viruses. (CIVIC, 1 May, 2015) Bibliograpy: Al-Makatabah al-Shāmilah The Noble Qur’an. Translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqī-ud-Dīn and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khān Khalifa, Rashad.Quran the Final Testament. The Holy Bible. New International Version. http://draxe.com/why-you-should-avoid-pork http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_72.html http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/12/eatingpork.aspx (Dr. Mercola, Why I Do Not Recommend) http://mawdoo3.com/ ‫لماذا حرم َللا لحم الخنزير‬ http://askville.amazon.com/major-religions-eatpork/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=56920740 http://islamqa.info/ar/12558

16. OH, RAJAB Today is 8th of May 2015 according to Gregorian calendar corresponding to 19th of Rajab 1436 H, which is the seventh month on the Islamic calendar. Gregorian calendar is based on solar calendar, whereas Islamic calendar is based on lunar calendar. It is unlike Hebrew, Buddhist, Tibetan, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Korean, ancient Hellenic and Babylonian calendars which are lunisolar, which indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. It is a combination of the solar and lunar calendars. Lunar calendar is also used by the Christians to calculate the Easter every year, and by some Satanists and Pagans. The length of the lunar month is 29.530589 days. For our convenience the 12 months are alternately 29 days, called hollow month, and 30 days called full month. One year in lunar calendar makes 354 days, whereas in solar calendar it is 365 days, with 11 days difference. By using lunar calendar the beginning of fasting in Ramadan this year is about 11 days earlier than last year. Therefore, wherever you live, either in Northern hemisphere like Europe and North America, in Southern hemisphere like South America, Australia, and New Zealand, you will fast in the four seasons, too long in Summer, but too short in Winter. The first month in Islamic calendar is called Muḥarram in 30 days. The name Muḥarram (‫ )م َُحرَّ م‬means “inviolable, forbidden” and was so called because killing and all kind of fighting is forbidden (ḥarām) during this month. Muḥarram includes the Day of ‘Āshūrā which has been dealt with extensively in Khuṭab 3 no. 39 p. 210. It is one of the four months where they are called “forbidden months.” Allah says in the Qur’an, َّ َّ‫ت‬ َِّ ‫قَّال َّس َم َاوا‬ ََّ ‫ّللاَّ َي ْو ََّمَّ َخ َل‬ ََِّّ َّ‫ب‬ َِّ ‫ّللاَّ ْاث َناَّ َع َش ََّرَّ َشهْرً اَّفِيَّ ِك َتا‬ ََِّّ َّ‫ُورَّعِ ْن ََّد‬ َِّ ‫نَّعِ َّدََّةَّال ُّشه‬ ََّّ ِ‫إ‬ َّ‫نَّأَ ْنفُ َس ُك َّْمَّ َو َقا ِتلُوا‬ ََّّ ‫ِيه‬ َّ َ ‫ينَّ ْال َق ِّي َُّمَّ َف‬ َُّ ‫كَّال ِّد‬ ََّ ِ‫ضَّ ِم ْن َهاَّأَرْ َب َعةََّّ ُحرُمََّّ َذل‬ ََّ ْ‫َو ْاْلَر‬ ِ ‫لَّ َت ْظلِمُواَّف‬ َّ )َّ63:‫ِينَّ(التوبة‬ ََّ ‫ّللاَّ َم ََّعَّ ْال ُم َّتق‬ َََّّ َّ‫ن‬ ََّّ َ‫ِينَّ َكا َّف ًَّةَّ َك َماَّ ُي َقا ِتلُو َن ُك َّْمَّ َكا َّف ًَّةَّ َواعْ لَمُواَّأ‬ ََّ ‫ْال ُم ْش ِرك‬ Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the havens and the earth; of them four are Sacred

(i.e., the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar). That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein, and fight against the Mushrikin (polutheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) collectively as they fight against hou collectively. But know that Allah is with those who are Muttaqin (the pious). (Q. 9:36) The four sacred months are: - Muharram, the first month as mentioned earlier. It was the time to return home safely after performing their pilgrimage in the previous month, Dhul-Ḥijjah. - Rajab (‫ر َجب‬, َ 30 days) the seventh month. The word “rajab” means “respect, honor.” The term ‫َّرجْ بًا ََّو َّ ُرج ُْوبًا‬ َ ‫ب‬ َ ‫ َر َج‬means “to be ashamed, to be shy.” It was called Rajab, because ‫ب‬ َُّ َّ‫ان َّي َُرج‬ َ ‫ َّ" َك‬it was respected.” The expression ‫ًاَّو َّ َترْ ِج ْيبًا‬ َ ‫َُّرجْ ب‬ َ ‫بَّالرَّ ُجل‬ َ ‫ أَرْ َج‬means َُّ‫َها َبه‬ ‫و َع َّظ َم َُّه‬,َ “The man respects and glorifies him/it (something).” It is said that this month was also called Rajab Muḍar because the people of the Muḍar tribe were very respectful and honourable. It is in this month which is the midst of the year where people who came from distant places in the Arabian Peninsula to come to visit the Ka‘bah to perform ‘umrah and return home peacefully. - Dhū al-Qa‘dah (‫ ذو َّال َقعْ دة‬, 30 days), the eleventh month. The word literally means “time for sitting down;” it was the time where the Arabs avoid raiding, looking for supply and searching for pasture. It was the month of relaxation. - Dhū al-Ḥijjah (‫ذوَّال ِح ّجة‬, 29 days), the twelfth month, the month of pilgrimage. Ḥajj (pilgrimage) had been practiced by the pagan Arabs in pre-Islamic Arabia. Upon their return from their travel, they did not go directly home and changed their clothes which they were supposed to; instead, they took them off, and went to make ṭawāf around the Ka‘bah naked at night. The sky is almost clear at night all the time there because of lack of rain, and therefore, it is not too dark even at midnight. At the early period of Islam the Muslims were allowed to perform the ḥajj with them but in Islamic way.

Al-QurṭubĪ mentions three interpretations of the verse َّ‫لَّ َت ْظلِمُوا‬ َّ َ ‫َف‬ ‫نَّأَ ْنفُ َس ُك َّْم‬ ََّّ ‫ِيه‬ ِ ‫“ ف‬so wrong not yourselves therein,” as follows: (1) It means “do not wrong yourselves therein by disobeying Allah in these twelve months, then Allah specialized the four months as sacred month, where good deeds would get more rewards, and bad deeds would get more sins.” (Ibn ‘Abbās’s interpretation); (2) It means “do not wrong yourselves there in by disobeying Allah in these twelve months by making ḥalāl (permitted) what is ḥarām (prohibited) and vice-versa” (Ibn Isḥāq’s interpretation); (3) It means “do not wrong yourselves in these four unviolated months as wrong-doing in them is a grave sin more than that committed in other months. Although wrong-doing is big enough, but Allah exalts what He likes: He selected among His creation, He selected messengers among angels, He selected messengers among men, He selected among sayings the dhikr (the mentioning of His Names), He selected in the land the mosques, He selected among the months the month of Ramaḍān and the four inviolable months, He selected among the days the Friday, and He selected among the nights “the Night of Power” (Laylat al-Qadr). Therefore, respect what Allah favours, as people of understanding and reasoning only who respect what Allah favours.” (Qatadah’s interpretation). Al-Qurṭubī said that the more likely correct among these interpretation is the one who said that “do not wrong yourselves in the four month by making ḥalāl (permitted) what is ḥarām in these inviolable months, as Allah favoured them and their sacredness. He said that, based on Arabic grammar, the word ‫ن‬ ََّّ ‫ِيه‬ ِ ‫“( ف‬in them”) in the verse is used to indicate the number between 3 and 10, and therefore, it means the four months. If it means the 12 months, the verse would say َ ‫لَّ َت ْظلِمُواَّفِيهَّا‬ َّ َ ‫ َف‬rather than ‫ن‬ ََّّ ‫ِيه‬ َّْ ‫لَّ َت‬ َّ َ ‫ َف‬.1َّ ِ ‫ظلِمُواَّف‬ 1

In Arabic language plural is used after a number between 3 and ten, and after ُ ( or ashhur that singular is used. For example, for 4 month we use shuhūr )‫شهُور‬ )‫ (أَ ْشهُر‬the plural of shahr )‫( َشهْر‬. But if we say, for example, 12 month we use the word shahr (‫ ) َشهْر‬which is singular. As the above verse uses ‫ن‬ َّّ ‫ِيه‬ ِ ‫"( ف‬in them")

We are still in the month of Rajab, one of the four sacred months where we are not supposed to fight except in self-defence, but in this sacred month we are fighting our own Muslim brothers, destroying our own cities, increasing the number of Muslim widows and orphans and refugees, as if we cannot tolerate our differences. Apparently, the pagan Arabs in the Jāhiliyyah (Era of Ignorance) observed and honoured more the sanctity of these inviolable months than we do. There is no special thing to do in this month except to honour its sacredness. A man came to the Prophet they went away. After one year he visited him again, but his condition had changed, so that the Prophet s.a.w. did not recognize him. He had kept fasting, and the Prophet s.a.w. advised him not to torture himself, but to fast in the month of Ramadan (the month of patience), and one day every month. The man asked to give him more, and the Prophet told him to fast two days every month. The man asked more, and the Prophet told him to fast three days every month. The man asked more, and the Prophet told him to fast and break in the sacred months (he said it three times bringing his three fingers together then released them). (Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dā’ūd, Ibn Mājah, and al-Bayhaqī). There are many incidents claimed to have occurred in Rajab, among which are as follows: - The injunction of the five-daily prayers to the Muslims. It was during the Prophet’s ascension to heaven one and a half year before his migration to Madinah. ُ ), namely 4 months. Had it referred to the 12 months, it refers to shuhūr (‫شهُور‬ it would have said ‫“( فِيها‬in it”) in singular. Therefore, if we say in English “four months”, there will be no problem; but if we say “12 months”, then we have to say “12 month” which is wrong in English, but right in Arabic. Grammatical complication has its own advantage: clearer meaning. The term a‘raba َّ)‫ب‬ ََّ ‫(أَعْ َر‬ which means “to Arabicize” it also means “to state clearly, to express unmistakably.” The ancient Arabs were well-known for their honesty, straightforwardness, bravery, and integrity.

- According to the historian Ibn al-Jawzī the Prophet’s night journey to Jerusalem and his ascension to heaven took place on 27 of Rajab. According to Abū Isḥāq it was in the night of the 27th of Rabī‘ al-Awwal. Others said it was in Ramaḍān, Shawwāl, and Rabī‘ al-Ākhir. - The turn of the qiblah (direction to which Muslims pray) from Bayt al-Maqdis in Jerusalem to the Ka‘bah in Makkah took place in Rajab 2 AH after they had prayed toward it in sixteen or seventeen months. When the Prophet emigrated to Madinah Allah ordered him and his followers to pray in the direction of Bayt al-Maqdis, in Jerusalem. This delighted the Jewish of Madinah. Although the Prophet and his followers did, but he preferred praying in the direction of the Qiblah in Makkah, and kept praying that Allah would accept his prayer. After about 16 or 17 months, revelation came as follows: ََّ ‫لَّ َوجْ َه‬ ‫ك‬ َِّّ ‫ضا َهاَّ َف َو‬ ََّ ‫كَّفِيَّال َّس َما َِّءَّ َفلَ ُن َولِّ َي َّن‬ ََّ ‫بَّ َوجْ ِه‬ ََّ ُّ‫َق َّْدَّ َن َرىَّ َت َقل‬ َ ْ‫كَّ ِق ْبلَ ًَّةَّ َتر‬ َّ‫اب‬ ََّ ‫ِينَّأُو ُتواَّ ْال ِك َت‬ ََّ ‫نَّالَّذ‬ ََّّ ِ‫ْثَّ َماَّ ُك ْن ُت َّْمَّ َف َولُّواَّوُ جُو َه ُك َّْمَّ َش ْط َرَّهَُّ َوإ‬ َُّ ‫امَّ ََّو َحي‬ َِّ ‫َّ َش ْط ََّرَّ ْال َمسْ ِج َِّدَّ ْال َح َر‬ )111:‫ونَّ(البقرة‬ ََّ ُ ‫ّللا َُّ ِب َغافِلََّّ َعمَّاَّ َيعْ َمل‬ ََّّ َّ‫ِنَّ َرب ِِّه َّْمَّ َو َما‬ َّْ ‫قَّم‬ َُّّ ‫ُونَّأَ َّن َُّهَّ ْال َح‬ ََّ ‫لَ َيعْ لَم‬ Verily, We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad’s) face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn your face to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām (at Makkah). And wheresoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction. Certainly, the people who were given the Scripture (i.e., Jews and Christians) know that, that (your turning towards the direction of the Ka‘bahَّat Makkah in prayers) is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do. (Q. 2:144) Ibn ‘Abbās said that this was the first abrogation part of the Qur’an, namely, the qiblah. - The Tabuk Expedition took place in Rajab, 9 AH. The Prophet’s army consisted of 30,000 fighters and 10,000 horsemen

- The conquest of Damascus in 14/635 under the command of Abū ‘Ubaydah and Khālid ibn al-Walīd under peace agreement with its inhabitants to treat with justice their churches, their houses and their leaders, and to allow their festivals. - The Battle of Yarmuk which took place on Monday 5th of Rajab 15/636. It took six days from 15th to 20th of August, 636 A.D. with an army of about 25,000 under the command of Khālid ibn al-Walīd (d. 642) whose epithet was Sayf Allāh (“the Sword of Allah”). He was facing the East Roman army of about 50,000 under the command of Vahan the Armenian. This battle was for the survival of Islam, and the defeat would mean the end of it. On the sixth day the Muslim army gained overwhelming victory. Four years later, by the year 640 A.D. the Muslim army had conquered the Middle East. The liberation of Jerusalem on 27 Rajab 587/1187 under Sultan Saladin (Ṣalāḥuddīn al-Ayyūbī) after it had been occupied by the Crusaders about 88 years, prayed at the al-Aqṣā Mosque, and gave freedom and security to its inhabitants. :‫المراجع‬ َّ ‫المكتبةَّالشاملة‬ )‫َّهـ‬610َّ.‫تفسيرَّالطبريَّ(ت‬ )‫َّهـ‬371َّ.‫تفسيرَّالقرطبىَّ(ت‬ )‫َّهـ‬771َّ.‫تفسيرَّابنَّكثيرَّ(ت‬ Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: َّ ََّّ Percetakan Zafar Sdn Bhd, 2005 Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984 http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/muslimwars/articles/yarmuk. aspx (The Battle of Yarmuk, 636 by Dan Fratini). َّ

17. THE VIRTUES OF SHA’BAN Sha‘ban )‫ ( َشعْ َبان‬is the 8th month consisting of 29 days in Islamic calendar. The word means “scattered.” The expression ‫َّب ْال َق ْو ُم‬ َ ‫َت َشع‬ means “people dispersed.” The word shu‘bah originally means “a group of people, ‫فِرْ َقة‬.” Now it means “section, division, department.” In this month the Arabs in the past scattered searching for water. It is recommended that we do much fasting in the month of Sha‘bān following the examples of Prophet Muhamad s.a.w. There are many ḥadīths (traditions of the Prophet) stating that the Prophet s.a.w. fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān, whereas others say that he fasted most of the days of this month, as follows: َّ ‫صلَّى‬ ْ ‫َعنْ أُم َس َل َم َة رضي هللا عنها َقا َل‬ ُ ‫ َما َرأَي‬: ‫ت‬ ‫هللا ُ َع َل ْي ِه‬ ِ َّ ‫ْت َرسُو َل‬ َ ‫هللا‬ ‫ضا ن‬ َ ‫ان ِب َر َم‬ َ ‫ان يَصِ ُل َشعْ َب‬ َ ‫ْن إِال أَ َّن ُه َك‬ َ ‫َو َسلَّ َم‬ ِ ‫ْن ُم َت َت ِاب َعي‬ ِ ‫صا َم َشه َْري‬ )‫(رواه أحمد وأبو داود والنسائي وابن ماجه‬ Ummu Salamah r.a. said: “I never saw the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. fast two consecutive months apart from the fact that he used to join Sha‘bān and Ramaḍān.” (Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dā’ūd, al-Nasā’ī, and Ibn Mājah) ‘Ā’ishah r.a. said, ،‫ان‬ َ ‫صلَّى هللاُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم َيصُو ُم َشهْرً ا أَ ْك َث َر مِنْ َشعْ َب‬ َ ‫لَ ْم َي ُك ِن ال َّن ِبي‬ )‫ان ُكلَّ ُه (رواه البخاري‬ َ ‫ان َيصُو ُم َشعْ َب‬ َ ‫َفإِ َّن ُه َك‬ The Prophet s.a.w. did not fast in a month more than his fasting in Sha‘bān, for he fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān (Reported by Bukhārī) These ḥadīths indicates that the Prophet fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān. But other ḥadīths indicate that he fasted most of the days of Sha‘bān, among which are as follows: َّ ‫ت َعا ِئ َش َة َرضِ َي‬ ُ ‫ َسأ َ ْل‬: ‫َعنْ أَ ِبي َسلَ َم َة َقا َل‬ ‫هللا‬ ِ َّ ‫ُول‬ ِ ‫هللا ُ َع ْن َها َعنْ صِ َي ِام َرس‬ َّ ‫صلَّى‬ ْ َ‫ َف َقال‬، ‫هللا ُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم‬ ‫ َو ُي ْفطِ ُر َح َّتى‬، ‫صا َم‬ َ ‫ان َيصُو ُم َح َّتى َنقُو َل َق ْد‬ َ ‫ َك‬: ‫ت‬ َ َ َ َ َ َ ْ ْ ُ َ ، ‫ان‬ َ ‫صا ِئمًا مِنْ َشهْر َقط أكث َر مِنْ صِ َيا ِم ِه مِنْ َشعْ َب‬ َ ُ‫ َول ْم أ َره‬، ‫َنقو َل َق ْد أفط َر‬ .)‫ان إِال َقلِيال (رواه مسلم‬ َ ‫ان َيصُو ُم َشعْ َب‬ َ ‫ َك‬، ‫ان ُكلَّ ُه‬ َ ‫ان َيصُو ُم َشعْ َب‬ َ ‫َك‬ Abu Salamah said: “I asked ‘Aa’ishah r.a. about the fasting

of the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. and she said: ‘He used to fast until we thought that he would always fast, then he would not fast until we thought that he would always not fast, but I never saw him fast in any month more than he fasted in Sha‘bān. He used to fast all of Sha‘bān, and he used to fast all of Sha‘bān apart from a few days.’” (Reported by Muslim) َّ ‫َعنْ َعا ِئ َش َة َرضِ َي‬ ْ َ‫ َقال‬،‫هللا ُ َع ْن َها‬ " ‫صلَّى هللاُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم‬ ِ َّ ‫ان َرسُو ُل‬ َ ‫هللا‬ َ ‫ َك‬:‫ت‬ ُ ‫ َف َما َرأَي‬،‫ الَ َيصُو ُم‬:‫ َو ُي ْفطِ ُر َح َّتى َنقُو َل‬،ُ‫ الَ ُي ْفطِ ر‬:‫َيصُو ُم َح َّتى َنقُو َل‬ ‫هللا‬ ِ َّ ‫ْت َرسُو َل‬ ‫ َو َما َرأَ ْي ُت ُه أَ ْك َث َر‬،‫ان‬ َ ‫ض‬ َ ‫صلَّى هللا ُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم اسْ َت ْك َم َل صِ َيا َم َشهْر إِ َّال َر َم‬ َ " )‫ان (رواه البخاري و مسلم‬ َ ‫صِ َيامًا ِم ْن ُه فِي َشعْ َب‬ Ā’ishah r.a. said: “The Messenger of Allah s.a.w. used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and he did not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. fasting for an entire month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha‘bān (Reported by Bukhārī and Muslim( Based on the above traditions there are two different views: a. The Prophet fasted most of the days of Sha‘bān, but occasionally he fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān. According to the traditionist and Qur’ān commdentator al-Imām alḤusayn al-Ṭībī (d. 743/1342) it is possible that he fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān, and in other occations he fasted most of the days of the month, so that people would not think that fasting in the whole month of Sha‘bān is also enjoined for Muslims besides Ranmaḍān. This is the view favoured by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Ibn Bāz (d. 1999) in his fatwā. b. The Prophet fasted most of the days of Sha‘bān, and he never fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān. The expression “he fasted the whole month of Sha‘bān” does not necessarily mean that he fasted the entire month, but this expression could also mean most of the days of Sha‘bān. It is like the expression, “he knows everything” if he knows many things, or “he does not know anything,” if he does not know many things. Ibn al-

Mubārak (d. 181 AH) said, as reported by al-Tirmidhī, that it is linguisticly possible in Arabic expression to say that if someone fasted most of the days of the month, that he fasted the whole month. This is also the view of al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab (d. 795/1393) and Abū l-Ḥasan al-Sindī (d. 1138/1726). The argument of this view is the ḥadīths stating that the Prophet did not fast the whole month except Ramadan, among which are as follows: ‫هللا‬ ِ َّ َّ‫ َوال أَعْ لَ ُم َن ِبي‬: ‫عن عائشة رضي هللا عنها أنها قالت‬ َّ ‫صلَّى‬ ‫صلَّى لَ ْيلَ ًة‬ َ ‫ َوال‬، ‫آن ُكلَّ ُه فِي لَ ْيلَة‬ َ ْ‫هللا ُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم َق َرأَ ْالقُر‬ َ . )‫ان (رواه النسائي‬ َ ‫ض‬ َ ‫صا َم َشهْرً ا َكامِال َغي َْر َر َم‬ َ ‫ َوال‬، ‫ْح‬ ِ ‫إِلَى الصب‬ Ā’ishah r.a. said: “ I do not know that the Prophet of Allah s.a.w. recited the entire Qur’an in one night, or spent an entire night in prayer until dawn, or fasted an entire month apart from Ramaḍān.” (Reported by al-Nasā’ī) َّ ‫صلَّى‬ َّ ‫ْن َعبَّاس َرضِ َي‬ َ ‫صا َم ال َّن ِبي‬ َ ‫ َما‬: ‫هللا ُ َع ْن ُه َما َقا َل‬ ُ ‫هللا‬ ِ ‫َعنْ اب‬ )‫ان (رواه البخاري ومسلم‬ َ ‫ض‬ َ ‫َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم َشهْرً ا َكامِال َقط َغي َْر َر َم‬ Ibn ‘Abbās r.a. said: “The Prophet s.a.w. never fasted any month in full apart from Ramaḍān.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim) Among the virtues and the wisdom behind fasting in Sha‘bān, as mentioned by al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab are in the following ḥadīth: َّ ‫ َيا َرسُول‬: ‫ قُ ْلت‬: ‫َعنْ أ ُ َسا َمة بْن َزيْد َقا َل‬ ‫ لَ ْم أَ َرك َتصُو ُم مِنْ َشهْر‬، ‫هللا‬ ‫ك َشهْر َي ْغفُ ُل ال َّناس َع ْن ُه َبي َْن‬ َ ‫ َذ ِل‬: ‫ َقا َل‬، ‫مِنْ الشهُور َما َتصُوم مِنْ َشعْ َبان‬ ،‫ِين‬ َ ‫ َوه َُو َشهْر ُترْ َف ُع فِي ِه األَعْ َمال إِلَى َرب ْال َعالَم‬، ‫ضان‬ َ ‫َر َجب َو َر َم‬ )‫صائِم (رواه النسائي و أبوداءود‬ َ ‫َفأُحِب أَنْ يُرْ َف َع َع َملِي َوأَ َنا‬ Usāmah ibn Zayd said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah,I do not see you fasting in any month more than in Sha’bān.’ He said, ‘That is a month concerning which many people are heedless, between Rajab and Ramaḍān. It is the month is which people’s deeds are taken up to the Lord of the Worlds, and I would like my deeds to be taken up whilst I am fasting.’

(Reported by al-Nasā’ī and Abū Dā’ūd) According to Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah the wisdom behind the Prophet’s frequent fasting in Sha‘bān has many aspects, among which are as follows: a. The Prophet used to fast three days every month; he might have missed some months, and he made them up in Sha‘bān before doing the obligatory fasting in of Ramaḍān. b. He did it to honour the obligatory fasting in Ramaḍān. It is like doing the recommended prayer before doing the obligatory one. c. It is the month in which people’s deeds are taken up to Allah, and he likes his deeds are taken up to Allah while he was fasting, as mentioned in the above ḥadīth. The taking up of our deeds to Allah can be divided into three stages: a. daily, at the time of fajr (dawn), and ‘aṣr (late afternoon) prayers, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah, the Prophet s.a.w. said: ‫صالَ ِة ال َعصْ ِر‬ َ ‫ُون فِي‬ َ ‫ َو َيجْ َت ِمع‬،‫ار‬ َ ‫َي َت َعا َقب‬ ِ ‫ُون فِي ُك ْم َمالَ ِئ َكة ِباللَّي ِْل َو َمالَ ِئ َكة ِبال َّن َه‬ ‫ْف‬ َ ‫ َكي‬:‫ َف َيسْ أَل ُ ُه ْم َوه َُو أَعْ لَ ُم ِب ِه ْم‬،‫ِين َبا ُتوا فِي ُك ْم‬ َ ‫ ُث َّم َيعْ ُر ُج الَّذ‬،‫صالَ ِة ال َفجْ ِر‬ َ ‫َو‬ " ‫ون‬ َ ‫صل‬ َ ‫ َوأَ َت ْي َنا ُه ْم َو ُه ْم ُي‬،‫ون‬ َ ‫صل‬ َ ‫ َت َر ْك َنا ُه ْم َو ُه ْم ُي‬:‫ون‬ َ ُ ‫َت َر ْك ُت ْم عِ َبادِي؟ َف َيقُول‬ )‫(رواه البخاري و مسلم‬ Angels come after the other among you at night and in the day time, and they gather together at asr and dawn praying times, then the angels who stayed at night among you, would ascend, and Allah askes them (although He knew more about them): ‘How did you leave my servants?” They will say ‘We were leaving them while they were praying, and we came to them while they were praying.” (Reported by Bukhārī and Muslim) b. weekly, on every Thursday evening, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah the Prophet s.a.w. said: ‫ َف َال ُي ْق َب ُل‬،ِ‫إِنَّ أَعْ َما َل َبنِي آ َد َم ُتعْ َرضُ ُك َّل َخمِيس لَ ْيلَ َة ْال ُج ُم َعة‬ )‫َع َم ُل َقاطِ ِع َرحِم )رواه أحمد‬

The deeds of the children of Adam are exposed every Thursday night, and so the deeds of a person who breaks off his family relationship will not be accepted (Reported by Aḥmad) c. yearly, in the month of Sha‘bān, as mentioned earlier in the above ḥadīth. The voluntary fasting in Sha‘bān can be considered a kind of spiritual and physical warming up and training for the coming of the obligatory fasting in Ramadan. In the beginning of the days of fasting the body begins to consume its stored reserves of fats, proteins, and others to compensate its shortage because of lack of food. Some poisons flow in blood before the body gets rid of them with the leftovers. Consequently, the fasting man feels some symptoms of sickness, such as headache, weakness, ill-temper, etc. These symptoms will disappear after a few days of fasting when the hormones ratio in blood returns to their nature, and after the body has adjusted itself with the shortage of food in fasting. It is also advisable for a person who fasts, especially recommended fasting, not to let people know that he is fasting, to avoid showing-off, because it is a secret between him and his Lord. It is said that some of the salaf (companions of the Prophet and people of later generation) fasted for forty-years without being known by anybody. He left home and went to the market with two pieces of bread which he gave away as charity. People at home thought that he ate the bread, whereas people in the market thought that he had taken his meal at home. The Prophet’s companions ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd and Qatādah advised the faster of recommended fasting to remove any sign of fasting from his body to keep his fasting secret. Although it is recommended to fast in Sha‘bān, fasting one or two days before Ramaḍān is not recommended. Narrated by Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet s.a.w. said: ‫ون‬ َ ‫ إِالَّ أَنْ َي ُك‬،‫ْن‬ َ ‫ض‬ َ ‫الَ َت َق َّدمُوا َشه َْر َر َم‬ ِ ‫ان ِبصِ َيام َق ْب َل ُه ِب َي ْوم أَ ْو َي ْو َمي‬ )‫ (رواه الترمذي وأحمد‬.‫ص ْم ُه‬ ُ ‫ص ْومًا َف ْل َي‬ َ ‫ان َيصُو ُم‬ َ ‫َرجُل َك‬

100

None of you should fast a day or two before the month of Ramadan unless he has the habit of fasting (voluntary and if his fasting coincides with that day) then he can fast that day (Reported by al-Tirmidhī and Aḥmad) Therefore, a person who has a habit of fasting on Monday and Thursday can fast them even at the end of Sha‘bān. Many ḥadīths emphasize the merits of fasting in the month of Sha‘bān, especially the first half of it, including the 15 th day of it where its night should be spent in prayers and other forms of worship. Muslim scholars give many names for the night of the midst of Sha‘bān due to its virtues, such as: “the blessed night” ‫(اللَّ ْيلَ ُة‬ )‫ار َكة‬ َ ‫ ْال ُم َب‬, “the night of atonement” )‫(لَ ْيلَ ُة ال َّت ْك ِف ْير‬, “the night of forgiveness” )‫(لَ ْيلَ ُة ْال ُغ ْف َران‬, “the night of intercession”)‫)ليلة ال َّش َفا َعة‬, “the night of the acceptance of supplication” )‫إلجا َبة‬ َ ‫(لَ ْيلَ ُة ْا‬, and “the night of life” )‫لح َياة‬ َ ‫(لَ ْيلَ ُة ْا‬. In conclusion: Although the ḥadīths relating the virtues of fasting on the 15th of Sha‘bān are weak, it can be done as a measure of precaution, not taken as Sunnah, but as an advisable practice. Muslim scholars, such as al-Nawawī, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Ibn alMubārak, Sufyān al-Thawrī, and Abū Zakariyyā al-‘Anbārī agree that it is possible to accept weak ḥadīths and act upon them, as long as they do not contain injunction or prohibition, or making ḥalāl what is ḥarām, and vice-versa, but rather the virtues of good deeds. (CIVIC, 22 May, 2015) Bibliography: al-Maktabah al-Shāmilah http://en.islamway.net/article/12087/the-virtues-of-shaban http://islamqa.info/en/13729 http://www.saaid.net/mktarat/12/8-21.htm http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?137694-A-Nightof-excellence-in-the-Month-of-Shaban http://web.macam.ac.il/~tawfieq/mqalat-0011.htm )‫(شهر شعبان ماذا فيه ؟للعالمة السيد الدكتور محمد علوي المالكي الحسني‬

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18. ABDULLAH IBN MAS‘ŪD (1) ‘Abdullah (‘Abd Allāh) ibn (son of) Mas‘ūd (‫(عبدهللا بن مسعود‬ r.a. (d. 32/650) was one of the earlier companions (ṣaḥābah) of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w., and the sixth person who converted to Islam. In his early life he used to tend the flocks of one of the leaders of the Quraysh in Makkah called ‘Uqbah ibn Mu‘ayṭ )‫(عقبة بن معيط‬ from early in the morning till nightfall. The boy was used to be called “Ibn Umm ‘Abd” (‫“ إبن أم عبد‬the son of the mother of a slave”). He became qāḍī of Kūfah in about 642 CE. One day while tending the flocks, the young ‘Abdullah was approached by two men unknown to him. They were the Prophet s.a.w. and his companion Abū Bakr r.a. who were apparently very thirsty and tired. They had come to the mountains of Makkah to avoid the persecution of the Quraysh. They greeted him and asked if he could milk one of the sheep to quench their thirst. He said that he could not do that, because the sheep did not belong to him, and he was only responsible for looking after them. They were pleased with his honesty. Then they asked him if he had any young goat that did not have milk. He pointed at a goat, and they placed their hands on its udders muttering some Qur’ānic verses. To his amazement the udders became full of milk, and they drank and offered some to him. Then the udders shrank back as before, and the goat was released. Soon after he knew that they were the Prophet and his companion Abū Bakr who had come to him, he embraced Islam and quitted tending flocks. ‘Abdullah’s mother offered the Prophet her son to serve him which he agreed. Now, instead of looking after the sheep, he got a better job, looking after the needs of the Prophet s.a.w. inside as well as outside the house, and was closely attached to him. He became a special servant of the Prophet, helping him put on his shoes, accompanied him on his journeys and expeditions, woke him when he slept, provided cover when he washed, and attended other personal needs, that the ṣaḥābah called him ṣāḥib al-siwāk (“the bearer of the toothbrush”), ṣāḥib al-na‘layn (“the bearer of the slippers”), ṣāḥib almuṭahhirah (“the bearer of the cleansing water”), and ṣāḥib alwisīdah (“the bearer of the cushion”). He was allowed to enter the Prophet’s house any time of the day or night, that he was given more

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privileges than anyone else, and that some people thought the he was one of the Prophet’s household. He was entitled “the Secretary” of the Prophet as he was entrusted with his secrets. Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd had thin legs and was short that it was said that he was the same height of a tall man sitting. He once climbed a tree in a campaign to cut wood. When some people laughed at his legs the Prophet reproached them and said, “Are you laughing at his thin legs? They will weigh heavier than Mount Uhud in the Scales of the Hereafter.” Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd was the first man to recite aloud the words of the Qur’ān before a gathering of the Quraysh. The eye-witness alZubayr related that one day that the Prophet's companions were gathered with the Prophet s.a.w. They said, "By Allah, the Quraysh have never heard the Qur’ān being recited to them before. Isn't there any man to recite it so that they may hear it?" Thereupon Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd said, "I shall recite it for them” They said, "We are afraid for you. We want a man with a clan to protect him from those people if they want to harm him." He said, "Let me go, Allah will protect me." Then he went to the Maqām Ibrāhīm (a landmark situated a few meters from the Ka‘bah) at the Ka‘bah and recited: ‫ ال َّش ْمس َو ْالقَ َمر‬.‫ عَلَّ َمه ْالبَيَان‬. َ‫اْل ْن َسان‬ َ َ‫ َخل‬. َ‫عَلَّ َم ْالقرْ آن‬.‫الرَّحْ َمن‬ ِْ ‫ق‬ )6-1:‫ َوالنَّجْ م َوال َّش َجر يَسْجدَا ِن (النجم‬.‫بِح ْسبَان‬ The Most Beneficent! Has taught the Qur’ān. He created man. He taught him eloquent speech. The sun and the moon run on their fixed courses (exactly) calculated with measured out stages for each. And the herbs (or stars ) and the trees both prostrate (Q. 55: 1-6). The Quraysh looked at him and said, "What does Ibn Umm Abd say? He is reciting some of what Muhammad came with." They went to him and began to beat him in the face while he was reciting till he finished whatever Allah wished him to recite from the surah. When he returned to his friends with his wound, they told him, "This is what we were afraid would happen to you." He answered them, "Those

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enemies of Allah have never been more worthless to me than this moment, and if you wish I will go back to them and do the same tomorrow." They said, "No, it is enough for you. You have made them hear what they hated." “The Most Beneficent has taught the Qur’ān” means Allah taught the Prophet the Qur’ān, and he in his turn taught it to his people. Allah made it easy to read and to remember (al-Zajjāj”s interpretation). “He created man” means Adam (according to Ibn ‘Abbās, Qatādah and al-Ḥasan); another interpretation is human species. “He taught him eloquent speech” means: names of everything; all languages; explanation of ḥalāl (legal) from ḥarām (illegal), of guidance from straying; explanation of the past and the future; explanation of good and bad (al-Ḍaḥḥāq’s interpretation); the explanation of what is beneficial and harmful to man (the interpretation of Qatādah and al-Rabī‘). Other than eloquent speech the term bayān also means “understanding” which is peculiar to man, not to animals, and that Allah taught each people their languages (alSuddī’s interpretation). Muhammad Asad gives us more explanations about the term bayān. He said: The term al-bayān—denoting “the means whereby a thing is [intellectually] circumscribed and made clearer” (Rāghib)— applies to both thought in speech inasmuch as it comprises the faculty of making a thing or an idea apparent to the mind and conceptually distinct from other things or ideas, as well as the power to express this cognition clearly in spoken or written language (Tāj al-‘Arūs): hence in the above context, “articulate thought and speech”, recalling the “knowledge of all the names” (i.e., the faculty of conceptual thinking) with which man is endowed … (M. Asad, The Message of the Qur’ān, note. p. 824, n. 1) “The sun and the moon run on their fixed courses (exactly) calculated with measured out stages for each” means without them time and ages cannot be calculated (according to Ibn Zayd and Ibn Kaysān).

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“And the herbs (or stars) and the trees both prostrate.” The word ‫ النَّجْ م‬is derived from the verb ‫نَ َج َم ال َّش ْيء يَ ْنجم نجوْ ًما‬, something appeared and emerged. The term “al-najm” could be the herbs and their prostration and that of the trees is the prostration of their shadows (al-Ḍaḥḥāq’s interpretation); in another view, herbs’ prostration is their facing the sun while it is rising, their leaning until their shadows decrease (al-Farrā’’s interpretation); their prostration is the turning of their shadows with them (al-Zajjāj’s interpretation). The term “al-najm” could also be the stars according to al-Ḥasan and Mujāhid and their prostration according to him is the rotation of their shadows. It is also said that the prostration of the stars is their setting, and the prostration of the trees is the harvesting of their fruit, as reported by al-Māwrdī. In general all of them and the whole creature are subservient to Him. The term ‫”( السُّجود‬prostration”) means ‫"( ْالخضوع‬submission, obedience”) as reported by al-Qushayrī. According to al-Naḥḥās the original meaning of ‫”( السُّجود‬prostration”) in Arabic language is ‫ّلِل َع َّز َو َج َّل‬ ِ َّ ِ ‫“( ِاِل ْستِس ََْلم َو ِاِل ْنقِيَاد‬to surrender and to submit to Allah the Almighty”), and everything surrenders to Him, including prostration in prayer. One of many examples of the vast knowledge of Ibn Mas‘ūd is as follow: ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb in one of his journeys leading a caravan he met another caravan from the opposite direction where Ibn Mas‘ūd was happened to be in it. It was fairly dark and he could not be seen properly. So he sent a messenger to find out the origin and the destination of the caravan. They said that they came “from ‫فَ َج َع ِميْق‬ (fajj amīq, deep and distant mountain highway) , or from a far off destination.” The expression ‫( فَ َج َع ِميْق‬fajj amīq) was the Qur’ānic expression from which the pilgrims came.1 Their destination was " ‫( ْالبَيْت ْال َعتِيْق‬al-bayt al-‘atīq, the Ancient House, namely, the Ka‘bah)." The expression ‫( ْال َعتِيْق‬al-bayt al-‘atīq, the Ancient House Allah said in the Qur’ān: ْْ‫لْ َفج‬ ِّْ ‫ِينْمِنْْ ُك‬ َْ ‫ضامِرْْ َيأت‬ ِّْ ‫الْ َو َعلَىْ ُك‬ ْ ً ‫كْ ِر َج‬ َْ ‫جْ َيأ ُتو‬ ِّْ ‫اسْ ِبال َح‬ ِْ ‫َوأَ ِّذنْْفِيْال َّن‬ َ ْ‫ل‬ ْ)72:‫ َعمِيقْْ(الحج‬And proclaim to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage). They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, hey will come from every deep and distant (wide) mountain highway.(Q. 22:27) 1

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was for the Ka‘bah to which the pilgrims intended to visit in their pilgrimage.2 ‘Umar r.a. realized that there was a scholar among them. So, he told someone to ask the person: "Which part of the Qur’ān is the greatest?" َّ )522:‫ (البقرة‬...‫هللا َِل إِلَهَ إِ َِّل ه َو ْال َح ُّي ْالقَيُّوم َِل تَأْخذه ِسنَةٌ َو َِل نَوْ ٌم‬ Allah. There is no god except Him, the Living, the Self-subsisting. Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep… (Q. 2:255) he replied quoting the Āyat al-Kursī (the verse of the Throne). "Which part of the Qur’ān carries its essence?” َّ ‫إِ َّن‬ )09:‫ (النحل‬... ‫اْلحْ َسا ِن َوإِيتَا ِء ِذي ْالقرْ بَى‬ ِ ْ ‫هللاَ يَأْمر بِ ْال َع ْد ِل َو‬ Verily Allah enjoins you to be just and sacrifice for others and help your kinsfolk.… (Q. 16:90) was the answer. “What it the most comprehensive statement of the Qur’ān?” )8-7:‫ َو َم ْن يَ ْع َملْ ِم ْثقَا َل َذرَّة َش ًرا يَ َره (الزلزلة‬. ‫ال َذرَّة َخ ْيرًا يَ َره‬ َ َ‫فَ َم ْن يَ ْع َملْ ِم ْثق‬ So whoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it and whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall see it (Q. 99:7-8) was the answer. "Which of the Qur’ānic verses evokes fear?" ‫ب َم ْن يَ ْع َملْ سو ًءا يجْ َز بِ ِه َو َِل‬ َ ‫لَي‬ ِ ‫ْس بِأ َ َمانِيِّك ْم َو َِل أَ َما ِن ِّي أَ ْه ِل ْال ِكتَا‬ َّ ‫يَ ِج ْد لَه ِم ْن دو ِن‬ )151:‫صيرًا (النساء‬ ِ َ‫هللاِ َولِيًا َو َِل ن‬ It will not be in accordance with your desire (Muslims), nor those of the people of scripture (Jews and Christians) whosoever works evil have the recompense thereof and he will not find any protector or helper besides Allah (Q. 4:123) "Which part of the Qur’ān inspires hope?” Allah said in the Qur’ān:ْ)79:‫ِيق ْ(الحج‬ ِْ ‫ت ْال َعت‬ ِْ ‫ورهُمْ ْ َول َي َّط َّوفُواْ ِبال َبي‬ َ ‫ْ ُث َّْم ْل َيقضُواْ َت َف َثهُمْ ْ َوليُوفُوا ْ ُن ُذ‬ Then let them complete their prescribed duties (manasik of Hajj) and perform their vows, and circumambulate the Ancient House (the Ka‘bah) (Q. 22:29). 2

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َّ ‫ي الَّ ِذينَ أَ ْس َرفوا َعلَى أَ ْنف ِس ِه ْم َِل تَ ْقنَطوا ِم ْن َرحْ َم ِة‬ َ ‫قلْ يَا ِعبَا ِد‬ ِ‫هللا‬ َّ ‫إِ َّن‬ )21:‫وب َج ِميعًا إِنَّه ه َو ْال َغفور ال َّر ِحيم (الزمر‬ َ ‫هللاَ يَ ْغفِر ال ُّذن‬ Say, O my servants who have wasted their resources, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the Compassionate. (Q. 39:53) When ‘Umar asked whether ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd was among them, they replied, "Yes, indeed." (CIVIC, 5 June, 2015) ‫المراجع‬: ‫المكتبة الشاملة‬ ‫ هـ‬119 .‫)تفسير الطبري (ت‬ ‫ هـ‬671 .‫)تفسير القرطبى (ت‬ Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Gibraltar: Dar alAndalus, 1984 http://www.inter-islam.org/Biographies/abdullahibnmasood.htm http://sahabastories.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/abdullaah-ibn-masud-ra.html http://www.islamiska.org/e/masud.htm http://www.sunnah.org/history/Sahaba/masud.html (Scanned from: "Companions of The Prophet", Vol.1, By: Abdul Wahid Hamid.) http://ahadith.co.uk/hadithbynarrator.php?n=Abdullah+bin+Masud&b id=1&let=A http://islamicencyclopedia.org/public/index/topicDetail/id/34 http://www.islamicvoice.com/december.2003/child.htm#abmj

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19. ‘ABDULLAH IBN MAS‘ŪD (2) ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd r.a. participated in the hijrah (migration) of the Muslims, twice to Ḥabashah (Ethiopia) and once to Madinah to avoid the persecution of the Quraysh in Makkah. The first migration took place in the fifth year of the Prophet’s prophethood, consisting of about one hundred people, and was led by ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affān and his wife Ruqayyah (the Prophet’s daughter), Ja‘far ibn Abī Ṭālib, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf, and Ummu Ḥabībah (the daughter of Abū Sufyān). They marched towards the Port of al-Shu‘aybah, then crossed the Red Sea. When they learned that the situation was getting better, they returned home. As the situation was not so good as had been expected, then the Muslims migrated again to Ḥabashah consisting of 83 men and 18 women, led by Ja‘far ibn Abī Ṭālib, taking a different route. They crossed the Red Sea from the Port of Jeddah heading towards Sawakin. The third migration was to Madinah which took place in 622 CE. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd r.a. participated in the 29 military expeditions led by the Prophet. In the battle of Badr which took place in 2 AH as a share in the booty the Prophet gave him the sword of Abū Jahl. One of many reasons the Quraysh aristocrats refused to sit with the Prophet s.a.w. and listen to him was that his companions were weak people whom they considered belonging to the weak and ْ such as ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd, “the oppressed people )‫(المُسْ َتضْ َع ِفيْن‬, son of the mother of a slave”, Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ (d. 20/640) the Abyssinian slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf (later freed bought and freed by Abū Bakr), Suhayb ibn Sinān (d. 39/659) the Roman, Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt (d. 37/657), and ‘Ammār ibn Yāssir (d. 37/657) the slave of Banī Makhzūm. There were many examples for these, such as: a. Mujāhid narrated that Bilāl and Ibn Mas‘ūd were with the Prophet s.a.w. and the Quraysh said that if it were not because of the presence of these two humiliated persons (Bilāl and Ibn Mas‘ūd), they would have sat with him. The Prophet s.a.w. would

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not even drive away his companions for the sake of the Quraysh noblemen. b. Ibn Mas‘ūd narrated that the notables among the Quraysh were passing by the Prophet s.a.w. who was with Ṣuhayb, ‘Ammār, Bilāl, Khabbāb, and others among weak Muslims. They said, “O Muhammad, are you content with them for their being among your people? Are they among people whom Allah has given good luck among us? Are we going to be followers of them? Drive them away from you, and hopefully we would follow you after that.” c. Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ narrated: “We were being with the Prophet s.a.w. when the idolaters told him to turn us away from him, the six of us, Ibn Mas‘ūd, Bilāl, a man from Hudhayl tribe, and two men whose names were unknown, and myself. He was still considering whether turning us away would win over their hearts and make them accept Islam, when it was revealed: ‫ونا َوجْ َه ُاها َما‬ ‫ُونا َر َّب ُه ْاما ِب ْال َغ َداِاةا َو ْال َعشِ يااي ُِري ُد َا‬ ‫ِينا َي ْدع َا‬ ‫لا َت ْط ُر ِاداالَّذ َا‬ ‫َو َ ا‬ ‫كا َعلَي ِْه ْامامِنْاا َشيْ ءا ا‬ ‫كامِنْاا ِح َس ِاب ِه ْامامِنْاا َشيْ ءاا َو َماامِنْاا ِح َس ِاب َا‬ ‫َعلَ ْي َا‬ َّ ‫ِنا‬ )52:‫ِينا(األنعام‬ ‫الظالِم َا‬ ‫ونام َا‬ ‫َف َت ْط ُر َد ُه ْاما َف َت ُك َا‬ And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the unjust. (Q. 6:52) The above examples are the occasions that led to the revelation of the above verse. Like hitting two birds with one stone the above verse was the reply and the objection to the Quraysh’s request to turn away his followers as a pre-condition for their acceptance to have a discourse and listen to him. Moreover, those Prophet’s followers who were despised by these Quraysh elite were praised by Allah as pious people. “Those who invoke their Lord” are those who preserve the obligatory five-daily prayers in congregation according to Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid and al-Ḥasan. Another view is that it means reading the

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Qur’ān, and yet, another view says that it means starting their day with invocation for guidance before working, ending their day after working with invocation of forgiveness. “Seeking His Face” means their being sincere in their worship and work solely for the sake of Allah. Ibn Mas‘ūd was praised by the Prophet s.a.w. so much that he said,

‫تامُسْ َت ْخلِ ًفاا‬ ‫ّللا ُا َعلَ ْي ِاها َو َسلَّ َام لَوْاا ُك ْن ُا‬ ‫صلَّىا ا‬ ‫لا َِّا‬ ‫لا َرسُو ُا‬ ‫ا َقا َا‬:‫ل‬ ‫ا َقا َا‬، ٍّ‫َعنْاا َعلِي‬ َ ‫ّللاا‬ ُ ‫ْرا َم‬ )‫ْناأُماا َعبْداا(رواهاابناماجة‬ ‫تااب َا‬ ‫ا َلسْ َت ْخلَ ْف ُا‬،‫ورة‬ ‫أَ َح ًداا َعنْاا َغي ِا‬ َ ‫ش‬ Narrated by ‘Ali, the Messenger of Allah s.a.w. said, “If I were to appoint anyone over my nation without consultation, I would have appointed Ibn Umm ‘Abd (i.e., Ibn Mas‘ūd) )Reported by Ibn Mājah)

‫ا‬ Ibn Mas‘ūd was praised by the Prophet s.a.w. for his knowledge of the Qur’ān and his recitation. He said that Abū Bakr and ‘Umar spent one evening with the Prophet s.a.w. When they went out and were passing him reciting the Qur’ān, he said to them: )‫ْناأُماا َعبْداا(مسنداأبياحنيفة‬ ‫ا َف ْل َي ْق َر ْأاهُا َع َلىاق َِرا َءِاةااب ِا‬،‫آنا َك َماا َن َز َل‬ ‫َمنْاا َسرَّ اهُاأَنْاا َي ْق َراأَا ْالقُرْ َا‬ Whoever would like to read the Qur’ān as it was revealed, let him read according to the recitation of Ibn Umm ‘Abd (i.e., Ibn Mas‘ūd) ‫( ا‬Musnad Abū Ḥanīfah)1 The Prophet said further that if Ibn Mas‘ūd pray for something Allah would accept his prayer. ‘Umar tried to be the first one who brought the good news to him, but he was overtaken by Abū Bakr. So, Ibn Mas‘ūd prayed: ‫ ا‬،‫لا َي ْن َف ُد‬ ‫ا َو َنعِيمًاا َ ا‬،ُ‫لا َي ُزول‬ ‫كاإِي َما ًناا َدا ِئمًاا َ ا‬ ‫اللَّ ُه َّاماإِنياأَسْ أَل ُ َا‬ ‫كافِيا َج َّن ِاةا ْال ُخ ْل ِادا(مسنداأبياحنيفة) ا‬ ‫ا َوم َُرا َف َق َاةا َن ِبي َا‬ O Allah, I ask You permanent and perpetual faith, ً ‫آنا َغ‬ In another version, the Prophet said: ‫ا َف ْل َي ْق َر ْأهُا َعلَىا‬،‫ضاا َك َمااأ ُ ْن ِز َل‬ ‫َمنْااأَ َحبَّااأَنْاا َي ْق َراأَا ْال ُقرْ َا‬ )‫ْناأُماا َعبْدا(رواهاابناماجة‬ ‫“ ق َِرا َءِاةااب ِا‬Whoever would like to read the Qur’an tenderly as it was revealed, let him read according to the recitation of Ibn Umm ‘Abd (i.e., Ibn Mas‘ūd).” (Reported by Ibn Mājah). 1

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continuous blessing and accompanying your Prophet in Your Eternal Paradise (Musnad Abū Ḥanīfah) The Prophet also liked to hear the Qur’ān recited by Ibn Masūd, although it was revealed to him. So, Ibn Mas‘ūd read sūrat al-Nisā’ to him. When he read ‫ِينا َك َفرُواا‬ ‫ا َي ْو َمئِذاا َي َودااالَّذ َا‬.‫كا َعلَىا َهؤُ َل ِاءا َش ِهي ًدا‬ ‫ْفاإِ َذاا ِج ْئ َناامِنْاا ُكلااأُمَّةاا ِب َش ِهيداا َو ِج ْئ َناا ِب َا‬ ‫َف َكي َا‬ ً ‫ّللاا َحد‬ )12-14‫ا‬:‫ِيثاا(النساء‬ ‫ُونا ََّا‬ ‫لا َي ْك ُتم َا‬ ‫لالَوْاا ُت َس َّوىا ِب ِه ُاما ْاألَرْ ضُاا َو َ ا‬ ‫صوُ ااالرَّ سُو َا‬ َ ‫َو َع‬ How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you as a witness against those people. On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that they were buried in the earth, but they will never be able to hide a single fact from Allah (Q 4: 41-42). Upon hearing this, the Prophet shed tears and said to him, "Enough, enough, Ibn Mas‘ūd." The Prophet s.a.w. mentioned Ibn Mas‘ūd as one of the four people from whom the reading of the Qur’ān should be taken. He said: ‫نا َاكعْابا َاو ُام َاعا ِاذاْاب ِا‬ ‫ن‬ ‫عْابدا َاواأ َُابيااْاب ِا‬ ‫ابنااأ َُاما َا‬ ‫ا ِا‬:‫آنا ِامنْاااأَرْاَاب َاعة‬ ‫اْاق َارؤُاواا ْالاقُرْا َا‬ )‫ا(حديثاسفياناالثوري‬.‫ح َاذْايَافة‬ ‫لىا ِاأبيا ُا‬ ‫سالِاما َاموْا َا‬ ‫جَابلا َاو َا‬ ‫َا‬ Learn the Qur’ān from four people: Ibn Umm ‘Abd (Ibn Mas‘ūd), Ubayy Ibn Ka‘b and Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, and Sālim Maulā (Client of) Abī Ḥudhayfah (Ḥadīth of Sufyān al-Thawrī) Although Ibn Mas‘ūd claimed that he knew where the sūrahs (chapters) of the Qur’ān were revealed and their contexts, he would come to someone who had better understanding than himself and would reach him on a camel’s back. When the caliph ‘Umar sent Ibn Mas‘ūd to Kufah as a judge, to be in charge of the Bayt al-Māl (Public Treasury), and to teach people about religion, he offered him a fixed salary as he did with other ṣaḥābah (companions of the Prophet). He refused the offer and said,

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“Why do you try to turn me to the world.” ‘Umar wrote to the people of Kufah, telling them that by sending Ibn Mas‘ūd to them, he had given them preference over himself. Soon the city turned into the third most important centre of learning after Makkah and Madinah. Among his students was the fifth caliph, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al‘Azīz, and the Ḥanafī madhhab (school of jurisprudence) was heavily influenced by the fiqh of Ibn Mas‘ūd, as Abū Ḥanīfah and his masters were Kufis. Ibn Mas‘ūd related 848 ḥadīths (Prophetic traditions), among which are as follows: ُ ‫اإِ َذااأَ َرا َاداأَ َح ُد ُك ْاماأَنْاا َي ْخ‬ ‫لِلا َنحْ َم ُداهُا َو َنسْ َتعِي ُن ُاه‬ ‫ا ْال َح ْم ُادا ِ َِّا‬:‫ل‬ ‫اج ِاةا َف ْل َي ْب َدْاأا َو ْل َيقُ ْا‬ ‫ط َا‬ َ ‫با ُخ ْط َب َاةا ْال َح‬ ُ ‫الِلامِنْاا‬ ‫ا َو َمنْاايُضْ لِ ْا‬،ُ‫لالَه‬ ‫ل‬ ‫لامُضِ َّا‬ ‫ّللا ُا َف َ ا‬ ‫ا َمنْاا َي ْهدِيا َّا‬،‫ُوراأَ ْنفُسِ َنا‬ ‫شر ِا‬ ‫ُوذا ِب َِّا‬ ‫ا َو َنع ُا‬،ُ‫ا َو َنسْ َت ْغ ِف ُره‬ ‫ا َوأَ ْش َه ُاداأَنَّاام َُح َّم ًداا َع ْب ُداهُا‬،ُ‫كا َله‬ ‫ل ا َش ِري َا‬ ‫ّللا ُا َوحْ َداهُا َ ا‬ ‫لا َّا‬ ‫لاإِ َل َاهاإِ َّ ا‬ ‫ا َوأَ ْش َه ُاداأَنْاا َ ا‬،ُ‫ِيا َله‬ ‫لا َهاد َا‬ ‫ا َف َ ا‬ ‫لا َتمُو ُتنَّا‬ ‫قا ُت َقا ِت ِاها َو َ ا‬ ‫ّللاا َح َّا‬ ‫ِيناآ َم ُنوااا َّتقُواا ََّا‬ ‫ا َيااأَي َهااالَّذ َا‬:‫ت‬ ‫ا ُث َّاما َي ْق َراأ ُا َه ِذِاها ْاْل َيا ِا‬،‫َو َرسُول ُ ُاها‬ ‫ اا َيااأَي َهااال َّناسُااا َّتقُواا َر َّب ُك ُاماالَّذِيا َخلَ َق ُك ْاما‬،)402‫ا‬:‫ُونا(آلاعمران‬ ‫لا َوأَ ْن ُت ْامامُسْ لِم َا‬ ‫اإِ َّ ا‬ ‫الا َك ِثيرً اا َو ِن َسا ًاءا َوا َّتقُواا ََّا‬ ‫ّللا‬ ‫ثا ِم ْن ُه َماا ِر َج ً ا‬ ‫قا ِم ْن َهاا َز ْو َج َهاا َو َب َّا‬ ‫مِنْاا َن ْفساا َوا ِح َدةاا َو َخلَ َا‬ ‫ا‬،)4‫ا‬:‫ان َعلَ ْي ُك ْاما َرقِيبًاا(النساء‬ ‫ّللاَا َك َا‬ ‫ونا ِب ِاها َو ْاألَرْ َحا َاماإِنَّاا َّا‬ ‫الَّذِيا َت َسا َءل ُ َا‬ ‫ل ا َسدِي ًداا‬ ‫ّللاا َوقُولُواا َق ْو ً ا‬ ‫ِيناآ َم ُنوااا َّتقُواا ََّا‬ ‫ا َيااأَي َهااالَّذ َا‬ )‫)اا(رواهاالبخاري‬70‫ا‬:‫(األحزاب‬ If anyone of you wants to give a prerequisite sermon he should say‫اا َع ْب ُدها َو َرسُول ُ ُاها‬...ُ‫لِلا َنحْ َم ُداهُا َو َنسْ َتعِي ُنه‬ ‫ ا ْال َح ْم ُادا ِ َِّا‬then read these verses:(‫ُونا‬ ‫ِيناآ َم ُنوااا َّتقُواا َّا‬ ‫( َيااأَي َهااالَّذ َا‬Q. 3:102) , َ ‫امُسْ ِلم‬...‫ّللا‬ ‫( َيااأَي َهااال َّناسُااا َّتقُواا َر َّب ُك ُام … َعلَ ْي ُك ْاما َرقِيبًا‬Q. 4:1), and ‫ِين‬ ‫َيااأَي َهااالَّذ َا‬ ‫لاا َسدِي ًدااا‬ ‫ّللاَا َوقُولُواا َق ْو ً ا‬ ‫( آ َم ُنوااا َّتقُواا َّا‬Q. 33:70) (Reported by al-Bukhārī) This is what we used to do as the introduction of our Friday khuṭbah, although sometimes we do not recite the whole verses. When Ibn Mas‘ūd was in his death-bed, ‘Uthmān (d. 35/ 656) visited him, and they had a conversation approximately like this: ‘Uthmān, “Is there anything that bothers you?” Ibn Mas‘ūd, “My sin bothers me”.

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U. “Do you need anything?” IM. “The mercy of my Lord.” U. “Shall I take to your account all that is due to you from the Bait alMāl (Public Treasury) that you have left unclaimed?" IM. “I do not need it.” U. “Let it be for your daughters after you.” IM. “Do you fear poverty for my children? I have told them to read Sūrah al-Wāqi‘ah [chapter 56] every night, for I have heard the Prophet s.a.w. saying, “Whoever reads Sūrah al-Wāqi‘ah every night shall never be afflicted by poverty.” Ibn Mas‘ūd r.a. died in Madinah in 32 AH/650 CE and was buried in the Baqī‘ Cemetery at the age of 63. May Allah reward him for his dedication to Islam!!! (CIVIC, 12 June, 2015) Bibliography: al-Maktabah al-Shāmilah Hatta, Ahmad etal. The Great History of Muhammad s.a.w. Jakata: Maghfirah Pustaka, 2011. http://www.inter-islam.org/Biographies/abdullahibnmasood.htm http://sahabastories.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/abdullaah-ibnmasud-r-a.html http://www.islamiska.org/e/masud.htm http://www.sunnah.org/history/Sahaba/masud.html http://islamicencyclopedia.org/public/index/topicDetail/id/34 http://www.islamicvoice.com/december.2003/child.htm#abmj http://www.kitaba.org/articles/abdullah-ibn-masud/ http://ahadith.co.uk/hadithbynarrator.php?n=Abdullah+bin+Masud &bid=1&let=A