20th Taraweeh Summary 1445 H

1 year ago

Understanding the Quran During Taraweeh

All Praises to Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

20th Taraweeh, Ramadan 1445 Hijri
Summary of Verses 41:1 to 43:89
Sura Fussilat also known as Sura Ha-Mim Sajda - is a Makki Sura)
Sura Fussilat (Clearly Spelled Out) (Verses 41:1-54)

The Quran is a revelation from the Compassionate, the Merciful. It is a Book in which the verses are explained in detail, a Quran in Arabic for people of understanding. It proclaims good news and gives warnings (41:2-4)

Allahs Book is incorruptible. It is a book of exalted power. No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it. It is sent down by One full of Wisdom, worthy of all Praise. (41:42)

Those who reject Allahs universal Truth will meet the fate of their ancestors. Why were the people of Ad destroyed? They were arrogant in the land and would say, Who is mightier than us? (41:15) Why were the people of Thamud destroyed? As for Thamud, We offered them guidance but they preferred to remain blind rather than be guided! (41:17)

Nations that follow in the footsteps of the Ad and the Thamud will meet a similar fate. (Before pointing fingers at Western countries, Muslims will do well to review the worlds fifty or so Muslim-majority nations. These nations do not fare well by any standard of ethics, morality, governance, education, rule of law, and other criteria. Muslims need to clean their own houses first before blaming others.)

Goodness and evil cannot be equal. Believers are exhorted to repel evil with what is better. (41:34) When they do, love and friendship can replace hatred. And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint ... (41:35)

Repelling evil with what is better is challenging for people who contemplate or resort to revenge when wronged. Yet this is what the Quran instructs us to do. Revenge may bring temporary gratification, but it is corrupting and ultimately self-defeating. And if at any time an incitement to discord is made to you by the Evil one, seek refuge in Allah. He is the One Who hears and knows all things. (41:36)

The motif of rain is used throughout the Quran to illustrate Allahs creativity in resurrecting the dead. And among His Signs in this: You see the earth barren and desolate, but when We send down rain to it, it is stirred to life and yields increase. Truly, He Who gives life to the dead earth can surely give life to men who are dead. He has power over all things. (41:39)

Our fickle nature, pride, and solipsism stand in the way of our spiritual growth: Man does not tire of asking for good things, but if any ill touches him, he gives up all hope and is lost in despair. When We give him a taste of some mercy from Us after some adversity has touched him, he is sure to say, This is due to my merit When We bestow some favors on man, he turns away and becomes remote, and when evil seizes him, he is full of prolonged prayer! (41:50-52)

Each one of us must ask: Do these verses describe me? If so, we must change our ways and habits to be worthy of receiving Allahs blessings. And what better month is there than Ramadan for self-renewal?

(Sura Shura is a Makki Sura)
Sura Ash-Shura (Consultation) (Verses 42:1-53)
Islam endorsed and revived earlier religions: The same religion has He established for you that which He enjoined on Nuh. And what We have revealed to you was what we enjoined on Ibrahim, Musa, and Issa. You should remain steadfast in religion and make no divisions therein. The polytheists will find it harder to respond to your call. Allah brings closer to Him whomever He wills and He guides those who turn to Him in repentance. (42:13)

The Quran gives us the criteria by which to judge all questions of right and wrong. We must use our faculties to use these criteria frequently because Judgement may come at any moment when we least expect it: It is Allah Who has sent down the Book in truth, and the balance, and what will make you realize that perhaps the Hour is close at hand? (42:17)

In His infinite wisdom and as a manifestation of His mercy, Allah knows that fulfilling every want and need that animates us during different phases of our lives, even for the conscientious and the righteous, can be bad for us. So He gives us enough to meet our needs as He best sees fit but not so much that could lead to pride and fall. If Allah were to enlarge the provision of His Servants, they would indeed transgress beyond all bounds throughout the earth. He sends it down in due measure as He pleases, as He is well-acquainted with His servants and is watchful. (42:27)

As a prerequisite for promoting personal and social growth and preventing social decay, the Sura lists nine qualities that the community of believers must fulfill: Whatever has been bestowed upon you is but the enjoyment of this fleeting life. Better and more enduring is Allahs reward for those who (42:36-39):

believe
put trust in Allah
avoid major sins and indecencies
when angry, willing to forgive
respond to the call of the Lord
observe prayers
conduct affairs by mutual consultation
spend out of what We have given them for sustenance
when oppressed, resist and where possible, fight back

Notice the quality of conducting affairs by mutual consultation - amruhum shura baynahum - in verse 42:38. It definitively states that those in positions of power and authority must make decisions through mutual consultation with those they govern. It forms the fundamental basis for Islamic governance. This idea of conducting affairs by mutual consultation, however, is equally important within families. A tyrant in the family, frequently the husband or the father, damages society as much in the long run as a dictator who rules by fiat or force.

Patience and forgiveness are extolled as exemplary virtues: The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto in degree: but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah, for Allah loves not those who do wrong (42:40) And again, But indeed if any show patience and forgive, that would truly be an exercise of courageous will and resolution in the conduct of affairs. (42:43)

Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) received the first revelation of the Quran through angel Jibreel incrementally over twenty-three years, beginning in the month of Ramadan in 610 when he was forty until his death in 632. The Quran is the Light by which Allah guides His servants: And thus have We, by Our command, sent inspiration to you. You did not know before what was revelation and what was faith. But We have made the Quran a Light by which We guide such of Our servants as We will. And surely you do guide people to the Straight Path. (42:52)

(Sura Zukhruf is a Makki Sura)
Sura Zukhruf (Gold Ornaments) (Verses 43:1-89)
The Sura opens with the eternal nature of the Quran: By the Book that makes things clear, We have made it a Quran in Arabic, that you may be able to understand, and surely, it is the Mother of the Book, with Us, high in dignity, full of wisdom. (43:1-4)

The Sura exposes the contradiction that characterizes unbelievers: If you were to question them Who created the heavens and the earth? they would be sure to reply, They were created by Him, the Exalted in Power, Full of Knowledge. (43:9) The same contradiction is expressed in verse (43:87): If you ask them Who created them, they will certainly say, Allah! How then can they turn away from Him?

Assigning divinity in any form to anyone or anything (wealth, power, intellect, and such) but Allah is not only spiritually destructive but also logically absurd. The Arabs of the Prophets (s.a.w) time readily admitted that the heavens and the earth were created by The Almighty, the Omniscient, yet they persisted in worshiping idols. Why? Because The wealthy ones among them said, we found our forefathers following a certain religion and we guide ourselves by their footsteps! (43:23)

Blindly following the past in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary implies sealed hearts and minds that only humility and a sincere quest for true knowledge can unseal.

Allah provides us sustenance according to His wisdom, but His mercy exceeds any worldly wealth: It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in the life of this world. And we raise some of them above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others. But the mercy of your Lord is better than the wealth they amass. (43:32)

The corrosive effect of wealth and power is illustrated in the encounter between Musa and the Pharaoh. Musa (AS) appealed to Pharaoh to believe in One God and desist from oppressing the people. In his arrogant refusal, the Pharaoh declared, O my people! Is the kingdom of Egypt not mine, and are these rivers not flowing at my feet? Can you not see this? Am I not better than this insignificant, powerless man who can scarcely express himself clearly? Where are his golden bracelets and why are no angels sent down to accompany and support him? (43:51-53)

All his gold could not save Pharaoh, whose power and hubris sank with him to the bottom of the sea. One is reminded of the poem by the 18th-century English poet Thomas Gray: The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,/And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,/Awaits alike th' inevitable hour./ The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

What did Prophet Isa (RA) proclaim? Allah, He is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is the Straight Path. (43:64)

We express our devotion and service to Allah by believing in Allahs Signs, which means understanding and accepting His Will, and by merging our will completely with His Universal Will. If we can reach that goal, we will taste the ultimate fruit of success: eternal bliss because of the good lives we led on earth. My devotees! No fear shall be on you today, nor shall you grieve, those who have believed in our Signs and submitted to Us. Enter the Garden, you and your spouses, rejoicing (43:68-70) Such will be the Garden, of which you are made heirs for your good deeds in life. (43:72)

Evergreen Islamic Center, San Jose, CA 95148.
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