Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
Yesterday morning I finished Ali Imran. It was an expanding experience. I had a conversation with Master Yoda which I was never previously able to engage in. Not only did I gain a better understanding of sura Baqara, but I also learned about how and who can interpret Qur'an, the place of Christians and Jews in Islam, lineage of the prophets, Saint Maryum (Mary) God's peace be upon her, and so much more.
I feel like I've entered a peaceful room. Ali Imran has satiated my thirst for a cool drink of water and created a stream of knowledge to my heart. I hope I continue to be illuminated by the endless knowledge Allah has revealed to us in this sura. May Allah firmly establish it in our hearts.
Let's see. Maybe we can summarize some of it's awesomeness.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tha-moon? What's that?
Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
Do you know what a thumun is? What about a nisf? A rubu'? Yeah I didn't either. But these are all divisions of the hizb which is 1/2 of a juz. There are 30 ajzaa' (juz plural) in the Qur'an so there are 60 ahzab (hizb plural I think) in the Qur'an. When taking a memorization approach to the Qur'an it is the hizb that serves as the main marker of progress, not the juz. For me it seems to make it easier to get through more of the Qur'an faster. While the divisions of the hizb make it easier to revise and maintain the memorization.
A hizb is divided three ways. First is in half, simple enough. One half hizb is one quarter juz, easy. This is called a nisf. Next is the rubu' one quarter of a hizb or 1/8 of a juz. Followed by the smallest division, a thumun, one eighth of a hizb or 1/16 of a juz.
I had to learn this because in order to memorize Qur'an I must have structure and form, both of which I must struggle to attain. But isn't that what Islam is? To train the self in the inner and outer forms of worship? Which brings me to the new Qur'an schedule: a thumun a day five to six days a week. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Pray... for me.
It used to be that I could not sit for two hours and read Qur'an non-stop. But now that I am able to do that (ALLAHU AKBAR) I must move on to the next stage, which is to be able to sit and read three or more ajza' nonstop, from memory, without being distracted. This is hard. Oh My!!! This is hard.
It's more intense than Master Yoda's training in the art of using the force. I have to free my mind from everything around me and concentrate fully on Allah and His last message to humanity. Then suddenly I'll hear the kettle whistling in the kitchen and I'll start thinking about peppermint tea with cream and honey. "No, no! Focus, concentrate." I tell my self. Then the phone rings. Then I have to use the bathroom. Then I can't remember my place so I have to go back to the last aya I remember reciting and continue on from there. Then My stomach starts talking to me, and I take a few sips of water to quiet it because it's not not for a smoothie break yet. and on, and on and on...
Trying to control my thoughts is like being on the battle field with Satan, sword in my hand, and he keeps throwing spit balls at me. I'm so annoyed from the slime hitting my face and sides (wham, whAM, SPLASH) that I cannot get close enough to cut him down at last. But that's the battle. And as long as I remain on the field of Qur'an, I will win it eventually.
Master Yoda once told me that if a person dies while in pursuit of memorizing the Qur'an, she/he gets the reward of completing it. That is a comforting thought.
As salaamu alaikum,
Do you know what a thumun is? What about a nisf? A rubu'? Yeah I didn't either. But these are all divisions of the hizb which is 1/2 of a juz. There are 30 ajzaa' (juz plural) in the Qur'an so there are 60 ahzab (hizb plural I think) in the Qur'an. When taking a memorization approach to the Qur'an it is the hizb that serves as the main marker of progress, not the juz. For me it seems to make it easier to get through more of the Qur'an faster. While the divisions of the hizb make it easier to revise and maintain the memorization.
A hizb is divided three ways. First is in half, simple enough. One half hizb is one quarter juz, easy. This is called a nisf. Next is the rubu' one quarter of a hizb or 1/8 of a juz. Followed by the smallest division, a thumun, one eighth of a hizb or 1/16 of a juz.
I had to learn this because in order to memorize Qur'an I must have structure and form, both of which I must struggle to attain. But isn't that what Islam is? To train the self in the inner and outer forms of worship? Which brings me to the new Qur'an schedule: a thumun a day five to six days a week. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Pray... for me.
It used to be that I could not sit for two hours and read Qur'an non-stop. But now that I am able to do that (ALLAHU AKBAR) I must move on to the next stage, which is to be able to sit and read three or more ajza' nonstop, from memory, without being distracted. This is hard. Oh My!!! This is hard.
It's more intense than Master Yoda's training in the art of using the force. I have to free my mind from everything around me and concentrate fully on Allah and His last message to humanity. Then suddenly I'll hear the kettle whistling in the kitchen and I'll start thinking about peppermint tea with cream and honey. "No, no! Focus, concentrate." I tell my self. Then the phone rings. Then I have to use the bathroom. Then I can't remember my place so I have to go back to the last aya I remember reciting and continue on from there. Then My stomach starts talking to me, and I take a few sips of water to quiet it because it's not not for a smoothie break yet. and on, and on and on...
Trying to control my thoughts is like being on the battle field with Satan, sword in my hand, and he keeps throwing spit balls at me. I'm so annoyed from the slime hitting my face and sides (wham, whAM, SPLASH) that I cannot get close enough to cut him down at last. But that's the battle. And as long as I remain on the field of Qur'an, I will win it eventually.
Master Yoda once told me that if a person dies while in pursuit of memorizing the Qur'an, she/he gets the reward of completing it. That is a comforting thought.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Ali 'Imran: Ayah 7
Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
Ramadan Mubarak.
He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
3:7
So finally we have reached aya 7. Praise God!!! And there is much contained within this verse. We also get more examples of the link between Ali 'Imran and Suratul-Baqara, but I'm not going to go into that just yet.
This aya explains the types of verses that are found in the Qur'an, and what our approach to understanding each should be. There are at least two types of ayaat: the fundamental verses of established meaning, which are the basis of the book, and the allegorical -open to interpretation- verses, the others.
Since Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, has given us verses that are open to interpretation, He has also given us clear guidelines, based on the fundamental verses, whereby we may interpret the allegorical verses. In other words the allegorical verses can only be interpreted into a meaning that is supported by the clear verses of the Qur'an.
In the dictionary allegory means: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. This definition further clarifies my intended meaning, in that a hidden meanings in the Qur'an can become apparent to anyone but those meanings must be supported by the established verses of the Qur'an in order to be valid. The difference, however, is that these verses go beyond the mere interpretability indicated in the definition, rather Allah has intended with them more than one meaning, and we diminish our understanding of the Qur'an if we try to suppress some of its meanings for any reason.
A good example of this is in sura Al-Baqara aya 228:
And the divorced women should keep themselves in waiting for three courses
Is the meaning of "three courses" three menstrual cycles or three cycles of purity? The answer is both. Both meanings are intended and both are used. One of the wisdoms I see in this is the lenience and mercy of Allah to us. He gives us different ways to do the same thing so that everyone can practice at least one thing easily.
Then aya 7 says:
But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings
My first impulse from reading the english interpretation of this aya is that it must be bad to "follow the part that is allegorical," but is that what Allah is saying? Reading the verse in arabic as Allah revealed it, (with the help of master Yoda of course) I see that "following the part that is allegorical" is connected to something else "seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings." And all of that together is the attribute of one with a perverse heart. And that leads to my next question
What does it mean to have a perverse heart and to seek discord? I'm thinking hard now, because there is much from the Qur'an that we use to divide ourselves. Could an example of this perversity be in those who want to practice homosexuality and claim that it is not a sin by twisting and reshaping the words of Qur'anic interpretations? Or could an example of this be some of our sisters who don't want to cover their hair and they twist the words of the Qur'an stating that it is only necessary to cover the "bosom." Hmmm...
I wonder what can be at the root of all this? The common threads I keep returning to are a lack of submission and a lack of knowledge. The Qur'an is clear and everything that is unclear is explained in detail in the hadith. So what's the problem? I hope the end of this aya can explain this for us.
"but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge..."
In the Qur'an there is no punctuation so let me show you another meaning of this aya without the punctuation.
"but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge"
Here Allah shows us the qualification for one to interpret the Qur'an: a firm grounding in knowledge. The Prophet interpreted the Qur'an and gave some of his companions the ability to do this as well. The best example I can think of is Ibn Abbas.
Back to that point about submission. How can we submit to Allah if we don't know what He has commanded us to submit to? This part of the aya demonstrates to us who has the right to interpret the Qur'an: those firmly grounded in knowledge. Like the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him. And those among the companions who were given permission to interpret the Qur'an like ibn Abbas, and the scholars of the past who systematically categorized knowledge so that the later generations would have access to it.
يقولون (They) "say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding."
I believe in the book the whole of it is from Allah, and I pray He makes us people of understanding.
P.S.
Yes I know those last two paragraphs are redundant. But I couldn't figure out a better way to say it. hmmm.................hmmm........... nope....
I got nothing
As salaamu alaikum,
Ramadan Mubarak.
He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
3:7
So finally we have reached aya 7. Praise God!!! And there is much contained within this verse. We also get more examples of the link between Ali 'Imran and Suratul-Baqara, but I'm not going to go into that just yet.
This aya explains the types of verses that are found in the Qur'an, and what our approach to understanding each should be. There are at least two types of ayaat: the fundamental verses of established meaning, which are the basis of the book, and the allegorical -open to interpretation- verses, the others.
Since Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, has given us verses that are open to interpretation, He has also given us clear guidelines, based on the fundamental verses, whereby we may interpret the allegorical verses. In other words the allegorical verses can only be interpreted into a meaning that is supported by the clear verses of the Qur'an.
In the dictionary allegory means: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. This definition further clarifies my intended meaning, in that a hidden meanings in the Qur'an can become apparent to anyone but those meanings must be supported by the established verses of the Qur'an in order to be valid. The difference, however, is that these verses go beyond the mere interpretability indicated in the definition, rather Allah has intended with them more than one meaning, and we diminish our understanding of the Qur'an if we try to suppress some of its meanings for any reason.
A good example of this is in sura Al-Baqara aya 228:
And the divorced women should keep themselves in waiting for three courses
Is the meaning of "three courses" three menstrual cycles or three cycles of purity? The answer is both. Both meanings are intended and both are used. One of the wisdoms I see in this is the lenience and mercy of Allah to us. He gives us different ways to do the same thing so that everyone can practice at least one thing easily.
Then aya 7 says:
But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings
My first impulse from reading the english interpretation of this aya is that it must be bad to "follow the part that is allegorical," but is that what Allah is saying? Reading the verse in arabic as Allah revealed it, (with the help of master Yoda of course) I see that "following the part that is allegorical" is connected to something else "seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings." And all of that together is the attribute of one with a perverse heart. And that leads to my next question
What does it mean to have a perverse heart and to seek discord? I'm thinking hard now, because there is much from the Qur'an that we use to divide ourselves. Could an example of this perversity be in those who want to practice homosexuality and claim that it is not a sin by twisting and reshaping the words of Qur'anic interpretations? Or could an example of this be some of our sisters who don't want to cover their hair and they twist the words of the Qur'an stating that it is only necessary to cover the "bosom." Hmmm...
I wonder what can be at the root of all this? The common threads I keep returning to are a lack of submission and a lack of knowledge. The Qur'an is clear and everything that is unclear is explained in detail in the hadith. So what's the problem? I hope the end of this aya can explain this for us.
"but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge..."
In the Qur'an there is no punctuation so let me show you another meaning of this aya without the punctuation.
"but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge"
Here Allah shows us the qualification for one to interpret the Qur'an: a firm grounding in knowledge. The Prophet interpreted the Qur'an and gave some of his companions the ability to do this as well. The best example I can think of is Ibn Abbas.
Back to that point about submission. How can we submit to Allah if we don't know what He has commanded us to submit to? This part of the aya demonstrates to us who has the right to interpret the Qur'an: those firmly grounded in knowledge. Like the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him. And those among the companions who were given permission to interpret the Qur'an like ibn Abbas, and the scholars of the past who systematically categorized knowledge so that the later generations would have access to it.
يقولون (They) "say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding."
I believe in the book the whole of it is from Allah, and I pray He makes us people of understanding.
P.S.
Yes I know those last two paragraphs are redundant. But I couldn't figure out a better way to say it. hmmm.................hmmm........... nope....
I got nothing
Monday, May 3, 2010
The End of My Challenge
Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
May 1, 2010 was my deadline for the challenge. No I didn't win and complete the sura, but I made it to aya 43 (yaay!!!) and that was a challenge indeed. How did you do? Did you get at least 1 aya? If you did alhamdulillah. If you didn't alhamdulillah.
But I tell ya... Even though I completely bummed out, I didn't make it halfway to my goal :( , I surely am excited. Even though I can still, just audibly, hear the creeping whispers of shaitan trying to discourage me from moving forward, I am mightily excited indeed. I'm sure you're wondering why I am so excited even though I didn't complete the sura. So I'll tell you.
The reason I am memorizing Qur'an is not only to finish it and be able to know that I memorized the book of Allah, but it is so that I can be purified, completed, and perfected by the book of Allah. Any progress I make towards that goal is mightily exciting indeed.
The only thing I am disappointed about is that I failed to keep you posted as I progressed through the signs of Allah. I got stuck on aya 7, and just couldn't seem to get passed that blockage. But with the help of Allah, anything is possible. So Bismillah (in the name of God) on with the show!
As salaamu alaikum,
May 1, 2010 was my deadline for the challenge. No I didn't win and complete the sura, but I made it to aya 43 (yaay!!!) and that was a challenge indeed. How did you do? Did you get at least 1 aya? If you did alhamdulillah. If you didn't alhamdulillah.
But I tell ya... Even though I completely bummed out, I didn't make it halfway to my goal :( , I surely am excited. Even though I can still, just audibly, hear the creeping whispers of shaitan trying to discourage me from moving forward, I am mightily excited indeed. I'm sure you're wondering why I am so excited even though I didn't complete the sura. So I'll tell you.
The reason I am memorizing Qur'an is not only to finish it and be able to know that I memorized the book of Allah, but it is so that I can be purified, completed, and perfected by the book of Allah. Any progress I make towards that goal is mightily exciting indeed.
The only thing I am disappointed about is that I failed to keep you posted as I progressed through the signs of Allah. I got stuck on aya 7, and just couldn't seem to get passed that blockage. But with the help of Allah, anything is possible. So Bismillah (in the name of God) on with the show!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
2:243
Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
[2:243]
Bethink thee (O Muhammad) of those of old, who went forth from their habitations in their thousands, fearing death, and Allah said unto them: Die; and then He brought them back to life. Lo! Allah is a Lord of Kindness to mankind, but most of mankind give not thanks.
As salaamu alaikum,
[2:243]
Bethink thee (O Muhammad) of those of old, who went forth from their habitations in their thousands, fearing death, and Allah said unto them: Die; and then He brought them back to life. Lo! Allah is a Lord of Kindness to mankind, but most of mankind give not thanks.
Challenge Update
Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,
Yes I have been slacking- I mean serious slackeration- in these post. Pardon me and may Allah pardon us all. No time to dwell on the past however, only time to seek forgiveness and run forward.
This is sooo exciting. I hardly know which words to type first, the excitement of memorization is jumbling my thoughts. I am on aya 20. InshaAllah Sunday morning I will memorize up to line 25, then I'll have to write some more to make sure I get ya'll caught up. Life is good when I do Qur'an. Life stands still when I don't.
If you're taking the challenge good news... Your time has been extended!!! YAAAAYY!!! WOoooHooooo. Yes I'm lame on occasion, but I don't mind. You now have until May 14 to finish 61 ayaat. That is 1 aya a day. I however must be finished on May 1 or sooner. So challengers to your corners. Put on your memorization gloves and give it a go. You definitely won't be losing out.
As salaamu alaikum,
Yes I have been slacking- I mean serious slackeration- in these post. Pardon me and may Allah pardon us all. No time to dwell on the past however, only time to seek forgiveness and run forward.
This is sooo exciting. I hardly know which words to type first, the excitement of memorization is jumbling my thoughts. I am on aya 20. InshaAllah Sunday morning I will memorize up to line 25, then I'll have to write some more to make sure I get ya'll caught up. Life is good when I do Qur'an. Life stands still when I don't.
If you're taking the challenge good news... Your time has been extended!!! YAAAAYY!!! WOoooHooooo. Yes I'm lame on occasion, but I don't mind. You now have until May 14 to finish 61 ayaat. That is 1 aya a day. I however must be finished on May 1 or sooner. So challengers to your corners. Put on your memorization gloves and give it a go. You definitely won't be losing out.
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