Worldly Life through Divine Eyes

Qur'aanic Verse 57:20:

Transliteration:

20. IAAlamoo annama alhayatu alddunya laAAibun walahwun wazeenatun watafakhurun baynakum watakathurun fee al-amwali waal-awladi kamathali ghaythin aAAjaba alkuffara nabatuhu thumma yaheeju fatarahu musfarran thumma yakoonu hutaman wafee al-akhirati AAathabun shadeedun wamaghfiratun mina Allahi waridwanun wama alhayatu alddunya illa mataAAu alghuroori

Translation:

20. Beware! The life of this world is only a game and a pastime, a show, and mutual boasting and out-rivaling each other in riches and children. It is like the growth of vegetation after the rain, which makes the skeptic wonder, but which then withers away, turns yellow and becomes worthless stubble. And in the Hereafter,  severe punishment, forgiveness from Allah and His Pleasure! And the life of this world is nothing but means of deception.

A Star does Perish

Qur'aanic Verse 53:1:

Transliteration:

1. Waalnnajmi itha hawa

Translation:

1. By the star when it perishes!¹

^{Study Note:}

1. The Arabic word hawa has been used in Verse 20:81in the sense of something getting perished. But, here, the people living at the time the Qur’aan was revealed – and for centuries thereafter – had  difficulty in understanding a star getting perished or destroyed. So those people rendered the said Arabic word as ‘sets’ or ‘disappears’. And they understood the Verse as alluding to a star that disappears from the sky as day breaks. But this obviously is a contrived rendering. At day-break, not one, but all stars [other than the Sun of course] disappear to the naked human eye. It is but an illusion. Now, when human knowledge has taken a quantum jump, we know for a fact that stars do get destroyed! Take a look at this video. Qur’aan is a living Book valid for all times till the Last Day. We cannot hold it hostage to the limited understanding of any people in the past.

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The above is extracted from yet-to-be-published Qur;aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Earth Surface

Qur'aanic Verse 51:48:

Transliteration:

48. Waal-arda farashnaha faniAAma almahidoona

Translation:

48. And the earth - We prepared its crust, and how well have We prepared it!⁸

^{Study Note:}

8. Imagine what would happen if the earth surface had not its ups and downs: we would not have any land; water would envelope it entirely!

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Mind-boggling

Qur'aanic Verse 51:7:

Transliteration:

7. Waalssama-i thati alhubuki

Translation:

7. By the heaven full of perfectly defined pathways²

^{Study Note:}

2. One might well have seen a circus artiste keeping onlookers spellbound with his artistry of playing with 3 or 4 balls with his two hands continuously for a few minutes without the balls crashing against one another or without their being floored. But the artiste is a human being after all. He can sustain the show only for a limited period of time and with imited number of balls. But consider the superhuman Artiste Who has been sustaining such a Show for an infinitely long time now and with innumerable balls [heavenly bodies] billions of times bigger than the poor circus artiste can ever handle. We are witness to this Show day in and day out without being ever spellbound by it or without ever giving recognition to the Great Artiste! The Show is brought about by the interplay of innumerable centripetal and centrifugal forces. The mathematical precision with which this is done is simply mind-boggling.

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Role of Dust Particles in Cloud Formation

Qur'aanic Verses 51:1 to 51:4:

Transliterations:

1. Waalththariyati tharwan

2. Faalhamilati wiqran

3. Faaljariyati yusran

4. Faalmuqassimati amran


Transations:

1. By the scattering [winds] that scatter [dust particles]

2. Then bear a load [of tiny water globues condensing around the dust particles]

3. Then sail smoothly along

4. And then execute given task of apportioning [rainfall].<sup>1


Study Note:</sup>

1. You may like to see blogpost Cloud Formation & Rainfall in this context. The role of dust particles in this natural process has been discovered very recently, as late as in 2011 [source], while it was hinted at in the Qur’aan over 1400 years ago!

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Proscribed!

Qur'aanic Verses 50:39 & 50:40:

Transliterations:

39. Faisbir AAala ma yaqooloona wasabbih bihamdi rabbika qabla tulooAAi alshshamsi waqabla alghuroobi

40. Wamina allayli fasabbihhu waadbara alssujoodi

Translations:

39. Have patience, then, over what they say, and glorify your Lord with praise, before the rising of the sun and before its setting.⁶

40. And glorify Him during parts of the night, and post prostrations!⁶

^{Study Note:}

6. These two Verses tell us that we should keep remembering Allah, with all His Glory, constantly throughout the time we are awake while doing our mundane work. That is, besides our Salah timings as prescribed in Verses 17:78, 11:114 & 2:238. During Salah, of course, all mundane work – and even thought – are proscribed!

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Conflicting Voices Within

Qur'aanic Verse 50:17:

Transliteration:

17. Ith yatalaqqa almutalaqqiyani AAani alyameeni waAAani alshshimali qaAAeedun


Translation:

17. When the two frequently confronting voices, one located on the right and one on the left, confront each other⁵

^{Study Note:}

5. Man has frequently to make a choice between two conflicting urges arising in his mind. To give an example from real life published in newspapers a few years ago, a woman found out that her young son had committed a crime. Her natural instinct was to hide this fact and save her son from punishment he was liable to under the law. But she was an Allah-fearing woman. And her conscience told her that this world’s punishment is better than the punishment in the Hereafter. So she herself took her son to the authorities that day! It is such conflicting views arising in a human mind that this Verse is alluding to here.

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Mountains

Qur'aanic Verse 15:19:

Transliteration:

19. Waal-arda madadnaha waalqayna feeha rawasiya waanbatna feeha min kulli shay-in mawzoonin

Translation:

19. And We have spread out the earth and cast⁴ mountains into it. And We have caused every appropriate thing to grow in it.

Study Note:

4. Science does not yet seem to have come to definite conclusions about the formation of mountains. And this word used here appears to suggest that mountains were thrown or bombarded on to the surface of the earth from outer space. Maybe, eons ago, during the formation of the earth, parts from an exploding star impounded the earth and the mountains were formed. Remember that mountains have deep roots inside the earth. Otherwise they should be flattened out because of the tremendous speed at which the earth rotates.

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Above is an extract from Qur'aanic Studies Manzil III

Mohammad Shafi

Treaty of Hudaibiah

Qur'aanic Verse 48:1:

Transliteration:

1. Inna fatahna laka fathan mubeenan

Translation:

1. We have indeed granted you a clear victory.¹

^{Study Note:}

1. Verses occurring later in this Chapter indicate that the victory mentioned here is neither that at the battle of Badr nor the conquest of Mecca. In between those two events, Prophet Muhammad [peace on him] had set off from Medina, with some of his companions, to perform Umrah at Mecca which was still in the hands of the polytheists. On their way, the party was stopped at a place called Hudaibiah and not allowed to proceed further. Negotiations between the party and the Meccans followed, wherein, the Muslims agreed to return to Medina that year, and the Meccans agree to allow them to come for the pilgrimage next year. Although the treaty enabled peace for the future propagation of Islam, certain terms therein were apparently humiliating for the Musims. Therefore, most of the Muslims could not then understand why it was being called a victory. They nevertheless reiterated there their oath of allegiance to the Prophet. Only later on did they realize that the extended period of peace they gained was the real victory; for, Islam spread rapidly therein.

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VI.

Mohammad Shafi

Meaning of Arabic Word 'Aalameen'

Qur'aanic Verse 1:2:

Transliteration:

2. Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameena


Translation:

2. The praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds <sup>5


Study Note:</sup>

5.  This is the dictionary meaning of the Arabic word aalameen. It is in plural: worlds, and not world. In most of the places where this word has been used in the Qur'aan, it is accompanied by the word Rabb, as in this place. But there are a few places where it isn't, as in Verses 2:47, 3:97, 6:86, 6:90, 21:107 and 29:6. A close study of these latter Verses would show that the word is used in the same sense as in the sentence, "My world is different from yours." Every individual life is one's own individual world in the sense that his/her environment, conditions of living, circle of contacts etc. are different from others'. One's own world is, in other words, one's own individual life. It is to these millions of individual worlds that the Qur'aan refers to as aalameen. Allah thus declares that He is the Rabb of every individual life. If every individual would but submit completely to His will and obey His commands as given in the Qur'aan, the Lord will surely nourish and lead the individual's life to Success and Salvation! In the phrase Rabbulaalameen, however, aalameen would include jinns, angels, all living things (besides human) and all inanimate things in the entire universe as well. Refer in this context Moses’ reply to Pharaoh in Verses 24, 26 and 28 of Chapter 32. (Manzil V).

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The above is derived from Qur'aanic Studies Manzil I

Mohammad Shafi