How to talk to Allah

Today we touch upon an aspect which is generally set aside and more often than not when someone is in distress, he starts to find some holy man to forward his request to Allah, for he thinks it is too holy or forbidden to approach directly to Allah. This happens when our scholars, mentors and imams who discourage someone talking directly to Allah and ask them to find some Wali who could forward their request to Allah, for they are thought to be pure and 'more closer to Allah.'

Well to my reckoning, this mindset is totally misleading. Allah is always close to His servants and is on the lookout for someone turning to him and make a request. In fact we have been told to memorize a few supplications and repeating these time and again to forward our case to Allah. Whereas, Allah wants us to talk to Him, in any words, any language or even in any state or place. He wants us to really talk to  Him as a child makes a request to his mother again and again till his mother gives in.

In this backdrop, we share a very enlightening lecture which is based on the following verse from Qur'an:

وَاِذَا سَاَلَـكَ عِبَادِىۡ عَنِّىۡ فَاِنِّىۡ قَرِيۡبٌؕ اُجِيۡبُ دَعۡوَةَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ فَلۡيَسۡتَجِيۡبُوۡا لِىۡ وَلۡيُؤۡمِنُوۡا بِىۡ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡشُدُوۡنَ

“And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad concerning Me, then answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.“ Surah Al-Baqarah (2:186)

Even though people can neither see God nor subject Him to any other form of sense perception this should not make them feel that God is remote from them. On the contrary, He is so close to each and every person that whenever any person so wishes he can communicate with his Lord. So much so that God hears and responds even to the prayers which remain within the innermost recesses of the heart.

People exhaust themselves by approaching false and powerless beings whom they foolishly fancy to be their deities but who have neither the power to hear nor to grant their prayers. But God, the omnipotent Lord and the absolute Master of this vast universe, Who wields all power and authority, is so close to human beings that they can always approach Him without the intercession of any intermediaries, and can put to Him their prayers and requests.

This announcement of God's closeness to man may open his eyes to the Truth, may turn him to the right way wherein lies his success and well-being.

You may now listen to one of the most eminent scholars of present times, Nouman Ali Khan, explaining how to connect to Allah by really talking to Him:

Nouman Ali Khan, born to a Pakistani family, is an American Muslim speaker and Arabic instructor who founded the Bayyinah Institute for Arabic and Qur’anic Studies, after serving as an instructor of Arabic at Nassau Community College. He has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.

Imam Ahmad reported that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari said, “We were in the company of Allah’s Messenger during a battle. Whenever we climbed a high place, went up a hill or went down a valley, we used to say, `Allah is the Most Great,’ raising our voices. The Prophet came by us and said: “O people! Be merciful to yourselves (i.e., don’t raise your voices), for you are not calling a deaf or an absent one, but One Who is All-Hearer, All-Seer. The One Whom you call is closer to one of you than the neck of his animal. O `Abdullah bin Qais (Abu Musa’s name) should I teach you a statement that is a treasure of Paradise: `La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (there is no power or strength except from Allah).” This Hadith was also recorded in the Two Sahihs, and Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah recorded similar wordings.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The supplication of the servant is granted in case he does not supplicate for sin or for severing the ties of blood, or he does not become impatient. It was said: Allah’s Messenger, what does:” If he does not grow impatient” imply? He said: That he should say like this: I supplicated and I supplicated but I did not find it being responded. and thus he becomes frustrated and abandons supplication. (Muslim :: Book 35 : Hadith 6595) 

So let us talk to Allah, specially when all alone. In fact Tahajjad is the best time when man is all alone, sitting in remote corner of his house and crying his heart out to all. One doesn't have to have any set format to talking to Allah. Say what you wan to say in any language, not necessarily Arabic and take time in doing so. Don't hurry it up. And talk to Allah with a conviction that He will fulfill His promise to listen to you and would grant you something which is best for you, not what you think what is best for you.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is our duty to convey only to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the video above are those of the scholar concerned. We have shared this view as added information in better understanding of Islam. The reader may or may not agree with the view owing to their own perception. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

For more Scholarly views and videos, please read our reference page: Scholars' Viewpoint on Important Issues Related to Islam.

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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One Minute Dua ( دُعا ) - A well worded Supplication

There is no format for a supplication to invoke the mercy of Allah for He is all ears to what we say when we talk to Him in prayers. Yet, well worded supplications not only self satisfying but also induce a hope that these beautiful words will be well received up in the heavens and aid in our forgiveness or acceptances of our woes.

I jus came across this very well worded Dua ( دُعا ) shared by sister Emma Khan at Facebook which covers everything one may need and only takes not more than a minute to read:

Oh Allah give me all the good that there is and save me from all the evil that is there. Oh Allah when it's the time of my death, take me away as one of the highest believers. And oh Allah once you have taken me away, put my soul in the place of illiyn (where all the good souls are). And oh Allah when I wake up, on the day of judgement, bring me up amongst the Prophets. And oh Allah don't let me separate from them and when they go to Jannah, take me with them to Jannah. And when they enter Jannah, make me enter Jannah and I ask the same thing for my loved ones, families, friends (and the whole ummah). Ameen

May Allah bless the person who wrote this Dua and all those reading it now and may all our hardships be eased and may all our sins and wrongdoings be forgiven. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

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Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Don't be dejected if your Dua / Supplication is not answered - Know how Dua works

The desires, problems and sufferings of man are endless. One may desire things which others have and he doesn't and makes a supplication to Allah for fulfillment of his desires. But when this supplication is not answered, he get dejected for he thinks that there has been something wrong which may have done in the past because of which his dua is not answered or he perhaps did not make a invocation as it should  have been.

Likewise, if someone is poor or sick or in some turmoil, he besieges Allah to end his sufferings. Again here all duas and supplications may not get answered. Sometimes one's lifetime passes away in utter poverty or illness and despite all his supplications, his situation remains unchanged. Naturally a man has a limited knowledge and he cannot fathom the realities unknown to him, so he loses heart in praying and get into depression.

Then there is a person who when sees someone in despair or bad times, he supplicates that he may not get into such a situation ever. Yet despite his dua, he finds him in the same sufferings and bad times for which he made a supplication to be saved off.

So what in fact is the philosophy behind acceptance or negation of our supplications?

This all happens because man is impatient and he wants that his supplications should be immediately answered. If we look back, even the  prophets have undergone test and trials, like Prophet Yaqoob wept for years for the loss of his son Yusuf or when Prophet Noah saw his son drowning he made a dua for his safety but it was not granted. Prophet Abraham (Ibraheem) prayed for his father but was asked not to for he was an infidel.

Or the example of Maryam (Mary) when she was told that she would bear a child, which came as a shock to her and she prayed that she would rather die than bearing a child when she had been chaste all along. But against her wishes and dua, a son was born to her who rose to be a prophet (Eesa/Jesus).

So all above shows that man does not know what is good or bad for him and his wishes and supplications may or may not be answered for Allah has His own plans.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said,

"Make du'a to God in a state that you are certain that your du'a will be responded to, and know that God does not respond to a du'a that originates from a negligent, inattentive heart" — Hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim from Abu-Hurayrah

There are many factors that may lead to acceptance of one's supplications. These are:

• Faith: Nothing moves without an unflinching faith in Allah. Unless one has firm and solid faith, how can he expect his supplications be answered?
• Patiance: Allah rejects supplications if the worshipper is hasty or does not have patience.
• Purity: One must have a pure and clean heart to make a dua. A person who is sinful or has haraam income and food may not qualify for acceptance of his duas.
• Good intentions: One has to make a dua with good intention for a good cause. A person's Dua will continue to be answered so long as he does not pray for something sinful or for the breaking of family ties, for a person's Dua will continue to be answered so long as he does not pray for something sinful or for the breaking of family ties." Narrated by Muslim.
• Unconditional Dua: One should never place conditions to the acceptance of his dua. Propeht Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said: "Let not any one of you say, 'O Allah, forgive me if You will, O Allah, have mercy on me if You will.' Let him be resolute in the matter, whilst knowing that no one can compel Allah to do anything." — Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim

You may like to a lecture by eminent Muslim scholar Nouman Ali Khan on How Duaa Works:

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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The Power of Dua / Invocation - A real Life Experience

We have been sharing selected supplications / invocations / dua from Qur'an for the guidance of our readers, for when we invoke the immense mercy of Allah, we believe that Allah will not turn down our woes and will grant our wishes in one form or the other. Dua, according to a Hadith, has the unique ability to change destiny (Tirmidhi).

Qur'an is replete with examples and mentions when Prophets (peace be upon them) resorted to supplications as their ultimate 'weapon' to solicit Allah's help when all their efforts would fail while reforming nations in their respective hostile environments.

Today, I share a real-life experience of the fulfillment of Dua / Invocation when made from the heart of the heart. It was many years ago that a friend told me that one of his relatives suddenly lost his eye sight and went totally blind. He underwent many eye treatments but unfortunately his eyesight could not be restored. Then it went by and I lost contact with my friend as he went abroad.

In 2018, when I started writing this blog, I wanted a Qur'an with good English translation and a friend referred me to one of his friends who had a large collection of religious books. So, I went to him and requested him for a Qur'an. While he gave me a very good translation of Qur'an which I subsequently used in a a number of my posts, we also talked about religion and related matters. 

During our discourse, he advised me to be steadfast in what task I had undertaken and never be dismayed by delays if some dua or supplication is delayed. And then he related to me his real-life experience. He told me that many years ago he lost his eye sight, now you can reconnect how Allah reconnected me with the person I mentioned before who lost his eye sight. He told me that he did not know what to do as life for him was suddenly dark and blacked out. 

So, he said that he picked up a few supplications from Qur'an and started reciting these day and night and this continued for FIVE LONG YEARS. He prayed and prayed and invoked the mercy of Allah for somehow, he had a faith that his invocation would be heard one day. And then that one day came, he said. He was asleep one night, when he saw a bright white flash of light that dazzled him and he woke up. And was amazed to find that he was able to see the room in the grim darkness of night. He said he hurriedly woke up his wife to switch on the lights and was amazed to see the colorful clothes she was wearing and the things in the room. Allah had listened to his invocations and granted him back his eyesight.

This real-life experience makes my faith in Allah's countless mercies more than ever before and I now believe that supplications and prayers can change one's destiny if these are made with complete and firm faith in Allah.

Continuously turning to Allah Almighty in dua is a sign of one’s conviction in Him and the more one turns to Him, the more one’s faith increases. Dua is a condition of the heart and conversation with one’s Maker in the language of one’s choice. A Hadith says, dua is a means of beseeching Allah Almighty for the fulfillment of all our needs no matter how mundane or insignificant as it may be; or significant as facing overwhelming odds in the battlefield (Tirmidhi).

We must, therefore turn to Allah alone, and no one else, whenever in distress, for it is only He Who can grant us our wishes, for Dua in times of difficulty, accompanied by the shedding of tears is uplifting, invigorating, assuring, cleanses, refreshes and provides solace and relief to a broken heart.

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Ameen

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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My Lord! Include me, out of Your Mercy, among Your righteous servants

Quran guides those who read it and ponder over the Divine Commandments as how to supplicate and invoke Allah's countless bounties so that they are blessed, forgiven and included in the lot of his righteous servants. Most of these invocations are attributed to the prophets of Allah who prayed to be forgiven so that they are among Allah's righteous servants.

The invocation / dua chosen today is attributed to Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon, may peace be upon him) when he heard and an ant asking her lot to hide as the forces are Prophet Sulaiman are on their way and lest they be trampled down their feet [(one of the ants said: "O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Sulaiman and his armies should crush you, while they perceive not.'') - verse 27:18].  When Prophet Sulaiman heard the ant, he smiled and immediately thanked Allah for His countless blessings on him and prayed that he may be included, out of Allah's Mercy, among Allah's righteous servants. This invocation appears in the 19th verse of Surah 27. An Naml (The Ant):

فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّنۡ قَوۡلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ اَوۡزِعۡنِىۡۤ اَنۡ اَشۡكُرَ نِعۡمَتَكَ الَّتِىۡۤ اَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلٰى وَالِدَىَّ وَاَنۡ اَعۡمَلَ صَالِحًـا تَرۡضٰٮهُ وَاَدۡخِلۡنِىۡ بِرَحۡمَتِكَ فِىۡ عِبَادِكَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَ‏ 

(27:19) Smiling at the ant's utterance, Solomon burst into laughter and said: "My Lord! Hold me under (Your) control that I may render thanks for the favour which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may act righteously in a manner that would please You. Include me, out of Your Mercy, among Your righteous servants."

(My Lord! Hold me under (Your) control) “Bestow upon me that I may be thankful” means this: “O my Lord! The wonderful powers and abilities that You have given me are such that if I become even a little forgetful and heedless, I might transgress the bounds of service and be puffed up with pride and go astray. Therefore, O my Lord, bestow upon me so that I may remain grateful to You for all Your blessings instead of being ungrateful.”

“And admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous slaves” probably implies this: “I should be included among the righteous in the Hereafter and should enter Paradise along with them.” For a person who does righteous acts will automatically be righteous, but one’s entry into Paradise in the Hereafter cannot come about merely on the strength of one’s good works, but it will depend on Allah’s mercy. According to a Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) once said, “Merely the deeds of any one of you will not enable him to enter Paradise.” It was asked, “In your case too, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Yes, I also shall not enter Paradise only on the strength of my deeds, unless Allah Almighty covers me with His mercy.”

This prayer of the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) on this occasion becomes irrelevant if an-namal is taken to mean a tribe of human beings and namlah a member of that tribe. After all, there could be nothing extraordinary in the warning given by a member of a human tribe to the people of his tribe about the approaching troops of a powerful king that it should have induced the king to make such a prayer to Allah. However, a person having such a wonderful power of comprehension that he may hear the speech of an ant from a distance and also understand it, is certainly something extraordinary, which can involve a person in self-conceit and vanity. In such a case only the prayer of the Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) can be relevant.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: The first part of verse means `inspire me to give thanks for the blessings that You have bestowed upon me by teaching me to understand what the birds and animals say, and the blessings that You have bestowed upon my parents by making them Muslims who believe in You.'

(and that I may do righteous good deeds that will please You,) means, `deeds that You love which will earn Your pleasure.'

(and admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous servants.) means, `when You cause me to die, then join me with the righteous among Your servants, and the Higher Companion among Your close friends.'

Muhammad Asad Explanation: In this instance, Solomon evidently refers to his own understanding and admiration of nature (cf. {38:31-33} as well as to his loving compassion for the humblest of God's creatures, as a great divine blessing: and this is the Qur'anic moral of the legendary story of the ant.

Yusuf Ali Explanation: The counterpart to the position of the humble ant is the position of a great king like Solomon. He prays that his power and wisdom and all other gifts may be used for righteousness and for the benefit of all around him. The ant being in his thoughts, we may suppose that he means particularly in his prayer that he may not even unwittingly tread on humble beings in his preoccupations with the great things of the world.

The righteousness which pleases the world is often very different from the righteousness which pleases Allah. Solomon prays that he may always take Allah's Will as his standard, rather than the standards of men.

In the Kingdom of Allah, righteousness is the badge of citizenship. And although there are great and noble grades (see iv. 69), the base of that citizenship is the universal brotherhood of righteousness. The greatest in that Kingdom are glad and proud to pray for that essential badge.

May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

Photo | Reference: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs / verses (ayat) of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Qur'ān officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
• The exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Our Lord! grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes

Many of us more often than not recite the following Surah 25. Al-Furqan verse 74. But perhaps we have not really fathomed the deep meaning of this simple yet powerful dua / supplication, for many of us do not really know what coolness of our eyes really mean. I too have been one of those till today when I heard a lecture by one of the most learned Muslim scholar, exegete and linguist of present times Nouman Ali Khan. 

Before you reach to the end of this post and listen to Nouman Ali Khan, let us first read the exegesis of this powerful dua / supplication by different Muslims scholars:

وَالَّذِيۡنَ يَقُوۡلُوۡنَ رَبَّنَا هَبۡ لَـنَا مِنۡ اَزۡوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ اَعۡيُنٍ وَّاجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِيۡنَ اِمَامًا‏ 

And those who pray "Our Lord! grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous." 

The most distinctive characteristic of the true servants is their eagerness for prayer to Allah. In verse 65 " who entreat: "Our Lord! Ward off from us the chastisement of Hell, for its chastisement is one that clings. " their prayer for their own salvation and in (verse 74 )their prayer for their wives and children have been cited: Our Lord, make our wives and children true believers so that they should practice righteousness and become a source of comfort for us. Their prayer shows that the true servants of Allah are more concerned about the salvation of their beloved ones in the Hereafter than the enjoyment of the world.

Now flash back into time of the advent of Islam, which may now be applicable for those reverts who have though reverted to Islam, but yearn their wives and children also to come under the fold of Islam.

It should be noted that this characteristic has been cited here to show that the true servants had sincerely believed in the message. That is why they were so concerned about the faith of their beloved ones. It should also be kept in mind that many of the near and dear ones of the believers had not as yet embraced Islam. If a husband had embraced Islam, the wife was still an unbeliever, and if a youth had accepted Islam, his parents and brothers and sisters were still involved in disbelief, and vice versa. Therefore, the true servants wept and prayed for them, whenever the picture of their horrible state in Hell came before their eyes.

That is, we should excel in piety, righteousness and good works; nay, we should become the leaders of the pious people so that we may lead them in the propagation of virtue and piety in the world. Incidentally, this characteristic of the true servants was in great contrast to that of the disbelievers, who strove in competition and rivalry with one another for superiority in worldly power and wealth. But it is a pity that some people in our time have misinterpreted this verse as containing sanction for seeking candidature for political leadership. According to them, the verse means: Our Lord, make us rulers over the pious people.

Yusuf Ali Explanation:

We must also pray for the maintenance of Allah's Law after us, through our wives and descendants: in our eyes they should not be mere accidents or play-things, but a real comfort and fulfilment of our spiritual longings. Perhaps, through them, as well through ourselves, we may, by Allah's grace, be able to give a lead for truth and righteousness.

Let us recapitulate the virtues of the true servants of Allah: (1) they are humble and forbearing to those below them in spiritual worth; (2) they are constantly, by adoration, in touch with Allah; (3) they always remember the Judgment in the Hereafter; (4) they are moderate in all things; (5) they avoid treason to Allah, to their fellow-creatures, and to themselves; (6) they give a wide berth not only to falsehood but to futility; (7) they pay attention, both in mind and manner, to the Signs of their Lord; (8) their ambition is to bring up their families in righteousness and to lead in all good. A fine code of individual and social ethics, a ladder of spiritual development, open to all.

Now, please listen to eminent Muslim scholar, exegete and linguist Nouman Ali Khan explaining the meaning of this verse in a very captivating lecture:

May Allah help us understand Qur'an and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

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Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:

• The plain translation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
• The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

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Four Things a Muslim Should Never Leave

Islam is a wonderful religion for it provides immense opportunities to a true believer to live a blessed life. And the most amazing thing is that to be blessed, one doesn't have to work very hard. Small things, gestures, prayers, thankfulness and repentance is all what is needed to draw blessing from Allah.

Today a friend shared four things with me that a Muslim should never leave to stay blessed and receive Allah's unlimited rewards and bounties for Allah is always on the lookout for His servants who are busy remembering Him and seeking His pleasure. 

Without going into any further premise, let me go down straight to these small four acts which would take him closer to Allah:

Being Thankful to Allah
Yes, simply thankfulness. If we carry out a reappraisal of ourselves, we will find that Allah has given us far more than we truly deserve, and many of these blessings have been without even asking. Instead of lamenting of not having what others have, we must always be thankful for what we have and other do not have. A very large portion of the world population lives in deprivation and utter poverty. But we only look towards those who have a better car, house, job or worldly pleasures better than us. But we never compare ourselves with those who are suffering and cannot even afford a good meal in a day.

So thank Allah all the time for what has been given to us and what others do not have. The more one thanks Allah, the more pleased Allah is and gives them more:

وَاِذۡ تَاَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمۡ لَـئِنۡ شَكَرۡتُمۡ لَاَزِيۡدَنَّـكُمۡ​ وَلَـئِنۡ كَفَرۡتُمۡ اِنَّ عَذَابِىۡ لَشَدِيۡدٌ‏ 

"Also call to mind when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks, I will certainly grant you more; but if you are ungrateful for My favours, My chastisement is terrible." [Surah Ibrahim 14:7]

In the above verse, Allah promises more to those who thank Him and are grateful to Him for having been blessed. But along with it comes a warning too: "But if you are ungrateful for My favours, My chastisement is terrible." 

Allah tests His servants by giving them more even without asking to see whether they are grateful to Him or boast to others of their own abilities due to which they are being better than others. When such an approach of being ungrateful starts to take place, it invokes Allah's wrath and needless to mention "Allah's chastisement is terrible."

So always be grateful and thankful to Allah for it will usher in more blessings to you and your family. And do not forget to help others who have been blessed less as Allah has blessed us for we never truly deserved His bounties.

Remembering Allah
No matter in which condition you may be, never forget to remember Allah. The more you remember Allah, the more He will remember you:

فَاذۡكُرُوۡنِىۡٓ اَذۡكُرۡكُمۡ وَاشۡکُرُوۡا لِىۡ وَلَا تَكۡفُرُوۡنِ

"So remember Me and I shall remember you; give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me for My favours." [Surah Al Baqarah 2: 152]‏  

The above quoted verse says it all and is an add up to what has been written earlier. Those who remember Allah, they will be reciprocated accordingly. In fact remembering Allah is thanking Him so as not being ungrateful to Him for His favours. Offering prayers five times a day no matter where one may is the best form of thanking Allah. 

Praying (Dua)
Dua (prayer) is the most powerful tool in the hands of a true Muslim to invoke Allah's pleasures and goodwill. Those who profusely pray to allah whenever in need or even otherwise are never returned empty handed:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادۡعُوۡنِىۡۤ اَسۡتَجِبۡ لَـكُمۡؕ اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يَسۡتَكۡبِرُوۡنَ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِىۡ سَيَدۡخُلُوۡنَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِيۡنَ

"Your Lord said: “Pray to Me, and I will accept your prayers. Surely those who wax too proud to worship Me shall enter Hell, utterly abased.” [Surah Mu'min 40:60]

Allah categorically says here that "you should not pray to others but pray to Me." To understand the spirit of this verse well, three points should be comprehended properly:

• First, man should pray only to Allah and not the wordily deities who are themselves dependent upon Allah's mercy. Pray to the One Who is All- Hearing and All-Seeing and is Possessor of supernatural powers. And the real motive of prayer for man is the internal feeling that the natural means and resources of the material world are not enough to remove any of his troubles and to fulfill any of his needs, or are not proving to be enough. Therefore, a true believer must invoke that Being even without having seen Him; he invokes Him at all times, at all places, and under all circumstances; he invokes Him in solitude, aloud as well as in a low voice, and even in the depths of his heart. He does so inevitably on the basis of the belief that that Being is watching him everywhere, is also hearing whatever he has in his heart, and possesses such absolute powers that, it can come to the help of the supplicant wherever he is, and can help him out of every trouble and difficulty. After having known this truth about the prayer, it remains no longer difficult for man to understand that the one who invokes another than Allah for help, commits shirk absolutely and purely and clearly, for he believes those attributes to be belonging to the other being, which only belong to Allah. Had he not believed the other being to be an associate of Allah in the divine attributes, he would never have even thought of invoking it for help.
• Second, one should fully understand that man’s merely thinking about a being that it is the possessor of powers and authority, does not necessitate that it should actually become possessor of the powers and authority. Being possessor of powers and authority is a factual matter, which is not dependent on somebody’s understanding or not understanding it. The one who is actually the Possessor of the powers will in any case remain the Possessor whether man regards Him so or not. And the one who is not in reality the possessor, will not be able to have any share whatever in the powers only because man has believed it to be possessing the powers. There is none else in this Universe, who may have any power to hear the prayers and to answer them or reject them. Those who entertain the belief that some prophets, saints, angels, jinns, planets or imaginary gods also are shareholders in the powers, the reality will not change in any way whatsoever. The Owner will remain the Owner and the helpless servants will remain the servants.
• Thirdly, the one who invokes others than Allah behaves like the supplicant who takes his petition to a government office, but leaving aside the real officer who has authority, presents it before one of the other supplicants who may be present there with his petition, and then starts imploring him humbly, saying: you possess all the powers, and yours is the only authority here; so, you alone can fulfill my needs. Such a conduct, in the first place, is in itself highly foolish, but in a case like this it also amounts to high insolence, because the real officer who has the authority, is present and before his very eyes applications and petitions are being made before another, apart from him. Then this ignorance and folly reaches its height when the person before whom the petition is being presented makes the petitioner understand over and over again that he himself is a petitioner like him and possesses no power at all, and that the real officer who has the powers is present, and he should make his petition before him. But in spite of this counsel and warning, the foolish person goes on saying: You are my lord, you alone can fulfill my need.

Keeping these three things in view, one should try to understand what Allah has said here: Call upon Me, I shall answer your prayers, it is for Me to accept them.

In the verse above, Dua (prayer) and ibadat (worship) have been used as synonyms. The prayer of the first sentence has been called worship in the second. This makes it explicit that prayer itself is worship, rather the essence of worship.

According to Numan bin Bashir, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The prayer is the very essence of worship. Then he recited this verse. (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud, Nasai, Ibn Majah, Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Jarir). According to Anas, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Prayer is the marrow of worship. (Tirmidhi). Abu Hurairah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah becomes angry with him who does not ask Him for anything. (Tirmidhi).

It would be pertinent to mention here the enigma that often causes confusion in the minds is also resolved. In connection with prayer, people say that when the evil or the good destiny is in the control of Allah and whatever He has already decreed in accordance with His dominant wisdom and expedience has to take place inevitably. What is then the use of the prayer? This is a serious misunderstanding which destroys the importance of prayer from the heart of man, and with this false notion even if man prays, his prayer would be soulless. The above verse of the Quran removes this misunderstanding in two ways:

• In the first place, Allah says in clear words: Call upon Me: I will answer your prayers. This proves that fate or destiny is not something which, God forbid, might have tied the hands of Allah Himself also, and the powers to answer the prayer might have been withdrawn from Him. The creatures have no power to avert or change the decrees of Allah: but Allah Himself certainly has the power to change His decrees and decisions on hearing a servant’s prayer and petition. 
• The other thing that has been stated in this verse is that whether a prayer is accepted or not, it is never without an advantage. The servant by presenting his petition before his Lord and by praying to Him acknowledges His Lordship and Supremacy and admits his own servitude and helplessness before Him. This expression of servitude is in itself worship, rather the essence of worship of whose reward the servant will in no case be deprived, irrespective of whether he is granted the particular thing for which he had prayed or not.

The aspect of prayer (dua) is explained in the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Salman Farsi relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Nothing can avert destiny but the prayer. (Tirmidhi). That is, no one has the power to change the decisions of Allah but Allah Himself can change His decisions, and this happens when the servant prays to Him.

However, while praying one must be very mindful of one's language. Abu Hurairah says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whenever one of you prays, he should not say: O God, forgive me if You so please, show me mercy if You so please, grant me provisions if You so please, but he should say definitely: O God, fulfill my such and such need. (Bukhari).

There the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Pray to Allah with the certainty that He will answer it. (Tirmidhi). The servant’s prayer is granted provided that he does not pray for a sin or for severing connections with the kindred. 

Continuous Astaghfar [Repentance]
"Astaghfar" means to pray to Allah that He may protect the supplicant from the evil consequences and poisonous influences of His transgressions and misdeeds, both in this world and the hereafter.

وَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمۡ وَاَنۡتَ فِيۡهِمۡ​ؕ وَمَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمۡ وَهُمۡ يَسۡتَغۡفِرُوۡنَ‏ 

"But Allah was not to chastise them while you are in their midst; nor was Allah going to chastise them while they sought His forgiveness." [Surah Anfal 8:33]

Asking for forgiveness of Allah is to accept that one has sinned or done a bad deed that may have hurt others. But repentance  / astaghfar means taking a solemn pledge of not repeating the sin again. Those who recognize that they have been negligent and heedless and have been guilty of iniquity, and thus seek Allah's forgiveness and strive to reform themselves are one of the most liked servants of Allah. For they not only acknowledge their sins and ask for forgiveness, but also pledge to reform themselves so as not to repeat any such act that displeases Allah.

Allah promises the believers that those who wholeheartedly confess and sincerely repent, would be forgiven:

فَمَنۡ تَابَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ ظُلۡمِهٖ وَاَصۡلَحَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَتُوۡبُ عَلَيۡهِؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ‏ 

“But whosoever repents after his crime and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allah), then verily, Allah will pardon him (accept his repentance). Verily, Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surah al-Maa’idah 5:39]  

Usually Muslims say "Astaghfirullah" when they see someone doing an utterly bad deed. Astaghfirullah  literally translates to "I seek forgiveness in Allah". But remember, as explained earlier, forgiveness is the first step, which must be followed by repentance for without pledging wholeheartedly not to reform oneself, asking for forgiveness bears no meaning.

So what do we do when we err, sin or do a wrong thing? Here are four steps one should so straightaway:

• Ask forgiveness from the one who we have harmed and try to make good the loss so incurred to him
• Beg for mercy and forgiveness from Allah (glorified and exalted be He).
• Regret from the heart of the heart for the sin so committed.
• Refrain from re-committing a sin or misdeed immediately.
• Take a solemn pledge never to return to any sin or wrongdoing again.

Here it must be remembered that the sin / wrongdoing or transgression involved infringes on the rights of other (s), then one must return the infringed rights back to the individual to whom they belong. And then thereafter, try one's level best not to sin, err, or do a thing that is contrary to teachings of Islam.

Remember no priest, saint or a holy man can listen to your confession and assure you of your forgiveness. This matter is directly between the sinner and the God. For Allah is the Most Ever Forgiving and in fact All Forgiving. It is for this attribute of Allah that He is called Al Ghaffar  (الغفار) - The All-Forgiving, The Absolver,  Al-Ghafur (الغفور) - The Forgiving, The Pardoner, Al-'Afuw (العفو) - The Pardoner 

For details please read our earlier post on Repentance which also contains an enlightening commentary on "How do we know that our repentance has been accepted."

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