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EXCERPTS FROM SURAH
AL-SHOORA
(Surah 42)
فَمَا أُوتِيتُم
مِّن شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا
وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ
خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى
رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
وَالَّذِينَ
يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الإثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ
وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُمْ يَغْفِرُونَ
وَالَّذِينَ
اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاةَ
وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا
رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا
أَصَابَهُمُ الْبَغْيُ هُمْ يَنتَصِرُونَ
وَجَزَاء سَيِّئَةٍ
سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَا فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ
فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لا يُحِبُّ
الظَّالِمِينَ
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What you are given
(here) is a provision for the life of this world
and what is with
Allah is better and more lasting for
those who believe,
and who put their trust in their Lord.
who shun the major
sins and offenses;
and, when angry they
will forgive;
who respond to their
Lord, establish Salat,
(conduct) their
affairs with consultation among themselves;
who spend from what
We have provided them;
and those who, when
great wrong is done to them
seek to help
(defend) themselves
The retribution of
evil is the equal of evil (done);
but he who forgives
and amends, his
recompense is with
Allah.
Surely Allah does
not like those who offend
AYAH: 36-40 |
فَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ
الدُّنْيَا
What you are given (here) is a provision for the
life of this world
Opportunities are numerous and varied, but our
course in life will depend on how we utilize such
opportunities. The attractions of life are
numerous and they come in many forms and
varieties. They are made available by Allah (swt)
to see how well we choose and manage our affairs in
His Cause, and how we apply His guidance.
Man is full of ambitions, desires, needs, and
demands. A person may go after social enhancement,
power, money, fame or self-service and attain
well. But whatever the outcome of his toil, man's
success has no permanent value except for what is
done for the cause of Allah.
Allah (swt) provided numerous attractions for
all of us, to be utilized and enjoyed. But this is
truly a small measure if we are to compare
it to what lies ahead in the heavenly bliss of
Paradise. |
وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ
آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
and what is with Allah is better and more lasting
for those who believe, and who put their trust in
their Lord.
Since our life span is limited, what we utilize
and enjoy is for a limited time. And if all that
we see on earth is only a small measure compared to
what is in Paradise, try to imagine how enormous
the available attractions are in Heaven!
Man cannot grasp the magnitude of this point.
In Paradise there are, on an everlasting basis,
thousands-of-times more fantastic attractions than
what is available on earth!
But the marvelous Paradise is only for those
who qualify. It is for those who earn it. They
are the believers, since through the belief in
Allah they will be on the right path.
Faith brings them peace of mind, a life without
anxiety, or fear.
It is a faith directed to the noble goal—Allah,
and Allah's service, with no strings attached.
Such a believer puts his trust in Allah and totally
relies upon Him. |
وَالَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الإثْمِ
وَالْفَوَاحِشَ وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُمْ يَغْفِرُونَ
Such a staunch believer deserves the bounty in
Paradise. who shun the major sins and offenses;
and, when angry they will forgive
A believer is one with purity of heart. Deep
faith goes hand in hand with goodness of character
and conduct (along the lines of Islamic ethics).
Ø
A believer avoids major vices and sinful acts to
the best of his ability.
Ø
A believer is also a forgiving and understanding
person, who exhibits self-control when angry.
Anger is an emotion which often leads to bad things
said or done, but not all anger is bad. After all,
anger is part of man's nature, and it is okay to be
angry for:
·
the sake of Allah,
·
Allah's religion (Islam),
·
man's rights, or
·
the sake of justice.
But anger for minor things can and should be
controlled. If it cannot be controlled then the
offended should forgive his offender. |
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وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا
الصَّلاةَ
وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا
رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
who respond to their Lord, establish Salat,
(conduct) their affairs with consultation among
themselves; who spend from what We have provided
them
This Ayah enumerates some qualities of the
staunch believer:
Ø
The believer will respond to the call of Allah, his
Lord.
Ø
The higher the believer reaches in purifying his
inner self, the easier he will find it to respond
to Allah's call.
Ø
A believer is one who establishes regular Salat,
since Salat is the first response to the call of
faith. Salat is the link between Allah and His
subject. Salat is obedience to Allah and a way of
showing commitment and submission to Him.
Ø
To resolve matters a believer holds council for
mutual consultation. This is a fundamental
requirement of the Muslim community life. It is
the earliest form of democracy, reflecting the
importance Islam gives to expression of thoughts
and mutual exchange of ideas. The process is
called
Shoora and in an Islamic community, or
government, it is of utmost importance.
Ø
A believer spends for the sake of Islam. Spending
is an essential part of the welfare of the Muslim
community. The call for Islam cannot succeed
without it. Giving is an expression of faith. It
helps to purify and sanctify the self. |
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وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْبَغْيُ هُمْ
يَنتَصِرُونَ
and those who, when great wrong is done to them
seek to help (defend) themselves
A believer likes justice, fairness, and
righteous authorities in the community. A believer
likes the community spirit to be one of
righteousness, modesty, kindness, and mercy.
But if there is brutality or tyranny a believer
would do his best to rise against it and correct
it. The rise against ruthlessness and tyranny
in any form, anywhere, is part of the faith of
Islam. It is a rise against the inhumane and
the evil. If it is done collectively and whenever
the occasion dictates it will give the tyrants a
lot to think about. Better still, rising against
it can remove the source of tyranny and
ruthlessness, thus ridding the community of a
destructive source. The Muslim community in its
true sense is one which enjoins what is good,
and fights what is evil. |
وَجَزَاء سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَا فَمَنْ
عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ
The retribution of evil is the equal of evil
(done); but he who forgives and amends, his
recompense is with Allah.
Observing justice in a strict manner, a bad
deed dealt to someone should be returned by a
similar one of the same magnitude. When someone
does something bad, something of similar nature and
degree should be done to him in return.
A recompense of bad for bad, in a strictly fair
manner, will discourage evil in general. It
inflicts on the persons the same degree of hurt
they inflict on others. But while this is correct
it is still better to forgive and overlook.
To forgive, a believer gains meritorious points (Hasanaat)
with Allah, as Allah has promised. When he is in a
position to exact retribution, but instead chooses
to forgive for the sake of Allah, the believer will
have controlled himself and be candidate to receive
compensation from Allah. |
إِنَّهُ
لا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ
Surely Allah does not like those who offend
A person who does a bad deed is an offender.
An offender should be stopped or dealt back in a
similar way. This Ayah reminds us that Allah
does not like offenders. Through faith people
are urged to control themselves, to fear Allah,
and, to observe their duty toward Him.
This selection
in brief:
-
What is available on earth is a small fraction
of what is available in Paradise, be it in
measure, variety, or quality.
-
What is with Allah is eternal, permanent and
much superior.
-
The deserving believers will be those who:
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avoid misdeeds and offenses,
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forgive when they are angry,
-
respond to the call of their Lord,
-
establish Salat,
-
resolve matters by mutual consultation,
-
spend of their earnings in the cause of
Allah, and
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rise against oppression.
-
A bad deed is to be returned by a similar one
but the one who forgives and does good, his
recompense from Allah will be great.
-
Allah does not like offenders.
MEANING
OF WORDS
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what you are |
فَمَا
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given
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أُوتِيتُم
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of anything
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مِّن شَيْءٍ
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is a provision |
فَمَتَاعُ
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life |
الْحَيَاةِ
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this world
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الدُّنْيَا
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but what |
وَمَا
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with |
عِندَ
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Allah
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اللَّهِ
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better |
خَيْرٌ
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and more
lasting
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وَأَبْقَى
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for those |
لِلَّذِينَ
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who believe |
آمَنُوا
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and upon |
وَعَلَى
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their Lord |
رَبِّهِمْ
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put their
trust |
يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
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who |
وَالَّذِينَ
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shun |
يَجْتَنِبُونَ
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major |
كَبَائِرَ
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sins |
الإثْمِ
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and offenses |
وَالْفَوَاحِشَ
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and when |
وَإِذَا
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become angry |
مَا غَضِبُوا
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they |
هُمْ
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will forgive |
يَغْفِرُونَ
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who |
وَالَّذِينَ
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respond |
اسْتَجَابُوا
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their Lord |
لِرَبِّهِمْ
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establish |
وَأَقَامُوا
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Salat
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الصَّلاةَ
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conduct their
affairs |
وَأَمْرُهُمْ
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consultation |
شُورَى
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among
themselves |
بَيْنَهُمْ
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who |
وَمِمَّا
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We have
provided them |
رَزَقْنَاهُمْ
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spend |
يُنفِقُونَ
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who |
وَالَّذِينَ
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when
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إِذَا
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is done to them |
أَصَابَهُمُ
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great wrong |
الْبَغْيُ
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they |
هُمْ
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will rise
against it
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يَنتَصِرُونَ
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retribution |
وَجَزَاء
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evil
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سَيِّئَةٍ
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similar |
سَيِّئَةٌ
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but he who
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فَمَنْ
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forgives |
عَفَا
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and amends
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وَأَصْلَحَ
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his recompense |
فَأَجْرُهُ
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is with |
عَلَى
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Allah
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اللَّهِ
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Surely Allah
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إِنَّهُ
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does
not |
لا |
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likes |
يُحِبُّ
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those who
offend |
الظَّالِمِينَ
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