Waseelah

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 5 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

35. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waibtaghoo ilayhi alwaseelata wajahidoo fee sabeelihi laAAallakum tuflihoona

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5:35. O you who believe! Fear Allah and seek means of approach to Him and struggle in His Path, so that you get success.¹⁹

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19. The Arabic word alwaseelata (means of approach) has been grossly misunderstood by many Muslims of today. They think that in the light of this Verse, they can invoke the good offices of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and other dead pious men, for conferring of worldly benefits to them and for redressal of their worldly woes. Attention of such Muslims is invited to Verses 17:56 and 17:57 wherein the futility of invoking anyone other than Allah, is clarified. And in Verse 35:22, the Qur'aan categorically tells mankind, "And you are in no position to make those to hear who are in the graves." The 'means of approach' to Allah are those means which were employed by those great men themselves. They had persistently struggled in Allah's Path as indicated at the end of this Verse itself. 'Struggling in Allah's Path' is therefore the means. And 'struggling in Allah's Path' does not mean suicide attacks on soft targets as some may mistakenly believe! It is, on the other hand, to "believe, and do righteous deeds, and admonish with the Truth and admonish with Patience" as enunciated in Surah 103. And 'righteous deeds' are deeds that Allah Almighty commands mankind to do through His Message, the Qur'aan.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 31^st of August 2018.

Divine vs Man-made

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 4 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:

82. Afala yatadabbaroona alqur-ana walaw kana min AAindi ghayri Allahi lawajadoo feehi ikhtilafan katheeran

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4:82. Do they not then ponder over the Qur’aan? And had it been from anybody other than Allah, they would certainly find in it many a contradiction.⁵⁴

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54. This Verse gives the criterion to distinguish a divine book from a non-divine one. In other words, it makes a divine statement to the effect that any book authored by a man, howsoever learned he may be, is bound to contain errors.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 24^th of August 2018.

The Great Retraction

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

In this extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II, the divine explanation, why wicked persons are made to suffer in the Hereafter, is discussed:

46. Wakanoo yusirroona AAala alhinthi alAAatheemi

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56:46. And they had persisted in the Great Retraction¹

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1. There is an inner conviction in every human being that he/she is created by One Powerful Creator Who has also created everything else in the Universe. And he/she intrinsically pledges his/her obedience to that One Creator. But most stray away from that pledge because of carnal desires generated under satanic influence. Remember how Adam and Eve were seduced by the Satan in retracting against their solemn pledge to Allah while they were living most comfortably in Paradise. Those first humans were thrown out into this world of trials and tribulations after their very first act of Retraction. But most of their progeny here, despite being given many chances, persist in the Great Retraction. The Verse here speaks of those wicked people.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 17^th August 2018.

Is Belief in God, a Blind Belief?

I would like to send to you one of the pages of my site INVITATION TO SALVATION as the Friday Sermon, this time. Please click the link: https://sites.google.com/site/invitationtosalvation/is-belief-in-god-a-blind-belief

Mohammad Shafi
Friday, the 10th of August 2018.

Tailor-made to Perfection

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Tailor-made to Perfection

Extract from Chapter 54 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

49. Inna kulla shay-in khalaqnahu biqadarin

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54:49. We have indeed created everything to a measure.⁴

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4. As I study this Verse, my eyes go to the hair on my hand. These never grow beyond an inch or so – unlike the hair on my head or chin! And I bow my head to divine Wisdom! Every little thing in the entire Universe is so tailor-made to perfection, Alhamdulillah!

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 3^rd of August 2018.