Divine Warning

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from QUR’AANIC STUDIES -A Modern Tafsir PART I:

266. Ayawaddu ahadukum an takoona lahu jannatun min nakheelin waaAAnabin tajree min tahtiha al-anharu lahu feeha min kulli alththamarati waasabahu alkibaru walahu thurriyyatun duAAafao faasabaha iAAsarun feehi narun faihtaraqat kathalika yubayyinu Allahu lakumu al-ayati laAAallakum tatafakkaroona

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2:266. Would any of you wish to be like one in a situation as follows? He has a garden of palm trees and grape vines, underneath which run streams of water, and he gets all kinds of fruits there from. He has reached old age and his children are weak. And in these circumstances a fiery hurricane hits his garden and burns it down. Thus, Allah does make signs/Verses/messages clear to you so that you may ponder over them.⁵⁰¹

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501. This is a clear divine warning to those who are endowed with riches in this world. They do have to spend their wealth in Allah's Path; otherwise He could easily turn their wealth to naught any time.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 27^th of September 2019.

Righteousness

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Excerpt from Chapter 3 of QUR’ AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

92. Lan tanaloo albirra hatta tunfiqoo mimma tuhibboona wama tunfiqoo min shay-in fa-inna Allaha bihi AAaleemun

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92. Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend from what you love. And Allah is indeed aware of anything you spend.^{105 to 107}

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105. Man loves wealth. He thinks it could bring him comfort in this worldly life. His thoughts do not go beyond, to the life in the Hereafter. But Islam teaches him that this worldly life is temporary and only a test; it is the everlasting life in the Hereafter that really matters. And the Verse 92 here tells us that unless we overcome our love of wealth by spending from it, we cannot be righteous enough to deserve comfortable lives in the Hereafter.

106. We can of course incur necessary expenses, from our own wealth, on our own selves. But we cannot waste the wealth on our own selves beyond our genuine needs. Allah would be aware of it, if and when we do it. And Verse 2:215 tells us on whose genuine needs to spend our wealth that is in excess of our own individual needs.

107. Man loves other things also, besides wealth. He loves his spouse and children, for example. Verse 92 here could be extended in its implications to cover these other objects of love too. Our love for our own children, for instance, should not come in our way of standing firmly for justice in any matter involving them.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 29^th December 2017.

Wisdom

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

269. Yu/tee alhikmata man yashao waman yu/ta alhikmata faqad ootiya khayran katheeran wama yaththakkaru illa oloo al-albabi

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269. He grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and whoever is granted wisdom, is indeed given a great wealth. And none remember it except those endowed with insight.⁵⁰⁶

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506. A wise man has a long-pterm and wide-ranging perspective. A fool, on the other hand, looks only to immediate and visible gains. The latter is easily enticed by the glamour of this world that inevitably lands him into trouble. But the wise man does not get ensnared in the pomp and glitter of worldly life. He ponders over his real Creator, and over the purpose for which he is created by that Creator. He understands that this worldly life is not the be-all and end-all of his existence. His deeds are influenced and conditioned by that wider perspective, and make him eligible for the ultimate success, here and in the Hereafter.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 22^nd of September 2017.

In Allah's Path

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

Extract from Chapter 2 of QUR’AANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir:

262. Allatheena yunfiqoona amwalahum fee sabeeli Allahi thumma la yutbiAAoona ma anfaqoo mannan wala athan lahum ajruhum AAinda rabbihim wala khawfun AAalayhim wala hum yahzanoona

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262. Those who spend their worldly possessions in Allah's path and follow not what they spend with boastfulness and insult – for them is their reward with their Lord; they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve.^{494, 495}

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494. It is often the case with human beings that if they give something to a needy person, their behaviour with that person would be such as to make that person feel burdened with their favours. They will go on, on some pretext or the other, reminding him of their charity. They may even insult and speak harshly to him. Allah condemns such behaviour and makes their charity ineligible for any reward from Him.

495. The Qur'aanic statement falaa khaufun ualayhim walaa hum yahuzanoon (they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve) has been repeated in several Verses while speaking of

·         those who spend their property by night and by day, secretly and openly (2:274),

·         those who believe and do good deeds and keep up prayer and give charity (2:277),

·         those who believe in Allah and the last day and do good (5:69),

·         the friends of Allah (10:62),

·         those who say, Our Lord is Allah, then they continue on the right way (46:13).

Actually, any group of persons described by any one of the above attributes, do inherently also have all the other attributes mentioned. These are the people whose minds are at peace, whatever be their momentary situations, good or bad, in this worldly life.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 15^th of September 2017.