Surah Baqarah Ayahs 26-29

Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, "What did Allah intend by this as an example?" He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient,

Who break the covenant of Allah after contracting it and sever that which Allah has ordered to be joined and cause corruption on earth. It is those who are the losers.

How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He brought you to life; then He will cause you to die, then He will bring you [back] to life, and then to Him you will be returned.

It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven, [His being above all creation], and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things.

 

In these beautiful verses of Surah Baqarah, Allah swt explains to us that all the examples in Quran are mentioned for a purpose. Allah has used examples in Quran of simple things (with which we can relate to easily) in order to explain abstract concepts in a concrete manner. For instance, Allah has used examples of fly, spider, mosquito, thunder, etc at dfferent places in Quran.

Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing, they could not recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer and pursued. (Surah Hajj, Ayah 23)

Subhanallah, in my teacher's college I learned the same teaching strategy that by using relevant and concrete examples, teachers can improve the understanding of abstract concepts for students. Subhanallah, Allah uses these simple and concrete examples in Quran so that we all are able to easily understand His Book. Allah swt wants us all to understand Quran and implement it in our daily lives. We should not act like hypocrites/disbelievers who objected and criticized these examples mentioned by Allah swt in Quran and this is why Allah swt left them to astray. 

Moreover, from these ayahs, we also learn that if we do not understand a particular command of Allah swt, we should not object the command but rather we should make dua to Allah swt to help us understand the wisdom behind His commands. Whether we understand the reasoning behind Allah's command or not, we should still accept them and implement them, inshallah. We should know that Allah loves us seventy times more than our mothers love us so His every command is for our own benefit. 

Allah also mentions three characteristics of fasiqeen (those who cross limits set by Allahs swt) in these verses.

Fasiqeen are those who adopt the path of disbelief and disobedience to Allah swt after accepting Islam. 

The second characteristic of fasiqeen is that they break ties/ cut off relationships with their blood relatives.

Abu Hurairah narrated that Prophet saw said: "He who desires that he be granted more provision and his life be prolonged should join ties with his blood relatives." (Bukhari)

According to another Hadith, the real sila rahmi is to be good with those relatives who are not good to you.

Shaitan loves to cause disputes between blood relatives and encourage them to cut relationships among each other based on small, trivial disputes. It will require a lot of tolerance and patience to stay connected with all our blood relatives. But inshallah if we can break our ego or apologize or initiate just for the sake of Allah, Allah will reward us immensely.

The third characteristic of fasiqeen is that they spread corruption on earth both tangibly and intangibly. Some examples of  corruption could be polluting environment, not making an effort to recycle, cutting forests, spreading rumours, etc.

We should check ourselves if we have any of the above mentioned characteristics of fasiqeen. Its never late to make tawbah and change ourselves. Inshallah, Allah swt will guide us if we seek its guidance.

Subhanallah, at many occasions, we find ourselves confused especially while making decisions about what's right and what's wrong or  what should we do and what should not. So this is a beautiful Masnoon dua through which we can ask Allah swt to show us the right perspective:

Surah Baqarah Ayahs 21-25

 O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous -

[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].

And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah , if you should be truthful.

But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.

And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before." And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally.

Subhanallah considering these ayahs as a whole and also connecting them with the first five verses of Surah Baqarah, I came up with this mind map: 

 

 

 May Allah swt grant us all the ultimate success, Ameen!

 

Surah Baqarah Ayah 21

O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous 

In this ayah, Allah swt is addressing all the human beings from all different backgrounds, religions, countries, races, ethnic backgrounds and languages to worship Him.

The literal meaning of worship is humility and servitude, shown with a lot of respect, fear and love.

Shaikh Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullaah) said, "Al-Ibaadah (worship) is a term which comprises everything that Allah swt loves and approves of from the apparent and hidden sayings and actions.”

Therefore, worship not only includes rituals (Salah, fasting, zakah, hajj) but also all the other deeds which helps us to earn the pleasure of Allah. Being kind to parents and relatives is a form of worship. Following Sunnah, doing tawbah and thanking Allah swt are acts of Ibadah. Even cooking, cleaning, taking care of family, etc are all acts of worship. So, we should do them with the intention of pleasing Allah swt.

Subhanallah, it is the beauty of our deen that we can even turn our eating and sleeping into Ibadah by doing them according to Sunnah.

Sunnahs for Sleeping:
1) Make wudhu before sleeping
2) Dust your bed
3) sleep on your right side
4) Recite three quls and ayatul kursi 
5)have an intention of waking up for tahajjud and fajr

Sunnahs for eating:
1) Eat Halal and healthy food.
2) Start with Bismillah
3) eat with right hand
4) eat while sitting
5) Fill one-third of stomach with food. one-third with water and keep the rest empty.
6) Read the Masnoon dua after finishing food.
7) eat with the intention of gaining energy for ibadah

Subhanallah, by remembering and doing these simple sunnahs we can turn our daily lives into acts of worship. Also, we can see that most of these simple actions have medical/health benefits as well. 

We should also keep in mind that Allah doesn't need our ibadah. It is only for our own benefit.

May Allah swt enable us to do His Ibadah in the best possible manner. May Allah swt accept all our Ibadah! Ameen! 

Surah Baqarah Ayahs 17-20

Their example is that of one who kindled a fire, but when it illuminated what was around him, Allah took away their light and left them in darkness [so] they could not see.

Deaf, dumb and blind - so they will not return [to the right path].

Or [it is] like a rainstorm from the sky within which is darkness, thunder and lightning. They put their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps in dread of death. But Allah is encompassing of the disbelievers.

The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Every time it lights [the way] for them, they walk therein; but when darkness comes over them, they stand [still]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.

Through this beautiful example, Allah explains the attitude of hypocrites (Munafiqoon). When Prophet saw brought the light of islam/guidance to Madinah, initially, hypocrites became Muslims to receive material benefits associated with being Muslims. But then later, when Muslims were encountered with difficulties/challenges, hypocrites refused to sacrifice and backed out. As a result of their hypocrisy, deceptive attitude and weak Iman, Allah took away the light of guidance from them. 

In the light of these verses, we should check ourselves: what's our attitude at the the time of difficulties and hardships? Do we continue to thank Allah and accept His decree without complaining? Also, we should check our willingness to accept and act upon the difficult commandments of Islam? How much are we willing to change? How much are we willing to accept and implement? Are our desires or arrogance or ego or earning pleasure of people preventing us from changing ourselves?

Subhanallah, the Quran courses are  like heavy down pour of guidance for us. Therefore, we should try to seek as much hidayah from them as possible. We should strive to accept all the commands of Allah with an open and accepting heart. Because if if we fail to utilize these opportunities of learning to internalize guidance and strengthen our Iman, then Allah swt will deprive us from guidance forever. Seeking guidance from Quran totally depends upon our attitude towards it. Therefore, it is very important to continuously renew our Iman and intentions throughout the life by seeking righteous company and maintaining a strong connection with Quran. 

Its now time to get rid of the attitude of pleasing people and adopt the attitude of pleasing Allah only, inshallah!

May Allah help us to fully internalize the guidance obtained through His Book and keep us connected through His Book for the rest of our lives, Ameen!

Surah Baqarah Ayahs 8-16

And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allah and the Last Day," but they are not believers.

 They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not.

In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie.

And when it is said to them, "Do not cause corruption on the earth," they say, "We are but reformers."

Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.

And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?" Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.

And when they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe"; but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, "Indeed, we are with you; we were only mockers."

[But] Allah mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression [while] they wander blindly.

Those are the ones who have purchased error [in exchange] for guidance, so their transaction has brought no profit, nor were they guided.

In these verses Allah swt mentions the characteristics of hypocrites. We should check ourselves as to where do we stand. We should ask ourselves:

a) Do my beliefs and actions agree with my speech?

b) Do I lie even casually?

c) Do I have any doubts in my heart about Islam?

d) Do my desires prevent me from sacrificing my time, energy and wealth in the way of Allah?

e) Does my behaviour/attitude change with the company of people?

If the answer for any of the above questions is "Yes" then we need to seek tawbah and ask Allah swt to remove hypocrisy from our hearts. In order to cleanse our hearts from any disease of  heart, we should actively seek knowledge of deen. Only knowledge of Quran can remove doubts from our hearts and make our desires subservient to the pleasure of Allah swt.

Moreover, it is very important to know that lying is a major sin and there is a painful punishment for the liars in the Hereafter. We should keep in mind that even casual joking and exaggeration are also considered as lies. According to a hadith of Prophet saw, a believer can be miser, a believer can be a coward but he/she can never be a liar. Breaking promises and betraying trusts are also characteristics of hypocrites according to another hadith. 

May Allah forgive us and cleanse our hearts from all the diseases of heart, Ameen!