Ramadan 2013 Posts

Fourth Night of Ramaḍān

Allah, the Al-Mighty, says what can be interpreted to mean:

Surat Ali-‘Imran – The Family of ‘Imran (003)

102. You who believe, be mindful of God, as is His due, and make sure you devote yourselves to Him, to your dying moment.

103. Hold fast to God’s rope all together; do not split into factions. Remember God’s favour to you: you were enemies and then He brought your hearts together and you became brothers by His grace; you were about to fall into a pit of Fire and He saved you from it– in this way God makes His revelations clear to you so that you may be rightly guided.

104. Be a community that calls for what is good, urges what is right, and forbids what is wrong: those who do this are the successful ones.

105. Do not be like those who, after they have been given clear revelation, split into factions and fall into disputes: a terrible punishment awaits such people.

106. On the Day when some faces brighten and others darken, it will be said to those with darkened faces, ‘How could you reject your faith after believing? Taste the torment for doing so,’

107. But those with brightened faces will be in God’s grace, there to remain.

108. These are God’s revelations: We recite them to you [Prophet] with the Truth. God does not will injustice for His creatures.

109. Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God; it is to Him that all things return.

110. [Believers], you are the best community singled out for people: you order what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God. If the People of the Book had also believed, it would have been better for them. For although some of them do believe, most of them are lawbreakers

111. They will not do you much harm: even if they come out to fight you, they will soon turn tail; they will get no help

112. And, unless they hold fast to a lifeline from God and from mankind, they are overshadowed by vulnerability wherever they are found. They have drawn God’s wrath upon themselves. They are overshadowed by weakness, too, because they have persistently disbelieved in God’s revelation and killed prophets without any right, all because of their disobedience and boundless transgression.

113. But they are not all alike. There are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God’s revelations during the night, who bow down in worship

114. Who believe in God and the Last Day, who order what is right and forbid what is wrong, who are quick to do good deeds. These people are among the righteous

115.  And they will not be denied [the reward] for whatever good deeds they do: God knows exactly who is conscious of Him.

Further on Allah, the Al-Mighty, says what can be interpreted to mean:

133. Hurry towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a Garden as wide as the heavens and earth prepared for the righteous

134. Who give, both in prosperity and adversity, who restrain their anger and pardon people– God loves those who do good

135. Those who remember God and implore forgiveness for their sins if they do something shameful or wrong themselves –who forgives sins but God?- and who never knowingly persist in doing wrong.

136. The reward for such people is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens graced with flowing streams, where they will remain. How excellent is the reward of those who labour!

137. God’s ways have operated before your time: travel through the land, and see what the end of those who disbelieved was.

138. This is a clear lesson to people, and guidance and teaching for those who are mindful of God.

139. Do not lose heart or despair– if you are true believers you have the upper hand

140. If you have suffered a blow, they too have suffered one like it. We deal out such days among people in turn, for God to find out who truly believes, for Him to choose martyrs from among you– God does not love evildoers

141. For Him to cleanse those who believe and for Him to destroy the disbelievers.

142. Did you think you would enter the Garden without God first proving which of you would struggle for His cause and remain steadfast?

143. Before you encountered death, you were hoping for it. Well, now you have seen it with your own eyes.

Further on Allah, the Al-Mighty, says what can be interpreted to mean:

159. By an act of mercy from God, you [Prophet] were gentle in your dealings with them– had you been harsh, or hard-hearted, they would have dispersed and left you– so pardon them and ask forgiveness for them. Consult with them about matters, then, when you have decided on a course of action, put your trust in God: God loves those who put their trust in Him.

160. If God helps you [believers], no one can overcome you; if He forsakes you, who else can help you? Believers should put their trust in God.

161. It is inconceivable that a prophet would ever dishonestly take something from the battle gains. Anyone who does so will carry it with him on the Day of Resurrection, when each soul will be fully repaid for what it has done: no one will be wronged.

162. Can the man who pursues God’s good pleasure be like the man who has brought God’s wrath upon himself and whose home will be Hell– a foul destination?

163. They are in a different class in God’s eyes; God sees exactly what they do.

164. God has been truly gracious to the believers in sending them a Messenger from among their own, to recite His revelations to them, to make them grow in purity, and to teach them the Scripture and wisdom– before that they were clearly astray.

Further on Allah, the Al-Mighty, says what can be interpreted to mean:

169. [Prophet], do not think of those who have been killed in God’s way as dead. They are alive with their Lord, well provided for

170. Happy with what God has given them of His favour; rejoicing that for those they have left behind who have yet to join them there is no fear, nor will they grieve

171. [rejoicing] in God’s blessing and favour, and that God will not let the reward of the believers be lost.

172. Those who responded to God and the Messenger after suffering defeat, who do good and remain conscious of God, will have a great reward.

173. Those whose faith only increased when people said, ‘Fear your enemy: they have amassed a great army against you,’ and who replied, ‘God is enough for us: He is the best protector’

174. Returned with grace and bounty from God; no harm befell them. They pursued God’s good pleasure. God’s favour is great indeed.

175. It is Satan who urges you to fear his followers; do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are true believers.

Further on Allah, the Al-Mighty, says what can be interpreted to mean:

189. Control of the heavens and earth belongs to God; God has power over everything.

190. There truly are signs in the creation of the heavens and earth, and in the alternation of night and day, for those with understanding

191. Who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down, who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth: ‘Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose– You are far above that! – So protect us from the torment of the Fire.

192. Our Lord! You will truly humiliate those You commit to the Fire. The evildoers have no one to help them.

193. Our Lord! We have heard someone calling us to faith–“Believe in your Lord”– and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, wipe out our bad deeds, and grant that we join the righteous when we die.

194. Our Lord! Bestow upon us all that You have promised us through Your messengers– do not humiliate us on the Day of Resurrection– You never break Your promise.’

195. Their Lord has answered them: ‘I will not allow the deeds of any one of you to be lost, whether you are male or female, each is like the other [in rewards]. I will certainly wipe out the bad deeds of those who emigrated and were driven out of their homes, who suffered harm for my cause, who fought and were killed. I will certainly admit them to Gardens graced with flowing streams, as a reward from God: the best reward is with God.’

196. [Prophet], do not be deceived by the disbelievers’ [lucrative] trading to and fro in the land

197. This is only a brief enjoyment, after which Hell will be their home– a miserable resting place!

198. But those who were mindful of their Lord will have Gardens graced with flowing streams where they will stay as a reward from God. What God has is best for those who are truly good.

199. Some of the People of the Book believe in God, in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down to them: humbling themselves before God, they would never sell God’s revelation for a small price. These people will have their rewards with their Lord: God is swift in reckoning.

200. You who believe, be steadfast, more steadfast than others; be ready; always be mindful of God, so that you may prosper.