Ramadan 2013 Posts

Twenty Fourth Night of Ramaḍān

Surah az-Zumar – The Throngs (039)

In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

10. Say, ‘[God says], believing servants, be mindful of your Lord! Those who do good in this world will have a good reward – God’s earth is wide – and those who persevere patiently will be given a full and unstinting reward.’

11. Say, ‘I have been commanded to serve God, dedicating my worship entirely to Him.

12. I have been commanded to be the first to submit.’

13. Say, ‘I fear the torment of a terrible Day if I disobey my Lord.’

14. Say, ‘It is God I serve, dedicating my worship entirely to Him –

15. You may serve whatever you please beside Him.’ Say, ‘The true losers are the ones who will lose themselves and their people on the Day of Resurrection: that is the most obvious loss.

16. They will have layers of Fire above them and below.’ This is how God puts fear into His servants: My servants, beware of Me.

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

53. Say, ‘[God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

54. Turn to your Lord. Submit to Him before the punishment overtakes you and you can no longer be helped.

55. Follow the best teaching sent down to you from your Lord, before the punishment suddenly takes you, unawares,

56. And your soul says, “Woe is me for having neglected what is due to God, and having been one of those who scoffed!”

57. Or it says, “If God had guided me, I would have joined the righteous!”

58. Or, faced by punishment, it says, “If only I could have another chance, I would join those who do good!”

59. No indeed! My messages came to you and you rejected them: you were arrogant and rejected the truth.’

60. On the Day of Resurrection, you [Prophet] will see those who told lies against God, their faces darkened. Is there not ample punishment for the arrogant in Hell?

61. But God will deliver those who took heed of Him to their place of safety: no harm will touch them, nor will they grieve.

62. God is the Creator of all things; He has charge of everything;

63. The keys of the heavens and earth are His. Those who have rejected the revelations of God will be the losers.

64. Say, ‘Do you order me to worship someone other than God, you foolish people?’

65. It has already been revealed to you [Prophet] and to those before you: ‘If you ascribe any partner to God, all your work will come to nothing: you will be one of the losers.

66. No! Worship God alone and be one of those who are grateful to Him.’

67. These people have no grasp of God’s true measure. On the Day of Resurrection, the whole earth will be in His grip. The heavens will be rolled up in His right hand – Glory be to Him! He is far above the partners they ascribe to Him! –

68. The Trumpet will be sounded, and everyone in the heavens and earth will fall down senseless except those God spares. It will be sounded once again and they will be on their feet, looking on.

69. The earth will shine with the light of its Lord; the Record of Deeds will be laid open; the prophets and witnesses will be brought in. Fair judgement will be given between them: they will not be wronged

70. And every soul will be repaid in full for what it has done. He knows best what they do.

71. Those who rejected the Truth will be led to Hell in their throngs. When they arrive, its gates will open and its keepers will say to them, ‘Were you not sent your own messengers to recite the revelations of your Lord to you and warn you that you would meet this Day?’ and they will say, ‘Yes indeed we were.’ But the sentence of punishment will have been passed against those who rejected the truth.

72. It will be said, ‘Enter the gates of Hell: there you will remain. How evil is the abode of the arrogant!’

73. Those who were mindful of their Lord will be led in throngs to the Garden. When they arrive, they will find its gates wide open, and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be upon you. You have been good. Come in: you are here to stay,’

74. And they will say, ‘Praise be to God who has kept His promise to us and given us this land as our own. Now we may live wherever we please in the Garden.’ How excellent is the reward of those who labour!

75. You [Prophet] will see the angels surrounding the Throne, glorifying their Lord with praise. True judgement will have been passed between them, and it will be said, ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds.’

Surah Ghafir – The Forgiver (040)

In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

1. Ha Mim

2. This Scripture is sent down from God, the Almighty, the All Knowing,

3. Forgiver of sins and Accepter of repentance, severe in punishment, infinite in bounty. There is no god but Him; to Him is the ultimate return.

4. It is only the disbelievers who dispute God’s revelations. [Prophet], do not be dazzled by their movements back and forth across the land.

5. Before them the people of Noah rejected the truth and so did those who formed opposition after them: every community schemed to destroy its messenger and strove to refute truth with falsehood; but it was I who destroyed them. How terrible My punishment was!

6. In this way your Lord’s sentence was passed against the disbelievers that they would be the inhabitants of the Fire.

7. Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those who surround it celebrate the praise of their Lord and have faith in Him. They beg forgiveness for the believers: ‘Our Lord, You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who turn to You and follow Your path. Save them from the pains of Hell

8. And admit them, Lord, to the lasting Gardens You have promised to them, together with their righteous ancestors, spouses, and offspring: You alone are the Almighty, the All Wise.

9. Protect them from all evil deeds: those You protect on that Day from [the punishment for] evil deeds will receive Your mercy– that is the supreme triumph.’

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

28. A secret believer from Pharaoh’s family said, ‘How can you kill a man just for saying, “My Lord is God”? He has brought you clear signs from your Lord – if he is a liar, on his own head be it – and if he is truthful, then at least some of what he has threatened will happen to you. God does not guide any rebellious, outrageous liar.

29. My people, as masters in the land you have the power today, but who will help us against God’s might if it comes upon us?’ But Pharaoh said, ‘I have told you what I think; I am guiding you along the right path.’

30. The believer said, ‘My people, I fear your fate will be the fate of those others who opposed [their prophets]:

31. The fate of the people of Noah, _Ad, Thamud, and those who came after them – God never wills injustice on His creatures.

32. My people, I fear for you on the Day you will cry out to one another,

33. The Day you will turn tail and flee with no one to defend you from God! Whoever God leaves to stray will have no one to guide him.

34. Joseph came to you before with clear signs, but you never ceased to doubt the message he brought you.  When he died, you said, “God will not send another messenger.”’ In this way God leaves the doubting rebels to stray –

35. Those who dispute God’s messages, with no authority given to them, are doing something that is loathed by God and by those who believe. In this way God seals up the heart of every arrogant tyrant.

36. Pharaoh said, ‘Haman, build me a tall tower so that I may reach the ropes that lead

37. To the heavens to look for this God of Moses. I am convinced that he is lying.’ In this way the evil of Pharaoh’s deed was made alluring to him and he was barred from the right path– his scheming led only to ruin.

38. The believer said, ‘My people, follow me! I will guide you to the right path.

39. My people, the life of this world is only a brief enjoyment; it is the Hereafter that is the lasting home.

40. Whoever does evil will be repaid with its like; whoever does good and believes, be it a man or a woman, will enter Paradise and be provided for without measure.

41. My people, why do I call you to salvation when you call me to the Fire?

42. You call me to disbelieve in God and to associate with Him things of which I have no knowledge; I call you to the Mighty, the Forgiving One.

43. There is no doubt that what you call me to serve is not fit to be invoked either in this world or the Hereafter: our return is to God alone, and it will be the rebels who will inhabit the Fire.

44. [One Day] you will remember what I am saying to you now, so I commit my case to God: God is well aware of His servants.’

45. So God saved him from the harm they planned.

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

69. [Prophet], do you see how deluded those who dispute God’s messages are –

70. Those who reject the Scripture and the messages We have sent through Our messengers? They will find out

71. When, with iron collars and chains around their necks, they are dragged

72. Into scalding water, and then burned in the Fire,

73. And asked, ‘Where now are those you called upon

74. Besides God?’ They will say, ‘They have abandoned us: those we called upon before were really nothing at all.’ ‘This is how God lets disbelievers go astray,

75. All because on earth you revelled in untruth and ran wild.

76. Enter the gates of Hell, there to remain – an evil home for the arrogant.’

77. So be patient [Prophet], for God’s promise is sure: whether We show you part of what We have promised them in this life or whether We take your soul back to Us first, it is to Us that they will be returned.

78. We have sent other messengers before you– some We have mentioned to you and some We have not– and no messenger could bring about a sign except with God’s permission. When [the Day] God ordained comes, just judgement will be passed between them: there and then, those who followed falsehood will be lost.

Surah Fussilat – Made Distinct (041)

In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

9. Say, ‘How can you disregard the One who created the earth in two Days (Periods of Creation)? How can you set up other gods as His equals? He is the Lord of all the worlds!’

10. He placed solid mountains on it, blessed it, measured out its varied provisions for all who seek them – all in four Days.

11. Then He turned to the sky, which was smoke – He said to it and the earth, ‘Come into being, willingly or not,’ and they said, ‘We come willingly’ –

12. And in two Days He formed seven heavens, and assigned an order to each. We have made the nearest one beautifully illuminated and secure. Such is the design of the Almighty, the All Knowing.

13. If they turn away, say, ‘I have warned you about a blast like the one which struck _Ad and Thamud:

14. When their messengers came to them, from all angles, saying, “Serve no one but God,” they said, “If our Lord had wished, He would have sent down angels. We do not believe in the message with which you have been sent.”

15. The people of _Ad behaved arrogantly throughout the land without any right, saying, “Who could be stronger than us?” Did they not realize that God, who created them, was stronger than them?’ They continued to reject Our message,

16. So We let a roaring wind loose on them for a few disastrous days to make them taste the punishment of shame in this world; more shameful still will be the punishment of the life to come, and they will not be helped.

17. As for Thamud, We gave them guidance but they preferred blindness, so they were struck by a blast of humiliating punishment for their misdeeds.

18. We saved those who believed and were mindful of God.

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

30. As for those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ and take the straight path towards Him, the angels come down to them and say, ‘Have no fear or grief, but rejoice in the good news of Paradise, which you have been promised.

31. We are your allies in this world and in the world to come, where you will have everything you desire and ask for

32. As a welcoming gift from the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful One.’

33. Who speaks better than someone who calls people to God, does what is right, and says, ‘I am one of those devoted to God’?

34. Good and evil cannot be equal. [Prophet], repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend,

35. But only those who are steadfast in patience, only those who are blessed with great righteousness, will attain to such goodness.

36. If a prompting from Satan should stir you, seek refuge with God: He is the All Hearing and the All Knowing.

37. The night, the day, the sun, the moon, are only a few of His signs. Do not bow down in worship to the sun or the moon, but bow down to God who created them, if it is truly Him that you worship.

38. If the disbelievers are too arrogant, [remember, Prophet, that] those who are with your Lord glorify Him tirelessly night and day.

39. Another of His signs is this: you see the earth lying desolate, but when We send water down on to it, it stirs and grows. He who gives it life will certainly give life to the dead. He has power over everything.

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

49. Man never tires of asking for good, but if evil touches him he loses all hope and becomes despondent.

50. Whenever We let him taste some of Our mercy after he has been afflicted, he is sure to say, ‘This is all my own doing: I do not think the Hour will ever come, but even if I were to be taken back to my Lord, the best reward would await me with Him.’ We shall most certainly inform the disbelievers of what they have done and give them a taste of severe torment.

51. Whenever We are gracious to man, he goes away haughtily, but, as soon as evil touches him, he turns to prolonged prayer.

52. Say [Prophet], ‘Have you ever thought, what if this revelation really is from God and you still reject it? Who could be more astray than someone who cuts himself off so far [from God]?’

53. We shall show them Our signs in every region of the earth and in themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Lord witnesses everything?

54. Truly, they doubt that they will meet their Lord; truly He encompasses everything.