Ramadan 2013 Posts

Seventh Night of Ramadan

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

Surat al-An‘aam – Livestock (006)

1. Praise belongs to God who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light; yet the disbelievers set up equals to their Lord!

2. He is the one who created you from clay and specified a term [for you] and another fixed time, known only to Him; yet still you doubt!

3. He is God in the heavens and on earth, He knows your secrets and what you reveal, and He knows what you do;

4. But every time revelation comes to them from their Lord, they turn their backs on it.

5. So they denied the truth when it came to them, but the very thing they laughed at will be brought home to them.

6. Do they not realize how many generations We destroyed before them? We established them in the earth more firmly than you, sent down abundant rain on them from the sky and made running rivers flow at their feet, yet We destroyed them for their misdeeds and raised other generations after them.

7. Even if We had sent down to you [Prophet] a book inscribed on parchment, and they had touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would still say, ‘This is nothing but blatant sorcery.’

8. They say, ‘Why was no angel sent down to [support] him?’ But had We sent down an angel, their judgement would have come at once with no respite given.

9. Indeed, if We had sent an angel as messenger, We would still have sent him in the form of a man, so increasing their confusion.

10. Messengers have been mocked before you [Muhammad], and those who mocked them were engulfed by the very punishment they had mocked.

11. Say, ‘Travel throughout the earth and see what fate befell those who rejected the truth.’

12. Say, ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and earth?’ Say, ‘To God. He has taken it upon Himself to be merciful. He will certainly gather you on the Day of Resurrection, which is beyond all doubt. Those who deceive themselves will not believe.

13. All that rests by night or by day belongs to Him. He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.’

14. Say, ‘Shall I take for myself a protector other than God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who feeds but is not fed?’ Say, ‘I am commanded to be the first [of you] to devote myself [to Him].’ Do not be one of the idolaters.

15. Say, ‘I fear the punishment of a dreadful Day if I disobey my Lord.

16. God will have been truly merciful to whoever is spared on that Day: that is the clearest triumph.’

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

31. Lost indeed are those who deny the meeting with their Lord until, when the Hour suddenly arrives, they say, ‘Alas for us that we disregarded this!’ They will bear their burdens on their backs. How terrible those burdens will be!

32. The life of this world is nothing but a game and a distraction; the Home in the Hereafter is best for those who are aware of God. Why will you [people] not understand?

33. We know well that what they say grieves you [Prophet]. It is not you they disbelieve: the evildoers reject God’s revelation.

34. Other messengers were disbelieved before you, and they bore their rejection and persecution steadfastly until Our aid arrived– no one can alter God’s promises. You have already received accounts of these messengers.

35. If you find rejection by the disbelievers so hard to bear, then seek a tunnel into the ground or a ladder into the sky, if you can, and bring them a sign: God could bring them all to guidance if it were His will, so do not join the ignorant.

36. Only those who can hear will respond; as for the dead, God will raise them up, and to Him they will all be returned.

37. They also say, ‘Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say, ‘God certainly has the power to send down a sign,’ though most of them do not know:

38. All the creatures that crawl on the earth and those that fly with their wings are communities like yourselves. We have missed nothing out of the Record– in the end they will be gathered to their Lord.

39. Those who reject Our signs are deaf, dumb, and in total darkness. God leaves whoever He will to stray, and sets whoever He will on a straight path.

40. Say, ‘Think: if the punishment of God or the Hour should come to you, would you call on anyone other than God, if you are being truthful?’

41. No indeed, it is on Him that you would call. If it were His will, He could remove whatever harm made you call on Him, and then you would forget what you now associate with Him.

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

54. When those who believe in Our revelations come to you [Prophet], say, ‘Peace be upon you. Your Lord has taken it on Himself to be merciful: if any of you has foolishly done a bad deed, and afterwards repented and mended his ways, God is most forgiving and most merciful.’

55. In this way We explain the revelations, so that the way for sinners may be made clear.a

56. Say, ‘I am forbidden to worship those you call on other than God.’ Say, ‘I will not follow your vain desires, for if I did, I would stray from the path and cease to be rightly guided.’

57. Say, ‘I stand on clear proof from my Lord, though you deny it. What you seek to hasten is not within my power. Judgement is for God alone: He tells the truth, and He is the best of judges.’

58. Say, ‘If what you seek to hasten were within my power, the matter would be settled between you and me, but God knows best who does wrong.’

59. He has the keys to the unseen: no one knows them but Him. He knows all that is in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowledge, nor is there a single grain in the darkness of the earth, or anything, fresh or withered, that is not written in a clear Record.

60. It is He who calls your souls back by night, knowing what you have done by day, then raises you up again in the daytime until your fixed term is fulfilled. It is to Him that you will return in the end, and He will tell you what you have done.

61. He is the Supreme Master over His subjects. He sends out recorders to watch over you until, when death overtakes any of you, those sent by Us take his soul– they never fail in their duty.

62. Then they will all be returned to God, their true Lord. The Judgement truly belongs to Him, and He is the swiftest of reckoners.

63. Say [Prophet], ‘Who is it that saves you from the dark depths of land and sea when you humbly and secretly call to Him [and say], “If He rescues us from this, We shall truly be thankful”?’

64. Say, ‘God rescues you from this and every distress; yet still you worship others beside Him.’

65. Say, ‘He has power to send punishment on you from above or from under your very feet, or to divide you into discordant factions and make some taste the violence of others.’ See how We explain Our revelation in various ways, so that they may understand,

66. Yet your people still reject it even though it is the truth. Say, ‘I have not been put in charge of you.

67. Every prophecy has its fixed time to be fulfilled: you will come to realize this.’

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

74. Remember when Abraham said to his father, Azar, ‘How can you take idols as gods? I see that you and your people have clearly gone astray.’

75. In this way We showed Abraham [God’s] mighty dominion over the heavens and the earth, so that he might be a firm believer.

76. When the night grew dark over him he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord,’ but when it set, he said, ‘I do not like things that set.’

77. And when he saw the moon rising he said, ‘This is my Lord,’ but when it too set, he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me, I shall be one of those who go astray.’

78. Then he saw the sun rising and cried, ‘This is my Lord! This is greater.’ But when the sun set, he said, ‘My people, I disown all that you worship beside God.

79. I have turned my face as a true believer towards Him who created the heavens and the earth. I am not one of the polytheists.’

80. His people argued with him, and he said, ‘How can you argue with me about God when He has guided me? I do not fear anything you associate with Him: unless my Lord wills [nothing can happen]. My Lord encompasses everything in His knowledge. How can you not take heed?

81. Why should I fear what you associate with Him? Why do you not fear to associate with Him things for which He has sent you no authority? Tell me, if you know the answer, which side has more right to feel secure?

82. It is those who have faith, and do not mix their faith with idolatry, who will be secure, and it is they who are rightly guided.’

83. Such was the argument We gave to Abraham against his people– We raise in rank whoever We will– your Lord is all wise, all knowing.

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

104. Now clear proof has come to you from your Lord: if anyone sees it, that will be to his advantage; if anyone is blind to it, that will be to his loss– [Say], ‘I am not your guardian.’

105. This is how We explain Our revelations in various ways– though they will say, ‘You [Muhammad] have been studying’– to make them clear for those who know.

106. Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord, there is no God but Him. Turn away from those who join other gods with Him.

107. If it had been God’s will, they would not have done so, but We have not made you their guardian, nor are you their keeper.

108. [Believers], do not revile those they call on beside God in case they, in their hostility and ignorance, revile God. To each community We make their own actions seem alluring, but in the end they will return to their Lord and He will inform them of all they did.

109. They swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a miraculous sign came to them they would believe in it. Say [Prophet], ‘Signs are in the power of God alone.’ What will make you [believers] realize that even if a sign came to them they still would not believe?

110. We would make their hearts and their eyes turn away, just as they did not believe the first time, and leave them to flounder in their obstinacy.

111. Even if We sent the angels down to them, and the dead spoke to them, and We gathered all things right in front of them, they still would not believe, unless God so willed, but most of them are ignorant [of this].

112. In the same way We assigned to each prophet an enemy, evil humans and evil jinn. They suggest alluring words to one another in order to deceive– if it had been your Lord’s will, [Prophet], they would not have done this: leave them to their inventions–

113. So that the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter may incline towards their deceit, be pleased with it, and so perpetrate whatever they perpetrate.

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

159. As for those who have divided their religion and broken up into factions, have nothing to do with them [Prophet]. Their case rests with God: in time He will tell them about their deeds.

160. Whoever has done a good deed will have it ten times to his credit, but whoever has done a bad deed will be repaid only with its equivalent– they will not be wronged.

161. Say, ‘My Lord has guided me to a straight path, an upright religion, the faith of Abraham, a man of pure faith. He was not a polytheist.’

162. Say, ‘My prayers and sacrifice, my life and death, are all for God, Lord of all the Worlds;

163. He has no partner. This is what I am commanded, and I am the first to devote myself to Him.’

164. Say, ‘Should I seek a Lord other than God, when He is the Lord of all things?’ Each soul is responsible for its own actions; no soul will bear the burden of another. You will all return to your Lord in the end, and He will tell you the truth about your differences.

165. It is He who made you successors on the earth and raises some of you above others in rank, to test you through what He gives you. [Prophet], your Lord is swift in punishment, yet He is most forgiving and merciful.

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

Surat al-A‘raaf – The Heights (007)

10. We established you [people] on the earth and provided you with a means of livelihood there––small thanks you give!

11. We created you, We gave you shape, and then We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ and they did. But not Iblis: he was not one of those who bowed down.

12. God said, ‘What prevented you from bowing down as I commanded you?’ and he said, ‘I am better than him: You created me from fire and him from clay.’

13. God said, ‘Get down from here! This is no place for your arrogance. Get out! You are contemptible!’

14. But Iblis said, ‘Give me respite until the Day people are raised from the dead,’

15. And God replied, ‘You have respite.’

16. And then Iblis said, ‘Because You have put me in the wrong, I will lie in wait for them all on Your straight path:

17. I will come at them– from their front and their back, from their right and their left– and You will find that most of them are ungrateful.’

18. God said, ‘Get out! You are disgraced and banished! I swear I shall fill Hell with you and all who follow you!

19. But you and your wife, Adam, live in the Garden. Both of you eat whatever you like, but do not go near this tree or you will become wrongdoers.’

20. Satan whispered to them so as to expose their nakedness, which had been hidden from them: he said, ‘Your Lord only forbade you this tree to prevent you becoming angels or immortals,’

21. And he swore to them, ‘I am giving you sincere advice’–

22. He lured them with lies. Their nakedness became exposed to them when they had eaten from the tree: they began to put together leaves from the Garden to cover themselves. Their Lord called to them, ‘Did I not forbid you to approach that tree? Did I not warn you that Satan was your sworn enemy?’

23. They replied, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged our souls: if You do not forgive us and have mercy, we shall be lost.’

24. He said, ‘All of you get out! You are each other’s enemies. On earth you will have a place to stay and livelihood– for a time.’

25. He said, ‘There you will live; there you will die; from there you will be brought out.’

26. Children of Adam, We have given you garments to cover your nakedness and as adornment for you; the garment of God consciousness is the best of all garments– this is one of God’s signs, so that people may take heed.

27. Children of Adam, do not let Satan seduce you, as he did your parents, causing them to leave the Garden, stripping them of their garments to expose their nakedness to them: he and his forces can see you from where you cannot see them: We have made evil ones allies to those who do not believe.