Ramadan 2013 Posts

Fifteenth Night of Ramaḍān

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

Surat Isra– The Nigh Journey (017)

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

9. This Qurʾān does indeed show the straightest way. It gives the faithful who do right the good news that they will have a great reward and

10. warns that We have prepared an agonizing punishment for those who do not believe in the world to come.

11. Yet man prays for harm, just as he prays for good: man is ever hasty.

12. We made the night and the day as two signs, then darkened the night and made the daylight for seeing, for you to seek your Lord’s bounty and to know how to count the years and calculate. We have explained everything in detail. 13. We have bound each human being’s destiny to his neck. On the Day of Resurrection, We shall bring out a record for each of them, which they will find spread wide open,

14. ‘Read your record. Today your own soul is enough to calculate your account.’ 15. Whoever accepts guidance does so for his own good; whoever strays does so at his own peril. No soul will bear another’s burden, nor do We punish until We have sent a messenger.

16. When We decide to destroy a town, We command those corrupted by wealth [to reform], but they [persist in their] disobedience; Our sentence is passed, and We destroy them utterly.

17. How many generations We have destroyed since Noah! Your Lord knows and observes the sins of His servants well enough.

18. If anyone desires [only] the fleeting life, We speed up whatever We will in it, for whoever We wish; in the end We have prepared Hell for him in which to burn, disgraced and rejected.

19. But if anyone desires the life to come and strives after it as he should, as a true believer, his striving will be thanked.

20. To both the latter and the former, We give some of your Lord’s bounty. [Prophet], your Lord’s bounty is not restricted–

21. see how We have given some more than others– but the Hereafter holds greater ranks and greater favours.

22. Set up no other god beside God, or you will end up disgraced and forsaken. 23. Your Lord has commanded that you should worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say no word that shows impatience with them, and do not be harsh with them, but speak to them respectfully

24. and lower your wing in humility towards them in kindness and say, ‘Lord, have mercy on them, just as they cared for me when I was little.’

25. Your Lord knows best what is in your heart. If you are good, He is most forgiving to those who return to Him.

26. Give relatives their due, and the needy, and travellers– do not squander your wealth wastefully:

27. those who squander are the brothers of Satan, and Satan is most ungrateful to his Lord–

28. but if, while seeking some bounty that you expect from your Lord, you turn them down, then at least speak some word of comfort to them.

29. Do not be tight-fisted, nor so open-handed that you end up blamed and overwhelmed with regret.

30. Your Lord gives abundantly to whoever He will, and sparingly to whoever He will: He knows and observes His servants thoroughly.

31. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty ––We shall provide for them and for you––killing them is a great sin.

32. And do not go anywhere near adultery: it is an outrage, and an evil path.

33. Do not take life, which God has made sacred, except by right: if anyone is killed wrongfully, We have given authority to the defender of his rights, but he should not be excessive in taking life, for he is already aided [by God].

34. Do not go near the orphan’s property, except with the best [intentions], until he reaches the age of maturity. Honour your pledges: you will be questioned about your pledges.

35. Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with accurate scales: that is better and fairer in the end.

36. Do not follow blindly what you do not know to be true: ears, eyes, and heart, you will be questioned about all these.

37. Do not strut arrogantly about the earth: you cannot break it open, nor match the mountains in height.

38. The evil of all these actions is hateful to your Lord.

39. [Prophet], this is some of the wisdom your Lord has revealed to you: do not set up another god beside God, or you will be thrown into Hell, blamed and rejected.

40. What? Has your Lord favoured you people with sons and taken daughters for Himself from the angels? What a monstrous thing for you to say!

41. We have explained things in various ways in this Qurʾān, so that such people might take notice, but it has only turned them further away.

42. Say, ‘If there were other gods along with Him, as they say there are, then they would have tried to find a way to the Lord of the Throne.’

43. Glory to Him! He is far above what they say!

44. The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not celebrate His praise, though you do not understand their praise: He is most forbearing, most forgiving.

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

78. So perform the regular prayers in the period from the time the sun is past its zenith till the darkness of the night, and [recite] the Qurʾān at dawn– dawn recitation is always witnessed ––

79. and during the night wake up and pray, as an extra offering of your own, so that your Lord may raise you to a [highly] praised status.

80. Say, ‘My Lord, make me go in truthfully, and come out truthfully, and grant me supporting authority from You.’

81. And say, ‘The truth has come, and falsehood has passed away: falsehood is bound to pass away.’

82. We send down the Qurʾān as healing and mercy to those who believe; as for those who disbelieve, it only increases their loss.

83. When We favour man he turns arrogantly to one side, but when harm touches him, he falls into despair.

84. Say, ‘Everyone does things their own way, but your Lord is fully aware of who follows the best-guided path.’

85. [Prophet], they ask you about the Spirit. Say, ‘The Spirit is part of my Lord’s domain. You have only been given a little knowledge.’

86. If We pleased, We could take away what We have revealed to you– then you would find no one to plead for you against Us–

87. if it were not for your Lord’s mercy: His favour to you has been truly great.

88. Say, ‘Even if all mankind and jinn came together to produce something like this Qurʾān, they could not produce anything like it, however much they helped each other.’

89. In this Qurʾān, We have set out all kinds of examples for people, yet most of them persist in disbelieving.

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

Surat al Kahf– The Cave (018)

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

1. Praise be to God, who sent down the Scripture to His servant and made it unerringly straight,

2. warning of severe punishment from Him, and [giving] glad news to the believers who do good deeds––an excellent reward

3. that they will always enjoy.

4. It warns those people who assert, ‘God has offspring.’

5. They have no knowledge about this, nor did their forefathers––it is a monstrous assertion that comes out of their mouths: what they say is nothing but lies.

6. But [Prophet] are you going to worry yourself to death over them if they do not believe in this message?

7. We have adorned the earth with attractive things so that We may test people to find out which of them do best,

8. but We shall reduce all this to barren dust.

9. [Prophet], do you find the Companions in the Cave and al-Raqim so wondrous, among all Our other signs?

10. When the young men sought refuge in the cave and said, ‘Our Lord, grant us Your mercy, and find us a good way out of our ordeal,’

11. We sealed their ears [with sleep] in the cave for years.

12. Then We woke them so that We could make clear which of the two parties was better able to work out how long they had been there.

13. [Prophet], We shall tell you their story as it really was. They were young men who believed in their Lord, and We gave them more and more guidance.

14. We gave strength to their hearts when they stood up and said, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and earth. We shall never call upon any god other than Him, for that would be an outrageous thing to do.

15. These people of ours have taken gods other than Him. Why do they not produce clear evidence about them? Who could be more unjust than someone who makes up lies about God?

16. Now that you have left such people, and what they worshipped instead of God, take refuge in the cave. God will shower His mercy on you and make you an easy way out of your ordeal.’

17. You could have seen the [light of the] sun as it rose, moving away to the right of their cave, and when it set, moving away to the left of them, while they lay in the wide space inside the cave. (This is one of God’s signs: those people God guides are rightly guided, but you will find no protector to lead to the right path those He leaves to stray.)

18. You would have thought they were awake, though they lay asleep. We turned them over, to the right and the left, with their dog stretching out its forelegs at the entrance. If you had seen them, you would have turned and run away, filled with fear of them.

19. In time We woke them, and they began to question one another. One of them asked, ‘How long have you been here?’ and [some] answered, ‘A day or part of a day,’ but then [others] said, ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have been here. One of you go to the city with your silver coins, find out where the best food is there, and bring some back. But be careful not to let anyone know about you:

20. if they found you out, they would stone you or force you to return to their religion, where you would never come to any good.’

21. In this way We brought them to people’s attention so that they might know that God’s promise [of resurrection] is true and that there is no doubt about the Last Hour, [though] people argue among themselves. [Some] said, ‘Construct a building over them: their Lord knows best about them.’ Those who prevailed said, ‘We shall build a place of worship over them.’

22. [Some] say, ‘The sleepers were three, and their dog made four,’ others say, ‘They were five, and the dog made six’– guessing in the dark– and some say, ‘They were seven, and their dog made eight.’ Say [Prophet], ‘My Lord knows best how many they were.’ Only a few have real knowledge about them, so do not argue, but stick to what is clear, and do not ask any of these people about them; 23. do not say of anything, ‘I will do that tomorrow,’

24. without adding, ‘God willing,’ and, whenever you forget, remember your Lord and say, ‘May my Lord guide me closer to what is right.’

25. [Some say], ‘The sleepers stayed in their cave for three hundred years,’ some added nine more.

26. Say [Prophet], ‘God knows best how long they stayed.’ His is the knowledge of all that is hidden in the heavens and earth– How well He sees! How well He hears!– and they have no one to protect them other than Him; He does not allow anyone to share His rule.

27. [Prophet], follow what has been revealed to you of your Lord’s Scripture: there is no changing His words, nor can you find any refuge except with Him.

28. Content yourself with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, seeking His approval, and do not let your eyes turn away from them out of desire for the attractions of this worldly life: do not yield to those whose hearts We have made heedless of Our Qurʾān, those who follow their own low desires, those whose ways are unbridled.

29. Say, ‘Now the truth has come from your Lord: let those who wish to believe in it do so, and let those who wish to reject it do so.’ We have prepared a Fire for the wrongdoers that will envelop them from all sides. If they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal, scalding their faces. What a terrible drink! What a painful resting place!

30. As for those who believe and do good deeds– We do not let the reward of anyone who does a good deed go to waste–

31. they will have Gardens of lasting bliss graced with flowing streams. There they will be adorned with bracelets of gold. There they will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade. There they will be comfortably seated on soft chairs. What a blessed reward! What a pleasant resting place!