This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7

Juzʾ 8: Beg Allāh & Be Good

Juzʾ 8 Contains: Sūrah al-Anʿām – al-Aʿrāf (#6-7)

Al-Aʿrāf (7): 55-56

ٱدۡعُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡ تَضَرُّعࣰا وَخُفۡیَةًۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُعۡتَدِینَ ۝٥٥ وَلَا تُفۡسِدُوا۟ فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بَعۡدَ إِصۡلَـٰحِهَا وَٱدۡعُوهُ خَوۡفࣰا وَطَمَعًاۚ إِنَّ رَحۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ قَرِیبࣱ مِّنَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِینَ ۝٥٦

“Beg you Master humbly and privately. He doesn’t love transgressive people. And don’t spread evil on earth after it was already wholesome. So beg Him (your Master) balancing between fear and hope. No doubt, the compassion of Allāh is close to those who are excellent.”

ٱدۡعُوا۟ رَبَّكُمۡ

Make duʿāʾ to your Rabb. Duʿāʾ is prayer and supplication. It literally means to call or invite. So go call, and ask, and beg your Rabb! Allāh is our Rabb. A Rabb is:

1. Owner (Mālik)
   1. We belong to Him. We are His property.
2. Authority (Sayyid)
   1. He can do whatever He wants to us and with us.
3. Upbringer (Murabbī)
   1. He teaches us good things. We knew how to breathe, how to drink milk, how to open our eyes – even though we were never “taught” these things. And He provided me with everything I needed.
   2. He instills goodness and faith into our hearts.
4. Maintainer (Qayyim)
   1. It’s not just me that He taught and provided for. But He set up the entire universe. I need food and water, but that requires an entire planet and solar system, all of which He maintains.
5. Gift Giver (Munʿim)
   1. Everything He gives me is a gift. I don’t deserve anything. Not my eyes, not my skin, not a single hair on my body. Yet He ever so graciously gave it to me.

تَضَرُّعࣰا وَخُفۡیَةً

Beg Him while you are (a) humble and (b) in a private setting. Acknowledge that you are weak, helpless, and incapable; it is only Allāh that is strong, helpful, and capable. And when you beg Him, it doesn’t need to be a public show at the top of your lungs. Sometimes we make duʿāʾ aloud in public, like in qunūt (the special duʿāʾ in Witr or Fajr). But most of the time it should be a private intimate conversation between you and Allāh. No one else needs to know what you said, how you said it, when you said it, or where you said it. Allāh knows, and that’s all that matters.

إِنَّهُۥ لَا یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُعۡتَدِینَ

Allāh doesn’t love people who transgress boundaries. If Allāh has set up rules and boundaries, do not violate those rules. Allāh not loving someone can be understood to mean that He hates them. Transgression occurs in many ways: being disobedient, but in this context of duʿāʾ, it can also mean going overboard in what you ask.

For example, no one should ask to be a prophet – that is transgressing the bounds set by Allāh. No one else will ever be a prophet. No one should ask to change their gender or their race; these are things already set by Allāh and have no bearing on one’s relationship with Allāh. No one should be overly specific either, saying, “O Allāh, I want to be married to so-and-so but only if it’s on Friday October 11th at 4pm at IOK.” We can ask and we should ask. But we shouldn’t dictate the response of Allāh.

وَلَا تُفۡسِدُوا۟ فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بَعۡدَ إِصۡلَـٰحِهَا

Not only should we not be transgressive, but we shouldn’t spread evil and harm (fasād) on earth. Especially since it’s already a healthy wholesome place. This can also manifest in a few ways. There are already believers who do good (which is good, ṣalāḥ)- do not stop them from doing good, let alone stop them from believing (which is bad – fasād). We can also understand it in a more literal way: Allāh has made this earth in a perfect well balanced way, so don’t go destroying the earth. The earth, the air, the dirt, the water, the animals – these are all things Allāh has entrusted to us (amānāt), so don’t violate the truth. Maintain the healthy function of everything on earth.

وَٱدۡعُوهُ خَوۡفࣰا وَطَمَعًا

Beg Him, ask Him! And be balanced in your fear (khawf) and hope (ṭamaʿ). When making duʿāʾ, one should be afraid of sins and Hell. Be worried about the consequences of your sins, and ask Allāh to forgive you and save you from punishment. We should never feel safe from punishment. But also have hope. Have hope in your good deeds being accepted and entering Jannah. So ask Allāh for acceptance, for continued guidance, and for Jannah. But this is hope, not a guarantee. We should never feel we are going to Jannah (Heaven) for sure.

إِنَّ رَحۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ قَرِیبࣱ مِّنَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِینَ

No doubt the Raḥmah (care, compassion, gentleness, kindness) of Allāh is close to the people who are excellent (muḥsinīn). We all want Allāh’s Raḥmah. So follow the above, and excel in your good words and try to be someone that goes above and beyond. Thus we can become a muḥsin – someone that excels and goes above and beyond. And when Allāh’s Raḥmah is close to us, we understand that we will receive it, and be showered in it.

O Allāh! Help us make duʿāʾ to you in the best way! Respond to our duʿāʾ! And envelop us in your Raḥmah.