Taraweeh Tonight: Connect With The Quran – Twentieth Night of Ramadan

Ramadan 2013 Posts

Twentieth Night of Ramaḍān

Sura al-Furqaan – The Differentiator (025)

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

63. The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly on the earth, and who, when the foolish address them, reply, ‘Peace’;

64. those who spend the night bowed down or standing, worshipping their Lord,

65. who plead, ‘Our Lord, turn away from us the suffering of Hell, for it is a dreadful torment to suffer!

66. It is an evil home, a foul resting place!’

67. They are those who are neither wasteful nor niggardly when they spend, but keep to a just balance;

68. those who never invoke any other deity beside God, nor take a life, which God has made sacred, except in the pursuit of justice, nor commit adultery. (Whoever does these things will face the penalties:

69. their torment will be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and they will remain in torment, disgraced,

70. except those who repent, believe and do good deeds: God will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones. He is most forgiving, most merciful.

71. People who repent and do good deeds truly return to God.)

72. [The servants of the Lord of Mercy are] those who do not give false testimony, and who, when they see some frivolity, pass by with dignity;

73. who, when reminded of their Lord’s signs, do not turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to them;

74. those who pray, ‘Our Lord, give us joy in our spouses and offspring. Make us good examples to those who are aware of You’.

75. These servants will be rewarded with the highest place in Paradise for their steadfastness. There they will be met with greetings and peace.

76. There they will stay– a happy home and resting place!

77. [Prophet, tell the disbelievers], ‘What are you to my Lord without your supplication? But since you have written off the truth as lies, the inevitable will happen.’

Sura al-Shu’araa – The Poets (026)

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

1. Ta Sin Mim

2. These are the verses of the Scripture that makes things clear:

3. [Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe?

4. If We had wished, We could have sent them down a sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter humility.

5. Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the Lord of Mercy, they turn away:

6. they deny it, but the truth of what they scorned will soon hit them.

7. Do they not see the earth, and what noble kinds of thing We grow in it?

8. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:

9. your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.

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

69. Tell them the story of Abraham,

70. when he asked his father and his people, ‘What do you worship?’

71. They said, ‘We worship idols, and are constantly in attendance on them.’

72. He asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call?

73. Do they help or harm you?’

74. They replied, ‘No, but this is what we saw our fathers doing.’

75. Abraham said, ‘Those idols you have worshipped,

76. you and your forefathers,

77. are my enemies; not so the Lord of the Worlds,

78. who created me. It is He who guides me;

79. He who gives me food and drink;

80. He who cures me when I am ill;

81. He who will make me die and then give me life again;

82. and He who will, I hope, forgive my faults on the Day of Judgement.

83. My Lord, grant me wisdom; join me with the righteous;

84. give me a good name among later generations;

85. make me one of those given the Garden of Bliss–

86. forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray–

87. and do not disgrace me on the Day when all people are resurrected:

88. the Day when neither wealth nor children can help,

89. when the only one who will be saved is the one who comes before God with a heart devoted to Him.’

90. When the Garden is brought near to the righteous

91. and the Fire is placed in full view of the misguided,

92. it will be said to them, ‘Where are those you worshipped

93. beside God? Can they help you now, or even help themselves?’

94. and then they will all be hurled into Hell, together with those that misled them,

95. and all Iblis’s supporters.

96. There they will say to their gods, as they bicker among themselves,

97. ‘We were clearly misguided

98. when we made you equal with the Lord of the Worlds.

99. It was the evildoers who led us astray,

100. and now we have no intercessor

101. and no true friend.

102. If only we could live our lives again, we would be true believers!’

103. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:

104. your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.

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

192. Truly, this Qurʾān has been sent down by the Lord of the Worlds:

193. the Trustworthy Spirit brought it down 194 to your heart [Prophet], so that you could bring warning

195. in a clear Arabic tongue.

196. This was foretold in the scriptures of earlier religions.

197. Is it not proof enough for them that the learned men of the Children of Israel have recognized it?

198. If We had sent it down to someone who was not an Arab,

199. and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it.

200. So We make it pass straight through the hearts of the guilty:

201. they will not believe in it until they see the grievous torment,

202. which will suddenly hit them when they are not expecting it,

203. and then they will say, ‘Can we have more time?’

204. How can they ask that Our punishment be brought to them sooner?

205. Think, if we let them enjoy this life for some years

206. and then the promised torment came upon them,

207. what good would their past enjoyment be to them?

208. Never have We destroyed a town without sending down messengers to warn it,

209. as a reminder from Us: We are never unjust.

210. It was not the jinn who brought down this Qurʾān:

211. it is neither in their interests nor in their power,

212. indeed they are prevented from overhearing it.

213. So [Prophet] do not invoke any gods beside God, or you will incur punishment.

214. Warn your nearest kinsfolk

215.  and lower your wing tenderly over the believers who follow you.

216. If they disobey you, say, ‘I bear no responsibility for your actions.’

217. Put your trust in the Almighty, the Merciful,

218. who sees you when you stand up [for prayer]

219. and sees your movements among the worshippers:

220. He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.

221. Shall I tell you who the jinn come down to?

222. They come down to every lying sinner

223. who readily lends an ear to them, and most of them are liars:

224. only those who are lost in error follow the poets.

225. Do you not see how they rove aimlessly in every valley;

226. how they say what they do not do?

227. Not so those [poets] who believe, do good deeds, remember God often, and defend themselves after they have been wronged. The evildoers will find out what they will return to.

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

Sura an-Naml – The Ants (027)

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

15. We gave knowledge to David and Solomon, and they both said, ‘Praise be to God, who has favoured us over many of His believing servants.’

16. Solomon succeeded David. He said, ‘People, we have been taught the speech of birds, and we have been given a share of everything: this is a clearly a great favour.’

17. Solomon’s hosts of jinn, men, and birds were marshalled in ordered ranks before him,

18. and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your homes, in case Solomon and his hosts unwittingly crush you.’

19. Solomon smiled broadly at her words and said, ‘Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You; admit me by Your grace into the ranks of Your righteous servants.’

20. Solomon inspected the birds and said, ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe? Is he absent?

21. I will punish him severely, or kill him, unless he brings me a convincing excuse for his absence.’

22. But the hoopoe did not stay away long: he came and said, ‘I have learned something you did not know: I come to you from Sheba with firm news.

23. I found a woman ruling over the people, who has been given a share of everything– she has a magnificent throne–

24. [but] I found that she and her people worshipped the sun instead of God. Satan has made their deeds seem alluring to them, and diverted them from the right path: they cannot find the right path.

25. Should they not worship God, who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and earth and knows both what you people conceal and what you declare?

26. He is God, there is no god but Him, the Lord of the mighty throne.’

27. Solomon said, ‘We shall see whether you are telling the truth or lying.

28. Take this letter of mine and deliver it to them, then withdraw and see what answer they send back.’

29. The Queen of Sheba said, ‘Counsellors, a gracious letter has been delivered to me.

30. It is from Solomon, and it says, “In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy,

31. do not put yourselves above me, and come to me in submission to God.”

32. She said, ‘Counsellors, give me your counsel in the matter I now face: I only ever decide on matters in your presence.’

33. They replied, ‘We possess great force and power in war, but you are in command, so consider what orders to give us.’

34. She said, ‘Whenever kings go into a city, they ruin it and humiliate its leaders– that is what they do–

35. but I am going to send them a gift, then see what answer my envoys bring back.’

36. When her envoy came to Solomon, Solomon said, ‘What! Are you offering me wealth? What God has given me is better than what He has given you, though you rejoice in this gift of yours.

37. Go back to your people: we shall certainly come upon them with irresistible forces, and drive them, disgraced and humbled, from their land.’

38. Then he said, ‘Counsellors, which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?’

39. A powerful and crafty jinn replied, ‘I will bring it to you before you can even rise from your place. I am strong and trustworthy enough,’

40. but one of them who had some knowledge of the Scripture said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ When Solomon saw it set before him, he said, ‘This is a favour from my Lord, to test whether I am grateful or not: if anyone is grateful, it is for his own good, if anyone is ungrateful, then my Lord is self-sufficient and most generous.’

41. Then he said, ‘Disguise her throne, and we shall see whether or not she recognizes it.’

42. When she arrived, she was asked, ‘Is this your throne?’ She replied, ‘It looks like it.’ [Solomon said], ‘We were given knowledge before her, and we devoted ourselves to God;

43. she was prevented by what she worshipped instead of God, for she came from a disbelieving people.’

44. Then it was said to her, ‘Enter the hall,’ but when she saw it, she thought it was a deep pool of water, and bared her legs. Solomon explained, ‘It is just a hall paved with glass,’ and she said, ‘My Lord, I have wronged myself: I devote myself, with Solomon, to God, the Lord of the Worlds.’