Light Upon Light

Summary (2c/d)

Surah An-Nur (24) 35-40 : Light Upon Light (continued)

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17. A Thematic Overview

 بيوت vs. دار : both are words for home, but بيت comes from the verb بات (to spend the night, because wherever you sleep at night is your home) vs. دار (to go around, because you run errands all day, but you always come back home). This shows that Allah is highlighting “the night” aspect of these homes. In the next ayah we will see why many translations say “mosques” as opposed to “homes.”

“[Are] men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah and performance of prayer and giving of Zakah. They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will [fearfully] turn about -.” (Sahih International) (24:37)

 رجال : men – The fact that men in these homes are specifically mentioning Allah in the night suggests that these homes are Masjids

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 Productivity is part of manhood. If you aren’t working, you are remembering Allah. To reach manhood, all young people should get jobs, even if you are from a wealthy family! It teaches good work ethic!

 زكوة : purification – Zakat is only purifying for pure wealth. If we make our money in haram ways, the wealth won’t be purified even if we give Zakat. If you have light on the inside, you will be mindful of how you make your money.

•  How we make our money has a huge impact on our spirituality...even Mushriks refused to use money from evil sources in the rebuilding of the Ka’bah!

•  We shouldn’t take student loans! We willingly go into debt, and accrue interest on our debts!

  “That Allah may reward them [according to] the best of what they did and increase them from His bounty. And Allah gives provision to whom He wills without account.” (Sahih International) )24:38(

•  احسن ما عملوا : the best of what they did – THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! It’s like a teacher who gives you 5 tests, then takes your highest grade, and makes that your cumulative grade!

•  يزيدهم : he will increase them – THIS IS EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE!!! Allah will take our best effort, and grade it on a higher curve! For example, I got a 80%, but my teacher rounded it up to a 95%... because he knew I tried my best!

•  بغير حساب : Allah will reward you, without any limits!

•  Our relationship with Allah is determined by our relationship with Him, and with other

  people. If our hearts are truly soft towards Allah, they will be soft towards all the creation of Allah.

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“But those who disbelieved - their deeds are like a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing but finds Allah before Him, and He will pay him in full his due; and Allah is swift in account.” (Sahih International) )24:39(

 سراب vs. شراب : Sharab means “drink,” so Sarab means “not really drink”
 Deeds must be sincere inside, just like our light emanates from the inside

•  ظمئان : so thirsty you are near death... this is the imagery of the nonbeliever on Judgment Day

•  Imagery of a death in the desert: mixture of daylight, endless expanse of sand, and confused reality

  •  These people think they are doing good deeds

  •  Daylight – this person was surrounded by good company

  •  These peple defined goodness for themselves, rather than obeying what Allah

    wanted from them

    “Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, over which are clouds - darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it. And he to whom Allah has not granted light - for him there is no light.” (Sahih International) (24:40)

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 بحر : ocean, referring to the ocean of bad company this person kept. As they spend more time with this bad company, the sink deeper into the ocean.

 If you remain in the dark for a long time and you are suddenly exposed to light, you get really uncomfortable... it takes some time for your eyes to adjust to the light again

•  لجي : stormy, shares roots with the word لجوج which means to be stubborn, turbulent, and persistent

•  The ayah gives the imagery of a person in the middle of the stormy ocean, with one wave crashing down on him, and as he is submerged there is another wave about to crash down on him, and on top of that there is another wave about to crash down on him, and on top of that there are dark storm clouds...so this person is enveloped in layers of darkness

•  اذا أخرج يده لم يكد يراها : when they stick their hands out they ALMOST can’t see it

  •  Hands = Deeds, these people don’t even know why they do what they do!

  •  ALMOST = If you were submerged in the ocean with waves on waves crashing

    down on you, with the sky completely dark, how would it be possible to see your hand? But this person can STILL see their hand, because of the light Allah put in them. Even in the dark picture, Allah’s light still gives this person hope.

•  و من لم يجعل الله نورا فما له من نور : incorrectly translated in most translations... Even according to the Sahih International translation, it seems that Allah withholds light from certain people, which doesn’t seem fair. The من in the ayah is شرطية , or the beginning of a conditional statement. So this ayah is better translated as “And whoever Allah wouldn’t provide light to; then he wouldn’t have any light.” This is beautiful, because this shows Allah gave light to everyone!

  Surah At-Taghabun (64) 1-18 : The Sweetness of Faith (2d)

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“Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is exalting Allah. To Him belongs dominion, and to Him belongs [all] praise, and He is over all things competent." (Sahih International) (64:1)

 The purpose of Surah At-Taghabun was to refresh the faith of believers in Medina

“It is He who created you, and among you is the disbeliever, and among you is the believer. And Allah, of what you do, is Seeing.” (Sahih International) (64:2)

“He created the heavens and earth in truth and formed you and perfected your forms; and to Him is the [final] destination.” (Sahih International) (64:3)

 بالحق : with purpose – appreciate how you’ve been formed!

“He knows what is within the heavens and earth and knows what you conceal and what you declare. And Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts.” (Sahih International) (64:4)

 بذات الصدور : what the chests possess – Allah knows us better than we know ourselves

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“Has there not come to you the news of those who disbelieved before? So they tasted the bad consequence of their affair, and they will have a painful punishment.” (Sahih International) )64:5(

“That is because their messengers used to come to them with clear evidences, but they said, "Shall human beings guide us?" and disbelieved and turned away. And Allah dispensed [with them]; and Allah is Free of need and Praiseworthy.” (Sahih International) (64:6)

•  بينات : the most clear and obvious proofs

•  أبشر : a person???

  •  Before the Prophet Muhammad (S) was a messenger, he was a neighbor, a business partner, a friend, a nephew, a husband...for 40 years! The early Sahaba had to retrain themselves so that when they saw the Prophet Muhammad (S), they thought Rasulullah (S), rather than the common person that they knew before.

  •  Shows our hate for authority. We love our parents, until they tell us to do something. We love our cool teacher, until they give us an assignment. Similarly, everyone loves the messenger (S) for his kindness, but people don’t like taking orders from him.

•  استغنى : Allah decided that he didn’t need them, that they needed to be replaced (This is an idiom...Allah doesn’t NEED anyone... He is inherently praiseworthy even if we weren’t praising Him. Allah actually honors us with the opportunity to praise Him. We only elevate ourselves in rank, not Him, with His remembrance).

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“Those who disbelieve have claimed that they will never be resurrected. Say, "Yes, by my Lord, you will surely be resurrected; then you will surely be informed of what you did. And that, for Allah, is easy." (Sahih International) (64:7)

•  عملتم : doing something intentionally

•  و ربي : “I swear by my Master” - every oath prepares you for an answer to the oath

 Ex. If you have a boss, then that necessitates that the boss will ask you about the work you did for him. Similarly, since Allah is our master it necessitates that Allah will raise us

“So believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Qur'an which We have sent down. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” (Sahih International) (64:8)

• ) انزلنا on عائد light can refer to both the Qur’an and the Ruh (because there is no : نور  *advanced Arabic grammar gem

•  تغابن : winning and losing collectively

•  سيئاتهم : their sins, comes from the word سوئة which is a stinking, rotting corpse. It’s

  something disgusting that you wish you could bury underground and completely forget about.

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“The Day He will assemble you for the Day of Assembly - that is the Day of Deprivation. And whoever believes in Allah and does righteousness - He will remove from him his misdeeds and admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.” (Sahih International) (64:9)

“But the ones who disbelieved and denied Our verses - those are the companions of the Fire, abiding eternally therein; and wretched is the destination.” (Sahih International) (64:10)

“No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah - He will guide his heart. And Allah is Knowing of all things.” (Sahih International) (64:11)

•  ما أصاب : whatever strikes – comes from مصيبة which is an arrow that is shot at the bullseye of a target. This means that not a single calamity happens except with the permission of Allah...everything that happens to us is supposed to happen.

•  يهد قلبه : If you really have Iman and you have faith in this time of hardship, Allah will guide your heart. He will make it possible for you to move on.

“And obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon Our Messenger is only [the duty of] clear notification.” (Sahih International) (64:12)

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 على رسولنا : The Rasul’s (S) only job was to share the message, it wasn’t his job to make you accept it. This ayah is sent to console the Prophet (S) because he would feel sad when people rejected the message.

“Allah – there is no deity except Him. And upon Allah let the believers rely.” (Sahih International) (64:13)

“O you who have believed, indeed, among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. But if you pardon and overlook and forgive - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Sahih International) (64:14)

 من أزواجكم و أولادكم : your spouses and children can be enemies to your spirituality

•  Ex. you don’t have enough money to buy a house, but your wife pressures you

  into taking a loan and going into debt to buy the house. Since you took the bad advice, she is an enemy for you because on the Day of Judgment you will be blaming each other for the sin

•  This من can be تبعيض meaning “a part of them” is an enemy to you... “the part of your wife encouraging you to buy the house on interest” is an enemy to you.

•  But if you don’t take their bad advice, they’ll be really mad at you, they’ll have an attitude with you, but if you تعفو (forgive lovingly) and تصفحو (turn the page) and cover) the attitude and pushback from them, Allah is Extremely Forgiving and( تغفر Constantly Merciful

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“Your wealth and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward.” (Sahih International) (64:15)

 فتنة : a hard test – wealth and kids... both are things you have hope in for the future. They are both your “retirement options.” Allah says if you were smart, you would invest in your afterlife, not your elderly life!

“So fear Allah as much as you are able and listen and obey and spend [in the way of Allah]; it is better for your selves. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful.” (Sahih International) (64:16)

•  ما استطعتم : Whatever your best is... We won’t be compared to anyone but ourselves!

•  شح نفسه : the wanting for yourself right now/greed/urges

  “If you loan Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. And Allah is Most Appreciative and Forbearing.” (Sahih International) (64:17)

 حليم : Someone who feels what you’re going through

“Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (Sahih International) (64:18)

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