Living The Quran Through The Living Quran

We all commit sins – against ourselves, against others and against  Allāh. What is the remedy to remove the effects of the sin and its  potential punishment in this life or the next? Simply put it is to turn  in repentance to Allāh. But, is repentance ONLY to go to Allāh and ask  Him or has Allāh told us to go to His Final Prophet, Muḥammad, and  implore him to ask Allāh on our behalf – taking him as an intercessor?

Commentary of Verse 36

36. The present, worldly life is nothing but a play and a pastime. If you truly believe and have God-consciousness (taqwā), He will grant you your rewards, and will not ask of you your wealth.

One of the most important acts of worship is not only spoken about in  the Quran, but there is an entire chapter named after it – Jumuah – the  Friday Prayers. This prayer is unique in that it is an obligation to  deliver TWO distinct sermons before the prayer. The form of the prayer  also differs from the five daily prayers and so it is meant to be the  focal-point for the Muslim community wherever they may be. How would it  have been to sit and listen to the Prophet deliver the sermon and how  would it have felt to pray this prayer behind him in his Masjid in  Medina?

Commentary of Verses 34-35

34. Those who disbelieve and block people from Allāh’s way, and then die unbelievers, Allāh will never forgive them.

35. So when in warfare with the enemy do not be faint of heart and cry out for peace which will bring you humiliationwhen you have the upper hand. Always bear in mind that Allāh is with you, and He will never diminish the reward of your good deeds.

Allāh does not do “acts of worship”, however there is an instance in the Quran in which it seems that Allāh engages in an act which He orders His Angels to perform as well as those who believe – and that is evoking prayers of peace upon Prophet Muḥammad. In reality, when Allāh engages in this act, He is sending down mercy and peace; when He orders the Angels as well as the believers to do this act, He is telling them to make prayers for peace and mercy to be showered upon the Prophet – AND to submit to him unconditionally.

Prophets of Allāh play multiple roles in society – they are not just messengers. Given that the Muslims had left Ethiopia and arrived in Medina, they needed to further develop their theology and one part of that is to know what role Prophet Muḥammad was playing in the religion. For this reason, Allāh gave the Muslims clear guidance as to what Prophets do – and he stated their difficult responsibility in multiple places within the Quran.

Commentary of Verse 33 [Please note that there were some technical issues for the first few minutes of this talk, however these were resolved]

33: O you who believe! Obey God (in all His commandments) and obey the  Messenger (in his execution of God’s commandments and in his own  directives), and do not let your deeds go to waste.

Commentary of Verses 31 and 32

31. And  We will most certainly try you so that We may mark out those among you  who strive hard (in God’s cause with their persons and their wealth),  and those who are steadfast (on His Path and patient through  adversities), and try your accounts (of deeds).

32. Those  who disbelieve and bar (people) from God’s way, and defy the Messenger  after (God’s) guidance has become clear to them – they will never be  able to harm (the cause of) God, and He will cause their deeds to go to  waste.

As the first contingent of Muslims that had left Mecca and settled in  Ethiopia were able to move to Medina, one of the first things that the  women of the community began to ask was if anything of the Quran had  been revealed specifically addressing women. Being away for so many  years, they were genuinely wondering how far had Islam progressed and  what had been revealed to the Prophet. When the women found that nothing  “specific” addressed them, Asma binte Umays came to the Prophet and  discussed this with him and the answer which Allāh provided to her is  preserved in the Quran.

Islam looks at the previous Prophets and their messages as being ONE message from the ONE God. Thus, groups such as the Jewish community, Christian community and to an extent others like the Sabians and Zoroastrians were considered as “People of the Book” – having been given messages from Allāh. Whereas they were original messages from Allāh, however, with the coming of the Quran and Prophet Muḥammad, their teachings ceased to be relevant and they were expected to “convert” to the new faith.