Part of a series of Muslim rhymes.

Sura Al Nisa – verse 158

“Say oh human beings. Indeed I am the messenger of Allah to all of you. And I am a messenger from Him whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but He. He brings to life and He causes to die.”

Here we are supposed to follow him, do his ittibaa, so that we may walk in the right way. So we may be guided.

What is ittibaa? If you imagine somebody walking on the sand with their footprints, and you following them and putting your feet exactly in the same place where their footprints were, that is ittibaa. Ittibaa is closely following somebody in that way. It is therefore following closely, looking and taking guidance in absolutely everything from Allah and his messenger.

Sura Al Nisa – verse 174

“O human beings, indeed there has come to you a decisive proof, a manifest truth from you Rabb and we have also sent down to you a clear light, a clarifying light.”

Burhan is something that is so decisive that it’s undefeatable and this refers to the Prophet (pbuh). While, the noor refers to the Qur’an. So here, it is talking about the Qur’an and the masumeen, which are clear evidence of right and wrong. These are the two that we use for guidance to success.

Sura Al Nisa verse 1

“Oh people, be God-conscious of your Master, who created you from a single being, and created its partner, and spread from them many men and women. Be God-conscious, by He who demands your rights of one another, and He who enjoins rights towards others and especially womb relations, the ties of relationships; surely Allah ever watches over you.” So here, there is a particular emphasis to uphold the rights of human beings, especially womb relations.

Risalatul Huquq, the treatise of rights, written by Imam Zaynul Abideen talks about the responsibilities that one has towards others.

In aya 21 Allah says, “Oh human beings, serve your Rabb, who created you and those before you so that you may be God-conscious.” Now the word here is, “ibada”.  It is that which encompasses every action which one does for the pleasure of Allah, and thus we nourish the nafs. In simple words, ibada is those acts which connect us to Allah.

Aya 168 of Suratul Bawara says, “Oh human beings, eat the lawful and good things of what is in the Earth. Don’t follow the footsteps of Shaitan – he is your open enemy.” So this highlights, do we have halal sustenance in all spheres of our life? Is everything we eat lawful and good? Do we follow the advice of the Prophet about what ot eat, for example, and what not to eat?

A profile of those who are Ahlul Janna

They manifest their belief through good deeds.

They strive to achieve their goals.

They do not display any arrogance.

They have no ill feelings towards anyone.

They do not commit injustice.

They are absolutely sure about the words of divinity.

They have absolute trust in Him.

They do not hoard.

They don’t belittle others.

They focus on reaching their full potential until their last breath.

They have self-esteem, but with that they have humility.

They are God-conscious.

They have an ability to admit mistakes and make a U-turn – that is tawbah.

They have an ability to exude peace wherever they go.

They love their work. That means they make intelligent career choices.

They are very people-oriented.

They’re consistent.

They recognise the rights of parents and children; they are very family-orientated.

They are quick to ask His forgiveness.

They recognise errors and are willing to change.

They fulfill their promises.

They enrich the lives of others without expecting a tangible return – their expectations are only from their Rabb.

Fast track to Janna

11 habits recommended to inculcate in our daily lives:

Try to learn the jurisprudence of Fiqh

Wear an aqeeq ring

Always be in wudhoo

Do ghusl on Friday

Use perfume before you start to pray

Brush your teeth

Recite Qur’an regularly

Ensure you have your kafan

Initiate salaam

Make peace amongst people

Invite guests home

When someone has a temperature, it is recommended to  put your hand on their forehead and recite verse 69 of Sura Al Anbiya. It is also recommended to recite Sura Al Asr (103) and Sura Al Shams (91) on water and be able to drink it. 

For memory improvement

Recite seven times after every wajib salaa, the extract from Sura Taha, aya 114, “My rabb, increase me in knowledge”.

The concept here, is not to increase my knowledge, but increase me, make me a better person through the knowledge I have. It says, “increase in me” – make me greater with what I have. 

 

VERSE OF THE QUR’AN TO BE RECITED WHEN ILL

 “And when I am sick, then He restores me to health”

Sura Al Shu’ara 26:80

A statement made by Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) in describing Allah.

This does not mean that you do not seek a cure for your illness. It means that the principle cure and the cause of the cure is only Divinity. This is because the existence, the subsistence and the effect of the agent of the cure is entirely by His will and permission.

Another thing that is powerful towards curing an illness, is the giving of sadaqa.

Illness is also a means of reflection. The Prophet is reported to have said; “I’m so surprised at the mu’min and his apprehension during his illnesses when he knows that there is a reward for him in that illness, if only he understood, he’d actually love to be ill, until he meets his Rabb.”

Visiting those who are ill carries many benefits.

Imam Baqir says that among the things that Prophet Musa whispered to his Rabb was, “Ya Rabbi, tell me the extent of reward that a person who visits the sick would get.” And Allah says “Oh Musa, I will entrust an angel over him. The one who visits the sick until the day he goes to his grave, not only that, until the day of Qiyama, 70,000 angels escort him when he visits the sick and they will seek his forgiveness, or forgiveness for him until he returns back to his house.”

To summarise, when we are ill, we will seek out duwa and dua. We will give sadaqa and we will also see it as a means of thanks, as we can see what life is about and we will search for the cause of our illness. And when somebody else is ill, we will raise our hands in dua for them, visit them, and see how we can alleviate their difficulties.

 

INTRODUCTION

Connecting with the  words of Divinity is important to every human being.

In essence, it is about reading it, and then responding to it by putting it in writing, and obtain insights from the Qur’an. It prompts one to relate what we’re reading in the Qur’an to our lives in different ways and thus bring us closer to this most awesome book.

WHAT IS QUR’AN JOURNALLING?

The first word revealed to humankind in the Qur’an was ‘IQRA’ (Read) and the words continued in Suratul ‘Alaq  to say that He (Allah) taught with the pen.

“Allazhee ‘allama bil qalam”  96:4

Putting pen to paper is to remember and record the ayaat (verses), making them stand out. The essential thing to remember is that journalling is about reflecting on the words of Allah.

“Afalaa yatatabbarunal Qur’ana am ‘alaa qulubin aqfaaluhaa” 47:24

Why do they not ponder over the Qur’an or do they have locks on their hearts.

HOW TO BEGIN?

As you read the Qur’an, allow the words of `Allah to speak to your soul.

Look for an aya or ayaat that interest you or you may have learned about in a  lecture or simply one that speaks to you. Read it with the translation to get an overview, repeating it as many times as necessary to internalize it.

Ask yourself some questions:

What does the aya/ayaat say?

When was it revealed?

How does it relate to my life?

How do I follow it?

Which words should I emphasise?

How can I express the meaning visually?

It could simply be by highlighting the aya/ayaat. Or it could be by illustration.

For eg. Aya 66:12 of Suratul Tahreem says: “Rabbibniy liy ‘indaka baytan fil Janna”

Rabb, build for me a house with You in Janna.

The aya could be highlighted and a house drawn near it.

The focus of Qur’an journalling is not the art but rather the significance of the aya and what it means to you.

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TO GET YOU STARTED

Aya to be recited for a broken heart – Sura Al Ra’ad 13:28 –

 “Those who believe and whose hearts are at rest by the remembrance of Allah surely it is by the remembrance of Allah that hearts are set to rest.”

The aya is saying that when you feel distressed, or when your heart feels broken, or when you are stressed, then the only way to calm it down is by the remembrance of Allah. What better than to recite the Qur’an?

You would draw a little broken heart near 13:28 and highlight the verse.