Renewal By The Book: Quran Tafsir Based on Imam Ghazali's Ihya

Those who recite the book of Allah and act upon it, they pray, give in charity and fulfill the commands of Allah so Allah promises them a tremendous reward. Allah rewards those who recite the Quran and live it and Allah will give an increase of His from His bounty. Scholars say that that increase in bounty is that Allah allows them to gaze upon Him when they enter paradise; and they are not given a greater reward than that one.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلاةَ وَأَنفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلانِيَةً يَرْجُونَ تِجَارَةً لَّن تَبُورَ

Any act that one engages for the sake of Allah is rewarded, at least, in 10 fold and Allah gives extra from His bounty. In this ayah Recitation does not only refer to reading the Quran but also implementing what you have read from requirements, state of being and virtues. Lastly, this ayah calls on believers to seek Allah’s forgiveness and expect His generous reward.

وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ هُوَ الْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِعِبَادِهِ لَخَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ

These verses tell us about what matters in this life and what doesn’t. God is greater and more worthy of your concern than anything else and the next life is better for you than this one; these two are important truths. If one falls short of the above are instructed by Allah to continually repent for Allah is the all forgiving.

جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ

These verses remind us of the vastness of the next life that is open to the ones of faith. They also remind us to prioritize the next life over this one and to act accordingly. Lastly, the Quran calls us to be content with our Lord fully in this life, have gratitude to Allah and to praise Him. Reciting the Quran with reflection allows one to reach all of this.

Resources:

[1] [Video Lecture] Becoming People of the Qur’an – Shaykh Abdullah el-Haddad (https://youtu.be/2kLYcRzjXQY)

[2] [On-Demand Course] Living the Quran: Ghazali’s Manners of Qur’an Recital with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani (https://seekersguidance.org/home/lessonset/living-the-quran-ghazalis-manners-of-quran-recital-with-shaykh-faraz-rabbani/)

[3] [Podcast Show] Qur’an Tafsir: Understanding the Word of Allah (https://seekersguidance.org/podcast/names/quran-tafsir-understanding-the-word-of-allah/)

In this series Shaykh Faraz will be looking at points of reflection from key verses in the Quran. The series will follow the thematic order of Imam Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences). The aim is to connect the key verses of guidance from the Book of Allah with the blueprint of renewal, the Ihya, so that we experience a renewal by The Book.

Join our Ramadan 2017 program: #RamadanRenewal, in-person at SeekersGuidance Toronto or online through the SeekersGuidance Global platform. For more details, visit: https://seekersguidance.org/ramadan.

Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting https://seekersguidance.org/podcasts/

The post 08 – Recitation of the Quran appeared first on SeekersGuidance.

وَأَذِّن فِى ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ

لِّيَشْهَدُوا۟ مَنَٰفِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ فِىٓ أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَٰتٍ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّنۢ بَهِيمَةِ ٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ ۖ فَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا۟ ٱلْبَآئِسَ ٱلْفَقِيرَ

“Proclaim the pilgrimage to all people, they will come to you on foot and they’ll come on all kind of mount emerging from every deep mountain pass. In order to witness all kinds of benefits for them and in order to remember the name of Allah for a known number of days for what Allah has provided for them. So feed yourself of that livestock and give to feed the destitute and the unfortunate… “ [Quran 22, 27-28]

In these verses Allah tells us some of the spiritual aims of Hajj. The Pilgrimage has many acts of worship each of which has its own benefits. Each act is done out of submission to Allah and to the extent to which it is done with that intention you will find benefit in it.

People with respect to Hajj are of 3 types:

[1] Those who go to Hajj unprepared and that is foolishness, they gain some benefit but miss out on a lot.

[2] Those who prepare outwardly only for the Hajj, and that is important.

[3] Those who prepare outwardly but also understand why they are doing it. One should prepare well advance to Hajj.

One of the highly recommended resources for this is Imam Ghazali’s Chapter on Hajj (or as translated in the book Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship) that details the spiritual benefits of Hajj.

Imam Al-Ghazali describes Hajj as a reenactment of resurrection and the Hereafter or as a reenactment of the various challenges of life. The metaphor of tawaf is a metaphor of love so throughout our day we keep turning towards the One we love through prayer. However, the believer wants to express more fully the nature of their love to Allah and the Hajj expresses that.

ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا۟ تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا۟ نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا۟ بِٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْعَتِيقِ

ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦ ۗ وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَنْعَٰمُ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَٱجْتَنِبُوا۟ ٱلرِّجْسَ مِنَ ٱلْأَوْثَٰنِ وَٱجْتَنِبُوا۟ قَوْلَ ٱلزُّورِ

“so let the pilgrims perform their acts of cleansing, fulfil their vows, and circle around the Ancient House.”

“All this [is ordained by God]: anyone who honors the sacred ordinances of God will have good rewards from His Lord…” [Quran 22, 29-30]

In these verses Allah reminds us that this is a devotional act and that we are servants to Allah as such we carry out the acts of devotion in the way He ordained not in the ways we prefer.

حُنَفَآءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِۦ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ ٱلطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِى بِهِ ٱلرِّيحُ فِى مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ

ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ شَعَٰٓئِرَ ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى ٱلْقُلُوبِ

“Steadfastly upright for Allah, not associating any with Him. And he who associates with Allah – it is as though he had fallen from the sky and was snatched by birds or the wind carried him down into a remote place. That [is so]. And whoever honors the signs of Allah – indeed it is from the piety of the hearts.” [Quran 22, 31-32]

In closing, verses 31 and 32 are a description of what is at the heart of partaking in Hajj embodied by the one who built the Ka’ba, Prophet Ibrahim. He was upright in his devotion to Allah. The Haneef is the one who seeks Allah in all that they do. The lesson of Hajj is to make your whole life revolve around Allah. The requirement of that is outlined in the last verse: to have taqwa of Allah through considering everything that has a relation to Allah to be great and in particular the manifest signs of Allah.

For a more detailed explanation of the actions of Hajj by Imam Al-Junaid and how to attain a ‘True Hajj’ please visit this blog post: https://seekersguidance.org/blog/2009/11/a-true-hajj-amazing-explanation-of-imam-junaid-al-baghdadi/

In this series Shaykh Faraz will be looking at points of reflection from key verses in the Quran. The series will follow the thematic order of Imam Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Sciences). The aim is to connect the key verses of guidance from the Book of Allah with the blueprint of renewal, the Ihya, so that we experience a renewal by The Book.

Join our Ramadan 2017 program: #RamadanRenewal, in-person at SeekersGuidance Toronto or online through the SeekersGuidance Global platform. For more details, visit: https://seekersguidance.org/ramadan.

Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting https://seekersguidance.org/podcasts/

The post 07 – Hajj appeared first on SeekersGuidance.

In verse 183 of Surat al-Baqara, Allah tells us that “Believers! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be mindful of God.” (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ). First, Shaykh Faraz explains the balance and significance of corresponding with the people of book and faith before Islam. He clarifies the difference between corresponding and following, and how correspondence gives a sense of continuity of guidance.

Shaykh Faraz then explains the concept of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah). He defines it as guarding oneself from the displeasure of Allah. He then gives some key guidance of how to attain that taqwa.

Then in verse 185 of Surat al-Baqara, Allah tells us that “Ramadan is the month that the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind,clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong…God wants ease for you, not hardship. He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him for having guided you, so that you may be thankful.” (شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ… يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ). Shaykh Faraz explains that the verses highlight that the significance of the month of Ramadan is that it is the month the Quran was revealed in, and not the month of fasting. He also highlights that it is an opportunity to recognize Divine mercy, ease and have gratitude.

Finally, in verse 186 of Surat al-Baqara Allah tells us: “[Prophet], if My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.” (وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ). Shaykh Faraz tells us that this verse expresses the reality of Allah’s immediate closeness without mediation, and what that means. He also highlights the saying of one of the early imams of Islam, Imam Sahl al-Tustari, on the first of the stations of closeness to Allah. He says that it is to feel shyness and shame before Allah of how heedless one is, and how little one is putting forth for the sake of Allah.

In this series Shaykh Faraz will be looking at points of reflection from key verses in the Quran. The series will follow the thematic order of Imam Ghazali’s Ihya Ulum al-Din (Renewing the Religious Knowledges). The aim is to connect the key verses of guidance from the Book of Allah with the blueprint of renewal, the Ihya, so that we experience a renewal by The Book.

Join our Ramadan 2017 program: #RamadanRenewal, in-person at SeekersGuidance Toronto or online through the SeekersGuidance Global platform. For more details, visit: https://seekersguidance.org/ramadan.

Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting https://seekersguidance.org/podcasts/

The post 06 – Fasting & Ramadan appeared first on SeekersGuidance.