Two Down 28 To Go

Bismillah
As salaamu alaikum,

YAAAY! Allahu Akbar. I have just completed the second juz. I am so Happy. Thank you Allah. Wooohooooooo!!! On this latest page I did there were four verses. Here is an interpretation of these verses by Yusuf Ali.

249. When Talut set forth with the armies, he said: "(Allah) will test you at the stream: if any drinks of its water, He goes not with my army: Only those who taste not of it go with me: A mere sip out of the hand is excused." but they all drank of it, except a few. When they crossed the river,- He and the faithful ones with him,- they said: "This day We cannot cope with Goliath and his forces." but those who were convinced that they must meet Allah, said: "How oft, by Allah.s will, Hath a small force vanquished a big one? Allah is with those who steadfastly persevere."

250. When they advanced to meet Goliath and his forces, they prayed: "Our Lord! Pour out constancy on us and make our steps firm: Help us against those that reject faith."

251. By Allah.s will they routed them; and David slew Goliath; and Allah gave him power and wisdom and taught him whatever (else) He willed. And did not Allah Check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief: But Allah is full of bounty to all the worlds.

252. These are the Signs of Allah. we rehearse them to thee in truth: verily Thou art one of the apostles.


When I receive a new page from my teacher (whom I will be referring to as master Yoda for the purposes of this blog) we go through the tafsirs (Qur'anic explanation) of Jalalain and/or Fakhr-ud-Deen ar-Razi. So I will be summarizing their explanations along with the added insights of Master Yoda.

In the first aya Talut has left the limits of the city with his army and they are headed off to meet the enemy. It's a hot day and they are about to come upon a river. What is about to happen is that the believers will be separated from the disbelievers. Those who believe show their belief through obedience and those who disbelieve do not obey the laws of God. In Aya 250 we are shown what to do when faced with difficult situations. Pray. The specific Qur'anic words used in this prayer are afrigh which means empty, empty out patience on us, and thabbit aqdaamana, root our feet so we don't run. Together they mean something like give us the perseverance to outlast the enemy and the strength to stay on the battlefield.

The aya that really struck me from this page was 251. The first half of the aya states how the enemy was vanquished. But the second half really emphasizes an issue that many poeple have these days. Dont judge me!!! The nature that Allah has given the world is to have one group fight another if the first group is oppressive. We see this balance in every layer or creation. Plants, animals, everything. There is always a predator and a prey. Even lions, tigers and bears, animals who may not have natural predators, get sick and die. And if that is the nature God gave the world why do so many people say "mind your own business and leave me alone." I guess its for the same reason that oppressors oppress. People get comfortable in their sins and don't want to change. Which is probably why it was so difficult for me to get serious about memorizing Qur'an. I sure didn't want to be told that I was procrastinating and preventing myself from attaining my goals. But I realized that being unwilling to change for the better would only oppress me. I would be the one harmed. It would be me who didn't have any knowledge of the Qur'an. Master Yoda told me this many times I guess it just took a while for me to believe it in my being. If we are unwilling to correct others the world will fall into corruption. And if we don't obey God we will be left behind at the river while the troops of God rush forward to victory.

The last aya leaves us with this thought. These words are true. These people are real and a part of the story of this world. Take heed and practice the lessons, or be left behind.