- the reflection corner
- Posts
- Goodness or Struggle
Goodness or Struggle
A Quranic Reflection on our relationship with the Quran
Thasneema
March 29th, 2024
Assalamu alaikum my dear,
Can you believe it? The end of Ramadan is in our sights.
How are you feeling about entering into the last 10 nights soon? I won’t lie, I definitely felt a bit of a slump in these middle 10 of Ramadan. So I’m entering this last 10 in anticipation of being able to do more, but also a fear that I won’t.
I really pray Allah allows us all to get laylatul Qadr this year.
—
Each one of us will be pushing ourselves to spend more time with the Quran these next 10 days. We’ll be spending more time reciting it, more time understanding it and reflecting on it.
But have you ever wondered - how do you view the Quran? I’d never thought of this before, until I came across this verse.
وَقِيلَ لِلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ مَاذَآ أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ ۚ قَالُوا۟ خَيْرًا ۗ لِّلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا۟ فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ ۚ وَلَدَارُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ ۚ وَلَنِعْمَ دَارُ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
And ˹when˺ it is said to those mindful ˹of Allah˺, “What has your Lord revealed?” They say, “All the best!”
This verse is taken from a section in the Quran that shows a snapshot taken from the Day of Judgement. Allah paints this image of the scene where all of humanity will be split into 2 groups - the people of Hell and the people of Paradise. Both groups of people will be asked a question. The answer both groups of people will respond with indicates the type of life they lived on this earth. And as a result, they will be lead to their final destination.
But what is the question they will be asked?
“What has your Lord revealed?”
What has my Lord revealed to me?
I remember hearing a reflection from a speaker on this verse. He said all of us hold a view about the Quran, even though we may not realise it.
For many, they see the Quran as a book of prohibitions - a series of rules come to constrict their lives and make them constantly struggle.
But for the believer, they see the Quran as nothing but goodness. They see it as something that frees them, not constricts them. And only the true believer would really be able to see that.
It makes me wonder, how do I see the Quran?
When I hear what the Quran has to say about the way I live - from the way I dress to the way I interact, how do I feel?
Do I feel constricted? Held back?
Or do I feel grateful..and loved?
But how did they see it like that?
A true believer knows their Lord truly. They know His Names and Attributes. They know He is the All Knowing, All Wise. And they know He is The All Loving and the All Caring.
They know Him.
And then they know themselves. They know they have limited knowledge, they know they really just want to feel accepted and at ease, even when it might not be good for them.
And they realise they need guidance from someone who is not held down by all this.
As a result, they can see the revelation from Allah as nothing but goodness. They saw this book of prohibitions, as a gift from the One Who Loves them most and Knows them best.
A gift that guides them even in the minute details of their life. And a gift that frees them from the shackles of society and the lowliness of their own desires.
—
As I think about this, the following dua of the Prophet s comes to mind -
اللهم إني عبدُك وابنُ عبدِك وابنُ أَمَتِك، ناصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَداً مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ: أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجَلَاءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي
O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your male servant, and son of Your female servant. My forelock is in Your Hand. Your command for me prevails. Your judgement concerning me is just. I beseech You through every name You have, by which You have called Yourself, or which You have sent down in Your Book, or which You have taught to any one of Your creations, or which You have preferred to keep to Yourself among Your guarded secrets, to make the Great Qur'an the springtime of my heart, the light of my chest, the remover of my sadness, and the pacifier of my worries.
I used to see this as a dua about making the time we spend with the Quran, a time of healing and goodness for us.
But now I see it as something deeper. In this dua, we are literally asking Allah to make the Quran something that we find as complete goodness for ourselves, not just in its recitation but in its rulings and guidance too. To make us be of those believers who, when asked about the revelation of Allah, can say with complete certainty that it is all goodness.
I pray Allah allows us all to see the Quran as a book that frees us and fills our lives with goodness.
And as a result…
Allah describes this beautiful life for those believers in this life and the Next.
لِّلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا۟ فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ ۚ وَلَدَارُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ ۚ وَلَنِعْمَ دَارُ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
جَنَّـٰتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۖ لَهُمْ فِيهَا مَا يَشَآءُونَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَجْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ
ٱلَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّىٰهُمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ ۙ يَقُولُونَ سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
…For those who do good in this world, there is goodness. But far better is the ˹eternal˺ Home of the Hereafter. How excellent indeed is the home of the righteous: the Gardens of Eternity which they will enter, under which rivers flow. In it they will have whatever they desire. This is how Allah rewards the righteous—those whose souls the angels take while they are virtuous, saying ˹to them˺, “Peace be upon you! Enter Paradise for what you used to do.”
My favorite part of this section is the statement of the angels.
As I read the last line, what comes to mind is the image of someone who is racing down a track or climbing a mountain. As they near the finishing line, they see their family and friends, waving their hands, cheering them on down that last stretch.
And then they cross it, their body ripping past that bit of ribbon. And as they do, they fall into the arms of their family and friends screaming congratulations and celebrating their success with them.
For me, I see the angels standing past the finishing lines of the believers, there to celebrate the believers success of getting through all the challenges of life whilst staying as a believer.
May Allah make us of those who hear the angels celebrating our success on that Day, Ameen.
#Tadabbur Tip 3: But why does it end like this?
(This is something I want to add to every letter I send out. I’ll be sharing a tip in every letter to help you start your journey of reflection (tadabbur) with the Quran. I know how daunting it can feel at the start, so I wanted to share some of the pointers that have helped me over the years! I’ll try to keep it as short as possible too since I don’t want these letters to be too long.)
No word in the Quran is added by accident or without reason. Every word we see has been placed there by Allah for a purpose and it for us to reflect and ponder why.
One of my favourite ways to reflect on the Quran is to reflect on the ending of the verses. Most verses end with a concluding remark that actually summarises that verse or a group of verses.
We’ve all seen verses where Allah ends with ‘Indeed Allah is the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful’ or ‘Indeed Allah is the Most Knowing and Most Wise’.
So now it is up to us to reflect, why did Allah choose to end like this? Why did He decide to end with sharing His Names about forgiveness in this verse, and sharing His Names about knowledge in another verse?
And that is the end of today’s reflection. Jazakallah khair for sticking till the end! I hope to see you next Friday too inshaAllah.
From the reflection corner,
Thasneema <3