Qur'an Studies Revision - Juzz 24 and 25
note - all based on my notes so please do not used word-for-word and give credit. Thank you.
Surah az Zumar - The Troops/Groups
Period of Revelation: Intense persecution by the Mushrikeen towards the Muslims. Shortly before the migration of the Sahabah to Abyssinia. Could be the 5th year of prophethood
The مخلصين له دّين are those who worship Allah alone, who live their lives in accordance to Allah and the Shariah, who are sincerely devout to Allah, not the Nafs and are those whom Allah sent the Qur’an to worship Allah alone. The اولوا الباب are the ones who listen carefully and understand, leading to them choosing and following the right thing (they pick the Qur'an and Sunnah to follow). They avoid طغوت which is to break the barriers.
Ayat 5 and 6: Allah has created many things for our benefit such as the Earth, Sun, moon, etc. We were created in the darkness of the womb, placenta and stomach.
Ayat 11 to 14: The prophet SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam was the first of the مخلصين له دّين and he is commanded to tell the people this fact.
Ayah 29: The disbelievers don't want to please one god but multiple gods, causing confusion, but the believers have only one god to please, leading to peace, ease and no confusion.
Ayat 32 and 33: The believers will affirm that the Qur'an is the truth (تصديق) and the disbelievers will say it is wrong and full of lies (تكذيب).
Ayah 67: People don't appreciate Allah's power so they take others for worship but Allah. Allah will then show them the power later when they are punished but we should realise his power in the Dunyah, not the Akhirah.
Mukhlas is someone who is chosen by Allah to be guided and protected whereas Mukhlis is someone who chooses Allah alone to worship. It comes from the root letters خ ل ص which means pure, unmixed, sincerely, totally, entirely, separated from others or exclusive. There are four other words for مخلص. They are: محسن ، مؤمن ، اوَّاب and اولوا الباب. Desire worship is picking and choosing what worship you want to do and what you don’t want to do. Examples include not praying Fajr, smoking, not wearing the Hijab, etc.
Main themes of the Surah: those who are wicked and disbelieved will be dragged into hell. They will be asked if a messenger had come to warn them and they will affirm this, even though it is too late. Those who were righteous will go to Jannah and will be told that they have done well at the gates. Angels praise Allah’s grace and justice and so should we as humans.
Surah al Ghafir/Mu’min - The One Who Forgives
Period of Revelation: The persecution towards the Muslims by the Makkans, escalated after the death of Abu Talib. Revealed after Surah az Zumar and before Surah al Fussilat.
There are 3 types of Tawheed: Tawheed ar Ruboobiyyah (Allah’s Lordship as the Creator and Sustainer), Tawheed al Uloohiyyah (Allah’s right to be worshipped alone) and Tawheed al Asmaa’ Was Sifaat (oneness in Allah’s names and attributes). Also a key part of Surah ash Shurah on page 4 (along with Tawheed fiz Zat and Tawheed Hakimiyyah).
Ayat 46 to 52: The disbelievers are arrogant. They rejected the proofs they received so they will be punished and nobody can help them. The believers, on the other hand, are successful and will be rewarded. We should learn from this: do not be arrogant but humbly accept Allah’s proofs.
Ayah 65: When you call upon Allah, you cannot have Kibr.
Ayah 60: فادعوه مخلصين له الدين means “So call him sincere to him (in) the religion”. When you make Du'a to Allah, make sure you are only sincerely worshiping Allah and He will answer you. He won't listen to you if you are disobedient towards him.
The term سبيل ارشاد is “The Way of Guidance”. A believer came to Firawn, calling him to the straight path as this world is temporary. Firawn said that he is guiding his people to the straight path. Firawn asked Haman to build him a tower so he can 'look down' on Allah, ridiculing Allah. Even though he says he is guiding the people he is showing his arrogance instead. As Muslims, we should reflect on this. He wasn’t Musa. He wasn’t a prophet. He was an ordinary man but he still performed Da’wah and so should we.
There are 3 words being repeated in this Surah: كبر , جدل and جحد
جدل is to argue.
جحد is when your heart believes but your tongue refuses to believe (your heart says yes but your tongue says no).
كبر is what prevents your tongue from saying yes. كبر is to refuse the truth and to look down on others. غمطُ الناس و بطر الحق (look down on others and reject the truth after recognising it).
Surah al Fussilat - Explained in Detail
Period of Revelation: There is Ijmaa’ this is a Makki Surah. It was revealed when the Mushrikeen were trying to discredit the Qur’an and claiming it is fabricated.
Ayat 9 to 13: There are many signs to ponder upon, proving that Allah is the only one worthy of worship as the Creator. The Earth was made in 2 days. He placed firm mountains on the Earth. The 7 heavens all were made in 2 days. The Mushrikeen were told that if they rejected these signs, they could be punished like Ad and Thamud.
Ayat 19 to 23: The enemies of Allah will be gathered for the fire and their bodies will testify against them regarding their sins. The skin will tell the person that only Allah caused them to speak as he is the one who created them.
Ayah 26: If we want the Qur'an to touch our hearts, then we have to listen carefully and think about its great message and wisdom. Commonly, disbelievers who listen to the Qur'an get positively affected by its powerful verses and may even accept Islam! This is why the disbelievers advise each other to not listen to the Qur'an because it will affect their hearts.
Ayah 29: Those who misguided others will be at the lowest rank in Jahannam and they will be trampled on by the people they themselves misguided.
Ayah 50: When a person is favoured by Allah, they will act arrogantly but when touched with evil, they will keep praying and praying to Allah for help.
Ayah 53: the key to understand the whole Surah: ٱلْـَٔافَاقِ are the external signs and أَنفُسِهِمْ are the internal signs. Allah sent these signs for us to reflect. There is a battle between those who stay steadfast and reflect on the signs (accepting the truth and teaching it) and those who reject the truth and prevent others from it.
Istaqamah is to seek Allah's help to stick to the guidance. The Mukhlis are the people of Istiqamah, those who seek steadfastness. They keep trying but nobody is perfect, only Allah is but you must keep trying to remain steadfast on being Mukhlis. They listen to the message, remain steadfast, call others to Allah, do good, etc.
Main message of the Surah: Surah al Fussilat tells us that the Mukhlis are the people of Istiqamah, those who seek steadfastness. They keep trying but nobody is perfect, only Allah is, but you must keep trying to remain steadfast on being Mukhlis.
Surah Shurah - (Mutual) Consultation
Period of Revelation: This is a Makki Surah, revealed during the severe late Makkan period.
Ash Shurah means mutual consultation. The believers stick to Allah's Shariah and do not make things Halal and Haram by their own will (whatever they agree with has to be Halal). They make rules within the boundaries of the Shariah. Here are 2 types of Tawheed and Shirk:
Tawheed fiz Zat: To believe Allah is alone in his person/being.
Shirk fiz Zat: To say Allah has a wife, children, parents, etc.
Tawheed Hakimiyyah: To say that only Allah is the rule-maker. We cannot.
Shirk Hakimiyyah: To say that we can make up our own rules (out of Shariah).
Ayat 13 to 15: To establish the Deen is to remain firm on Tawheed. All prophets and messengers came with “Laa ilaaha illAllah” so we should all agree on this word. None of us should differ regarding this. Never commit Shirk: accept, implement and convey the Deen.
Ayah 30, based on the Hadith in the Tafsir: Allah is the one who sends down the rain after people are despaired and Allah spreads the mercy. Allah is the protector, worthy of all praise.
Ayat 36 to 38: The believers believe in Allah, have Tawakkul, avoid major sins, forgive others, establish Salah, set laws within the boundaries of the Shariah and enjoin good when evil is present.
Ayat 44 to 47: The wrongdoers will plead to return to the Earth on the day of judgement so they can do good deeds to save themselves but they are exposed to the hell fire already and there is no turning back. They will stay there forever and nobody can protect them against Allah. Alla warns us to believe in the Dunyah as nobody can help us on the day of judgement.
Ayah 51: There are 3 modes of revelation mentioned in this Surah: Allah directly talking to a prophet behind a screen like in the Mi'ra; an angel comes to the prophet with a message; or the inspiration of the heart or mind, as in the Wahy is directly put into the heart of the prophet for example. All 3 happened to the prophet SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam.
Wahy: is information from Allah revealed to only the messenger. It can not be accessed through any other means.
Links
Surah Az Zumar tells us how angels are around Allah's throne, then Surah al Mu'min mentions the Angels making Du'a for the Mukhlis. Finally, Surah al Fussilat mentions how the angels give good news to the Mukhlis (the ones who stay steadfast in being Mukhlis to Allah).
The connection of the start and end of Surah Ghafir is that Allah is both forgiving/merciful but he can also punish. In the Dunyah, believe in Allah and repent for your sins. Your Emaan is worth more in the Dunyah than the Akhirah. Your Emaan of the Dunyah will benefit you in the Akhirah. The start says that Allah is forgiving and accepts Tawbah but is also severe in punishment. The end tells us to accept Emaan before it is too late so you may be forgiven, otherwise you will be punished by Allah.
Groups of Surahs: Group 5, Tawheed
Evidence and expectations regarding Tawheed. This group starts from Surah as Saba and ends at al Hujaraat. Madani Surahs within this group address the believers. Allah tells us his expectations form the believers and if you do not fulfil these, your belief may not be true. The Makki Surahs are an invitation to the Mushrikeen to believe.
Makki vs. Madani Ayat
Makki – revealed before Hijrah. The audience is the Mushrikeen of Bani Isma’il. Main topics include having Emaan/belief in Tawheed, the Messenger and the Akhirah. It motivates the Muslims and the prophet SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam to remain steadfast.
Madani – revealed after Hirah. The audience is the people of the book (Jews and Christians), the Muslims and the Munaafiqun. The main topics include Jihad, Ahkaam/rulings, Da’wah and Infaq.
Which is Makki and Madani? All 4 Surahs are Makki. Note that another name for Surah al Fussilat is Ham Mim as Sajdah