Surah al-Asr emphasises, above all else, the importance of utilising time wisely. The word ‘asr comes from the root ع ص ر ‘ayn Saad raa’, the main signification of which is pressing or squeezing out, (and hence the word عصير ‘aseer, meaning juice). So what is the relationship between time, and juice? Some linguists have …
The word for fasting in Islamic literature can appear in one of two forms – either الصوم al-sawm, or الصيام al-siyaam. So what is the difference between them, and can they be used interchangeably? Both the word الصوم al-sawm and الصيام al-siyaam are verbal noun forms from the same root – ص و م s …
In surah Anbiya Allah says: ” It is He who created night and day, the sun and the moon, revolving on its orbit. (33)” Why does Allah mention night first and day second, and after that sun first and moon second. Why isnt moon mentioned before the sun, because night was mentioned before the day? …
Ask ArabicGems: The night and the day, the sun and the moon Read More »
This post is dedicated to my baby Rahma, the joy of my heart, light of my life, and queen of my kingdom, owing to whom this site has not been updated for a while. al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, Undoubtedly the most oft-repeated names of Allāh are al-Rahmān الرحمن and al-Rahīm الرحيم, due to them …
al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, The Story of Prophet Yunus in the Qur’an is told only briefly in Surah al-Anbiya and Surah Saffat, although he is referred to elsewhere, such as al-Qalam. In brief, he was sent to a people whose unresponsiveness to him and his message led to him leaving them in frustration. In Saffat …
al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, So important is the concept of ‘happiness’ in our lives that many people – even dating back to the days of the Greek philosophers – considered its pursuit to be the very purpose of existence. Indeed, the Qur’an itself speaks of happiness as being one of the rewards of those whom …
This post is dedicated to my brother. May Allaah protect you and have mercy upon you always habibee…ameen. al-Salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullaah, One of the first concepts encountered by those who decide to submit themselves to their Creator and accept Islam as their creed and way of life, is that a Muslim is the brother …
al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, The verb خالَ khaala has two different forms that also differ in pattern and meaning. The first is the verb خال khaala (perfect tense) يَخُولُ yakhoolu (imperfect tense), خَولا khawlan (verbal noun), and it means ‘to do proficiently’ or ‘to perfect’. One may use it in the phrase خَوَّلَهُ اللهُ نِعمةً …
*Post edited and corrected on 28-10-08 al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, It has been narrated that a major scholar of the past [1] used to try and fault the Qur’an by searching for flaws in its language. His attempts and studies lasted months, during which time a group of men would frequent his house and …
al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh, The word ‘love’ appeared as a noun in the Qur’an ten times – of those ten, nine were using the word hubb حبّ, as in the verse, وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ أَندَاداً يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّهِ And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah …
