Qur’an

Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Twelve: Gratitude

In the Quran, there is a principle that when the addressee is likely to have doubts or resistance towards the message being communicated, the message should be emphasised using a particle of linguistic emphasis.   This principle is evidenced in verse 7 of Surah Ibrahim, which reads:   لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖIf you are grateful, …

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Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Nine: Dua

The words دَعَا “da’aa” and نَادَىٰ “naadaa” are both used in the Qur’an to convey the act of calling or supplicating to Allah, but they have different connotations and implications. Allah says in Surah Aal-Imran, verse 38, هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُۥ ۖ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةًۭ طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ At …

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Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Eight: Allah’s Mercy

The Qur’an is full of beautiful and subtle linguistic nuances that add depth and meaning to the text. The placement of words, prepositions, and pronouns in the Qur’an is not arbitrary, but rather carefully chosen to convey specific meanings and to emphasize certain ideas.   In speaking of His Mercy, Allah says in Surah Hud …

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Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Seven: Qur’anic Reflection

Quranic Reflection: Allah says in Surah Muhammad, verse 24 أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَآ Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān, or are there locks upon [their] hearts? He also says in Surah al-Mu’minoon, verse 68 أَفَلَمْ يَدَّبَّرُوا۟ ٱلْقَوْلَ أَمْ جَآءَهُم مَّا لَمْ يَأْتِ ءَابَآءَهُمُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ Then have they not reflected over the …

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Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Six: Allah’s Love

Allah’s Love: 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 Surah Baqarah, verse 165 وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ أَندَاداً يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّهِ And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as …

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Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Four: Allah’s Blessings

Allah’s blessings:    Allah says in Surah al-Nahl, verse 18,    وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ  And if you should count the blessings of Allāh, you could not enumerate them.    Most English translations of this verse show the word نِعْمَةَ translated in the plural – favours/blessings/bounties. Yet in the Arabic, Allah has used …

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Linguistic Gems from the Qur’an, Day Three: Good Company

Good company:   Allah says in Surah al-Nisaa’, verse 69   وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَٱلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَٱلشُّهَدَآءِ وَٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ رَفِيقًۭا Whoever obeys God and the Messenger will be among those He has blessed: the messengers, the truthful, those who bear witness to the truth, and …

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