﷽

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله

وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين

اللهم اجعلنا منهم

We begin by mentioning the Name of The One True God, Allāh, The Infinitely Caring, Eternally Compassionate. We sincerely praise and thank God to the highest extent, and ask Him to bless, protect, honor, and compliment our Prophet and Messenger Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those that diligently follow them until the end of times. Dear God, please include us from amongst them.

Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44) Part 2: Mūsā^[1] ﷺ^[2] and Firʿawn^[3]

Part 1 and Part 2

I had no intention of discussing the opening of Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44). I actually wanted to talk about Sūrah Al-Dukhān 44:29, “فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالأرْضُ - The skies and the earth did not cry over the the drowned Pharaoh and his army.”^[4] But that would require a brief backstory of Prophet Mūsā ﷺ given in this Sūrah, which meant it would be nice to briefly explain the opening of the Sūrah! Of course, it is always appropriate to go through the opening of a Sūrah to get the context in which Allāh ﷻ^[5] speaks about something. Below is a very brief timeline of Prophet Mūsā ﷺ before the drowning of Firʿawn (Pharaoh)

Brief Timeline of Prophet Mūsā ﷺ and Firʿawn (Pharaoh)

1. The Pharaoh (Firʿawn) rules Egypt (Miṣr^[6]). He has enslaved the “Israelites” aka Banū Isrāʾīl^[7] aka the progeny of “Isrāʾil” [ʿabd Allāh,^[8] slave of God] aka the Prophet Yaʿqūb^[9] ﷺ. The Israelites migrated from Kanʿān^[10] to Egypt from the time of Prophet Yūsuf^[11] ﷺ.^[12]
2. Mūsā ﷺ, an israelite, is born. Allāh ﷻ commanded his mother (Umm Mūsā^[13]) to put him in a basket and then place that basket in the Nile river.^[14]
3. The basket reaches the wife of Pharaoh (Firʿawn) who then tells him they should take him, baby Mūsā ﷺ, as their son. Mūsā ﷺ grows up in the household of Pharaoh.^[15]
4. Mūsā ﷺ grows up. One day, he sees someone from Banū Isrāʾil (his people) fighting with an Egyption. Mūsā ﷺ comes to help, but accidentally kills the Egyption. The next day, Mūsā ﷺ sees the same Isrāʾīlī guy in another fight with another Egyptian, and realizes the Isrāʾīlī is the problem maker. The isrāʾīlī then tells the Egyptian that Mūsā ﷺ killed someone yesterday. Mūsā ﷺ flees Egypt.^[16]
5. Mūsā ﷺ goes to Madyan,^[17] gets married, and lives there. He then leaves Madyan with his family (ahl^[18]), at which point he gets revelation from Allāh ﷻ. Allāh ﷻ tells Mūsā ﷺ that he must now preach to Pharaoh.^[19]
6. Mūsā ﷺ goes to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh rejects. Many years go by - perhaps even four decades - with Mūsā ﷺ continuing to preach. The nine signs occur (staff to snake, glowing hand, frogs, lice, blood, etc).^[20]

The above is what proceeds - implicitly and/or explicitly - the passage in Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44).

Qurʾānic Passage of Prophet Mūsā ﷺ and Firʿawn (Pharaoh) in Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44)

فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنَّ هَؤُلاءِ قَوْمٌ مُجْرِمُونَ (٢٢) فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي لَيْلا إِنَّكُمْ مُتَّبَعُونَ (٢٣) وَاتْرُكِ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا إِنَّهُمْ جُنْدٌ مُغْرَقُونَ (٢٤) كَمْ تَرَكُوا مِنْ جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (٢٥) وَزُرُوعٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ (٢٦) وَنَعْمَةٍ كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ (٢٧) كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ (٢٨) فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالأرْضُ وَمَا كَانُوا مُنْظَرِينَ (٢٩)

“So he (Mūsā) prayed to his Master, ‘These people (Pharaoh and his army) are criminals!’ (So his Master answered his prayer and said,) ‘Take My slaves at night (and leave Egypt); all of you will be pursed.’ (... Once they get to the sea, and the sea splits, and Prophet Mūsā ﷺ and the believers make it across... Allāh says,) ‘and leave the sea as is; they (Pharaoh and his army) are a drowned army.’ ... How many gardens and rivers did they leave behind? How many crops!? How much great land!? How many luxuries and delights that they used to indulge in did they leave behind!? That is how we hand it (all of those luxuries) over to another community. The sky, nor the earth cried for them. They (Pharaoh and his army) were not given any extra time.’”

فَدَعَا رَبَّهُ أَنَّ هَؤُلاءِ قَوْمٌ مُجْرِمُونَ “So he (Mūsā) prayed to his Master, ‘These people (Pharaoh and his army) are criminals!’”

Prophet Mūsā ﷺ preached and preached, showed them miracle after miracle, yet experienced too many broken promises of “we will believe if ...” from Pharaoh. As Allāh ﷻ says, “وَلَمَّا وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرِّجْزُ قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى ادْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ بِمَا عَهِدَ عِنْدَكَ لَئِنْ كَشَفْتَ عَنَّا الرِّجْزَ لَنُؤْمِنَنَّ لَكَ وَلَنُرْسِلَنَّ مَعَكَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ - Ever time a miraculous calamaty befell them (Pharaoh and his council), they would say, ‘O Moses! Pray to your Master for us (or on our behalf)! If you save us from this calamity, will will totally believe, and we will free Banū Isrāʾīl and let them go with you!’”^[21] Decades have gone by. Promises have been broken. Pharaoh has repeatedly lied. The believers still undergo mockery and torture. At this point - after decades of beautiful patience and perseverance - Mūsā ﷺ begged Allāh ﷻ to put an end to Pharaoh and his evil people.^[22] The āyah here simply states that Mūsā ﷺ said, “أَنَّ هَؤُلاءِ قَوْمٌ مُجْرِمُونَ - they are criminals!” So he did not “ask” for anything. Perhaps we can infer his desire to leave Pharaoh, to be free of his tyranny and torture, to be relieved of his duty of preaching to him because - in Mūsā ﷺ’s best judgment - Pharaoh will not believe. We see that verbalized in Sūrah Yūnus (#10), “وَقَالَ مُوسَى رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ آتَيْتَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلأَهُ زِينَةً وَأَمْوَالا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا رَبَّنَا لِيُضِلُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِكَ رَبَّنَا اطْمِسْ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَاشْدُدْ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَلا يُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الأَلِيمَ - Moses said, ‘Our Master! You gave Pharaoh and his council wealth and luxuries in this life so would (as a test) drive humanity away from Your Path!^[23] Our Lord! Destroy their wealth! Harden and seal their hearts so that they do not believe until they see the painful punishment (of their drowning).^[24]’”^[25]

فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي “‘Take My slaves at night (and leave Egypt)’”

Allāh ﷻ responded to his prayer. Allāh ﷻ addresses Mūsā, “فَأَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي - Take My slaves at night (and leave Egypt),”^[26] which is the response to Mūsā ﷺ’s duʿāʾ.^[27] The verb “asrā”^[28] means to travel at night and the same word is used for night journey of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ,^[29] and the same word is used in every occurrence of this event mentioned in The Qurʾān.^[30] The addition of “لَيْلا - at night” is only mentioned in this Sūrah (Al-Dukhān #44). — May Allāh ﷻ open up my heart and mind to know why this detail is only mentioned here, āmīn^[31].^[32]

إِنَّكُم مُّتَّبَعُونَ “You (O Moses and your people, the Israelites) will be pursed!”

Allāh ﷻ does tell Mūsā ﷺ that it will not be an easy escape - “إِنَّكُم مُّتَّبَعُونَ - you will be pursed,”^[33] meaning Pharaoh and his army will chase after you. The details of the chase are mentioned in Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ (#26).^[34]

Cut Scene to Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ (#26):^[35]

فَأَرْسَلَ فِرْعَوْنُ فِي الْمَدَائِنِ حَاشِرِينَ (٥٣) إِنَّ هَؤُلاءِ لَشِرْذِمَةٌ قَلِيلُونَ (٥٤) وَإِنَّهُمْ لَنَا لَغَائِظُونَ (٥٥) وَإِنَّا لَجَمِيعٌ حَاذِرُونَ (٥٦) فَأَخْرَجْنَاهُمْ مِنْ جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ (٥٧) وَكُنُوزٍ وَمَقَامٍ كَرِيمٍ (٥٨) كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ (٥٩) فَأَتْبَعُوهُمْ مُشْرِقِينَ (٦٠) فَلَمَّا تَرَاءَى الْجَمْعَانِ قَالَ أَصْحَابُ مُوسَى إِنَّا لَمُدْرَكُونَ (٦١) قَالَ كَلا إِنَّ مَعِيَ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ (٦٢) فَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى أَنِ اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْبَحْرَ فَانْفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرْقٍ كَالطَّوْدِ الْعَظِيمِ (٦٣) وَأَزْلَفْنَا ثَمَّ الآخَرِينَ (٦٤) وَأَنْجَيْنَا مُوسَى وَمَنْ مَعَهُ أَجْمَعِينَ (٦٥)

“(Once Pharaoh got word of the escape of Moses and Banū Isrāʾīl) Pharaoh calls out to gather an army from the surrounding lands (under his reign). (Pharaoh incites them by saying,) ‘(These Israelites) are just a small group of bandits! They have done nothing but infuriate us! We are and have been on alert to save ourselves from their evil plans.’ (Allāh comments,) ‘(As a result) We drove Pharaoh and his council out of Egypt. We drove them out of their gardens and rivers; out and away from their treasures and fertile land. And as easily as that, We (will) let Banū Isrāʾīl take over those lands.’ [Back to the chase.] Pharaoh and his army caught up to Moses and his followers in the morning. (Moses and the believers have reached a large body of water and cannot go any further.) When the two groups (Banū Isrāʾīl and Pharaoh’s army) see each other, the followers of Moses exclaim, ‘We have been caught (and captured)!’ Moses responds by proclaiming, ‘Not a chance! My Master is with me, and He WILL guide me!’ (At that point,) We (Allāh) inspired Moses, ‘Hit the body of water with your staff, O Moses!’ (When Moses did that) The body of water split (into two) and each half was like a giant mountain. And We (Allāh) gathered (each of the groups) together. (We - Allāh - got all of Moses’ followers together in preparation to pass through the split of the body of water, and We - Allāh - gathered and regrouped Pharaoh’s army together as they approached Moses and his people.) We (Allāh) saved Moses and his followers (by allowing all of them to safely pass across the body of water).”

Back to Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44).

وَاتْرُكِ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا “‘Leave the sea as is’”

Allāh ﷻ gave Mūsā ﷺ the command - as has come in Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ - “اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْبَحْرَ - Hit the body of water with your staff, O Moses!” After Mūsā ﷺ struck the water with his staff, “فَانْفَلَقَ - the body of water split”^[36] and “فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرْقٍ كَالطَّوْدِ الْعَظِيمِ - each split section was like a towering mountain”^[37] with a dry walkable patch of earth in between. After the believers from Banū Isrāʾīl crossed, Allāh ﷻ told Mūsā ﷺ to “وَاتْرُكِ الْبَحْرَ رَهْوًا - leave the sea as is.” - Why? What does this mean? The scenario is as follows.

Mūsā ﷺ and the believers just crossed through a dry patch (yabas^[38])^[39] between the towering “mountains” of water. All the believers have made it across. Now they see Pharaoh and his army about to enter the water. It is most likely at this point when Allāh ﷻ tells Mūsā ﷺ to leave the sea as is. There is an athar^[40] “quote” from Qatādah^[41] (d. 118 AH - raḥimahu Allāh^[42]) that when Mūsā ﷺ and the believers crossed the sea,^[43] Mūsā ﷺ^[44] did not want to pathway in the sea to remain, fearing that Pharaoh would be able to “cross the sea” just like they did.^[45],[46] That is why Allāh ﷻ told him to leave the water as is, and to not strike the body of water with his staff again so that is does NOT “re-form” just yet, so that Pharaoh and his army could be drowned.

Allāh ﷻ’s Divinely Perfect Plan

What a beautiful thing to note about the perfect limitless divine wisdom of Allāh ﷻ. Any human would think, “I hope the sea goes back to normal so that Pharaoh cannot cross it and is thus unable to catch up to us.” We would want Pharaoh to be stuck on the other side of the sea while we escape. But Allāh ﷻ is Allāh - How Perfectly Perfect is He! This was the prime opportunity to let Pharaoh be fully deluded in his arrogance, to destroy Pharaoh and his army, AND to show the believers that they have been destroyed, drowned, and killed in front of their very own eyes! If the water re-formed, Pharaoh would not have crossed. But, he could have come up with some other plan to go after the Muslims. He could have built ships. He could have swam. He could have, and probably would, have tried something. And some believers would always have the looming thought of “Pharaoh and his army are still out there searching for us,” filling their lives with fear and endless paranoia.

Instead, Allāh ﷻ gave Pharaoh and his army an opening: a chance to cross. Why Pharaoh still rejected Allāh ﷻ after seeing the water split is a sign of his own ignorance and arrogance. Pharaoh choosing to cross is only out of his ignorance and arrogance. So he crossed - and when him and his entire army were in between the towering mountains of water - the water collapsed on all of them, “ثُمَّ أَغْرَقْنَا الآخَرِينَ - Then, We (Allāh), drowned those who were left (Pharaoh and his army).”^[47] All of this is happening as the believers are watching safe and dry. They are eye witnesses to the literal death, drowning, and destruction of their oppressors, and the oppressors of believers and generations before. They saw their dead corpses floating on the surface of the sea. Lifeless. With no chance of life like what could be seen by someone who has physically killed their enemy on the battlefield; the enemy may have a few breaths, they might be able to be bandaged up. But for Pharaoh and his army, they were clearly dead. Even though Pharaoh did utter that he was a believer on his dying breath, “حَتَّى إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ آمَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ - Then, as Pharaoh was drowning, he said, ‘I believe that nothing is worthy of worship except for The One Whom Banū Isrāʾīl in, and I am a Muslim!’”^[48] Pharaoh’s “statement of belief” did not matter because he said it as he was dying (gharghar): as the unseen realm (al-ghayb) became the seen realm (al-shahādah) for him. That is because the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ said, “إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقْبَلُ تَوْبَةَ الْعَبْدِ مَا لَمْ يُغَرْغِرْ - Allāh will accept a person's repentance as long as they repent before their soul starts to leave their body (gharghar).”^[49]

For these believers that underwent such generational oppression, Allāh ﷻ brought a level of ease to their hearts in this world through their witnessing of the death of Pharaoh and his army. That was, no doubt, from the infinitely wise and divine plan of Allāh ﷻ. However, seeing the death of oppressors is not always a part of the perfectly wise and perfect plan of Allāh ﷻ. As Allāh ﷻ tells His beloved Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in Sūrah Al-Zukhruf, “فَإِمَّا نَذۡهَبَنَّ بِكَفَإِمَّا نَذْهَبَنَّ بِكَ فَإِنَّا مِنْهُمْ مُنْتَقِمُونَ أَوْ نُرِيَنَّكَ الَّذِي وَعَدْنَاهُمْ فَإِنَّا عَلَيْهِمْ مُقْتَدِرُونَ - Either We (Allāh) will take you (O Prophet) away (by taking your soul). If so, know that We are fully capable of taking revenge against them (the disbelievers of your people). Or We will show you what we have in store for them (lit. what We have threateningly promised them). If so, know that We are fully capable of carrying it out against them.”^[50] The Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ did teach us a duʿāʾ (prayer) in which he ﷺ asked Allāh ﷻ to allow him to see the death of his oppressors. He ﷺ said, “اللَّهُمَّ أَصْلِحْ لِي سَمْعِي وَبَصَرِي وَاجْعَلْهُمَا الْوَارِثَيْنِ مِنِّي وَانْصُرْنِي عَلَى مَنْ ظَلَمَنِي وَأَرِنِي مِنْهُ ثَأْرِي‏ - O Allāh, keep my sight and hearing sound and strong, and allow them to always be healthy and well. Help me and support me against those who have wronged me. Allow me to and let me live to see the day I get them back, avenge myself, get revenge, and see their downfall.”^[51]

We pray that Allāh ﷻ grants us all the ability to see the end of Zionism, CCP, Hindutva, and all other oppressive powers with our own two eyes, and that He saves us from having anything to do with - let alone promote - any evil or oppression, āmīn.

Back to the āyāt at hand...

إِنَّهُمْ جُنْدٌ مُغْرَقُونَ “They are a drowned army”

This could have been said by Allāh ﷻ to Mūsā ﷺ, or it could be Allāh ﷻ’s commentary after the fact to us. If Allāh ﷻ told it to Mūsā ﷺ at that time, He ﷻ is explaining why, and perhaps also comforting Mūsā ﷺ that, “leave the sea as is, but do not worry, they are not going to reach you.”

كَمْ تَرَكُوا “How much did the leave behind!?”

Next, Allāh ﷻ moves on to discuss the entire pharaoh-kingdom left behind. He ﷻ also briefly talks about this before their drowning in Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ.^[52] Look at what they left behind! “كَمْ تَرَكُوا” How many things did they leave behind? The implied meaning is that they “left” behind so many things. So many great wonderful things. They did not choose to leave them there, but they left their homes and riches, hoping to return after tasting sweet “revenge” — even though it cannot be considered revenge since Mūsā ﷺ and Hārūn ﷺ never intended to harm them, rather they (Mūsā ﷺ and Hārūn ﷺ) were harmed for their attempts to try and save pharaoh and his people from Hell! What did Allāh ﷻ chose to highlight? They left behind:

1. جَنَّات - gardens
2. عُيُونٍ - rivers
3. زُرُوع - crops, farms, orchards
4. كُنُوز - treasures^[53]
5. مَقَام كَرِيم - noble/generous land, meaning: (a) the land owned by great noble people and/or (b) valuable fertile beautiful land
6. نَعْمَة - luxuries and delights, كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ - that they used to enjoy and indulge in. The “فِيهَا - in” can refer to “نَعْمَة - luxuries and delights,” or it can refer to everything just mentioned above

كَذَلِكَ وَأَوْرَثْنَاهَا قَوْمًا آخَرِينَ “That is how we hand it (all of those luxuries) over to another community.”

Allāh ﷻ mentions that this is the process that He ﷻ uses to give ownership and control of land, resources, and luxuries to other people. People reject and disobey Allāh ﷻ, as a result they are given time to get their act together. If they persist in their disbelief and oppression, they can be destroyed. After their destruction, Allāh ﷻ can hand over - as “inheritance”^[54] - the land, resources, and luxuries to others who are deserving of it. In this case, it is most likely referring to Banū Isrāʾīl.^[55],[56]

Now... The āyah that was the reason for writing these articles...

فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ وَالأرْضُ “The sky, nor the earth cried for them.”

This is Allāh ﷻ’s comment after Pharaoh and his army were drowned. What does it mean that, “The sky, nor the earth cried for them.”? Al-Shaykh Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan Al-Qinnawjī (d. 1307 AH / 1890 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) summarizes the lengthy discussions into three main points:^[57]

1. No creature from the skies (angels and jinn), nor any creature from earth (humans, animals, etc) cried over them (ahl al-samāʾ wa al-arḍ^[58]).
2. This was said to disgrace them (Pharaoh and his army) because they used to brag that the sky and earth would cry at their death because - they thought - they were so great.
3. The sky itself and the earth itself actually did not cry over them. That was mentioned because the sky and earth do cry when certain people die.

Try Crying of the Sky and Earth

This is the main concept I wanted to write about, and is the reason this article and the previous article were written. What follows is, for the most part, a summary of Shaykh Al-Mufassirīn (Senior Exegete) Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH - raḥimahuAllāh) discussion on this āyah in his legendary Tafsīr, work Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān.^[59],[60]

Firstly, the “crying” (bukāʾ^[61]) of the sky refers to the reddish horizon. Secondly, the sky and earth “cry” for 40 days after the death of a pious believer. The sky cries because every human has a gate (bāb^[62]) through which his or her dhikr (remembrance and mention of Allāh) and good deeds (ʿamal ṣāliḥ^[63]) goes up through, and their sustenance (rizq^[64]) comes down through that very gate. So when a pious believer dies, that gate is closed, and thus the sky begins to cry because all the beautiful good deeds that would pass through it have come to an end.

This is related to the āyah from Sūrah Fāṭir, “إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ - good words (i.e., dhikr) (try to) go up to Allāh whereas good deeds carry them up (to Allāh).”^[65] As such, when we remember and mention Allāh ﷻ on our tongues (dhikr^[66]), we can understand that it “tries/wants”^[67] to go up (yaṣʿad^[68]) to Allāh, but it cannot. But when a formal complete good deed is done, for example ṣalāh^[69] (the ritual prayer), that ṣalāh will carry (yarfaʿ^[70]) the dhikr up to Allāh ﷻ. It has also said that angels (Malāʾikah^[71]) carry up the dhikr.^[72]

The great companion (ṣaḥābī), ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh^[73]), said that as our actions and adhkār^[74] are being taken up by an angel, other angels look at it and inquire about it; if it is good - and it will be good because it is on its way up - they pray for the “sender” (aka doer) of those words and actions. They are then taken all the way up to (ilayh^[75]) Allāh ﷻ, and presented to Him ﷻ. Kaʿb adds on and says that the dhikr remains there around the ʿarsh (throne of God)^[76] and it buzzes around the ʿarsh like the buzzing of bees, while the good deeds are stored away and saved (as khazāʾin^[77]).^[78]

Subḥān-Allāh! We may often wonder “how” our adhkār and good deeds “function”, how they are recorded, and/or how they will be shown and presented. But our dhikr will keep “playing” and will continue to be audible as it continues to hum and buzz the beautiful praises and perfection of Allāh ﷻ! Hopefully forever! So I say:

سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ! الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ! لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا اللهُ! وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ! تَبَارَكَ اللهُ! سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ

How far beyond perfect is Allāh because all praise and thanks belongs to Him! All praise and thanks belongs to Allāh. Nothing is worthy of worship except The One True God, Allāh! Allāh is Far Greater! How blessed is Allāh! How far beyond perfect is Allāh because all praise and thanks belongs to Him! How far beyond perfect is Allāh, The Perfectly Supreme!

Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahhu Allāh) continues to say and quote that the earth also cries because that pious believer would do good deeds: good deeds that the earth witnessed, and was the place from which the good deeds ascended into the sky.^[79] We often think about people crying over us when we die. However, some people cry out of human nature. Not everyone cries over the death of someone because that person was a great individual. Also, people do not know the sincerity (or lack thereof) of others. So someone may cry over a relative that always took care of their finances, but in reality that charity was out of arrogance. But, perhaps, the sky and earth - like angels - can see a little beyond that (not that they know our thoughts and deepest intentions, but perhaps they have some insight into one’s true intentions). Just imagine and internalize: the place you used to pray will cry over you. That piece of earth and carpet will miss you and your worship. Your muṣḥaf (physical copy of the Qurʾān) will miss being read by you. The walls will miss hearing your duʿāʾ (supplication and prayers). Your phone will miss the kind words you would tell your family. Your sink will miss your wuḍūʾ (purificatory ablution). The transistors in the server farms that processed your donations will cry because you are no longer alive to donate!

Secret Generosity

There are a number of stories about ʿAlī ibn Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (d. 94 AH - raḥimahu Allāh wa raḍiya ʿan abīh wa jaddih^[80]) - the great-grandson of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ - and the people of Al-Madīnah. People used to think he was stingy. Separate from that, there were a number of households in Al-Madīnah that were very poor and could not afford food. But every morning, those poor households would find food outside of their house. That was a daily occurrence for years, yet they never knew who brought the food there. But when ʿAlī ibn Al-Ḥusayn (raḥimahu Allāh) passed away, the “daily delivery” of food on their doorstep stopped, and they realized it was him who used to drop off that food every night for years.^[81]. It is said that he himself (raḥimahu Allāh) would carry bags of bread on his back to deliver, and that the morning he died, over a 100 homes did not have bread in the morning.^[82] We can imagine those families crying. But what about the sand of Al-Madīnah, the walls of those homes, the moon that saw him, the sandals he walked in as he would walk at night, the clothes he wore, the mill he used, the oven he used... All crying over him because they no longer get to see and take part in his sincere charity (ṣadaqah). Raḥimahu Allāh.

وَمَا كَانُوا مُنْظَرِينَ “They were not given any extra time.”

Pharaoh and his army were not given any more time than what Allāh ﷻ had already allotted for them. There is no, “if only we had more time;” we only get what we are going to get. No injustice was done. No second chances. They were not given a second more - nor less - of life than they were predetermined to have, not even to make tawbah^[83] (turning back to Allāh); they missed their chance. Rather, when the divinely decreed scheduled time of punishment and death came, it came.

اللهم فهمنا

ربنا زدنا علما

اللهم فقهنا في الدين وعلمنا التأويل

اللهم معلم آدم وإبراهيم ومحمد علمنا مما علمتهم

اللهم ارزقنا علما نافعا وحكمة بالغة

اللهم افتح علينا فتوح العارفين

يا فتاح يا عليم

اللهم صل وسلم على رسولك المصطفى الكريم

وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين

اللهم اجعلنا منهم

Written primarily on the 22^nd of Ramaḍān 1445 AH.

Credits to Editors

May Allāh ﷻ reward those who helped write and edit this, including, but not limited to, Shaykhah Ayesha Syed Hussain.

Footnotes

1. Arabic for Moses. In Arabic: موسى ↑
2. Unicode for ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallāma, meaning: may Allāh (God) bless, honor, and preserve the legacy of Prophet Muḥammad (or whoever is mentioned, in this case, Prophet Moses) ↑
3. In Arabic: فِرْعَوْن ↑
4. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Dukhān 44:29 ↑
5. Unicode for jalla jalāluhu, meaning: His (God’s) Majesty is exalted and far above everything else ↑
6. In Arabic: مِصْر ↑
7. In Arabic: بنو إسرائيل ↑
8. In Arabic: عبد الله ↑
9. Arabic for Jacob. In Arabic: يعقوب ↑
10. Arabic for Canaan. In Arabic: كنعان ↑
11. Arabic for Joseph. In Arabic: يوسف ↑
12. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Yūsuf #12, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Ghāfir #40 ↑
13. In Arabic: أم موسى ↑
14. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah ṬāHā #20, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ #28 ↑
15. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ #28 ↑
16. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ #28 ↑
17. In Arabic: مدين. It could, perhaps, be around the modern day city of Midian. ↑
18. In Arabic: أهل. But the intended meaning here is literally just his wife. ↑
19. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah ṬāHā #20, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ #28 ↑
20. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf #7, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Isrāʾ #17, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah ṬāHā #20, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ #28 ↑
21. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:134 ↑
22. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Yūnus 10:88 ↑
23. Another way to translate this would be, “You gave Pharaoh and his council wealth and luxuries in this life because of their evil and misguidance!” or “You gave Pharaoh and his council wealth and luxuries in this life, and so now they are away from Your Path!” See Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 10 a. 88 ↑
24. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 10 a. 88 ↑
25. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Yūnus 10:88 ↑
26. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Dukhān 44:23 ↑
27. In Arabic: دُعَاء ↑
28. In Arabic: أَسْرَى ↑
29. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Isrāʾ 17:1 ↑
30. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah ṬāHā 22:77, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:52, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Dukhān 44:23 ↑
31. Arabic for “Dear God, respond to this prayer (duʿāʾ)!” ↑
32. I have a tiny feeling within myself that the use of laylan here is the Qurʾānic hint that the Biblical Passover is a fabricated story. For more information, see Shaykh Hamza Karamali’s “Exposing the Passover” (link: https://youtu.be/K2MhYqfWLCM?si=MkRTtNzn_EJ_uBNO). ↑
33. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Dukhān 44:23 ↑
34. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:52-68 ↑
35. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:52-66. The last two āyah’s were skipped here to proceed with additional details mentioned only in Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44) ↑
36. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:63 ↑
37. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:63 ↑
38. In Arabic: يَبَس ↑
39. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah ṬāHā 22:77 ↑
40. In Arabic: أَثر ↑
41. He is Qatādah ibn Diʿāmah Al-Baṣrī Al-Sadūsī (raḥimahu Allāh). He is from the greatest of scholars and teachers of his generation. He is a senior scholar in Tafsīr (Qurʾānic Exegesis) and Ḥadīth (Prophetic Narration). He was blind from birth. He is from Al-Ṭabaqah Al-Thālithah (the “3^rd generation”). For more, see: Al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ v. 5 p. 269-283 ↑
42. Arabic for “May God have mercy and compassion on him” ↑
43. I, the author, have preferred to use the term “body of water” throughout the article since there is a discussion in regards to what baḥr (body of water) was split. The most common view is that it was the Red Sea. Some scholars - those who opine that Banū Isrāʾīl did re-enter Egypt shortly after this major event - believe it was the Nile River itself. ↑
44. Qatādah does not mention a source for this. Perhaps, and Allāh knows what is true, this could be a simplification, and it was his followers that had a feeling of worry and urgency, and they were making comments among themselves and/or to their Prophet Mūsā ﷺ to hit the body of water so that returns to the way it was. ↑
45. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 24 ↑
46. Qatādah probably got this from “Irāʾīliyyāt” (Judeaca) ↑
47. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:66 ↑
48. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Yūnus 10:90 ↑
49. Al-Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ: Kitāb Al-Daʿawāt #3537 ↑
50. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Zukhruf 43:41-42 ↑
51. Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad: Bāb Duʿāʾ Al-Rajul ʿala man Ẓalamahu #649-650. Ḥadīth #650 has the following wording, “اللَّهُمَّ مَتِّعْنِي بِسَمْعِي وَبَصَرِي وَاجْعَلْهُمَا الْوَارِثَ مِنِّي وَانْصُرْنِي عَلَى عَدُوِّي وَأَرِنِي مِنْهُ ثَأْرِي‏” ↑
52. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:57-58 ↑
53. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:58 ↑
54. In Arabic: إرث (irth) or ميراث (mīrāth) ↑
55. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 7 a. 137 ↑
56. I need to do more research, but something is unclear to me. I am not aware of Banū Isrāʾīl going back to Egypt. Rather, they were supposed to go to Al-Quds (Jerusalem), and enter The Holy Land (Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah) as stated in Al-Qurʾān Sūrah Al-Māʾidah 5:21. So then, what is the reference to “We hand it over as inheritance”? Al-Ṭabarī explains that ِAl-Qurʾān Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:137 refers to them getting Al-Quds (Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 7 a. 137). Siddiq Ḥasan Khan says that some people have said, “Banū Isrāʾīl never returned to Egypt, thus the heirs in this āyah are not Banū Isrāʾīl. But that is a really weak opinion.” (Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 28) Allāh ﷻ knows best. — اللهم فقهنا في الدين وعلمنا التأويل! ↑
57. Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 29 ↑
58. In Arabic: أهل السماء وأهل الأرض ↑
59. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 29 ↑
60. It should be noted that Al-Ṭabarī quotes these details from Ṣāḥābah (companions of the Prophet ﷺ) and Tābiʿūn (students of the ṣaḥābah), and thus there is little to no attribution to the Prophet ﷺ. ↑
61. In Arabic: بُكَاء ↑
62. In Arabic: باب ↑
63. In Arabic: عمل صالح ↑
64. In Arabic: رِزْق ↑
65. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Fāṭir 35:10 ↑
66. In Arabic: ذِكْر ↑
67. the “try/want” is my explanation to piece the different explanations of the ṣaḥābah and tābiʿūn together into a single cohesive explanation ↑
68. In Arabic: يَصْعَد ↑
69. In Arabic: صَلاة ↑
70. In Arabic: يَرْفَع ↑
71. In Arabic: مَلَائِكَة ↑
72. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 35 a. 10 ↑
73. Arabic phrase for, “May God be pleased with him.” Used primarily for the Ṣāḥābah (companions of the Prophet ﷺ). ↑
74. Plural of dhikr ↑
75. In Arabic: إليه ↑
76. In Arabic: عَرْش ↑
77. In Arabic: خزائن ↑
78. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 35 a. 10 ↑
79. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 29 ↑
80. May God have mercy and compassion on him, and may God be pleased with his father (Al-Ḥusayn the son of Fāṭimah raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā the daughter of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ) and his grandfather (ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib) ↑
81. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Al-Zuhd: Zuhd ʿAlī ibn Al-Ḥusayn #928 p. 137 ↑
82. Ibn Al-Jawzī, Ṣifah Al-Ṣafwah v. 1 p. 355 ↑
83. In Arabic: تَوْبَة ↑

﷽

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله

وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين

اللهم اجعلنا منهم

We begin by mentioning the Name of The One True God, Allāh, The Infinitely Caring, Eternally Compassionate. We sincerely praise and thank God to the highest extent, and ask Him to bless, protect, honor, and compliment our Prophet and Messenger Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those that diligently follow them until the end of times. Dear God, please include us from amongst them.

Sūrah Al-Dukhān (#44) Part 1: Laylah Al-Qadr

حم (١) وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ (٢) إِنَّا أَنزلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِينَ (٣) فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ (٤) أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ (٥) رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (٦)

“Ḥā Mīm. I swear by the clear and clarifying book! No doubt We, yes We, revealed it on a blessed night filled with increasing goodness. (I/We swear that,) no doubt We, yes We, are a Warner! On that night, every planned, wise, and decided matter is clarified and dispatched as a command from Us. No doubt We, yes We, are a Sender of messengers. (The revealing of books and sending of messengers is) compassion from your Master. No doubt He, yes He, is Eternally Hearing, Eternally Knowing.”^[1]

حم “Ḥā Mīm”

These are “ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿah”^[2] or “broken letters”, meaning that they are individual letters from the Arabic alphabet that do not make up a word. There is much that can be said, but simply put, it has the possibility of serving the following few goals (among others).

Firstly, it is an address to the Arabs of Makkah. You have known this man, Muḥammad, for 45 years now. You know he never got a formal education, and that he for sure does not know how to read or write. But here he is, quoting letters of the alphabet to you. You only know the alphabet if you learn formally. So that means he is getting an education. But that begs the questions: who is teaching him? The answer? The One True God, Allāh ﷻ^[3] via The Archangel Jibrīl ﷺ^[4] (Gabriel).

Secondly, do you Arabs not claim to be the apex race when it comes to language, composition, style, rhetoric, and depth of meaning? But here you are, stumped, duped, and dumbfounded by some letters?!

With both of those possible reasons in mind, a practical application is born. In The Qurʾān, these broken letters are just about always followed by a mention of The Qurʾān itself and its Greatness. However, there are a few “half” exceptions, such as:

1. In Sūrah Maryam (#19), Allāh ﷻ starts by saying, “‎كهيعص ذِكْرُ رَحْمَتِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُ زَكَرِيَّا - Kāf. Hāʾ. Yāʾ. ʿAyn. Ṣād. This is a mention of the kindness (raḥmah) of your Master, Allāh, upon His slave Zachariah.”^[5] Perhaps we can still consider this a mention of The Qurʾān since it is The Qurʾān that is doing the mentioning. The Prophet ﷺ has no other access to his story other than what Allāh ﷻ revealed to him in The Qurʾān.
2. In Sūrah Al-ʿAnkabūt (#29), Allāh ﷻ starts by saying, “الم أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا أَنْ يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ - Alif. Lām. Mīm. Do people really think they can just say, ‘We believe,’ and as a result they will be left alone without being tested?”^[6] Perhaps this can also work because a part of belief (āmannā) is belief in The Qurʾān.
3. In Sūrah Al-Rūm (#30), Allāh ﷻ starts by saying, “الم غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ - Alif. Lām. Mīm. The Byzantine Empire has suffered a major defeat in a neighboring region. However, in just a few years, The Byzantine Empire will have a decisive victory over the Sassanid Empire.”^[7] Perhaps this also pans out because this prediction of the downfall of the Sassanid/Persian empire was a Divine Qurʾānic Prediction. The Byzantine Empire suffered a major loss, not only as stated by The Qurʾān, but also as witnessed by the Arabs. But The Qurʾān, with Divine Confidence, stated that within 3-9 years^[8] the Byzantine Empire will come back as a victor. If this actually did happen - which it did - it will be a proof of the veracity of The Qurʾān.

وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ “I swear by the clear and clarifying book!”

As discussed earlier, broken letters are followed by the mention of Qurʾān. That is exactly what happens here. Allāh swears by The Qurʾān: the clear and clarifying (mubīn^[9]) book. This is an oath (qasam^[10]) taken by Allāh ﷻ. After swearing by something, the point at hand (jawāb al-qasam) will be made. For example, if someone says, “I swear to God (wallāhi^[11]) I did not eat that apple!” then their statement “I swear to God” is the qasam (the swear), and their statement “I did not eat that apple” is the jawāb al-qasam^[12] (the point of the swear). When Allāh ﷻ says, “يس وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ - Yā Sīn. I swear by the perfectly knit commanding book of wisdom (i.e., The Qurʾān) that you (O Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ) are from those who have been sent!”^[13] then the statement of Allāh, “وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ - I swear by the perfectly knit commanding book of wisdom” is the qasam, and “إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ - you are from those who have been sent!” is the jawāb al-qasam. There is a very deep study of what Allāh ﷻ swears by depending on what point He is trying to make. May Allāh ﷻ open our hearts and minds to get even a taste of that. Āmīn!^[14]

إِنَّا أَنزلْنَاهُ “No doubt We, yes We, revealed it”

The repetition within “We, yes We” comes from the fact that Allāh ﷻ stated the pronoun “We” twice in addition to a particle of emphasis (inna^[15]). This is often lost in translation due the repetitive nature, but it detracts from the multiple layers and modes of emphasis utilized by Allāh ﷻ. The verb “anzala”^[16] means to send something down from above. It is most often used with (a) revelation, and (b) rain. There is much that can be said, but to keep it short, just like Allāh ﷻ sends rain down from above to bring the dead earth back to life, He ﷻ sent The Qurʾān, which is revelation and guidance, down from above to bring the dead soulless human back to life and faith.

فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ “on a blessed night filled with increasing goodness.”

Allāh ﷻ continues and says that He sent it, meaning the clear and clarifying book (The Qurʾān) mentioned in the previous āyah on a “blessed night”.^[17] The word “mubārakah”^[18] means something that is divinely blessed, and has barakah placed inside of it by Allāh ﷻ.^[19] We often translate barakah as “blessing”, and despite the mental connection made, we fail to understand what barakah and blessings truly are. The term barakah refers to an increase in good. We can understand it in this very simple example: one person can eat an entire pizza and not feel satisfied, whereas another person (of similar size and metabolism) can eat a couple slices and feel extremely satisfied. We are not focused on the quantity, rather the quality, as well as the ability for us to do or experience more with less via blessings and an increase in goodness from Allāh ﷻ.

The preposition used is technically “in” (fī^[20]) but in English we say “on a certain night” as opposed to “in a certain night.” How this night is blessed and has an ever increasing amount of goodness is beyond our comprehension, but one possible way will be discussed shortly.

What Night is This?

Which night is this “blessed night”? There are two main opinions as quoted by Shaykh Al-Mufassirīn (Senior Exegete) Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH - raḥimahuAllāh)^[21]: (1) Laylah Al-Qadr^[22] (The Night of “Al-Qadr”,^[23] to be explained later) or (2) Laylah Al-Niṣf Min Shaʿbān^[24] (i.e., the 15^th night of the 8^th Hijrī month named Shaʿbān^[25]). He, as well as the vast majority of scholars^[26] go with the former, that Laylah Al-Qadr is being referred to. This is because Laylah Al-Qadr is in Ramaḍān,^[27],[28] and without a doubt, some aspect of The Qurʾān’s revelation took place in Ramaḍān since Allāh ﷻ says, “شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ - Ramaḍān is the month in which The Qurʾān was revealed.”^[29]

Three Aspects of Laylah Al-Qadr

Allāh ﷻ informs us of three aspects of Laylah Al-Qadr in Sūrah Al-Qadr (Sūrah #97):

1. “لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ - It is better than 1000 months.”^[30] This is a clear way it is mubārakah, with increased goodness.
2. “تَنزلُ الْمَلائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ - Jibrīl and the angels come down, with their Master’s permission, brining the decree of Allāh.”^[31] This can also be an avenue of increased goodness due to the number of angels.
3. “سَلامٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ - It is nothing but protective peace until Fajr.”^[32] Which is yet another clear way of it being mubārakah, since there is extra “سَلامٌ - protective peace.”

إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِينَ “(I/We swear that,) no doubt We, yes We, are a Warner!”

Again the repeated use of the pronoun “We” along with a particle of emphasis (inna) is used. Allāh ﷻ is emphasizing the point that He ﷻ is a warner (mundhirīn^[33]), either in and of Himself, or via His sending of messengers or revealing of scripture. This has also been explained to mean, “We are instilling fear of our punishment.”^[34] Warnings and ensuring things that need to be feared are feared are necessary for people to get their act together. This life is a test, and that must be conveyed to humanity. The consequences of this test, be it Heaven or Hell, must also be clarified. Thus the warning and instilling of fear is not just justified, but necessary, and even a manifestation of His Compassion (raḥmah^[35]) as we will see in a couple āyāt.

The “(I/We swear)” at the beginning of the translation is there because it is most likely the reason the oath was taken on The Qurʾān earlier, meaning it is the jawāb al-qasam. However, others have said that the oath was taken to prove that the revelation took place on a blessed night, even though the qasam is usually not on or by the thing being proven in the jawāb al-qasam (i.e., Allāh swearing by The Qurʾān that He revealed The Qurʾān).^[36]

فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا “On that night, every planned, wise, and decided matter is clarified and dispatched as a command from Us.”

We have seen from above that the blessed night being discussed is Laylah Al-Qadr - The Night of Al-Qadr. Let us now define and discuss the word “qadr” and its possible meanings.

Four Meanings of “Qadr”

1. Taqdīr & Qadar: Decree, Ordain, Decide
   1. “ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ - That is the set defined decree of (Allāh) The All Respected Authority, All Knowing.”^[37]
   2. “وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَقَدَّرَهُ تَقْدِيرًا - He (Allāh) created everything, and precisely defined their details.”^[38]
   3. “وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قَدَرًا مَقْدُورًا - Every decision and command of Allāh is a decided decree that will truly happen.”^[39]
   4. “إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ - Without a doubt, We (Allāh) have created everything with decided details.”^[40]
2. Qudrah: Power, Might, Ability
   1. “إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ - Without a doubt, Allāh is is fully able, capable, and has the power over every single thing.”^[41]
3. Qadar & Qadr: Amount, Value, Worth
   1. “عَلَى الْمُوسِعِ قَدَرُهُ وَعَلَى الْمُقْتِرِ قَدَرُهُ - Upon divorce, wealthy husbands are financially responsible to give a ‘departing gift’ to their ex-wife according to their fiscal ability, and less-well-off husbands are financially responsible to give a ‘departing gift’ to their ex-wife according to their fiscal ability.”^[42]
   2. “قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا - Allāh has set specific durations of the post-divorce waiting period (ʿiddah) for various scenarios of divorce.”^[43]
   3. “وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ - They (humanity and/or disbelievers) have not valued Allāh to His True Infinite Worth.”^[44]
4. Qabḍ: Tighten, Constrict, Limit
   1. “فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ - So then Allāh limited and restricted his provisions...”^[45]
   2. “وَمَنْ قُدِرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ - As for the one whose wealth is limited...”^[46]

With that in mind, we see how the āyah in question from Sūrah Al-Dukhān, “فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا - On that night, every planned, wise, and decided matter is clarified and dispatched as a command from Us” falls perfectly in line with the first meaning of qadr which is decree.

Four Meanings of “Ḥakīm”

Next we can examine “ḥakīm”,^[47] often translated as “wise”. That is a correct translation depending on the context. Here, ḥakīm is being used as muḥkam,^[48] which means planned and decided.^[49] Muḥkam stems from the verb iḥkām^[50] which means to perfect something. It is also related to hukm which means verdict. So we can actually piece all four meanings together:^[51]

1. Decreed and Decided: Muḥkam
2. Perfectly Planned: Muḥkam
3. Executed Verdict: Ḥukm
4. Wise: Ḥikmah

Divine Decree from Allāh

The decree that is “yufraq”^[52] - meaning “carried out” or “dispatched” - is a perfectly planned, decreed, and wise command from Allāh ﷻ and Allāh ﷻ alone. As Allāh ﷻ says, “أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا - as a command from Us.” Everything He ﷻ does is like that. But on this night, His Decree is “yufraq”, meaning “handed off” or “dispatched” to the angels for the coming year.^[53] We know that these decrees are sent to the angels because Allāh ﷻ says, “تَنزلُ الْمَلائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ كُلِّ أَمْرٍ - Jibrīl and the angels come down with the decree of Allāh.”^[54] Despite the angels’ involvement and their coming down, it is not their decision, choice, or plan; it is a command (amr^[55]) from Allāh ﷻ alone, and via His Permission (idhn^[56]).

إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ “No doubt We, yes We, are a Sender of messengers. (The revealing of books and sending of messengers is) compassion from your Master.”

Again, the repeated use of the pronoun “We” along with a particle of emphasis (inna) is used. Allāh ﷻ is emphasizing the point that He ﷻ is the sender of messengers (mursilīn^[57]). He ﷻ is a warner (mundhirīn), as mentioned before, either in and of Himself, or via His sending of messengers. He ﷻ highlights that again. Also, Allāh ﷻ does not just send human messengers (i.e., prophets [nabiyy^[58]] and messengers [rasūl^[59]]) but also angels (who are also referred to as “sent” beings). Both of these meanings work because revelations were sent to a human prophet to teach and convey. Those revelations were conveyed to their respective human prophets via the angel-messenger Jibrīl (Gabriel). Additionally, in this co-context of decree and Laylah Al-Qadr, Allāh ﷻ has sent angels to carry out His Decree. All of this: the revealing of books, sending of angel-messengers, sending of human-messengers, giving of warnings, instilling of fear, and His Decree are all an act of His Compassion (raḥmah), a show of His kindness and gentleness. That is because, without all of this, humanity would not be aware, with certainty, that a life after death exists, wherein judgment will determine one’s fate of Heaven (Jannah^[60]) or Hell (Jahannam^[61]).

إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ “No doubt He, yes He, is Eternally Hearing, Eternally Knowing.”

Allāh ﷻ ends this introduction by reminding us that He is Al-Samī^[62]: He has, does, and always will hear absolutely everything. He is also Al-ʿAlīm^[63]: He has, does, and always will know absolutely everything. There is nothing that goes on in existence except that He ﷻ is completely aware of all of the details. He sees every single thing, and He ﷻ knows every single thing. This serves not only as a reminder to humanity of Allāh ﷻ’s infinite perfection, but also ties in to Allāh ﷻ’s warnings and His kindness and compassion (raḥmah). We humans should strive to obey Allāh ﷻ in hopes of earning His kindness, because we know that He ﷻ sees everything we do. Just like that, we should strive to avoid His disobedience in hopes of saving ourselves from His punishment, because we know that He sees everything we do.

اللهم فهمنا

ربنا زدنا علما

اللهم فقهنا في الدين وعلمنا التأويل

اللهم معلم آدم وإبراهيم ومحمد علمنا مما علمتهم

اللهم ارزقنا علما نافعا وحكمة بالغة

اللهم افتح علينا فتوح العارفين

يا فتاح يا عليم

اللهم صل وسلم على رسولك المصطفى الكريم

وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين

اللهم اجعلنا منهم

Written primarily on the 21^st of Ramaḍān 1445 AH.

Credits to Editors

May Allāh ﷻ reward those who helped write and edit this, including, but not limited to, Shaykhah Ayesha Syed Hussain, and Munir Eltal^[64].

Footnotes

1. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Dukhān 44:1-6 ↑
2. In Arabic: حُرُوف مقطَّعةٌ ↑
3. Unicode for jalla jalāluhu, meaning: His (God’s) Majesty is exalted and far above everything else ↑
4. Unicode for ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallāma, meaning: may Allāh (God) bless, honor, and preserve the legacy of Prophet Muḥammad (or whoever is mentioned) ↑
5. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Maryam 19:1-2 ↑
6. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:1-2 ↑
7. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Rūm 30:1-3 ↑
8. Meaning, within 3-9 years of the revelation of this verse, not necessarily between the major loss and major victory. ↑
9. In Arabic: مُبِين ↑
10. In Arabic: الْقَسَم ↑
11. In Arabic: وَاللهِ ↑
12. In Arabic: جَوَابُ الْقَسَم ↑
13. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah YāSīn 36:2-3 ↑
14. Arabic phrase for, “O Allāh, respond to this prayer!” ↑
15. In Arabic: إِنَّ ↑
16. In Arabic: أَنْزَلَ ↑
17. In Arabic: لَيْلَة مُبَارَكَة ↑
18. In Arabic: مُبَارَكَة ↑
19. Al-Rāghib Al-Aṣfahānī, Mufradād Alfāẓ Al-Qurʾān: برك ↑
20. In Arabic: في ↑
21. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 2 ↑
22. In Arabic: ليلة القدر ↑
23. In Arabic: الْقَدْر ↑
24. In Arabic: لَيْلَة النِّصْفِ مِن شَعْبَان ↑
25. In Arabic: شَعْبَان ↑
26. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 2, Ibn Al-Jawzī, Zād Al-Masīr s. 44 a. 2, Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 2 ↑
27. In Arabic: رَمَضَان ↑
28. Despite some disagreement beyond the scope of this article ↑
29. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:185 ↑
30. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qadr 97:3 ↑
31. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qadr 97:4 ↑
32. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qadr 97:5 ↑
33. In Arabic: مُنذِرِینَ ↑
34. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 3, Ibn Al-Jawzī, Zād Al-Masīr s. 44 a. 3, Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 3 ↑
35. In Arabic: رَحْمَة ↑
36. Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 3 ↑
37. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Anʿām 6:96, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah YāSīn 36:38, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Fuṣṣilat 41:12 ↑
38. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Furqān 25:2 ↑
39. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aḥzāb 33:38 ↑
40. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qamar 54:49 ↑
41. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:20, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:109, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:148, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:165, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Naḥl 17:77, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Nūr 24:45, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:20, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Fāṭir 35:1 ↑
42. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:236 ↑
43. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Ṭalāq 65:3 ↑
44. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Anʿām 6:91 ↑
45. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Fajr 89:16 ↑
46. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Ṭalāq 65:7 ↑
47. In Arabic: حَكِیم ↑
48. In Arabic: مُحْكَم ↑
49. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 3, Ibn Al-Jawzī, Zād Al-Masīr s. 44 a. 3, Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 3 ↑
50. In Arabic: إِحْكَام ↑
51. Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 3 ↑
52. In Arabic: يُفْرَق ↑
53. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 44 a. 3, Ibn Al-Jawzī, Zād Al-Masīr s. 44 a. 3, Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 44 a. 3 ↑
54. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qadr 97:4 ↑
55. In Arabic: أَمْر ↑
56. In Arabic: إِذْن ↑
57. In Arabic: مُرۡسِلِینَ ↑
58. In Arabic: نَبِيّ ↑
59. In Arabic: رَسُوْل ↑
60. In Arabic: جَنَّة ↑
61. In Arabic: جَهَنَّم ↑
62. In Arabic: السَّمِيع ↑
63. In Arabic: الْعَلِيم ↑
64. Check out his work at: https://heavenlyorder.substack.com/ ↑

﷽

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله

وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين

اللهم اجعلنا منهم

We begin by mentioning the Name of The One True God, Allāh, The Infinitely Caring, Eternally Compassionate. We sincerely praise and thank God to the highest extent, and ask Him to bless, protect, honor, and compliment our Prophet and Messenger Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those that diligently follow them until the end of times. Dear God, please include us from amongst them.

Ramaḍān in The Qurʾān

When discussing the āyāt about Ramaḍān, we may find that there is a lack of focus and attention given to the last āyah about Ramaḍān within the section of Sūrah Al-Baqarah, āyah 2:187. Perhaps because it is longer, and deals with the history, background, and technical aspects of fasting, but it really is such a beautiful āyah. Let us touch on the first part of that āyah because even out of that oft-skipped āyah, the first part is often just passed over. This is from my experience. May Allāh ﷻ^[1] allow all of us to learn and teach the Qurʾān in all its glory.

Alḥamdulillāh - Thank You, Allāh. مَا شَاۤءَ ٱللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِ - this is what Allāh willed and there is no ability to do anything without Him,^[2] we covered the entire section of Sūrah Al-Baqarah on Ramaḍān (2:183-187) with IOK Suhbah in early 2024 right before Ramaḍān 1445. We have an article summarizing some of those discussions here: Ramaḍān is Coming!.

Rules of Fasting (Ṣiyām)

At the start of that āyah (2:187), Allāh ﷻ says: “أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ - Intimacy (rafath) with your spouses has been permitted for you during the nights of Ramaḍān. They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives).”^[3]

The vast majority of scholars are of the opinion that when fasting was first made an obligation on the Muslims (i.e., the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ - the 10^th day of Muḥarram, and/or perhaps Ramaḍān of 2 AH), the fast (ṣiyām) was essentially the entire day and night, save the time between Maghrib and falling asleep.^[4] Other scholars, namely from the Iṣlāḥī-school of tafsīr,^[5] have a slightly different take on this in the sense that the ruling to the Ummah of the Prophet ﷺ^[6] was never that “ifṭār” (the time to eat, drink, and be intimate) was from Maghrib until sleep, but that it was the ruling of the previous nations (namely the Jews). So, when some of the Jews of Al-Madīnah became Muslim (and perhaps also those new Arabian Muslims who were native to Al-Madīnah, the Anṣār, who were not Jews, but were familiar with their practices) they defaulted to following this ruling because they did not know otherwise.^[7] Regardless,^[8] the ruling that Allāh ﷻ now gave and/or clarified to the Prophet ﷺ and his community is that fasting (ṣiyām) is from the start of Fajr (dawn, the white thread of light on the horizon coming out of the black thread that is the darkness of the night)^[9] until the start of Maghrib (sunset). From the time of sunset until dawn, it is completely permissible, rather it is encouraged — “وَٱبۡتَغُوا۟ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ - go do what has Allāh has deemed permissible for you”^[10] — to eat, drink, and be intimate.

Spouses are Garments (Libās) - هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ

With all of that background done, let us spend some time on the next sentence within the same āyah, “هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ - They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives).”^[11] But... What does this mean exactly? Shaykh Al-Mufassirīn (The Senior Exegete) Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH - raḥimahu Allāh^[12]) asked the same question. Rather he went further and asked, “how is it possible for a wife to be the clothing for her husband, and then - at the very same time - the husband is the clothing for his wife. That is not physically possible!”^[13] He then presents three^[14] ways of understanding this.^[15]

1. They are considered a garment for each other because they remove (outer) layers of clothing when they sleep together under one blanket wherein their bodies are fully touching, so much so that they end up partially “wearing” and “covering” the other like clothing.^[16] He then quotes some poetry to show that referring to the spouse as clothing due to skin-to-skin contact under a blanket is a well known concept.
   1. Nābighah said, “إِذَا مَا الضَّجِيعُ ثَنَى عِطْفَهَا ... تَدَاعَتْ فكَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ لِبَاسَا”,^[17] meaning, when the husband laying in bed turned over to his wife, she reciprocated and leaned back into him, and thus she became his libās.
   2. Laylā said, “رَمَوْهَا بِأَثْوَابٍ خِفَافٍ فَلا تَرَى ... لَهَا شَبَهاً إلا النَّعَامَ المُنَفَّرَا”, meaning, travelers who have been struck with hunger have placed frail athwāb (garments - plural of thawb) onto the backs of the camels within the caravan. So as the caravan goes forth, it looks like a frantic ostrich running away. The frail garments refer to the travelers/riders themselves, because they - the travelers/riders - have been afflicted with hunger and are just flesh and bones. Thus all that is seen of them is their clothing. That is why they are referred to as athwāb.^[18]
   3. Abū Dhuʾayb Al-Hudhalī said, “تَبَرَّأُ مِنْ دَمِ القَتيلِ وَوَتْرِهِ ... وَقَدْ عَلِقَتْ دَمَ القَتِيلِ إزَارُهَا”, meaning, you claim to have nothing to do with the killing of so-and-so and their stuff, but you are just like such-and-such women who also denied a murder, but the dead body and possessions were found with her izār (lower garment), meaning herself.^[19]
   4. Al-Rabīʿ explained the āyah by saying “libās” means “liḥāf” which is a blanket, bed sheet, cover, and/or wrap.
2. “Libās” means “sakan” which means comfort, rest, relaxation. This is because Allāh ﷻ also says, “جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا - He (Allāh) made the night a covering and a time of ease (libās) for you”^[20] and “وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا - He (Allāh) made from it (the first human soul, aka Prophet Ādam ﷺ) its spouse (i.e., our mother Ḥawāʾ ﷺ) so he (Ādam) can go to her for rest and comfort.”^[21] He then quotes ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās^[22] (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā^[23]), Mujāhid (d. ~104 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), Qatādah (d. 118 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), and Al-Suddī (d. 128 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), all of whom explained “libās” to mean “sakan”.
3. The words “satara” and “wārā” refer to covering and concealing something from the view of others. When they are used to mean “so-and-so covered so-and-so or such-and-such”, they refer to the coverer as its cover (libās) and concealer (ghishāʾ)^[24].

That is a beautiful analysis for anyone who understands marriage. But let us dive a little deeper. Let us see how the Qurʾān uses libās and clothing elsewhere. No doubt, the Qurʾān best explains itself.^[25]

Comfort & Relaxation (Sukūn)

First, let us look again at point #2 made by Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh). Spouses are supposed to be sakan and sukūn for one another. Sukūn refers to the stillness of something after movement (taḥarruk) and is often used to mean taking up a city as your home.^[26] That is because when you have a city or place to call home, you are not constantly traveling, anxiously seeking shelter, and do not need to worry about getting rest. The āyah “جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا - He (Allāh) made the night a covering and a time of ease (libās) for you.”^[27] is a great example to illustrate that calmness and relaxation. But technically a jump is made. To understand “libās” in that āyah as “sakan”, we must first look at another two āyahs, “وَجَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَنًا - He (Allāh) made the night a time of ease (sakan) for you.”^[28] and “وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ - He (Allāh) made the night a time for you to take rest, and the day a time for you to work and seek livelihood from His Excess Bounty — He did so out of His Compassion.”^[29]

We have come full circle! During the day, we are busy with work, family, food, money, and more. We are constantly on the move. When the night comes, we have time to slow down, relax, rest, take a break, and sleep. This is exactly how a husband and wife should be with each other. For the most part, they happen to either be physically separate during the day, or mentally separate as they are busy with different tasks. At night, they should take the time to unwind, relax, and spend time with each other. Not only that, but from point #1 from Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh), we learn to be physical: hug, embrace one another, and have skin-to-skin contact. This is not just allowed, but is a subtle instruction given by Allāh. And if this was not clear enough, in addition to “وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا - He (Allāh) made from it (the first human soul, aka Prophet Ādam ﷺ) its spouse (i.e., our mother Ḥawāʾ ﷺ) so he (Ādam) can go to her for rest and comfort”^[30] quoted by Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh), we can hit the nail on the head by mentioning the popular āyah recited at most marriage ceremonies (nikāḥ), “وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا - From the many signs that point towards Allāh is the fact that He made spouses from you from your own human race so that you go to them seeking comfort.”^[31] This “seeking of rest and comfort” is definitely understood as a reason (taʿlīl) why we should have spouses, but perhaps - as was touched on right before - it could also be a subtle recommendation from Allāh. As in, “go and find comfort in your spouse!” Allāh knows best. As a final point from this angle, let us quickly review the āyah, “وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ - He (Allāh) made the night a time for you to take rest, and the day a time for you to work and seek livelihood from His Excess Bounty — He did so out of His Compassion.”^[32] This wording only comes up once whereas the following wording comes up twice, “الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا - The One Who made the night for you to get rest and the day as an illunimator for you to see”^[33] Making sense of a deeper understanding of this wording requires more thought and reflection on my part.

Hide and Conceal Faults (Satr)

Allāh ﷻ tells us, “يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَى ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ ذَلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ - Children of Ādam! Without a doubt We have given you garments (libās) to cover (yuwārī) your nakedness and private parts (sawʾāt) and to be beautiful clothes (rīsh). Taqwā-based clothing is the best. All of that is from the signs of Allāh so that they (humans) pay attention to reminders.”^[34] In the initial discussion on “libās” above, we saw the word “wārā - to conceal” used in point #3 made by Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh), and it is present in this āyah. Clothing is to wārā (past tense verb) yuwārī (present tense verb) someone’s sawʾah: their nakedness (ʿawrah) and private parts. Clothing is used to cover what we do not want the world to see. But Allāh said that He also gave us beautiful clothes (rīsh). Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) states that “rīsh” can mean: (1) embroidery, (2) furniture, (3) luxuries, (4) wealth, (5) clothing, (6) livelihood/housing, and (7) beauty.^[35] Al-Shaykh Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan Al-Qinnawjī (d. 1307 AH / 1890 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) also looks at the linguistic meaning from another perspective and says that the feathers of a bird “rīsh al-ṭāʾir” have been made by Allāh to cover the bird and also be a source of its beauty.^[36]

Then Allāh ﷻ reminds us that the best clothing is taqwā-based clothing. Clothing that is worn keeping in mind the commands of Allāh, and is thus grounded in Faith (īmān) and modesty (ḥayāʾ) — two meanings that Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) gives for the phrase “libās al-taqwā”.^[37] With all of that in mind, we can conclude the following:

1. Clothing is used to cover what we do not want others to see.
2. Clothing is used to cover what others are not allowed to see from us.
3. Clothing is meant to be beautiful.
4. Clothing can fail to meet its intended goal. Thus the best clothing is that which is grounded in taqwā (protecting ourselves from Allāh’s punishment by obeying Him), and thus fulfills the above goals.

What that said, let us apply this to our spouses, because we want to see how Allāh ﷻ described the roles of spouses since He ﷻ described spouses as clothing.

1. A spouse should cover what we do not want others to see.
2. A spouse should cover what others are not allowed to see from us.
3. A spouse is meant to beautify us.
4. Spouses can fail to be good spouses. Thus the best spouse is one who has taqwā (protects his or herself from Allāh’s punishment by obeying Him).

On that final point, we see how the Prophet ﷺ’s teachings not just explicitly fall in line with the Qurʾān, but also implicitly when there does not seem to be an obvious āyah to reference back to. The Prophet ﷺ said, “تُنْكَحُ الْمَرْأَةُ لأَرْبَعٍ لِمَالِهَا وَلِحَسَبِهَا وَلِجَمَالِهَا وَلِدِينِهَا فَاظْفَرْ بِذَاتِ الدِّينِ تَرِبَتْ يَدَاكَ - Men usually marry women for one of four reasons: (1) her wealth, (2) her family status and lineage, (3) her beauty, and/or (4) her religiosity. You will be a real winner if you marry a woman due to her religiosity, so good for you!”^[38] If we see taqwā in the āyah and dīn in the ḥadīth as synonymous, we see how the subtle hint in The Qurʾān becomes very obvious on the tongue of the Prophet ﷺ.

Beauty (Zīnah)

We have seen from the previous section that rīsh as a type of clothing can be something nice and beautiful. Just a few āyāt later, in the same section, Allāh says, “يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ - Children of Ādam! Wear your nice clothes for every prayer and place of prayer.”^[39] Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) gives the background behind this āyah and says that people used to perform ṭawāf (the 7 rounds around the Kaʿbah in Makkah) naked (due to a Qurashī policy that a person’s everyday clothes are not pure or worthy enough to be in such holy place, so either purchase our “special Qurashī clothing” or do not wear anything). This āyah is a command that everyone must have their ʿawrah (their “nakedness”^[40] covered) when performing ṭawāf. As such, Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) defines “zīnah” (literally adornment) as clothing.^[41] The vast majority of scholars also hold that opinion.

They additionally add on that “عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ - for every prayer and place of prayer” means how it has been translated, instead of “at every mosque”. Meaning that the rule simply does not apply to every place of prayer, but every prayer itself. So make sure to dress properly when praying.^[42] Al-Imām Abū Al-Faraj Jamāl Al-Dīn Ibn Al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH - raḥimahu Allāh) adds one more opinion that it can refer to wearing one’s nicest clothes when people gather (on Friday) and Eid.^[43]

From this we see that clothing (libās) and adornment (zīnah) have been used interchangeably. Thus we can hopefully extract from the usage of “rīsh” and “zīnah” - both literally meaning beautiful clothing - instead of or alongside “libās” to highlight that “libās” can and should be beautiful (as we briefly hinted at earlier). As such, the Prophet ﷺ told Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) to go look at his fiancee (makhṭūbah), saying, “انْظُرْ إِلَيْهَا فَإِنَّهُ أَحْرَى أَنْ يُؤْدَمَ بَيْنَكُمَا - Go look at her. It will spark and maintain your love for each other.”^[44] The point being, they should both view each other as beautiful and attractive. This is to be kept in balance with the guidance mentioned above by the Prophet ﷺ, that is, religiosity is the main factor, and it supersedes all other factors.

As a side point, we also have to understand that beauty and attraction is not simply a function of the eyes and physical appearance. The entire world may find a certain woman ugly, but if the man who is married to her sees her piety, kindness, and love, he may very well find her to be the most beautiful woman on earth. And in the same way, the entire world may find a certain man ugly, but if the woman who is married to him sees his piety, kindness, and love, she may very well find him to be the most handsome man on earth.

Also, it can be said that in modern society, men and women will dress up, look good, and wear their best clothes in public, but will be unkept and dressed in their raggedy shaggy pajamas at home for their spouse. However, we learn from Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā) that both husband and wife - yes, both - should try and look their best for their spouse. In regards to the āyah, “وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ - husbands and wives have equitable rights due to each other”^[45] he, Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā), said, “إِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَتَزَيَّنَ لِلْمَرْأَةِ كَمَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ تَتَزَيَّنَ لِي الْمَرْأَةُ - I love to dress up and look good for my wife, the same way I enjoy her dressing up and looking nice for me.”^[46]

We should also note, adhering to the point earlier about taqwā and modesty (ḥayāʾ), one is not to flaunt their spouse. We should not be showing off our clothes (although some people do). The point of nice clothes is to make us look good. Our job is to make our spouse look and be good. We should not be people who are the source of the world finding out about our spouses’ faults (because we all have faults). Rather we should speak positively about them, mention their good qualities, and help them be more beautiful in the sight of Allāh, as well as being appreciated among people.

Protection (Wiqāyah)

Allāh ﷻ tells us, “وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ وَسَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمْ بَأْسَكُمْ - He (Allāh) made clothing (sarābīl) for you: some clothes will shield you from the heat, and other clothes will protect you when you are at war.”^[47] Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) explains “سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ - clothing that shields you from the heat” to refer to clothes (thiyāb^[48]), a synonym of “libās”. He quotes Qatādah (raḥimahu Allāh) saying that these garments (thiyāb) being referred to here are clothes made from cotton (quṭn), linen (kattān), and wool (ṣūf). He then explains “سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمْ بَأْسَكُمْ - clothes that protects you when you are at war” to mean that it protects weapons from reaching your flesh, and ends by quoting Qatādah (raḥimahu Allāh) who said it refers to metal (ḥadīd).^[49]

To the first part, “سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ - clothing that shields you from the heat,” Siddīq Ḥasan Khan (raḥimahu Allāh) explains that it is not just heat, but also the cold; it was not mentioned because it should be obvious to the reader.^[50] When teaching Sunan Abī Dāwūd to IOK’s Full Time Seminary’s graduating class of 2019, Shaykh Muhammad Umar Razzaq (ḥafiẓahu Allāh) mentioned that same point about the āyah implying cold in addition to the explicit mention of heat. He explained that, although the Ḥanafī school does not take rulings via the linguistic instrument of “mafhūm al-mukhālafah - understanding the implication of the opposite of what was said”, that is restricted to deriving law, not understanding concepts in general, and thus we can infer that Allāh mentioned a few uses of clothing (sarābīl) even though all types of protection via clothing are to be understood: be it heat, cold, rain, sun, swords, arrows, spears, poison ivy, mosquitos etc.

With that being said, we can connect the protection (wiqāyah) received from clothing (sarābīl) to the role of a spouse who is clothing (libās) for their spouse. A husband and wife should strive to protect each other from evil, from harm, from sin, and most of all, the punishment of Allāh. We have used the term protection (wiqāyah) already above. It comes from the verb in the āyah, “تَقِيكُمُ - protects you” which is related to the oft-repeated Qurʾānic Dictate of taqwā which means to protect and shield oneself from the anger and punishment of Allāh by obeying Him. The noun “wiqāyah” literally refers to a shield. We must use the proper equipment to save us from each respective harm. To protect myself from Hell, I stay away from disobedience. To protect ourselves from heat, we wear cotton. To protect ourselves from swords, we wear metal armor. We must use common sense and our God-given intellect to protect ourselves in the correct way. I cannot expect an iron-clad suit of armor to protect me from the heat, nor can I expect cotton to protect me from Hell. So a husband and wife too must play their proper role in protecting each other in the best way possible. How they advise each other, correct one another, and learn and grow their mistakes should be done with Islamically-guided wisdom. As just mentioned, a husband and wife should protect each other from harm; be it harm from themselves or others. We can see this displayed in the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ in three ways. So as to not get confused between the back and forth of the word “spouse”, we will focus on a husband protecting his wife in the following scenarios.

1. A husband protecting his wife from herself. Once a group of Jews came to visit the Prophet ﷺ, and they “greeted” him by saying, “السَّامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - May you die!” to which our mother, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), replied in loving defense of her husband, the Prophet ﷺ, by saying, “بَلْ عَلَيْكُمُ السَّامُ وَاللَّعْنَةُ - No! May you die and be cursed!” Upon hearing that, Prophet ﷺ taught her, “يَا عَائِشَةُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ فِي الأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ - O ʿĀʾishah! Allāh loves gentleness in all matters.”^[51] Thus he ﷺ taught her and protected her from harming herself via sins.
2. A husband saving his wife from himself. The Prophet ﷺ said, “الْمُسْلِمُ مَنْ سَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ وَيَدِهِ - A true Muslim is someone that other Muslims are safe and protected (salima) from his tongue and hands.”^[52] Thus a husband or a wife cannot be a true complete Muslim (al-muslim al-kāmil) if they hurt their spouse via their words (tongue) or through physical means (hands). Also, when the Prophet ﷺ was asked about different kinds charity and good deeds (ṣadaqah), he said the least someone can do is, “يُمْسِكُ عَنِ الشَّرِّ - restrain evil.”^[53] One of the ways that is understood is to retrain and prevent your harm and evil from reaching others.^[54]
3. A husband saving his wife from someone else. We have the most perfect example within the Prophet ﷺ who lived this. Once Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) went to visit his daughter, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), and when he arrived, he asked the Prophet ﷺ for permission to enter. When Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) entered, he heard his daughter, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), speaking to the Prophet ﷺ in a loud voice. Upon hearing and seeing that, he went to her and grabbed her and was about to hit her, saying, “I never want to see you raise your voice to the Prophet ﷺ ever again!” at which point the Prophet ﷺ stepped in between the, blocking and shielding Āʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā) from Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh). And so Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) left. After he left, the Prophet ﷺ lovingly remarked (not in a patronizing way, since that is sinful), “كَيْفَ رَأَيْتِنِي أَنْقَذْتُكِ مِنَ الرَّجُلِ - See how I saved you from that man?”^[55] This is also seen from scenario one in which our mother, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), speaks out to defend the honor and rank of her husband, the Prophet ﷺ, and shielded him ﷺ from the harmful speech of others - albeit in a manner that the Prophet ﷺ ultimately deemed incorrect.

Seeking Comfort and Warmth (Istidfāʾ)

This is another related meaning that requires us to see and appreciate the deep connections between various āyāt and aspects of the sunnah. We have been focusing on spouses as clothing (libās), and we have touched upon āyāt that either explicitly or implicitly refer to clothing. Here we have another implicit connection. Allāh ﷻ tells us, also in Sūrah Al-Naḥl (#16) as was our previous discussion on protection, “وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ - And He (Allāh) created livestock from which you get clothing for warmth (difʾ), various other benefits (manafiʿ), and meat that you eat.”^[56] The word “anʿām” refers to livestock, which refers to four-legged domesticated farm animals raised for agricultural purposes, and includes, but is not limited to: camels, cows, goats, and sheep.^[57] But we want to focus on “لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ - from which you get clothing for warmth (difʾ)”. The word “difʾ - دِفْءٌ” literally means warmth, the opposite of cold.^[58] Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) explains that this refers to clothing (malābis) made from wool, leather, and fur that is used for warmth. He those quotes Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā) defining “difʾ” as “thiyāb” (clothing), and Mujāhid (raḥimahu Allāh) explaining it as “knit/weaved clothing” (libās yunsaj).^[59]

Now that we have connected libās to difʾ, let us look at how difʾ (seeking of warmth) via one’s spouse is done in the life of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhum). Our mother, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), said that, “رُبَّمَا اغْتَسَلَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ ثُمَّ جَاءَ فَاسْتَدْفَأَ بِي فَضَمَمْتُهُ إِلَىَّ وَلَمْ أَغْتَسِلْ - Sometimes, after the Prophet ﷺ and I were intimate, he would bathe before I had bathed. So when he finished his bath, he would come to me seeking warmth (istadfaʾ), so I would hug him tightly even though I had not bathed yet.”^[60] We find the great companions ʿUmar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), Abū Al-Dardāʾ (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), Ḥudhayfah ibn Al-Yamān (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), Ibn ʿUmar (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā), their noble students (tābiʿūn) ʿAlqamah ibn Qays Al-Nakhaʿī (d. 62 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), Al-Aswad ibn Yazīd (d. 74/75 AH - raḥimahu Allāh) all doing the same thing, that is, seeking warmth from their wife after having taken a bath.^[61]

Intertwining (Mukhālaṭah) and Envelopment (Ghashāwah)

Allāh ﷻ says the following when discussing a group of people that He punished. “فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ - Allāh made them (the people who rejected their prophet and were extremely ungrateful for the constant provision Allāh continued to bless them with) taste the libās (‘clothing’) of hunger and fear.”^[62] What does it mean for someone to taste or be afflicted with (adhāqa) “لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ - the libās (“clothing”) of hunger and fear”? Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) says the hunger (jūʿ), and the harm of that hunger, mixed and intertwined (mukhālaṭah) with their bodies. The hunger was so interconnected into their bodies that Allāh then referred to it as clothing (libās).^[63] The great grammarian, linguist, writer, and literarian, Maḥmūd - Jār Allāh (the neighbor of Allāh) - Al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538 AH - raḥimahu Allāh)^[64], talks about how clothing (libās) wraps (ishtimāl) the wearer, thus clothing covers and envelopes (ghashāwah) people. So the meaning of “لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ - the libās (“clothing”) of hunger and fear” thus becomes “hunger and fear that enveloped, wrapped, and concealed them.”^[65]

Additional points on libās, mukhālaṭah, and ghashāwah from Al-Mufradāt^[66]

We just saw how Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) made an instant connection between libās and mukhālaṭah, and how Al-Zamakhsharī (raḥimahu Allāh) made an instant connection between libās and ghashāwah, showing their expertise in the Arabic language.

1. Just like Allāh said spouses are libās for each other, Arabs call a close friend a khalīṭ. It is also said, “ولَابَسْتُ فلانا: خالطته - I did mulābasah with someone, meaning I did mukhālaṭah with him.” Meaning, I spent time with him. Allāh ﷻ makes use of this meaning by saying, “وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ - Many close friends (khulaṭāʾ) transgress the rights of their friends - unless they are close friends who believe and do good deeds (aka are pious) - and these kinds of friends are rare.”^[67]
2. Also, we have been referring to libās as clothing, which comes from the verb: لَبِسَ يَلْبَسُ لُبْساً - referring to covering, concealing, and clothing. But, another variation is used: لَبَسَ يَلْبِسُ لُبْسَة (which is used in the Qurʾān^[68]) and الْتَبَسَ يَلْتَبِسُ الْتِبَاساً - referring to confusion (iltibās). In the same way that خَلْط and اخْتِلَاط mean not just mixing, but also confusion.
3. Allāh refers to the night with both words. Allāh says, “جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا - He (Allāh) made the night a covering and a time of ease (libās) for you.”^[69] and also says, “وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى - I (Allāh) swear by the night when it covers!”^[70]

The Prophet ﷺ’s Recommended Actions (Sunan) with Clothing

We also learn how to interact with clothing from the habits and teachings of the Prophet ﷺ.

1. He ﷺ was commanded to, enjoyed, and told others to clean their clothes. — From the earliest of revelations to the Prophet ﷺ is Sūrah Al-Muddaththir (#74), in which Allāh ﷻ commands the Prophet ﷺ to, “وَثِیَابَكَ فَطَهِّرۡ - Keep your clothes clean!”^[71]
2. He ﷺ would make a prayer (duʿāʾ) upon wearing a new garment. — Whenever the Prophet ﷺ got a new garment, he would make a prayer (duʿāʾ), saying, “اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ كَسَوْتَنِيهِ أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَهُ وَخَيْرَ مَا صُنِعَ لَهُ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّهِ وَشَرِّ مَا صُنِعَ لَهُ - O Allāh! Thank You! Complete gratitude and compliments are due to You only. You clothed me with this [naming the garment]. I ask You for all the good it has to offer and can be used for, and I take You protection from all the bad it has and can be used for.”^[72]
3. He ﷺ taught us to make duʿāʾ whenever we wear any garment. — The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever wears a garment and says, ‘الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي هَذَا الثَّوْبَ وَرَزَقَنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلاَ قُوَّةٍ - Thank You, Allāh! Complete gratitude and compliments belong to You. You clothed me with this garment and provided it for me without any effort and ability from my end’ will be forgiven for all their minor sins.”^[73]
4. He ﷺ would mend, stitch, and sew his clothes. — Our mother ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā) was asked about the Prophet ﷺ’s general habits and housework, to which she responded with things like: “He ﷺ would (1) يَخْصِفُ النَّعْلَ - mend his sandals, (2) وَيَرْقَعُ الثَّوْبَ وَيَخِيطُ‏ - stitch and sew his clothes, and (3) يَفْلِي ثَوْبَهُ - would clean his clothes (by removing lice).”^[74]
5. Some say he ﷺ would give names to some of clothes.^[75]

Conclusion

I cannot grasp, let alone convey, the unimaginable beauty within the statement of Allāh, “هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ - They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives).”^[76] This is just one sentence from one āyah of the Qurʾān that we explored. How many more endless treasures exist in this one sentence, let alone the rest of Allāh’s Book?

If we summarize the practical takeaways from the above, we see the following (again, defaulting to husband for ease and clarity, though these work both ways):

1. A husband should provide ease and relaxation for his wife.
2. A husband should find ease and relaxation in his wife.
3. A husband should provide physical touch and intimacy for his wife.
4. A husband should find physical touch and intimacy for his wife.
5. A husband should make himself beautiful for his wife (spiritually, character-wise, and physically).
6. A husband should find beauty in his wife (spiritually, character-wise, and physically).
7. A husband should help his wife beautify herself (spiritually and character-wise).
8. A husband should speak about his wife in a positive way.
9. A husband should not try to find faults in his wife.
10. A husband should protect his wife from himself.
11. A husband should protect his wife from herself.
12. A husband should protect his wife from others.
13. A husband should protect his wife from Hell and Allāh’s Punishment.
14. A husband should find warmth in his wife (physical and emotional).
15. A husband should provide warmth to his wife (physical and emotional).
16. A husband should be deeply connected to his wife (physically and emotionally).
17. A husband should hug, embrace, and be intimate with his wife.
18. A husband should find hugs, embraces, and intimacy from his wife.
19. A husband should help his wife be clean and pure (spiritually and physically).
20. A husband should pray (duʿāʾ) for the needs of his wife as well as for her (continued) piety and righteousness. — We see find this explicit in the Qurʾān. Allāh ﷻ, Al-Raḥmān (The Infinitely Caring), when describing and praising His special slaves and servants, describes them as those who make the following prayer (duʿāʾ), “رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا - Our Master! Please gift us joy and happiness from seeing goodness and piety within our spouses and children, and make us from the leaders of the pious!”^[77]
21. A husband can give loving nicknames to his wife. — The Prophet ﷺ would, at times, call his wife ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā) by a shorter version of her name^[78], “ʿĀʾish”.^[79]

O Allāh! Allow our tongues, our lips, and our mouths to easily and constantly recite Your Book. O Allāh! Give us a deep understanding of Your Word. O Allāh! Gift us a personal relationship with Your Speech. O Allāh! Illuminate, purify, and give life to our hearts through Your Book. O Allāh! Help us act on Your Guidance and Commands in Your Perfect Final Revelation, to live by them, and to die by them. O Allāh! Make us beautiful, loving, caring, chaste, pious husbands to our wives. O Allāh! Make us beautiful, loving, caring, chaste, pious wives to our husbands. O Allāh! We ask You what Your special slaves, ʿIbād Al-Raḥmān, ask you: رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا - Our Master! Please gift us joy and happiness from seeing goodness and piety within our spouses and children, and make us from the leaders of the pious!^[80] O Allāh! We ask You what Your closed dear friend Ibrāhīm ﷺ asked You: رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ - My Master! Make me, my children, and my entire future progeny to come people who regularly and diligently pray (ṣalāh)! Our Master! Accept this plea and these acts of obedience! Our Lord! Forgive me, my parents, and all the believers on the day humanity stands for account!^[81]

اللهم فهمنا

ربنا زدنا علما

اللهم فقهنا في الدين وعلمنا التأويل

اللهم معلم آدم وإبراهيم ومحمد علمنا مما علمتهم

اللهم ارزقنا علما نافعا وحكمة بالغة

اللهم افتح علينا فتوح العارفين

يا فتاح يا عليم

اللهم صل وسلم على رسولك المصطفى الكريم

وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين

اللهم اجعلنا منهم

Written exclusively in the blessed month of Ramaḍān of the years 1445 and 1446.

Acknowledgements

I hope and pray that my parents, teachers, spouse, and children are always rewarded for all the good Allāh facilitates for me to do through their prayers, instruction, support, and mentorship. But for this article, I cannot help but mention my dear beloved shaykh, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Abū Al-Zahrāʾ Abdul Wahab ibn Parwiz Khan (ḥafiẓahu Allāh wa raʿāh - May God preserve him and lovingly look after him [as well as his family, teachers, and students]). He, Shaykh Abdul Wahhab (ḥafiẓahu Allāh), was sharing some reflections at the wedding ceremony of one his students (who happens to be a friend and relative of mine), and he mentioned this āyah. I swear to God - wallāhi, I never understood this āyah, “هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ - They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives)”^[82] until he made those beautiful comments about how one takes care of their clothes and how that relates to the love, care, and protection one should show to their spouse. Not only did he help me memorize the Qurʾān, but he also taught me its real applicable meanings; that is a true teacher of Qurʾān. May Allāh ﷻ bless him, his family, his teachers, his students, and allow him to always piously and sincerely serve His Book, The Qurʾān, āmīn.

Credits to Editors

May Allāh ﷻ reward those who helped write and edit this, including, but not limited to, Shaykha Ayesha Syed Hussain, and Munir Eltal.

Footnotes

1. Unicode for jalla jalāluhu, meaning: His (God’s) Majesty is exalted and far above everything else ↑

2. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Kahf 18:39 ↑

3. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:187 ↑

4. Al-Qurṭubī, Aḥkām Al-Qurʾān s. 2 a. 187 ↑

5. Named after Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī (d. 1418 AH / 1997 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) who was a student of Ḥamīd Al-Dīn Al-Farāhī, also known as ʿAbd Al-Ḥamīd Al-Farāhī (d. 1349 AH / 1930 CE - raḥimahu Allāh). Perhaps the most famous individual from this school and/or mindset of “Qurʾān-First” (this is a term I made up) is Dr. Israr Ahmed (d. 1431 AH / 2010 CE - raḥimahu Allāh). One of Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi (ḥafiẓahu Allāh - May God preserve him)’s most beloved teachers, Mawlānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī (d. 1432 AH / 2002 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) is also from this school.

   There are some who incorrectly think this school is a fringe group. The reality is that the leading figures of the school were not only great scholars (ʿulamāʾ), but were connected to and close friends with many of the senior scholars of the Dār Al-ʿUlūm’s of the Indian Subcontinent; some were even senior teachers at these schools (madāris). Just as an example, Mawlānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī (raḥimahu Allāh) studied at and graduated from the Madrasah Al-Iṣlāḥ and studied closely with Akhtar Aḥan Iṣlāḥī (a student of Ḥamīd Al-Dīn Al-Farāhī raḥimahu Allāh). He then taught at Dār Al-ʿUlūm Nadwah Al-ʿUlamāʾ in Lucknow. Mawlānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī received ijāzah from one of Nadwah’s most famous graduates and chancellors, Shaykh Abū Al-Ḥasan ʿAlī Al-Nadwī (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) who not only spent some time studying at Dār Al-ʿUlūm Deoband under Shaykh Al-Islam Shaykh Al-ʿArab wa Al-ʿAjam Ḥusayn Aḥmad Madnī (d. 1377 AH / 1957 CE - raḥimahu Allāh), but also held the chairman position at Dār Al-ʿUlūm Deoband for some time, and was also dearly beloved to Ḥaḍrat Shaykh Al-Ḥadīth Muḥammad Zakariyyā Al-Kandhlawi (d. 1402 AH / 1983 CE - raḥimahu Allāh). Mawlānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī also received ijāzah from Al-Qāriʾ Muḥammad Ṭayyib Qāsimī (d. 1403 AH / 1983 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) who is not only the grandson of the legendary founder of Dār Al-ʿUlūm Deoband, Qāsim Al-ʿUlūm wa Al-Khayrāt Ḥujjah Allāh Al-ʿAllāmah Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāsim Al-Nānawtwī (d. 1297 AH / 1880 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) and the author of “Maslak ʿUlamāʾ Deoband - The way of the Scholars of Deoband”, but was also the chancellor (muhtamim) of Dār Al-ʿUlūm Deoband for more than 50 years. Mawlānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī also received ijāzah from The Light of Syria, Al-Shaykh Al-ʿAllāmah Al-Musnid ʿAbd Al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghuddah (d. 1417 AH / 1997 CE - raḥimahu Allāh). Mawlānā Shahbāz Iṣlāḥī is just one example of many great scholars from the Iṣlāḥī School. Much can also be said about Ḥamīd Al-Dīn Al-Farāhī (raḥimahu Allāh)’s praises among his contemporaries from the Dār Al-ʿUlūm’s of the Indian Subcontinent, but that is for another day. ↑

6. Unicode for ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallāma, meaning: may Allāh (God) bless, honor, and preserve the legacy of Prophet Muḥammad (or whoever is mentioned) ↑

7. Israr Ahmed, Bayān Al-Qurʾān s. 2 a. 187 (v. 1 p. 263) ↑

8. This is simply a point of history, and has literally no impact on the ruling this āyah conveys. All Muslims accept the final outcome (i.e., fasting is from dawn to sunset). There is no need to criticize either side in this discussion. ↑

9. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:187 ↑

10. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:187 ↑

11. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:187 ↑

12. May God show him kindness and grace ↑

13. Paraphrased to properly convey the rhetorical point ↑

14. Although he (Al-Ṭabarī) says two, he interjects point #3 in the middle of discussing #2. ↑

15. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 2 a. 187 ↑

16. Less like our modern clothing, but think of a giant shawl that serves as one’s upper or lower garment that is just tossed over or loosely wrapped around someone. ↑

17. There are 2 or 3 other versions of this line which all roughly mean the same thing. ↑

18. Explanation taken from the editor of my copy of Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān by Al-Ṭabarī. ↑

19. Ibid. ↑

20. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Furqān 25:47 ↑

21. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:189 ↑

22. ʿAbd Allāh the son of ʿAbbās is the young cousin of the Prophet ﷺ. ʿAbbas is the paternal uncle of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, that is to say that ʿAbbās and ʿAbd Allāh (the father of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ) are brothers, and are both the sons of ʿAbd Al-Muṭṭalib (the paternal grandfather of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ). ↑

23. May God be pleased with him (and his father) ↑

24. There is an entire section towards the end on libās and ghishāʾ/ghashāwah ↑

25. القرآن يفسر بعضه بعضا ↑

26. Al-Rāghib Al-Aṣfahānī, Mufradād Alfāẓ Al-Qurʾān: سكن ↑

27. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Furqān 25:47 ↑

28. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Anʿām 6:96 ↑

29. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ 28:73 ↑

30. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:189 ↑

31. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Rūm 30:21 ↑

32. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Qaṣaṣ 28:73 ↑

33. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Yūnus 10:67, Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Ghāfir 40:61 ↑

34. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:26 ↑

35. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 7 a. 26 ↑

36. Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 7 a. 26 ↑

37. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 7 a. 26 ↑

38. Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ: Kitāb Al-Nikāh Bāb Al-Iktifāʾ fī Al-Dīn #5090, Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ #1466 ↑

39. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:31 ↑

40. Men: navel to knees; Women (in the presence of “marriageable men - ghayr maḥram”): everything except face, hands, and feet ↑

41. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 7 a. 31 ↑

42. Ibn Al-Jawzī, Zād Al-Masīr s. 7 a. 31, Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 7 a. 31 ↑

43. Ibn Al-Jawzī, Zād Al-Masīr s. 7 a. 31 ↑

44. Aḥmad, Musnad: Musnad Al-Kūfiyyīn Ḥadīth Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah #18154, Al-Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ: Kitāb Al-Nikāḥ ʿan Rasūl Allāh ﷺ Bāb Mā Jāʾ fī Al-Naẓar ilā al-Makhṭūbah #1087, Al-Nasāʾī, Sunan: Kitāb Al-Nikāḥ Bāb Ibāḥah Al-Naẓar qabl al-Tazwīj #3235, Ibn Mājah, Sunan: Kitāb Al-Nikāḥ Bāb Al-Naẓar ilā al-Marʾah idhā arāda an yatazawwajaha #1865, Al-Dāramī, Sunan: Min Kitāb Al-Nikāḥ #2106 ↑

45. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:228 ↑

46. Ibn Abī Shaybah, Muṣannaf: Kitāb Al-Ṭalāq - Mā Qālū fī Qawlih “wa li al-rijāl ʿalyhinn darajah” #19263, Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 2 a. 228 ↑

47. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Naḥl 16:81 ↑

48. also known as thawb, the singular of which is athwāb - which came up earlier in a line of poetry at the start of this discussion ↑

49. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 16 a. 81 ↑

50. Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan, Fatḥ Al-Bayān fi Maqāṣid Al-Qurʾān s. 16 a. 81 ↑

51. Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ: Kitāb Al-Adab Bāb Al-Rifq fī al-amr kullih #5678 (also #5278, #5901, #6032, 6528), Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ #2165 ↑

52. Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ: Kitāb Al-Raqāʾiq Bāb Al-Intihāʾ ʿan al-Maʿāṣī, Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ #41 ↑

53. Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ#1008, Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad: Bāb inn kull maʿrūf ṣadaqah #225 ↑

54. Al-Mullā ʿAlī Al-Qārī, Mirqāh Al-Mafātīḥ: Kitāb Al-Zakāh Bāb Faḍl Al-Ṣadaqah #1890 ↑

55. Abū Dāwūd, Sunan: Kitāb Al-Nikāḥ Bāb Mā Jāʾ fī Al-Mizāj #4999, Al-Nasāʾī, Al-Sunan Al-Kubrā: Kitāb ʿIshrah Al-Nisāʾ Bāb Rafʿ Al-Marʾah Ṣawtahā ʿalā Zawjihā #9110 ↑

56. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Naḥl 16:5 ↑

57. In English see IOK’s Blog on Eid Al-Aḍḥā. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 16 a. 5 ↑

58. Al-Rāghib Al-Aṣfahānī, Mufradād Alfāẓ Al-Qurʾān: دفىء ↑

59. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 16 a. 5 ↑

60. Al-Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ: Kitāb Al-Ṭahārah Bāb mā jāʾ fī al-rajul yastadfiʾ bi al-marʾah baʿd al-ghusl #123. Al-Tirmidhī then said, “ليس بإسناده بأس - There is no issue acting on this chain.” Similar wording is found in Ibn Abī Shaybah, Muṣannaf: KitābAl-Ṭahārah Bāb fī al-Rajul yastadfiʾ bi imraʾatih baʿd an yaghtasil #842, Ibn Al-Jaʿd, Musnad: Musnad Sharīk ʿan al-Miqdām ibn Shurayḥ ibn Hāniʾ #2286, Ibn Mājah, Sunan: Kitāb Al-Ṭahārah Bāb fī al-junub yastadfiʾ bi imraʾatih qabl an taghtasil #580 ↑

61. ʿAbd Al-Razzāq Al-Ṣanʿānī, Al-Muṣannaf: Kitāb Al-Ṭahārah Bāb Mubāsharah Al-Junub, Abū Bakr Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf: Kitāb Al-Ṭahārah Bāb fī Al-Rajul Yastadfiʾ bi imraʾatihi baʿd an yaghtasil and Kitāb Al-Ṣiyām Bāb mā dhukir fī al-mubāsharah li al-ṣāʾim ↑

62. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Nahl 16:112 ↑

63. Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān s. 16 a. 112 ↑

64. We do not condone his iʿtizāl (muʿtazilism) ↑

65. Al-Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf s. 16 a. 112 ↑

66. Al-Rāghib Al-Aṣfahānī, Mufradād Alfāẓ Al-Qurʾān: لبس وخلط وغشي ↑

67. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Ṣād 38:24 ↑

68. “وَلَلَبَسْنا عَلَيْهِمْ ما يَلْبِسُونَ” Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Anʿām 6:9 ↑

69. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Furqān 25:47 ↑

70. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Layl 92:1 ↑

71. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Muddaththir 74:4 ↑

72. Al-Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ: Kitāb Al-Libās Bāb Mā Yaqūl idhā Labisa thawban jadīdan, Abū Dāwūd, Sunan: Kitāb Al-Libās Bāb Mā Yaqūl idhā Labisa thawban jadīdan ↑

73. Abū Dāwūd, Sunan: Kitāb Al-Libās Bāb Mā Yaqūl idhā Labisa thawban jadīdan ↑

74. Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Bāb Mā Yaʿmal Al-Rajul fī Baytih ↑

75. There is a narration that says the Prophet ﷺ had a turban named “Al-Saḥāb - The Clouds” that he later gifted to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh). See: “حديث كانت له عمامة تسمى السحاب فوهبها من علي فربما طلع علي فيها فيقول ﷺ أتاكم علي في السحاب أخرجه ابن عدي وأبو الشيخ من حديث جعفر بن محمد عن أبيه عن جده وهو مرسل ضعيف جدا ولأبي نعيم في دلائل النبوة من حديث عمر في أثناء حديث عمامته السحاب الحديث” ↑

76. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:187 ↑

77. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Furqān 25:74. Explanation (tafsīr) taken from Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān Āyah 25:74 ↑

78. In English, one could call a “Johnathan” by “John” or a “Jessica” by “Jess” ↑

79. Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ: K. Badʾ Al-Khaq B. Dhikr Al-Malāʾikah, Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ. Both have the wording, “يَا عَائِشُ هَذَا جِبْرِيلُ يَقْرَأُ عَلَيْكِ السَّلاَمَ - O ʿĀʾish, Jibrīl (the Archangel Gabriel ﷺ) is here greeting you with Salām (meaning the greeting of safety, al-salāmu ʿalaykum).”

    There are weaker narrations that mention other nicknames like:

    1. “يَا مُوَفَّقَةُ - O Muwaffaqah: you who has been blessed by Allāh to learn, do, and teach good!” Al-Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ: K. Al-Janāʾiz ʿan Rasūl Allāh ﷺ B. Mā Jāʾ fī Thawāb Man Qaddama Waladan.
    2. “يَا عُوَيْشُ” the diminutive version of ʿĀʾishah, meaning something like, “O little ʿĀʾishah!” Al-Ṭabarānī, Al-Duʿāʾ: B. Mā Kāna Al-Nabiyy Yadʿū bi fī Sāʾir Nahārih, Ibn Al-Sunnī, ʿAmal Al-Yawm wa Al-Laylah: B. Mā Yaqūl idhā Ghaḍiba - Nawʿ Ākhar.
    3. “يَا حُمَيْرَاءُ - O Ḥumayrāʾ: little bright one!” Al-Nasāʾī, Al-Sunan Al-Kubrā: K. ʿIshrah Al-Nisāʾ B. Ibāḥah Al-Rajul li Zawjatih Al-Naẓar ilā Al-Laʿib, Al-Ṭaḥāwī, Sharḥ Mushkil Al-Āthār: B. Bayān Mushkil mā ruwiya ʿan Rasūl Allāh ﷺ fī jawābih kāna li zawjatih Umm Salamah wa Maymūnah [...], Al-Ḥākim, Al-Mustadrak ʿalā Al-Ṣaḥīḥayn: K. Maʿrifah Al-Ṣaḥābah [...] Ammā Qiṣṣah Iʿtizāl Muḥammad ibn Maslamah Al-Anṣārī ʿan Al-Bayʿah. There are more narrations, but perhaps these are the only ones without major issues. See Ibn Al-Jawzī, Al-Mizzī, and Ibn Ḥajar for more details on narrations with the wording of “يَا حُمَيْرَاءُ”.

    ↑

80. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Furqān 25:74. Explanation (tafsīr) taken from Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān Āyah 25:74 ↑

81. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Ibrāhīm 14:40-1. Explanation (tafsīr) taken from Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ Al-Bayān Āyah 14:40-1 ↑

82. Al-Qurʾān: Sūrah Al-Baqarah 2:187 ↑