![Episode 362: The Motivation to Let Go [24:22] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199773670?height=50&width=50)
Episode 362: The Motivation to Let Go [24:22]
Loving and Living the Quran
Yesterday we reflected on the cost of holding onto grudges. Today we turn to the motivation the Qur’an offers for choosing the difficult path of forgiveness. Allah says: “Let them pardon and overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (24:22) Before addressing the motivation embedded in this verse, we must acknowledge something honestly: forgiveness is difficult. The Qur’an itself describes it as an act of courage. Why is it so hard? When someone wrongs us, the injury often feels like a threat to our dignity. Holding onto the grievance...
info_outline![Episode 363: Returning Home [89:27-30] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199774350?height=50&width=50)
Episode 363: Returning Home [89:27-30]
Loving and Living the Quran
Thirty days ago we began this series exploring the journey of the human nafs toward Allah. We reflected on the full spectrum of who we are: a noble creature before whom the angels bowed (38:72), and a creature of weakness who forgets (4:28). We explored the fitrah, the inner compass of conscience that Allah placed within us. We examined the nafs al-ammarah that pulls us toward desire and the nafs al-lawwamah that awakens discomfort when we stray. We discussed the path of returning to Allah through tawbah, and the courage required to repair our relationships with others through apology,...
info_outline![Episode 361: The Cost of Holding On [42:40] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199757870?height=50&width=50)
Episode 361: The Cost of Holding On [42:40]
Loving and Living the Quran
Yesterday we reflected on verse 42:40 and discussed “aslaha” — making amends with others, which is an important part of setting things right with Allah. Today we turn to the word that comes before it in the verse: “The recompense of evil is an evil like it, but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah.” (42:40) Before reconciliation comes forgiveness ‘afw. The Qur’an begins by acknowledging something deeply human: if someone wrongs you, you have the right to respond proportionally. Justice is permitted. The Qur’an is not asking you to pretend the harm...
info_outline![Episode 360: The Harder Turning [42:40] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199678850?height=50&width=50)
Episode 360: The Harder Turning [42:40]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “The recompense of evil is an evil like it. But whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah.” (42:40) This verse recognizes something important: when someone harms us, we have the right to respond proportionally. Justice is permitted. But the verse then points to something higher. Whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, their reward is with Allah. Over the past few days we have been talking about tawbah — returning to Allah and repairing our relationship with Him. Today’s verse shifts the focus to another dimension of repentance: repairing our...
info_outline![Episode 359: Recognizing Al-Tawwāb [2:37] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199678725?height=50&width=50)
Episode 359: Recognizing Al-Tawwāb [2:37]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “Then Adam received words from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully. Surely He is al-Tawwāb, the Merciful.” (2:37) The first time the Qur’an introduces the Divine name al-Tawwāb appears in the story of Adam (as). After being tempted by Iblis and leaving the Garden, Adam experienced the weight of what had happened. In that moment of remorse, he turned back to Allah. But the Qur’an highlights something remarkable: Adam’s turning did not begin with him alone. Allah taught him the words of return — the kalimāt through which he repented. This reveals something...
info_outline![Episode 358: Tawwab as an Identity [2:222] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199535390?height=50&width=50)
Episode 358: Tawwab as an Identity [2:222]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “Surely Allah loves those who turn to Him repeatedly, and He loves those who purify themselves.” (2:222) The Qur’an does not simply praise those who repent once. It praises al-tawwābīn — those who return again and again. The word tawwāb in Arabic implies repetition and continuity. It describes a person for whom returning to Allah is not a rare emergency response after a major mistake, but a regular spiritual rhythm. Repentance becomes a disposition. The people Allah loves are not those who never drift. They are those who do not stay away for long. Imam Khomeini reflects...
info_outline![Episode 357: You Will Find Him [4:110] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199535325?height=50&width=50)
Episode 357: You Will Find Him [4:110]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “Whoever does evil or wrongs his own soul and then seeks forgiveness from Allah will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful.” (4:110) This verse contains a powerful promise. It acknowledges two kinds of wrongdoing: harm toward others and harm toward one’s own soul through sin. Yet the verse does not end with condemnation. It ends with an invitation. If such a person turns and seeks forgiveness, the Qur’an says: “he will find Allah.” The verb used is yajid — he will find. It is immediate and certain. To find something implies it was already there. The verse suggests that Allah...
info_outline![Episode 356: The Roadmap to Return [66:8] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199534940?height=50&width=50)
Episode 356: The Roadmap to Return [66:8]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “O you who believe! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance (tawbatan nasūḥā). Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your evil and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow.” (66:8) This verse addresses believers — people already in relationship with Allah. Tawbah is not only for those far away. It is part of the ongoing life of faith. The Qur’an emphasizes the quality of repentance: tawbatan nasūḥā — sincere, wholehearted repentance. Scholars explain the word nasūḥā in several ways: A repentance done purely for Allah’s sake. A repentance that...
info_outline![Episode 355 : Do Not Despair [39:53] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199421740?height=50&width=50)
Episode 355 : Do Not Despair [39:53]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “Say: O My servants who have transgressed against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Surely Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (39:53) This verse is often described by scholars as one of the most hope-giving verses in the Qur’an. Notice how Allah addresses the very people who feel most distant: “O My servants.” Even in the moment of transgression, the relationship is not severed. The belonging remains. The Qur’an describes sin as “transgressing against your own soul.” It frames wrongdoing not primarily as...
info_outline![Episode 354: The Cost of Drifting [83:14] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199421445?height=50&width=50)
Episode 354: The Cost of Drifting [83:14]
Loving and Living the Quran
Allah says: “No! Rather, what they used to do has become like rust upon their hearts.” (83:14) Over the past reflections, we have explored the inner landscape of the soul — the fitrah, the states of the nafs, the pull of desire, and the voice of conscience. Recently we reflected on how communities help protect that conscience through mutual guardianship. Today we ask a difficult question: what happens when the soul drifts and does not return? The Qur’an uses the word rān, often translated as rust or a covering over the heart. Classical scholars explain that the human soul begins pure...
info_outlineToday’s reflection is verse 9 from Chapter 62, Sura Juma, when Allah [swt] addresses the believers and says:
O you who believe! when the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trading; that is better for you, if you know. [62:9]
4 important points are made in this verse:
1. When the call for the Friday congregational prayers is made, rush to attend to it
In other words, answer the call and join the congregation as soon as possible.
2. Leave trading and other worldly distractions at this time
Trading and business are particularly mentioned as the time for Juma prayers in right in the middle of the work day and these are also the main distractions for those in the marketplace. Of course, it applies to other distractions as well which stop us from joining the congregation on time
3. This is better for you
4. If only you knew
Allah is reminding us that human beings are short sighted and are often unaware of the bigger picture or what lies beyond our immediate experience. Here the Creator is telling us that turning to Him in congregation has more benefit to us that what we immediately perceive in the profit of worldly business. The gain that we will get on a transcendent level [immediately and long term] is far greater than the monetary and material benefit of what is occupying our attention for the moment.
Due to the evolution of our knowledge about mindfulness, pausing and redirecting our attention to something bigger than us, and doing so as a collective, we can now see through scientific studies how this is true.
Scholars tell us that the day of Friday was named al-Jum‘uah when a group of Muslims in Madīna, before the Prophet [saw] migrated there, decided to assign a day of the week to get together and remember Allah (swt) and thank Him.
The first congregational prayers were held at Masjid Quba, outside of Madina by the Holy Prophet [saw] when he migrated from Macca.
It is interesting that unlike the Christian or Jewish Sabbath, Friday is primarily the Day of Assembly, the weekly meeting of the Congregation, when we show our unity by sharing in common public worship, preceded by a Khutba, in which the Imam (or Leader) reviews the week's life of the Community and offers advice on connection to the Creator and on living a moral life.
The Friday congregation, while its primary purpose is worship, is very important in the social structure of Muslims and the interaction of and wellbeing of the Muslim Umma and fits in the gradations of social contact for Muslims with each other in this way:
(1) Each individual remembers Allah for himself or herself five or more times every day in the home or place of business, or local mosque, or open air, as the case may be.
(2) On Friday every week there is a local meeting in the central mosque of each local centre,-it may be a village, or town, or a big city.
(3) At the two Eids every year, there is a large local area meeting in one centre.
(4) Once at least in a lifetime, where possible, a Muslim shares in the vast international meeting of the Umma at the pilgrimage of Hajj.
By meeting in these expanding concentric circles, the Muslim expands his contact with other believers, find out what ails the Umma and gets introduced to the diversity within the faith. This is, what has been called a “happy combination of decentralisation and centralisation, of individual liberty and collective meeting, and contact at various stages or grades”.
While we may be meeting in such small and larger congregations throughout our lives [and more so in the month of Ramadan], we need to remind ourselves that the spirit of such congregations is meant to nurture the spirit of unity, brotherhood, acceptance, mutual consultation, and collective understanding and action.
When we take part in the congregation on Fridays, let us take with us this reminder: that the path to God is inseparable from our connection with, and concern for the wellbeing of, the Umma.