Abdur Rashid Siddiqui - Treasures of the Quran: Surah al-Fatihah to Surah al-Maidah

KHURRAM MURAD &
ABDUR RASHID SIDDIQUI

Treasures
of the
Qurn

Srah al-Ftiah to
Surah al-Midah

THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION

Treasures of the Quran: Surah al-Fatihah to Surah al-Maidah

Published by

The Islamic Foundation,
Markfield Conference Centre,
Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire
LE67 9SY, United Kingdom
E-mail:
Website: www.islamic-foundation.com

Quran House, PO Box 30611, Nairobi, Kenya

PMB 3193, Kano, Nigeria

Distributed by

Kube Publishing Ltd.

Tel: +44(0)1530 249230, Fax: +44(0)1530 249656
E-mail:

Copyright The Islamic Foundation 2016 CE/1437 AH

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-86037-637-8 paperback
Typeset by: Nasir Cadir
Cover design by: Nasir Cadir
Printed by: Imak Ofset Turkey

CONTENTS

Arabic Consonants

Initial, unexpressed medial and final:

With a shaddah, both medial and final consonants are doubled.

Vowels, diphthongs, etc.

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MERCIFUL, THE BENEFICENT

There is no book like the Qurn. It quickens hearts and transforms lives; it leads whole peoples from glory to glory. It is the final answer to mans eternal, existential quest. For Muslims, it is the ultimate arbiter of their destiny: be it their rise to the heights of glory and civilization or their fall into the bottomless pits of decay and ignominy, it all happens because of how they live with respect to the Qurn. The Qurn has untold, priceless treasures to offer: the endless joys of blissful conversations with our Creator; the immense riches of knowledge and wisdom that guide us on the path of our Lord; the radiant light that illuminates the deepest reaches of souls as well as the most public domains of lives; the healing that cures all our sicknesses, spiritual or social; the mercy and forgiveness that support, succour and comfort so that we carry the burdens of life joyfully and reach salvation and success both here and in the Hereafter. These treasures are there for all wayfarers and seekers. They are available to them today just as they were available to their listeners yesterday, fourteen centuries ago. But the Qurn has the same claim upon its followers now as it had then: to hear it and make it heard, to understand it and make it understood, to live by it and invite all others to live by it, to strive to bring human life under the Qurn. Only then will the Qurn open its gates for us, only then will it become our destiny.

It is the infinite mercy of Allah upon me, for which I can never be thankful enough to Him, that I have always been granted some share of these treasures enormous compared to the little I did to deserve them, but very little compared to the vast oceans that the Qurn has to offer. Out of an urgent sense of duty as laid down upon every Muslim by Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), I have always tried to share with others whatever Qurn I knew, even if it be one verse. But knowing full well the gross inadequacies of my knowledge and taqw, and having no pretensions to being a learned scholar or mufassir of the Qurn, I have always been very reluctant to publish what I have been speaking of. But many friends who have heard me have always urged me to reach out to the larger reading public hence, this first small booklet, Key to al-Baqarah, which, I hope, inshallah, will not be the last in a larger intended Treasures of the Qurn Series. My aim in writing Treasures of the Qurn as I also said in my preface to the Way to the Qurn, is very modest. This is not a work of erudite scholarship. I am writing for the ordinary, unlearned seekers after the Qurn, especially the young men and women who ardently desire to live by it. I am writing about things that I am learning myself, as one wayfarer to another. Hence the reader will not find here fine points of grammar, lexicon or philosophy, nor rational and philosophical discourses, or details of fiqh. My sole aim is to make the message of the Qurn, and its summons to live by it, reach the hearts and minds of readers. Despite my shortcomings, I have every hope that this will rejuvenate them, because I trust the Qurnic promise: We have made the Qurn easy for reminder. We are living in a time when the need to centre our lives on the Qurn is most urgent and compelling. Without this, we Muslims will never discover ourselves, never give meaning to our existence and never find dignity in this world. More importantly, we will never please our Creator and Lord. Without the Qurn, mankind, too, will continue to slide from abyss to abyss. What meaning and purpose the Qurn gives to the Muslim Ummah, how it shapes the ummah to live up to that meaning and purpose, and what resources of heart and mind, morals and manners, piety and worship, of communal life and institutions are required to fulfil this task all this is beautifully encapsulated in the 286 verses of Srah al-Baqarah. The exposition of the whole, though important, would have been an onerous task. Hence I have given a concise overview of the entire srah, as well as its major themes. I think this will in itself be highly useful. In addition it may kindle an eagerness in the hearts of the readers to reflect upon the srah in more detail, as well as equip them with keys to undertake that task. In short, it is intended to be a key to understanding al-Baqarah, and ultimately all of the Qurn.

Finally, I pray to Allah, subnahu wa tal, to accept this humble endeavour, forgive my shortcomings and mistakes, grant me to live by what I say, and not count me among those who say things, they do not do.

I have copied this Preface from Key to al-Baqarah, published in 1996, which Ustadh Khurram Murad (may Allah have mercy on his soul) wrote a few months before his death. In this he outlined his purpose in starting a series of booklets on each srah. However, his death soon after its publication deprived us of his many talents, not the least his ability to expound the message of the Qurn so as to penetrate the hearts of his listeners and readers.

Still, there is a need to continue the work to which he had devoted his life. One very important area was his love of and devotion to the Book of Allah. Although in his modest way he used to disclaim any pretence of deep knowledge and scholarship in this field, those who knew him and had the privilege of listening to his