Ramadhaan Quran Club Meeting (Juz 1,2 & 3)

A Bosnian Muslim girl studies the Koran by candlelight during the 47 month long siege of Sarajevo, 1994 (c) Tom Stoddart

-Via the iHijabi facebook page-


Assalaamu alaikum all!

I hope you are in the best of health and Imaan and that this Ramadhaan is going well for you inshaAllah!

So this is out first Quran Club meeting and you should have read a minimum of 3 Juz (Chapters) [or on Juz 3] to be on track to finishing the Quran this Ramadhaan.

In the first 3 Juz we have Surahs Al-Fathihah, Al-Baqara & A'l-e-'Imran. I will just give some more info on the Surah with a bit of background knowledge on it too iA from the translation of the meaning of the Quran by Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik as well as a detailed summary of the Surah.

Surah Al-Fathihah:

Period of Revelation:
It is one of the very earlier revelations. In fact. we learn from authentic traditions that it was the first complete Surah (chapters) revealed to the Prophet (pbuh)...

Prayer and Divine Guidance:

• This Surah is known as ab'a Mathani (seven oft-repeated verses)
• It is also called Umm-al-Kitab (mother of the book), foundation and essence of the Quran
• Its recitation is mandatory in each Islamic prayer (Salah). It is recited at least seventeen times daily in the five obligatory prayers.
• This prayer is taught by Allah (Almighty God) Himself to mankind, as a favour, to let them know the format of a Prayer which is acceptable to him.

This prayer is for all those who want to study His Message. It is placed at the very beginning to teach the reader that if he sincerely wants o benefit from Al-Quran, he should offer this prayer to the Rabb (Lord) of the Universe. Al Fatiha teaches that the best thing for a man is to pray for "guidance towards the Right Way" and to study Al-Quran with the mental attitude of a seeker of truth, and to recognise that the Rabb (Lord) of the Universe is the source of all knowledge. One should, therefore, begin the study of Al-Quran with a prayer to Allah for seeking His guidance.
It is important to know that the real relation between Al-Fatiha and Al-Quran is not that of an introduction to a book but that of a prayer and its answer. Al-Fatiha is the prayer from the devotee and the rest of Al-Quran is the answer form Allah. The devotee prays to Allah to show him the "right way" and Allah places the whole of Al-Quran before him in answer to his prayer, as if to say:
"This is the Guidance that you have asked for"

Taken from page 109


Read more: ♥-i hijabi-♥: The translation of the meaning of the Quran I read http://ihijabi.blogspot.com/2010/08/translation-of-meaning-of-quran-i-read.html#ixzz1Tv8t9dOl

Surah Al-Baqara:

Period of Revelation:

Though it is a Madani Surah (revealed at Madinah), it follows a normally Makki Surah (revealed at Makkah) Al-Fatiha, which ended with the prayer, "Guide us to the Right Way." This Surah begins with the answer to that prayer, "This is the guidance that you have asked for." The greater part of Al-Baqara was revealed during the first two years of the Prophet's life at Madinah.

Major Issues, Divine Laws & Guidance:

• Claim of the Quran: "This is the Book which contains no doubt."
• Creation of Adam, man's nature and his destiny.
• The Children of Israel and the People of the Book (Jews & Christians).
• Israelites' sin of worshipping the statue of a calf.
• Punishment of Israelites violation of Sabbath.
• Nature of Jews' belief
• Allah orders not to prevent the people from coming to the Masajid.
• Abraham (Ibraheem), Ishmael (Isma'il) and their building of the Ka'bah.
• Change of the Qibla (direction in prayers) towards Ka'bah in Makkah.
• Allah orders not to profess any faith blindly.
• The moon is created to determine the time periods i.e. months & years.
• Hypocrisy vs. True faith.
• Ayat-ul-Kursyyi (Verse of the Throne of Allah).
• Allah orders the belivers to enter into Islam completely.
• Punishment of a murtad (a Muslim who becomes a non-Muslim).
• It is unlawful to marry a mushrik (who worship someone else besides Allah).
• Victory is not by numbers but by Allah's help.
• Confrontation of Ibraheem & Namrud (the king of his time).
• What makes charity worthless.
• Taking usury is like declaring a war against Allah and His Rasool.
• All business dealings relating to deferred payments must be in writing.
• Retaliation against oppression.
• Non compulsion in religion.
• Divine Laws ar promulgated relating to the following categories:

• Food
• Fasting
• Self-Defense
• Charity
• Retribution
• Bribery
• Evidence
• Drinking
• Wills
• Jihad
• Pilgrimage
• Bloodwit
• Gambling Menstruation
• Alimony
• Usury
• Loans
• MArriage
• Oaths
• Nursing
• Buying on Credit
• Pledge/Mortgage
• Orphans
• Divorce
• Widows
• Debts

• Believers supplicaion to Allah.

Guidance is also provided concerning social, cultural economic, political and legal issues through addressing the Jews who were acquainted with the Unity of Allah, Prophethood, Revelation, the Hereafter and Angels. The Jews professed to believe in the law which was revealed by Allah to their Prophet Moses (pbuh). In principle, their religion was the same (Islam) that was being taught by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Although they were originally Muslims, they had swerved from the real Islam and made innovations and alterations to their religion. As a result, they had fallen victims to hair splitting and sectarianism, so much so that they had even given up their original name "Muslim" and adopted the name "Jew" instead, and made religion a monopoly of the children of Israel. This was Jews religios condition when the Prophet went to Madinah and invited them to the True Religion. More that one third of this Surah (Chapter) addresses the Children of Israel. A critical review of their history, moral degeneration and religious perversions has been made, to draw clear lines of demarcation between the essentials and the non-essentials of the True Religion. The Jews are warned not to mix up the Truth with Falsehood.

During this period, a new type of Muslims called "Munafiqun" (hypocrites), had emerged. There were some who had entered the fold of Islam merely to harm it from within. There were others who were surrounded by Muslims, and become "Muslims" to safeguard their worldly interests. They, therefore, continued to have relations with the unbelievers so that if they became successful, their interests would remail secure. Allah has therefore, briefly pointed out the characteristics of the hypocrites in this Surah. Later on when their mischevious deeds became manifest, detailed instructions were given in Surah At-Tauba.

In brief, this Surah is an invitation towards the Divine Guidance. All stories, examples and incidents mentioned in this Surah revolve around this central theme. This Surah particularly addresses the Jews and cites many incidents from their history to admonish and advise then that accepting the Guidance revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is in their best interest. They should, therefore, be the first to accept it, because this Message is basically the same as was revealed to the Prophet Musa (Moses), peace be upon him.

Surah A-le-Imran:

Period of Revelation:

This Surah, revealed at Madinah, consists of three discourses. The first discourse (vv. 1-32 and vv. 64-120) appears to have been revealed soon after the battle of Badr. The second discourse (vv. 33-63) was revealed in 9 A.H. when the deputation from the Christians of Najran visited the Prophet. The third discourse (vv. 121-200) was revealed after the Battle of Uhud.

Major Issues, Divine Laws & Guidance

• Allah's testimony about Himself.
• Decisive vs. Allegorical verses of the Quran.
• The True religion in the sight of Allah is only Islam.
• The only religion acceptable to Allah is Islam.
• Live Islam and die as a Muslim in order to get salvation.
• Followers of Isa (Jesus) were Muslims.
• Birth of Maryam (Mary, Yahya (John) and Isa (Jesus) Peace be upon them.
• 'Mubahla' (calling for Allah's decision if the birth of Jesus is disputed). He was born without a father, as Adam (first man) was born without parents and Eve (first woman) was born without a mother.
• Life & death is from Allah.
• There is no escape from death.
• Those who are killed in the path of Allah are not dead, but are alive.
• Muhammad (pbuh) is no more than a Rasool/Prophet of Allah.
• Prohibition to take the unbelievers as protectors.
• Critical review and lessons learnt during the Battle of Uhud.
• The first House of Allah ever built on earth is that of Ka'bah at Makkah.

As in Surah Al-Baqarah, the Jews were invited to accept the guidance. Similarly, in this Surah, the Christians are admonished to give up their erroneous beliefs and accept the guidance of the Quran. At the same time, the Muslims are instructed to nourish the virtues that may enable them to carry out their obligatin of spreading the divine guidance.

The believers had met with all sorts of trials and hardships about which they were forewarned in Surah Al-Baqara. Even though they had come out victorious in the Battle of Badr, they were not out of danger yet. Their victory had aroused the enmity of all those powers in Arabia which were opposed to the Islamic movement. Threatening events had begun to appear on all sides and the Muslims were in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety. This state of emergency was also adversely affecting its economy which had already been badly disturbed by the influx of Muslim refugees from other places.

The Jewish clans, who lived in the suburbs of Madinah, started discarding the treaties of alliance which they had made with the Prophet at his arrival from Makkah. They had discarded the treaties to the extent that during the Battle of Badr, these "People of the Book" sided with the pagan Quraish, in spite of the fact that their fundamental Articles of Faith- such as Oneness of Allah, Prophethood and life after death- were the same as those of the Muslims. After the Battle of Badr, they openly began to approach various Arab clans against the Muslims. The magnitude of the peril may be judged from the fact that even the life of the Prophet himself was always in danger. His Companions used to sleep in their armor and keep watch at night to guard against any sudden attack. Whenever the Prophet happened to be out of sight, even for a short while, they would at once set out in search of him.

Jews even approached the Quraish and challenged their ego to avenge the defeat that they had suffered at Badr and promised to help them from within. As a result, the Quraish marched against Madinah with an army of three thousand warriors and a battle took place at the foot of mount Uhud. The Prophet marched out of Madinah with one thousand men to fight the enemy. On their way to the battlefield, three hundred hypocrites deserted the army and returned to Madinah to discourage the believers. A small band of hypocrites, however, remained among the seven hundred who accompanied the Prophet. They played their part and did their best to create mischief and chaos in the ranks of the believers during the battle. This was the first clear indication of the fact that within the fold of Muslim community there was quite a large number of saboteurs who were always ready to conspire with the external enemies to harm their own brethren.

These devices of the hypocrites, played a major role in the setback at Uhud, even though the weaknesses of the Muslims also contributed to it. The Muslims were a new community, formed on a anew ideology and had not as yet gotten thorough moral training. Naturally, in this second hard test of their physical and moral strength, some weaknesses came to surface. That is why a detailed critical review of the Battle of Uhud is made in this Surah wchish was needed to warn the Muslims of their shortcomings and to issue instructions for their reform.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aplogies is there are any typo's in the above info (I had to copy it from the book by hand).

So Quran Club people answer the questions below and get involved in the discussion:

How has your Quran recitations been going?

What method have you been using (reading a couple of pages after salaah or specific time to read a certain amount or read an entire Juz in one sitting etc)?

How much have you managed to read?

Have you found it easier to read Quran this year?

What advice would you give to people having trouble keeping up with reading enough Quran?

Please write the translation (in English) of a verse you have read in the last 3 days Jsut open the Quran to any page in the first 3 Juz and randomly select a verse or 2. Don't copy and paste it from the ineternet, open your Mus'haf and copy it from there (it'll help you remember that verse)

Is there anything you're having trouble with? (finding time, understanding what you're reading etc)

Our next Quran Club meeting will be on Saturday (I've decided to have it twice a week as once a week will mean I have too much to write up all together. I hope you find this Ramadhaan Quran Club helpful, do let me know if you have any idea's on how to improve it, what I could add etc iA.

Asslaamu alaikum for now 04.52 am =S zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz