Ramadan Reflections - Juz 25-29
Ramadan 2022 - Juz 25 - Reacting to ups and downs
وَإِذَآ أَنْعَمْنَا عَلَى ٱلْإِنسَـٰنِ أَعْرَضَ وَنَـَٔا بِجَانِبِهِۦ وَإِذَا مَسَّهُ ٱلشَّرُّ فَذُو دُعَآءٍ عَرِيضٍۢ ٥١
When We show favour to someone, they turn away, acting arrogantly. And when touched with evil, they make endless prayers ˹for good˺. — Quran 41:51
The nature of life is ups and downs. Winter and summer. Highs and lows. The smart person regulates their emotions accordingly. No high is too high and no low is too low.
When times are good it’s important we savour the moment for what it is, being thankful for all the goodness. When we are enjoying the warm weather of Summer, we should remind ourselves though that winter is coming, and not be crest-fallen when the weather starts to wane. It’s the natural cycle of life and we traverse it patiently.
Ramadan 2022 - Juz 26 - Reacting to ups and downs
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُم مَّا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْكٌۭ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ ۖ ٱئْتُونِى بِكِتَـٰبٍۢ مِّن قَبْلِ هَـٰذَآ أَوْ أَثَـٰرَةٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمٍ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ ٤
Ask ˹them, O Prophet˺, “Have you considered whatever ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Allah? Show me what they have created on earth! Or do they have a share in ˹the creation of˺ the heavens? Bring me a scripture ˹revealed˺ before this ˹Quran˺ or a shred of knowledge, if what you say is true.” — Quran 46:4
All things in life — the purpose and our intention should be to please Allah. If we’re seeking something else, it is an idol of the heart, common ones are seeking money for it’s own sake or fame and status.
All of these things are temporary and mean nothing when it comes to heaven and the afterlife. Temporary symbols of luxury and ostentation seem trivial when we look at things with divine knowledge. When we think about things from a long-term point of view and consider what we’ll regret and cherish about our lives from our death-bed — even then it’s clear how trivial such temporary luxuries are. Our real goal will be the connections we shared with people, and doing right by them, hand in hand with the legacy we leave aiming to make the world a better place than when we found it.
Ramadan 2022 - Juz 27 - The short life and preparation
وَفِى ثَمُودَ إِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَمَتَّعُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍۢ ٤٣
فَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلصَّـٰعِقَةُ وَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ ٤٤
فَمَا ٱسْتَطَـٰعُوا۟ مِن قِيَامٍۢ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُنتَصِرِينَ ٤٥
"And in ˹the story of˺ Thamûd ˹was another lesson,˺ when they were told, “Enjoy yourselves ˹only˺ for a ˹short˺ while.”
Still they persisted in defying the commands of their Lord, so they were overtaken by a ˹mighty˺ blast while they were looking on.
Then they were not able to rise up, nor were they helped."— Quran 51:43-45
This life is but a temporary time, and then we return to our creator. The lifelong quest to return to God and for him to be pleased with us. Forever striving to be better and content.
We are only here to enjoy ourselves for a little while. We should also be cognisant of the greater picture -- not being too wild in our indulgences nor too nihilistic in our outlook.
Let us take things in measured portions and make sure we prepare as best we can for a day when we too will perish.
What will we leave behind on this earth?
What will we bring with us to the next life?
Ramadan 2022 - Juz 28
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَىٰ ثَلَـٰثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَآ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَآ أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ ۖ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ٧
“Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth? If three converse privately, He is their fourth. If five, He is their sixth. Whether fewer or more, He is with them wherever they may be. Then, on the Day of Judgment, He will inform them of what they have done. Surely Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.” — Quran 58:7
Two thoughts as we go through life:
What is the best thing we can do at any given instance?
What will be happy to have presented back to us at the end of our lives?
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا تَنَـٰجَيْتُمْ فَلَا تَتَنَـٰجَوْا۟ بِٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ وَمَعْصِيَتِ ٱلرَّسُولِ وَتَنَـٰجَوْا۟ بِٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِىٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ ٩
“O believers! When you converse privately, let it not be for sin, aggression, or disobedience to the Messenger, but let it be for goodness and righteousness. And fear Allah, to Whom you will ˹all˺ be gathered.” — Quran 58:9
How often do we see people such as public figures getting caught up trying to hide something or in some sort of cover-up? The very sentence has overtones of duplicity and deceitfulness. Yet it’s possible to be secretive about good things; to do good deeds and hide them. Commonly this may be people hiding their acts of charity, but also it extends to any form of worship, or goodness.
We should do good deeds for their inherent goodness and seeking to please God. We can aim to do this secretly as we’re not doing it to seek fame, validation or approval from others. But only because we seek to be true to Allah and true to ourselves.
Ramadan 2022 - Juz 29
تَبَـٰرَكَ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌ ١
“Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything.” — Quran 67:1
Ultimately all power rests with He, Allah. We do what we can, trying our best but ultimately our success and our reward are out of our control. As long as we have tried our best sincerely, we can be happy.
We seek help from Allah alone and we reflect on how to improve further.