What Is Worship of Allah?

The word “worship” is not as obvious in meaning as it may seem. Although generally understood as a kind of dedicated devotion, often involving rituals or practices, differences in one’s idea of God may be rather vague. We should imagine God as Good in the highest sense, expecting of us to strive towards such things as justice, truth, beauty, compassion, thankfulness, generosity, reverence. But what is different here is that the Quran refers to all people as ‘abad or worshipers. We were created to worship, and so are worshipers by nature – but it’s up to us to choose who or what we worship, and therein lies the difference.

Is the Quran’s Structure Based on Allah’s Name?

This is a very real possibility, which I began to examine while thinking that possibly all numbers somehow relate to or are reflective of Allah’s name. That seems way beyond my limited mathematical abilities – yet after studying the Quran in details, I ran into a simple pattern expressed in two ayat, 4:3 (itself a {3,4} set) and 35:1, as “two and three and four,” essentially a {2,3,4} set, which in turn reflects the {3,4} set, as expressed in Allah’s name. I’ve discussed this {3,4} set previously as well as how Allah “wrote mercy upon Himself” (6:12 and 6:54). Here finally is a post that covers this topic.

Historical Fact in Quran No One Could Have Known Until Recently

Dr. Louay Fatoohi explains in detail the historical reasons why the Pharaoh (in one aya, his “chiefs”) in the story of Moses (and he tells us exactly which Pharaoh this is most likely to be) in the Quran kept saying that Moses was conspiring to drive them from their land, per 7:109-110 (his chiefs), 7:123, 20:57 and 20:63 (latter 3 spoken by Pharaoh). He goes through the scholars’ explanations and why they are unsatisfactory, then the archaeological and other evidence that explains why this was actually an important and plausible fear in their minds. And how that information was known only recently; this question and other elements of this particular story in the Quran is not addressed in the Bible, making it a clear sign of information that only Allah could have known at the time of Mohammad (pbuh).

Satan, the First Racist, Tells Us “Be Arrogant” Like him

The above Quranic aya encapsulates what racism is: to say “I am better than he is/they are” because Allah “created me this way” and “created him/them that way.” It’s about saying I am better than someone only because of something they were created to be, not by anything they did. It’s an act of arrogance, and it is this arrogance that made Satan the expelled and accursed. So anyone who thinks he is better than another for being of another race or anything other than piety is actually claiming that Allah should prefer him/her to them. This is a judgment call on Allah the Almighty Himself, an act of extreme denial, and puts anyone who does so right down there with Satan. It’s also an act of extreme injustice, against Allah, oneself, and all humanity. And the consequences?

Allah the Exalted is not Petty and Islam Is Not About Things Being Haram

This inspiring video by Nouman Ali Khan beautifully explains the mistake people (both Muslims and non-Muslims) make, for various reasons, of thinking of Islam as a strict religion that makes everything prohibited, is against all forms of enjoyment in this world, just a kind of dour, restrictive religion, which is the diametrical opposite of the truth.

I associate this sort of thinking, nitpicking about hand positions in salat and which musical instruments are haram and which are halal, and the right and wrong way to wear hijab, whether or not to shave, “wear the beard” and detailed dress codes. But Allah the Exalted isn’t petty! Pettiness is practically defined as making irrelevant details the focus of one’s life, ignoring the looming and huge matters of faith, the Hereafter, charity, generosity of spirit, devotion in the heart, and a forgiving attitude towards others. And the fact that there is none like Allah, so study His book to know what He is like. The Quran is hugely communicative; it’s our responsibility to be receptive, not bark orders to others without humility or expressing love. May Allah guide us all. 🙂

Surat Al-Fīl 105, Then and Now

This sura is usually presented as a straight-up story about how Allah the Almighty protected the Kaaba and also the Quraish tribe (of prophet Mohammad) in a mighty victory over Abraha’s powerful army, famous for using an elephant or elephants as mounts in battle, and known to be capable of causing destruction wherever they went. The traditional story is that Allah sent flocks of birds to attack Abraha’s army, pelting them with stones “of baked-hard clay”, rendering the army “like chewed-up hay.” It is said this event occurred in the year when prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was born, considered a very good omen, due to the amazing victory that Allah produced alone with no human input (except the du’a of prophet Ibrahim untold ages earlier). We will examine the range of meaning in the sura’s Arabic words shown in various interpretations of the details, also noting its is pairing with the sura that follows it, Surat Al-Quraish discussed here, and more, including 2 Nouman Ali Khan videos on the subject.