A Closer Look at the Oaths in Surat Al-Tīn 95

Surat At-tīn is analyzed here on this blog, where I discussed how “all four oaths are possibly places where significant messages were sent to their respective messengers.” Here I want to examine the oaths a bit further to reveal an even bigger picture. 

These oaths are the first three ayat/verses of this sura which has a total of eight (8) ayat. Notice the first aya contains two different oaths, both of which are fruits, the fig with many seeds and noted for its sweet flesh, and the olive with one seed/ pit, not sweet but known for its oil. In the 3rd and 4th oaths located in the 2nd and 3rd ayat (a {2,3,4} set) Allah swears by two places: Mt. Sinai, a “wild/natural” place away from people, and Makkah, a city, which is in essence a civilized place, a human construct. It’s not referring to the Kaaba but rather to the city itself as a secure place. Of course all 3 ayat containing 4 oaths (a {3,4} set) relate to the sending of Divine revelations through prophets; all these meanings tie together. 

The Order of Surahs in Quran

This is a question many ask, somehow puzzled as to why the Quran is not in chronological order. I have an answer for this on this blog: because the Quran is for all time, and it’s not about the history of Islam or the Quraish in the usual “just the facts” way (dates and genealogies as per the “many human hands wrote it” Bible). It conveys the Truth, and truth is immortal, timeless. Something out of vogue these days. Allah Himself is eternal, and sent us an eternal message in time. So of course the message will be eternal, timeless. Hence it’s not about chronologies and lineages – it’s about righteousness and piety in an age where money is god and banks are temples, quiet and well-funded, like places of worship. Nouman Ali Khan summarizes here why the order of the Quran now is Divinely intended, without a shadow of doubt. (You can also check out his course on the subject.)

The Quranic Initials or Muqatta’at

The Muqatta’at or “Quranic Initials” – which can be abbreviated as “QIs” – are 14 unique Arabic letters arranged in various groupings which do not form words, hence the Arabic name meaning “cut off” or separated. They form 14 unique “sets” of letters containing from 1 to 5 letters each. Counting repeats, they comprise 30 sets in 30 ayat in 29 suras – sura 42 (Al-Shura) contains two sets of QIs, each in a separate aya (42:1-2). With this one exception, these initials occur in the first aya/verse of a sura, some comprising the entire aya, and others followed by words in the same aya. Many scholars throughout history have studied these, with varying results and ideas, some concluding that we cannot know their meaning, dubbing them “mystic/mysterious” letters. You may have heard of them as part of a “code,” claimed to be protecting the Quran from adulteration (most famously Code 19). But would the Almighty even need such a code? These letters are at least presented to make us think. So we’ve thought about them and their meaning in the Quran, bearing in mind that this is a book by the Almighty Omniscient, and nothing He does is “meaningless.” Clue: Allah’s words are decrees but these are letters that don’t form words – thus an opening where fate is not sealed.

The Elephant in the Room – as Caretakers of Earth, Muslims Must Oppose its Destroyers

Pollution has appeared on land and at sea because of what man’s hands have accomplished, so he may let them taste something of what they have earned, in order that they will turn back [in repentance]. (30:41)

Although many translators translate fasad as “corruption,” it can definitely also refer to “pollution” which is indeed a kind of corruption that conveys to modern understanding that this isn’t about leaders getting kickbacks or bribes, it’s about directly destroying the earth and its resources.

It is both dereliction of our duty and a threat to our survival as a species to harm the earth. The Quran warns us not to commit fasad (corruption of any kind) upon the earth many times (around 60x including non-environmental corruption). And our mandate from the Almighty as humans is to be caretakers of the earth. Thus we must also struggle against those who cause the pollution and destruction of the resources of our planet, its water, living things, minerals, air, everything. But now the earth is horribly polluted and made toxic at the hands of humans, and who is the biggest criminal? The U.S. military.

The Deliberate Sterilization of God’s Mention from Western Culture

You can notice it in news broadcasts, in television series, in Disney movies and all kinds of cartoons, especially the Marvel series. You can find it in public discourse as the “standard model” of communication – the scrupulous avoidance of mentioning God or anything “sacred” in Western culture – except rarely when covering news about religion. Yet even then the word “God” is usually replaced with “approved words” like “nature” or “Mother Nature” (which Apple capitalized for me!). This is something I’ve been aware of for the longest time, but it’s extremely important to articulate it now in light of world events, the culmination of a long-standing erasure of the Sacred from so-called “Western” culture. Public mentions God are rare except in “sanctioned” phrases like “OMG” or “god-forsaken” or “godawful.” Compare to public discourse as it used to be in Muslim countries, like Egypt, where the name Allah was one of the most frequently-used words, effortlessly incorporated into daily life. Now with the imposition of Nazi and hedonistic “leaders” such as Sisi in Egypt or MBS in Saudi Arabia, the elimination of God in language, even where Islam is the dominant religion, is underway.

But maybe insha’Allah not for long…

The Difference that Waw Makes – 2 Views of Surat Al-Kawthar 108

A few years ago I published this analysis of Surat Al-Kawthar 108. Surprisingly, I just ran into the same sura analyzed on YouTube in an entirely different way with amazing results!

This video is by Binimad Al-‘Ateeki, who’s done some pretty impressive numerical miracle videos on the Quran, among other things. What’s interesting here is that his video shows us the same sura with some amazing results involving the number ten. Whereas I got what I thought were pretty fascinating results involving the number nine! So how did this happen?

Isa/Jesus and Maryam in the Quran – their Names and Message

The name of Isa/Jesus is frequently mentioned in the Quran as the son of Maryam/Mary, and so their mentions are linked. This aspect is not often discussed, so I will do it here, as well as analyzing how and where their names are expressed and placed in Quranic architecture. Jesus is referred as “Word” in the Quran, as well as in the Bible, for example in this significant aya, which also mentions the name of prophet Jesus in full:

˹Remember˺ when the angels proclaimed, “O Mary! Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him, his name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; honored in this world and the Hereafter, and he will be one of those nearest ˹to Allah˺. (3:45)

Allah/God is our only Ballast

Many people who think themselves modern or of a superior worldview disparage religion (although with the ongoing genocide by Israel is changing people’s outlook), and in particular disparage the “idea” of God, as if God was nothing more than an idea. Although this contradicts the narrative of Jewish faith one thinks of in the public sphere, where God is One, ineffable, and interacts with humanity in a very real and tangible way, more or less like Islam, if one examines how the rabbinical and general interpretive stream goes, it tends toward muddying the waters between human and Divine.  As per below:

God is not a static being, but a dynamic becoming. Without human participation, God remains incomplete, unrealized. It is up to us to actualize the divine potential in the world. God needs us.

As for the “dynamic,” this is very true and I’ve often argued that very point, that “God is not a static Being,” as shown in the Quran. But “becoming” can be understood as “not yet realized” whereas Allah the Exalted is completely and fully realized. The problem with this is “realized” in the next sentence in bold which uses the word “becoming” to imply an insufficiency on God’s part which humans supposedly fulfill. This is false and totally contradicts truth. God/Allah is free of need, and does not “need” us at all. The Quran repeatedly tells us this!

O mankind, you are the ones in need of Allah. Indeed, Allah is the Free of Need, the Praiseworthy. (35:15)

Indeed, Allah is our only true Ballast. Without Him, we have neither true north nor south, nor any direction whatsoever, and truth becomes an invention, something anyone can make up, a fantasy, and thus we lose both balance and direction, rendering life itself pointless and meaningless. Which is where the “modern” mindset, denying God/Allah outright, has taken us. Yet many still have their conscience, their innate Fitrah.

New PDFs re Quran Structure Based on Allah’s Name

You can download it here: first is an updated explanation in text, and the one below it is a brief one-page summary + a Quranic Architecture chart for illustration:

Explanation of the three four set plus 2.pdfDownload

Quran Structure Based on Allah’s Name.pdfDownload

This is a shortened version of the original that may help assimilate the idea (which can get very complex the more details you include). Photo of Al-Fatiha’s structure is below.

Our Relationship to Allah in the Basmalah

The paired names of the Basmalah represent how Allah relates to us: with His power/authority (Al-Rahman) and mercy (Al-Raheem). These two names contain 6 letters each for a total of 12 letters, and the number 12 is associated with 12 months, suggesting “in time.” The first 7 letters are the words “bism Allah” or “in the name of Allah.” The number 7 symbolizes 3 basic things: a test of what we value or “evaluation;” balancing “opposites;” and marriage or significant pairing (where the pairing involves a change in status, usually raising up in some way). Marriage can refer in Arabic to any pair somehow joined together: the body with the soul, the day and night as a dynamic duo, Allah and His messengers, the Almighty, All-Merciful, life and death as a cycle rather than a timeline, this world and the Hereafter, and our souls – if we choose the upright path seeking Allah – with the Almighty All-Merciful.

Mentions of Ships in the Quran Reveal Connection to Quranic Initials and Amazing Ship Graphic

The Quran mentions ships rather frequently, considering the subject matter, and some have wondered why. These mentions refer to how the use of ships for trade and more is a gift from Allah the Exalted, and a few mentions refer to Noah’s ark/ship, and fewer to the boat in the story of Moses and Al-Khidr. There’s an interesting correspondence between these mentions and the Quranic Initials (QIs) or muqatta’at, which in turn points us to the clear and also metaphorical connection between ships and the Quran as a message, especially emphasized in the story of Noah and his ship. Allah protects and elevates the lives of those who follow His guidance, saving them from the greater catastrophe of the Last Day, as He saved prophet Noah and the faithful believers who boarded the ark with him from the flood. In fact, the very nautilus design of the Quran correlates with that symbolic message. The placements of ship mentions in our spiral chart also reveals, using the classical elements symbolized in the chart, a graphic illustration of ship design and how it utilizes the Divine gift of buoyancy.

Some thoughts on Free Will, Faith, and Allah’s Wisdom

Recently I attended a class discussing such things as the Islamic view of free will, guidance, and the “problem of evil” – why is there is evil in the world if God is good – and other related subjects no single title could really cover. It was well-presented, so I will try to bring some of those insights here. I believe this is “standard” Islamic theology, and mostly conforms to the Quranic text, although the terms used are modern English, and there’s a difference between the two.

Two immediate things: the “problem of evil” does not exist in Islam, but exists in Christianity (and probably Judaism although it wasn’t named), which now poses this question to Muslims, many of whom don’t understand their own theology, thus clarification is needed. “Free will” (in the sense of “I can do whatever I want”) also doesn’t exist in Islam, but that definition doesn’t sound plausible in any philosophy or rational understanding. “Free will” in my former definition meant a limited measure of autonomy and choice, whose confines are unique to each person, and for which one can be held accountable. Otherwise, what is Judgment Day, where by definition God is absolutely Just?

Light and Darknesses in the Quran

This is a huge and meaningful subject, so we will touch on some basic ideas as well the locations of these mentions in the Quran, whose binary theme it graphically illustrates.

LIGHT نور is associated with: day, illumination, truth, eternity, wholeness, healing, goodness, the Quran, guidance, opening, peace, straight path (note that light rays follow a straight path), love, hope, trust, faith, sincerity, guarding the sacred, eternal values vision بصير (inner light which is a separate word).

DARKNESSES ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ is associated with ignorance, concealment, hiding, closure, sickness of the soul, evil, tearing apart, falsehood, crooked path, crime, loss and misleading, oppression and injustice, misery, hopelessness, despair, hate, hypocrisy, betrayal, violence, violating what is sacred, worldly values.

Why is light mentioned as singular but darknesses plural? Because light, as used in the Quran, is One and Whole, but darknesses are scattered and plural, dispersing and separating.

Oldest Recorded Quran Recitation

This YouTube video is of the oldest recorded recitation of the Quran made in Makkah in 1885 CE. It gives a little intro regarding the circumstances of the recording plus video of “the sights and sounds” of historical Makkah. It is a reading of Surat Al-Duhaa 93 “The Morning Hours,” also featured in this more recent but still historical reading by Abdel-Basit Abdulsamad.

Quranic Rhetoric Matches Its Structure

How the Quranic text conveys its message could be referred to as its “rhetoric.” The basis of a language involves principles of how language is used to convey ideas to an audience. But different languages use fundamentally different techniques and this affects how one interprets any text, including the Quran. The scholar Michel Cuypers argues that some of the confusion among Western and even modern Arabic-speaking scholars results from their misunderstanding of the linguistic basis of the Quran and how it differs from European logic. The rhetorical basis of the Quran is semitic (also the basis for Hebrew and Aramaic) rather than Greek or Latin (basis for European languages), whose approach is linear. The basis of a language is its logical core; the word for “language” in Arabic is the same word used for logic: mantaq. Thus it requires a different mindset – non-Western, which means non-linear – to appreciate the Quran’s magnificence. As Cuypers said:

“Semitic rhetoric is…entirely founded on the principle of symmetry, which confers on the text’s composition a form that is, in a way, more geometrical or spatial than linear.”

Michel Cuypers, The composition of the Quran, Bloomsbury Academic 2015

The “geometrical” aspect takes on another layer of meaning considering the Quran’s architecture as spiral, expressed on a larger scale in the Chambered Nautilus shell, itself a prime example of sacred geometry. This indicates how closely aligned the Quran’s rhetoric (its basic style and expression in words) is with its structure.

Amazing Link between First Revelation and Laylatul Qadr

While looking to verify something different in Surat Al-‘Alaq 96, I counted the number of words and letters in the first five ayat (96:1-5), which is said to be the first portion of the Quran to be revealed to prophet Mohammad (pbuh). The results are 21 words and 76 letters. If we add these two sums (something I often do with meaningful results), the total is 97, which is the number of Surat Al-Qadr, describing Laylatul Qadr, the night in which the Quran was sent down to the prophet.

It was the Spirit Jibreel (archangel Gabriel) who “brought it [the Quran] upon your [Mohammad’s] heart” (2:97), and the verse number that mentions this is also numbered 97! We can consider this to possibly mean all the Quran came down into the prophet’s heart, of which portions would be revealed over time. And it could also be that these five ayat were revealed in that same night. And so a connection between the sum of words and letters in these first revealed words and the night of their revelation could be made.

New Page published for those new to Islam and Quran

Just published! The For Those New to Islam and Quran page includes a selection of posts, a brief vocabulary list, a chart of the names of prophets in Islam, even a short video on salat, all of which focus on the meaning and purpose of Islam rather than lists of rules and regulations such as one can find anywhere. During Ramadan it seems more people are interested in the Quran, and indeed reading and studying the Quran intensifies during this beautiful and blessed month. Ramadan Mubarak to all!

Why Don’t Muslim Countries Help Palestinians or Stop the Genocide?

The video above answers this question in about ten minutes. I would add that among the “leaders” he mentions as having been the target of the U.S. and Israel is Bashar Al-Assad, himself is a tyrant who was waging a war on his own people when they came out in peaceful demonstrations against his Nazi-style rule in the wake of the Arab Spring. Israel had no problem with Assad or his father Hafez whom they once said “did even more than us” in terms of brutality against “rebels” among his own people. Many of the leaders taken out in coups were themselves dictators, but all the Israel-US alignment did was replace them when they got problematic. But it may be the genocide itself shows these puppet regimes that Israel does not hesitate to kill anyone – and these are not the sort of guys to sacrifice themselves for a cause other than themselves.

Celestial Realm (19) vs Earthly (7) Realm Graphics

This graphic compares the upper (celestial) and lower (earthly/ dunya) hemispheres of the Quranic Architectural Chart. If we add the house (pie section/ month/ first 12 suras’) numbers as “opposite side” adjacent pairs, as shown by connecting lines in the illustration below, we find an interesting pattern that highlights the significant numbers 7 and 19 in the Quran. The dark line separates the two hemispheres, the upper half representing the “celestial timeless realm” and the lower half representing the “earthly/dunya realm of time,” a central theme in the Quran.

The large numbers of the first 12 suras are also the house or pie section numbers. A darker line divides the upper and lower hemispheres. Note the sums of the connected house numbers are highlighted in yellow to show the 7’s in the lower and the 19’s in the upper hemispheres.

The sums in the lower half all added to 7 (highlighted in yellow), and sums in the upper half all added to 19 (also highlighted in yellow), indicating the significance of these two numbers may relate to the two realms these hemispheres represent. The two realms are discussed at length in a previous post as the Unseen Al-Ghaib, which points out: “The ‘seven heavens’ likely involve ‘dimensions’ or worlds/realms’ between which are partitions (the word hijab), an example being the jinn, creatures normally invisible to humans.” But these seven heavens are likely not all in the Unseen realm; the stars we see at night are in the “lower heaven” which we can see (37:6). And although we cannot see the jinn, they are nonetheless part of the dunya, the lower realm (34:14, 72:8). Below we examine the numbers 7 and 19, and what they could mean in light of the graphic above. The number 7 is repeated more often (27x) than 19 (1x), and there may be a reason for this.

Quran Means Recitation, an Experience

The video below is of a Quran recitation in a stadium in Tanzania, showing just how Quran recitation is an experience. (Try doing that with the Bible. It’s just not the same.)

The word Quran means “The Recitation,” and it was sent to prophet Mohammad to his heart as an audible message.

26:192 This is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all worlds, 26:193 which the trustworthy spirit ˹Jibreel˺ brought down 26:194 into your heart—so that you may be one of the warners—26:195 in a clear Arabic tongue.

Recitation involves direct audience participation and is thus an experience. Its sound has a preternatural effect. It can take you out of this world for a moment and connect you to Allah, to remember your higher calling. Below is a recitation by AbdulBasit Abdussamad (transliterations vary), a famous Egyptian reciter, of Surat Al-Duha 93 and Surat Al-Sharh 94, often read as a pair as he does here.

Note: a reciter of the Quran is a Qari, the Arabic word for reciter. Although it is read with intonation, it is not considered “music” per se because he exclusively reads Quran, although in this recitation he inserted a separate dhikr (mentioning of Allah) in between the surahs at one point. He also repeats the words occasionally, a common practice among reciters. Wikipedia refers to him as a “musician” which is utterly erroneous. The intonations are spontaneous, inspired by the words, not “musical compositions” in any sense.