It’s been so long since I sat down with the Qur’an and wrote about it.

Nearly 6 months since Ramadan ended.

And if I’m honest, I’ve missed this.

Ramadan feels too far away. I still think about the peace Allah placed in that month.

To be honest, I’ve been struggling since then.

For that entire month, it felt like everything about this dunya just went silent. Completely silent. I didn’t even realise I was a student or that I had deadlines, or any of the other stresses that, before Ramadan, plagued my every waking thought.

But during Ramadan, I was simply a servant of Allah. And, subhanallah, I have never felt such peace in my life. True contentment and happiness.

Since Ramadan ended, I’ve been trying to find my way back to that feeling. Some days have been easier than others, I’ll admit, but I’ve realised that every time I feel myself drifting away, the answer is always the same: return to the words of Allah.

So that’s what we’re doing today.

Before I begin, I just want to say Alhamdulillah.

Nearly nine hundred people subscribe to this page.

SubhanAllah.

I still struggle to comprehend that. Every person who has taken the time to read a reflection, leave a kind comment or just simply benefit from something I’ve written is a blessing from Allah that I don’t take lightly. May Allah reward every single one of you so so so so soooo immensely and place barakah in your lives. May Allah overflow your lives with kheyr. Allahuma ameen

Thank youu

I am so grateful

Over the past few months, I’ve continued reading the Qur’an. I’ve come across ayahs that moved me deeply and used those ayahs to reflect on things happening in my own life.

But what I haven’t done, is sat down, open a surah specifically, reflect on the ayahs and write what they leave behind in my heart.

And where better to start than Surah An-Naml - The Ants.

At first, the name seems surprising. The ants are only mentioned briefly in the surah, in only a couple of ayahs, yet Allah chose to name an entire surah after them. I find this so fascinating because if we were naming the surah, we’d probably name it after Prophet Sulayman (AS), his kingdom or his miracles, or the Queen of Sheba. Right?

But Allah draws our attention to…the ants?

Why?

Well, Allah is Al-‘Aleem, the All-Knowing. His knowledge encompasses all things, beyond what we can try to even comprehend. The reasons for many things remain unknown to us, but Allah is forever the Most Knowledgeable and the Most Subtle in His knowledge.

Maybe the surah is named after the ants because that sequence of the story, those two ayahs, tells us a lot about what we as Muslims should pay more attention to?

“You’re a good Muslim because you pray five times a day”.

“You’re a good Muslim because you’ve memorised X amount of surahs of the Qur’an”

“You’re a good Muslim because you wear the hijab”. Etc., etc.

How do you treat others, though?

Are you kind? Are you patient? Are you humble? Do you listen to others and try to see from their perspective? When you’re given a position of even a tiny bit of authority…do you exploit it and become arrogant?

This is just as important.

Shaytan believed in Allah. He knew Allah was One, he knew Allah was Almighty, and yet what led him astray was arrogance. He disobeyed Allah because he looked at Prophet Adam (AS) and believed himself to be better than him. So it’s not just about believing in Allah and Allah alone; it’s about what that belief does to your character, your obedience, and the way you treat others.

This is why this surah and these couple of ayahs is so important, because we can learn a lot about the humility shown by Prophet Sulayman.

This connects me back to another ayah in the Qur’an, in Surah Al-An’am:

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَـٰٓئِرٍۢ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىْءٍۢ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

“There is no creature on earth nor bird that flies with its wings except that they are communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register anything. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered.”

(Surah Al-An’am 6:38)

Like you.

Not beneath you or insignificant compared to you, but just like you.

The ant has a world of her own, a community of her own, fears and responsibilities and concerns of her own. Allah redirects our focus away from the kings, prophets, armies and nations, and gives the stage to the ant.

There’s a lesson in humility in that. There’s also a lesson in how expansive Allah’s care truly is; nothing is too small to be seen by Him, nor is anything too insignificant to be held and nurtured within His care.

Knowledge Before Kingdom

Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا دَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ عِلْمًۭا

“And We certainly gave Dawud and Sulayman knowledge.”

(Surah An-Naml 27:15)

I really love that when Allah introduces Prophet Dawud and Prophet Sulayman in this surah, Allah begins with their knowledge and not their armies, their authority, or the extraordinary power that would eventually come to Prophet Sulayman.

If you were asked to describe the greatest king who ever lived, would knowledge be the first thing that came to mind?

Probably not.

We tend to notice power before we notice wisdom: how powerful and intimidating a leader is, how much control they have over their people, but what we fail to realise is that knowledge, truly, is the foundation upon which every other blessing rests; after all, what is power without knowledge?

Some of the most destructive people in history possessed such great power, but because they lacked wisdom, their power became a source of corruption rather than benefit. We’re seeing it right now in the world and I don’t need to say their names for you to get a gist of who I’m talking about. They’re clowns making decisions that affect billions of people around the world, they lack the knowledge needed to be fair and great leaders.

But when Allah grants a person knowledge, true knowledge that allows them to see reality as it truly is, then every other blessing begins to fall into its rightful place.

What’s beautiful here is the response of Prophet Dawud and Prophet Sulayman.

They say:

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى فَضَّلَنَا عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّنْ عِبَادِهِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“All praise belongs to Allah who has favoured us above many of His believing servants.”

(Surah An-Naml 27:15)

But notice what they don’t say.

Do they speak about their own intelligence or boast and congratulate themselves? Do they speak as if they’ve earned these gifts through their own genius?

No.

They attribute everything back to Allah.

Whenever Allah gives us something beneficial, be it knowledge, wealth, opportunity or success etc, there’s always that subtle temptation to begin seeing ourselves as the source of it. We start to speak about our work and discipline, our intelligence, and our efforts and while all of those things can be true, I think we’re reminded that the gift came before the effort. Never forget that it was Allah that gave you the mind before you learned, who gave you the opportunity before you took it and the health, the time, the guidance, and the ability to pursue what you now possess.

Everything, absolutely everything, leads back to Him.

For me, gratitude is such an important, sensitive topic. Honestly, if I were to write an essay on it, I probably could because I really believe that the more grateful you are, the more Allah blesses you. Alhamdulillah, everything is a blessing, honestly. Learning to recognise those blessings and thanking your Lord for them can completely change your life.

And some of the greatest examples in our deen are those of the Prophets and righteous servants whose hearts were filled with gratitude towards Allah. They understood that every single blessing and every miracle and every piece of knowledge entrusted to them was an amanah, a trust from Allah.

To see it as anything else would be foolish.

The more Allah gave His righteous servants, the more clearly they saw the One who was giving, and the more clearly they saw Him, the more grateful they became.

The blessing never distracted them from Allah, because if anything, it brought them closer to Him.

The Kingdom of Prophet Sulayman

The life of Prophet Sulayman (AS) is one of the most extraordinary stories in the Qur’an. Allah blessed him with a kingdom unlike anything the world had ever seen; men, jinn, birds and even the wind were placed under his command by Allah’s permission. He was taught the speech of animals, blessed with immense wisdom, unmatched authority and a kingdom that stretched so far, and yet, despite having absolutely everything this dunya could possibly offer, his heart never became attached to any of it.

One thing I find so beautiful is that sometimes when Prophet Sulayman (AS) is mentioned in the Qur’an, Prophet Ayuub (AS) is followed straight after and they are both given the same divine praise in the Qur’an from Allah

نِعْمَ الْعَبْدُ إِنَّهُ أَوَّابٌ

(an excellent servant, indeed he was constantly turning to Allah).

If you didn’t know anything about the two prophets, you would almost think their stories couldn’t be any more different. Prophet Sulayman (AS) was given everything imaginable, whereas Prophet Ayyub (AS), experienced the complete opposite. He was stripped off his wealth, his health, his children and nearly every worldly comfort he once had, but soon, you start to realise both stories are teaching us the exact same lesson.

One prophet was tested through abundance, and the other, was tested through loss.

Both, were tests.

And both prophets responded in the same way.

They remained grateful to Allah, patient and humble and never allowed their circumstances to dictate their relationship with their Lord.

Think to yourself: when you hear “a test from Allah,” your mind instantly turns to hardship, doesn’t it? But wallahi ease is just as much of a test, if not an even greater one. When life is going well and your health is good and everything seems to be falling into place, it’s so easy to think…"oh everything is fine".

But if you’re truly wise, you’ll realise, wait…hold on…this is an examination.

Will we remember Him when life is beautiful, will we become even more devoted to Allah, or will we only turn back to Him when things begin to fall apart? When we start to need Him again?

That’s why I love reflecting on the story of Prophet Sulayman (AS) because despite having everything a person could ever dream of he still understood that no matter how great his kingdom became there was always One greater than him.

Allah is Al-Malik, the King of all kings, and Prophet Sulayman (AS) never forgot that for a second.

The Ant

One day, Prophet Sulayman (AS) set out with his army and as they travelled, they came upon a valley filled with countless ants, and here, in Surah An-Naml, Allah preserves the words of one tiny ant for all of humanity until the Day of Judgement.

Allah says:

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوْا عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌۭ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمْلُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ مَسَـٰكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَـٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُۥ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“Until, when they came to the valley of the ants, one ant said, ‘O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Sulayman and his armies crush you while they do not perceive.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:18)

I always find myself smiling when I read this verse, and the one that follows, because there is so much beauty hidden within such a small interaction. Firstly, look at the way the ant speaks about Prophet Sulayman (AS). Even in her warning, there is an understanding that Prophet Sulayman (AS) would never knowingly cause them harm, and I think that says so much about the kind of leader he was. Even the smallest creatures beneath the feet of his enormous army were safe.

But I also love the leadership of the ant herself. In a moment of danger, she doesn’t freeze, save herself or abandon those under her care; she immediately calls out to the others and uses the knowledge she has to guide them towards safety. There is something so beautiful about the fact that in the same scene, Allah gives us two completely different pictures of what leadership should look like. Their worlds could not be any more different and yet their responsibility is the same. Use what Allah has entrusted you with to take care of those around you.

Because Allah had blessed Prophet Sulayman (AS) with the ability to understand the speech of animals, he heard everything the queen ant had said.

Allah says:

فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًۭا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًۭا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ

“So he smiled, amused by her speech, and said, ‘My Lord! Inspire me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous deeds that please You, and admit me by Your mercy among Your righteous servants.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:19)

This is a prophet of whome Allah had given one of the greatest kingdoms, so if anyone had reason to become consumed by power, it would’ve been him but instead of overlooking this tiny creature, he hears her, understands her and… smiles.

A beautiful, gentle smile.

And immediately after smiling he makes du’a.

Prophet Sulayman (AS) understood that being given a blessing is one thing, but knowing how to have that blessing without allowing it to corrupt your heart is another. Even gratitude itself is something he asks Allah to help him with.

To me, that is the very definition of wisdom.

There is such a distinct difference between being knowledgeable and being wise. A knowledgeable person can know a lot, but a wise person knows what to do with the knowledge they have. Wisdom, at its core, is intelligence guided by compassion and using whatever Allah has blessed you with to make decisions that benefit others, protect others and ultimately please Him. You can know the Qur’an, know the rules, know exactly what is right and wrong, and still fail to treat the people around you with gentleness and humility.

There is so much for us to take from that. Whether you’re a parent, a spouse, an older sibling, a teacher, a manager, the eldest daughter or son, or just someone Allah has placed in a position where another person looks up to you, whatever authority you have is an amanah. The way you speak to someone younger than you, the way you treat the people inside your home, the way you behave towards someone who can’t do anything for you in return; all of these things reveal far more about your character than you realise. .

So be careful with this little power Allah has given you. Be compassionate. Be understanding. Be kind. Learn from the people around you, even those you might assume have nothing to teach you, because Prophet Sulayman (AS), with all the knowledge Allah had given him, still listened to an ant. Use your knowledge, your position, your success and any blessings Allah has entrusted with you to do good, because power itself is a test, and I genuinely think it can be one of the most dangerous tests of all. Hardship can make you realise how desperately you need Allah, but power? Power can fool you into thinking you don’t.

The Hoopoe

After leaving the valley of the ants, Prophet Sulayman (AS) continued on his journey, and as part of his routine, he inspected the birds that formed part of his army. Allah had entrusted every creation with its own role and purpose, and Prophet Sulayman (AS) knew them so well that the absence of even one bird didn’t go unnoticed.

Allah says:

وَتَفَقَّدَ ٱلطَّيْرَ فَقَالَ مَا لِىَ لَآ أَرَى ٱلْهُدْهُدَ أَمْ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْغَآئِبِينَ ۝ لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُۥ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَا۟ذْبَحَنَّهُۥ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّى بِسُلْطَـٰنٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ

“And he inspected the birds and said, ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? I will surely punish him with a severe punishment, or slaughter him, unless he brings me a clear excuse.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:20–21)

The hoopoe was such a special bird. Allah had given it a unique ability to locate water hidden beneath the earth, which was especially important given their location in the desert. This made the hoopoe an important part of Prophet Sulayman’s kingdom.

But before long, the hoopoe returned.

Allah says:

فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍۢ فَقَالَ أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِۦ وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍۭ بِنَبَإٍۢ يَقِينٍ

“But the hoopoe stayed not long. He said, ‘I have come to know something which you do not know, and I have come to you from Sheba with certain news.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:22)

The hoopoe then began to tell Prophet Sulayman (AS) about a kingdom far away in the land of Saba’, in present-day Yemen. It described a queen who ruled over her people with great authority, but despite everything Allah had blessed them with, there was a problem.

Allah says:

إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ ٱمْرَأَةًۭ تَمْلِكُهُمْ وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌۭ ۝ وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ

“Indeed, I found a woman ruling over them. She has been given of everything and possesses a magnificent throne. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of Allah.”

(Surah An-Naml 27:23–24)

“She has been given of everything...”

SubhanAllah.

From the outside looking in, it probably seemed like she had absolutely everything a person could ever wish for.

But she was still missing the one thing that actually mattered.

Guidance.

You can own the world and still feel empty if Allah isn’t at the centre of your heart, and just as equally, you can own almost nothing and still be the richest person alive because you’ve found your Lord.

I want to draw your attention to a beautiful detail here.

The bird bringing this news is the hoopoe.

The very same hoopoe that our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ specifically forbade from being killed without a valid reason. Among the animals he prohibited from being harmed are the ant, the bee, the hoopoe and the shrike. Isn’t that incredible? The same creatures Allah chose to highlight in this story are creatures that Islam teaches us to treat with mercy and respect (obviously, all creation should be treated that way, but the hadith specifically mentions these animals). The ants were shown compassion. The hoopoe was entrusted with responsibility.

Every single creation had honour because every creation belonged to Allah.

I wanted to highlight that because it shows just how caring and merciful our Lord is.

After hearing everything the hoopoe had to say, Prophet Sulayman (AS) came to a decision.

قَالَ سَنَنظُرُ أَصَدَقْتَ أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ

“He said, ‘We shall see whether you have spoken the truth or whether you are among the liars.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:27)

And so he wrote a letter and entrusted it once again to the very bird that had brought the news in the first place. The hoopoe soared back across the skies carrying an invitation to the Queen of Saba’, an invitation to know Allah.

Queen of Sheba

The hoopoe flew across the skies until it reached the kingdom of Saba’, where Queen Bilqis ruled over her people. As instructed, it delivered Prophet Sulayman’s (AS) letter before returning with news of what would happen next.

When Bilqis received the letter, she immediately recognised that this wasn’t an ordinary message. She gathered her chiefs and advisors, and Allah allows us to witness that moment through her own words.

Allah says:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَؤُا۟ إِنِّىٓ أُلْقِىَ إِلَىَّ كِتَـٰبٌۭ كَرِيمٌ ۝ إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيْمَـٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ۝ أَلَّا تَعْلُوا۟ عَلَىَّ وَأْتُونِى مُسْلِمِينَ

“She said, ‘O chiefs! Indeed, a noble letter has been delivered to me. It is from Sulayman, and it reads: In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Do not exalt yourselves against me, but come to me in submission.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:29–31)

But Bilqis doesn’t react with arrogance. She doesn’t tear up the letter or immediately reject it simply because another ruler has challenged everything she knows. Instead, she consults the people around her and listens, but her advisors had a very different response. Confident in their military strength, they were ready for war, because to them, this was just another political issue that could be resolved through power.

Rather than rushing into conflict, Bilqis chose diplomacy. She decided to send gifts to Prophet Sulayman (AS) hoping to understand who this man really was.

Was he another king seeking wealth and influence? Or was there something different about him?

When the gifts arrived, Prophet Sulayman (AS) rejected them completely. Allah had already given him more than any treasure this world could offer. Gold meant nothing to someone whose heart was attached to Allah, and to him, this was never about expanding a kingdom or increasing his wealth; it was always about Da’wah, calling people towards the worship of Allah alone.

And when Bilqis realised that this wasn’t about worldly gain, she decided to travel herself to meet Prophet Sulayman (AS). As she made the journey towards his kingdom, news reached Prophet Sulayman (AS) that she was on her way.

He turned to those around him and asked:

قَالَ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَؤُا۟ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِى بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَن يَأْتُونِى مُسْلِمِينَ

“He said, ‘O chiefs! Which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:38)

And the response:

قَالَ عِفْرِيتٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ أَنَا۠ ءَاتِيكَ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ أَن تَقُومَ مِن مَّقَامِكَ وَإِنِّى عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِىٌّ أَمِينٌ

“An Ifrit from among the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed I am strong and trustworthy for such a task.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:39)

For most people, that would’ve sounded impossible.

But before the Ifrit could even carry out what he had promised, another man spoke, one whom Allah describes as having knowledge from the Book.

Allah says:

قَالَ ٱلَّذِى عِندَهُۥ عِلْمٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ أَنَا۠ ءَاتِيكَ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ أَن يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَ

“The one who had knowledge from the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:40)

Before Prophet Sulayman (AS) could even blink, Bilqis’ throne stood before him by the permission of Allah.

A throne transported across such a great distance in less than the blink of an eye? SubhanAllah.

But look at Prophet Sulayman’s response.

Allah says:

فَلَمَّا رَءَاهُ مُسْتَقِرًّا عِندَهُۥ قَالَ هَـٰذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّى لِيَبْلُوَنِىٓ ءَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ

“When he saw it placed before him, he said, ‘This is from the favour of my Lord, to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:40)

The miracle hadn’t even finished unfolding before his tongue returned to Allah.

“This is from the favour of my Lord.”

And then:

“...to test me.”

SubhanAllah.

Look at this wisdom.

The real question has never been, “What has Allah given me?”

It’s really about “What am I doing with what Allah has given me?”

And I think that is the part of gratitude we often forget, and perhaps the hardest part: gratitude through action. Allah has given you an amazing job… what will you do with it? Will it bring you closer to Him or make you more distracted? How will you spend the money? Will you give back? Will you use your position to help people? All of that is a test from your Lord.

Gratitude is not saying Alhamdulillah with your tongue and moving on; if it ends there, you’ve only scratched the surface. True gratitude eventually has to show itself in what you do with the blessing.

What will you do with what Allah has given you?

Before Queen Bilqis arrived, Prophet Sulayman (AS) instructed that her throne be altered ever so slightly, a small change, so that it wasn’t completely unrecognisable, but different enough for Prophet Sulayman (AS) to see if she could recognise it.

When Bilqis finally entered his court, she was shown the throne.

Allah says:

فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْ قِيلَ أَهَـٰكَذَا عَرْشُكِ

“So when she arrived, it was said to her, ‘Is your throne like this?’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:42)

قَالَتْ كَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ

“She said, ‘It is as though it were the same.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:42)

I’ve always loved her response here.

Just imagine, she had left her throne behind in Yemen. It was one of the greatest symbols of her kingdom, something impossible to transport across such a distance and in such short time, but by some miracle, here it was, standing right in front of her.

Instead of reacting impulsively, she paused.

She looked carefully.

She reflected.

And then she speaks with humility, recognising that something extraordinary is happening before her.

And honestly, I think that’s one of Queen Bilqis’ most beautiful qualities.

She had an open heart, open to the possibility that she didn’t know everything. She was willing to let go of beliefs she had held her entire life when the truth became so blatantly obvious before her, and that takes a lot of courage.

How many times do we think we’ll appear stronger the firmer we stand our ground? What we should actually be striving for is the humility to admit when we’re wrong and allowing the truth to change us, instead of allowing our pride to keep us exactly where we are.

Islam encourages growth; spiritually, intellectually, in whatever way you can grow and expand your knowledge, do it. Don’t let great things and wisdom fall on a deaf heart.

Not long after, Bilqis was invited further into the palace.

Allah says:

قِيلَ لَهَا ٱدْخُلِى ٱلصَّرْحَ

“She was told, ‘Enter the palace.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:44)

As she stepped inside, she looked down and froze.

Beneath her appeared to be a vast pool of clear water stretching across the floor. Believing she would have to walk through it, she lifted the edge of her garment to keep it from becoming wet.

But it wasn’t water

Allah says:

فَلَمَّا رَأَتْهُ حَسِبَتْهُ لُجَّةًۭ وَكَشَفَتْ عَن سَاقَيْهَا ۚ قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ صَرْحٌۭ مُّمَرَّدٌۭ مِّن قَوَارِيرَ

“When she saw it, she thought it was a body of water and uncovered her legs. He said, ‘Indeed, it is a palace paved smoothly with glass.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:44)

By this point, Bilqis had seen more than enough. She had witnessed a kingdom unlike any she had ever known, seen her own throne brought before Prophet Sulayman (AS) by the permission of Allah, and witnessed a wisdom that went beyond anything she could have imagined. She knew, deep down, that this couldn’t be explained by human power alone.

It was from Allah.

قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى وَأَسْلَمْتُ مَعَ سُلَيْمَـٰنَ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“She said, ‘My Lord! Indeed, I have wronged myself, and I submit together with Sulayman to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.’”

(Surah An-Naml 27:44)

SubhanAllah.

If Bilqis was guided through the extraordinary signs Allah placed before her, what about the signs Allah has surrounded us with every single day?

Sure, we’ll probably never witness a throne travelling across countries in the blink of an eye or never walk through a palace and kingdom like that of Prophet Sulayman’s.

But wallahi, we are surrounded by miracles. Everywhere.

The leaves changing colour every autumn, becoming lifeless in winter and returning to life again in spring. The sun rising every single morning without ever being late to its appointment. A tiny seed becoming a beautiful, towering tree. A child growing and being nurished inside the womb of a mother. Our hearts beating thousands of times every single day without us ever having to ask.

We call these things ordinary because we’ve become used to them. SubhanAllah, how familiarity has a strange way of making miracles feel mundane

Absolutely NOTHING runs on autopilot.

Allah is the Pilot.

The Controller.

The Sustainer.

The Balancer.

I beloieve that is one of the most beautiful motifs running through the story of Prophet Sulayman (AS) and Surah An-Naml: recognition

“This is from the favour of my Lord.”

One of the greatest dangers in life, and my biggest fears, is seeing Allah’s signs so often so we stop recognising them. A sunrise becomes just a sunrise, or rizq just becomes “my salary” and our heartbeat just “part of biology”

True wisdom is recognising the Giver behind every gift you have ever received and the test hidden within both your successes and your trials, and Allah in everything the world has taught you to call ordinary. A heart that truly sees is a heart that knows how to be grateful.

We really don’t need more signs; we just need to learn how to see again.

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

Alhamdullilah for absolutely everything.

I guess this is me coming to terms with my rejection. And wallahi, from the minute I got it until now, alhamdullilah. Alhamdullilah. Alhamdullilah. Alhamdullilah.

I remember making duaa before all of this happened. I asked Allah, “Ya Allah, if I get rejected, don’t let it break my heart. In the short term I’ll be sad, ya Rabb, but let me understand it. Let me accept it. Let me see Your wisdom in it.”

And look at the mercy of Allah.

Allah answered me.

Because I got rejected… but my heart wasn’t destroyed.

My world didn’t collapse.

I’m sad, yes. Of course. I’m human. But I’m okay. Truly okay. Alhamdullilah.

Allah is so kind in ways we don’t even fully notice.

You’re probably reading this thinking: “You just got rejected… why are you saying alhamdullilah this many times?” Because I thought I wanted something. I thought it would be good for me. I imagined my life with it. I made plans around it. I prayed for it.

But SubhanAllah, Allah is Al-‘Aleem. The All-Knowing.

Allah knows things we cannot even begin to grasp. He sees the full picture while we only see tiny fragments of it. He knows what would have happened if we got the thing we cried for. He knows what doors it would open. He knows what pain it could bring. He knows who we would become because of it.

And maybe this rejection was not Allah withholding from me.

Maybe it was Allah protecting me.

Maybe this rejection is one of the most loving things Allah has ever done for me?

Alhamdullilah ya Allah.

Forgive me for the moments I doubted Your plan even for a second.

People say trusting Allah means believing everything will magically become easy. But I don’t think that’s what tawakkul is. I think tawakkul is knowing that even if everything falls apart, Allah will still hold you together.

That’s the difference.

When you truly trust Allah, disappointment still hurts, but it doesn’t destroy you. It can’t.

Because a heart tied to Allah…nothing is missing from it

Your hope was never fully attached to the thing itself. Your hope was attached to Allah.

And Allah does not fail us.

May we become people who trust Allah so deeply that even rejection softens our hearts instead of hardening them.

May we become people who can say “Alhamdullilah” with tears in our eyes and still mean it.

May we become people who even get a little giddy when things don’t go our way, because, we know, deep down:

“If Allah removed it, then maybe it was never meant to carry me.”

“I wonder what kheyr is being sent from Allah my way”

Allahuma Ameen

Isn’t that jus so beautiful?

Rejection, sometimes, is better than the answered duaa.

Because your Lord is literally protecting you.

Allah loves us so much.

He does.

Seriously, really think about it.

Allah who woke you up this morning.
Allah who let your heart beat without you asking it to.
The same Allah who gave you sight.
The same Allah who gave you people to love.
Allah who hears every plea to Him, you’ve never told another soul.

That Allah.

And we really think if He says “no” to one thing, it means He has abandoned us?

Never.

Never

I got rejected. Alhamdullilah.I got a bad grade. Alhamdullilah.I’ve lost something dear to me. Alhamdullilah. Things didn’t go my way. Alhamdullilah.

Because my Rabb is still my Rabb.

And He has already given me more than I could ever count.

Even the blessing of my eyes is beyond measure. The ability to breathe. The ability to make duaa. The ability to know Him.

Ya Allah, everything I have is from You.

Everything.

I once learned that when making duaa, don’t just ask Allah to give you something. Ask Allah to give it to you only if it carries barakah. Only if it is good for you. Only if it will bring you closer to Him.

And SubhanAllah, I think this is exactly that.

Maybe Allah answered my duaa in the most merciful way possible.

Alhamdullilah for unanswered prayers that were actually protection, for closed doors, for delays.

Alhamdullilah for every single thing I don’t yet understand.

The remembrance of Allah is truly the most comforting feeling in this world.

In success, I thank You ya Allah.
And in rejection, I thank You ya Rabb.
Everything is a blessing if you can see it that way.
Everything. Absolutely everything.

See the love Allah has for you everywhere.

Whatever it is, ya Allah, I trust You.

I trust You so much.

In your perfect timing and your perfect planning.

And honestly… we trust people with less knowledge all the time.

We trust surgeons to operate on our bodies.
We trust pilots with our lives and electricians to fix our homes.

So why is trusting Allah sometimes harder for us?

Allah… the One who created us, knows us, sustains us, loves us, protects us, and sees every hidden thing, deserves INFINITLY more trust than anyone else ever could.

A million times more.

So today, I got rejected.

And today, I still say:

Alhamdullilah.

Because if this was written by Allah, then somewhere within it lies my Lord’s mercy, even if I cannot fully see it yet.

I Love You, Allah

So, so, so, so, so much

more than my words could ever hold.

Thank you… for everything.

Laa ilaaha illallah.

I want to scream it

LAA ILAAHA ILLALLAH
There is no one worthy of worship except You, my Allah.

And I sit here thinking…
how lucky am I?
How lucky am I that I get to know You,
I get to call on You,
and worship You?

I know Allah, I worship Allah

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا

I am pleased with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as my Prophet

Ya Allah, I am so, so lucky to have You.

Thank you for every opportunity,
all of the doors You have opened for me,
every door You closed for me, even when I didn’t understand why.

Thank you for everything You’ve written for me.

Oh Allah, You are the best planner and writer of destiny

And sometimes… I must admit…

I feel shy.

Because You,
the Lord of the heavens and the earth,
the same Lord who split the sea for Prophet Musa,
the same Lord who split the moon for Prophet Muhammad ﷺ,
the One who cooled the fire for Prophet Ibrahim,
moves clouds,
knows what is seen and unseen,
the One who preserved people in a cave for centuries,

…You listen to me.

You answer my duaas.

Wow

Ya Rabb…
thank you.

I am so grateful.

You make the impossible happen
What feels heavy to me is nothing to You.
What feels far to me is already written by You.

And still…
Ya Allah, You give.
And give.
And give.

I love You so much Ya Allah,

Nothing is possible without You, ya Rabb
Nothing.

Without You… what am I?
I am nothing.

You gave me everything.
You give me everything.

You are always there.
Closer than anyone.
Closer than I even understand.

My closest friend.
The best protector.
The best guide.

No one is worthy of worship except You.

Ya Allah…

we cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself
allow us to worship You the way You deserve.

Because I fall short
all the time

Please please guide me, Ya Allah…
Guide us.
Keep us on the straight path,
the path that leads to You.

Ya Allah…

Even when I wait,
even when I don’t see the answer yet,
even when it takes time for my heart to understand…

I am still grateful.

How can I not be?

You gave me everything.

And even when it’s hard,
teach me to stay grateful.
Please, Ya Rabb, anchor my heart in gratitude,
no matter what comes.

When I tie my camel,
I will trust You.

Because You are the best planner.
The best protector.
The best guide.

You are the best, Ya Rabb.
Allahu Akbar.

Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.

Only to You.
No one else.

You are so kind, Ya Allah.

And if I have You…
then I have everything.

There is no success greater
than being someone who has You.

Ya Allah…

Please love me.

Make me among those You are pleased with.
Among those You look at with mercy.
and those You love.

Imagine receiving Your love, Ya Allah, please make us among those people

That has to be the best feeling in the world

Ya Allah forgive me.

Make it easy for me to become someone You love.
Make it easy for me to worship You
the way You deserve to be worshipped.

Look at everything You’ve done for me…
for us…

Thank you Ya Rabb

If I spent my whole life in sujood,
if I cried and cried and cried until my voice broke,
if I used every second of my existence
just to thank You,

then I would still fall short of the gratitude You deserve

if this is all I ever am and become,

a servant who keeps returning to You,
who keeps whispering Your name,
who keeps falling short but coming back,

then let me be that.

Forever.

And ever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

Because the only thing I’m truly afraid of is a life where I no longer feel this towards You.

It would never be enough, Ya Rabb.

I love You so so so so so so much.

Please,

let this feeling never leave me

Please Ya Rabb

I don’t want it to ever go

Allahuma Ameen 🤍

Dear Ramadan,

I don’t really know how to begin this… because anything I say feels like it’s coming too late.

It feels like I’ve only just understood you, and now I’m already being asked to let you go.

You didn’t arrive the way important things usually do. There was no moment I could point to and say this is when everything changed.

You just… came suddenly. Slipped into my days, into my nights, into spaces in my heart I didn’t even realise had been empty.

And that’s what makes this harder to explain.

Because I didn’t know I was waiting for you.
But now that you’re here, I don’t know how I ever lived without you.

It felt like you found me before I found myself.

You sat in my days and softened them. You stretched my nights until they felt endless, almost like time itself was reluctant to move while you were here. Even the air felt different with you, so much lighter, as if mercy had weight and it was resting gently on everything around me.

I keep thinking about the first night I stood in prayer beside strangers.

Shoulder to shoulder. Feet to feet.
People I will never know, will never speak to, will never see again.

And yet…we said the same words.
We bowed at the same time.
We fell into sujood like a single body with one heart.

Who were we?

A room full of separate lives, separate sins, separate stories
and still, somehow, we moved as one.

As if you, Ramadan, had gathered us and whispered:
for now, just be one Ummah. Just be one.

There was an intimacy in that I can’t explain.

The kind of intimacy that comes from knowing you are all standing before the same Allah,
needing Him in the exact same way.

I have never felt less alone than I did in those moments.

And now those rows are thinning.

The voices are quietening down
The nights are slipping.

And you… you are packing your things.

Ramadan, wait.

Please

Stay a little longer.

Just one more night where the world feels this gentle.
Just one more night where my heart feels this awake.
Just one more night where I know exactly where to stand and who I am standing before.

One more night to give thanks to my Lord the way He deserves.

Do you really have to go?

Because it feels like you’re not just leaving…
it feels like you’re taking a version of me with you.

—

You know what you were to me?

You were the stabilisers on a child’s first bike.

I didn’t realise it at first. I thought I was doing this on my own.
That I was the one choosing to pray, choosing to wake up, choosing to turn back.

But it was you holding me steady.

You made it easier to stay upright.
Easier to keep going.
Easier to believe that I could actually become someone better.

With you, I didn’t fall as much.

With you, I wasn’t as afraid.

And now I can feel it,
you’re gently taking your hands away.

You’re stepping back.

And I want to panic, to say no, wait, I’m not ready, don’t let go yet…

But maybe this is what you came for.

Maybe you came to teach me how to ride without you.

To show me what I am capable of
when my heart is aligned and my soul is fed,

when my life revolves around Allah instead of everything else.

And now you’re looking at me, almost lovingly, as if to say:

Go on. Try.

You can do this

And I don’t know whether to thank you or beg you to stay.

—

You were the best guest I have ever known.

You changed the atmosphere of my home completely.

You rearranged the furniture of my life without me noticing.
You took what was cluttered and made it meaningful.
You turned ordinary moments into something so unbelievably sacred.

You bought me closer to my Lord

Even my hunger felt like worship to Allah, with you.
Even my silence felt full.

Who does that?

Who enters a life so gently,
and leaves it completely transformed?

—

Ramadan… my heart hurts.

Please, don’t go

This is the best month I have ever lived.

It wasn’t easy.
Nor was I perfect.

But, I felt close.

Closer than I have ever been.

And I don’t want to lose that.

I don’t want you to walk out of my life and take that closeness with you,
I don’t want my house to feel empty again after knowing what it felt like when it was full.

Stay.

Please.

Sit a little longer at the edge of my nights.
Let me hear the Qur’an one more time like this…
not as words, but as something that reaches inside me and rearranges everything.

Let me stand one more time in a row of strangers
and feel like I belong.

Let me call upon Allah one more time
like someone who knows He is listening.

—

But I can see it now.

Your shoes are already by the door.

And I’m starting to realise,

You were never mine to keep.

You were always passing through.

A mercy that visits.

A light that teaches you what light feels like…
and then leaves you in the hope that you will search for it again.

—

So if you must go…

please don’t leave me the way you found me.

Leave me as someone who cannot forget
what it felt like to stand in the night
and mean every word.

Leave me as someone who,
even without the stabilisers,
still chooses not to fall.

—

Wait…

just listen to me.

Tell Allah I felt Him.
Tell Him there were nights my voice broke
because I finally understood how far I had wandered…
and how gently He still let me come back.

Tell my Rabb I am still learning how to love Him,
still learning how to stay.

And tell Him…
never to return me to a version of myself
that could live without Him
and not even notice.

—

Ramadan…

My beloved guest,

I don’t know how to let you go like this.

It feels wrong to stand at the door
and watch something this beautiful leave
my heart, it’s still inside you.

Take your time.

Walk slowly.

Maybe… maybe if you move gently enough,
my du’a will catch up to you.

—

And if this is the last time I ever see you,

if my name is not written
among those who reach you again,

then be gentle with me when you leave.

Don’t close the door all at once.

Leave it slightly open…
so that what you brought me
doesn’t leave with you.

—

And if you do return next year…

and I am no longer here,

if the nights come
and my place in the row is empty,
and my voice is missing
from the collective آمين,

then stand there for a moment.

In one of those long nights,
between one ayah and the next,

and say:

Ya Allah…
they were here once…
and they were trying.

It is the 26th night of Ramadan.

Only a few nights remain before this blessed month leaves us, and every evening now carries a strange heaviness. Ramadan is slipping through our fingers, and a part of the heart just wants to say, no… not yet.

Ya Allah, I don’t want this to end.

The duas feel more urgent and the heart keeps wondering if one of these nights is Laylatul Qadr.

And in these last nights, there is a simple habit many of us are encouraged to hold onto.

Every night, before sleeping, recite Surah Al-Mulk.

Please… if you’re reading this right now, go and read this surah.

Because this is the surah the Prophet ﷺ told us about, the one that protects a person from the punishment of the grave.

SubhanAllah.

Imagine that.

A surah you keep reciting at night could one day stand beside you when you’re placed alone in the darkness of the grave, speaking on your behalf when your tongue can no longer form words.

When you read Surah Al-Mulk slowly, reflecting on its meanings, a single reality begins to settle into the heart again and again.

Allah is Al-Malik.

The King.

Not a king among kings. Not one authority among many competing powers.

The King.

The Owner of everything that exists.

Every time I read the translation of this surah, one question becomes unmistakably clear:

Who else?

Who else but Allah could do what He does?

The Benefits of This Surah

There is a hadith about this surah that honestly stops you in your tracks.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“There is a surah in the Qur’an of thirty verses that intercedes for a man until he is forgiven. It is: Tabārak alladhī biyadihi al-mulk.”

Thirty verses.

That’s it.

Thirty verses that stand beside a person and keep asking Allah to forgive them until forgiveness is granted.

One day your body will be lowered into the earth. The people who love you will step away from the grave. The sound of their footsteps will fade. The world will keep moving without you.

And in that moment, you will want anything…anything…that can stand beside you.

This surah will.

SubhanAllah.

This is why the Prophet ﷺ encouraged us to keep reciting it, to return to it, to live with it.

Because a heart that ends its day remembering the King is not the same as a heart that ends its day forgetting Him.

Night after night, these verses settle deeper. They soften the heart. They remind you of death before death arrives. They remind you of accountability before the grave comes. They remind you that the One who holds the universe together is the same One you will stand before.

So when the grave finally comes, the surah that walked with you through the nights of your life becomes a mercy for you there.

Because the one who knew Allah in this life is not abandoned in the next.

So read it tonight.

Read it slowly. Read it intentionally.

Read it knowing that these thirty verses might one day be standing beside you in the darkest place you will ever enter, speaking on your behalf before the King whose dominion never ends.

And really, after knowing that…

how could you ever go to sleep without it?

Tabāraka, The Blessed King

Allah opens the surah by saying:

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ ٱلْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“Blessed is the One in Whose Hand is all dominion, and He is over all things Perfectly Capable.”

(Surah Al-Mulk 67:1)

The surah begins by teaching us how to look at Allah.

The word tabāraka carries the meaning of overflowing blessing, vast goodness, abundance without limit and perfection without deficiency. Even, the form of the word carries permanence.

It’s not describing a blessing that comes and goes. It is pointing to an eternal reality. Allah has always and will always be blessed in the most absolute sense

Then Allah says: “In Whose Hand is Al-mulk.”

Not a kingdom.

Not one form of power among many.

Al-Mulk.

The dominion. The whole thing. Everything that exists falls under that word.

The heavens and the earth.

Time and space.

The seen and the unseen.

The systems of nature.

The laws that keep the stars in place.

The womb that carried you.

The breath you’re taking now.

The life you’re trying to build.

The fear you have about the future.

The thing you’re praying for.

The thing you’re grieving.

The thing you thought was in your control but never really was.

All of it. Every single one

Is in His hands.

And that changes the way a believer moves through life. Because if Allah is the One in whose hand is all dominion, then why do we panic as though everything rests on us?

Why do we place so much weight on people and on systems and outcomes, when the final decree has always belonged to Him?

You can prepare for the interview, revise for the exam, seek the treatment, work for the opportunity, and that effort matters, but none of those things produce an outcome unless the One who holds dominion allows them to. Subhanallah.

He is Al-Qadīr.

The One fully able over all things.

Nothing resists Him. Nothing overpowers Him. Nothing slips outside His decree.

And really, once you know that, who else deserves your trust the way Allah does?

The One Who Created Death and Life

Then Allah says:

ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ

“He is the One Who created death and life to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Forgiving.”

(Surah Al-Mulk 67:2)

It is striking that Allah mentions death before life.

Not life then death, the way we would naturally think of it, but death before life.

As though it is saying from the very beginning: do not get too comfortable here. Do not forget where this is all going. Do not let life distract you from the fact that death is not a distant possibility, but part of the very design.

Our death is actually the beginning of our eternal life. So in that sense, death does come before life…. well at least the real one

And what a profound thing to be told in the final nights of Ramadan.

Allah created death.

Allah created life.

Both are His creation. Both are under His control. Both are part of the test.

And then Allah tells us why:

“to test which of you is best in deeds.”

Best.

Those whose deeds were truest, sincerest and most pleasing to Allah.

And that opens a door into a very painful but necessary question: what are we actually doing with this life?

Because the world trains us to ask different questions.

What are you achieving? What are you building? What are you earning? What are you becoming in the eyes of people?

But Surah Al-Mulk cuts straight through all of that and asks

What will your deeds look like before Allah?

And death is what makes that question urgent.

The body will be buried. The people who carried you to the grave will return home. The sound of footsteps will fades. The world will carry on.

But for you, another reality begins.

The grave is not empty waiting.

It is the beginning of Barzakh, the stage between this life and resurrection.

The questioning begins.

The truth starts to become visible.

The grave becomes either a space of expansion and peace or a place of constriction and punishment.

SubhanAllah.

How many things occupy our minds every day that will mean absolutely nothing in that moment?

And how many things we neglect today that will suddenly become everything to us in the grave?

اللَّهُمَّ وَسِّعْ لَنَا فِي قُبُورِنَا، وَاجْعَلْهَا رَوْضَةً مِنْ رِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ، وَلَا تَجْعَلْهَا حُفْرَةً مِنْ حُفَرِ النَّارِ. آمِين.

O Allah, widen our graves, make them gardens from the gardens of Paradise, and do not make them pits from the pits of the Fire.

Allahumma Ameen.

Do you see any cracks?

Allah then turns our eyes upward and says:

ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ طِبَاقًا ۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ مِن تَفَٰوُتٍ ۖ فَٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍ ۝ ثُمَّ ٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ

“He is the One Who created seven heavens in layers. You will never see any flaw in the creation of the Most Merciful. So look again: do you see any cracks? Then look again and again—your sight will return to you humbled and weary.”

(Surah Al-Mulk 67:3–4)

Allah tells you to look. Then look again. Then look again.

This surah is dismantling arrogance in real time.

Because human beings can become very impressed with themselves. We learn, we discover, we calculate, we engineer, we map the stars and we explain process after process. We think we’ve done it all

So what happens?

The ego begins to swell. We start to feel as though knowledge belongs to us.

And Allah says: look again.

Search for a flaw.

Go on…

Find one crack in the design.

Find one fracture in the precision.

Find one point where the mercy, power, wisdom, and mastery of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى are absent.

Go and find it…

You can’t

Your sight will come back humbled.

And honestly, what is Surah Al-Mulk doing here except teaching the human being their size?

Teaching us that the more closely you examine the work of Allah, the less room remains for arrogance.

Held by Mercy

Then Allah says:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَٰٓفَّٰتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ بَصِيرٌ

“Have they not seen the birds above them, spreading and folding their wings? None holds them up except the Most Merciful. Indeed, He is All-Seeing of everything.”

(Surah Al-Mulk 67:19)

This verse is so tender.

Allah could have said none holds them up except the Powerful, except the Almighty, except the Dominant. And of course all of that would be true. But here He says:

except Ar-Rahman.

The Most Merciful.

And that changes the feeling of the verse completely.

Who taught the bird how to fly? Who gave it the instinct to spread its wings at the right moment and draw them in at the right moment? Who taught it balance in the air, direction in the sky, survival in a world so vast?

Who made this small creature, without the intellect given to the human being, able to ride the winds so beautifully that human beings themselves later studied birds and learned from them the philosophy of flight?

Subhanallah

Who taught it? Who?

Only Allah.

And who holds it up every second it remains suspended above the earth?

Only Ar-Rahman.

Because just as Allah holds the birds in the sky by His mercy, He is the One holding us up too.

We think we’re standing because of our own effort, by our own means, our own “wings” i.e. our job, our money, our health, our plans, our security

But SubhanAllah, the truth remains that none of it can keep us afloat for even a moment unless Allah allows it.

So when life feels heavy and your heart feels like it’s dropping through the air with nothing to hold onto, remember the birds above you, wings open in a sky with nothing beneath the and yet they do not fall,

because Ar-Rahman is the One holding them up… just as He is holding you.

If the Water Disappeared

Then the surah closes with one of the most piercing questions in the Qur’an:

قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَآؤُكُمْ غَوْرًا فَمَن يَأْتِيكُم بِمَآءٍ مَّعِينٍ

“Say: Have you considered—if your water were to sink deep into the earth, then who could bring you flowing water?”

(Surah Al-Mulk 67:30)

What a question.

The thing you drink every day without thinking.

The thing your body cannot survive without.

The thing that revives the earth, fills rivers, flows in homes, purifies you for prayer, cleanses your limbs for wudu, sustains plants, animals, and every form of life around you.

Allah even says elsewhere:

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ حَىٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

“And We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?”

(Surah Al-Anbiya 21:30)

When Allah says مَاؤُكُمْ , your water, it personalises the blessing.

It’s not just water in general. It is your water.

The water your life depends on. The water you have grown used to. The water you expect to be there.

Subhanallah, the water you expect to be there

Allah asks: what if it sank?

All of it

What if the rivers dried up and the wells disappeared. What if the springs stopped and the earth withheld what it once brought forth so easily?

What if it all sank?

Who could bring it back?

And really, this isn’t just about water. It’s about every single blessing we move through life assuming will remain.

How foolish can we get?

How ignorant?

Safety. Health. Shelter. Ease. Provision. Loved ones. Stability. The ordinary mercies we barely notice

That we take for granted.

Surah Al-Mulk is demanding us to live awake.

Notice these things.

Recognise that every blessing is from Allah. Every drop. Every comfort. Every mercy.

And isn’t that exactly what Allah says elsewhere?

وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ ٱللَّهِ

“And whatever blessing you have, it is from Allah.”

(Surah An-Nahl 16:53)

Do we actually live with that awareness?

Or have we become so familiar with Allah’s gifts that we no longer really see them?

Reflection

Who else?

Who else but Allah could do what He does?

Who else but Al-Malik could hold the entire kingdom in His hand and still care for a single bird in the sky, guard a single drop of water beneath the earth, and still listen to a single servant quietly reciting thirty verses before they sleep?

Who else

SubhanAllah.

Ya Allah, forgive our sins, purify our hearts and make Surah Al-Mulk a light for us in this life and a protection for us in the grave, and allow us to meet You with hearts that truly knew You. Ya Al-Malik

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ ذَنْبَي ، وَطَهِّرْ قَلْبَي ، وَحَصِّنْ فَرْجَي

Allahummaghfir dhanbi, wa tahhir qalbi, wa hassin farji.

Ameen.

Bismillah.

Tonight in Taraweeh something happened that stayed with me.

We moved on to Surah Muhammad, and the imam reached a verse that suddenly made the entire masjid feel different. His voice broke mid-recitation. The Imam was crying, May Allah reward him immsnely for guiding us during taraweeh.

I’m not even exaggerating when I say he couldn’t continue for a moment. The room fell completely silent. You could feel the weight of the words even if you didn’t fully understand the Arabic.

The verse was this:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَآ

“Do they not then reflect upon the Qur’an? Or are there locks upon their hearts?”

(Surah Muhammad 47:24)

At the time, I only recognised the ayah itself. I didn’t fully understand what was being recited. But after Taraweeh, on the way home I looked up the translation, and SubhanAllah… the meaning is so so so powerful.

“Do they not then reflect upon the Qur’an?

Or are there locks upon their hearts?”

Locks.

Ya Allah.

Ya Allah, please never allow our hearts to be locked.

The word used here for locks is أَقْفَالُهَا (aqfāluha). It comes from the root ق-ف-ل (qaf-fa-lam), which carries the meaning of closing something shut and sealing it in a way that prevents entry.

Not just closing a door.

Locking it.

And when something is locked, it means two things are happening at once. Something inside cannot come out… and something outside cannot come in.

Think about that in the context of the heart.

If a heart becomes locked, the light of the Qur’an cannot enter it. Guidance reaches the ears, but it doesn’t penetrate deeper. The words are heard but only stop at surface level. The reminder arrives, but the heart doesn’t move.

And at the same time, what is already inside the heart stays trapped there. Arrogance, heedlessness, attachment to the dunya.

SubhanAllah.

Do they not reflect on the Qur’an… or are there locks on their hearts?

The problem isn’t the message, but the condition of the heart receiving it.

And suddenly that moment in Taraweeh makes complete sense. Why the imam struggled to continue. Why it is so so emotional

Because every believer hearing it probably felt that same exact fear.

What if my heart is becoming like that?

What if the Qur’an is reaching my ears… but not my heart?

What if the reminders are coming… but something inside me is not changing?

And that’s exactly the kind of question that leads us into Surah Al-Hadid.

Because Surah Al-Hadid is, in many ways, a surah about the state of the heart.

About hearts that soften when they remember Allah… and hearts that slowly harden when they become distracted by the dunya.

About the difference between faith that lives only on the tongue and faith that actually transforms how we live.

And the name of the surah itself already hints at that contrast.

Al-Hadid.

The Iron.

A metal known for strength, weight and hardness.

But the question the surah so powerfully raises is:

If iron can be softened in a furnace…

what about the human heart?

The entire universe is already in submission

Before the surah speaks about iron, charity, sacrifice, or the state of believers, it begins by reminding us of something far bigger.

Allah says:

سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

“Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.”

(Surah Al-Hadid 57:1)

Allah begins by reminding us that everything existing around us is already engaged in tasbih. Every star burning millions of miles away and every galaxy moving in silent precision. All the mountains that have stood for centuries. Every ocean wave that rises and falls.

Everything.

All of it is already glorifying Allah.

SubhanAllah.

Which means the Qur’an isn’t introducing humanity to a God the universe doesn’t recognise. The universe has never forgotten its Creator. The sun obeys Him. Gravity obeys Him. Atoms obey Him. Entire galaxies move according to laws He wrote long before our creation even existed.

And yet the only creation capable of consciously remembering Allah… is also the only creation capable of forgetting Him.

Isn’t that a strange paradox?

The stars never forget.

The mountains never forget.

But the human heart sometimes does.

And that is why the Qur’an keeps returning to this idea again and again, reminding us that the problem has never been a lack of signs. The signs are everywhere.

The real question is whether the heart is open enough to recognise them.

Or whether something inside it has started to close.

The Metal Allah Sent Down

Then the surah reaches one of its most fascinating and layered statements.

Allah says:

وَأَنزَلْنَا الْحَدِيدَ فِيهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ

“And We sent down iron, in which there is great strength and benefits for people.”

(Surah Al-Hadid 57:25)

Look carefully at the wording here.

Allah doesn’t say We created iron on Earth.

He says:

“We sent down iron.”

The verb used is أَنزَلْنَا (anzalnā), the same word the Qur’an uses for things that descend from above like rain, revelation, blessings sent from the heavens.

Now think about what modern astrophysics has discovered.

Iron is not naturally formed on Earth.

It is produced inside massive stars under temperatures reaching hundreds of millions of degrees. When those stars explode as supernovas, iron is scattered across space and eventually becomes part of forming planets.

Meaning the iron beneath our feet, the iron in mountains, the iron used in buildings and machines, even the iron circulating inside our own blood, was forged in distant stars and then sent toward this planet long before human life existed.

SubhanAllah.

Fourteen centuries ago the Qur’an described iron as something sent down, at a time when no human being had any concept of stellar explosions or cosmic nucleosynthesis.

But the verse does something even deeper than pointing to a scientific wonder.

Because right after mentioning iron, Allah connects it to justice.

لِيَقُومَ النَّاسُ بِالْقِسْطِ

“So that people may uphold justice.”

And here is where something really beautiful begins to unfold.

Iron represents strength. Power. The ability to build, defend and shape the world. Entire civilisations stand on iron; bridges, tools, industries, technologies.

But we know that iron can also become weapons. Shields, swords, armour etc.

The same metal can protect justice… or destroy it.

Which means iron symbolises human responsibility.

Allah gave humanity strength so justice could exist.

But there could be another layer to this

Iron isn’t just something outside of us. It’s something inside us.

At the centre of every red blood cell in our bodies is a molecule called haemoglobin, and at the centre of that hemoglobin sits a tiny atom of iron. That iron atom is what allows the blood to carry oxygen throughout the body. Without it, the body cannot deliver oxygen to tissues. Cells suffocate, all life stops.

In other words, iron is not just limited to the metal that builds civilisations but the very metal that allows life itself to function.

SubhanAllah.

So the same element Allah says was “sent down” from the heavens is also the element placed at the centre of our blood, the thing that allows oxygen to travel through our bodies and keep us alive.

And when the verse then says that iron was given so that people may uphold justice, maybe, just maybe, it could be that Allah is telling us that the capacity to establish justice isn’t something distant from us.

It’s part of our very makeup.

Strength exists in the world.

And strength exists inside the human being.

Subhanallah

Perhaps the message is that justice isn’t meant to be passive. It requires strength. It requires courage. It requires people whose hearts are alive enough to stand for what is right.

And Allah placed the very element symbolising that strength both in the earth beneath our feet and in the blood inside our bodies.

Allahu a‘lam. Allah knows best.

But isn’t that crazy???

A metal forged in stars, sent to Earth, placed in the core of our planet… and also placed perfectly inside every human being.

Strength in the universe.

Strength in the earth.

Strength in the human body.

And the Qur’an reminding us what that strength was meant for.

Justice.

Because the same iron that builds hospitals can also build weapons.

The same metal that constructs cities can just as easily destroy them.

The same strength that protects the oppressed can also be used to oppress.

And suddenly Surah Al-Hadid is no longer just mentioning a metal.

It is asking humanity a question.

When Allah gives you strength… technology… resources… influence… capability…

what will you do with it?

Will it serve justice?

Or will it serve ego?

SubhanAllah.

The Surah at the Center

There is another detail about Surah Al-Hadid that makes you so unbelievably awe-struck you won’t know where to go.

The Qur’an contains 114 chapters.

Half of 114 is 57.

And Surah Al-Hadid is the 57th chapter.

Right at the centre of the Qur’an.

Now think about the name of the surah.

Al-Hadid. Iron.

Iron is not just another metal in the universe. It plays a central role in the structure of our own planet. The core of the Earth is composed primarily of iron, forming the dense centre that stabilises the planet’s magnetic field and internal structure.

In other words, iron sits at the heart of the Earth.

And the surah named Iron sits at the heart of the Qur’an.

SubhanAllah.

Allahu Akbar

All praise is to Allah

But the reflection becomes even more interesting.

Among iron’s isotopes, Iron-57 is unique. It is the only isotope of iron with a nuclear spin of 1/2, which allows scientists to study iron using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to observe how iron behaves inside molecules.

In simple terms, Iron-57 is the easiest isotope that allows us to study and learn iron itself.

And the chapter that speaks about iron?

Chapter 57.

SubhanAllah.

The surah named after iron… placed at the centre of the Qur’an… sharing the same number as the isotope that allows scientists to investigate iron more closely.

Is this a coincidence?

Or is it another miraculous sign hidden within the structure of the Qur’an?

Isn’t Allah Al-‘Alīm , The One whose knowledge encompasses all things?

The One who designed the stars that forged iron.

The One who placed it inside the Earth.

The One who placed it inside our blood.

And the One who placed it inside a verse of the Qur’an.

And when you begin to notice all the details like this…

you can’t help but ask yourself:

How many more signs are woven into this beautiful Qur’an… still waiting, begging to be discovered?

Has the time not come?

So…shouldn’t all of this make us humble?

Because the more a person realises how intricate Allah’s creation is, the more obvious it becomes how small we really are.

And that is exactly where Surah Al-Hadid turns the conversation.

Allah says:

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

“Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts should humble themselves at the remembrance of Allah?”

(Surah Al-Hadid 57:16)

What makes this verse remarkable is who it is speaking to.

The Believers.

Us

People who already believe. People who already pray. People who already recite Qur’an.

Allah doesn’t question their belief, He questions the state of their hearts.

Because belief was never meant to stay on the tongue. Eventually it has to travel deeper and reach the heart.

And when belief truly reaches the heart, something changes inside a person.

The word used here is تخشع (takhshaʿa).

This word describes a softness that settles into the heart. A humility that makes a person receptive to reminders and responsive to truth

A heart that is easily moved by the remembrance of its Lord. One that FEELS.

But Allah also hints at something dangerous,

Hearts becoming hard.

Not suddenly, but gradually.

Through comfort, distraction. Through hearing reminders so often that they become familiar but no longer transformative.

A person still listens. Still attends a Khutbah. Still hears the Qur’an.

But the heart no longer trembles.

And suddenly the verse from taraweeh, Surah Muhammad begins to connect perfectly.

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَآ

“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? Or are there locks upon their hearts?”

(Surah Muhammad 47:24)

SubhanAllah.

A locked heart doesn’t happen instantly.

It begins with a heart that stops reflecting. Then that heart slowly becomes a heart that stops feeling. And when that heart stops feeling…

eventually it stops responding.

Which is why Surah Al-Hadid asks believers this painful but VERY REAL question.

Has the time not come yet?

Not will it come.

Has the time not already come for the heart to soften?

Because when you realise the universe itself is submitting to Allah…

when you realise metals were forged in stars long before humanity existed…

and the same iron running through your blood is part of that miraculous cosmic design…

how could a heart not feel humbled?

How could it remain unmoved?

Subhanallah

If everything in creation already submits to Allah…

then why is it that our hearts are sometimes the last to do so?

Reflection

Surah Al-Hadid leaves the heart standing in nothing but AWE.

Wonder

A universe glorifying Allah.
Iron forged in distant stars, sent to Earth and then placed in our blood.
A metal at the centre of the planet… and a surah about it at the centre of the Qur’an.

SubhanAllah.

SubhanAllah

SubhanAllah

Ya Rabb, how great you are. You are Al-Ḥakīm, the Most Wise and Al-‘Alīm, the One whose knowledge surrounds everything

Ya Allah… when we see the precision of Your creation, the depth of Your Book, the signs You placed in the sky, the earth, and even within our own bodies…

how can our hearts remain unchanged Ya Rabb?

Has the time not come for them to soften?

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

Before you read this, I want you to listen to this surah.

Let this beautiful recitation play in your ears, and then open the translation of this surah and move through the Rahma of your Lord.

This is the most beautiful surah in the Qur’an to me.

I remember being nine years old. We had gone on a trip with our dugsi, the girls section in my quran school, the teachers took us to a Ramadan bazaar in London. It felt like such a big moment at that age, our first little trip into the city together. I remember walking past stalls full of lanterns, books, the most beautiful decorations for Ramadan.

And there was one stall in particular that stood out to me. It was selling small canvases with Qur’anic verses written on them.

There was only one red one left, so the seller gave it to me for free.

And written on it were the words:

I remember taking it home like it was treasure. It slowly became my favourite surah.

I used to sit and mimic the way Sheikh Sudais recited Surah Ar-Rahman. To be honest, I still do. I know every inflection. I know where he stretches the madd, where the ghunnah sits, the rise and fall of the recitation. It’s one of those surahs that settles so so deeply inside your heart and never leaves.

And maybe it’s because of one line.

One question that Allah repeats over and over again throughout the entire surah.

Thirty-one times.

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

Which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?

It’s such a powerful question

Allah moves through the entire universe. He speaks about creation itself. The sun and the moon moving with precision. The sky raised high. The earth spread out with fruits, grains, trees, oceans, beauty everywhere you look.

Then the surah moves forward to the Day of Judgment. Then Jahannam. Then Jannah with gardens and rivers and fruits and the most unimaginable beauty, Subhanallah.

Five different subjects. Creation. Judgment. Hell. Paradise.

Mercy surrounding all of it.

And through every single section Allah asks the same question again.

Which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?

How many blessings have we mistaken for ordinary?

How many mercies have we reduced to routine?

How many times has Allah carried us through something and we called it coincidence?

How many things have happened around us while we pretended Allah was not the One giving them?

Allah is asking after every blessing. The blessings we notice and the ones we don’t. The things we begged Him for and the things He placed into our lives before we even knew to ask. The calamities He kept away. The prayers He answered. The sins He concealed. The doors He closed to protect us. The softness He left in our hearts when we should’ve turned hard.

The iman that still flickers in us despite everything

The surah begins with a name.

Ar-Rahman.

Allah is Ar-Rahman, The Most Merciful.

And in the middle of this surah comes such a beautiful set of verses

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ

Every being on earth is bound to perish.

(Surah Ar-Rahman 55:26)

Everyone on this earth will cease to exist.

The word fān comes from fanā’. It doesn’t just mean death. It means disappearance. No one will even know you were here.

Do we know who walked these streets a thousand years ago? We barely know who lived here two hundred years ago. Entire lives filled with memories, dreams, fears, plans, laughter, love… all completely gone from the earth.

Allah reminds us that we are not permanent.

We spend so much time planning the next week, the next month, the next five years, what we’re going to do after university, what life will look like later.

We fill our calendars with deadlines and plans. But death is already on your calendar.

It just has an asterisk next to it.

It could come at any moment.

And after Allah reminds us of that reality, He says:

وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ

Only your Lord Himself, full of Majesty and Honour, will remain ˹forever˺.

(Surah Ar-Rahman 55:27)

But the Face of your Lord will remain, full of Majesty and Honour.

Everyone will be gone.

No one left to praise Him.

No one left to glorify Him.

And yet Allah still possesses all honour, all dignity and all majesty.

Sometimes people ask a question. Why does Allah ask us to praise Him so much? Why does He ask us to thank Him so much?

If a human demanded that much praise we would think of them as arrogant or needy.

But this ayah shows something powerful.

You’re all going to disappear and Allah will still own everything you think He needs.

All praise already belongs to Him. All honour already belongs to Him. All majesty already belongs to Him. Allah doesn’t need His creation to glorify Him. He already possesses it completely.

Subhanallah

Which means every command, every invitation back to Him, every opening for tawbah, every act of worship He asks of us is for us. Entirely for us.

You cannot add to Allah’s kingdom.

You cannot increase Allah’s treasures.

You cannot give Allah something He lacked.

So when He calls you back to Him, it is you He is being merciful to.

When He asks for your sajdah, it is your soul He is lifting.

When He asks for your gratitude, it is your heart He is healing.

When He prohibits something, it is your life He is protecting.

When He commands you with something difficult, it is your eternity He is beautifying.

So then He asks again, and the question becomes even more overwhelming:

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

Which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?

He doesn’t need you and yet, He still keeps you alive. He feeds you. He clothes you. He gives you beauty in your life. He didn’t just give you the ability to survive, survival can happen inside a prison cell.

He lets you flourish.

Allah gave us homes. Clothes. Families. Friends. Warm beds. Laughter. Food. Safety. Moments of joy we didn’t even ask for.

He didn’t need to give us any of it.

SubhanAllah

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

So… which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?

We can never repay Him.

I am so undeserving of His mercy.

Allah is saying: look around you. Look

I have done so many incredible things for you.

All of them are begging for your attention.

Every one of your blessings are pleading with you to look at what your Lord has done for you.

If only we would open our eyes to the Rahma of Allah everywhere.

Then Allah says

يَسْأَلُهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

Everyone in the heavens and the earth is asking Him.

Everyone?

Really?

My atheist professor doesn’t even believe in Allah…even him?

All the disbelievers…really?

But asking has two meanings.

One is conscious asking.

The other is needing.

Every single creation in existence is in need of Allah.

The believer needs Him.

The disbeliever needs Him.

The one who prays five times a day needs Him.

The one who never prays needs Him.

Every single one of us needs Allah

Our lungs only fill with air because Allah allows them to.

Our hearts only keep beating because Allah allows them to.

Before every heartbeat, your heart is making a silent dua: Ya Allah, allow me to beat again.

Every vein in our bodies needs Allah.

Every system in our bodies needs Allah.

Every single cell in our body is in need of Allah.

And Allah says:

كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ

Every single moment He is attending to matters only He can handle.

Subhanallah

I’m the oldest daughter. Sometimes everyone is asking me for something. One family member might need help writing an email, another needs me to call someone about a repair, someone needs help filling in an application. Then university wants something. Work wants something.

And sometimes it feels overwhelming.

Requests coming from every single direction.

I can’t fulfil all of them.

But look at Allah.

Every heart is asking Him.

Millions upon millions of voices, prayers, needs, fears, hopes rising to Him at every single moment.

And yet despite all of that, Allah still invites us to call upon Him. How manny times does Allah tell us in the Qur’an.

“Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” (40:60)

“And when My servants ask you about Me, indeed I am near.” (2:186)

“Allah loves those who rely upon Him.” (3:159)

This is your Lord.

This is who you worship.

Allahu Akbar

When you realise that Allah is constantly taking care of every single creation, every moment, every need… all the silly doubts Shaytan whispers into your mind start to feel so so small.

So the question comes back again.

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

Which of your Lord’s favours will you deny?

Will you deny the Qur’an?

Will you deny your own creation?

Will you deny speech?

Will you deny the order of the sky, the discipline of the moon, the obedience of the trees, the food that reaches your table, the water that enters your body, the eyes you use to read these words?

Will you deny the safety of waking up with food for the day, health in your limbs, and peace you have to breathe without terror?

Will you deny the chance to repent?

Will you deny the fact Allah has kept you alive long enough to still turn back?

Will you deny the mercies you recognised only after they were gone?

Will you deny the mercies you never recognised at all?

Ya Rabb, I am in awe of You.

Thank You for everything You have done for me, everything You continue to do for me, and everything You will do for me.

Everything You gave me, Alhamdulillah.

Everything You withheld from me, Alhamdulillah.

Everything You took away from me, Alhamdulillah.

Everything You protected me from without me even knowing, Alhamdulillah.

Everything You gave me that I was too distracted to notice, thank You.

Everything in my life that is beautiful has Your mercy written all over it.

The sky, the moon, the sun, the ocean, the mountains, the leaves, the trees, our food, our drink, our homes, our clothes, our families, our friends, our eyes, our ears, our veins, our cells, our hearts, our souls.

Thank You, Ya Allah, for everything.

SubhanAllah. Something about today feels perfectly aligned.

ق

is the 21st letter of the Arabic alphabet… and today in this Ramadan series we arrive at Day 21 with Surah Qaf.

How fitting.

A surah that opens with a single mysterious letter, whose full meaning only Allah truly knows. And yet that one letter begins one of the most powerful, flowing, rhythmic surahs in the entire Qur’an.

Every time I read Surah Qaf, I’m just transported.

SubhanAllah. It is so, so beautiful to recite. I love it. Genuinely one of my favourite surahs to read aloud.

Everything just flows when you recite it. The words move with this incredible rhythm, almost like the surah itself is carrying you through something.

And when you look at what the surah is talking about, that’s exactly what it’s doing

Surah Qaf is about movement.

It moves between the earth coming back to life after rain… and the human being coming back to life after death.

It moves through history. The people of Nuh, ʿĀd, Firʿawn… nations who denied the truth and were swept away by time.

It moves through the scene of the Day of Reckoning.

It moves through the constant remembrance of Allah.

Everything in this surah is moving… and the recitation itself carries that same flow.

And perhaps that is why the Prophet ﷺ loved this surah so much.

He would recite Surah Qaf frequently. So frequently that some of the companions actually memorised the entire surah simply from hearing it repeatedly in the khutbah.

Imagine that.

Week after week, hearing the Prophet ﷺ stand and recite this surah until its words settled permanently into their hearts.

He would sometimes recite it in the Jumu’ah khutbah. Sometimes on Eid. Sometimes in Fajr prayer.

Surah Qaf is also incredibly significant in another way.

It marks the beginning of a major section of the Qur’an known as Al-Mufassal.

The Qur’an is traditionally divided into different sections, and the final portion beginning with Surah Qaf and ending with Surah An-Nas is called Al-Mufassal. These surahs are generally shorter, powerful and more direct.

And the Prophet ﷺ said that he was given the Mufassal as a special blessing that previous prophets were not given.

These were the surahs he would recite often. The surahs that lived constantly on his tongue and in prayer.

And Surah Qaf is where that section begins.

It is also an early Makkan surah, and it carries all the unmistakable characteristics of the Makkan revelation. Verses about;

Theology.

The reality of the Hereafter.

The truthfulness of the Messenger ﷺ

The divine nature of the Qur’an.

Surah Qaf embodies all of it.

Its primary theme is the undeniable reality of resurrection.

Its secondary theme is the risalah of the Prophet ﷺ.

And alongside both of those, the surah constantly reminds us of the status and power of the Qur’an itself.

All of that… beginning with a single letter.

ق.

And somehow from that one letter unfolds a surah that carries you through the past, the present, and the inevitable future that every single human being will face

The Oath of the Qur’an

ق

Surah Qaf opens with a single letter.

One letter that immediately pulls you in.

These opening letters are known as the ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿāt, the mysterious letters that appear at the beginning of several surahs in the Qur’an.

Their full meaning ultimately belongs to Allah alone. Yet something scholars have noticed again and again is that whenever these letters appear, the very next verse almost always mentions the Qur’an itself. Subhanallah, Allah is immediately directing our attention to the miracle of revelation.

And that is exactly what happens here.

ق ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ

“Qaf. By the Glorious Qur’an.”

(Surah Qaf 50:1)

Allah takes an oath by the Qur’an itself.

The word المجيد (al-Majīd) carries the meaning of something immense in honour, something vast in greatness and overflowing with dignity and power.

This Qur’an is not just a book of guidance. It is majestic, elevated, profound beyond measure.

And yet, despite the magnitude of what they were hearing, the reaction of the people was not awe or reflection.

It was disbelief.

When Resurrection Sounds Impossible

Allah tells us what shocked them most.

بَلْ عَجِبُوا أَن جَاءَهُم مُّنذِرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَقَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ هَٰذَا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ

“But they were amazed that a warner from among themselves came to them. And the disbelievers said, ‘This is something strange.’”

(Surah Qaf 50:2)

To them, the idea that one of their own people could stand before them claiming revelation felt strange. But what truly unsettled them was not the messenger.

It was the message.

أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا ۖ ذَٰلِكَ رَجْعٌ بَعِيدٌ

“When we have died and become dust, will we really be brought back? That is a far return.”

(Surah Qaf 50:3)

This objection is not unique to Quraysh. Humanity has repeated this exact question for centuries. Once the body decays… once bones crumble… once flesh dissolves back into the earth… how could resurrection possibly happen?

To them it sounded absurd.

But Allah answers in a way that completely dismantles the argument.

قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا تَنقُصُ الْأَرْضُ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَعِندَنَا كِتَابٌ حَفِيظٌ

“We certainly know what the earth consumes of them, and with Us is a preserved record.”

(Surah Qaf 50:4)

SubhanAllah.

Allah says, you are not informing Me about death. I already know exactly what happens when the earth takes the human body. Every particle that returns to the soil is already known. Nothing disappears beyond Allah’s knowledge.

And everything is preserved in a protected record.

But something about this exchange always makes me pause.

Because look at the question they are wrestling with. The biggest questions that have haunted humanity forever: What happens after death? Is there resurrection? Will we be brought back?

Entire civilisations have spent centuries arguing about these same questions. Philosophers, theologians build entire systems trying to answer them. People spend their lives searching for certainty and often die without finding it.

And yet we were born into a faith that gave us the answers from the beginning.

SubhanAllah.

How often do we actually stop and appreciate that blessing?

That we are Muslims.

That we already know why we’re here and where we’re going. We already know that death is not the end and that there will be a Day where everything is brought back and accounted for.

There are people who go their entire lives lost in confusion, constantly circling these questions without ever reaching clarity.

But Allah gave us the answers.

And we sometimes forget how enormous that gift really is.

Signs Written Across Creation

After responding to their doubts directly, Allah does something remarkable. Instead of continuing the argument, He invites them to look around.

The proof of resurrection is not hidden in some abstract philosophical theory.

It is visible everywhere.

أَفَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَاهَا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِن فُرُوجٍ

“Have they not looked at the sky above them, how We built it and adorned it, and there are no flaws within it?”

(Surah Qaf 50:6)

Look up.

Look at the sky above you. Vast, perfectly structured, decorated with stars, yet completely free of cracks and flaws. The universe itself is functioning with precision beyond our human imagination.

Then Allah shifts our gaze down

وَالْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَاهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ

“And the earth — We spread it out, placed firm mountains upon it, and caused every beautiful type of vegetation to grow within it.”

(Surah Qaf 50:7)

Mountains stabilising the earth. Vegetation growing in perfect balance. Ecosystems sustaining life across the planet. Everything functioning with harmony.

And then Allah brings our attention to a metaphor for resurrection: rain.

وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُّبَارَكًا فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ

“And We send down blessed rain from the sky and produce gardens and grain for harvest with it.”

(Surah Qaf 50:9)

Anyone who has lived in a dry region knows this transformation better than anyone. Land that looked completely lifeless, cracked and dusty, suddenly becomes lush and green after rainfall.

Life returns where nothing seemed capable of growing.

Allah is teaching us something through that image.

If He can bring dead land back to life, then bringing a dead human being back to life is not difficult at all.

The cycles of nature are not random. They are reminders. Pay attention to them.

Every rainfall is a clear demonstration of resurrection, a powerful sign of Allah’s immense power and perfect wisdom unfolding before our eyes.

Civilisations That Vanished

Then the Qur’an brings another kind of evidence.

History.

Allah reminds Quraysh that they are not the first people to reject the truth.

كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَأَصْحَابُ الرَّسِّ وَثَمُودُ

“Before them the people of Nuh denied, and the companions of the well, and Thamud.”

(Surah Qaf 50:12)

And the list continues. The people of ʿĀd. Firʿawn. The people of Lut. Even the people of Tubbaʿ, an ancient Yemeni civilisation ruled by powerful kings whose influence once dominated the region.

Eight civilisations in total are referenced here.

Entire nations that once stood with strength and confidence, believing their power made them untouchable.

Where are they now?

Gone.

Some remain only as ruins buried beneath desert sand, and others exist only as names preserved in scripture.

Allah is reminding Quraysh, and us, that every civilisation once believed it will last. Every generation assumes its power is permanent.

But history says otherwise.

Because, time eventually swallows every empire.

And the One who owns time is Allah.

Closer Than the Jugular Vein

After moving through the vastness of the sky, the earth, the rise and fall of entire nations and the signs scattered across creation, the surah shifts the focus.

From the universe… to you.

To the individual human being standing within all of this.

Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

“We created the human being, and We know what his soul whispers to him. And We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”

(Surah Qaf 50:16)

I’m sure many of us have heard this verse before. I’ve even seen the quote countless times online, saved it on Pinterest, had it as my phone wallpaper at one point.

It’s such a beautiful reminder.

But sometimes we read it so often that we stop pausing to actually think about what it’s saying.

SubhanAllah.

The jugular vein is one of the most vital veins in the human body. It runs through the neck and carries blood directly between the brain and the heart. It is so close to us, so essential, that our very life depends on it.

If that vein is severed, life ends within moments.

And Allah says He is closer than that.

Closer than the very thing inside our neck that keeps us alive.

Think about what that means.

Allah says: We know what his soul whispers to him.

The thoughts that pass through our minds. The worries fears we keep hidden even from the people closest to us. The silent duas we make without having to move our lips.

Allah already knows them.

That is such an incredibly intimate connection between the Creator and His creation.

You don’t even have to utter a word.

You can speak to Allah within your own chest, and He hears you.

Who else could ever claim something like that?

Think about the people in power in our world today. Leaders, presidents, kings. The more powerful they become, the more distant they are from ordinary people. Layers of security, walls, people. Access to them becomes harder and harder the higher they rise.

Distance becomes a symbol of power.

But Allah, the King of all kings, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, after showing us the vastness of His creation; the sky, the mountains, the cycles of rain, the fall of empires, turns to us and says:

I am closer to you than your jugular vein.

SubhanAllah.

The One with the greatest power is also the One closest to us.

And alongside that closeness, Allah tells us that two angels are constantly recording our actions.

إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ

“When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left.”

(Surah Qaf 50:17)

مَّا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ

“Not a word does a person speak except that there is an observer ready to record it.”

(Surah Qaf 50:18)

رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ

These are not their given specific names, instead they are adjectives to describe their role. Two angels, one positioned on the right, the other on the left, constantly receiving and recording.

Their task is simple

Document our actions.

Every word that leaves our mouth is written down.

But even within this, Allah’s mercy appears again. The angels record our actions and speech, but they do not record every fleeting thought that passes through our minds. Thoughts may appear and disappear, but accountability ultimately rests on what we choose to act upon.

And that balance is incredible.

The same Lord who is closer to us than our jugular vein, who knows every whisper within us, is also the One who chooses not to hold us accountable for every passing thought.

SubhanAllah.

Thank you Allah.

The Journey Begins With Death

Then the surah begins to walk us through the final stages of the human journey.

It begins with a moment none of us will escape.

وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ

“The intoxication of death will come with the truth. That is what you were trying to avoid.”

(Surah Qaf 50:19)

Human beings spend their lives trying to push the thought of death away. We distract ourselves with routines and plans, convincing ourselves that there will always be more time.

But Allah describes death as if it is something pursuing us.

We may try to run from it. But it will eventually catch up.

Then the trumpet will be blown.

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ

“And the trumpet will be blown. That is the Day of the Promise.”

(Surah Qaf 50:20)

Every human being will stand before Allah, escorted by angels. One will drive them forward toward the gathering. Another will testify about their actions.

Al-Hakam, The Judge, will judge between His servants

And then comes one of the most significant statements in the entire surah.

لَّقَدْ كُنتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ

“You were certainly heedless of this. But We have removed your veil, so today your sight is sharp.”

(Surah Qaf 50:22)

The reality we ignored during life will suddenly become crystal clear.

Everything we once doubted will stand directly before us.

The Record Speaks

The angel who recorded a person’s deeds presents the record.

وَقَالَ قَرِينُهُ هَٰذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ

“And his companion will say, ‘This is the record I have prepared.’”

(Surah Qaf 50:23)

Every word. Every action. Every moment. All carefully documented.

The record is complete.

Some people will try to argue. They will attempt to blame others, friends, influences, even the angels who recorded their deeds.

But the angels will respond simply: we did not wrong him.

And Allah will say that there is no argument before Him that day. Allah does not commit injustice toward anyone.

Allah is Al-’Adl (ٱلْعَدْلُ), The Absolutely Just.

Allah is the One whose wisdom and knowledge manifest as perfect setting the measures of right and wrong on the day of judgment.

Then comes one of the most chilling scenes in the Qur’an.

يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ هَلِ امْتَلَأْتِ وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ

“On that Day We will say to Hell, ‘Are you full?’ And it will say, ‘Are there any more?’”
(Surah Qaf 50:30)

Hell will speak

Are there anymore?

Subhanallah

Scholars reflected deeply on this moment because the wording is so powerful. Some said Jahannam speaks as if overwhelmed by the sheer number of people being brought to it, shocked by the crowds being thrown inside.

Others said the verse carries an even more chilling tone. That Jahannam is not shocked at all.

It is demanding more.

As if it’s saying: bring them. I still have space.

Either way, the image is terrifying.

اللهم أجرني من النار

O Allah, grant me protection from the HellFire.

Hearts That Turned Back

Right after the terrifying image of Jahannam speaking, the surah changes course in the most beautiful way.

Allah is reminding us that Day of Judgment will not be the same for everyone.

Allah says:

وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ

“And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far at all.”

(Surah Qaf 50:31)

Even the wording here is breathtaking.

Allah says Jannah will be brought near to them.

After a lifetime of trying, repenting, resisting, returning to Allah again and again, their reward is not distant.

غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ
Not far at all

Then Allahs says

مَنْ خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُّنِيبٍ

“Who were in awe of the Most Compassionate without seeing Him, and came with a heart turning ˹only˺ to Him.”

(Surah Qaf 50:33)

SubhanAllah.

Allah says they stood in awe of Ar-Raḥmān, the Most Compassionate.

Awe of His mercy, of how gently He carried them through life, how often He forgave them, how many times He allowed them to return.

And they believed in Him without seeing Him.

They never saw Jannah. Never saw the angels writing their deeds. Never saw the Day unfolding before them.

Yet they still believed.

They still obeyed.

They still returned.

And they arrived before Allah with a heart that kept turning back to Him.

Then the most beautiful welcome is given:

ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ

“Enter it in peace. This is the Day of eternal life.”

(Surah Qaf 50:34)

Peace.

After all the fear of that Day, imagine hearing those words.

Only peace.

Forever.

Ya Allah, allow us to be among the people who hear these words.

Allow us to be among those who returned to You again and again, even when we fell short. Among those who stood in awe of You without seeing You. Among those who arrive before You with hearts that still turn toward You.

Ya Allah, let us be among the ones who hear:

ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ

Enter it in peace.

Allahuma Ameen.

A Surah Built on the Sound of Qaf

Ibn al-Qayyim once reflected on something remarkable about this surah. He said that if Surah Qaf had no other benefit except this observation, it would still be enough.

The entire surah is structured around the sound of the letter Qaf.

Words echo it again and again throughout the verses: qalb, qareeb, qarin, quruun, qabl, khalaq, talaqqa, raqib.

The sound repeats constantly.

And the letter ق itself is powerful. It is pronounced deeply from the throat. It is strong and can’t be whispered.

Such a loud and distinct sound that rises above many other letters.

That strength….it mirrors the message of the surah itself.

Because Surah Qaf is delivering such a clear and significant reminder about resurrection, accountability and the Day every soul will face.

And SubhanAllah, the surah begins with the Qur’an…

ق ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ

“Qaf. By the Glorious Qur’an.”

(Surah Qaf 50:1)

and it ends with the Qur’an.

فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ

“So remind with the Qur’an whoever fears My warning.”

(Surah Qaf 50:45)

Isn’t Allah Al-Ḥakīm, the One whose wisdom is perfect?

Every ayah exactly where it belongs. Every theme returning exactly when it should.

And in the end, the Qur’an itself becomes the reminder.

For the heart that still carries even the smallest spark of faith, that reminder is more than enough.

Reflections

I love this surah

It takes you across the universe, the sky with no cracks, the mountains, the rain bringing dead land back to life, the ruins of entire civilisations that once thought they would last forever

and just when your mind is stretched across all of that vastness, Allah suddenly says:

“We are closer to him than his jugular vein.”

SubhanAllah.

The One who controls the rise and fall of nations, the cycles of rain, the movement of time itself… is also the One who hears the quiet thought you never said out loud.

The entire universe is running on His command.

And somehow, He is still that close to you.

So, if Allah has been this close to us our entire lives…how did we ever manage to feel so far from Him?

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

We’ve stepped into the final ten nights of Ramadan.

The nights the Prophet ﷺ would tighten his waistcloth for, the nights where sleep became lighter and duaa became heavier. The heart starts beating a little differently because somewhere within them lies Laylatul Qadr.

I ask Allah, Al-Mujeeb, to accept every duaa you’ve whispered so far. May He allow us to witness Laylatul Qadr and not let these nights pass us by.
Allahumma ameen.

So don’t forget your dhikr. Don’t forget to give money to charity. And before the night slips away, read Surah Al-Ikhlas three times.

And SubhanAllah… it feels almost perfectly timed that today’s surah is Surah Ad-Dukhan.

Because right at the beginning of this surah, Allah takes us back to that night.

The night when the Qur’an first began descending.

The night better than a thousand months.

The night when destinies are written and mercy pours down from above.

A Night That Changed Everything

Surah Ad-Dukhan opens by taking us back to a night that changed the destiny of the world.

حم
وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُّبَارَكَةٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنذِرِينَ
فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ

“Ha, Meem. By the clear Book. Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We have always warned. On that night every precise matter is made distinct.”

(Surah Ad-Dukhan 44:1–4)

The majority of scholars understood this blessed night to be Laylatul Qadr. The same night Allah speaks about in Surah Al-Qadr. The night on which the Qur’an first began its descent, and when the affairs of creation for the coming year are set out by Allah’s command.

And when I think about that night, my mind goes straight to a scene.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ alone in the cave of Hira. Away from the noise of Makkah. Away from its idols, all its arguments and cruelty.

A man withdrawing from the chaos of the world to sit quietly before his Lord.

And then Angel Jibril came to him.

“Read.”

The Prophet ﷺ replied that he was not one who could read. Jibril embraced him, then released him and said again, “Read.” Again he replied that he couldn’t read. Then the command came a third time, and the first verses of revelation descended.

That moment was the beginning of the Qur’an coming down.

The beginning of guidance entering the world in a way it never had before.

SubhanAllah.

While the world slept, while Makkah carried on with its normal night, little did they know that the greatest transformation in human history had begun inside a small cave on a mountain.

A night hidden from crowds, but witnessed by the heavens.

And maybe there is something in there for us to learn from.

Because the night that changed the world didn’t happen in the middle of noise. It happened in seclusion and in reflection. In a place where a heart stepped away from distraction to seek Allah.

So maybe the way we honour that night isn’t by just staying awake, but by doing something similar.

Step away for a moment.

Find a quiet corner in your room, or in the masjid. Sit with the Qur’an. Open it. Read it slowly.

Imagine your in that cave yourself.

Because the same Qur’an that first descended in that secluded moment is still here with us tonight.

The same words.

The same guidance.

The same mercy.

And when Allah says,

“On that night every precise matter is made distinct,”

it reminds us that the nights we are standing in now are not ordinary nights.

SubhanAllah, they are nights of decree. Nights where destinies are written, where hearts can turn back to their lord and be forgiven.

So maybe the question Surah Ad-Dukhan places before us is this:

If the night the Qur’an began in started in seclusion, in reflection and in turning completely towards Allah…

then how will you spend the nights we are standing in now?

Ad-Dukhan, The Smoke

Then the surah shifts.

From the quiet scene of revelation to something far more unsettling.

Allah warns of the smoke.

فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُّبِينٍ
يَغْشَى النَّاسَ ۖ هَٰذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“Then watch for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke, covering the people. This will be a painful punishment.”

(Surah Ad-Dukhan 44:10–11)

When Quraysh continued in their arrogance and rejection, the Prophet ﷺ made duaa that they experience a famine like the famine during the time of Prophet Yusuf. And Allah answered.

A drought struck Makkah so severely that hunger overwhelmed the people. Food disappeared. People were reduced to eating bones and scraps just to survive. Their bodies weakened, their vision became blurred and when they looked up toward the sky, the world before their eyes appeared like smoke.

In desperation they came to the Prophet ﷺ asking him to pray that the punishment be lifted.

But when relief came, many of them returned to their old ways.

SubhanAllah.

The surah is not just telling us about punishment.

It is showing us something very falwed about the human being.

How quickly people turn to Allah when hardship tightens around them. And how quickly some forget Him again once ease returns.

And then the surah describes their state

بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ

“But they are in doubt, amusing themselves.”

(Surah Ad-Dukhan 44:9)

Allah says they are playing in it.

Subhanallah, that word changes everything.

Because when someone is genuinely searching for truth, there is a seriousness in that search.

There is effort. A willingness to follow the answer wherever it leads.

But play is the opposite of that.

It is something temporary. Something entertaining. Something you do when the consequences don’t really matter.

So the Qur’an is exposing something about the state of their hearts.

Their doubt was not coming from sincere confusion.

It was coming from refusal.

Refusal to take the message seriously, to confront what it would mean if the Qur’an were true.

Because if the Qur’an is true, everything changes.

Your priorities change.
Your desires change.
Your sense of accountability changes.

So instead of confronting that reality, they stayed in shakk.

Hovering in doubt.

Like their doubt became a smokescreen for them, a haze they stayed inside on purpose, because seeing their lives clearly would mean they’d have to change.

And SubhanAllah, look at how precise the Qur’an is.

They’re moving through life distracted. Entertained. Busy with everything except the questions that actually matter.

Life.

Death.

Accountability.

The Hereafter.

Those questions are too heavy for them to deal with so they get pushed aside and life continues as usual.

But right after describing people as playing in doubt, the surah begins warning them about real consequences.

As if to say: the thing you are treating like a game… is the most serious reality you will ever face.

Not Created to Play

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ
مَا خَلَقْنَاهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“We did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in play. We did not create them except in truth, but most of them do not know.”

(Surah Ad-Dukhan 44:38–39)

SubhanAllah, the contrast here is so precise.

Human beings playing with the most serious realities of existence… while standing inside a creation that was never created as play in the first place.

Look at the scale of what our Lord is referring to. The heavens and the earth and everything between them. Every star suspended exactly where it should be. Every orbit moving with terrifying precision. The systems of this world balancing life so delicately that if even one element shifted slightly, existence as we know it would collapse.

Nothing about that looks like a game.

Nothing about that looks careless or playful.

So when Allah says the universe was created bil-haqq, it means this entire reality is built on purpose. And if the structure of the universe itself is purposeful, then the human being placed inside it cannot be purposeless.

Which suddenly makes the earlier description even heavier.

People playing in doubt, entertaining themselves with distractions, moving through life casually… while standing inside a creation that was built with immense seriousness.

SubhanAllah, the surah is exposing the contradiction of humans. A person can live as though nothing ultimately matters, while every sign around them is screaming that everything does.

And the ayah ends with

“But most of them do not know.”

Because recognising the truth of existence requires something many people resist: the willingness to live differently once you see it.

Once you truly accept that life was created bil-haqq, then your time is no longer something you can waste carelessly.

Every actions and choice starts to carry weight.

Reflections

If this entire universe was not created in play, then why do we sometimes live as though our lives are?

A serious universe… filled with very distracted human beings moving through it.

Subhanallah

Ya Allah, remove the smoke of distraction from our hearts and let us see our lives with the clarity of Your guidance.

Write us among the people of taqwa and grant us the secure place You promised the righteous.

Allahumma balighnā Laylatul Qadr, and allow us to meet it with hearts that are awake.

Allahumma ameen.

Thank you so much for reading. May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

I want to begin by saying:

Allahu a‘lam, Allah knows best.

This is a reflection piece, a moment of tadabbur.

Sometimes when you read the Qur’an, a thought settles in your mind, an idea clicks, and you find yourself pausing and wondering:

Wait… could there be a deeper connection here?

Recently, while reading the Qur’an, I noticed something when looking at three surahs that appear one after the other:

Surah Al-Buruj, The Constellations
Surah At-Tariq, The Night-Comer
Surah Al-A‘la, The Most High

At first glance they seem separate. But when you sit with them for a moment, a pattern begins to emerge.

Let’s explore it.

The Constellations, Lights Across History

Surah Al-Buruj begins with an oath:

وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْبُرُوجِ

“By the sky containing the constellations…”

Surah Al-Buruj (85:1)

Constellations are not just random stars scattered across the sky. They are many stars arranged together in patterns. Fixed placements. Structured lights.

For thousands of years people looked to them for direction. Travelers in the desert or sailors at sea would lift their gaze upward when they were lost.

The stars helped them find their way.

So that made me stop and think?

What if the imagery of many arranged stars could remind us of something else?

Across human history, Allah sent many prophets and messengers.

Prophet Nuh.
Prophet Ibrahim.
Prophet Musa.
Prophet Isa.

(عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلسَّلَامُ)
And many others.

Each one came to guide their people. Each one was a light in the darkness of their time.

Almost like stars scattered across the sky of history.

Not random.

Placed exactly where they were needed.

Each prophet illuminating a generation, forming together a constellation of guidance across humanity.

When you think about it that way, the imagery becomes breathtaking.

Human history… lit up by prophetic lights. Subhanllah

Then Suddenly, One Star

Then the next surah, Surah At-Tariq (The Nightcomer) focuses our attention

وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ
النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ

“By the sky and the Night-Comer.
And what will make you know what the Night-Comer is?
It is the piercing star.”

Surah At-Tariq (86:1-3)

Did you notice what just happened?

We moved from many stars…

to just one star.

and not just any star.

A piercing star, a light that breaks through the darkness of the night with powerful intensity.

And that shift makes you pause.

Why move from constellations… to a single star?

What if the many stars represent the many prophets sent throughout history?

And this piercing star represents the final messenger?

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ appeared in a world often described as Jahiliyyah, an age of ignorance.

Morally. Spiritually. Socially.

Darkness had spread across much of society.

Then revelation begins, just like a light piercing through the night sky.

Guidance that would not just illuminate one tribe, or one region, or one era, but the entire world.

Think about the night sky for a moment.

You may see countless stars.

But sometimes there is one star so bright it immediately draws your attention.

A star that seems to cut through the darkness more clearly than the rest.

Now pause for a moment and think about who we are.

We are the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ.

We live in the light of the final message.

Out of all the prophets, our hearts are naturally drawn most strongly to our Prophet.

We love all the prophets (may peace be upon them all). We honor them deeply.

But the one whose life we study, whose character we try to imitate, whose sunnah shapes our every day, is our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

So in a way, for us, he is the light we look toward the most.

The star that guides our path.

Not because he is divine.

Not because he replaces the other prophets.

But because we are the Ummah entrusted with his message.

Just like when someone looks up at the night sky, they may see countless stars… but that one star shines brightest in their field of vision.

For us, that guiding light is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

And yet…

the Qur’an does something beautiful next.

The Reminder Above Every Star

Right after the imagery of the sky and the piercing star, the very next surah begins:

سَبِّحِ ٱسْمَ رَبِّكَ ٱلْأَعْلَى

“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High.”

(Surah Al-A‘la 87:1)

Al-A‘la.

The Most High.

Out of all the beautiful names of Allah, all the names that describe His mercy, His power, His wisdom…. here, right after the sky, the sea of constellations and its brightest star are mentioned…

Allah reminds us of this name.

Al-A‘la.

SubhanAllah.

Right when our gaze is lifted toward the highest things we can see…

the Qur’an says:

Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High.

Yes, the stars are high.

Yes, the heavens are vast.

Yes, the constellations are magnificent.

But above every height you can imagine…

Allah is higher.

Do not become so captivated by the lights that you forget the One who created them.

Because above every star…

above every constellation…

above every messenger…

is Allah.

The Most High.

Even the brightest star in the sky is still creation.

And SubhanAllah, the Qur’an itself reminds us of this.

In Surah An-Najm, Allah says:

وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ رَبُّ الشِّعْرَىٰ

“And that He is the Lord of Sirius.”

(Surah An-Najm 53:49)

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.

People once admired it so much that some even revered it.

But the Qur’an makes something beautifully clear:

Even the brightest star you see…

Allah is its Lord.

And even the greatest messenger is still a servant of Allah.

So the Qur’an lifts our gaze even higher.

Not just to the stars.

Not just to the prophets.

But to the One who placed every star in the sky and sent every messenger to the earth.

Al-A‘la.

SubhanAllah.

SubhanAllah.

SubhanAllah.

Isn’t Allah Al-Hakeem, the Perfectly Wise?

Look at this sequence again.

The constellations. Then the piercing star.

And then immediately:

“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High.”

Al-A‘la.

Isn’t the Qur’an just perfect?

How many layers exist in the way its surahs flow into one another?

How many connections are waiting to be noticed by the heart that slows down?

Perhaps this is part of its miracle

The more time you spend sitting with it…

the more meaning begins to appear.

And suddenly the sky is no longer just filled with stars.

It’s filled with signs.

Allahu a‘lam.

Thank you so much for reading 🤍

I want to begin this one honestly.

Because if Surah Az-Zukhruf exposes the illusion of this world, then we cannot read it as though it’s talking about someone else.

The struggle with consumerism is real, and it’s damaging us more than we’d like to admit.

We are living in a time where even Ramadan, the month that is supposed to empty our hearts for Allah, is constantly being dressed back up for display. The commercialisation of Ramadan. The commercialisation of abayas, modest clothing, makeup, aesthetics, influencers, curated spirituality, beautiful tables, beautiful outfits, beautiful homes.

And I know it comes from good intentions, May Allah reward them, but it’s slowly starting to damage us.

Everywhere we look, there is something being sold to us, and not always just a product, but an image. A lifestyle. A version of what we are told goodness, beauty, femininity, success, or even piety is supposed to look like.

And the frightening thing is how easily we absorb it.

I know I do.

How easily the heart begins to feel that maybe life would feel a little more complete if we just had that one thing. And then that one thing turns into the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing, until it becomes a chain of constant wanting.

More, and then more, and then somehow still more.

And beneath all of that sits the poison of comparison.

We scroll, we look, we absorb. We have become so so unbelievably easy to influence. So easy to make dissatisfied with what Allah has already given us. A few seconds of seeing someone else’s life and poof, suddenly our own blessings feel smaller.

SubhanAllah.

What a terrifying thing, that the heart can know something intellectually and still struggle to live by it spiritually.

We know these things don’t define us. We know the phone, the car, the holiday, the house, the clothes, the image, the aesthetic, NONE of it gives a person real worth.

We know that and yet the heart still gets pulled. Still starts to believe that success must look a certain way for it to count.

That is why Surah Az-Zukhruf feels so confronting.

Because this surah strips the glitter off the world and shows us how easily human beings confuse decoration with value.

Appearance as truth.

And once that veil is pulled back, what do we actually think matters?

The illusion of gold

Allah says:

وَلَوْلَا أَن يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً لَّجَعَلْنَا لِمَن يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفًا مِّن فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ
وَلِبُيُوتِهِمْ أَبْوَابًا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِئُونَ
وَزُخْرُفًا ۚ وَإِن كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَالْآخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“And if it were not that people might become one community of disbelief, We could have given those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful houses with roofs of silver and stairways upon which to ascend, and doors for their homes and couches upon which they recline, and ornaments of gold. Yet all of that is nothing but the enjoyment of worldly life. And the Hereafter with your Lord is for the righteous.”

(Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:33–35)

The only reason Allah says He doesn’t do this is because it would become a test too heavy for humanity.

Pause and really think about that for a moment.

The very things this world teaches us to admire… the things people exhaust themselves chasing… the things entire industries are built around… Allah calls them decoration.

And that word is incredibly fitting

Think about decoration in a house for a second.

Is decoration essential to the structure of the house?

No.

If you remove every painting, every lamp, vase, cushion, every decorative object… the house still stands exactly the same. The foundations are still there. The walls are still there. The roof still protects you.

The house doesn’t collapse without decoration.

You can still live in it. Sleep in it. Eat in it. Be safe in it.

All decoration does is add appearance.

Not structure.

It makes something look beautiful, sure. But it’s not what holds the building up.

And that’s the exact word Allah chooses for the glitter of this world.

Zukhruf.

Ornaments.

Decoration.

Adornment.

Not foundation.

SubhanAllah.

And suddenly the world starts to look a little strange.

Because we’re living in a system that constantly convinces us to treat decoration as if it is the structure.

The anxiety of keeping up. The pressure to upgrade. The comparison.

All of it revolves around things that, in the sight of Allah, are nothing more than decorative additions to a temporary life.

And the problem is that when decoration becomes the foundation of someone’s life, their entire sense of worth starts resting on things that were never built to hold that kind of weight.

Things that fade.

Things that break.

Things that eventually get replaced.

Surah Az-Zukhruf is dismantling that illusion.

Because Allah is reminding us that the real foundations of a life were never meant to be gold or status or appearance.

The real foundations are things you can’t buy

Iman. Sincerity. Good Character.

A heart attached to Allah.

Everything else?

Decoration.

Ya Allah, don’t let our hearts become attached to the decoration of this world. Let us enjoy what You’ve given us with gratitude, but never let it distract us from what truly matters.

Allahuma Ameen

When people measure truth by wealth

The Quraysh had a problem with the Prophet ﷺ, but it wasn’t simply the message that unsettled them. The Qur’an itself was powerful, undeniable in its language, and impossible for them to replicate, yet something else stood in the way of their acceptance.

It was the messenger ﷺ.

They looked at who the Qur’an had come to and struggled with it. In their minds, revelation should have arrived through someone more impressive in the ways the world recognises. Someone wealthier. More politically powerful. Someone whose social position would make the message appear more credible.

Allah tells us:

وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ

“And they said: Why was this Qur’an not revealed to a great man from one of the two cities?”

(Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:31)

What they meant by “a great man” was someone from the elite of Makkah or Ta’if. Someone whose wealth and influence would make the message feel more acceptable to them.

SubhanAllah.

Their issue wasn’t the evidence itself but perception.

They had already decided, consciously or subconsciously, that truth should arrive wrapped in worldly prestige. That revelation should look impressive. The messenger of God should be someone who resembles the kind of person society already admires

But since when has wealth ever been proof of truth?

Since when has status been a reliable sign of guidance?

The Quraysh had created a system in their minds where wealth meant importance, importance meant credibility and credibility meant truth.

In other words, they replaced divine criteria with worldly ones.

And if we reflect on our world, that system hasn’t disappeared.

The person with the largest following is assumed to be the most important. The one with the most impressive lifestyle is assumed to be the most successful. Visibility becomes credibility. Popularity becomes legitimacy.

But Allah doesn’t choose people based on how impressive they look to society.

He chooses hearts.

He chooses sincerity. People whose inner reality carries weight even if the world doesn’t recognise it.

Some of the most beloved people to Allah have lived such humbling lives. People whose names were never widely known or whose wealth wasn’t the greatest. Their influence never reaching beyond just a small circle of people.

Subhanallah, it was their sincerity that carried a value which far outweighed the wealth and status that others spent their lives accumulating.

So when the Day comes and every illusion finally disappears, the decoration will fall away, the gold will lose its shine, and the only thing that will still carry weight will be what lived inside the heart all along.

The rope people tie around their own hearts

There is an ayah in this surah that really stayed with me the first time I heard its tafsir. I was listening to a lecture by Nouman Ali Khan on it, and the reflection behind it was incredibly interesting.

Allah says:

أَمْ أَبْرَمُوا أَمْرًا فَإِنَّا مُبْرِمُونَ

“Have they firmly tied their decision? Then We too will tie it firmly.”

(Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:79)

The word used here, abrama. It refers to tying a rope into a knot that is reinforced again and again until it becomes extremely difficult to undo.

In ancient construction, ropes were often used to bind beams or structures together. Workers wouldn’t simply tie a quick knot and move on. They would twist the rope, double it, and loop it multiple times in different directions, tightening each layer until the knot became strong enough to hold weight and prevent movement. It was the kind of knot meant to remain, because the stability of the structure depended on it.

This is very different from when someone ties their shoelaces. That knot is temporary by design and meant to be undone later.

But the knot used in construction is meant to remain strong and fixed for as long as the structure stands.

And that is what abrama means in this case.

Allah uses this exact imagery when describing the stubborn rejection of the disbelievers.

It is as if He asks them a question.

Have you already tied the knot around your decision?

Have you reached a point where your hearts are so committed to rejecting the truth that nothing will make you reconsider? Not a reminder. A verse. Not even a messenger?

Have you sealed your position completely?

Then Allah responds. “If that is the case, then We will tie it firmly as well’

Subhanallah

But when Allah seals something, it becomes permanent.

The disbelievers’ decision is described with a verb, which is temporary. Allah’s response is expressed with a noun, which permanent and stable.

In other words, their decision might feel permanent to them in the moment, but it’s actually fragile. There may come a day when they finally see the truth they once denied, when regret overwhelms them and they wish they could undo the decision, undo their knot.

Allah describes that moment elsewhere in the Qur’an:

رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ

“Perhaps those who disbelieved will wish that they had been Muslims.”

(Surah Al-Hijr 15:2)

But Allah doesn’t just randomly seal hearts.

People move toward that outcome step by step. They reject guidance repeatedly. They ignore reminders. They allow arrogance to settle into the heart until it hardens.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the knot tightens.

By the time the heart realises what it has done, the rope may already be sealed.

When the dunya becomes your companion

Allah warns:

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ

“And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil who becomes his close companion.”

(Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:36)

Human beings were never designed to live with an empty heart.

The heart naturally attaches itself to something. If it’s anchored in the remembrance of Allah, it becomes guarded. Dhikr creates such a beautiful spiritual environment around a person that protects their thoughts, their perspective and their priorities.

But when remembrance disappears from someone’s life, the heart becomes abandoned

Something else gradually takes its place.

A shaytan becomes a qarin, a close companion. Something that stays close, shaping thoughts and whispering interpretations of reality.

And often, that companionship doesn’t appear obvious to us, it manifests as distraction.

A life filled with constant noise and endless stimulation.

The dunya begins to shape how a person sees everything. What they fear, what they chase, what they admire, what they measure themselves against.

Without even realising it, the voice of the dunya becomes louder than the voice of guidance, until one day, it becomes the one setting the rhythm of the heart.

Friendships that reach Jannah

Near the end of Surah Az-Zukhruf, Allah describes a moment that makes us really to consider what the term “friendship” truly means.

He says:

الْأَخِلَّاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقِينَ

“Close friends on that Day will become enemies to one another, except the righteous.”

(Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:67)

The word used here is akhillā’, which refers to deep, intimate friendships. Subhanallah, the kind of relationships where people share their lives, their time and their memories. People who influenced one another. People who shaped each other’s habits and priorities.

On the Day of Judgement, many of those friendships will collapse into blame. The very closeness that once connected people will become the reason they hold each other responsible.

“You distracted me.”

“You encouraged me to do this.”

“You made it seem harmless.”

SubhanAllah.

Except for one category of friendship.

The friendships built on taqwa.

The friendships where someone gently reminded you to pray when you were slipping. The ones who sat with you when your heart felt heavy and brought your attention back to Allah. The ones who didn’t just laugh with you, but protected your akhirah.

Those friendships are not ordinary relationships.

They are a barakah.

Because not everyone is given that gift.

Some people move through life surrounded by people who only strengthen their attachment to this dunya. They only know what its like to have friends who deepen heedlessness instead of softening the heart.

But when Allah places a righteous friend in your life, someone who reminds you of Him without even trying, someone whose presence makes your heart more conscious of Allah… that is a mercy.

Hold on to those people.

Stay close to them.

Cherish them forever.

Protect that friendship the way you’d protect something fragile and precious, because relationships like that are so so rare.

And be that kind of friend in return.

Be the friend who reminds, who softens hearts, who helps someone stand a little closer to Allah than they did before.

Because the most beautiful example of this kind of companionship already existed.

The Prophet ﷺ was surrounded by friends whose love for him was inseparable from their love for Allah. Abu Bakr who stood beside him in the cave when the world closed in. Umar whose strength became a shield for the believers. Uthman whose generosity flowed like endless rivers of goodness.

Their friendship wasn’t just built on laughter and shared moments.

Their friendship carried them to Jannah.

If you don’t have a friendship yet, aim for one like this.

The kind where two people walk toward Allah together and hear the words they had hoped for their entire lives:

يَا عِبَادِ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ

“O My servants, there will be no fear upon you today, nor will you grieve.”

(Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:68)

And subhanllah the most beautiful part of all…

is that they enter Paradise together.

Reflections

Surah Az-Zukhruf is a reality check.

It forces us to reconsider what we admire, what we chase and what we value.

It reminds us that the world we spend so much energy decorating is temporary.

Gold fades.

Status disappears.

Even the things we worry about today will eventually become memories.

But the state of our hearts

The choices we made.

And the people we chose to walk toward Allah with, the ones who helped our hearts remember why they were created.

Those things remain

Forever

Ya Allah, do not let our hearts be deceived by the decoration of this world. Make us among those who see truth clearly, who walk lightly through the dunya, and who arrive to You with hearts that were never tied to anything but You.

Allahumma Ameen.

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

The Night Written in the Heavens

There is a night in Ramadan that the Qur’an describes in a way no other night has ever been described.

لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ

Laylatul Qadr is better than a thousand months.

(Surah Al-Qadr 97:3)

More than eighty years.

A lifetime of worship placed into a single night.

A night where the heavens open and the angels descend in numbers only Allah knows.

تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ

“The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord with every decree.”

(Surah Al-Qadr 97:4)

Somewhere tonight, destinies are being written.

Mercy is being poured onto the earth.

Sins are being erased.

Hearts are returning to their Lord.

And the Prophet ﷺ told us something that almost feels too generous to comprehend:

SubhanAllah.

And when Aisha (RA) asked the Prophet ﷺ what she should say if she found that night, he taught her a dua so simple, yet so powerful:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni.

O Allah, You are the Most Forgiving, and You love to forgive, so forgive me.

Whenever you are reading this, we are now in the final ten nights of Ramadan.

One of these nights may carry the weight of a lifetime.

Tonight could be the night your sins are forgiven.

The night your duaa are written into your destiny.

So speak to Allah.

Please

From one heart to another, don’t miss these nights.

Allah is always listening. Ask him

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Seek Laylatul Qadr in the last ten nights of Ramadan.”

Allah could have told us the exact night.

Yet He left it hidden.

So that our hearts would return to Him again and again.

So that we would stand in prayer more than once.

So that we would search for Him across the nights.

And there is a narration that makes Laylatul Qadr feel even more extraordinary.

It is said that the Prophet ﷺ was shown the lifespans of the nations before us, and he saw that they lived much longer lives than his own ummah. He became concerned that his community, with their shorter lifetimes, would not have enough time to accumulate the same amount of good deeds.

So Allah gifted us Laylatul Qadr.

A single night that carries the reward of more than a thousand months.

A mercy so vast that even a short life can become a lifetime of reward.

SubhanAllah.

And perhaps that is why this night is hidden.

Because the one who sincerely searches for Laylatul Qadr never loses.

If it falls on the 20st, they were there.

If it falls on the 23rd, they were there.

If it falls on the 25th, the 27th, or the 29th, they were still there.

And the one who stood before Allah every single night of the last ten does not have to worry whether they caught it.

So do not wait for the 27th.

Do not delay worship until an odd night.

Show up every single night.

Even if it’s just two rak‘ah.

Even if it’s a few verses of Qur’an.

Even if it’s a quiet dua whispered into the night while you sit alone in your room.

Because Laylatul Qadr might be the night Allah writes your name among the people of Jannah.

So I wanted to share a guide you can follow to help structure your duas inshallah

I know sometimes the hardest part for us is simply knowing how to begin 🤍

Begin With Surah Al-Fatihah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ

غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ

آمِين

Step 2 - Praise Allah

Ya Allah, Ya Ar-Rahman, Ya Ar-Raheem, Ya Al-Malik, Ya Al-Quddus, Ya Al-Aziz, Ya Al-Jabbar, Ya Al-Mutakabbir.

All praise belongs to You, Rabbul ‘Alameen, the Lord of the worlds.

You are Al-Khaliq, the Creator.

You are Al-Bari, the Originator.

You are Al-Musawwir, the One who shaped me exactly as I am.

You are Al-Karim, the Most Generous.

You are Al-Wahhab, the Bestower of gifts.

You are Al-Mujeeb, the One who responds to every call.

Ya Allah, You are the One who hears the whisper of every heart.

Tasbeeh

SubhanAllah

SubhanAllah

SubhanAllah

Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah

La ilaha illa Allah

La ilaha illa Allah

La ilaha illa Allah

Tawheed Dua

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَنِّي أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ الْأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

Allahumma inni as’aluka bi-anni ash-hadu annaka anta Allahu, la ilaha illa anta, Al-Ahad, As-Samad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad.

O Allah, I ask You because I bear witness that You are Allah, there is no deity except You, The One, The Eternal Refuge, who neither begets nor is born, and there is none comparable to You.

Send Salawat Upon The Prophet ﷺ

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِين

O Allah, send Your most perfect, most beautiful, most complete blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, upon his family and companions.

Use Duaas from the Qur’an

رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ

Rabbi inni lima anzalta ilayya min khayrin faqir

“My Lord, I am truly in need of whatever good You send down to me.”

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanah wa fil-akhirati hasanah wa qina ‘adhaban-nar.

“Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”

Some Powerful Duas to Hold Onto

يَا مُقَلِّبَ القُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ

Ya Muqallibal quloob, thabbit qalbi ‘ala deenik.

“O Turner of hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion”

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَات

Allahumma inni a‘udhu bika min fitnatil-mahya wal-mamat.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the trials of life and death.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ اللَّهُمَّ أَجِرْنِي مِنَ النَّار

Allahumma ajirni minan-naar

“O Allah, save me from the Fire.”

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ وَحُبَّ عَمَلٍ يُقَرِّبُنِي إِلَى حُبِّكَ

Allahumma inni as’aluka hubbaka, wa hubba man yuhibbuka, wa hubba ‘amalin yuqarribuni ila hubbik.

“O Allah, I ask You for Your love, the love of those who love You, and the love of actions that bring me closer to Your love”

اللَّهُمَّ اخْتِمْ لَنَا بِحُسْنِ الْخَاتِمَة

Allahumma ikhtim lana bi husnil-khatimah.

O Allah, grant us a good ending.

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ آخِرَ كَلَامِنَا مِنَ الدُّنْيَا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه

Allahumma aj‘al akhira kalamina minad-dunya la ilaha illa Allah.

O Allah, let the last words we say in this life be La ilaha illa Allah.

Begin Personal Duas

If you ever sit there and don’t know what to ask Allah for, remember this: Allah already knows what your heart needs. Just ask Him for all good and protection from all harm. Here’s a Duaa

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ

Allahumma inni as’aluka min al-khayri kullihi ‘ajilihi wa ajilihi ma ‘alimtu minhu wa ma lam a‘lam, wa a‘udhu bika minash-sharri kullihi ‘ajilihi wa ajilihi ma ‘alimtu minhu wa ma lam a‘lam.

O Allah, I ask You for all goodness, immediate and delayed, that which I know of and that which I do not know. And I seek refuge in You from all evil, immediate and delayed, that which I know of and that which I do not know.

Closing Salawat Upon the Prophet ﷺ

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِين

O Allah, send Your most perfect, most beautiful, most complete blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, upon his family and companions.

Final Closing Praise / Sealing the Duaa

Ya Allah, You are Al-Kareem, Al-Wahhab, Al-Mujeeb.

You never disappoint the hearts that call upon You.

Tonight, I am one of those hearts.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَنِّي أَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ أَنْتَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ الْأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

Allahumma inni as’aluka bi-anni ash-hadu annaka anta Allahu, la ilaha illa anta, Al-Ahad, As-Samad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad.

Ameen

A Dua For You, The One Reading This

Ya Allah.

If this heart reading these words is tired, bring it peace.

If it is heavy with sins, wash it with Your forgiveness.

If it is searching for guidance, lead it gently to You.

Ya Allah, write this person tonight among the forgiven.

Among those whose names are lifted from the lists of the people of the Fire.

Among those whose hearts are softened by the Qur’an and whose souls find their home in Your remembrance.

Ya Allah, open for them doors of barakah they never even imagined.

Heal wounds they have never spoken about.

Answer the duas they whispered in moments no one else saw.

Write for them a life filled with barakah, a heart attached to the Qur’an, and an ending that ends with La ilaha illa Allah.

Ya Allah, when this blessed night ends and the angels return to the heavens, let their name be among those whose sins were erased and whose prayers were accepted.

Let them wake up in the morning among those who were shown Your mercy.

And on the Day when humanity stands before You,

let them be among the people who hear the words:

ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ آمِنِينَ

Enter it in peace, safe and secure. And gather them with the righteous in Jannatul Firdaws.

Allahuma Ameen.

Thank you so much for reading. 🤍

The world feels incredibly loud lately.

Every day the news carries another headline about war. Political leaders making decisions from their safe conference rooms that ripple across entire nations, while innocent civilians pay the price for choices they never made. Bombs falling somewhere across the world while the rest of us watch the footage on our phones. Families forced to leave homes that held generations of memories. Entire communities waking up to a reality they never chose.

And while all of this unfolds, the noise only grows louder.

Everyone analysing, arguing, speculating. Conspiracy theories spreading faster than truth. Entire debates unfolding across screens before we’ve even had time to process what we’re witnessing.

Conversations turning into competitions where the goal is no longer understanding, but proving who’s right.

Subhanallah,

How different would our world look if power was guided by humility?

If decisions that affect millions and millions were approached with wisdom and restraint instead of this blood-thirsty need for dominance?

How different would it be if people listened?

Really listened

The kind that humbles you enough to admit you may not see everything clearly. The kind that allows another perspective to exist beside yours without immediately trying to defeat it.

It feels incredibly fitting that tonight we sit with Surah Ash-Shura

The Consultation.

Most surahs in the Qur’an are named after prophets, events, miracles or stories that appear within them, for example, Surah Yusuf, Maryam, The Cave, The Cow

But this surah is named after…A behaviour

I’ve noticed more than once that the Qur’an isn’t just about forming personal spirituality, it does, but it also helps shape a community.

A community that prays, gives charity and worships Allah but also knows how to sit together, listen to one another and make decisions with humility instead of ego.

That is the spirit of Surah Ash-Shura

And SubhanAllah, the more you sit with it, the more you realise this surah is teaching believers how to exist with one another. How we are meant to speak. How we are meant to listen. How we are meant to discuss and debate without letting pride tear us apart.

And most importantly, it reminds us that guidance was never meant to come from the loudest voice in the room.

It always comes from Allah.

A Surah Named After a Character Trait

There is something profoundly beautiful about the fact that Allah chose to name this surah after consultation itself.

Allah says:

وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَىٰ بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

And those who have responded to their Lord, established prayer, conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and spend out of what We have provided them.”

(Surah Ash-Shūrā 42:38)

What makes this verse remarkable is the company it keeps.

Allah mentions consultation within a description of the believers themselves. Those who respond to their Lord and establish prayer. Those who spend from what Allah has provided them. And right in the middle of these acts of devotion: they consult one another.

SubhanAllah.

Consultation is presented as a spiritual trait, a sign of humility living inside the heart of a believer.

Because real consultation only happens when the ego steps aside. It requires the ability to say, “I might not see everything clearly but I’ll still listen.” It requires patience to listen before speaking.

And perhaps most importantly, it requires the recognition that wisdom is rarely confined to one mind alone.

This was revolutionary in the society the Qur’an was revealed into. Tribal leadership often functioned through authority and hierarchy. Decisions flowed from the top down but Islam introduced that a community should value collective wisdom.

Even the Prophet ﷺ practiced consultation with his companions.

Before the Battle of Uhud, he gathered the companions and discussed whether they should remain within Madinah to defend the city or march out to meet the Quraysh. The younger companions strongly preferred going out to face them, and although the Prophet ﷺ initially leaned towards staying within the city, he honoured their voices and accepted the outcome of consultation.

SubhanAllah.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the one receiving revelation from the heavens, still practiced consultation with the people around him.

What does that say about us?

It teaches us that seeking the perspective of others is not a weakness.

It is humility.

And humility is a sign of faith.

Revelation From Above, Consultation Below

One of the most beautiful patterns in this surah becomes visible when you reach its closing verses.

Because a surah named Ash-Shura, consultation between people, ends with one of the clearest explanations in the Qur’an of how Allah communicates with humanity.

Allah says:

وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِن وَرَآئِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًۭا فَيُوحِىَ بِإِذْنِهِۦ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ عَلِىٌّ حَكِيمٌۭ

It is not ˹possible˺ for a human being to have Allah communicate with them, except through inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger-angel to reveal whatever He wills by His permission. He is surely Most High, All-Wise.

(Surah Ash-Shūrā 42:51)

Sometimes Allah communicates through wahy, revelation placed directly into the heart of a prophet.

Sometimes He speaks from behind a veil, as He did with Prophet Musa عليه السلام when he stood before the burning tree on Mount Sinai.

And sometimes He sends a messenger, like the angel Jibril, carrying revelation from the heavens to the earth.

But when you pause with this verse long enough, something incredibly beautiful begins to appear.

The very surah that teaches believers how to consult with one another, ends by reminding us that ultimate guidance never comes from consultation itself.

It comes from revelation.

Human beings gather. We speak. We exchange ideas. We weigh different opinions. But above all of that sits something higher.

The word of Allah.

SubhanAllah.

The surah is showing us the structure of guidance.

Revelation descends from above. Consultation happens below.

Believers discuss their affairs with humility, their conversations always anchored to something greater than themselves.

But once consultation becomes disconnected from revelation, it easily turns into ego. It is no longer an act of worship. It becomes a contest of opinions, where truth is not what aligns with Allah’s guidance, but what sounds convincing enough to win the room.

Surah Ash-Shura reminds us that truth has never depended on volume.

It descends from the One who is Al-ʿAlī, the Most High.

And Al-Ḥakīm, the Perfectly Wise.

So believers consult.

But they do not invent guidance.

They discuss.

But they do not redefine truth.

They speak.

But they remember that above every conversation is something higher.

The speech of Allah.

And maybe that is one of the most significant lessons from this surah.

It teaches us how to listen to one another without ever forgetting that first, we must listen to Allah Azawajal (أَللّٰه عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ)

One Religion, One Message

There is a verse in this surah that always feels like Allah is gathering the entire history of revelation into a single moment.

Allah says:

شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلدِّينِ مَا وَصَّىٰ بِهِ نُوحًا وَٱلَّذِىٓ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِۦٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰٓ ۖ أَنْ أَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا۟ فِيهِ

“He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah, and what We have revealed to you, and what We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses and Jesus: establish the religion and do not be divided within it.”

(Surah Ash-Shūrā 42:13)

SubhanAllah.

Prophet Nuh (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)

Prophet Ibrahim (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)

Prophet Musa (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)

Prophet Isa (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)

And our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Prophets separated by thousands and thousands of years. All with different lands. Different nations. Entire civilisations rising and falling between them.

And yet Allah says the religion given to all of them was the same.

The same call to tawhid. The same call to surrender to Allah. The same command to establish the deen and not fracture it into competing identities.

Islam didn’t begin fourteen centuries ago.

It began with the first human being, Prophet Adam, who turned to Allah.

The prayer we perform today is part of a chain that stretches back through every prophet who ever stood before us. Our sujood is connected to the sujood of Prophet Ibrahim. Our submission echoes the surrender of Prophet Nuh as he built the ark under a sky full of mockery. Our belief carries the same truth Prophet Musa stood with before a tyrant, and the same truth Prophet Isa called people back to.

We are not following a new religion. We are part of the oldest one.

And subhanllah, that’s why Allah follows this verse with a warning to us: do not divide within it.

Because the tragedy of human history has never been the absence of guidance but what people did after the guidance they recieved.

Jealousy. Power. Ego. Arrogance.

People taking a single, clear message and slowly carving it into camps and factions until the clarity of it becomes completely unrecognisable.

Do we not see this now?

Wars between tribes. Wars between Muslim countries. Brothers who look like each other, speak the same language, pray toward the same qiblah, yet somehow stand on opposite sides of a battlefield.

The same Qur’an in their homes. The same shahadah on their tongues.

Endless gender wars circling the same anger again and again until the Qur’an is no longer being listened to, only argued about.

So much fighting between people who were meant to be brothers and sisters to begin with.

SubhanAllah.

The religion itself was never fragmented.

Allah perfected it.

We are the ones who fractured it.

And the command remains the same today as it was for every prophet before us:

Establish the religion.

And do not divide within it.

The Two Harvests

One of the most striking images in this surah appears in a verse that describes life through the metaphorical language of agriculture.

Allah says:

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ ٱلْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُۥ فِى حَرْثِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ ٱلدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِۦ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْآخِرَةِ مِن نَّصِيبٍ

“Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter — We increase for him in his harvest. And whoever desires the harvest of this world — We give him something of it, but he will have no share in the Hereafter.”

(Surah Ash-Shūrā 42:20)

A harvest.

A harvest is never sudden. It does’t appear overnight. It’s the result of long seasons of planting, watering, waiting and trusting that something is growing beneath the soil long before anyone can see it.

And Allah is telling us that life works the same way.

Every action we take is a seed.

Every prayer you stand for when your body is tired. Every charity given without anyone knowing. Every moment you swallow the words you could have said but chose not to. Every time you forgive someone who never even apologised. Every time you choose honesty when dishonesty would have made life easier.

Seeds.

Some people spend their entire lives planting in the field of this world alone. Status. Recognition. Influence. Followers. Wealth. Building things that look impressive all under the illusion of this dunya.

And Allah says they may receive something from it. Success might come. Recognition might come. The harvest of dunya is real.

But, subhanllah, it stays here.

When the curtain of this world falls, so does that field.

The believer, however, is planting somewhere else entirely. A field that cannot be seen, measured or applauded by people. A field that stretches beyond this life and into a world we haven’t yet entered.

The field of the Hereafter.

And what is so so beautiful about this ayah is that Allah does’t simply say those who plant for the Hereafter will receive their harvest.

He says We will increase it.

SubhanAllah.

When something is done sincerely for Allah, ad Allah alone, it never returns in the same size it was planted. A small act done purely for Him grows in ways we cannot even comprehend. A quiet good deed placed into the soil of the unseen multiplies under the care of the One who sees everything.

The reality is everyone is planting something with their life.

Every day seeds are being placed somewhere; in the way we speak to each other, in the way we respond to injustice, in the way we treat people within our own Ummah.

Even our conflicts plant something.

And Surah Ash-Shura keeps pulling me back to such a powerful reminder: we were never meant to exist as scattered individuals fighting separate battles.

We were meant to be one Ummah, standing shoulder to shoulder, planting in the same field, hoping for the same harvest.

Reflections

Sitting with Surah Ash-Shūrā reminded me that Islam was never meant to be lived alone.

It teaches me how to live with people. How to listen when I disagree. How to restrain my ego when I feel certain I’m right. How to remember that my voice is not the one that defines truth.

Because in a world that feels louder every day, Surah Ash-Shura teachs us to

Consult with people. But submit to Allah.

Stand for justice. But protect the unity of your Ummah.

Plant for the Hereafter. And remember that every word, every reaction, every decision is a seed that will one day return to you.

SubhanAllah

If we truly listened to Allah first, then we might finally learn how to listen to each other.

Ya Rabb, protect our hearts from ego, arrogance and division. Unite this Ummah upon truth, soften our speech with one another, and make us people who seek guidance from Your words before our own opinions.

Ya Allah, allow us to plant seeds in this life that will grow into mercy, forgiveness and light for us in the Hereafter.

Allahumma Ameen.

Thank you so much for reading. May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

I’m writing this at 3am.

I’ve got Omar Suleiman’s Qur’an 30 for 30 series playing in my ears. They’re not on the juz’ of this surah yet, but I’m listening to the Juz 15 one right now and I’m just sitting here thinking…

SubhanAllah. Truly, SubhanAllah.

How beautiful is this deen?

I don’t think that thought has left me once this Ramadan. It just keeps coming back to me over and over again. How beautiful is this deen. How lucky am I to be part of this ummah. Out of everyone, out of every place, out of every path a person could have been left upon, Allah let us know Him. Allah let us be from the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. What do we even say to that?

And the Qur’an… Allah’s own speech… it honestly leaves me stuck. I keep feeling like my reflections are starting to sound the same because what other word do I even have at this point? Beautiful? Breathtaking? Stunning?

But wallahi I mean it every single time.

With everything I learn about this deen, I’m just there… overwhelmed. A bit embarrassed by how little gratitude I’ve really shown Allah for everything He’s done for me.

Because He has done so much for us.

So much that I can’t even begin to count it, let alone thank Him properly for it.

How kind is He to us?
How patient?
How forgiving?
How generous?
How wise in every single thing He withholds and every single thing He gives?

I swear I feel so undeserving. Deeply undeserving.

Thank You, Allah, for everything. For what I notice and for what I don’t. For the things I thank You for and the things I completely overlook. For guiding me to Your Book. For making me someone who even wants to sit and reflect like this.

For the way You open doors to learning through things I would’ve once seen as so ordinary. Through a lecture. Through YouTube. Through someone’s reminder on Substack. Through a still moment in the middle of the night.

Through all of it, You keep bringing me back to You. Thank you Allah.

Ya Rahman, Ya Raheem.

Your perfection is beyond me. The perfection of Your Book. The perfection of Your creation. The precision of the way You made us, the way You know us better than we will ever know ourselves…

It leaves me speechless every time.

Ya Al-ʿAleem, Ya Latif… how gently and completely You know us.

SubhanAllah.

I just had to sit with that for a minute before starting this reflection. Because Surah Fussilat is another one of those surahs where you enter it and you just know you’re stepping into something far bigger than your own words.

And it really, really is.

Hearing and the Heart

You’ll notice I come back to the idea of hearing more than once in this reflection, especially as we get into the story connected to Surah Fussilat.

Earlier today I saw a girl reflecting on the deen and she said the Qur’an mentions hearing more than seeing. And I honestly haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Again and again Allah pairs them together. Hearing and hearts.

As if reminding us that hearing is one of the main doorways to the Qalb.

What we hear reaches somewhere deeper than what we simply look at.

She mentioned that even in the womb, hearing is one of the earliest senses to develop. And when a person is leaving this world, hearing is said to be the last sense to fade.

SubhanAllah.

One of the first to form.

And the last to leave.

And when the Qur’an speaks about disbelief, it often describes hearts being sealed and ears becoming heavy. Not because sound stops reaching them but because the heart stops receiving it.

Even biologically, hearing is known as the “window to the heart”, because the inner ear is so closely connected to blood flow and the body’s circulation.

Think about that.

Allah created us in a way where what we hear can reach somewhere deep inside us. And then He revealed the Qur’an as what? Something meant to be recited and heard.

There’s a reason the Qur’an has been preserved through recitation for over 1400 years. A reason why the first thing people experienced when the Qur’an was revealed was hearing it.

The same Lord who designed the human heart also sent down the words meant to reach it.

Allah knows His creation so so much.

How many times are we given evidence of this? Subhanllah

And Surah Fussilat is one of those surahs where hearing becomes everything.

Because sometimes the difference between belief and rejection is simply this:

whether a heart truly listens.

The Fruit of the Ha-Mim/Hawamim

Surah Fussilat belongs to the family of the Hawamim/Ha-Mim. The seven surahs that begin with Ha-Mim, from Surah Ghafir all the way to Surah Al-Ahqaf.

It’s reported from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه) that when he would reach the Hawamim, it felt like entering lush gardens.

And honestly I get that.

These surahs feel rich. Full. They carry warning, mercy, power, proof, Akhirah, da’wah, tenderness and awe all wrapped together.

And Surah Fussilat is often described as the fruit of the Hawamim.

I think about why that might be.

Because the fruit is the part of a tree where everything becomes clear and ready to taste. And after the powerful build-up of the Ha-Mim surahs, Surah Fussilat presents the message of the Qur’an in a way that feels fully ripened, direct and completely impossible to ignore, for the heart that is willing to hear.

This surah is also known as Ha-Mim as-Sajdah.

Why?

Because out of all the surahs in the Hawamim family, this is the one that contains a sajdah of recitation.

SubhanAllah. This surah physically brings the believer down to the ground.

The surah speaks about arrogance, and then it literally gives you a moment to answer that with sujood.

Allah says:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ ۚ لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ

“And from His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or the moon, but prostrate to Allah who created them, if it is Him that you worship.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:37)

And after that:

فَإِنِ اسْتَكْبَرُوا فَالَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ يُسَبِّحُونَ لَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْأَمُونَ

“But if they are arrogant, those near your Lord glorify Him night and day and never grow weary.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:38)

Ya Allah, let us not be arrogant. Let us be of those who bow.

And the Prophet ﷺ taught the virtue of سجدة التلاوة, He ﷺ said;

“When the son of Adam recites a verse of prostration and he prostrates, Shaytan withdraws weeping, and he says: Woe to me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated, so he will go to Paradise. I was commanded to prostrate and I refused, so I will go to Hellfire.”

By prostrating when this verse is recited, we are declaring which side we stand on. Prophet Adam obeyed and bowed, while Shaytan refused out of arrogance. Our sujood becomes a response to that moment in history, choosing humility where Shaytan chose pride.

Subhanallah

When the Qur’an Speaks for Itself

The story behind this Surah (the story of ‘Utbah ibn Rabi’ah) is truly beautiful, because it shows us just how significant the power of the Qur’an is on the human soul.

A leader of Quraysh, Utbah ibn Rabi’ah, well-respected and powerful, came to the Prophet ﷺ trying to negotiate in order to stop Prophet Muhammed ﷺ from spreading his message.

He offered him wealth, status, leadership, whatever he wanted, just to leave this.

And the Prophet ﷺ didn’t sit there trying to impress him with a long argument.

No, instead he ﷺ recited Surah Fussilat.

Subhanallah

Sometimes we think da’wah rises and falls on how well we can explain things. How clever we are. How articulate. How convincing.

But the Prophet ﷺ showed the Qur’an has a force of its own.

It reaches places our wording cannot reach. It unsettles something deeper than logic alone. It enters the soul.

‘Utbah heard it and returned saying he had heard something unlike anything he had ever heard before. Not poetry. Not magic. Somethig different. He knew this was unique and so he advised his people to leave the Prophet ﷺ alone.

This surah shows us that the Qur’an doesn’t need decorating, nor does it need us to make it powerful.

The Qur’an, exactly as Allah revealed it, already speaks for itself.

Their Issue Was Never Understanding

One of the things that makes this surah hit so hard is that it quotes the disbelievers so directly.

Allah says:

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَا إِلَيْهِ وَفِي آذَانِنَا وَقْرٌ وَمِن بَيْنِنَا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجَابٌ

“They say, our hearts are covered from what you invite us to, our ears are heavy, and between us and you is a barrier.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:5)

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ

“Do not listen to this Qur’an and talk over it so that you may overcome.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:26)

SubhanAllah.

They knew the Qur’an had power, that is why they wanted noise around it. To drown it out. To talk over it.

This goes back to what I was talking about earlier, how powerful and important the sense of hearing is in our deen.

When truth is heard properly, it does something to us, doesn’t it?

And honestly, how often do we do this ourselves, just in softer ways?

Scrolling past reminders or delaying obedience. Picking and choosing which ayahs best suit us snd filling our lives with so much noise that the Qur’an sits there… unheard. Abandoned.

The message was clear.

The issue was arrogance.

It has always been arrogance.

The very first sin.

The Testimony of Limbs

And then the surah gives one of those scenes from the Day of Judgement that just shocks you into silence.

Allah says:

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا مَا جَاءُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَأَبْصَارُهُمْ وَجُلُودُهُم

“Until when they reach it, their hearing, their eyes, and their skins will testify against them.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:20)

Then:

وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمْ عَلَيْنَا

“They will say to their skins, why did you testify against us?”

(Surah Fussilat 41:21)

Your ears. Your eyes. Your skin. The very body you used however you wanted in dunya, standing there as a witness.

Our body is truly an amanah. These eyes are not mine to waste. These ears are not mine to fill with whatever. This body is not mine to drag wherever my nafs wants.

One day it will speak.

I think I mentioned this in another reflection but saying Alhamdulillah for what Allah has given us is only one part of gratitude.

The harder part of gratitude is using what Allah gave us properly. Protecting our eyes, protecting our ears, watching where our legs take us, being careful with what we consume. Using our senses for good.

Because those same senses will testify for us or against us on the Day of Judgement.

And what is hidden from people is never hidden from Allah

The Best Speech

Allah says:

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“Who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah, does righteousness, and says I am of the Muslims.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:33)

What a definition.

The best speech is someone whose words call to Allah, whose life backs that up, and who says with dignity: I am of the Muslims.

That is da’wah too. Not just what you say but who you are.

Your adab.

Your honesty.

Your gentleness.

Your patience.

All of that speaks.

And reminding ourselves of the Qur’an, being in spaces where we are constantly invited back to Allah, is one of the greatest blessings. Alhamdullilah

But first we have to work on ourselves. Not to be perfect Muslims, but just to be Muslims who are trying.

Let Allah see your effort.

Strive to become a better person and a better Muslim, and your Lord will see it.

He sees everything.

May Allah allow us to be among those who do righteousness and call others to Him

Allahuma ameen

Repel Evil With Better

وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ

“Repel evil with what is better.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:34)

Wow.

I always try to live my life by this ayah. When someone is rude, the nafs wants us to be rude back, or when someone hurts us, we want to return that hurt harder.

But Allah says push it back with something better. That takes sabr, ikhlas and restraint. A heart that refuses to become ugly just because ugliness was thrown at it.

And Allah doesn’t pretend this is easy. The very next verse says:

وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا

“None are granted it except those who are patient.”

(Surah Fussilat 41:35)

Exactly.

This is a high station.

Ibn Kathir mentions that goodness can soften the very person who wronged you, until enmity slowly turns into closeness.

SubhanAllah. Sometimes the strongest response is the gentlest one.

It reminds me of the story of when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would pass by a woman who used to throw trash on him. One day the trash didn’t come. When he realised she was ill, he went to visit her. A simple act of kindness that softened her heart.

And there is also that incredible statement from Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه)

There is no better way to punish someone who disobeyed Allah concerning you than for you to obey Allah concerning them.

Your response isn’t about what they earned from you.

It’s about what you want to present to Allah.

So rise above it.

Because hearts bend to kindness long before they ever surrender to harshness.

Dua

Ya Rahman, Ya Raheem

Open our hearts fully to Your Qur’an.

Remove every covering from our hearts and every deafness from our ears.

Grant us beautiful character, sincere actions, and istiqamah until our final breath.

And when that moment comes, let us hear the words of Your angels:

“Do not fear. Do not grieve’

Allahuma Ameen.

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you 🤍

I’ve been making iftar with my mum today.

One of those rare days where I don’t have uni and I can just enjoy the day at home. Alhamdullilah.

Today was iftar for my relatives and family. Normally it’s just the four of us, something small and intimate between me, my two siblings and my mum, but today it was a bit bigger.

The house has settled now and I’m writing this one after ʿIsha time so this is truly a night reflection.

Just me and my iPad learning and reflecting on another beautiful surah

And today, that surah is Az-Zumar, The Troops.

Surah Az-Zumar is Makkan, a surah that reminds me of the most central truth in this entire religion: sincerity.

What does Allah see when nobody is watching you, when there is no audience, when it’s only you and your Lord?

The surah opens by reminding us that worship must belong solely to Allah and the religion must be mukhlis, sincerely devoted.

And the more I sit with this surah, the more I realise just how easy it is to live a life that looks like worship while the heart is quietly serving other masters. It could be approval, or status, or the fear of people that’s making us act the way we do.

Or even the obsession with being perceived as “good.”

Surah Az-Zumar doesn’t flatter that part of us. The entire surah feels like it’s asking two simple question without saying it directly:

Who do you really belong to?

And who exactly do you worship?

The Qur’an That Makes the Skin Shiver

There’s an ayah in this surah that describes something so physical, so human, that it almost feels like Allah is naming an experience many of us have had but maybe struggled to put into words.

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ ۖ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

“Allah has sent down the best of speech: a consistent Book, repeating its messages. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it, then their skins and their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah.”

(Surah Az-Zumar 39:23)

Have you ever had that moment where a verse just lands on you?

Like you’re listening to the Qur’an, or reading it, and suddenly something in your chest reacts before your mind even catches up. That slight shiver or that pause and you look up. That feeling of “wait… that’s speaking directly to me.”

Allah literally describes that.

He says the skins of the believers shiver first. The body reacts before the explanation comes. And that shiver, subhanallah, it’s awe. Pure awe because the soul is recognising its Creator’s words.

But there’s something else many of us experience with the Qur’an too. Sometimes it makes you weep. Not because someone explained the meaning to you. Not because you understood every word.

Sometimes just the sound of it.

In my case, I don’t understand Arabic fluently. Yet just hearing the Qur’an recited… hearing the way the words flow, the rhythm, the depth… something inside of me can’t help but move with it. It’s honestly the most beautiful thing my ears have ever heard.

It’s the most beautiful thing my ears will ever hear.

Because this is the speech of our Lord. The very best of speech.

No poetry, no song, no words written by humans will ever come close to it. The Qur’an isn’t just a book we read but a gift. The ultimate gift, that Allah gave this ummah.

So cherish it.

Listen to it.

Sit with it.

Let it affect you.

Because Allah chose to speak to us through it.

So thank you, Allah. Truly.

Thank you for creating something so perfect. Just like you

The Most Hopeful Call

Then the surah reaches an ayah that is honestly one of my my absolute favourite ayahs in the Qur’an.

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

(Surah Az-Zumar 39:53)

I remember when I was younger, I was reciting Qur’an to my grandad, trying to improve my memorisation. When I reached this ayah he stopped me and told me to pause.

And then he explained the meaning of it to me.

I remember just feeling this overwhelming sense of gratitude to Allah when he told me

Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah forgives all sins. Indeed it is He who is the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’”

Like… SubhanAllah!!!

We truly have the most merciful, most kind, most amazing Lord.

Look at how Allah addresses the people in this ayah.

He doesn’t say “O sinners.”

He doesn’t say “O people who messed up.”

He says “يَا عِبَادِي — O My servants.”

Even after everything. After the years of mistakes. The countless moments we’re embarrassed to even remember. The shame, the guilt. Even after all of that Allah, still calls us His servants.

Subhanallah

He still call us His servants.

Not once, ever, does Allah give up on us.

This ayah isn’t a free pass to stay in sin.

I see it, as a rope, for the one drowning in shame. The one who thinks they’ve gone too far or that Allah must be tired of them by now.

Repentance isn’t just reserved for the “good Muslims.”

It’s for anyone who’s still breathing.

Anyone who turns to Allah and begins to cry… Ya Rahman…Ya Rahim.

Because Allah, in His endless mercy, will always be there to receive them.

One Master or Many

Then Surah Az-Zumar gives a parable that honestly feels like it’s describing modern life.

ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَّجُلًا فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ مُتَشَاكِسُونَ وَرَجُلًا سَلَمًا لِّرَجُلٍ ۚ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا ۚ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“Allah presents an example: a man owned by many disputing partners, and another man devoted entirely to one master. Are they equal in comparison? All praise is for Allah, but most of them do not know.”

(Surah Az-Zumar 39:29)

Imagine being owned by multiple masters.

One is telling you to go left. Another is shouting go right. One wants this from you, the other wants the opposite.

You’d be exhausted, right?

That’s the picture Allah paints.

And honestly… doesn’t that sound like a lot of people today?

Trying to please Allah, but also trying to please people. Trying to hold onto Islam, but also chasing the dunya the way everyone else is. Trying to do the right thing, but constantly worrying about how it looks.

Your heart gets pulled in ten different directions.

That’s what life looks like when you have many masters.

But the second person in the parable belongs to just one.

One master. One direction.

Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Doesn’t that sound like tawheed?

And tawheed feels like peace. Because when Allah is the centre of your entire life, everything else , and I really mean everything, falls into place. People’s opinions don’t control you anymore. Losing something doesn’t break you the same way it used to.

Your worth isn’t rising and falling with every comment or approval.

You remain steady because your heart finally knows where it belongs.

The Earth is Spacious

In this surah, Allah also reminds the believer that no matter how tight life may feel, His world is always wider than we think.

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ ۚ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ ۗ وَأَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةٌ ۗ إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

“Say, ‘O My servants who believe, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is goodness, and the earth of Allah is spacious. Indeed the patient will be given their reward without measure.’”

(Surah Az-Zumar 39:10)

The earth of Allah is spacious.

Sometimes life feels tight, doesn’t it?

Your environment might feel suffocating. The place you live in might make holding onto your faith harder. You might feel stuck in a situation that feels draining.

And Allah reminds you

“My earth is vast”

Meaning your circumstances don’t define the limits of Allah’s mercy. Your current situation doesn’t trap you in a corner forever.

If a place becomes too restrictive for your faith and begins to suffocate your soul, Allah is reminding you that His world will always be bigger than that moment.

Allah then says the patient will be rewarded without measure.

Just imagine that for a second.

Every single moment you held onto your faith when it was difficult. Every time you resisted something for the sake of Allah or struggled when no one else saw. Every time you stayed patient when the easier option was right there for you to take.

Every time you held it together.

Allah saw all of it. And none of it will be wasted.

Sometimes patience feels invisible in this world, people don’t see it.  They only see the tip of the iceberg.

But with Allah nothing disappears.

After all He is Al-Baseer (The All-Seeing)

And the reward for patience is never beyond His count

SubhanAllah

The Two Groups

Now let’s talk about the title of the surah itself.

Az-Zumar. The Troops/The Groups.

And honestly, the ending of this surah paints a truly significant image. One of the Akhirah, the moment when humanity is finally moved toward its final destination.

In their groups.

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا

“Those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups.”

(Surah Az-Zumar 39:71)

And then Allah describes the other arrival.

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا

“And those who feared their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups.”

(Surah Az-Zumar 39:73)

On that Day people won’t arrive randomly. They’ll arrive with those they resembled the most. The people they followed and whose values shaped their lives.

SubhanAllah, just imagine that moment for a second.

Humanity standing on the plains of the Day of Judgment after the long standing… after the fear… and the reckoning.

Then the movement begins, and people start being led forward.

The Qur’an uses the word سِيقَ. Driven/Led forward for the people of Hell. It’s not a gentle walk but like being dragged toward something they spent their lives denying. Something terrifying that now stands in front of them as absolute reality. And when they arrive, the gates of Hell open and its keepers ask:

“Did messengers not come to you? Were you not warned about this Day?”

And they’ll admit it. Yes. They were warned.

But by then… the decree has already been written and they are the people of Hell

Then, the scene shifts. Another group is moving forward.

The people of taqwa.

They’re also brought forward in groups, but the atmosphere is completely different. They aren’t driven in humiliation, instead, they’re escorted with honour.

And when they reach Paradise, its gates are already open. And the angels greet them with words no heart has ever truly experienced in this world:

“Peace be upon you. You have done well. Enter it, to remain forever.”

Subhanallah

Just imagine hearing that.

After a lifetime of fighting your nafs. After resisting temptations nobody else knew you were battling.

After trying to hold onto sincerity when no one was watching.

And practicing patience in everything you do

The angels welcome you home.

To paradise

That’s the moment Surah Az-Zumar is pointing us toward because the truth is

Those groups aren’t being formed on that Day. They’re being formed now.

Through the choices we make, the habits we build and the things we keep returning to.

Through the people we follow and the values we live by.

Every time you choose sincerity over ego, you move somewhere.

And every time you choose ego over Allah… you move somewhere else.

Little by little, a direction is slowly being set.

So the real question becomes…

Which group do we want to be walking with when that moment comes?

Ya Allah, make us among those led gently to Jannah. Make us among those greeted with “Salamun ‘alaykum.” And never let us be among those driven toward the Fire.

Allahuma Ameen

Reflections

Surah Az-Zumar leaves me sitting with a quiet question tonight.

Because this surah talks about direction. The way our lives are constantly moving somewhere, even on the most ordinary days.

Through the things we love. The things we prioritise. The “masters” we obey without even realising they’re taking control of our lives.

Little by little a path is forming

And one day, that path will end with humanity moving forward in groups… each soul walking with those it truly resembled.

So I can’t help but ask myself something tonight.

When that moment comes… when the gates open… and the angels welcome the people of Jannah…

Will I be among them?

Will I hear the words every believer hopes for?

Will I hear

وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي

“And enter My Paradise.”

Ya Allah, make us among those whose hearts were sincere for You, and among those who are welcomed into Your Jannah with peace. Ameen.

Thank you so much for reading. May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

I hope your Ramadan is going beautifully.

SubhanAllah… we have reached the halfway point of Ramadan. Day 15.

Half of this blessed month has already passed us. It feels like it was only yesterday when it began, and yet the nights of Taraweeh, the quiet moments with the Qur’an, the early suhoors and everything that makes this month so sacred… they have already begun to slip through our fingers.

Ya Allah, allow us to reach the second half of Ramadan with hearts softer than when we began.

Ya Allah allow us to reach Laylatul Qadr.

Ya Allah accept what we have done and forgive what we have fallen short in. Let the second half of this month be stronger than the first.

اللهم آمين

Today I wanted to do something a little different.

Normally these reflections are longer. Every surah I sit with its stories, its patterns, the lessons I can take from it and the ways it reshapes how I see the world.

But today I wanted to share something shorter. Something every single one of us reading should sit with, personally.

Just one lesson from this surah.

This one is for you.

I watched a reflection on Youtube by Nouman Ali Khan on Surah Ya-Sin, and I can honestly say I had never seen such a powerful insight into this surah before. This post is inspired by that video.

It made me look at this surah in a completely different light.

The best light.

One of the most powerful lessons in the Qur’an appears in Surah Ya-Sin, the heart of the Qur’an

Allah tells us the story of a town that was sent messengers. Yes plural.

Not just one messenger.

Allah sent two messengers to the people and they rejected them.

Then Allah strengthened them with a third. Allah says

إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ اثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُونَ

“When We sent to them two messengers but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said: Indeed we have been sent to you as messengers.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:14)

Three messengers stood before this nation, giving daʿwah, warning them, calling them to Allah.

And what was the response?

No

The people didn’t just reject them. They threatened them.

قَالُوا إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ ۖ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“They said: We see you as a bad omen. If you do not stop, we will surely stone you and a painful punishment will touch you from us.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:18)

SubhanAllah.

Three messengers were standing there and yet, everything was falling on deaf ears.

But then Allah introduces someone unexpected to them.

Not a prophet. Not a messenger.

Just a believer. Allah says

وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَىٰ

“And a man came running from the farthest part of the city.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:20)

A believer heard what was happening and ran from another part of the city to support the messengers. He stood before his people and said

يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ

“O my people, follow the messengers.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:20)

His name was Ḥabīb an-Najjar.

What is truly incredible is that his speech in the Qur’an is longer than the speech of the messengers themselves.

SubhanAllah.

Three messengers were already present.

But this believer still stood up and spoke.

Why?

Because the Qur’an is teaching us something beautiful here.

The messengers have their responsibility.

But the believers also have theirs.

The mission of truth does not belong only to prophets. We also have a responsibility to stand, speak, support and carry the message.

And, look, Allah honoured him by preserving his words in the Qur’an forever.

The ummah cannot say, the Prophet ﷺ already did everything. My job is done.

No.

We carry something.

We represent something.

And immediately after this story Allah mentions something that at first glance feels completely unrelated. But as always, Allah’s wisdom is beyond anything we can comprehend.

Allah begins speaking about the sun and the moon.

وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

“And the sun runs on its fixed course. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:38)

Then Allah mentions the moon.

وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَاهُ مَنَازِلَ حَتَّىٰ عَادَ كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ

“And the moon, We have determined for it phases until it returns like an old curved date stalk.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:39)

Then Allah says something remarkable.

لَا الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِي لَهَا أَن تُدْرِكَ الْقَمَرَ وَلَا اللَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ ۚ وَكُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ

“It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. Each floats in its own orbit.”

(Surah Ya-Sin 36:40)

Each has its place.

Each has its role.

And suddenly the connection becomes clear.

The messengers had their role.

The believers have theirs.

Just like the sun and the moon.

In another place in the Qur’an, Allah describes our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا

“And a caller to Allah by His permission and a shining lamp.”

(Surah Al-Ahzab 33:46)

A shining lamp.

SubhanAllah.

The Prophet ﷺ is described like a source of light.

Just like the sun.

But what happens to the sun every evening?

It sets.

And when the sun disappears… who appears?

The moon.

SubhanAllah.

Our Prophet ﷺ is no longer physically among us. But who remains?

Us.

And what does the moon do? It reflects the light of the sun.

The moon has no light of its own. Its light is simply the reflection of the sun.

And in the same way, the iman of every believer is simply a reflection of the light of the Prophet ﷺ.

SubhanAllah.

Allah made the sun constant. It doesn’t go through phases.

But the moon does.

Sometimes it’s full.

Sometimes it’s barely visible.

Sometimes it disappears almost completely.

Our iman is exactly like that.

The Prophet ﷺ said

“Faith wears out in the heart of one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts.”

Our faith rises.

Our faith falls.

Sometimes we feel strong like a full moon.

Sometimes our iman is so weak it feels like it barely exists.

But even when the moon is the thinnest sliver in the sky, even when it seems like it’s almost disappeared…

It’s still reflecting the light of the sun.

Do you see it now? The beauty of this surah? Just how amazing our deen is?

Even when our iman feels weak, we are still connected to the light of the Messenger ﷺ.

Allah chose this ummah to exist in some of the darkest times humanity will ever see.

And in that darkness, even the smallest light becomes visible.

That is our role.

To reflect the light of the Prophet ﷺ. To carry his character. His mercy. His kindness. His truthfulness.

To be a light for people when the world feels dark.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb once said “I am the messenger of the Messenger of Allah.” Meaning every believer carries the message forward.

Every action.

Every word.

Every interaction.

Whether we like it or not, people see Islam through us. We represent it.

You reading this right now represents Islam.

SubhanAllah.

I can’t put into words just how much I love the way the Qur’an constantly trains our eyes to never see the world the same way again. It fills the earth with reminders so that we can never escape remembering Allah.

Let me tell you something.

I recently learned a verse in Surah Al-Anʿam about a leaf.

Allah says

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا

“Not a single leaf falls except that He knows it.”

(Surah Al-Anʿam 6:59)

After learning this verse, I genuinely never looked at a leaf the same way again. I see a leaf fall and suddenly realise Allah knew the exact moment it would detach from the branch. The exact second it would reach the ground.

And Surah Ya-Sin does the same thing.

You will never look at the sun and the moon the same way again.

The sun reminds us of the Prophet ﷺ.

And the moon is like looking directly in the mirror.

So today, look up at the moon. Look at what it does for the dark sky.

See yourself in the moon.

Despite where you might be in the deen.

Despite where you might be in your faith.

Despite how weak your iman might feel some days.

You are still representing Islam.

You are still carrying the light of your Prophet ﷺ.

You are still important enough to have a role in this world.

So the next time you look up at the sky and see the sun shining brightly, remember your Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

And when you see the moon glowing quietly in the darkness, lighting a sky that would otherwise be completely black without it…

Remember.

That is you.

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

I am writing this from a quiet study room inside the masjid.

It’s so peaceful here.

Around me are shelves filled with books about Islam, about Arabia, about the deen, generations of scholarship bound in leather and paper, preserved carefully and honoured. The air feels still. Every so often I hear the soft turning of a page or footsteps across the carpet, and I can’t help but think: how lucky am I to be part of this ummah?

SubhanAllah.

When you go to taraweeh, or when you walk into a masjid, or when you step into a Muslim country and hear the adhan echo across the streets, think about how you feel.

Don’t you feel a sense of belonging?

A quiet unity?

A recognition that the people beside you believe what you believe, bow where you bow, whisper the same duaa to the same Lord?

That feeling has a name.

Surah Al-Mu’minun.

The Believers.

This surah was sent to remind us what true success actually is. We strive for material success, our degrees, our work, money, stability, comfort, and that’s fine. But they are worldly success. None of it will help us in the Hereafter.

This surah teaches us what real success looks like. It asks: who are the believers? What are their characteristics? What truly makes them worthy of that name?

May Allah make us among them,

May we unite in Jannah,

Allahumma ameen.

I want to be a better Muslim.

And I know you do too.

Many of us have a vague hope for Paradise, but no clear plan to get there.

Surah Al-Mu’minun transforms that hope into something structured, almost like a formula we are meant to follow. It takes the grand goal of Jannat al-Firdaus and breaks it down into lived qualities.

It reminds us of what we already believe, tawhid, the angels, the books, the prophets, the Day of Judgment, qadr.

And then it shows us what that belief should look like, when it lives inside a human heart.

The Divine Declaration of Success

Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) described what it was like when revelation descended upon the Prophet ﷺ. There would be a sound like the buzzing of bees near his face. One day revelation came, and when it finished, the Prophet ﷺ turned towards the qiblah, raised his hands and made duaa, asking Allah to increase them, to honour them, to be pleased with them.

Then he ﷺ said:

“Ten verses have been revealed to me; whoever abides by them will enter Paradise.”

And he recited:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

Certainly will the believers have succeeded.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:1)

The ten verses of Surah Al-Mu’minun

SubhanAllah.

Allah didn’t make the path to His highest Paradise a mystery. It is laid out plainly for whoever wants to follow it.

Pay attention to the word succeeded. It’s in the past tense. In the knowledge of Allah, when a person truly embodies these qualities, their success is already written. So the rest of their life becomes the unfolding of something already guaranteed. While the world measures success in salaries and titles, Allah measures it in something else entirely.

And then He begins to describe to us exactly who these people are

The Believer’s Character

الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

Those who are humble and focused in their prayer.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:2)

It begins with salah. The quiet, repeated act of standing before Allah five times a day. Khushuʿ is the conscious effort to return your heart in salah when it drifts. And if we’re being honest, how often does that happen?

We stand in prayer replaying conversations, planning tomorrow, thinking about messages we haven’t replied to. Perhaps we rush because we are tired. Sometimes we sway slightly without noticing. Sometimes we finish and barely remember what we recited.

I know I have.

Yet Allah places this at the foundation of success. The very first thing. A heart that learns to focus in salah slowly learns to focus in life. A person who fights distraction in front of Allah begins to fight distraction everywhere else.

Khushuʿ is not achieved overnight. But it grows when we decide that these few minutes with Allah matter more than whatever is waiting for us outside.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ

And those who turn away from vain talk.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:3)

“Laghw” refers to the vain, meaningless or useless speech and actions that offer no benefit in this life or the Hereafter. It is everything empty and everything we’ve normalised today.

When Allah describes the believers as those who turn away from laghw, it is protection. Because time is the only currency we cannot earn back. Every hour spent in distraction feels harmless in the moment.

Another scroll. Another unnecessary argument. Another conversation that leaves no trace of goodness behind it.

And we tell ourselves “it’s normal”.

“Everyone does it”

But do we want to stand before Allah and say, “I had time… I just spent it poorly”?

وَهُمۡ يَصۡطَرِخُوۡنَ فِيۡهَا ۚ رَبَّنَاۤ اَخۡرِجۡنَا نَـعۡمَلۡ صَالِحًـا غَيۡرَ الَّذِىۡ كُـنَّا نَـعۡمَلُؕ اَوَلَمۡ نُعَمِّرۡكُمۡ مَّا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيۡهِ مَنۡ تَذَكَّرَ وَجَآءَكُمُ النَّذِيۡرُؕ فَذُوۡقُوۡا فَمَا لِلظّٰلِمِيۡنَ مِنۡ نَّصِيۡرٍ

And they will cry out therein, “Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness other than what we used to do.” But did We not give you life long enough for whoever would remember to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste, for there is not for the wrongdoers any helper.

(Surah Fatir 35:37)

“Did We not give you life long enough?”

SubhanAllah. That question alone is heavy. I don’t want to be among those people, and neither do you.

The true believers are successful because they are intentional. They don’t treat their hours as disposable. They understand that, one day, there will be people begging for just one more opportunity to pray properly, to give properly, to live properly.

We still have that opportunity.

Right now.

And that is a mercy.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ

And those who give zakah.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:4)

Zakah is purification. We live in a world that tells us to accumulate, but this verse teaches us to release. It softens the grip that wealth has on the heart.

When you give, and give sincerely, something shifts inside you. Ownership becomes stewardship. And slowly, generosity begins to shape who you are.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ

And those who guard their chastity.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:5)

إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ

Except with their spouses, for they are free from blame.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:6)

فَمَنِ ابْتَغَىٰ وَرَاءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ

But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:7)

Desire is powerful and constantly stimulated. Guarding oneself requires discipline in private and restraint when no one sees. It means protecting your honour even when temptation whispers otherwise.

It may feel overwhelming, but transformation begins with intention. Lowering the gaze once. Redirecting the thought. Each small act strengthens something inside you.

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ

And those who are faithful to their trusts and promises.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:8)

Belief shows in how you handle what has been entrusted to you. The borrowed item. The responsibility at work. The secret shared in confidence. The promise you made to that person. Integrity is doing what is right even when forgetting would be easier. Islam first and foremost is ethical. It lives in honesty and responsibility.

And then finally

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ

And those who strictly guard their prayers.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:9)

Notice how Allah returns to prayer again. The list begins and ends with it. Guarding prayer means protecting its time, its quality, its priority. It means structuring your day around it rather than fitting it into what remains.

أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ

They are the inheritors.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:10)

الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

Those who will inherit Al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:11)

Inheritance. Firdaus.

The highest level of Jannah

Subhanallah

We may not perfect all seven qualities overnight, but we can begin.

We can start to pray with more awareness. Reduce one form of laghw. Start by keeping just one promise.

And in the sight of Allah, that sincere striving places us on a path whose destination has already been declared:

“Certainly will the believers have succeeded”

The Believer’s Origin

After describing the believer’s character, Allah reminds us where we came from.

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ … فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay… then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:12–14)

This is a miracle. Sperm was only discovered in 1677.

How could the Prophet ﷺ have known these stages of development over 1000 years ago, when microscopes didn’t exist and early scientists misunderstood even the basics of human formation?

Because of Allah.

Because of revelation.

Because of His Qur’an.

But beyond the scientific precision, there is humility. We began as clay.

We are in no position to be arrogant.

And yet Allah shaped us carefully, stage by stage, until we became a soul-bearing creation capable of knowing Him. He gave us intellect. He gave us choice.

We are humble in origin, but subhanAllah, immense in our potential.

So what will we do with that potential?

Turn away from Him in arrogance?

Or remember Him and return to Him every chance we get?

The Believer’s End

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ

Did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:115)

There will be a weighing. A day of accountability where the successful inherit and the unsuccessful face loss.

Ya Allah, allow us to be among the successful. Among those who carry these seven qualities. Among those who follow in the footsteps of our beloved prophets and learn from their stories.

And then the surah ends with hope, a duaa.

وَقُل رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

And say, “My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of the merciful.”

(Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:118)

After everything, this is where we land. In duaa.

Allah teaches us how to ask for mercy.

Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Masʿud رضي الله عنه once recited the final verses of this surah into the ear of an unconscious man, and he regained consciousness. When the Prophet ﷺ was informed, he said that if someone recited it with conviction upon a mountain, it would move.

Conviction moves mountains.

Iman moves hearts.

Reflections

Sitting here in this quiet mosque, surrounded by books written by believers before me, I realise this is a responsibility.

Surah Al-Mu’minun doesn’t flatter us with the title “believers.”

It forces me to ask uncomfortable questions. Do I rush my salah? Waste hours in laghw? Truly guard my trusts? Keep my promises and my responsibilities.

And it ends by reminding me that even if I fall short, I have a Lord who is the best of the merciful.

Ya Allah, make us among the Mu’minun and allow us to inherit Firdaus.

Forgive us and have mercy on us.

You are the best of the merciful.

Allahumma ameen.

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

Every word, every verse in the Qur’an carries such precision of meaning, depth of sound, and guidance that seeps into my life.

During Ramadan, I’ve really come to appreciate just how beautiful the Qur’an truly is. I sometimes just stop and the only thing that comes out is

Subhanallah.

It genuinely makes me question why I used to turn to music in the first place.

And this surah, Surah Ta-Ha, is one of the clearest proofs of that.

I have used its duaas in my own moments of stress and anxiety. I have whispered them when my chest felt tight and my thoughts felt heavy and they have steadied me more times than I can count.

It is the surah that softened the heart of Umar ibn al-Khattab, transforming him from a fierce opponent into one of the greatest companions.

And it details the story of Kalīmullāh, the one with whom Allah spoke directly to, Prophet Musa.

And through that story, it speaks to us; it begins with comfort.

‎طه مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَىٰ إِلَّا تَذْكِرَةً لِّمَن يَخْشَىٰ

“Ta-Ha. We have not sent down the Qur’an to you to cause you distress, but only as a reminder for those who fear.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:1–3)

Before recounting hardship, Allah reassures His Messenger ﷺ that this revelation is not a burden placed to break him nor is it meant to crush his spirit under the weight of rejection.

The Qur’an is a reminder, a light, not sent to make you miserable but to ground you when the world becomes overwhelming.

And subhanAllah, how deeply true is that

When Surah Ta-Ha Melted a Sword

There are moments in history where revelation doesn’t just inform a heart but completely overturns it.

Before becoming one of the greatest champions of Islam, Umar ibn al-Khattab was among its fiercest opponents. He once left his home with his sword unsheathed, anger burning within him, determined to kill the Prophet ﷺ convinced that this message had to be stopped.

On his way, he was confronted by a companion who redirected his fury: if you are so concerned, fix what is in your own house first. It was then that he learned his own sister, Fatimah bint al-Khattab, and her husband had accepted Islam.

The rage that had been aimed at the Prophet ﷺ turned toward his sister’s home. As he approached, he heard verses being recited, subhanallah, the verses from Surah Ta-Ha

He entered, the parchment was hidden and Khabbab concealed himself. In the confrontation that followed, Umar struck his brother in law and, unintentionally, his sister.

Seeing her bloodied face shook something inside him.

When he demanded to read what they had been reciting, she refused until he purified himself. Even in fear, she honoured the sanctity of the Qur’an. After performing ghusl, he took the parchment and began to read.

There were the opening words of Surah Ta-Ha.

The same surah that begins with, “We have not sent down the Qur’an to you to cause you distress.”

As he read, his anger dissolved into awe. The rhythm, the truth, the majesty of the words broke through years of resistance. Khabbab emerged and told him of the duaa the Prophet ﷺ had made:

“O Allah, honour Islam through the more beloved of these two men to You: Abu Jahl or Umar ibn al-Khattab.”

And Umar’s heart had just become the answer to that duʿāʾ.

I look at this story and I’m always struck by the power of the Qur’an.

Beautiful revelation entering a heart that was ready to be transformed. From that day forward, the very strength that once threatened the believers became their protection.

Surah Ta-Ha didn’t  just narrate the story of Prophet Musa confronting a tyrant.

It also quietly created one less tyrant and one more servant of Allah.

The Story of Prophet Musa (عليه السلام)

Surah Ta-Ha unfolds the life of Prophet Musa in, what can only be described as, a divinely orchestrated journey that begins before he can speak and ends with a sea torn open in obedience to his Lord.

Although this surah doesn’t narrate every detail of his birth explicitly as other surahs do, Allah reminds us of it in a way that makes the protection feel immediate and deeply personal.

When Prophet Musa stands in the sacred valley and receives his mission, Allah takes him back to the very beginning:

وَلَقَدْ مَنَنَّا عَلَيْكَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَىٰ

“And We had certainly conferred favor upon you another time.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:37)

Allah reminds him of how his mother was inspired to place him in a chest and cast him into the river, how the river miraculously carried him directly into the household of Pharaoh, the very man who had ordered the slaughter of Israelite boys, and how Allah cast love upon Musa so that he would be raised under divine watch. What looked like abandonment was indeed protection. Then Allah says to Musa;

وَاصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِي

“And I produced you for Myself.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:41)

Every stage, from the river to the palace to the years that followed afterwards, all of that was preparation for Musa’s prophethood.

Prophet Musa is known as Kaleemullah, the one to whom Allah spoke directly to without any intermediaries. He is the most mentioned prophet in the Quran, chosen to serve as a definitive guide for patience, leadership and unwavering faith in Allah and to fulfill the mission of destroying the most evil human mentioned in the Quran, Pharaoh (Fir’aun).

Prophet Musa grows up in Pharaoh’s palace, aware of his Israelite identity, and in his youth he strikes a man unintentionally, leading to his exile. He flees Egypt in fear, and Allah delivers him to Madyan, where he lives years in obscurity, marries, works and matures.

And so, Surah Ta-Ha brings us to the turning point when Prophet Musa, now a family man, is travelling through the desert and sees a fire in the distance.

Allah says:

وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَىٰ إِذْ رَأَىٰ نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا لَّعَلِّي آتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى

“And has the story of Musa reached you? When he saw a fire and said to his people, ‘Stay here; indeed I perceive a fire. Perhaps I can bring you from it a burning brand or find guidance at the fire.’”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:9–10)

In these few words we see his character and a perfect example of what a leader is: he prioritises his family’s safety, he explains his reasoning, he doesn’t promise certainty but says “perhaps” and he takes responsibility to go alone.

He walks toward the burning tree and finds revelation. In the valley of Tuwa, Allah calls him:

إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَىٰ

“Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your sandals; you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. And I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:12–13)

The isolation of the desert becomes the setting of divine speech. Allah commands him to worship Him alone and then gives him the mission that would define his life:

اذْهَبْ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَىٰ

“Go to Pharaoh; indeed, he has transgressed.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:24)

Prophet Musa is commanded to return to the tyrant who raised him and confront him with truth. Faced with the enormity of this task, Musa doesn’t rely on himself. He turns to Allah with one of the most beautiful duʿās in the Qur’an:

رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي وَاجْعَل لِّي وَزِيرًا مِّنْ أَهْلِي هَارُونَ أَخِي

“My Lord, expand for me my chest, ease for me my task, untie the knot from my tongue so they may understand my speech, and appoint for me a minister from my family,  Harun my brother.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:25–30)

رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي

I have recited this dua more times than I can count; just before I sit an exam paper, before standing up for a presentation, in moments when my chest feels tight and my thoughts feel scattered from anxiety, reminding myself that Prophet Musa (عليه السلام) said these very words before standing in front of a tyrant emperor. His mission was heavier than any test I have ever faced, and yet he began by asking Allah to expand his chest. This duaa always brings me back to that truth: strength begins inside.

And as always, Allah, Al-Mujīb, The One Who Responds , answers him:

قَدْ أُوتِيتَ سُؤْلَكَ يَا مُوسَىٰ

“You have been granted your request, O Musa.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:36)

The mission remains immense, but Musa now carries it with divine assurance. Allah reassures both Prophet Musa and his brother Harun as they prepare to face Pharaoh:

لَا تَخَافَا إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَىٰ

“Do not fear; indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:46)

What more could a human heart possibly need to hear?

Allah promises His presence.

“I am with you” , I hear every word spoken against you. I see every threat before it reaches you.

Subhanallah. When Allah is with you in that way, fear loses all its power. There is no better protector, not better guardian than He.

And so Prophet Musa stands before Pharaoh, calling him to recognise the Lord of the heavens and the earth, reminding him of accountability and resurrection. Pharaoh responds with arrogance, questioning Musa’s authority and attempting to undermine him by gathering the most skilled magicians in Egypt to challenge him publicly.

On the appointed day, the arena fills, ropes and staffs are cast, and illusions appear to move like serpents.

Allah tells us that Musa felt a moment of fear within himself:

فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَىٰ

“And he sensed within himself a fear, Musa.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:67)

Immediately Allah reassures him:

لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْأَعْلَىٰ

“Do not fear; indeed, you will be superior.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:68)

When Prophet Musa casts his staff, it swallows what they have fabricated. The magicians, experts in deception, recognise the truth instantly and fall in prostration, declaring belief in the Lord of Musa and Harun. Pharaoh threatens them with crucifixion, but their faith is firm; they understand that his power extends only to this fleeting world. Despite signs after signs, Pharaoh persists in arrogance.

Allah commands Musa to lead the Children of Israel out by night:

وَلَقَدْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ أَنْ أَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي فَاضْرِبْ لَهُمْ طَرِيقًا فِي الْبَحْرِ يَبَسًا لَّا تَخَافُ دَرَكًا وَلَا تَخْشَىٰ

“And We inspired to Musa, ‘Travel by night with My servants and strike for them a dry path through the sea; you will not fear being overtaken nor be afraid.’”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:77)

Pharaoh pursues with his army, blinded by pride. And the scene we know so well, the sea, at Allah’s command, splits into towering walls, and a path opens through what had been an impassable barrier.

Prophet Musa and his people cross in safety. Pharaoh follows in defiance and is drowned.

Surah Ta-Ha summarises with clarity:

وَأَضَلَّ فِرْعَوْنُ قَوْمَهُ وَمَا هَدَىٰ

“And Pharaoh led his people astray and did not guide them.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:79)

His authority collapses in a moment before the decree of Allah. But the story doesn’t end with the drowning of an oppressor.

Surah Ta-Ha shows that even after miraculous salvation, hearts can still be tested.

The Trial of As-Samiri

When Musa went to Mount Tur for forty nights to receive revelation, the absence was short, but for Bani Israel it felt long. They had just witnessed the sea split, walked on dry land and witnessed the Pharaoh drown. Yet when Prophet Musa was delayed, impatience crept in.

Among them was a man named As-Samiri, who had great charisma and charm. He was known for crafting ornaments and decorative items. He saw an opportunity for power and recognition and told Bani Israel, Prophet Musa would not return and that he had an alternative for them.

At first there was hesitation, but charisma can be dangerous in the hands of someone without sincerity. Slowly, he redirected their devotion toward something visible and tangible.

He gathered the gold that had been taken from the people of Pharaoh and, using what he claimed was a trace from the path of the Angel Jibreel’s horse on the day of the sea, he fashioned a calf.

It was made in secret. The people didn’t see how it came into being.

Suddenly, there it was. An object they could look at, touch, and gather around. Allah exposes the absurdity of it:

أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَلَّا يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَوْلًا وَلَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا

“Did they not see that it could not return to them a word nor possess for them harm or benefit?”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:89)

Yet they took it for worship. Before this, Allah had already warned Musa of what was happening:

فَإِنَّا قَدْ فَتَنَّا قَوْمَكَ مِن بَعْدِكَ وَأَضَلَّهُمُ السَّامِرِيُّ

“Indeed, We have tested your people after you, and As-Samiri has led them astray.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:85)

When Musa returned and saw what they had done, he was grieved and angered.

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَلَمْ يَعِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ وَعْدًا حَسَنًا أَفَطَالَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْعَهْدُ أَمْ أَرَدتُّمْ أَن يَحِلَّ عَلَيْكُمْ غَضَبٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُم مَّوْعِدِي

“He said, ‘O my people, did your Lord not promise you a good promise? Then was the time too long for you, or did you wish that wrath from your Lord descend upon you, so you broke your promise to me?’”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:86)

He turned to his brother Harun, who had tried to restrain them but feared division. Prophet Musa then confronted As-Samiri directly. As-Samiri admitted he took something and cast it, and thus his soul permitted him. Musa pronounced his consequence:

قَالَ فَاذْهَبْ فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِي الْحَيَاةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَ

“He said, ‘Then go. Indeed, for you in this life is that you will say: Do not touch me.’”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:97)

He was banished, isolated, cut off, a man who sought influence left alone with himself. Subhanallah.

Musa then turned to the calf.

وَانظُرْ إِلَىٰ إِلَٰهِكَ الَّذِي ظَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُ فِي الْيَمِّ نَسْفًا

“And look at your god to which you remained devoted. We will surely burn it, then scatter it into the sea.”

(Surah Ta-Ha 20:97)

The object they had glorified was reduced to ash. 

It is a sobering moment.

Escaping oppression on the outside does not mean the heart is free on the inside. They had left Pharaoh, but impatience and attachment still lingered within them. This shows us that guidance is not a one-time thing, for us we might be born Muslim, but this deen, it must be guarded constantly. Not only does this show the weakness of Bani Israel but warns us.

They saw miracles with their own eyes. They walked between walls of water. And yet conviction wavered when leadership was temporarily absent.

Later, when seventy of their chosen men accompanied Musa to Mount Tur and demanded to see Allah plainly, they were struck by a thunderbolt and fell lifeless. Musa turned back to Allah in desperation, fearing how he would return to his people. In Surah Al-A‘raf, Allah tells us he supplicated for mercy (7:155–156), and Allah restored them to life, one after another, so they could witness divine mercy with their own eyes.

And even then, complaints followed.

When the commandments were given, they hesitated, demanding proof again until the mountain was raised above them as a warning.

Sign after sign.

Mercy after mercy.

And still Prophet Musa endured their resistance. His loyalty to his people never ceased, even when they disappointed him repeatedly.

May Allah reward him with the highest rank, and grant peace and elevation to all the prophets, especially our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who carried us,his own nation, with the same perseverance.

Allahumma ameen.

Reflections

The Qur’an is always alive; it meets every heart exactly where it stands.

This surah teaches me that fear is human, but reliance is divine.

Prophet Musa felt fear, yet he turned to Allah. Umar carried a sword, yet revelation carried him further. And I, in my smallest moments of anxiety, can turn to the same words and find steadiness.

It teaches me that miracles alone do not guarantee faith. Bani Israel saw the sea split and still wavered, so I cannot rely solely on emotion or moments of spiritual highs; I have to guard my heart consistently.

Above all, Surah Ta-Ha reminds me that Allah prepares His servants long before they realise it and stays with them in their hardest confrontations. Allah answers when they call upon Him.

So If my Lord was with Prophet Musa before Pharaoh, and with the believers before the sea, then He is with me in whatever stands before me.

SubhanAllah.

Thank you for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍

Surah Maryam is my mum’s favourite surah

My mum is a single mother.

Growing up, I watched her carry two roles with one pair of hands. I watched her stretch money, stretch sleep, stretch patience. She disciplined us and still wrapped the home in gentleness.

Alhamdullilah, I had the best of childhoods

I watched her cry quietly at night and wake up early as if nothing had happened. She did it tired. She did it afraid.

But she did it anyway.

And when you grow older, you realise she wasn’t surviving on strength alone but on Allah.

When she was alone in a house with three small children and the world felt heavy outside those walls, Allah was with her.

When she didn’t know how things would work out, Allah already did.

The Prophet ﷺ spoke about the woman who strives patiently for her children and indicated her closeness to him in Paradise, like two fingers held side by side. The sacrifices of single mothers are not unseen in this deen.

I can’t repay Hooyo for all that she’s done for us.

I can’t write about it without crying.

Ya Allah, You have seen every sacrifice my mum made for us. Reward her with Jannah. For every tear, replace it with light and for every hardship she carried alone, grant her closeness to Your Messenger ﷺ in the Hereafter.

Allahuma ameen

When I told her I would be reflecting on Surah Maryam, she was so excited.

The only surah in the Qur’an named after a woman. The most honoured of women.

The best of single mothers.

A whole chapter carries her story. Her name is mentioned 70 times in the qur’an.

Maryam bint ‘Imran.

A woman who stood before her community alone, with nothing but Allah.

Surah Maryam tells the story of a miracle child, but before that, it tells the story of a woman whose trust in Allah did not break even when her life could have.

And that is why my mum loves it.

And that is why I do too.

The Whisper of Prophet Zakariyya (عليه السلام)

Before Maryam’s miracle, there was a whisper.

Allah begins this surah with mercy:

ذِكْرُ رَحْمَتِ رَبِّكَ عَبْدَهُ زَكَرِيَّا ۝ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُ نِدَاءً خَفِيًّا

“A mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zakariyya. When he called upon his Lord with a quiet call.”

(Surah Maryam 19:2–3)

A quiet call. A whisper.

Prophet Zakariyya (عليه السلام) was elderly. He was the guardian of Maryam after her father passed away. His bones had weakened and his hair had turned white. His wife had been barren her entire life.

By every worldly measure, the door for a child was closed. And yet he asked.

قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ ٱلْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَٱشْتَعَلَ ٱلرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنۢ بِدُعَآئِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا

“He said: My Lord, my bones have weakened and my head has flared with grey, but I have never been disappointed in my supplication to You, my Lord.”

(Surah Maryam 19:4)

SubhanAllah.

This is the duʿāʾ of a man who knows his Lord. He lists his weakness, then he lists Allah’s track record. “I have never been disappointed in calling upon You.”

How many of us can say that? How many of us stop asking because time has passed, or because doctors or teachers say it is impossible, because statistics say it cannot happen?

Remember that nothing is impossible for Allah.

So ask.

Prophet Zakariyya didn’t ask for a child to fill loneliness. He feared what would happen to faith after he died. He wanted someone to carry revelation, someone pleasing to Allah.

وَإِنِّى خِفْتُ ٱلْمَوَٰلِىَ مِن وَرَآءِى وَكَانَتِ ٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا فَهَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا ۝ يَرِثُنِى وَيَرِثُ مِنْ ءَالِ يَعْقُوبَ وَٱجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا

“And indeed I fear my relatives after me, and my wife has been barren, so grant me from Yourself an heir who will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Yaʿqub, and make him, my Lord, pleasing to You.”

(Surah Maryam 19:5–6)

And Allah answers him immediately:

يَـٰزَكَرِيَّآ إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَـٰمٍ ٱسْمُهُۥ يَحْيَىٰ لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مِن قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا

“O Zakariyya, We give you glad tidings of a boy whose name will be Yahya. We have not given this name to anyone before.”

(Surah Maryam 19:7)

Not only does Allah grant him a son, He names him. A name never used before. Yahya, the one who lives.

It is as if Allah is telling him that hope is always there as long as you trust Allah. 

Overwhelmed, Zakariyya asks how this can be:

قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَـٰمٌ وَكَانَتِ ٱمْرَأَتِى عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا ۝ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌۭ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْـًٔا

“He said: My Lord, how will I have a boy when my wife has been barren and I have reached extreme old age? He said: Thus it will be. Your Lord says: It is easy for Me, and I created you before when you were nothing.”

(Surah Maryam 19:8–9)

And this is the theology of miracles.”It is easy for Me.”

Prophet Zakariyya’s story teaches me that duaa is not a last resort but the beginning of miracles.

It teaches me to whisper to Allah even when the world says it is too late. It is never too late for Him.

Allah descends in a manner befitting His Majesty in the last third of the night and calls out, asking who will ask of Him so He may give. Every night is an opportunity and every sujood is an opening.

Allah is Al Wahhab, the One who gives without measure. The One who created you from nothing doen’t struggle to create ease from impossibility.

“It is easy for Me.”

Remember that

May we become people who believe that wholeheartedly, who ask even when doors look sealed, who measure hope by Allah’s power and not by our circumstances.

Before Maryam stood alone with her test, there was an old prophet who whispered into the unseen, and Allah answered.

Like He always does.

And Mention in the Book, Maryam

Allah says:

وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مَرْيَمَ إِذِ ٱنتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا مَكَانًۭا شَرْقِيًّۭا

“And mention in the Book, Maryam, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the east.”

(Surah Maryam 19:16)

Maryam bint ʿImrān was raised in worship. Long before this moment, her mother had dedicated her to Allah while she was still in the womb, as mentioned in Surah Al-ʿImran. She expected a son who would serve in Bayt al Maqdis, yet Allah chose a daughter and raised her above the women of the worlds. Subhanallah

The Prophet ﷺ later affirmed her rank. He said that the best of the women of Paradise are Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah bint Muhammad, Maryam bint ʿImran, and Asiyah the wife of Firʿawn. In another narration, he said that many men attained perfection, but none attained perfection among women except Asiyah and Maryam, and he praised ʿAisha رضي الله عنها for her virtue among women.

From childhood, Maryam lived under the guardianship of Prophet Zakariyya (عليه السلام).

He would enter her place of worship and find provision with her, fruits out of season, and when he asked, she would respond that it was from Allah. She was nurtured upon certainty before she was tested with it.

In Surah Maryam, Allah tells us that she placed a barrier between herself and people.

فَٱتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًۭا فَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًۭا سَوِيًّۭا

“She took a screen apart from them, and We sent to her Our Spirit, and he appeared before her as a well proportioned man.”

(Surah Maryam 19:17)

Angel Jibreel (عليه السلام) came in human form. Alone in her sanctuary, she suddenly saw a man before her and here, her response highlights the depth of her heart.

قَالَتْ إِنِّىٓ أَعُوذُ بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِنكَ إِن كُنتَ تَقِيًّۭا

“She said, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, if you are God fearing.”

(Surah Maryam 19:18)

Her instinct was to run to Allah. To seek refuge in Al-Rahman.

This is what a life of worship produces: when fear enters, the tongue turns to Allah before anything else.

He informs her that he is a messenger sent to grant her a pure son.

قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ رَسُولُ رَبِّكِ لِأَهَبَ لَكِ غُلَـٰمًۭا زَكِيًّۭا

“I am only a messenger of your Lord, to grant you a pure son.”

(Surah Maryam 19:19)

Her response:

قَالَتْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَـٰمٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌۭ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّۭا

“How can I have a son when no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?”

(Surah Maryam 19:20)

She affirms that no man has touched her in marriage and that she has never been immoral.

But the miracle is not attached to sin but to divine will.

قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌۭ وَلِنَجْعَلَهُۥٓ ءَايَةًۭ لِّلنَّاسِ وَرَحْمَةًۭ مِّنَّا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرًۭا مَّقْضِيًّۭا

“He said, Thus it will be. Your Lord says, it is easy for Me. And We will make him a sign for the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed.”

(Surah Maryam 19:21)

I love this so much

Allah again says “It is easy for Me”

The same declaration Allah gives to comfort and reassure Prophet Zakariyya is the one given to Maryam.

And those words were not only for them.

They are for us.

Every time we raise our hands with a duʿāʾ that feels too heavy or too impossible, the answer remains the same.

“It is easy for Me.”

Not because the situation is small but because Allah is greater.

Maryam conceives and withdraws further from her people until labour overtakes her.

فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلْمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ قَالَتْ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَـٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّۭا

“The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, I wish I had died before this and was forgotten.”

(Surah Maryam 19:23)

This moment is honestly one of the most human stories in the Qur’an.

She is alone. No midwife, no family, no comfort.

A young woman giving birth in isolation, aware that once she returns with this child, her reputation will be shattered. Her words here, are not disbelief, instead, the cry of someone overwhelmed by what lies ahead. And so Allah responds immediately.

فَنَادَىٰهَا مِن تَحْتِهَآ أَلَّا تَحْزَنِى قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّۭا ۝ وَهُزِّىٓ إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ تُسَـٰقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًۭا جَنِيًّۭا ۝ فَكُلِى وَٱشْرَبِى وَقَرِّى عَيْنًۭا

“He called to her from below her, Do not grieve. Your Lord has placed beneath you a stream. And shake the trunk of the palm tree toward you, it will drop upon you fresh ripe dates. So eat, drink, and be comforted.”

(Surah Maryam 19:24–26)

When you think about it, a dry trunk does not easily yield ripe dates, and a woman in labour is hardly in a state to shake a palm tree.

And Yet, subhanallah, Maryam is commanded to move it.

Allah could have caused the dates to fall without effort. Instead, He instructs her to act.

Why? What does that show us?

It shows us that tawakkul shouldn’t be passive. Even in exhaustion, even in fear, she is told to take action. Showing us that we too should do what is within our capacity first and trust Allah to send down what we cannot reach.

She shakes what she can, and subhanallah, beneath her, a stream appears, quenching her thirst. Above her, provision descends, nourishing her body after childbirth.

And then Allah tells her to eat, drink and cool her eyes.

Before she faces accusation, Allah gives her nourishment and reassurance to make it easy for her.

Maryam’s story at the palm tree teaches that even the most chosen servants feel overwhelmed, that honour does not cancel hardship and Allah’s care often comes in the most intimate moments. He doesn’t remove the test, but He surrounds her with signs of His presence.

She went on to raise a prophet without a partner, but never without Allah.

And for every mother who has had to carry more than she thought she could, let this story stand as proof to you, that when people step back or fail you

Allah remains with you through it all

The Child Who Spoke - The Story of ProphetʿĪsā (عليه السلام)

Maryam returned to her people carrying her child. Allah says:

فَأَتَتْ بِهِۦ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُۥ ۖ قَالُوا۟ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْـًٔا فَرِيًّۭا ۝ يَـٰٓأُخْتَ هَـٰرُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ ٱمْرَأَ سَوْءٍۢ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّۭا

“Then she came to her people carrying him. They said, O Maryam, you have certainly done a terrible thing. O sister of Harun, your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother unchaste.”

(Surah Maryam 19:27–28)

The accusation comes immediately. They just assume without asking. They invoke her lineage, reminding her of her righteous father and mother as if it makes her situation more scandalous the fact her parents were righteous

The pain here is public humiliation.

But Maryam had been commanded to fast from speech. She doesn’t defend herself. She doesn’t argue. She doesn’t explain, instead she points to the child.

فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَن كَانَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّۭا

“So she pointed to him. They said, How can we speak to one who is in the cradle, a child?”

(Surah Maryam 19:29)

And then a miracle unfolds. The infant speaks.

قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّۭا ۝ وَجَعَلَنِى مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَـٰنِى بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّۭا ۝ وَبَرًّۢا بِوَٰلِدَتِى وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِى جَبَّارًۭا شَقِيًّۭا

“He said, Indeed I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I live. And He has made me dutiful to my mother, and has not made me arrogant or miserable.”

(Surah Maryam 19:30–32)

The first words of Prophet ʿĪsā (عليه السلام) show us everything.

He begins with servanthood. Not divinity. He says “I am the servant of Allah.” In one sentence, the Qur’an corrects centuries of exaggeration, of false religion. He declares he has been given scripture and prophethood.

Subhanallah, this was a declaration of his future mission spoken miraculously in infancy.

He describes himself as blessed wherever he may be, meaning his presence brings guidance and benefit. He speaks of salah and zakah, grounding his message in worship and service and not spectacle.

Then, in the middle of defending his own prophethood, he mentions his mother. “He has made me dutiful to my mother.”

Not parents. His Mother.

The very woman they are accusing of scandal is honoured in this speech of a prophet, spoken from a cradle.

This, is how Allah defends His chosen. Through nothing but undeniable truth.

He continues:

وَٱلسَّلَـٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّۭا

“And peace is upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive.”

(Surah Maryam 19:33)

Birth, death, resurrection. The three most vulnerable stages of existence are wrapped in divine peace.The Qur’an then clarifies:

ذَٰلِكَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۖ قَوْلَ ٱلْحَقِّ ٱلَّذِى فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ ۝ مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ مِن وَلَدٍۢ ۖ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥٓ

“That is ʿĪsā, son of Maryam, the word of truth about which they dispute. It is not befitting for Allah to take a son. Glory be to Him.”

(Surah Maryam 19:34–35)

He is repeatedly called ʿĪsā ibn Maryam. His identity, his name is tied to her honour.

Beyond the cradle, his life continued as a series of signs. Allah granted him miracles by His permission. He healed the blind and the leper. He revived the dead by Allah’s permission. He formed a bird from clay and it came to life by Allah’s permission. He informed people of what they concealed in their homes. Each miracle is explicitly tied to Allah’s will, and only by Allah’s will, showing us that he was a servant empowered by his Lord and not a partner with Him.

He was given the Injil and sent to confirm the Torah before him. He called his people back to pure monotheism. He lived with humility and detachment from worldly excess.

The Prophet ﷺ described him as medium build, with a reddish complexion, his hair appearing as though water dripped from it though it was not wet. He was neither arrogant nor harsh. He ﷺ also taught that Prophet ʿĪsā will return near the end of time. He will descend, break the cross, abolish false worship and rule with justice.

The same child who spoke the truth in the cradle will return, as a just leader, restoring the truth back to the world…

That he is a servant sent from Allah and there is none worthy of worship except Allah

All of this begins with a mother standing silently while her newborn speaks.

Maryam’s story and Prophet ʿĪsā’s story cannot be separated.

Her isolation becomes the setting for his first miracle, her patience the foundation for his defence. He made her name eternal.

ʿĪsā ibn Maryam. Forever linked. Forever honoured. Forever a sign.

Showing us that when Allah chooses someone, He does not abandon them in their trial. He elevates them through it.

And that is the kind of Lord we worship.

Reflections

Surah Maryam feels gentle when you hear it being recited, its sounds so so beautiful but carries so much weight.

It begins with a whisper and unfolds into lives tested in the most public ways.

Prophet Zakariyya asks in old age when every door seems closed and Allah opens one, no one expected.

Maryam stands alone, accused and exposed, and Allah defends her in a way no human ever could. Prophet ʿĪsā speaks from the cradle, beginning not with glory, but with servanthood.

And it is not accidental that this surah comes after Surah Al-Kahf. In Surah Al-Kahf, people debated the People of the Cave. They speculated, argued. And the same happens in Surah Maryam, people debate ʿĪsā, they exaggerate and distort.

But in both surahs, Allah corrects.

Maryam’s community thought they knew her story. They didn’t. Allah did.

This surah reminds me of my mum and not because her life was the same, but because the quiet strength feels familiar. The unseen tears. The weight carried without applause. The trust in Allah when circumstances didn’t make sense.

Surah Maryam teaches me that honour is not defined by people’s whispers.

Let them talk

The most powerful defence is silence and trust.

People will speak. Allah will decide.

And for the one who relies on Him, that is more than enough.

Thank you so much for reading, May Allah reward you immmensely 🤍

Today, I’m reflecting on one of my favourite surahs in the Qur’an and if I am honest, I’ve been quietly waiting for this one.

Surah Al-Kahf. The Cave.

No week feels complete without it. Every Friday it returns to me, steady and familiar, like something my heart has grown used to leaning on. It’s there, on my way to university, travelling on the tube, in the stillness before the day begins, its verses fill my ears.

SubhanAllah. It became my companion long before I even realised it was shaping the way I see the world.

I have always known it to be a source of protection. We are told that clearly. But sometimes I have to pause and ask myself: protection from what exactly? What is Allah shielding me from every single week? And why this specific surah?

We recite it on Jummah. We share reminders about it. We rush to complete it before Maghrib.

Yet how often do we truly sit with it and let it question us?

Surah Al-Kahf teaches us that holding firmly to the Qur’an, not only with our tongues but with our choices, protects us from fitnah in all its forms. It is not a coincidence that the one who recites it on Fridays is protected from the greatest trial humanity will face, the Dajjal.

So if this beautiful surah guards us from the ultimate deception, then everything within it must be training us to recognise the smaller deceptions that slip quietly into our own lives.

Allah weaves it through four powerful stories:

The trial of religion

The trial of wealth

The trial of knowledge

The trial of powee

Fitnah is not always loud. Sometimes it comes wrapped in comfort. Sometimes in success. Sometimes in influence or in the confidence of thinking we’re right.

Surah Al-Kahf is not just a weekly habit but a lens through which we examine our hearts before the world tests it.

If we are returning to it every Friday, then we also have to ask ourselves every friday: which fitnah are we walking toward without even realising?

And are we truly holding onto the Qur’an, or merely just reading its words?

Benefits of Surah Al-Kahf

Surah Al-Kahf is one of those gifts Allah placed into our weekly rhythm for a reason.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal.”

And in another narration:

“Whoever commits to memory) the last ten Ayat of Surat Al-Kahf, he will be protected from (the trial of) Ad-Dajjal (Antichrist).”

That alone should make us pause. Because the Dajjal is not a small trial.

The Prophet ﷺ gathered the companions one day and told them about a man who had been chained on an island, a man who declared, “I am the Messiah… I will soon be permitted to emerge.”

He described him as one-eyed, with the word kāfir written between his eyes, readable by every believer; literate or illiterate

He warned that no trial since the creation of Adam would be greater than his.

He will claim prophethood. Then he will claim lordship. He will bring what appears to be Paradise and Hell, but his “Paradise” will be Hell, and his “Hell” will be Paradise.

He will command the sky to rain and it will rain. He will command the earth to produce and it will produce. He will cause famine in lands that reject him and abundance in lands that follow him.

He will resurrect, by illusion, what looks like dead parents to deceive a child.

He will kill a believer, cut him in two, then bring him back to life, only for that believer to say, “You are the Dajjal.”

He will travel the earth in forty days, and enter every single place except Makkah and Madinah.

Eventually, Prophet Isa (عليه السلام) will descend, pray behind a righteous leader in Jerusalem, pursue him to the gate of Ludd, and kill him.

And before all of this, there will be years of drought and famine.

The Prophet ﷺ said people will survive on tahlil, takbir, tasbih and tahmid, remembrance will sustain them when food does not.

Subhanallah

So if Surah Al-Kahf is tied to protection from that, then it is not only a reward but preparation.

Even the “light” promised for reciting it weekly is not arbitrary,

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever reads Sūrat al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, a light will shine for him between the two Fridays.”

Light means you can see. Truly see. So we don’t get pulled by what is glittering but false. So we recognise truth when the world romanticises it, edits it, and reshapes it into something that might look appealing.

So that we don’t become blind to the illusions of this world.

And Surah Al-Kahf begins by grounding us in the greatest gift; the Qur’an itself:

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا

“All praise is for Allah Who has revealed the Book to His servant and has not placed therein any crookedness.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:1)

In an age of distortion, Allah reminds us that revelation has no distortion.

Then He tells us the nature of this world:

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا

“Indeed, We have made what is on the earth an adornment for it that We may test them as to which of them is best in deed.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:7)

Adornments. That is the language Allah uses. And what is Dajjal’s entire strategy? Adornment. Illusion. Manipulating what the eye sees so the heart forgets what it knows. Surah Al-Kahf trains the believer to distrust this glitter and cling to truth.

And it closes with a direct instruction for anyone who claims to long for Allah I’m the very last verse of the surah;

فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَآءَ رَبِّهِۦ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِۦٓ أَحَدًۭا

“So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:110)

The Dajjal will blur reality. Surah Al-Kahf clears your sight.

The Dajjal will make falsehood look powerful. Surah Al-Kahf anchors you in truth.

The Dajjal will demand loyalty to spectacle. Surah Al-Kahf roots your loyalty in revelation.

And subhanallah, the most powerful part of all this is Prophet Muhammad  ﷺ told us that when the believer is thrown into what appears to be Dajjal’s fire, he should recite the opening verses of Surah Al-Kahf, and it will be cool and safe for him, just as the fire was for Prophet Ibrahim (عليه السلام)

Imagine that.

In the greatest deception humanity will ever see, the protection is the Qur’an.

This surah.

Every Friday is not routine.

It is literally a rehearsal.

Companions of the Cave: The Fitnah of Religion

The first story Allah gives us in Surah Al-Kahf is faith under pressure.

The story of the companions of the cave

This story was revealed in Makkah, at a time when the Prophet ﷺ himself was being pressured and mocked. The Quraysh had even consulted the People of the Book to test him, and one of the questions they brought back was about these young men of the past.

These companions were said to have been righteous young men who lived in a society drowned in idol worship. Their king enforced polytheism, and rejecting it was rebellion. They refused to worship anything besides Allah, and they did so openly.

They said:

هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ قَوْمُنَا ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ ءَالِهَةً ۖ لَّوْلَا يَأْتُونَ عَلَيْهِم بِسُلْطَـٰنٍۢ بَيِّنٍۢ

“These, our people, have taken besides Him other gods. Why do they not bring for them clear authority?”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:15)

Their faith was not inherited blindly. It was reasoned. Conscious. Evidence-based.

Even as youth, they understood that religion cannot rest on what had been passed on to them through culture,  it must rest on truth.

When the pressure intensified and their lives were threatened, they made a decision that defines this entire story: they walked away.

إِذْ أَوَى ٱلْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى ٱلْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا

“When the youths retreated to the cave and said, ‘Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and facilitate for us from our affair right guidance.’”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:10)

They didn’t  wait for a miracle before acting. They left their homes, their status, their safety. Then they made duaa.

Tawakkul.

Take the means, and rely on Allah.

And so Allah responded in a way that only He can.

فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ فِى ٱلْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا

“So We cast over their ears in the cave for many years.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:11)

وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ

“And We turned them to the right and to the left.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:18)

He put them into a deep sleep for centuries, 300 years. The scholars mention that their hearing was sealed because sound is what disturbs sleep first. And Allah turned them “right and to the left” because, according to Ibn ʿAbbas رضي الله عنه, had they not been turned, the earth would have consumed their bodies.

Subhanallah even in that detail, there is care. Even in their unconscious state, Allah was preserving and protecting them completely. 

Isn’t Allah Al-Wadud, the most caring?

They remained;

وَلَبِثُوا۟ فِى كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَـٰثَ مِا۟ئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَٱزْدَادُوا۟ تِسْعًا

“And they remained in their cave for three hundred years and exceeded by nine.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:25)

When they awoke, the world had changed. The tyranny they fled was gone. Tawheed had spread and what once made them fugitives made them signs of Allah’s power. Their sleep was a sign of resurrection.

The One who preserved them for centuries can resurrect every soul on the Day of Judgement. Subhanallah

This story teaches us that the fitnah of religion is not always prisons and executions. It can be in our everyday lives.

For many Muslims living in the West, the trial is belittlement.

It is being made to feel backwards for praying. Disgusting for wearing our hijab.  Extreme for lowering your gaze. Rigid for saying “I can’t” when everyone else says “just relax.” It is the jokes, the headlines. The way Islam is spoken about in classrooms, on panels, in the media, as if it is something to outgrow.

It is subtle, but constant and over time, that kind of pressure can make a person shrink.

This is our fitnah of religion.

The Companions of the Cave were not just escaping physical harm, they were refusing to let their belief be diluted by a dominant culture. They chose to stand apart rather than blend in. And that choice cost them comfort and status.

Holding onto your Islam today may cost you social ease. It may make you the only one in the room who looks different, sounds different, lives differently. But Allah says about them:

وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ

“And We made firm their hearts.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:14)

That firmness is the miracle.

Because the greatest protection was not the cave.

It was a heart that refused to feel inferior just for obeying Allah.

The Man with Two Gardens: The Fitnah of Wealth

After the trial of faith, Allah moves us to a different kind of test.

Prosperity.

The fitnah of wealth.

Allah says:

‎وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا رَّجُلَيْنِ جَعَلْنَا لِأَحَدِهِمَا جَنَّتَيْنِ مِنْ أَعْنَـٰبٍۢ وَحَفَفْنَـٰهُمَا بِنَخْلٍۢ وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمَا زَرْعًا

“And present to them an example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens of grapevines, and We surrounded them with palm trees and placed between them crops.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:32)

This man had everything. Lush gardens. Flowing rivers. Security. The kind of wealth people point at and say, “He made it.” But Allah tells us:

‎وَدَخَلَ جَنَّتَهُۥ وَهُوَ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِۦ

“And he entered his garden while wronging himself.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:35)

Wronging himself. Not others. Because wealth is not dangerous in itself. The danger is what it quietly does to the heart.

SubhanAllah

When you have money, that itself is a test. It tests your iman. We think about what more we can get?

More, more, more. Consumerism. This bag. That abaya. Another hijab. More makeup. Buy more, spend more.

It’s never enough.

I know I struggle with it. Spending without thinking. Without realising it can chip away at sincerity. But this wealth Allah gave us, it isn’t ours.

It’s a trust.

If you are wealthy, the test is simple: do you give back? Do you acknowledge this money is from Allah? Are you grateful in action, not just in words?

Gratitude is not only saying Alhamdulillah, I learned from a lecture.

It is using what you have in a way that pleases the One who gave it to you. But the man in the story said:

‎مَآ أَظُنُّ أَن تَبِيدَ هَـٰذِهِۦٓ أَبَدًا

“I do not think this will ever perish.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:35)

And then:

‎وَمَآ أَظُنُّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ قَآئِمَةً

“And I do not think the Hour will ever come.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:36)

This is the fitnah of wealth.

It convinces you that you are secure. That you built this. That you control this. That accountability feels distant. His believing companion gently reminded him:

‎وَلَوْلَآ إِذْ دَخَلْتَ جَنَّتَكَ قُلْتَ مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِ

“Why, when you entered your garden, did you not say: ‘This is what Allah has willed; there is no power except with Allah’?”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:39)

لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِ. That phrase protects the heart. It reminds you that nothing you have stands without Allah. Because wealth is not only millions in the bank. Your degree. Your platform. Your beauty. Your stability. Your family. The life you curated and feel proud of.

All of that is wealth

And slowly, gratitude can turn into ownership. Until Allah shows how fragile it all is:

‎فَأُحِيطَ بِثَمَرِهِۦ

“So his fruits were destroyed.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:42)

Overnight, it collapsed. That is the nature of this dunya. Everything is temporary and Allah already told us this;

‎ٱلْمَالُ وَٱلْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَٱلْبَـٰقِيَـٰتُ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا

“Wealth and children are but adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in hope.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:46)

Adornment. SubhanAllah, that word again. Adornment is something you wear. It can be removed. The fitnah of wealth is subtle because it doesn’t look like a test. Form the outside It looks like blessing. It feels like achievement.

But Surah Al-Kahf asks: has your comfort made you forget your dependence? Has your success made you feel untouchable? Has your stability made the Hereafter feel far away?

The man with two gardens didn’t fall because he had wealth.

He fell because his heart belonged to it.

And that test does not require two gardens.

It only requires a heart that forgets to say, Alhamdulillah…

and hands that don’t do good with what they’ve been given.

Prophet Musa and Al-Khidr: The Fitnah of Knowledge

After the fitnah of wealth, Allah brings us to a test that feels noble.

Knowledge.

And that is exactly why it is dangerous.

The story begins with Prophet Musa (عليه السلام), one of the Ulul 'Azm, a messenger, a man who spoke directly to Allah.

Yet even he was not beyond learning. Allah says:

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِفَتَىٰهُ لَآ أَبْرَحُ حَتَّىٰٓ أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِىَ حُقُبًا

“And when Musa said to his young companion, ‘I will not cease traveling until I reach the junction of the two seas, even if I travel for ages.’”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:60)

Why would a prophet travel like this?

Because he had been informed that there was someone who possessed knowledge he did not. Imagine that. The one who received revelation still journeyed to learn. Subhanallah . When they finally arrived, Allah says:

فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ رَحْمَةً مِّنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَـٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا

“So they found a servant from among Our servants to whom We had given mercy from Us and taught knowledge from Our own.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:65)

This was Al-Khidr, a righteous servant of God,gifted with immense divine wisdom and mystical knowledge. And look at Prophet Musa’s humility:

هَلْ أَتَّبِعُكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُعَلِّمَنِ مِمَّا عُلِّمْتَ رُشْدًا

“May I follow you so that you teach me from what you have been taught of right guidance?”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:66)

May I follow you. Look at his adab. That is humility before knowledge.

And honestly, this part makes me realise how much I love being a philomath, a lover of learning.

There is something in me that comes alive when I discover something new in this deen. During these reflections, every time I’ve learned something new, I’ve run to my family and spoken about it endlessly. I’ll sit with my mum and ask what she knows, and we learn together. There is a sweetness in that, a bond built through knowledge.

But this story doesn’t let me stay comfortable. Because knowledge is also a test.

The journey begins. Al-Khidr damages a boat owned by poor fishermen. Musa objects.

Then Al-Khidr kills a young boy. Musa is shaken.

Then he rebuilds a wall in a town that refused them hospitality. Again, Musa questions.

Each time, it looks wrong.

Until Al-Khidr finally explains.

The damaged boat? It belonged to poor men. A tyrant king was seizing every good vessel. A small defect saved them.

The boy? He would have grown to oppress his righteous parents. His death was a mercy, and Allah would replace him with someone better.

The wall? Beneath it was treasure for orphaned boys whose father had been righteous. It was preserved until they matured.

And after showing such impressive knowledge Al-Khidr says:

رَحْمَةً مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَمْرِى

As a mercy from your Lord. And I did not do it of my own accord.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:82)

This story humbles the mind. You can know a lot and still not see everything. You can witness something painful and still not understand the mercy hidden inside it.

And then it turns the mirror on me.

If Allah gives me knowledge, whether it’s a language, an education, access, understanding, what do I do with it?

When my uncle asks me to write an email because he struggles. When a relative needs help navigating a system I understand. When someone asks me a question I’ve already explained before.

Do I get frustrated? Do I feel superior? Is my patience so thin that I cannot help?

Or do I see knowledge as amanah?

Do I use it to elevate myself, or to serve?

The fitnah of knowledge is not just arrogance in debate. Sometimes it is kibr in the heart. Looking down quietly. Feeling above. But this knowledge isn’t mine.

Allah gave it to me.

And I will be asked about it.

Prophet Musa’s journey teaches me that loving knowledge is beautiful. Wanting to learn, to teach, to sit with family and unpack the stories of this deen, that is a blessing. But the real protection from the fitnah of knowledge is humility.

To seek constantly. To serve gently.

And to remember, no matter how much I learn;

Allah knows all and I do not.

And what I think is my knowledge is simply a mercy from Al-‘Alīm.

Dhul-Qarnayn: The Fitnah of Power

After faith. After wealth. After knowledge.

Allah brings us to the final trial.

Power.

Allah says:

وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَن ذِى ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا

“And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, ‘I will recite to you about him a report.’”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:83)

Who was he? He was a powerful ruler, granted vast authority across the world. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated that he is famous with title of Dhul Qarnain (One who possesses two horns) because he has visited both horns, the two polls of the world.

إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ سَبَبًا

“Indeed, We established him upon the earth, and We gave him from everything a means.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:84)

Allah gave him control, resources and great influence.

And that is the fitnah here, because power amplifies what is inside you.

The Qur’an walks us through three of Dhul Qarnain’s great expeditions. First, he travelled west:

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ

“Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a dark spring…”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:86)

There he encountered a people and Allah gave him a choice: punish or show mercy.

He ruled with justice; punishing oppression and rewarding belief. Then he travelled east:

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا

“Until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising upon a people for whom We had not made against it any shelter.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:90)

A vulnerable people who did not have any houses or shelter. They would hide in the caves of mountains or underground tunnels at the time of sunrise as the sun would begin to set they used to come out of the caves and searched for their sustenance. Yet again, Dhul Qarnain did not exploit them. Then came the third journey where he travelled north; the one most people remember.

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّدَّيْنِ

“Until, when he reached between two mountains…”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:93)

Between two mountain passes, he met a people who could barely communicate. They complained:

إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ

“Indeed, Gog and Magog are corrupters in the land…”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:94)

Ya’juj and Ma’juj, from the descendants of Yafith ibn Nuh according to many narrations, were vast in number and destructive. They would consume crops, devastate lands, and spread chaos.

The people offered Dhul-Qarnayn payment if he would build a barrier between them.

But look at his response:

قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّى فِيهِ رَبِّى خَيْرٌ

“He said, ‘What my Lord has established me in is better…’”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:95)

He didn’t take advantage of their fear. He didn’t monetise their desperation. He attributed his power to Allah and only asked for their cooperation and strength. Together, they constructed a massive barrier of iron and molten copper:

فَمَا ٱسْطَـٰعُوٓا۟ أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا ٱسْتَطَـٰعُوا۟ لَهُۥ نَقْبًا

“So they were unable to scale it, nor were they able to pierce it.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:97)

And yet, after completing such a task and being successful, he didn’t stand back in pride.

قَالَ هَـٰذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّى

“He said, ‘This is a mercy from my Lord.’”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:98)

Subhanallah. Power did not enter his heart. He then acknowledged that the wall itself was temporary.

فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ رَبِّى جَعَلَهُۥ دَكَّآءَ

“But when the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it level.”

(Surah Al-Kahf 18:98)

Near the end of time, that barrier will fall. Ya’juj and Ma’juj will surge forth as one of the major signs of Qiyamah:

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍۢ يَنسِلُونَ

“Until when Gog and Magog are released, and they will surge down from every elevation.”

(Surah Al-Anbiya 21:96)

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  told us they will spread corruption across the earth, consuming resources, overwhelming populations, until Prophet Isa (عليه السلام) will make duaa to Allah and they will be destroyed by a plague sent upon them.

Subhanallah

Power is temporary. Even the strongest walls will collapse when Allah wills.

This story confronts us in a different way.

Most of us will never rule nations , but we do hold smaller forms of power every day. Authority in our homes. Influence in friendships. A following online. Decision making at work. The ability to affect someone weaker than us.

The fitnah of power is subtle. It is control without humility and leadership without justice.

Dhul-Qarnayn teaches that real strength is not domination. It is restraint. It is service. It is remembering that every authority is a trust.

And maybe the most powerful part of this story is that he never saw himself as self-made, instead he said, “This is a mercy from my Lord.”

If Allah gives you influence, it is mercy.

If He gives you a voice, it is mercy.

If He gives you responsibility, it is mercy.

But mercy can become misused if the heart forgets.

The fitnah of power asks one question:

When Allah gives you control, do you see yourself, or do you see Him?

Because kingdoms collapse. Influence fades. Walls fall.

But the One who granted it

Remains.

Reflections

SubhanAllah.

The very surah that protects us from the greatest fitnah, Dajjal, is the one that gently walks us through four others first.

It feels intentional.

Before the ultimate deception, Allah teaches me to recognise the smaller ones already living in my heart.

Am I embarrassed of my faith?

Too attached to comfort?

Proud of what I know?

Subtly controlling when given responsibility?

I once read something that stayed with me, Surah Kahf teaches us to;

Leave what you must. Abandon who you must. Sacrifice whatever you must, just to preserve your faith and avoid fitnah in your deen.

Every Friday, it pulls something out of me. It humbles me, reminds me that everything we cling to whether; belief, wealth, knowledge, influence, they’re all a test.

And maybe that is the real protection. Not just memorising verses, but allowing them to correct me.

Because Dajjal will exploit arrogance, attachment and illusion.

And Surah Al-Kahf spends 110 ayahs dismantling them inside me first.

May Allah give us the courage to leave whatever threatens our akhirah, even when it hurts.

Ameen

Thank you for reading, May Allah reward you immensely 🤍