Taraweeh Top 🔟

Juz 16 (Surah Al Kahf and Surah Ta Ha)

Here are some beneficial fruits 🍐 from the Quran:

1.) The verb تَسْتَطِيعُ means “to be able to do,” and occurs in its present tense form in the following verse: قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْرًۭا [“He replied, ‘Did I not say that you cannot have patience with me?’” (18:72)], as well as in this verse: ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًۭا [“This is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently” (18:82)]. In the former verse, the standard spelling of this verb (تَسْتَطِيعَ) is given. In the latter verse, however, the middle ت is not present, as the verb in this verse is تَسْطِع. Why is this ت deleted? Some scholars have posited that this is to show the urgency in the verse. In ayah 18:82, Khidr is explaining the rationale of his actions that seemed to be illogical at first. He ends by saying “This is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently”. Here, it is fitting that the middle ت is deleted, thus giving تَسْطِع, as an omission of a letter in the Quran from its conventional spelling is sometimes done for the purpose of expressing haste/urgency (عَجَلَةٌ) 👟, as if there is not enough time to even pronounce the full version of the verb. Here, Khidr is expressing the haste that Musa عليه الصلاة والسلام showed in his inability to observe quietly what Khidr was doing.

2.) The root (ف - ق - ه) means “to understand” and “to realize.” This root is seen in its present tense plural form in the following verse: حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّدَّيْنِ وَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمَا قَوْمًۭا لَّا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًۭا [“until he reached ˹a pass˺ between two mountains. He found in front of them a people who could hardly understand ˹his˺ language” (18:93)].  The word الفِقْهُ linguistically means “understanding” (فَهْمٌ). This word has now also come to mean the usually understood implication of the science of legal rulings (عِلْمُ الفِقْهِ).

3.) The word السَّفِينَة means “ship” 🚢, as appears in the following verse: أَمَّا ٱلسَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَـٰكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ فَأَرَدتُّ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا وَكَانَ وَرَآءَهُم مَّلِكٌۭ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًۭا [“As for the ship, it belonged to some poor people, working at sea. So I intended to damage it, for there was a ˹tyrant˺ king ahead of them who seizes every ˹good˺ ship by force” (18:79)]. Its root is (س - ف - ن), which refers to the removal or distancing of something from something else. The سَفِينَة is called this because it separates the waves of water from each other, thereby propelling it.

4.) The word بَحْرٌ means “ocean” 🌊, as appears in the same verse as above:  أَمَّا ٱلسَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَـٰكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ فَأَرَدتُّ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا وَكَانَ وَرَآءَهُم مَّلِكٌۭ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًۭا [“As for the ship, it belonged to some poor people, working at sea. So I intended to damage it, for there was a ˹tyrant˺ king ahead of them who seizes every ˹good˺ ship by force” (18:79)]. Its root is (ب - ح - ر), which indicates a meaning of vastness and spaciousness. The word بَحْرٌ aptly describes an ocean of vastness. Interestingly, another (less common) root meaning for ب - ح - ر is that of disease, and is often used to refer to the diseases of animals and livestock 🐎

5.) The word غُلَامٌ refers to a young boy or lad who has not yet reached puberty, and this word is seen in the following verse: وَأَمَّا ٱلْغُلَـٰمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَـٰنًۭا وَكُفْرًۭا [““And as for the boy, his parents were ˹true˺ believers, and we feared that he would pressure them into defiance and disbelief” (18:80)]. Its root is (غ - ل - م), which has two primary meanings: 1.) that of youthfulness, and 2.) agitation/commotion involving one’s carnal desires. Both root meanings are apt for the word غُلَام, because a غُلَام is a young boy, and young boys are known for having a surge of hormonal and emotional fluctuations.

6.) The word حُسْنَى means “Beautiful,” ☀️ and is the feminine version of the comparative word أَحْسَنُ.  This word حُسْنَى is commonly used in the expression الأَسْمَاءُ الحُسْنَى (“the Most Beautiful Names”), such as occurs in the following verse: ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ [“Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. He has the Most Beautiful Names” (20:8)].  Its root is (ح - س - ن), which means “to be good, wholesome, pure”. The word أَحْسَنُ is also a common male name, as is its feminine version حُسْنَى. Another related word is إِحْسَانٌ, which means “excellence,” as believers are enjoined to do everything with excellence.

7.) The word مُقَدَّس means “sacred.” It is used to refer to several sacred places, such as in the following verse: إِنِّىٓ أَنَا۠ رَبُّكَ فَٱخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ ۖ إِنَّكَ بِٱلْوَادِ ٱلْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًۭى [“It is truly I. I am your Lord! So take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Ṭuwa” (20:12)]. This verse refers to the Sacred Valley of Tuwa (طُوًى), in which Musa عليه السلام “spoke” to God. The root is (ق - د - س), which refers to cleanliness and purity. In the Arabic language, one can refer to the Earth 🌍 as الأَرْضُ المُقَدَّسَةُ to mean “pure land” (المُطَهَّرَةُ). Jannah (Paradise) can also be referred to as القُدْس, meaning “purity.” We also refer to Jerusalem as القُدْسُ, thus named after the idea of purity and sacredness. Archangel Jibril (Gabriel) is also referred to as رُوحُ القُدُس (“the soul of purity”) with this same idea of purity and sacredness. One of the names of God is القُدُّوس (“The Most Holy”), and He is called as such because He is far beyond having any partners, blemishes, or deficiencies.

8.) The word عُقْدَةٌ means “knot,” 🪢and it appears in this verse: وَٱحْلُلْ عُقْدَةًۭ مِّن لِّسَانِى [“and remove the impediment from my tongue” (20:27)], referring to the “knot” on the tongue of Musa عليه الصلاة والسلام. Where does this idea of a “knot” come from? According to Tafsir sources, when Musa عليه الصلاة والسلام was a child and was being raised in the palace of Firawn, he had grabbed the beard of Firawn, which had angered him. Firawn was a hot-tempered man by disposition, and he was notorious for killing anyone he wished on a whim. He was about to kill Musa عليه الصلاة والسلام for this minor thing, but his wife persuaded him not to harm him, stating that he is just a boy and does not understand what he has done. To prove this to Firawn, his wife gave him a proposition: place in front of Musa a hot ember (جَمْرَة) 🔥 and a date (تَمْرَة). If he chooses the date, that means Musa has intellect, and he should be “punished.” However, if he chooses the ember, that means he does not have intellect (as he chose something that hurts him), and he should not be punished. Musa عليه الصلاة والسلام ended up choosing the hot ember and put it in his mouth. Firawn was convinced and let Musa live. From this, it is believed that Musa obtained his stuttering problem, which is why Musa wanted his brother, Harun (Aaron) عليهما السلام, to come with him when he confronted Pharaoh, and Harun was considered to be more well-spoken than Musa عليهما الصلاة والسلام.

9.) The expression قُرَّة أَعْيُن is seen in various forms, such as how it occurs in the following verse: فَرَجَعْنَـٰكَ إِلَىٰٓ أُمِّكَ كَىْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ (“ So We reunited you with your mother so that her heart would be put at ease, and she would not grieve” (20:40). It literally means “coolness of the eyes,” with the intended meaning of tranquility and peace of mind. The root of the verb is (ق - ر - ر), which means “to settle down and stabilize,” which relates to this meaning in that when one settles down, one is able to enter a state of tranquility and peace. In the above verse, this expression is being used to describe the peace of mind that the mother of Musa receives when she is reunited with her son

10.) The verb فَطَرَ means “to create and originate”, and appears in the following verse: قَالُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْثِرَكَ عَلَىٰ مَا جَآءَنَا مِنَ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَٱلَّذِى فَطَرَنَا ۖ فَٱقْضِ مَآ أَنتَ قَاضٍ ۖ إِنَّمَا تَقْضِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَآ [“They responded, “By the One Who created us! We will never prefer you over the clear proofs that have come to us. So do whatever you want! Your authority only covers the ˹fleeting˺ life of this world” (20:72)]. Its root (ف - ط - ر) refers to opening something up and making it prominent. It also refers to splitting something open, such as the splitting of a seed during its germination 🌱.  From this root meaning, we obtain the word إِفْطَار (breaking of the fast), called as such because it “splits open” the fast. God is referred as to as فَاطِرُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ (“Originator of the Heavens and Earth”). There are several ways of saying “Creator,” three of which are: 1.) بَديعٌ and 2.) خَالِقٌ and 3.) فَاطِرٌ. What is the linguistic difference between these? A خَالِق is One who creates, but a بَدِيع is One who creates something out of nothing (“originating”). Therefore, while a person can be a “creator” of something, only God is the True Originator, as only He can create something out of nothing.  As for فَاطر, this means “to create something by splitting something open,” thus relating to its root meaning. God is فَاطِرُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ (“Originator of the Heavens and Earth”) in that He created the Heavens and the Earth by splitting them up, as according to some sources, the Heavens and the Earth were considered to be joined together before God split them apart.