Taraweeh Top 🔟
Juz 17 (Surah Al Anbiyaa and Surah Al Hajj)
Here are some beneficial fruits 🍐 from the Quran:
1.) The word غَفْلَةٌ means “heedlessness.” The root is (غ - ف - ل), which refers to leaving something out of forgetfulness (سَهْوٌ). This is apt for the word غَفْلَةٌ, in that a غَافِلٌ (heedless person) is someone who leaves vigilance and steadfastness out of forgetfulness and lack of care and attention. This root meaning and its various derivations are found frequently in the Quran, such as in the following verse: ٱقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍۢ مُّعْرِضُونَ [“˹The time of˺ people’s judgment has drawn near, yet they are heedlessly turning away” (21:1)], as the Quran frequently instructs believers to be careful about heedlessness.
2.) The root (ل - ه - و) means “to be distracted by something.” From this root, we obtain the word لَهْوٌ, which refers to distraction. Another derived word is the active participle of لَاهِيَةً, as is seen in the following verse: لَاهِيَةًۭ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّجْوَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ هَلْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا بَشَرٌۭ مِّثْلُكُمْ ۖ أَفَتَأْتُونَ ٱلسِّحْرَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ [“with their hearts ˹totally˺ distracted. The evildoers would converse secretly, ˹saying,˺ “Is this ˹one˺ not human like yourselves? Would you fall for ˹this˺ witchcraft, even though you can ˹clearly˺ see?” (21:3). Here, the word لَاهِيَة means “distracted,” referring to the hearts 🫀of many people in this world who are distracted by life’s vain pleasures. The Quran frequently reminds us not to be distracted by the temporary pleasures of this world. There is another root meaning of this root, which is “to expel something using one’s hand.” From this root meaning, we obtain the word اللُهْوَةُ, which is the material that is expelled from the middle of a grinder machine by the one who is kneading dough 🍞. From this root, we also obtain the word اللُّهَاةُ (“uvula”), called as such because food is “expelled” to the back of the throat where it meets the uvula.
3.) The root (ر - ك - ض) suggests the meaning of movement on one’s feet. From this, we obtain the verb يَرْكُضُ, which means “to run,” 👟 as is seen in these verses: فَلَمَّآ أَحَسُّوا۟ بَأْسَنَآ إِذَا هُم مِّنْهَا يَرْكُضُونَ - لَا تَرْكُضُوا۟ وَٱرْجِعُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ مَآ أُتْرِفْتُمْ فِيهِ وَمَسَـٰكِنِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُسْـَٔلُونَ [“When the wrongdoers sensed ˹the arrival of˺ Our torment, they started to run away from their cities. ˹They were told,˺ “Do not run away! Return to your luxuries and your homes, so you may be questioned ˹about your fate˺” (21:12-13) . Here, the wrongdoers are described as fleeing (“running”) from the Punishment. The verb رَكَضَ can also be used to describe a person mounting his beast by tapping the animal 🐎 with his legs in order to mount it. This verb is also used in the language to refer to the movement of the fetus while in the mother’s womb.
4.) The root (خ - ل - د) refers to stability and adherence to something. The verb خَلَدَ means “to live eternally,” and its active participle form is خَالِدٌ (“eternally abiding therein”) (which is also a common male name: “Khalid”), the plural version of which is seen in the following verse: وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرٍۢ مِّن قَبْلِكَ ٱلْخُلْدَ ۖ أَفَإِي۟ن مِّتَّ فَهُمُ ٱلْخَـٰلِدُونَ [“We have not granted immortality to any human before you ˹O Prophet ﷺ˺: so if you die, will they live forever?” (21:34). Here, the word الخَالِدُونَ means “those who live eternally,” along with the gerund (مصدر) version of الخُلْدٌ, meaning “immortality.”
5.) The root (ك - ل - ء) has three distinct root meanings: 1.) observation and monitoring, 2.) relating to plants, and 3.) relating to body parts. As for the first root meaning, we obtain the verb (كَلَأَ - يَكْلَأُ), as occurs in the following verse: قُلْ مَن يَكْلَؤُكُم بِٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ۗ بَلْ هُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِم مُّعْرِضُونَ [Ask ˹them, O Prophet ﷺ,˺ “Who can defend you by day or by night against the Most Compassionate?” Still they turn away from the remembrance of their Lord” (21:42)]. Here, the verb يَكْلَؤُكُم means “to preserve and safeguard.” Its gerund (مصدر) is الكِلَاءَة, which means “preservation” (حِفْظٌ). The relationship to its root meaning is that by preserving and safeguarding something, one has to observe and monitor it. As for the second root meaning of “plants,” we obtain the derived word الكَلَأ, which refers to shrubbery and herbage 🌾. The earth can also be referred to as الأرضُ المُكْلِئَةُ, meaning “land that is lush with herbage and pasture.” As for the third root meaning of “body parts,” we obtain the derived from كُلْيَة, which means “kidney,” and its plural of كُلًى (“kidneys”).
6.) The root (ذ - ه - ل) indicates the meaning of being distracted by something due to intense fear and dread. The derived verb of ذَهَلَ means to neglect something due to a frightening distraction. This verb is seen in the following verse: يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّآ أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا [“The Day you see it, every nursing mother will abandon what she is nursing, and every pregnant woman will deliver her burden” (22:2)]. This verse describes nursing mothers abandoning their babies out of sheer dread on the Day of Judgment, which serves as a frightening “distraction.”
7.) The root (ت - ل - و) gives the meaning of following something. From this root, we obtain the verb تَلَا - يَتْلُو, which means “to recite,” and its verbal noun (مصدر) of تِلَاوَةٌ (“recitation”). This verb is seen in its passive form in the following verse: وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُنَا بَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ تَعْرِفُ فِى وُجُوهِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ٱلْمُنكَرَ [“Whenever Our clear revelations are recited to them, you ˹O Prophet ﷺ˺ recognize rage on the faces of the disbelievers” (22:72)]. This verb relates to its root meaning in that the recitation of the Quran follows ayah by ayah in succession. Another meaning of this same verb is for something to follow something else in succession. From this meaning, we obtain the commonly-used word التَّالِي, which means “the following [item/action].”
8.) The root (ه - و - ي) gives the meaning of emptiness and falling. From this root, we obtain the word هَوَاءٌ (“air”), which is an expression of emptiness. Also from this root, the verb (هَوَى - يَهْوِي) means to fall down (سَقَطَ). We see this present tense form used in the following verse: حُنَفَآءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِۦ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ ٱلطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِى بِهِ ٱلرِّيحُ فِى مَكَانٍۢ سَحِيقٍۢ [“Be upright ˹in devotion˺ to God, associating none with Him ˹in worship˺. For whoever associates ˹others˺ with God is like someone who has fallen from the sky and is either snatched away by birds or swept by the wind to a remote place” (22:31)]. Here, the phrase تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ literally means “the wind made it fall down,” but is being translated as “the wind caused it to be swept away” to align with the context. From this derivation, we also obtain the word هَاوِيَة, which refers to Hellfire as a bottomless pit, called as such because the disbelievers and criminals will fall in it. The word هَوَى (“carnal desire”) and its plural of أَهْوَاءٌ (“carnal desires”) also comes from this root, and from this, we have the verb (هَوِيَ - يَهْوَى), which means “to love, desire, and crave.” Note the change in meaning by changing the harakat: هَوِيَ - يَهْوَى means “to desire and crave,” but هَوَى - يَهْوِي means “to fall down”!
9.) The root (و - ج - ل) gives the meaning of fear. Its past-tense version is وَجِلَ, as appears in this verse: ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَهُمْ وَٱلْمُقِيمِى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ [“those whose hearts tremble at the remembrance of God, who patiently endure whatever may befall them, and who establish prayer and donate from what We have provided for them” (22:35)], in which the ayah mentions the hearts of those who mention God tremble in fear and awe. The verb خَاف - يَخَاف - خَوفٌ also means “to fear.” What is the difference between these two? خَوف describes fear that is not necessarily linked to anxiety, whereas وَجَل does indicate the presence of anxiety. In other words, someone who has وَجَل has both fear and a pervasive sense of looming anxiety, but this is not necessarily so for someone who has خَوف. Here in this verse, the meaning of وَجَل indicates that the believers tremble in fear when they mention the Remembrance of God, such that they feel constant anxiety that they are not obeying Him with full measure, as they feel deficient in their obedience, which gives them a feeling of angst.
10.) The root (ه - د - م) gives the meaning of the collapse of something, such as buildings 🏢. From this root, we obtain the Form II verb هَدَّمَ, which means “to destroy, demolish.” Its passive version is found in the following verse: ٱلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّآ أَن يَقُولُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍۢ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَٰمِعُ وَبِيَعٌۭ وَصَلَوَٰتٌۭ وَمَسَـٰجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ كَثِيرًۭا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥٓ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَقَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ [“˹They are˺ those who have been expelled from their homes for no reason other than proclaiming: “Our Lord is God.” Had God not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of others, destruction would have surely claimed monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which God’s Name is often mentioned. God will certainly help those who stand up for Him. God is truly All-Powerful, Almighty” (22:40)]. A related verb (but different pattern) is Verb Form V تَهَدَّمَ, which means “to be destroyed” (rather than to destroy something else).
