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 ayah 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 verse 21:3, which 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 verse 21:12-13, in which the wrongdoers are described as fleeing 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”), the plural version of which is seen in verse 21:33 (الخَالِدُونَ), 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), occurs in verse 21:42, which 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 verse 22:2, in which the 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 relates to its root meaning in that the recitation of the Quran follows ayah by ayah in succession.

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). From this derivation, we obtain the word هَاوِيَة, which refers to Hellfire, 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.”

9.) The root (و - ج - ل) gives the meaning of fear. Its past-tense version is وَجِلَ, as appears in verse 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 22:35, this 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 verse 22:40, in which the Quran mentions that “Had God not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of others, monasteries would have surely been destroyed.” A related verb (but different pattern) is Verb Form V تَهَدَّمَ, which means “to be destroyed.”