Tarawih Top 🔟

Juz 21 (Surah Al-Ankabut and Surah Al Qasas)

Here are some beneficial fruits 🍐 from the Quran:

1.) The root (غ - ل - ب) indicates a meaning of power 💪, intensity, and overcoming something ⛰️. From this root, we obtain the verb غَلَبَ, which means “to overcome.”  This verb is seen in the following verses: غُلِبَتِ ٱلرُّومُ - فِىٓ أَدْنَى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ [“The Romans have been defeated - in a nearby land. Yet, following their defeat, they will triumph” (30:2-3). Here, God states that the Romans were overcome, but also states that after some time, the Romans will regain victory.

2.) The root (ر - و - ض) indicates two primary meanings: 1.) that of vastness and accommodation, and 2.) that of ease and facilitation.  The first meaning aligns with the derived word رَوضَةٌ (“garden”) 🏡, as this is a place of vastness and accommodation, and one can also apply the second root meaning of ease and facilitation to this word. This word is seen in the following verse: فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَهُمْ فِى رَوْضَةٍۢ يُحْبَرُونَ [“As for those who believed and did good, they will be rejoicing in a Garden” (30:15)].

3.) The root (ح - ب - ر) indicates a meaning of beauty and happiness 🌟. From this root, we obtain the word حَبَرٌ, which means “joy, mirth” (similar to the word فَرَحٌ, which also means “joy, happiness).  The verbal version of this verb is حَبَرَ - يَحْبُرُ (“to be joyful”), and its present-tense plural version (يُحْبَرُونَ) is expressed in the following verse: فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَهُمْ فِى رَوْضَةٍۢ يُحْبَرُونَ [“As for those who believed and did good, they will be rejoicing in a Garden” (30:15)]. 

4.) The root (ب - ر - ق) indicates the meaning of the illumination 💡 of something.  From the first root meaning, we obtain the derived word بَرْقٌ, which means “lightning,” so called because lightning illuminates upon striking the earth. This word is seen in the following verse: وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ يُرِيكُمُ ٱلْبَرْقَ خَوْفًۭا وَطَمَعًۭا وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ فَيُحْىِۦ بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَآ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يَعْقِلُونَ [“And one of His signs is that He shows you lightning, inspiring ˹you with˺ hope and fear.  And He sends down rain from the sky, reviving the earth after its death. Surely in this are signs for people who understand” (30:24)].

5.) The root (س - ل - ط) gives the meaning of power and overcoming. From this root, we obtain the word سُلْطَانٌ, which means “power, authority,” as appears in the following verse: أَمْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَـٰنًۭا فَهُوَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يُشْرِكُونَ [“Or have We sent down to them an authority which attests to what they associate ˹with Him˺?” (30:35)]. Here, the word سُلْطَان is being translated as “authority,” which is an apt translation and is aligned with its root meaning. 

6.) The root (ب - س - ط) refers to the lengthening 📏of something. From this root, we obtain the word بِسَاطٌ (“carpet”), called as such because it is spread out on the ground. The verbal version is بَسَطَ - يَبْسُطُ (“to extend or spread out”), as is seen in the following verse: أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَقْدِرُ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍۢ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يُؤْمِنُونَ [“Have they not seen that God gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills? Surely in this are signs for people who believe” (30:37)]. Here, the verse uses the phrase يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ to describe that God is “spreading out” His sustenance that He gives to His creation, which is a way of expressing His Vast Generosity in that the sustenance is lengthened and spread out across all of His creation. 

7.) The root (ر - ب - و) refers to growth and increase 📈. From this root, we obtain the word رِبًا (“usury”), called as such because it leads to the increase of the wealth owed in a loan. This word is seen frequently in the Quran, such as in the following verse: وَأَخْذِهِمُ ٱلرِّبَوٰا۟ وَقَدْ نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَكْلِهِمْ أَمْوَٰلَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ ۚ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا [“Taking interest despite its prohibition, and consuming people’s wealth unjustly. We have prepared for the disbelievers among them a painful punishment” (4:161)]. 

8.) The word النَّبِيُّ means “prophet”, as appears in verse 33:6. Its root is (ن - ب - أ), which means “the arrival of something from one place to another.” From this meaning, we obtain the derived meaning of “informing.”  From this word, we obtain the word نَابِئٌ, which refers to someone who moves from one land to another. And from this root, we obtain the word النَّبَأُ, which means “news” (الخَبَرُ). In addition, we obtain the word النَّبِيُّ (“prophet”) from this root, because a prophet is someone who informs (and warns) others via the prophetic message. This word النِّبيُّ is seen in the following verse: ٱلنَّبِىُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ [“The Prophet ﷺ has a stronger affinity to the believers than they do themselves” (33:6)].

9.) The root (م - ر - ض), according to classical sources, refers to that which causes a person to exit from the realm of healthiness. From this root, we obtain the word مَرَضٌ, which means “sickness/illness,” as occurs in the following verse: وَإِذْ يَقُولُ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌۭ مَّا وَعَدَنَا ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ إِلَّا غُرُورًۭا [“And ˹remember˺ when the hypocrites and those with sickness in their hearts said, “Allah and His Messenger have promised us nothing but delusion!” (33:12), in which the hypocrites are described as having a spiritually ill heart. This word is also used in modern medicine to refer to bodily illness, but has also been used in the world of Tasawwuf (التصوف) for centuries to describe the spiritual sickness of the heart that stems from a variety of illnesses. Many scholars have written famous works about the spiritual diseases of the heart, most notably إِحْيَاءُ عُلُومِ الدِّينِ (“Revival of the Sciences of the Faith”) by Imam Al Ghazali and also الدَّاءُ والدواءُ (“The Illness and the Remedy”) by Imam Al Jawzi, as well as تفصيل النشأتين وتحصيل السعادتين by Imam Ar-Raghib Al Asfahani, the book مَطْهَرَةُ القلوب (“Purification of the Soul”), among many others 📚.

10.) The root (ف - ر - ر) refers to fleeing and escaping 👟. The verb from this is فَرَّ - يَفِرُّ, and is frequently seen in the Quran. The gerund/infinitive (مَصْدَرٌ) is الفِرَار (“fleeing/escaping”). This is seen in the following verse: قُل لَّن يَنفَعَكُمُ ٱلْفِرَارُ إِن فَرَرْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْمَوْتِ أَوِ ٱلْقَتْلِ وَإِذًۭا لَّا تُمَتَّعُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا [“Say, ˹O Prophet ﷺ,˺ “Fleeing will not benefit you if you ˹try to˺ escape a natural or violent death. ˹If it is not your time,˺ you will only be allowed enjoyment for a little while.’” (33:16), in which it is mentioned that fleeing/escaping does not benefit so long as God decrees, for that which He decrees occurs undoubtedly.