Taraweeh Top 🔟
Juz 22 (Surah Al Ahzab, Saba, Fatir, and Yasin).
Here are some beneficial fruits 🍐 from the Quran:
1.) The root (و - ل - ج) refers to the entry of something. From this root, we obtain the verb وَلَجَ - يَلِجُ, which generally means “to enter.” This verb is seen in verse 34:2, in which God states that He knows that which goes into the earth 🌍 and that which comes out of it. This root is also seen in the Form IV verb أَولَجَ - يُولِجُ that appears in verse 35:13, referring to the entry of the night 🌃 after the daytime and vice versa.
2.) The root (ع - ز - ب) gives the meaning of distancing oneself from something. This root is seen in the present-tense version (يَعْزُبُ) in verse 34:3, in which God states that not even an atom’s weight of something is hidden from Him. Interestingly, we also obtain the word العَزَبُ from this root, which refers to a celibate or single person, referred to as such because this person “distances” him/herself from a spouse.
3.) The word أَكْبَرُ is seen commonly in the Quran (such as in verse 34:3) and in other Islamic contexts as well. It means “greater/greatest,” and is known in English as the comparative or superlative form. In Arabic, we call this اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيلِ. In the verse 34:3, this word أَكْبَرُ comes in the context in which God states that not even an atom’s weight is hidden from Him in the heavens or the earth; nor anything smaller or larger than that. This word is also commonly known among Muslims because of its presence in the well-known phrase اللهُ أَكْبَرُ (“God is Greater”), which is commonly recited both in and outside of prayer. The past-tense verb (كَبُرَ) means “to become bigger/older.” The مَصْدَر (gerund, infinitive) from this is كِبَر (“old age 🧓”), not to be confused with a similar word كِبْرٌ (“arrogance”).
4.) The verb جَزَى - يَجْزِي is also commonly seen in the Quran. This verb means “to recompense.” It does not simply mean “to reward” (though it does take this meaning in verse 34:4) because this verb is used to “reward” both the disbelievers and the believers (in their own contexts, of course). Therefore, a more accurate translation is “to recompense/compensate” for their actions. This verb comes from the root (ج - ز - ي), which indicates the meaning of someone taking the place of someone else, and to then subsequently compensate said person for this.
5.) The root (ن - و - ب) gives the meaning of habituating to a place and also returning to said place. From this root, we obtain the verb أَنَابَ, which literally means “to return to,” but its more derived meaning as it appears in the Quran is “to return to God,” i.e., “to repent.” From this root, we also obtain the doer pattern مُنِيب, which appears in verse 34:9, which translates to “repenting, turning back to God.”
6.) The root (س - ع - ر) indicates the meaning of igniting something on fire 🔥. From this root, we obtain the word السَّعِير, which appears in several places in the Quran, including in verse 35:6. It would be translated as a blazing fire, and refers to the Hellfire. In this verse in particular, God warns of the deceptive nature of Satan 👿, and that those who follow him are setting themselves up to enter the Blazing Fire 🔥
7.) The root (ح - ي - ي) refers to the general notion of life. From this root, we obtain the Form IV verb أَحْيَى - يُحْيِي - إِحْيَاء, which means “to give life to, revive.” This verb is commonly seen in the Quran, such as in verse 35:9 (past-tense version: أَحْيَيْنَا = “We revived”), in which God states that He gave life to the earth after its death. This word is frequently used in the Quran with this context in mind, that God revives that which is thought to be dead. In fact, this is the essence of resurrection: God will revive the deceased for their reckoning. Imam Al-Ghazali (one of the most influential scholars of the Islamic tradition) also uses the مَصْدَر (gerund, infinitive) version of this verb in the title of his literary masterpiece إِحْيَاءُ عُلُومِ الدِّينِ (“The Revival of the Sciences of the Faith”) 📚
8.) The root (و - ز - ر) has two primary meanings: 1.) that of a sanctuary or refuge 🏠, and 2.) a burden or a heavy load 🪨. As for the first root meaning, this is seen in the verse 75:11, in which God states كَلَّا لَا وَزَرَ (“But no! There will be no refuge”). As for the second root meaning, this is seen in verse 35:18, in which God states وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌۭ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ (“No soul burdened with sin will bear the burden of another”). Sins are also referred to as وِزْرٌ in that sins burden the soul and weigh heavily on the human psyche.
9.) The root (ث - م - ر) refers to something that is a direct result of something else, such that this accumulates into something of benefit to others. From this root, we obtain the derived word ثَمَرَةٌ, which means “fruit,” so called because fruits are derived from seeds and also carry plentiful benefit and nutrition. There is also a dua in which one can say ثَمَّرَ اللهُ مَالهُ, which means “May God make you fruitful in your wealth.” A tree can be called ثَامِرٌ (doer pattern), thereby alluding to its ability to bear many fruits. And anything can be referred to as مُثْمِرٌ, meaning “fruitful,” even metaphorically. For example, one can say that their Quranic Arabic studies at Fawakih are مُثْمِرٌ, so they become fruitful and beneficial!
10.) The root (ص - ف - و) refers to the state of being free from impurities. From this root, we obtain the word ٌصَفَاء (“purity”) and the word صَفْوَةٌ, which refers to the purest/choicest part of something. This word is also part of the title of the famous contemporary tafsir text صَفْوَةُ التَّفَاسير (“The Elite of Quranic Exegesis”) by the late Imam As-Sabuni, who was a famous Syrian scholar living in Turkey, and who only recently passed away (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ). His tafsir text is well-known as a great way to practice reading Quranic Arabic with consideration of grammatical and morphological rules. This root is also where we get the augmented Verb Form VIII verb اِصْطَفَى (“to selectively choose someone”), and the اِسْمُ المَفْعُول (receiving pattern) of this verb is المُصْطَفَى (“The Chosen One”), referring to the Prophet ﷺ, as he the Most Perfect of all of God’s Creation, totally free of all impurities.