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Juz 3 (Surah Al Baqarah end/ Al-Imran beginning)

The surah introduced in this Juz is Al Imran (the family of imran). They are a noble Jewish family from which Mary hails (not to be confused with the 🏈 play 😊). The miraculous story of Mary and the birth of Jesus is a key part of this section.

1. Kafir كَافِرٌ linguistically means farmer 🧑‍🌾. A farmer covers up a seed, whereas a Kafir (loosely translating as disbeliever) covers up the truth. It’s an active, not a passive process. In the Quran, the word كَفُور can also mean an ungrateful person, not necessarily a disbeliever.

2. Hub (حُبٌّ) means love, but Hab (حَبٌّ) means seeds. Same letters, just one difference in voweling/harakat (fathah to dammah).

3. Al-Islam (الإِسْلَام) is a verbal noun in the fourth (IV) pattern, indicating an active process that requires work. The root is salama, which means peace. The tenth form means to surrender (like in a battle 🏳️ ). Thus, by actively working to surrender lower desires and whims to God, one arrives at true peace and alignment with the natural order of the universe.

4. ilm (عِلم) means 'knowledge' and is spelled ع ل م. ‘aml (عَمل) is 'action' and is spelled ع م ل. Same letters, different order. Two wings to one bird 🦅, flip sides to one coin 🪙. You get the message!

5. Nur (نور) is light 💡 and is spelled ن و ر; Nar (نار) is fire 🔥 and is spelled ن ا ر. Same root, different voweling, connected in properties but one brings benefit and the other destruction. Like people and covers of books, the outward can be deceptive and ambiguous, but the inward state makes all the difference. Some attribute humility to the form of the letter و (as it is lower and bent) and arrogance to alif (ا), given its erect nature. The alif is also upon which the hamza (ء) sits in أنا which was part of Satan’s statement: ‘I am better than him.’ Ironically alif is quite a weak letter, to the extent that it cannot be part of the root, and often changed or dropped. You will find some spiritual sages avoid using the word ‘I’ (أنا) all together.

6. The phrase رُوح القُدُس = The Holy Spirit

Referring to Jibril (Gabriel) القُدُس Means holy and is the name given to Jerusalem. 🍉

7. The word أَحَاطَ - يُحِيطُ - إِحَاطَةٌ = Verb Form IV

“To encompass entirely”. Related word: مُحِيطٌ = ocean. Called such perhaps because the ocean 🌊 encompasses a large portion of the Earth.

8. The word وَلِيٌّ = Protector or Friend. Related word = وِلَايَةٌ = can mean “state/governorship” or “state of closeness with Allah”. Root (و - ل - ي) indicates meaning of closeness (قُرْبٌ)

9. Verb اِطْمَأَنَّ = to be consoled, to have one’s heart ♥️ at rest. Root = (ط - م - ن) = calm after the storm. Famous verse: ألا بذكر الله تطمئن القلوب ("Indeed with the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace")

10. Mihrab (مِحْرَاب) is generally a place devoted to prayer and commonly refers specifically to the small niche at the front of a mosque 🕌 where the imam stands. The Mihrab of Mary is associated with prayer, but also a place of miracles. The root for this word is حَرب ‘war,’ perhaps indicating that prayer itself is a type of battle against evil and ego. It is a place of prostration and proximity to God, our weapons against Satan, who refused to prostrate and thus was distanced from God. Whereas we draw nearest to God when we put our nose to the ground, Satan grew distant by metaphorically pointing his nose up in arrogance, and literally refusing to lower his head and earning the title Shaytan, ‘one who is away, to become distant.’