Taraweeh Top 🔟 :

Juz 8 (Surah Al-An’am and Surah Al-A’raf).

Here are 10 fruits 🍐 from the language of Quran:

1.) The verb حَشَرَ means to gather [from the root (ح - ش - ر), with the same meaning], and often refers to the act of resurrection after death ⚰. This word is seen frequently in the Quran, such as here: وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوٓا۟ أَيْنَ شُرَكَآؤُكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ [“The Day We will gather them all together then ask those who associated others with Allah in worship, ‘Where are those gods you used to claim?’” (6:22)]. In fact, one common way to say Day of Judgment is يَومُ الحَشْرِ (literally “The Day of Gathering”). Interestingly, if one adds a taa’ marbuta (ة) to the word حشر, it becomes حَشَرَةَ, which means “insect.” 🐞

2.) The word زُخْرُف refers to elaborate decorations 💎, as appears in the Quran: وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِىٍّ عَدُوًّۭا شَيَـٰطِينَ ٱلْإِنسِ وَٱلْجِنِّ يُوحِى بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ زُخْرُفَ ٱلْقَوْلِ غُرُورًۭا ۚ [“And so We have made for every prophet enemies, devilish humans and jinn, whispering to one another with elegant words of deception” (6:112)]. This word refers to the elegant words of deception among humans and jinn. The word زُخْرُف also generally refers to the glitz and glamor ✨ of this world, and believers are warned to be careful not to succumb to this.

3.) The root (ن - ف - س) means the emission of a breeze. From this root, we obtain the word نَفْسٌ, which refers to “soul” or “self” and its plural is أَنْفُسٌ, such as that which occurs in verse 6:123: وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا فِى كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ أَكَـٰبِرَ مُجْرِمِيهَا لِيَمْكُرُوا۟ فِيهَا ۖ وَمَا يَمْكُرُونَ إِلَّا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ (“And so We have placed in every society the most wicked to conspire in it. Yet they plot only against themselves, but they fail to perceive it”). Another plural is نُفُوسٌ. Both “soul” and “self” are valid translations, depending on the context. If the sukun on the _faa_ is changed to a fathah, then the word becomes نَفَسٌ, which means “breath” 🫁, and its plural is أَنْفَاسٌ.

4.) The root (ش - ر - ح) gives the meaning of opening or expanding something. From this, we obtain the verb شَرَحَ means “to split apart” or “to explain.” This verb is used more than once to refer to the splitting of the chest in order to receive God’s Blessings, such as in verse 6:125: فَمَن يُرِدِ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُۥ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُۥ لِلْإِسْلَـٰمِ (“Whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens their heart to Islam”). The word شَرْح also refers to an explanation of a text, and it is called as such because it “splits open” the meaning of the text so that it is clear to the reader.

5.) The word دَرَجَة (and its plural of دَرَجَاتٌ) means “ranks” or “levels,” and often is used to describe the ranks of the believers in both this world and the next, but it can also be used to describe the ranks of the oppressors and disbelievers, such as how it occurs in verse 6:132: وَلِكُلٍّۢ دَرَجَـٰتٌۭ مِّمَّا عَمِلُوا۟ ۚ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ (“They will each be assigned ranks according to their deeds. And your Lord is not unaware of what they do”). The root (د - ر - ج) refers to the gradual passage of something into something else. This root is also related to the derived word دَرَجٌ (“stairs”), called such because one climbs a set of stairs gradually, step by step. Another (more modern) word is دَرَّاجَةٌ (“bicycle”) 🚴, called as such because one moves it pedals gradually in order to ride it.

6.) The word زَيتُونَةٌ means “olive,”🫒 which is a symbol of purity and wholesomeness. The olive has sacred status in Islam due to its mention in the Quran, such as in this verse: وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِۦ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهُ خَضِرًۭا نُّخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبًّۭا مُّتَرَاكِبًۭا وَمِنَ ٱلنَّخْلِ مِن طَلْعِهَا قِنْوَانٌۭ دَانِيَةٌۭ وَجَنَّـٰتٍۢ مِّنْ أَعْنَابٍۢ وَٱلزَّيْتُونَ وَٱلرُّمَّانَ مُشْتَبِهًۭا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَـٰبِهٍ [And He is the One Who sends down rain from the sky—causing all kinds of plants to grow—producing green stalks from which We bring forth clustered grain. And from palm trees come clusters of dates hanging within reach. ˹There are˺ also gardens of grapevines, olives, and pomegranates, similar ˹in shape˺ but dissimilar ˹in taste˺” (6:99)].

7.) The verb أَسْرَفَ means “to waste, be in excess”. It appears in verse 6:141: حَصَادِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ (“but do not waste. Surely He does not like the wasteful”). Here, God mentions His innumerable blessings that He bestowed upon humankind, among which are the palm trees 🌴, crops, olives 🫒, and pomegranates. He also warns the believers not to be wasteful, as He does not like the wasteful (المُسْرِفِينَ)

8.) The word شَرِيكٌ means “partner,” and is often used in the Quran to confirm that God has no partner, such as in verse 6:163: لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُۥ ۖ وَبِذَٰلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ (“He has no partner. So I am commanded, and so I am the first to submit”). This word comes from the root (ش - ر - ك), which means “to share, participate.” Its plural is شُرَكَاءُ, which is also commonly used in the Quran, often to refer to the “partners” that the idolaters ascribe to God. In Modern Standard Arabic, the word شَرِيك can refer to a business partner, and the word شَرِكَةٌ refers to a business company.

9.) The word صَدْرٌ refers to the chest, and is also found in the Quran, such as in verse 7:2: كِتَـٰبٌ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلَا يَكُن فِى صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌۭ مِّنْهُ لِتُنذِرَ بِهِۦ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (“A Book sent down to you; do not let anxiety into your heart regarding it, so with it you may warn ˹the disbelievers˺, and as a reminder to the believers”). While this word refers to the chest, it often has a deeper meaning. The صَدْرٌ is the area that houses human emotions, both positive ones (such as happiness) as well as negative ones (such as depression and anxiety). The Quran often references this, stating that God is the one who removes anxiety and difficulties from our hearts and chests through His Remembrance, and that He is the One who removes all difficulties in our lives. After all, He states in the well-known verse: أَلَا بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ ٱلْقُلُوبُ [“ Surely in the remembrance of God do hearts find comfort” (13:28)]. Additionally, the word مَصْدَر is another derived word, which linguistically means “source or reference 📖,” but in the science of morphology, the term مَصْدَر refers to the tenseless verbal noun/gerund.

10.) The word إِبْلِيسُ refers to the Shaytan (Satan/Devil), who was one of the most obedient and elite among the Jinn, but who disobeyed God’s Command by not bowing down to Adam عليه السلام, and thus, Iblis became cursed until the Day of Judgment. The word إِبْليسُ comes from the root (ب - ل - س), which means “to despair, lose hope 😔,” which is very fitting for the word إبليس, as it means the one who lost hope in the Mercy of God, thus aptly describing Shaytan. The name إِبْلِيسُ comes frequently in the Quran, such in this verse: وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ [“Surely We created you, then shaped you, then said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so they all did—but not Iblis, who refused to prostrate with the others” (7:11)].