In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful....

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful....

Introduction

This is a journal of my experience in life as as a Muslim convert. I share about the things I learn, question, reflect upon, achieve, and experience on the path of Islam. [96:1-5] Read! In the name of your Lord who created - Created the human from something which clings. Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful - He who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught the human that which he knew not.

About Maryam

I study Islamic Studies and International Business at the university, and enjoy studying political science and languages as well. On my free time I study Arabic, Hebrew, and religion. I am Guatemalan and American.I am also Spanish, Italian Scottish and German. I also speak Spanish, Japanese, and Italian. I love to learn about other cultures. I also love to learn about nutrition and fitness. I am very active in sports, outdoor activities and exercise, and flamenco dance class. I am fascinated with my country, Guatemala, it is such a beautiful place, full of variety and rich culture and history, especially the Maya. I LOVE to cook and I try to have a well-balanced diet. Someday I also hope to learn Amharic, Persian (Farsi), and Aramaic and I hope to travel to all of the middle east and Ethiopia, Japan, and Sicily.

Knowledge and Understanding

[2:269] He [Allah] grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is granted indeed receives a benefit overflowing. But none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
[20:114] High above all is Allah, the King, the Truth. Do not be in haste with the Qur'an before its revelation to you is completed, but say, "O my Sustainer! Increase my knowledge."
[3:190-191] Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day - there are indeed signs for men of understanding; Men who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth (with the thought) "Our Lord! Not for nothing have You created (all) this. Glory to You! Give us salvation from the suffering of the Fire."
[39:9] ...Say: Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know? It is those who are endued with understanding that remember (Allah's Message).
[58:11] ...Allah will raise up to (suitable) ranks (and degrees) those of you who believe and who have been granted knowledge.

Sheikh Mishary Al Afasy

He came to my mosque in the USA to recite from the Qur'an recently and when he prayed salat he cried. My first time to pray the late night prayer during Ramadan was when I went to Kuwait in the Grand Mosque and Mishary was reciting Surat Maryam! Sub7anAllah... Here is a video of nasheed (Islamic poetry) from him. He has been blessed with a beautiful voice for praising Allah, masha' Allah. You can see some of his recitations of the Qur'an at my mosque at this site - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg2QYHmRfY0&mode=related&search=

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Qur'an Class

Salam everybody,
I'm still working on reading all of the Qur'an. It is going great so far alhamdulellah. It is a very eye-opening and exciting experience and with each aya I read as I proceed through it, I feel a sense of exhilaration as though I am just discovering a buried treasure. I have a hard time putting the Qur'an down when I read it. I am about 3/4 of the way through it. I feel the peace of Allah come upon me more and more the further I get along. It is almost a feeling of being cleansed or purged from the inside out as with each Surah I read, I am being removed of any misconceptions or erroneous ideas I had about Islam before reading all of the Qur'an.

I am also attending Qur'an class at my mosque and I feel blessed to have a teacher who takes so much care to help us to learn the Surahs we study as well as really getting something from it. We just studied Surah Al-'Inshiqaq (84). In English this means "The Rending Asunder." It is considered to be one of the earlier Suwar. It seems to me to be a wake-up call in a sense. If you hear it recited, you would know what I mean. It is not fluid like many of the Surahs, but has a more blunt or strong rhythm to it at first. The first few ayas end abruptly so they are almost to be compared metaphorically to someone shaking you in order for u to wake up. Twice it also mentions the earth or some part of it "listening to our Lord." Almost as if He is saying "LISTEN TO ME you MUST hear." It is like to make us to be consciously aware of the coming Day and of the consequences we face and that it is in OUR hands essentially what kind of consequences those will be. It makes us face the question of what direction our life is going in. This Surah seems to bring into light our accountability and the reality of our actions and how they will affect our life in the hereafter and that we must face the reality that just living to live is not all there is to life, that there is something beyond it and that how we are here will reflect in that time. We will rejoice through the positive consequences of how we live, if we are righteous, and if we live lives of pride and pleasure without concern for Allah, then we will face consequences for that too.

One other point I want to make about this Surah, and all Suwar is that each and every letter in the Qur'an has a purpose and has perfect order. For example, in aya 16 and 17 and 18 it says;
"So, I swear by the afterglow of sunset; and by the night and whatever it gathers in its darkness, and by the moon when it is at the full. You shall certainly travel from state to stage. " - Surah 84:16-18

This is a very good example of what I meant by my comment above. If you see, Allah swears by the AFTERGLOW of sunset, that point at which the sun has just gone down and the sky is still lit up with beautiful colors and light. This is like twilight. There is a reason he used this instead of just saying by the sunset itself. This particular point of sunset. Also, he used the night to swear by. The night represents darkness which is where sin is committed and hidden away but it also represents a time of our day when we pray in devotion to Allah such as the late night prayers. I won't go into the interpretation as I would leave that for you to reflect upon, but I just wanted to point that out because this particular part of the surah really struck me.
I will write again soon insha2Allah. I welcome any comments or questions as always.
Fee eman Allah.

No comments: