Level 7A & 7B – Al-Qur’an Studies. Spring 2018 Final Exam Study Guide. Br Zakaria
Spring 2018 Final Exam is on 3rd June 2018
In Surat Al-Furqan Ayat 27 to 31:
1) Ayat 27-29 of Surat Alfurqan tell us about Uqbah Ibn Abi Mueet who renounced Islam after accepting it and harmed the Prophet PBUH to please his best and close friend Umayah Ibn Khalaf and keep their friendship.
2) Ayat 27 of Surat Alfurqan represents the image of anyone who was gone astray under peer pressure from his best evil friend. The lost one is biting both of his hands in extreme regret that he did not follow the path of the Prophet PBUH.
3) Ayat 28 of Surat Alfurqan; the Zalem; unjust or wrong doer to himself; regrets taking the evil person as a close best friend. He doesn’t mention his evil best friend’s name out of total hatred to him and to make the Ayat general for any evil close friend.
4) In Ayat 29 of Surat Alfurqan, the Zalem admits the reason for his physical & emotional suffering is that his best evil friend has led away the Zalem from Iman and belief after it was known to him. The real cause is that Shaitan, the enemy of humans; lead them away from the straight path of Allah promising them easy life with pleasures but leaves and abandons them at the end.
5) Surat Alfurqan mostly deals with the issues of belief and mainly with belief in the hereafter. It presents imageries from the hereafter for both non-believers Kaferoon and believers Moumenoon and what led them to these situations. It stresses repentance and certain behaviors as the way to save oneself from Hell.
6) The lesson learned from Ayat 27-29 of Surat Alfurqan is to choose only good behaving Muslim friends and limit relations with bad Muslims & nonbelievers.
7) Abandoning the Quran can be in the form of not believe in it, not reading it, not understanding it or not follow its commands.
8) Shitan of Jinn or Shitan from humans are enemies of the prophets and their followers. We need to seek assistance from Allah to stay away from them.
In Surat Al-Furqan Ayat 63 to 77:
1) The non-believers dismissed Allah’s name Al-Rahman as strange but accepted the name Al-Rahim.
2) Al-Rahim is Allah’s name for being merciful to all His creation living & non-living. Al-Rahman is Allah’s name for being especially extra merciful for the believers.
3) عبید ABEID is plural for عبد ABD meaning slave. All creation are slaves to their creator; Allah; by fact of His creation to them and absolute control over them; even the non-believers.
4) The limited freedom; in scope & time, that Allah allowed the humans (and Jinn) to have, doesn’t oppose the fact of their slavery to Allah and Him being their Master. Humans’ freedom is limited like being on a leash.
5) Our problem is that we don’t accept or forget to be slaves to our Lord and Master, Allah. Unfortunately, we don’t understand that by rejecting or forgetting Allah as Lord & Master to be obeyed and pleased we fall into obeying and pleasing others who are too low and in no way can be compared to the majesty of Allah SWT. We become slaves to other authorities, society, fashion, loved ones, ourselves, drugs or even obsessions that we obey, please or satisfy disregarding Allah from consideration.
6) It is an honor to be a slave to Allah only otherwise we will be slaves to his creation without realizing.
7) عباد EBAD is plural for عابد ABED meaning worshiper. Worship is obedience and effort to please and satisfy the master and lord. Ebad Al-Rahman; the servants of The Most Merciful are of high honorable status.
8) Allah describes some of the attributes of a special humans who He named عباد الرحمن Ebad Al-Rahman associating them with His name Al-Rahman. What an honor!
9) 1st: Ebad Al-Rahman walks on earth in a moderate, serious & humble manner, neither arrogant nor pathetic. This resembles their nature, general personality and how they behave in all matters.
10) 2nd Ebad Al-Rahman ignores ignorant idiotic provocateurs. They don’t waste their precious time& resources in arguing with those who are not seeking the truth and walk away saying “peace”.
11) 3rd Ebad Al-Rahman spends their nights prostrating and standing repeatedly in extra night prayers. After performing the obligatory 5 daily prayers and the Sunnah prayers they sincerely & privately communicate with Allah in the quite of the night making extra effort to please their Lord & Master while others are asleep.
12) Inappropriately, some of us wrongly feel that Allah should be thankful that they hastily made the 5 mandatory daily prayers.
13) 4th Ebad Al-Rahman are afraid of the torment in Hell “ Jahanam” . They make Duaa asking Allah to save them from punishment recognizing that Hell “ Jahanam” has extreme unbearable torture and it is indeed the worst place to be for eternity.
14) 5th Ebad Al-Rahman if they spend they spend moderately; not big wasteful spenders nor cheap misers. They spend wisely the right amount for the correct purpose.
15) Spending too much to please Allah is not waste while spending the smallest amount in disobedience to Allah is a great excess.
16) Spending is from wealth which is everything a person has not only money. Wealth can be time, ability, knowledge etc.
17) 6th Ebad Al-Rahman don’t associate with Allah any other creation in their “Duaa”; asking and begging for their needs.
18) “Duaa” is an important form of worship. Worship isn’t only prayers. Asking from, obeying or pleasing others with or regardless of Allah are forms of worship to others.
19) Indeed a Muslim can ask others for assistance but with the belief that the others are not solely capable of giving the assistance needed without Allah.
20) 7th Ebad Al-Rahman don’t kill a sole with no reason, justification nor authority. Ebad Al-Rahman respect Allah’s creation and don’t kill as collateral damage nor for sport as an example. Sure, killing a harmful animal or insect is permitted.
21) 8th Ebad Al-Rahman don’t commit nor approach “Zina”; fornication. Fornication is having sex outside of marriage between a male and a female.
22) “Zina”; fornication is one of the greatest sins a human can commit.
23) The normal strong desire between male & female that Allah placed in humans is to be satisfied only thru marriage between opposite sexes.
24) Allah promised those who commit “Zina”; fornication with punishment in this life and double eternal humiliating torture in the day of “Qiama”; resurrection.
25) Some of the punishment in this life to fornicators: contracting and passing to loved ones sexually transmitted diseases, having illegitimate children disrupting the fornicators’ plans, having no real respect even from their partners, chance of falling in incest with their own unknown children from previous affairs or causing incest between siblings from previous fornicators, their illegitimate children have less respect in society, their illegitimate children may have no rights to inheritance, the fornicators have no rights over their partners, fornicators don’t have peace of mind thinking all the time that their loved ones are behaving in the same manner and fornicators have no blessings of Allah in their life.
26) Allah promised the societies that accepts the evil behavior of “Zina”; fornication of spreading of diseases that were not previously known among them. Today we have West Nile, Ebola, AIDS and Zika as examples.
27) Allah promised fornicators of torture of their organs where they sought pleasure in their graves until Judgment Day.
28) Allah promised fornicators double torture in Hell that fits their crime; after attracting their partners by their looks, they become among the ugliest creatures of Hell scaring other Hell residents. After attracting their partners by their perfumes, they become among the worst smelling creatures in Hell tormenting other Hell dwellers. Where they felt sinful pleasures and discharging bodily fluids, they have the severest pain spouting horrible liquids that become the awful drink of Hell occupants.
29) Allah revealed ways to avoid falling into fornication. Among them: Getting married to the right partner as soon as possible and not delay it. Avoid places where males & females unnecessarily intermingle such as parties or Prom Night. Have only good behaving friends who will help one do good and stop one from committing sins. Allah ordered males & females should dress moderately all-time except between married couple. Allah ordered females after reaching adolescence to cover their body except the face and hand with clothing that is not tight nor is see thru in a way that doesn’t attract attention by color nor design. Allah ordered females after reaching adolescence not to attract attention by smell, sounds of heels nor speak in a soft inviting tone to protect them from predators. Allah ordered people to lower their gaze and not stare at opposite sex. Allah forbade that a male and a female be alone (other than Maharem who are forbidden at all time from marriage). Allah ordered that siblings should be separated in sleeping arrangements after age six at least by having separate covers. Practice self-control by fasting the month of Ramadan and extra days as much as needed. Also, by practicing self-control by delaying the timing or reducing the amount to have of halal things we like such as ice-cream or playing video games.
30) Extra days the Profit PBUH advised to fast include, 6 days of the month of Shawal that follows Ramadan, the first 9 days of the Month of Hajj; Dhu-Alhejja, the 9th & 10th or 10th & 11th or the first 10 days of the month of Muharam, fasting the 13th, 14th & 15th days of each Hejeri month, fasting Monday and or Thursday each week. The maximum extra fasting days are each other day.
31) Muslim youth have a great one in a life time opportunity to be among one of seven groups Allah protects on Judgment Day by reaching manhood/ womanhood in obedience to Allah. Don’t waste it.
32) 9th Ebad Al-Rahman if they committed sins immediately make “Tawba” repentance to Allah.
33) For “Tawba” repentance to be accepted a person must immediately stop the sin in the present, feel really sorry about his sinful past and intend surly not to fall in that sin again.
34) To avoid falling back into sinful acts, one must direct the energy and time that were spent in sin to be spent in making good deeds.
35) Those who Allah accepts their sincere repentance, will have their sins omitted and replaced with rewards with Allah’s mercy.
36) 10th Ebad Al-Rahman don’t give false testimony nor be present in places where sins & falsehood take place.
37) 11th Ebad Al-Rahman avoid wasteful events and talk maintaining their self-respect & dignity.
38) 12th Ebad Al-Rahman when reminded of the commands and verses or miracles of their Lord, pay attention and nor ignore them as if they are deaf or blind.
39) 13th Ebad Al-Rahman make “Duaa” asking their Lord to give them spouses & descendants that are obedient to Allah, helpful to them in being noble humans and pleasant to their eyes.
40) 14th Ebad Al-Rahman make “Duaa” asking their Lord to make them leaders to those who practice Taqwa; Leaders to those protecting themselves from Hell, protecting their place in Heaven and protecting their Lords love to them.
41) 15th Ebad Al-Rahman practice great patience in being dedicated to please their Lord and obey Him. Patient in abstaining from sinful acts. Patient in resisting temptations and ridicule and discrimination of society. Patient in the face of tests of life such as hardship, illness or catastrophes. Patient in doing all that was listed before in good and bad times.
42) Ebad Al-Rahman are to be rewarded by their Lord & Master for their patience to please Him and their obedience to Him.
43) Allah places Ebad Al-Rahman in a high place in Heaven where they are greeted in peace for eternity. It is the best place to be.
44) Allah asks the Prophet PBUH to tell humanity that Allah doesn’t care for it except because those who always make “Duaa” asking and relying on Him constantly.
45) Allah warns humanity that those who lie about the truth revealed to them will eventually be stuck to punishment for their deeds.
46) In Surat Al-Furqan last 14 Ayat, Allah mentioned “Duaa” 2 times directly & 3 time indirectly due to its importance for humanity.
47) For the “Duaa” to be accepted, one must (a) be sincere; (b) consistent and repeating; (c) sure of Allah’s positive answer; (d) have a present mind and understanding of what he is saying not just recite memorized words & (e) be serious is his asking from Allah.
48) For the “Duaa” to be NOT accepted, one may (a) be indulged in Haram occupation, food, drink or clothing; (b) committing forbidden acts; (c) abandoning what Allah has made compulsory; (d) not doing what is needed for the “Duaa” to be accepted; or (e) asking Allah for what is forbidden and is Haram.
49) Allah may deal with the Duaa by (a) answer it as is in different time that He deems best for the person asking; (b) answer it in different form that He deems best for the person asking; or (c) save answering it in the form of reward in the hereafter.
50) The ideal Duaa: (a) begins & end with thanking Allah and asking Allah for greetings and peace upon His messenger PBUH; (b) while raising both opened hands (c) invoke the names of Allah relevant to the subject of Duaa, (d) mention good deeds the asking person made sincerely for Allah, (e) while having Wudu; (f) while facing the Qibla and (f) ask for the same good things for other Muslims.
51) Some good places to make Duaa; (a) city of Makah especially in the Masjid Al-Haram; in Kaaba and Mounts Safa & Marwa & in-between; (b) the Prophet PBUH masjid, (c) Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, (d) Mount Arafa; (e) Mount Tor of Sainai.
52) Some good times for making Duaa; (a) Night of Al-Qader; (b) After the Azan; (c) between the Azan & Iqamah of obligatory prayers; (d) during prostration or Sujood; (e) before making Salam at end of prayer; (f) after ending the obligatory prayer; (g) when breaking fasting; (h) Friday specially after Asr; (i) during raining; (j) 9th of Dhu Al-Hija or day of Arafa; (k) while traveling & (l) while visiting the sick.
53) One can ask others such as his parents or others whom he thinks are pious person to make Duaa for him as long as they are alive.
Note: Please also go through whatever notes you have taken in your class