Preface

NOTES ON THE QURAN

Volume II

Z F Khan

إِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ ٱنفَطَرَتۡ ١

وَإِذَا ٱلۡكَوَاكِبُ ٱنتَثَرَتۡ ٢

وَإِذَا ٱلۡبِحَارُ فُجِّرَتۡ ٣

وَإِذَا ٱلۡقُبُورُ بُعۡثِرَتۡ ٤

عَلِمَتۡ نَفۡسٞ مَّا قَدَّمَتۡ وَأَخَّرَتۡ ٥

When the heavens shall be cleft asunder.

And when the stars shall be fallen and scattered.

And when the seas shall be burst forth.

And when the graves shall be turned upside down

(Then) a person will know what he has sent forward and (what he has) left behind.

Surah 82 Al-Infitar Verses 1-5

‘You must acquire this knowledge before it is taken away, and it’s taking away means that it will be lifted up.’ He joined his middle finger and the one that next to the thumb like this, and said: ‘The scholar and the seeker of knowledge will share the reward, and there is no good in the rest of the people.’

-words of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) (as narrated by Abu Umamah)

Preface

وَأَنذِرۡ بِهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَن يُحۡشَرُوٓاْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمۡ لَيۡسَ لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ وَلِيّٞ وَلَا شَفِيعٞ لَّعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَّقُونَ ٥١

And warn therewith (the Quran) those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord, when there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him, so that they may fear Allah and keep their duty to Him. Surah 6 Al-An’am Verse 51

Warning with Quran assumes the concept of understanding, because no one is expected to warn or be warned unless he understands the threat, the warning. Having said that, the conduct which is required after that warning is also to be understood. This treatise, the second of the series, focuses on the various concepts which need be understood before one can understand the requirements bestowed upon the believers in the Quran.

The style followed in the book is the same as in the earlier volume – with verses of similar import being clubbed together so as to impress the concept upon the reader in a wholistic manner. Since it is expected that the reader has already gone through the first volume, explanations of verses have been kept to minimum and related to the theme in question. It is only in the first two chapters that detailed explanations have been provided. The first chapter being a collection of verses which provide something insightful - to be read between lines and to be appreciated in detail; the second being the examples put forward by Allah to give imagery to the mind as a support to understanding.

Several of the other chapters have been provided with a chapter summary in the end, in the form of a table or a brief, so as to make the idea wedge into the mind at a glance. The three chapters in the end are not strictly about the verses of the Quran but they delve upon subjects, the details of which, are scattered in the Quran. It has been attempted to bring them together and put them in a format which renders easy assimilation.

It is hoped that the volume shall serve to help in the understanding of the Quran making its following easy and meaningful. May Allah help us understand His threat as stated in the Quran in Surah Sad Verse 87-88:

إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكۡرٞ لِّلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ٨٧ وَلَتَعۡلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُۥ بَعۡدَ حِينِۢ ٨٨

“It (this Quran) is only a Reminder for all the Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists). And you shall certainly know the truth of it after a while”.

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