how to memorise the

Last week’s Question

Last week’s question was on Soorah an-Naas. The question was regarding the connection between al-Waswaas or yuwaswisu and the actual action of whispering in real life, and the reason Allaah chose this particular word in terms of the characteristics.

The answer is:

The answer to this question is in the actual word al-Waswaas or yuwaswisu and if you read the comment left on last week’s post, you would know the correct answer already left by one of our readers. Try saying the word al-Waswaas or yuwaswisu several times, what do you hear? You will hear some ‘whispering’ sound coming from your mouth due to the letter ‘seen’. This is also the reason why each verse in this soorah ends with the letter ‘seen’. When one whispers into someone else’s ear, a person next to them will hear nothing but sounds of ‘seen’. So Allaah has chosen this particular word because of the voice characteristic that it contains and its relation to the meaning of this soorah.

This week’s Question

This week’s question is on Soorah az-Zukhruf – read the aayah (verse) and the question below:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاء إِلَهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ

It is He (Allaah) Who is the only Ilaah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the only Ilaah (God to be worshipped) on the earth. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower. (Az-Zukhruf 43:84)

The question is:

Islaam is known for being the only religion that calls to pure tawheed (the oneness of Allaah) and this is what makes us distinct from all other religions since we worship Allaah, the One God. The orientalists used to try and find errors in the doctrine of Islaam, and especially to try find errors in the Qur’aan, and the above aayah (verse) is one of the so-called errors they claimed to have found. They stated that this verse clearly states that Muslims believe in two gods, one in the Heavens and the other on the Earth. And if they do believe in One God, then how is He is in the Heavens and on the Earth at the same time and if he is not then what does it mean by He is the God in the heaven and the God on the earth? How would you respond to them? And what would you use from the aayah (verse) as proof?

Today we are starting a new series of articles aimed at giving the non-arabic speaking Muslims a ‘taster’ of how important, beautiful and profound the (Arabic) language of the Qur’aan is. Understanding Arabic is not only important when it comes to memorising but it is even more important for pondering over the aayaat (verses) of the Qur’aan. The Qur’aan is full of hidden treasures that only one who is firmly grounded in the Arabic language will be able to understand. Even a person who speaks Arabic fluently cannot comprehend the deep meanings of the Qur’aan without an in-depth study of the sciences of this beautiful language. As a result, the vast majority of Muslims, Arab and non-Arabs, have failed to truly give the Qur’aan the level of honour and status it deserves due to our lack of knowledge of the Arabic language and thus are unable to comprehend fully its value and position.

Someone might say that there isn’t a single Muslim who doesn’t respect the Qur’aan since it’s the Words of Allaah. Yes, that is true but do we know why Allaah has revealed the Qur’aan the way it is? Why have some words been chosen in place of others? Why is it sometimes you come across several verses exactly the same apart from one or two words? And why did Allaah choose the Arabic language, what’s so special about it anyway? What is it about this Book that caused the Arabs during the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, (those who were skilfully versed in the Arabic language) to be shaken and moved so much by the words in this Book? We can’t stress enough the importance of studying the Arabic language and how much of an aid it will be when it comes to memorising the Qur’aan, pondering its verses, acting upon them and most importantly, in effecting your heart and purifying your soul so that you may draw closer to your Creator.

The way this series will work is that we will present you with an aayaah/ aayaat (verse/ verses) from the Qur’aan each week and ask you a question to ponder over regarding the verse/verses. We will reveal the answer the following week and at the same time give you another question regarding a new verse/ verses. Some examples will be difficult than others and may require you to think so be prepared for these. And lastly, some of the questions will have a hidden prize attached to them and whoever gives the correct answer or is very close to it will be awarded the prize.

This week’s question – The whisperer who whispers

We will start off with a very simple example inshaaAllaah, from Soorah an-Naas, a soorah that almost all of us know alhamdulillaah. We want to look at the following verses and in particular the highlighted words in the aayataani (the two verses) :

مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ

“From the evil of the whisperer (devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in one’s heart after one remembers Allaah), (An-Naas 114:4)

الَّذِي يُوَسْوِس فِي صُدُورِ النَّاس

“Who whispers in the breasts of mankind, (An-Naas 114:5)

The question is:

What is the connection between al-Waswaas (the whisperer) or yuwaswisu (he whispers) in Arabic and the actual action of whispering in real life? And for what reason has Allaah chosen this particular word in Arabic in terms of characteristics?