how to memorise the

Last Week’s Question

Throughout the Qur’aan, whenever Allaah mentions parents, he uses the Arabic word ‘waalidayn’ (which means parents) but in two verses only, found in Soorah Yoosuf, He uses the word ‘abaway’. Why the distinction in these two verses?

The answer is:

The reason why Allaah mentions ‘waalidayn’ (with emphasis on the mother) throughout the Qur’aan, is to emphasise the numerous rights the mother deserves over the father. And this in agreement with the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he was asked, ‘Who is the most deserving of my respect and companionship?’ He replied saying, ‘Your mother, then your mother, then your mother and then your father.’

However, in Soorah Yoosuf, ‘abaway’ is used (with emphasis on the father) and as with every letter in the Qur’aan, there is a reason for it. It is known amongst the Arabs that a woman is always preserved, protected and concealed. So she is not revealed or mentioned in public places so that people know of her and her shyness is taken away. In the aayaat where the word ‘abaway’ is used, Yoosuf (‘alayhis-salaam) is raising his mother and father in a public setting with multitudes of people from Egypt witnessing the occasion. So as a result, the word abaway is used to indicate the fact that the father (Ya’qoob, ‘alayhis-salaam) is the one who is at the forefront in full view of the spectators, whereas the mother is concealed to protect and hide her away from the eyes of the men in the crowds.

This Week’s Question

How many times have we heard that we shouldn’t rely on the translation of the meaning of the Qur’aan as it doesn’t do the Arabic language any justice at all? And subhanaAllaah some of us use some of these translations and pass on to others without fully understanding the meaning and tafseer behind it. Well this week’s question will touch upon this inshaaAllaah. When it comes to translating a word from Arabic into English, sometimes it can be quite difficult and not as easy as simply using a dictionary, so understanding the meaning through knowing the tafseer and Arabic language will help you understand it better, and thus aid in memorisation. There are many examples of this in the Qur’aan. One such example of this is in Soorah al-Kahf. If we look at the following aayah, it has been translated as follows:

فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا

So they [Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj (Gog and Magog)] were made powerless to scale it or dig through it. (Al-Kahf 18:97)

However, when we look at the above highlighted words, there seems to be a clear visual difference between the two words as one of them contains an additional letter (i.e. ‘taa’) but yet the translation seems to be the same. So what difference does this additional letter (i.e. ‘taa’) make to the above word that it doesn’t do to the other and why was it used?

Last Week’s Question

Last week’s question was on Soorah Fussilat. The question was regarding how many days Allaah created the Heavens and the Earth.

The answer is:

Allaah created the Heavens and the Earth in 6 days. The breakdown is as follows:

In aayah (verse) 9, Allaah mentions that He created the Earth in 2 days.

In aayah (verse) 10, Allaah mentions that the creation of the Earth in 4 days. These 4 days include the 2 days that is mentioned in aayah (verse) 9.

In aayah (verse) 12, Allaah mentions He created the Heavens in 2 days.

Now if you are to add these numbers, that’s 4 days for the creation of the Earth and 2 days for the Heavens = 6 days in total!

To make you understand this a bit better, let’s take an example inshaaAllaah. Say you were travelling from London to Birmingham. Say the journey takes approximately 4 hours. Now on your way to Birmingham, you passed by Luton and this journey takes 2 hours. The fact that you passed Luton which is 2 hours away from London doesn’t add to the journey time, but in fact is part of the 4 hour journey from London to Birmingham. Now you travel from Birmingham to Newcastle and this takes 2 hours, so add an extra 2 hours to your journey time and you have a total of 6 hours.

This Week’s Question

Throughout the Qur’aan, whenever Allaah mentions parents, he uses the Arabic word waalidayn (which means parents). Examples of this are found in the following verses:

وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلاَهُمَا فَلاَ تَقُل لَّهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلاَ تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلاً كَرِيمًا

And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. (Al-Israa 17:23)

وَالَّذِي قَالَ لِوَالِدَيْهِ أُفٍّ لَّكُمَا أَتَعِدَانِنِي أَنْ أُخْرَجَ وَقَدْ خَلَتْ الْقُرُونُ مِن قَبْلِي وَهُمَا يَسْتَغِيثَانِ اللَّهَ وَيْلَكَ آمِنْ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَيَقُولُ مَا هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

But he who says to his parents: “Fie upon you both! Do you hold out the promise to me that I shall be raised up (again) when generations before me have passed away (without rising)?” While they (father and mother) invoke Allaah for help (and rebuke their son): “Woe to you! Believe! Verily, the Promise of Allaah is true.” But he says: “This is nothing but the tales of the ancient.” (Al-Ahqaaf 46:17)

However, in Soorah Yoosuf alone, instead of using the word waalidayn, Allaah spoke with the word abaway (which also means parents). The verses in which this occurs are:

فَلَمَّا دَخَلُواْ عَلَى يُوسُفَ آوَى إِلَيْهِ أَبَوَيْهِ وَقَالَ ادْخُلُواْ مِصْرَ إِن شَاء اللّهُ آمِنِينَ

Then, when they entered unto Yoosuf (Joseph), he betook his parents to himself and said: “Enter Egypt, if Allaah wills, in security.” (Yoosuf 12:99)

وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّواْ لَهُ سُجَّدًا

And he raised his parents to the throne and they fell down before him prostrate. (Yoosuf 12:100)

This week’s question has a prize attached to it for the correct answer and is as follows:

Allaah has mentioned numerous times in the Qur’aan that we must be dutiful to our parents as you can read from the aforementioned aayaat (verses) from different parts in the Qur’aan and uses the word ‘waalidayni’. Why does Allaah use the word ‘abaway’ in the two verses in Soorah Yoosuf? Hint: The word waalidayn refers to both parents but has more emphasis on the mother, whereas the word abaway is the opposite.