summaries from The Qur’an (a new translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem; Oxford World’s Classics)

9. surah At-Tawbah (Repentance):

• opening ayahs about idolaters —> shirk
• historical context: fight against the romans w/ Prophet Muhammad (sallallhu alayhi wa salaam)
  • disbelievers stayed behind - Allah has turned away from them
  • fighting for the cause of Allah is necessary (anyone who leaves the battlefield is committing a major sin)
  • haram to fight in 4 sacred months
• please the Creator not His creation
• struggle in this dunya is trade for Jannah
  • it’s Allah’s test and love towards us, so that we’re always mindful of Him
• if family are disbelievers, don’t pray for them or take them as allies
• Allah is the most merciful so ALWAYS turn to Him no matter how many times or how severe you’ve sinned

Surah At-Tawbah 9:1-10 - Towards Understanding the Quran - Quran Translation Commentary - Tafheem ul Quran

10. surah Yunus (Jonah)

• scripture presented to a commoner, a human being, because all humans in the end are regarded the same
  • yet there are those who are blind and call the prophet a “sorcerer”
• heavens and earth were created in 6 days; only Allah has ultimate control and nothing moves without his permission
  • worship Him because to Him we shall return and it is Him who created us
• good deeds shall be rewarded and the disbelievers shall “drink of scalding water, and agonizing torment, because they persistently disbelieved.”
• the sun and the moon (and its phases) were created by Allah to allow us the ability to calculate years (subhanallah!)
  • everything was created with a purpose; those who believe see the signs
• He made the night to rest and the daylight to see
• The story of Noah and his Ark; how people who didn’t believe in the revelations of God were drowned
  • yet they still fell down the wrong path despite being sent multiple messengers after Noah as well
• People who are full of hostility have their hearts sealed for they chose this dunya rather than the Hereafter
• Moses and Aaron (Musa AS and Harun AS) and the story of the Pharaoh
  • Moses was claimed as a sorcerer
  • Moses gathered all the sorcerers and they were proven false
  • Pharaoh was abusive and tormenting to Moses and the Children of Israel and anyone who supported them
  • When the Pharaoh was drowning, he exclaimed he believes in the God of the Children of Israel (but it was too late)
• No single town believed in Allah except that of Jonah’s
  • if God so willed, all people on earth would be believers
• If God inflict pain or harm, only He can take it away. If God intends good, no one can take away His bounty.

Four Quls

Surah Al-Iklas (112)

Surah Al-Kafirun (109)

Surah Nas (114)

Surah Falaq (113)

Beneficial Surahs/Ayahs

Surah Ad-Duha (93) - depression, anxiety, worry

Surah Al-Mulk (67) - before bed; protect from the torment of the grave

Surah Al-Khaf (18) - jummah; your week is enlightened until next jummah; protect against Dajjal

Ayatul Kursi

• Most powerful verse in the Quran
• 2:255