Sunday Tafsīr with Shaykh Amin Kholwadia

Surah Al-Rum (30:34-41). These verses lead to a discussion of the phenomena of cause and effect that Allah (S) has subjected the cosmos to. In this lecture: the rules of cause and effect governing sustenance; seeing through the lens of iman, or the lens of kufr; relinquishing control; assisting or repelling the needy attracts or repels Allah’s assistance; note to those rejecting refugees; greed as...

Surah Al-Rum (30:28-34). God’s system of laws is never-faltering, ever above that of human systems. In this lecture: an instance of Quranic refutation by analogical reasoning (qiyaas); human accountability, and Allah’s guidance or misguidance within the realm of cause and effect; ‘ibaadah and seclusion as conducive to attracting Divine attention/guidance; societal fitrah and the effects of sohbah;...

Surah Al-Rum (30:21-27). Diversity in creation must lead the seeker to One Creator. In this lecture: mutual compassion makes a couple from individuals; diversity in creation as proof of Allah’s existence; tauheed as a monolithic creed and the sunnah as a monolithic way of life for a diverse humanity; an uncompromising yet inclusive lifestyle; universal acknowledgement of Arabic as central to worsh...

Surah Al-Rum (30:11-21). Faith and good deeds are the ultimate discriminators in the Hereafter. In this lecture: the unrighteous on the Day of reckoning; tasbeeh as a purification for the believer; the dynamism of Arabic in gleaning commands from news; the disinclination of the companions to analyze commands; salaat and the order of angels; human origination from dust as a sign for all humanity; c...

Surah Al-Rum (30:6-10). History bears witness that Muslim civilization and leadership attached importance to the dunya and the aakhirah with a clear preference for the latter. In this lecture: facilitating salvation; planning for the dunya and the aakhirah; Ibrahim (AS) as a model visionary; true understanding as a product of outward observation and insight; the human as a complete cosmos within t...

Surah Al-Rum (30:1-6). Introduction to the Surah. In this lecture: a backdrop in Seerah; Abu Bakr's bet (radhi Allahu anhu); Muslim alignment with Christianity; the two interpretative sciences: of abstract dreams and of tangible events; Abu Bakr's profound interpretative skills and depth of perception; insights into the science and art of dream interpretation; Umar's genius at preempting Quranic i...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:61-69). Session 11 (29:61-69) Conclusion. Allah (S) is in control of all sustenance. In this lecture: The Creator at the macro and micro levels; the shocking sensation of eternity and the slaughter of time; man's selective reliance on Allah and self-attribution; insights into the Hijrah; the Ikhlaas of the sahaabah; the worst form of injustice as theological; reading revelatio...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:52-62). Surah Al-Ankabut (29:52-62). True belief is belief in the Truth, and disbelief is belief in falsehood. In this lecture the following key-points were thoroughly discussed: disbelief as a punishment by itself; the aura of disbelief and its inescapable nature; the effects of Jahannum upon the damned; the effects of forbearance upon the guided; the Hijrah as a positive and...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:48-51). The Quran informs us that one component of the seerah that is often-overlooked is that the prophet (S) never read, and never wrote. Yet he went on to produce a civilization that read and wrote. The prophet (S) is the mu'jizah manifesting Allah's ability to create something from nothing. In this lecture: rationale for the unlettered prophet; the subtle irony in being th...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:46-47) It is part of our belief to prepare ourselves to partake in discussions of theism with members of other faiths. In this lecture: maintaining a level of readiness for religious interchange; the prophetic model for such preparedness, the training behind the success; the need for an academic response to whatever the challenge of the hour is; an exemplar of verse 46; the ac...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:44-45). This session has tremendous insights into prayer (salaat) as the ultimate vehicle that will carry the believer to unimaginable heights. In the list lecture: the order of ibaadah, and its comparability to the natural order in all creation, wahy as a foundation of salaat, aligning salaat with individual najaat, salaat as proof of submission, the body and spirit of salaat...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:38-43). These verses call out the eight categories of men condemned for their rejection of the messenger sent to them. In this lecture: the effects of oppression; the obscure yet real injustice committed in denying Allah (S) and the imbalance it creates in the cosmos; the similitude between those who take other than Allah and the house of the spider, an intricate construction...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:26-37). The tests of the prophets are varied, but all difficult and severe. In this lecture: the blessed offspring of Ibrahim (AS), the tribulations of Lut (AS), the mission of Lut (AS), what is legal is not necessarily moral, the mission of Shu'ayb (AS). Lut (AS) was sent to address an aberration in the understanding of human nature. Shu'ayb (AS) was sent to address an aberra...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:16-25). Truth evades those who submerge themselves in the pursuit of worldly pleasures. In this lecture: worshipping Allah (S) as a means of thanking Him, the pervasive phenomena of death and resurrection, the supreme intellect of prophets ('alayhimusSalaam), the inevitable meeting with Allah (S), the violent reaction of an intellectually defeated people, adopting a worldview...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:11-15). Allah (S) wants believers to expose their belief and the manifest the Islamic code of conduct. In this lecture: the two levels of hypocrisy, the tafsir and wisdom behind the age of Nuh ('alayhisSalaam) and the vast knowledge he accumulated during his lifetime, the mu'jizah of Quranic brevity, the magnitude and quality of Nuh's ('alayhisSalaam) knowledge of Zoology, the...

Surah Al-Ankabut (29:7-10). There is no obedience to creation in disobedience to the Creator. In this session, beauty and grace in dealing with parents, drawing the line between obedience and non-conformance, conclusive knowledge as critical to avoiding confusion in matters of religious and social obligation, recognizing our role in the distortion of social practices, a corollary example in the ne...

Surah Al-Ankabut, verses 1 through 6. This surah was revealed at a time when Muslims (barely one hundred in number) were being persecuted for their beliefs. In this session: Surah Al-Qasas as a preface to this chapter, and Al-Qasas as a prelude to the hijrah; the need for faith despite trials; the fallacy that faith removes all trials, and that worldly success is a sign of God's pleasure with you;...

Surah Al-Qasas, verses 86 through 88. Conclusion and conclusory comments. Wahy is delivered to a nabi with no effort on the part of the recipient towards such Divine attraction. Wahy is from the grace and predestination of Allah (S), it is all about rahmah and has nothing to do in essence with social and moral standing or otherwise. In this lecture: a prophet's supremacy over human beings is by vi...

Surah Al-Qasas, verses 83 through 86. These verses sum up everything Muslims need to understand about political authority. Authority comes from Allah (S) and cannot be assumed by force. In this lecture: the fallacy of Islamic rule being essential to Islamic practice; the accessibility to taqwa with or without Islamic rule; the incomparable vastness of Jannah contrasted with this limited world; fan...

Surah Al-Qasas, verses 78 through 82. This session contrasts the example of Qaroun as a hoarder of wealth with that of Musa as a custodian of knowledge. In this lecture: Qaroun's false claim to knowledge as the source of his good fortune; the staggering amount of Qaroun's wealth is little compared with those who perished before him; limited wealth and lasting knowledge; wealth as a means for knowl...

Surah Al-Qasas, verses 71 through 80. Allah (S) is the Lord and Guardian of all who are subordinate to Him as well as those who are insubordinate to Him. In this lecture: Divine mercy in the alternation of day and night; using sensory perception to exercise shukr as the basis for loving Allah (S); the result of shukr and the result of arrogance; the wealth bestowed on Qaroon and his arrogance on a...

Surah Al-Qasas (28:62-70). Human prerogatives are very limited while Allah's prerogatives are supreme. In this lecture: Allah's (S) ruboobiyyah extends to all creation, even the rebellious; Fir'aun was granted ample opportunity for repentance; human will, although free, is limited by what Allah (S) has ordained, this is embodied in the word Rabb; Allah (S) has a personal affiliation with every ind...

28:57-61. It is only through the institution of prophethood that mankind still exists on this planet. In this lecture: Allah (S) being in total control of provisions for all creatures; the Kaaba as a source of security and economic prosperity for the Quraysh; the consequences of igniting the fire of shirk and rebellion against Allah's authority; Divine rules that govern the destruction of a people...

28:51-56. Shaykh Amin discusses several practical ramifications of these verses applicable in our times of free speech and expression. In this lecture: the mindset of a believer, submitting to the ruboobiyyah of Allah (S); acknowledging you have a Rabb is a prerequisite to believing; rejection by the world not reason enough to reject the truth; the twofold reward of sincere believers: firstly for...

28:43-49. Allah's Rahmah is ubiquitous, but it takes a discerning eye to recognize instances of it. In this lecture: the story of Musa (AS) as a backdrop to the mission of Muhammad (S); guidance as a consequence of correct observation; story-telling as an effective tool of the oral tradition; time-shift into the story of Shu'aib (AS), contrasting the economically-challenged Madyan that Musa encoun...