بسم الله و الصلاة والسلام على رسول الله و على آله و أصحابه أجمعين
أَمَّا بعد:
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Indeed all praise is due to Allaah, The One Who has blessed me with the opportunity to travel to Egypt and study this most blessed Deen. More specifically, He – Ta'aalaa – has opened the door for me to study the Arabic language, the language of the Qur'aan, the language of our beloved Prophet – Sallallaahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam – the language which is the foundation of Islaam and all knowledge related to it. As Allaah – Ta'aalaa – states in His Book:
ﭿﮩ ﮪ ﮫ ﮬ ﮭ ﮮ ﮯﱬ
"Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'ân in order that you may understand."
(Yusuf 12:2)
ﭿ ﮇ ﮈ ﮉ ﮊ ﮋ ﱬ
"And thus have We sent it (the Qur'ân) down to be a judgment of authority in Arabic."
(Ra'd 13:37)
ﱭﰃ ﰄ ﰅ ﰆ ﰇ ﰈ ﰉ ﰊ ﰋ ﰌ ﰍ ﰎ ﰏ ﰐ ﰑﱬ
"And thus We have sent it down as a Qur'ân in Arabic, and have explained therein in detail the warnings, in order that they may fear Allâh, or that it may cause them to have a lesson from it (or to have the honor for believing and acting on its teachings)."
(Ta-Ha 20:113)
O ﮓ ﮔ ﮕ ﮖ ﮗ ﮘ ﮙ ﮚ ﮛ ﮜ ﮝ ﮞ ﮟ ﮠ ﮡ ﮢ ﮣ ﮤ ﮥ ﮦﱬ
"And truly, this (the Qur'ân) is a revelation from the Lord of the 'Aalamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists); Which the trustworthy Rûh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] has brought down; Upon your heart (O Muhammad, Sallallaahu 'Alayhi wa Sallam) that you may be (one) of the warners; In the plain Arabic language."
(Ash-Shu'ara 26:192-195)
ﱭﯣ ﯤ ﯥ ﯦ ﯧ ﯨ ﯩ ﯪﱬ
"An Arabic Qur'ân, without any crookedness (therein) in order that they may avoid all evil which Allâh has ordered them to avoid, fear Him and keep their duty to Him."
(Az-Zumar 39:28)
ﱭﭘ ﭙ ﭚ ﭛ ﭜ ﭝ ﭞ ﭟﱬ
"A Book whereof the Verses are explained in detail; A Qur'ân in Arabic for people who know."
(Fussilat 41:3)
In the short time that I have been studying this language, I have been amazed and humbled by the vastness of its rules and definitions; how one word in the Arabic language carries with it five or ten or even fifteen different words to define it in the English language; how one word can change meaning simply by the context in which it is used; how one word, when broken down to its root, can be conjugated into multiple patterns, all of which carry with them differing meanings.
I have been studying for a little over a year and what I have learned, when weighed against the entirety of what this language contains, does not even equal the weight of a date stone. Allaahu Akbar....Allaahu Akbar...Allaahu Akbar...Wa Lillaahil-Hamd. For He – Ta'aalaa – in His Infinite Wisdom, chose the Arabic language for His Final Revelation. And little do we reflect and ponder over the signs of Allaah!!!
Connected with knowledge of the Arabic language comes knowledge of Kitaabillaah, Al-Qur'aan Al-Kareem, which by the Will of Allaah, I have also been able to partake in learning and memorizing. And as with the language in which it was revealed, the sciences of the Qur'aan - from the rules of its recitation (At-Tajweed), to the explanation of it verses (At-Tafseer), to the ultimate application of it in your life - are a vast and expansive ocean of which few are able to touch its waters with the equivalent of their pinky toe. And even fewer are able to delve in and navigate with expertise and precision. Let alone reach its shores in order to begin the journey. Laa! Rather most of us don't even take the steps to get to the shore to take the journey. Most of us are still at home, in bed, asleep. And we seek refuge in Allaah from being amongst the ignorant and astray. The ones whom Allaah has placed seals upon their hearts and covers on their eyes - deaf, dumb and blind. For indeed the Qur'aan will come on the Day of Judgment as a proof for or against us, may Allaah make it a proof for us all. Aameen.
And indeed, if we examine the condition of our Ummah and what is given priority when it comes to seeking of knowledge, we see in our times, particularly amongst the Muslims in the West, that knowledge of the Qur'aan has been thrown on the back burner and instead of being the FIRST thing that people learn, it has become the thing that nobody learns. Take notice!!! I did not say it has become the second or third or fourth thing. Laa! It has become the thing that nobody learns...or very few. So that you have people memorizing the books of our respected 'Ulamaa', past and present, and they have not even memorized the last Juz' of the Qur'aan, let alone the whole Qur'aan!!! And what they have memorized, they do not recite correctly because they have not taken the time to learn the correct rules of recitation. Nor do they know the meaning of that which they recite in the Arabic language, both its literal meaning as well as its meaning as expounded upon by the great scholars of At-Tafseer. Nor do they apply what has come in that which they have memorized of lessons, commandments and prohibitions. Not realizing that all of this would be better for them and be weightier for them in the sight of Allaah than their memorizing the books of all of the 'Ulamaa' put together, even if it just be Sooraatul-Faatihah. And indeed with Allaah refuge is sought.
In light of all of the above, I felt compelled to erect a website which – InshaaAllaahu Ta'aalaa – will focus on the importance of giving priority to the Qur'aan - reading it, reflecting and pondering over it, understanding it, memorizing it, and acting in accordance with it. And undoubtedly connected to knowledge of the Qur'aan is knowledge of the Arabic language, as it is the language in which the Qur'aan was revealed. And so this connection will also be focused on – Bi-Idhnillaah.
Per the request of one of my beautiful sisters in Islaam, I have decided to include two main entries on this site:
The First Entry: Verse of the Day
In this section – Bi-Idhnillaah – I intend to post at least one Aayah from the Qur'aan, along with which I will also post its relevant Tafseer. I have decided to utilize the Tafseer of Ash-Shaykh 'Abdur-Rahmaan bin Naasir As-Sa'dee – Rahimahullaah – entitled,"Tayseer Al-Kareem Ar-Rahmaan fee Tafseer Kalaam Al-Mannaan.” I have chosen this particular Tafseer as it is known for its concise and simple language, making it easily understandable for people of all levels of knowledge. It is also the Tafseer which I am currently utilizing in my studies. In-keeping with the connection between the Qur'aan and the Arabic language itself, I will be posting both the Aayah and its relevant Tafseer in their original Arabic first, followed by the English translation of their meanings.
The Second Entry: Word of the Day
In this section – InshaaAllaahu Ta'aalaa – I will be posting one new Arabic word. To connect this section with the first section, words will be chosen from the accompanying Aayah which has been posted for the day. I will post the word as it appears in the Aayah, followed by the word from which it is drawn, followed by its root, followed by its meaning. As in the first section and to re-iterate the importance and precedence of the Arabic language, all information in this section will be posted first in Arabic followed by the English translation of its meanings.
In addition to the two main sections above, I also intend – Bi-Idhnillaah – to post any relevant links to websites that I have come across that – InshaaAllaah – will aid us all in our quest to understand, recite and memorize the Book of Allaah in the best and most correct manner.
As a disclaimer, I would like to point out that I am not a scholar, but a mere student of knowledge striving to increase in my understanding and implementation of this beautiful Deen to which Allaah, through His Mercy, has guided me. That being said, I am not without faults and shortcomings, and so it is possible that mistakes may befall my translations and/or explanations. I ask that if anyone comes across such mistakes or feels that something can be translated in a clearer more concise manner than what I have posted, please contact me immediately so that I can make the necessary changes.
In closing, I supplicate to Allaah that this site brings nothing but benefit, the source of which is Him and Him alone. And I ask Allaah to keep it free from error and corruption. And indeed with Allaah aid is sought and with Allaah lies all success.
Jazaakumullaahu Khairan was-Salaamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh,
Aneesah bint Lewis
