Quran: Passages on Allah & Tawhid

Quranic Passages: Allah in Himself (1-5)

Ayat Al-Kursi (Surah al-Baqarah)

• The theme is God in Himself, beginning with the Shahada and elaborating on Tawhid
• Tawhid is the belief in Allah's oneness, no partners
• It speaks of Allah's authority, free from human limitations
• Mentions divine knowledge, known to Allah alone
• Important for Muslims to understand Tawhid, majesty, and glory
• Repetitive mentions of authority, knowledge, and power strengthen Muslim beliefs
• Recited daily for protection from evil, recommended by the Prophet every morning & night
• Reciting after obligatory prayer is said to make it a gateway to paradise

Surah Al-An’aam (6:101-103)

• Theme revolves around Allah Himself, detailing Tawhid and condemning Shirk
• Condemns that Allah has a family
• Stresses Allah's unbound knowledge and power
• It is important to learn that God is too sublime to be perceived, yet powerful and everywhere
• Neglects the idea of God having any family, thus condemning shirk
• Muslims should acknowledge Allah's complete authority and not lose hope
• Muslims need to worship only Allah

Surah Fussilat (41:37)

• Describes God in Himself
• Mentions nature reflecting God’s majesty e.g. cycles of day and night
• Urges worship of the Creator, not creations
• All things created are unworthy of worship
• Allah’s perfection makes Him the only one worth worshipping
• Urges Muslims to observe nature, develop a strong belief in Tawhid
• Muslims should be grateful and worship the one supreme God directly

Surah Al-Shura

• The theme of the passage, God in Himself, talks about Tawhid and God's oneness
• Verse repeated in the Quran; "His are all things in the Heavens and the Earth" - establishes His power
• Condemns Shirk while speaking of the belief in angels
• Emphasizes Allah's mercy, forgiving sins
• Guides Muslims in Tawhid and belief in angels
• It is important for Muslims should believe that Allah has countless angels worshipping, that are only following His commands
• There is always room for forgiveness

Surah Ikhlas (112)

• The theme is God in Himself
• Outlines fundamental aspects of Tawhid
• Declares God's Oneness and condemns shirk
• Allah cannot be compared to anything
• God is unaffected by time, He has no family
• Purifies Muslims’ belief in Tawhid
• God is unique in all aspects, and His Supremacy emphasizes human limits
• Muslims are told to stay away from Shirk

Theme 2: Allah and His Created World

Surah Fatihah

• The opening chapter of the Quran concerns God’s relationship with the created world
• Allah has authority over all the known and unknown
• Allah says: 'If anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul, but afterwards seeks Allah’s forgiveness finds Him Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful'
• The passage tells all creation will be accountable on Judgement day and He is the only source of guidance
• Muslims must be devoted to God, who is just, and will deliver justice on the Day of Judgement
• Allah responds to each verse of the Fatiha, therefore is a conversation with the Creator

Surah Al-Baqarah (2.21-22)

• Explains God's relation with the created world
• Allah is the Creator of all things, the entire world has one Lord
• Stresses Allah's favors, mankind should be grateful
• Stay away from Shirk and should recognize Allah as the sole Creator to be worshipped
• Gratitude and Tawheed are essential, love the Lord and be righteous

Surah Al-Alaq

• God’s relation with the world
• Allah is the Creator of mankind
• Establishes Allah as the most generous, blessings them with everything, even knowledge
• Urging Muslims to gain knowledge and stay on Allah's path
• These are the first verses of the Quran revealed in Cave Hira, announcing Prophet Muhammad, is Prophethood

Surah Al-Zilzal (99)

• God’s relation with the world
• Elaboration of events and the final Day of Judgement outcome
• Allah will be the Master of the Day of Judgement
• Mankind is taught to follow the path of Allah, avoiding sins
• Muslims must realise the worthlessness of this world, value the hereafter, and fear Allah
• "Every soul will be paid in full (fruit of) its deeds"

Surah Al-Nas (114)

• God’s relation with the created world
• God is King, Lord and God of Mankind
• Humans should seek refuge in God against all evils
• Mankind is dependent on the Creator for protection from all evils, as Satan tries to misguide them
• Tell Muslims to stay away from all evil

Theme 3: Allah and His Messengers

Surah Al-Baqarah (2:30-37)

• God’s messengers
• Describes story of Adam, given superiority over angels, due to knowledge granted by God
• Speaks of the arrogance of Iblis, therefore not to be arrogant
• All Muslims are descendants of Adam and Eve
• Showing Allah's mercy on repentance

Surah Anaam (6:75-79)

• God’s messengers
• Outlines Prophet Ibrahim’s search for the Creator
• Allah gradually guides Ibrahim to find the true Lord, by showing certain signs such as the straight path
• One shouldn't worship creation, but look for the Creator

Surah Al-Maidah

• God’s messengers regarding Hazrat Isa
• Tells of his favours upon his Messenger, aided by the Holy Spirit, his miracles and the Gospel, as Allah permitted them
• Allah protected Hazrat Isa when the disbelievers accused him
• Teachings include lessons that Muslims to identify the signs given by God
• Allah helps those that should not despair from His help and ask Him.

Surah Al-Duha

• The passage discusses God's relationship with the Holy Prophet
• Encourages believers to have faith in Allah, be grateful, and to see the good in things as ordained by Allah
• Instructs that Muslims call upon Allah for help and to maintain hope for good times ahead.
• This Surah also serves as a source of comfort during times of grief, as it assures that Allah is always there.

Surah Al-Kausar

• God’s messengers mentioning care for Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in difficulties
• God's promise to the Prophet of abundance is success
• Told Prophet to remember Him through regular prayer and the spirit of sacrifice
• Helps muslims maintain faith in God's support and teaches that a noble mission perseveres, despite misguided people's rejection

HISTORY & IMPORTANCE OF QURAN

Compilation during the Prophet's life

• The Prophet would ask the scribes to write it down upon divine revelation
• They wrote the Quran on leaves, stones, camel bones, and leather
• There were approximately 70 scribes
• Scribes only wrote what was directly told
• The scribes would recite the verses back to guarantee accuracy

Reasons for compilation

• The Quran was revealed orally across 23 years

• Due to it not being present in book form during the Prophet's lifetime

• The amount of Huffaz (those to memorise the Quran) were getting martyred/passing away

How it was compiled

• Abu Bakr was hesitant as Muhammad (PBUH) had not ordered this task
• After persuasion from Umar, Abu bakr assembled a group to compile it, headed by Zaid bin Thabit
• 2 witnesses, along with Zaid's memory had to confirm the accuracy

Mushaf-e-Hafsa

• Copy known as 'Umm', distributed around the empire to standardise knowledge
• Held by Abu Bakr, then passed to Umar
• Umar handed it down to his daughter, Hafsa, it was stored in a large wooden box

Dialect Problem

• The empire had expanded to those where Arabic wasn't spoken - difficult to understand
• Uthman once again appointed Zaid bin Thabit and experts of the Quraish dialect to fix

First Revelation

• The Prophet began to isolate himself in Cave Hira on Mount Nur
• In Ramadan of 610, Angel Gibrael approached, commanding the Prophet to "Read"
• The Prophet was illiterate, to which the Angel embraced him forcefully
• After multiple attempts and pressure, the Angel began to recite the verses of Surah Alaq;
• "Read in the name of your Lord!"
• Angel ensured Prophet memorised then disappeared

Time of Silence

• There was a long period where no revelation came to the Prophet, he believed had displeased
• Eventaully revelation came with Surah Al-Duha

LIFE OF THE PROPHET

Life in Makkah:

Birth

• His father, Abdullah bin Abdul, passed away during a trade journey to Syria before he was born
• Hazrat Aminah gave birth to the Prophet in 570 AD
• Grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, named him Muhammad - 'the praised one'
• Given name was unheard before

Time with Halimah

• It was the custom of Arabs to send sons to deserts
• Women did not accept Muhammad as he had no father
• One woman, Halimah accepted him as no one else wanted
• All of Halimah's fortunes changed, as she took Muhammad (saw)
• Her donkey gained strength , trees bore fruit and became pregnant
• She lacked milk herself and then produced it for both

Abdul Muttalib and Abu Talib

• Prohet (PBUH) lost his mother, and grandfather shortly after, to which his uncle Abu Talib took care
• Abu Talib took Prophet (PBUH) when he went to Syria - caravan stopped at Bostra
• Bahira predicted and was told of the coming of the Prophet
• He told Abu Talib to protect him from Jews

Harb-al-Fijar

• The sacrilegious war, was fought during the forbidden months - rule of law broken
• The Prophet (PBUH) was present, however did not fight, he collected fallen arrows

Hilf-al-Fudul

• The confederacy that follow the harb ul fijar
• An oath taken by Quraysh to suppress violence and injustice
• The chiefs of Banu Hashim and Zuhrah and Thaym met and pledged to bring peace
• The Prophet (PBUH) also present and also took the oath

Marriage with Khadija

• Prophet (PBUH) earned titles Al-Sadiq and Al-Ameen from trade
• Hazrat Khadija (a merchant) took him in for his trust
• She sent a proposal to marry to him, the Prophet was 25 and Khadija was 40

Black Stone Issue

• Kaaba had been damaged, needed rebuild
• There was some dispute to who would place the black stone
• The Prophet (PBUH) was the first man, so he laid the stone on a cloak and put the heads of the clans to carry it + placed the stone himself

Early Converts

• Began in year 610, revelation in cave Hira
• For three years, did it in secrecy to close people
• Early converts included Hazrat Khadija, Abu Bakr and Ali bin Abi Talib
• Prophet (PBUH) was commended to preach to his closest of kin

Call at Safa

• Prophet (PBUH) was instructed to preach publicly “Arise and Warn!”
• Prophet (PBUH) was asked if they would believe him
• To which uncle, Abu Lahab perished him

Opposition by the Quraish

• As more people were converted, conflicts increased, the Quraish started a campaign to stop him
• Hazrat Bilal used to be greatly beaten - many converts brutally tortured
• It was not easy to hard the Prophets due to Abu Talib’s protection

Migration to Abyssinia

• in the fifth year of Prophethood people began to migrate to Abyssinia
• The king of Abyssinia, Negus was stated to be a just man

Time of Silence

• First migration began, first group had twelve men and five women
• They were welcomed there and practised their relation

Second Migration

• They were persecuted even more however
• To which they migrated again, 83 men and 18 women this time

Jaffar bin Abi Talib led them

• The Quraysh were angered to find out this, then sent in a messenger to stop them
• Negus found out and was pleased with Jafar after listening him talk They began to boycott Banu Hashim due to recent strength, which caused Quraysh to take act
• Term written and placed inside the Kabbah
• This caused the year of sorrow to come
• With his wife Khadija passing away