Brief Tafseer: Juz 1 (Al-Fatiha to Baqarah 141)

 

Bismillah Ar-Rehman Ar-Raheem

Juz 1 (Al-Fatiha to Baqarah 141)

Fatiha

• The mufasiroon have listed thirty-six names for Surah Fatiha signifying its importance.
• When we begin with bismillah we are invoking all of the Names of Allah.
• Hamd is to praise and commend with reverence, it is verbal and not just in the heart.
• Allah does not need our praise, everything in the world is already praising Him.
• Any action, thought or word that we do according to what Allah has legislated and that which pleases Him is in fact worship.
•  We should pray for guidance for ourselves and those who have wronged us.

Baqarah

• Shaytaan runs away from the house where Surah Baqarah is recited.
• Part of taqwa and guidance is that one believes in everything that the Prophet ﷺ brought and taught.
• Yaqeen or conviction is to believe with certainty, it is the highest rank of knowledge which allows a person to see what the average eye cannot.
• When sins are many then the hearts become sealed. Similarly the heart of the hypocrite is diseased with the love of this world.
• The light of iman is in Allah's hand, that's why we need to pray for light in our heart.
• The believer is afraid of hypocrisy, so one who feels the most secure of it is actually the one who is at risk the most.
• Righteous actions require knowledge, intention, patience and sincerity.
• A believer does good regardless of how people treat him.
• Keeping ties with relatives is a way to increase rizq.
• Salah is a test, a scale which shows you who you really are, what level your iman is at.
• One sin leads to another, that's why we should avoid sins as much as we can.
• As the ummah of the Prophet ﷺ we need to be careful because simply being an ummati is not enough, to drink from the river on the Day of Judgement we must stay away from sin. Identifying with a group is not sufficient enough, actions and faith go with it.
• Difficulties come in our life to draw our attention towards Allah. He keeps giving us chance after chance to improve ourselves and come back to Him.
• A person of knowledge and intelligence does not mock or make fun of others, because the ignorant does that.
• The believers are prompt in obeying the commandments of Allah.
• A person should leave superstitions and everything that prevents them from obeying Allah.
• Some people are like stones, they are stubborn but eventually bend after something big happens. So we should not judge people, it is possible that some individuals appear stubborn but a day comes when they become a source of khair.
• Not knowing the book of Allah is ignorance, it doesn't matter how literary educated you are if you do not know the Book.
• Ehsaan is to do good even in return of bad. The minimum level of ehsaan is to speak to people in a kind manner. Make sure you are courteous, truthful, nice and free from arrogance.
• When it comes to parents, regardless of what they do to you, how they behave, it is Allah's command that we be good to them.
• A mutaqeen does not hold resentment and jealousy in their heart. Things may bother and hurt you but after something happens, this pain can turn into reward if we turn to Allah with our hurting hearts.
• The door to good is vast, any good you do, any deed that Allah loves, then we should strive to do it.
• After gaining knowledge, we must not listen to our desires and do what we know is forbidden.

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Notes from tafseer with Ustadha Taimiyyah Zubair