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Sunday, 27 May 2018
 

How Fast Could Ramadan Pass!

It is a topic many people think of sincerely, is how to make use of time during the Fasting period of the day in Ramadan?

But I assume that how genuine could we harmonize and take the path of evolution to the level of the values and the virtues the fasting is asking us to stand to.
Fortunately or unfortunately the period preceded the holy month of Ramadan, is being accompanied with many difficulties in the life of the citizens –which still exists. Within the centre of this dilemma, Ramadan was approaching and all the people started promulgating the Mercies, Forgiveness’s, Help and Assistance due to the needy, from many sides; governmental and capable ones was very active lip service, and not saying taking people for a ride. But adjacent to this campaign of ours; some Non-Muslim countries –where the Muslims are less than minority- these countries have announced a considerable deduction on the prices of commodities to the Muslims, as a support and integration. Contrary to this in here –our beloved Muslim country- the prices of ALL commodities are hijacked, and the racketeers has sharpened their daggers for the swift chopping. We –of course- all know that in biography of the Companions of our Prophet our master Muhammad [PPBUH], Khalifa Umar Bin Al-Khattab is being said that:”HE MADE RULING A DIFFICULTY FOR THE ONES AFTER HIM”, so it is rather unjustifiable to ask for such measurements nowadays. But looking in the streets and see the problem of transport, and people are stranded for hours in the hope to find means of transport –with the ferocious increase in the fee previously master-minded by the racketeers and their disciples, but this is in vain. But I appraise very highly some true Sudanese who stop and pick up the people, but unfortunately people have not noticed any governmental vehicle –where they are by thousands- stop to pick people, and even the small reciprocation of feeling in observing the dilemma is not noticed; of course we are not asking that the politicians may put off some their fleet of cars until the problem is solved.
In a way to make the interested people find means to make good of their fasting period useful, down here we find Surat Al-Mataffifin which has 36 verses, let us hope that everyone might read two verses every day and see by himself how close or distanced is he from the two kinds of people mentioned therein:

SURAT AL-MUTAFFIFIN (THE FRAUDULENTS/SHORT MEASURERS) 83 AYATS 36

سورة المطففين 83 مكية – آياتها 36

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH the MOST GRACIOUS the MOST MERCIFUL                                                       

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Woe, to those that deal in Fraud – the Fraudulent/ Short Measurers. (1)                                                                               

وَيْلٌ لِلْمُطَفِّفِينَ (1)

Those, whom when they have to receive by measure from men (the others) they take-exact full measurement. (2)

الَّذِينَ إِذَا اكْتَالُوا عَلَى النَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ (2)

But when they have to give by measure or weigh to give to other men; they are fraudulent and short measurers’ (give less than due). (3)        

وَإِذَا كَالُوهُمْ أَوْ وَزَنُوهُمْ يُخْسِرُونَ (3)

Do they not think that they will be resurrected and called to account? (4)                                                       

أَلَا يَظُنُّ أُولَئِكَ أَنَّهُمْ مَبْعُوثُونَ (4)

On/For a Mighty Great Day (The Day of Judgment). (5)

لِيَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ (5)

A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds. (6)                           

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ النَّاسُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (6)

Nay! Surely and truly the Record/Book of the profligates/ wicked is –preserved- in sijjin (the bureau of evil). (7)                

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْفُجَّارِ لَفِي سِجِّينٍ (7)

And how would you know what is Sijjin – (a Record contains all ill/evil deeds). (8)

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سِجِّينٌ (8)

(There is) A Register Fully inscribed/Punctuated Book. (9)                                                                                     

كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ (9)

Woe, on that Day to those Refutable that deny. (10)                                                                                          

وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ (10)

Those who refute (deny) the Day of Judgment. (11)                                                              

الَّذِينَ يُكَذِّبُونَ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينِ (11)

And no one can deny it, except the sinful Transgressors beyond bounds, the Sinner! (12)                                      

وَمَا يُكَذِّبُ بِهِ إِلَّا كُلُّ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ (12)

When Our Signs/Verses recited to him, he says: “ Tales legends of the Ancients”. (13)      

إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آَيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ (13)

Nay (by no means), but their hearts are dominated by stains because of their evil deeds. (14)

كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (14)

Nay, verily, they surely will be debarred from seeing their Lord on that Day- they will be veiled from the Light of their Lord. (15)

كَلَّا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ (15)

Verily, they indeed will inter the Fire of Hell. (16)                                                       

ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ لَصَالُو الْجَحِيمِ (16)

Then further it will be said to them:” this is (the reality) which you rejected as false, and you used to deny! (17)                     

ثُمَّ يُقَالُ هَذَا الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ (17)

Nay, verily the record/book of the pious/righteousness is  preserved in Illyyin (Chamber of Righteousness deeds). 18

كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَ (18)

And what would you know about (what will explain to you) what is  Illiyyun (Records contains Righteous Deeds). (19)           

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ (19)

(There is) A Register Fully inscribed/punctuated Book. 20                                                                                  

كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ (20)

To which bear witness those nearest (to God)/will be witnessed by the Nearest Angels/of high ranking. (21)

يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ (21)

Verily, the virtuous/righteous/pious are in Bliss. (22)                                                                   

إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ (22)

Seated on the Coach of the Throne (of Dignity) observing /looking/command a sight (of all things). (23)                                               

عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ يَنْظُرُونَ (23)

You will observe/recognize –in their faces- the Beaming Brightness of Bliss. (24)

تَعْرِفُ فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ نَضْرَةَ النَّعِيمِ (24)

Their thirst will be slaked, and they will be given to drink a sealed pure nectarous. (25)                                                        

يُسْقَوْنَ مِنْ رَحِيقٍ مَخْتُومٍ (25)

The seal thereof of its last taste is Musk, and in this let the Competent Aspirants Compete in aspirations. (26) 

خِتَامُهُ مِسْكٌ وَفِي ذَلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُونَ (26)

(With it will be given) A mixture of Tasneem. (27)                                                                                         

وَمِزَاجُهُ مِنْ تَسْنِيمٍ (27)

(Tasneem): is Spring of water for the drink/beverage of the nearest (to God). (28)                         

عَيْنًا يَشْرَبُ بِهَا الْمُقَرَّبُونَ (28)

Surely, the villains/those in sin were used to laugh at the believers. (29)         

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا كَانُوا مِنَ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا يَضْحَكُونَ (29)

And when they pass by them they used to wink –at each other- mockingly (in mockery). (30)                                   

وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِهِمْ يَتَغَامَزُونَ (30)

And when they returned to their own people/families they became exultant/jesting. (31)        

وَإِذَا انْقَلَبُوا إِلَى أَهْلِهِمُ انْقَلَبُوا فَكِهِينَ (31)

And whenever they saw them, they would say: “ Behold! These are the people who truly have gone astray”. (32) 

وَإِذَا رَأَوْهُمْ قَالُوا إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ لَضَالُّونَ (32)

But they (the disbelievers) had not been sent as keepers over them (the believers). (33)     

وَمَا أُرْسِلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ حَافِظِينَ (33)

But on this Day, the believers will laugh at the  un/disbelievers. (34)                    

فَالْيَوْمَ الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ يَضْحَكُونَ (34)

(Seated) on the Coach of Throne (of Dignity), they will command (a sight of all things) observing/looking. (35)                                                           

عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ يَنْظُرُونَ (35)

Aren’t the un/disbelievers have been (paid back) compensated/rewarded for their deeds? (36)                    

هَلْ ثُوِّبَ الْكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ (36)

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY TO SURAT AL-MUTAFFIFIN (THE FRAUDULENTS/SHORT MEASURERS)
This Sura is close in time to the last one and the next one.
It condemns all fraud in daily dealings as a whole, as well as and especially in matters of religion and the higher spiritual life.
Shun fraud in all things; even in the little things of the daily life, but especially those subtler forms of higher life, which will be exposed to view at Judgment, however it is hidden or discreet in this life.       Give everyone his due, for the Record of ill deeds and good is fully kept, and the stains of sin corrupt the soul. Reject not the Real Now; nor mock: The time will come when the truth will come out on its own. And then the mighty arrogant will be abased!
(Verses 1-2-3)-“Fraud” in here must be taken in a widely general sense. It covers giving short measure or short weight, but actually it covers much more than that. The next two verses put it clear that it is the spirit of injustice that is condemned – giving too little and asking too much. This may be seen in obvious in the commercial dealings, where a man impose a higher standard in his favor, than the standard he is willing to concede as against him. In domestic or social matters an individual or a group may ask for honor, or respect, or services which he or they are not willing to give on their side in similar circumstances. It is worth than one-sided selfishness, for it is double injustice. But the worst of all in religion or spiritual life, with what face can a man ask for Mercy, or Love from God when he is unwilling to give it to his fellow men? In one aspect this is statement of the Golden Rule “Do as you would be done by”. But it is more comprehensively expressed (you must give in full what is due from you, whether you expect or wish to receive full consideration from the other side or not).
(Verses 4-5-6) Legal and social sanctions against Fraud depend on their efficacy of whether there is chance of being found out. Moral and religious sanctions are of a different kind; do you wish to degrade your own nature?  Don’t you consider that there is a Day of Account before a Judge who knows all, and who safeguards all interests, for He is the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds? Whether other people know anything about you or not, you are guilty before God.
(Verses 7-8)-This is a word from the same root as Sijn ( (???a prison. It rhymes with and contrasted with Illyyin in verse 18. It is therefore understood by many commentators to be a place, a Prison or a Dungeon in which the wicked are confined pending their appearance before the Judgment-Seat. The mention of the Inscribed Register in verse 9 below may imply that Sijjin is the name of the Register of the Black Deeds, though verse 9 may be elliptical and may only describe the place by the significance of its contents.
(Verses 9-10)- If we take Sijjin to be the Register itself, and not the place where it is kept, the Register itself is a sort of Prison for those who do wrong. It is inscribed fully: i.e. no one is omitted who ought to be there, and for every entry there is a complete record, so there is no escape for the sinner. Of course we must not understand it as material Register made up of paper or parchment, and written with pen and ink. The whole description is figurative of the inescapable record which sin creates; every detail of motive, manner, occasion, etc... That contributes to the deterioration of the sinner.
(Verse 11-12)- The fact of Personal Responsibility for each soul is so undoubted that people who deny it are to be pitied, and will indeed be in most pitiable condition on the Day of Reckoning, and none –even the most abandoned sinner can deny it, and he only denies it by playing with falsehood.
(Verse 13)- See Surat Al-An’am 6 verse 25, and Surat Al-Qalam 68 verse 15, etc.. They scorn Truth and pretend that it is falsehood.
(Verse 14)- The heart of the man, as created by God, is pure and unsullied. Every time that a man does an ill deed it marks a stain or rust on his heart. But on repentance and forgiveness, such stain is washed off. If there is no repentance and forgiveness, the stains deepens and spread more and more until the heart is sealed (Surat Al-Bagara 2 verse 7), and eventually the man dies a spiritual death. It is such stains that stand in the way of his perceiving Truths which are obvious to others. That is why he mocks Truth and hugs Falsehood to his bosom.
(Verses 15-16-17)- The blemishes stain of evil deeds on their hearts sullies the mirror of their hearts, so it doesn’t receive the light. At the Judgment the true Light, the Glory of the Lord, the joy of the Righteous will be hidden by veils from the eyes of the Sinful, instead the Fire of Punishment will be given to them, it is the only reality which they will perceive.
(Verse 18-19)- Illiyyin=((????? and Illiyun(?????)=, where the record of the righteous preserved, it is in contrast to the Sijjin, which occurs in verse (7) as explained before. Literally, Illiyyin/Illyyun means the “High Places”, but it is probably not the same as the heights in Surat Al-Aaraf (7) verse 46, nor we necessarily align it with the (dwelling in Al-Ghurufat); as mentioned in Surat Sabaa (34) verse 37. Applying the reasoning parallel to that which we applied to “Sijjin”, we may interpret it as the place where the Righteous Register is kept.
(Verse 20)- The verse 9 is repeated on verse 20. But the Register is of an opposite kind –that of the righteous- which contains every detail of the righteous. But this is all to be understood on metaphorical sense.
(Verses 21-22)- See Surat Al-Wagia’a (56) verse 11, those nearest to God will be witnesses to this Righteous Record, or as it may also be rendered, they will be present at the Record, and watch this Record. Metaphorically, the highest spiritual dignitaries are always helping and assisting at the piling up of the good record of every soul that strives for good, however humble in rank that soul may be.
(Verse 23)- See Surats Yassin 36- verse 56. (Verse 24) See Surat Al-Giyama 7) verse 22 and Surat Al-Insan (76) verse 11.
(Verse 25)- The Wine will be of the utmost purity and flavor, so precious that it will be protected with a seal, and the seal itself will be of the costly material the Musk, which is most highly esteemed in the East for its perfume. Perhaps a better interpretation of the “seal” is to take it as implying the final effect of the drink: just as seal closes a document, so the seal of the drink will be the final effect of the delicious fragrance of perfume and the flavor of musk, heightening the enjoyment and helping in the digestion. This physical effect is metaphorical of the spiritual purity of Bliss.
(Verse 26)- If you understand true and lasting values, then this is the kind of pure Bliss to aspire for, and not the fleeting enjoyment of this world, which always leave a sting behind.
(Verses 27-28-29-30-31)-Tasneem; literally indicates height, fullness, opulence. Here it is the name of a heavenly Fountain whose drink is superior to that of the Purest Wine. It is the nectar drunk by Those Nearest to God, the highest in spiritual dignity, the flavor of it will be given to all, according to their spiritual capacity (See Surat Al-Insan (76) verse 5 – mixture is Kafur/Camphor ;  verse 17 the mixture is Zanjabeel/Ginger and verse 18 from Fountain called Salsabila/Nectar water of life.
(Verse 32)- The wicked laughs at the righteous in this world in many ways; (1) they inwardly laugh at their Faith, because they feel themselves so superior. (2) In public places, when the righteous pass, they wink at each other and insult them. (3) In their own houses they run them down. (4) Whenever and wherever they see them, they reproach them with obloquy speech as being fools who have lost their way and went astray, when the boot is really on the other leg. In the Hereafter all these tricks and falsehoods will be shown for what they are, and the tables will be reversed. The tables will be reversed and the one who laughs best is the one who laughs last.
(Verse 33)- But the wicked critics of the righteous have no call in any case to sit in judgment over them. Who set them as Keepers or Guardians over the Righteous? Let them look to their own condition and future first.
(Verse 34)- The tables will be reversed, and he laughs best who laughs last.
(Verses 35-36)- The verse 23 and 35 are repeated, but with a different shade of meaning. The Righteous on their Throne of Dignity will be able to see all the true values restored in their own favor: but they will also see something else; they will see the arrogant braggarts brought low, who brought about their own downfall by their own actions.