The Qur'an

'Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve' (2: 38)

The Qur'an can be defined as follows:

“The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing.”

Etymology of word 'Qur'an'

The Arabic word 'Qur'an' is derived from the root “Qara'a”, which has various meanings, such as to read, [Sura 17: 93.] to recite, [Sura 75:18:17: 46.] etc. Qur'an is a verbal noun and hence means the 'reading' or 'recitation'. As used in the Qur'an itself, the word refers to the revelation from Allah in the broad sense [Sura 17: 82.] and is not always restricted to the written form in the shape of a book, as we have it before us today.

However, it means revelation to Muhammad only, while revelation to other prophets has been referred to by different names (e.g. taurat, Injil, kitab, etc.).

Qur’an Pak is divided into 30 chapters. It is the compilation of 114 Surahs. It began to be revealed in disjointed versus and chapters to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

“Indeed, We sent the Quran down during the Night of Decree”(Quran 97:1)

Other Names of the Qur'an

The revelation from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad is referred to in the Qur'an itself by the name Qur’an (recitation) as well as by other names, such as e.g.

-Furqaan (criterion, see 25: 1).

-Tanzil (sent down, see 26: 192).

-Dhikr (reminder, see 15: 9).

-Kitab (scripture, see 21:10).

-Other references to the Qur'an are by such words as Nur (light), Huda (guidance), Rahma (mercy), Majid (glorious), Mubarak (blessed), Bashir (announcer), Nadhir (warner), etc.

Message of Qur'an

The Qur'an contains the revelations of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, to mankind. It is the message from God to man and therefore of utmost importance to us. To properly grasp a message, one needs, first of all, to understand its contents exactly, and for this purpose one must study the Qur'an deeply and in detail. In fact, some people do spend their whole lives studying the Qur'an, reading and reflecting upon it and, as they grow and develop, both physically and spiritually, they discover for themselves new meanings and implications.

Muslims have, from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah; the Qur'an but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the 'sciences' of or 'knowledge' about the Qur'an, known as "ulum al-qur'an'.

According to a general definition, 'ulum al-qur'an' [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-tibyan fi 'ulum al-qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p.10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, (Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) namely:

-Its revelation.

- Its collection.

-Its order and arrangement.

-Its writing down.

-Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation.

-About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina.

-About the abrogating and abrogated verses.

-About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses.

-The term also covers Qur'an-related studies, such as: the explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegeses of the Qur'an, the methods of explanation, the scholars of exegesis and their books.

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (R.A)

First Caliph of Islam (573-634 AD)

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (r.a) is the major personality in Muslims after the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) and Messengers of ALLAH. He is one of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w), who was given the reward of Heaven in the world by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w). He was born in Amul-Feel, in Makkah, in 573 C.E. Abu Bakr Siddique (r.a) was named as Abdullah. Abu Bakr was his Patronymic name (Kynniya), (a sir name which is usually derived from the name of the first son or daughter according to Muslim traditions). He was the most respectful and attractive personality in Makkah before embracing Islam. He used to be respected by all due to His humble and pious character. Abu Bakr Siddique (r.a) was the first person to embrace Islam in the (in the men). He was the most trusted companion of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) and also earned the title of "As-Siddique" (the most truthful and sincere person in faith) from the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w). He alone accompanied amongst all the companions with the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w), during migration from Makkah to Madinah. He participated in all the battles of Islam with Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w). History notes that He donated all the households and the property whenever Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) desired to do so in the way of ALLAH. Abu Bakr Siddique (r.a) was the only one who led 17-18 Salah prayers in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) due to sickness of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w). Abu Bakr Siddique (r.a) continued His Caliphate for about 2 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w). He executed the order and sent "Lashkar-e-Usama" against the Kuffars on the last orders given by Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w). He made a call for Jihad against those Muslims who after the death of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w), over-rided the rule to give Zakat. Yes!, this was Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (r.a) who cut their necks with a group of Sahabah (r.a) and told the reason why He is going to do this as; "These are the ones who will let down the pillars of Islam tomorrow". A person named Musaylma Kazzab, claimed himself to be a Prophet of ALLAH. Hazrat Abu Bakr (r.a) warned him for this false attitude and when the limits exceeded, was being sentenced on the orders of Hazrat Abu Bakr (r.a), as a "Murtid". Hazrat Abu Bakr (r.a) breathed his last on the 22nd Jamadi-us-Saani of 13 Hijri. He is buried next to the side of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w).

Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) about Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique(R.A):

1. Abu Bakr except from all Prophets are supreme in all human beings. (Tibrani)

2. The most merciful on my Ummah, in my Ummah, is Abu Bakr. (Tirimzi)

3. Oh Abu Bakr! You will be my companion on the pond of Heaven as you were also my companion in the cave. (Tirimzi)

4. Tell Abu Bakr from my side to offer Salat to people (Muslims). [In absence of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w)] (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirimzi, Ibn-e-Majah)

5. I don't know uptil when I remain with you, so follow the ones (who will become Caliphs) after me. [Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) pointed towards Abu Bakr (r.a) and Umar (r.a)]. And follow the way of Ammar and the words that Abdullah bin Masood tell you, verify it. (Tirimzi)

Finding Peace in Life

Many of us, in our lives, are in search of Peace(Sakoon). Mostly, the whole life of human being is spent in attaining it. They try to find it in different things. Some achieve it but some are lost in the way. But it is necessary for all of us to explore about this thing and practice it for bringing peace in our lives. In my viewpoint, Sakoon is the second name of Balance in Life. Sakoon can only be brought about when we balance the different facets of our Life and give them the importance that they demand. In Nature, we can see that everything goes on in a balanced manner. Sun rises and sets at its predefined time, moon appears on its allocated time, each season has its time to come and pass by. This is the natural balance that creates peace in nature. In the same way, if we practice balance in our life, we can also attain Peace. By mentioning “Balance in life”, I mean to say valuing each aspect of our life and  balancing the time we give to them. Set a proper time for each factor. Give importance to studies but do not leave behind your own self. Give time to your goals but do not forget spirituality while running behind the worldly desires. Long for materialistic things(as they are necessary for life) but not so much that you leave behind your soul. Do the things that are necessary for attaining your goal but don’t forget to do the things that feed your soul. Keep doing small tasks for achieving a bigger task but also do the things that you are passionate for. In simple terms, never leave one thing for the sake of other. Always value and give proper time to all these components as they are all the components that make up our life. Set proper timings. You may go like this: setting time for studies, self-care activities, Namaz, Recitation of Quran, individual reading, writing, reflecting on your daily happenings, domestic work, family and other activities that are engrossing for you.

In our life, running behind one thing, we tend to forget the importance of other things and we leave them like they are not the part of our life. Mostly, while running behind worldly desires, we forget about our own being, our purpose of existence and our soul. It creates imbalance in our life. Just like the balance machine in the shop where the weight on one side is greater than the other side, our balance machine’s one side is filled with activities for achieving materialistic things but on the other side our soul is empty and shallow. This imbalance brings about chaos in our life because it is the law of nature that balance is what brings about the peace and tranquility.

Thus, in our life, we should start practicing the law of balance. We should give importance and proper time to each aspect of our life. We should not run behind one thing only and perceive it as the only purpose of life because there are so many facets of life that are waiting for our attention and that are important too. So, “Balance in Life” is the best possible way for us to attain Peace and tranquility in our life.