Nouman Ali Khan: Lessons from Surah Rahman

Apr 24, 2011 by Sadiyah Ali

Each Ayah should be reflected on for its own merit.

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The word Ar-Rahman by itself is enough for you to reflect upon.

Ar-Rahman is a word that we say everyday in our prayers and we all know that it has something to do with mercy or being merciful.
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The first thing we are being asked to reflect on: How is Allah being merciful to me? What are the things that Allah has done for me that are acts of mercy by him? If we tried to make a list of all the mercies that Allah has bestowed upon us, the list would go on and on and we would be lost in thought forever.

Allah gave us two names that speak of his mercy: Ar-Rahman & Ar-Raheem. Why did he choose Ar-Rahman particularly and not Ar-Raheem for this ayah?
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They are both very different. Ar-Rahman doesnt just mean that Allah is merciful; it means that he is extremely and unimaginably merciful. Ar-Rahman indicates someone who is doing something right now. So that indicates that Allah is doing something that is extremely and unimaginably merciful right now. o Ex. Saying someone is nice vs saying someone is being nice. ArRahman is really specific. And it is fitting that Allah uses this word in this Ayah because he later on mentions a specific list mercies. How we understand the Surah is in the light of how we understand this one word.

Ways to make a list:

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The first thing that comes into your mind, and then the second, and then the third and so on In the order of priority. Most important thing first and then the next and then the next In this Surah, Allah mentions his list of priorities.

Of the things that are proof of Allahs mercy, the first thing that He mentions is that He taught the Quran.
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He didnt just give us the Quran, or just send it down, but He taught it. Allah mentions this before He mentions the creation of the human being. Allah is teaching us that the fact that you exist is less of a mercy than the fact that Allah taught us this Quran. The word Alama is transitive. When you say taught, you think of two things: a teacher and a student. If Allah taught the Quran, he takes the role of the teacher. Who did he teach? Allah did not mention the student. The mercy behind that its open: anyone can be the student. Can there be a bigger honor than this? It is already merciful enough that he created us, but now he is giving us this unimaginable honor and mercy of being our teacher. When we dont spend the time to learn this Quran and be students of it, then we are really not appreciating a gift that Allah gave us.

The word Quran:

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Something that is read a lot If someone says I am appreciative of the Quran, the proof would be in what practice? Reciting the Quran a lot = proof. Allah gave us a program that requires us to read Quran every single day > Salah

He created the human being

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The word Insan: comes from two origins One is that the word comes from Nasiya or to forget. So Insan means the one who forgot. The question is: what did he forget? Before we came to this earth we were introduced to Allah, and we took an agreement with Allah. (Look at Surah Araf, Ayah 172) But when we came to this earth we forgot about that. One of the main purposes and definitions of the Quran is: Dhikr or a reminder If someone by definition is forgetful, the most beneficial thing to them would be a reminder. The other origin is from Uns or seeking love or compassion. For someone who is preprogrammed with love and compassion, the perfect thing for them is a message that is full of love and compassion. AKA Quran.

Bayaan
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The Quran came down in clear beautiful Arabic speech.

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You have to learn the language of what youre going to study. So to make the human being capable of benefiting from this book, Allah says that he taught him Bayaan. Bayaan is the ability to speak clearly; to understand speech; to communicate Not only is Allah the teacher of Quran, he is also the teacher of language. Which language? All of them. Because of that we have to have respect for all languages. Of all the languages that Allah taught, Allah chose one (Arabic) and honored them above all. The ability of you and I to speak is an honor from Allah that is being compared to the honor of learning Quran. This means that we should respect our tongues. We should say things knowing that this gift is an honor from Allah.

Theres extreme of everything in these Ayat

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Ar-Rahman: Allahs most extreme mercy Quran: The most extreme manifestation of that mercy Insan: The greatest creation of all other creations The ability for us to speak: another incredible thing all of the knowledge and technology that we have is a product of Allamahu Al-Bayaan

How do we connect all these extremes?

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If someone wants to become a recipient of Allahs most extreme mercy, and they have been created above all other creations, and one of the signs that they are the best of all creations is they have been honored to learn the ability to speak what is the best use of that speech? Quran. Become students of the Quran.

As soon as this passage is done Allah starts to speak of things other than human beings.
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The sun, moon, stars, sky, and so on Allah created many other things besides us. And these creations do exactly what they were told to do. Allah is teaching us: I made you the best of creation, and these other creations who are less than you are doing so much better than you. They are supposed to be less than us, but they dont ever budge. They do exactly as they are supposed to.

Bottom line: Quran deserves our time and attention. When Allah says he taught the speech, this means that learning the language of the Quran is something Allah has made us capable. Someone will do better than others, and someone will have a hard time, but in the end Allah has guaranteed that if you are looking for his mercy, he will make it easy.