JIQ: Young Professionals

Rashed Hasan/MyLLife Team

5/16/2025

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Session 9: Summary and Discussion

Surah Al-Araf (94-206) & Surah An-Faal (1-40)

What We Read and Process We Followed

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Session 9 Assigned Reading:

• Chapter 7: The Elevation (Surah Al-Araf) – v. 94 – 206
• Chapter 8: The Spoils of War (Surah An-Faal) – v. 1-40
• A total of 152 verses - 1 hour at regular pace
• ~40 verses each weekly – dedicate 30-45 mins for reflective and deeper reading each week
• Consistent routine and building weekly rhythm

Context and Relevance

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Chapter 7 context (Continuing from last session)

• Continued exposition of human condition
• Trials by affluence, removal of capacity to understand, attraction to evil…
• Empowerment of the weak over the powerful
• Story of Prophet Moses and the Children of Israel (descendant of Jacob)

Chapter 8 context (battle of Badr – first major conflict)

• Rule of engagement in War
• Defensive war - to end persecution and bring peace
• Gains from war for common good

Range of Topics Covered

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Surah Al-Araf (beyond what was covered in Session 8)

• Every prophet has assigned enemy (Remember Adam/Eve and the Devil?)
• God offers affluence to test just like difficulties are also a form of test
• God empower weaker communities to overcome stronger communities based on merit, effort and justice
• Gifts of sight, hearing and intellect will be tested and questioned
• Prolong and wide-spread corruptions alter human condition
• God informed us even before our birth the realities of this life and the life to come

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Range of Topics Covered

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Surah Al-Anfaal

• Start with question and an answer regarding what to do with spoils of war
• Cautioned Muslim to justify engaging in conflict – has to be defensive, just cause and not for material gains
• Inspire believers to establish rule of law, to be brave and not to dispair

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Conversation…

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• Any verses that resonated with you and why?
• Observations/Reflections you want to share
• Questions you want to explore/ask

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Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 94 - 102 )

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• We (God) do not send a Prophet to a land except that We make its inhabitants face misfortune and hardship so they (have reasons to reflect and) perhaps become humble. Then We shift their condition from difficulties to ease (and good as they perceive it) until they become affluent and self-assured and begin to convince themselves that hardship and difficulties were for previous generations only. Then We take them (to account) by surprise while they are oblivious (to such possibility)
• If the people of these towns believed (in God) and acted with conscience and a sense of responsibility, We would have opened up blessings from all around them—from the sky and the earth, in abundance.
• Does it not occur to those who inherit the earth after its previous inhabitants that if We (God) please, We will take them to account for their sins and make their hearts incapable of comprehending (the truth)?

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Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 103-140 )

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• The earth belongs to God, and He makes among his servants whom He wills to inherit the land. In the end those who are conscious (of God) and demonstrate a sense of responsibility (taqwa) will have the upper hand.” His people lamented: “We are being persecuted—before you came and since you have been here.” Moses comforted (and cautioned) them: “It may well be that God will destroy your tormentor and give you a hand in overseeing the affairs of the land. God will then see how you conduct yourselves.”
• We (God) enabled people who were considered weak (and dispossessed) to inherit the land, from its eastern side to the western side, a land We had blessed abundantly (see Genesis 17:8). It was a commitment that God fulfilled for the Children of Israel due to their patience (and perseverance) while We brought down what Pharaoh and his people accomplished and what they built.
• Moses came up for Our appointment, and his Cherisher God spoke to him. He said: “My Sustainer, show me Yourself so that I might behold You.” He (God) said: “You cannot see Me, but pay attention to this mountain; if it remains firm in its place, only then you can see Me.” Then his Sustainer God shone His glory on the mountain and made it crumble to pieces; Moses fell down, losing his senses.

Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 141- 165)

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• I (God) will show you the results of corruption and mischief. I will deprive of My guidance those who act with pride on this earth without justification; they will see every sign but will not accept it; they will see the means to correct themselves but will ignore them, and they will see means to corrupt themselves and will latch onto them. Such conditions exist because they actively deny Our guidance and remain ignorant of it (see also 96:6–7).
• Those who follow the unlettered (ummi) Messenger whom they find written about in the Torah and the Bible. He (Prophet) invites them to what is right and good and dissuades them from what is evil; who legislates for them what is pure and good and prohibits what is impure and bad; who removes from them undue burdens and constraints that have been imposed on them. Those who accept him, honor him, help him, and adhere to the light (guidance) that has been sent down to him, these are the successful ones.
• From the followers of Moses, there is a community who guide themselves to truth and establish justice with such guidance.
• A group among them said: “Why should we attempt to guide a people whom Allah will destroy or bring severe punishment?” The group (offering guidance) replied: “To avoid the blame of not doing so in the presence of our Sustainer God and in the hope that they might become aware and responsible.”

Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 166 - 171)

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• And remember when your Sustainer announced that He will send against them, to the Day of Resurrection, people who will subject them to severe torment. Surely God is quick in taking account, but He is ever Forgiving, Merciful!
• We cause them to divide into groups—some of them drawn to good and some of them otherwise (to evil). We tried them with good fortune as well as misfortune to see if they would turn around.
• After these people, came in their posterity another evil generation who inherited the divine revelation but opted for the vanities of life on this earth and boasted: “We will be forgiven.” They were ready to do the same at the next turn of vanities. Yet a commitment was taken from them in their book that they would speak nothing about God but the truth, and they studied what was in the book. Certainly, the life after is better for those who are mindful and responsible. Do they not then understand?
• Those who remain true to the Book (of Revelations) and sustain devotion to God—for them, We do not waste the effort of those who continue to reform (ٱلْمُصْلِحِينَ) themselves.
• (We said): “Commit firmly what you have been given and become fully aware of what it contains, so that you can become mindful and be responsible (tattaqu).”

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Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 172 - 180)

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• (Consider the truth) when your Sustainer brings forth the offspring of the children of Adam, from themselves, ALLAH makes them confirm the truth about themselves: “Am I not your Sustainer God?” They say: “Yes, we do confirm.” (Such is the truth), lest you say on the Day of Resurrection: “We were unaware of this,” or you complain: “It was our forefathers who invented polytheism, and we are but their descendants after them. Would You then make us face the consequence of their untrue conjectures?” This is how We (God) make the guidance explicit so that you may return (to the truth).
• Evil is the manifestation of those who deny Our messages, and they oppress thereby none but their own souls.
• Those whom God guides are indeed guided, but whom God allows to stray, they are indeed in a state of loss.
• they were gifted with a heart, but they try not to understand with it; they were given eyes, but they try not to see with them; and they have ears, but they do not listen with them—they behave like cattle or perhaps stray further. They are making no attempt to comprehend.

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Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 181 - 188)

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• God has the best attributes, so aspire to imbibe those attributes and leave alone those who disregard such attributes. They will face the consequences of what they do. (Let there be) from among Our creations a group that guides (themselves and others) to truth and pursues justice thereby.
• Those who deny Our (God’s) messages, We lead them (to their consequences) gradually, in a manner that they do not recognize that this is happening. I (God) allow them respite, but My subtle scheme is ever effective.
• Have they not seen the dominion of God over the universe and the earth and what Allah had created? Could it be that their own term for existence is coming to an end; what other announcement (from God) are they waiting to believe in, after this?
• They ask you about the Hour (Day of Resurrection), when it will come about. Say: “The knowledge of it is only with my Sustainer God. None but God can me bring it about when the time is due; it will impact heavily on the heavens and the earth, and it will come but all of a sudden.”

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Surah Al-Araf: Highlights (v. 189 - 206)

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• He (God) is the One who created you from a single being (مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ, ) from it its mate, so that he may incline to her.
• My friend (وَلِـِّۧىَ ) is God Himself Who inspired this Book, and He befriends those who subscribe to goodness.”
• Have broader perspectives and avoid quick judgements, work to establish goodness, and do not be influenced by those who are ignorant.
• Those who are conscious and responsible (ٱتَّقَوْا۟) when the Devil attempts to influence them immediately become mindful, and they can recognize (their faults), whereas those who align with the Devil continue to increase in such deviation without resisting.
• When this Qur’an is presented, pay attention to its message and reflect on its meaning (in silent contemplation) so that you can partake in its mercy. Be conscious of your Sustainer God within your inner core with awe and humility and in a voice pleasant during morning hours and evening hours, and do not allow yourself to be without such conscious mindfulness.

Surah An-Faal: Highlights (v. 1 - 14)

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• They (faithful) ask you (Prophet) about spoils (ٱلْأَنفَالِ) from battle. Say: such resource is for ALLAH and His prophet (i.e., for common good). Therefore, be mindful of God and your responsibility to one another (فَٱتَّقُوا۟), settle your differences and align with God and His prophet, if you claim to have faith.
• True believers are those whose hearts are full of awe when God is remembered among them and when God’s guidance and revelations are discussed; these increase their faith and affirm their trust in God. These people establish worship of God (as part of their daily living) and dedicate part of their resources for the benefit of others. These are the markers of real believers who will be elevated in the presence of God, receive God’s forgiveness, protection and a dignified provision (in this world and in the hereafter).
• ALLAH committed to help you overpower one of the two parties while you were more willing to take on the party less armed; but God wished to establish the truth of His word and to root out the deniers of His grace so that God can make faith and goodwill to triumph while falsehood and evil come to nothing, even though those who sin against God and humanity desire otherwise.

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Surah An-Faal: Highlights (v. 15 - 28)

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• O people of faith, when people who deny faith (truth and justice) march against you in war, do not turn your backs to them.
• O People of Faith, align with ALLAH and His Messenger and do not turn away while you hear; don’t be like those who hear but do not respond.
• O People of Faith, respond to God and His Messenger when he calls you to guidance that enriches your lives, be cognizant that God intervenes between your soul and your heart (to inspire and to guide) and He will gather you all to Him. Be mindful that afflictions and trials may not confine itself to those who are unjust to the exclusion of others (who consider themselves otherwise good) and God is fully capable of requiting.
• Remember when you were few in numbers, deemed insignificant on earth and fearful that others will destroy you by force, God sheltered you, strengthened you with His help and gave you wholesome sustenance and support that you may be thankful.
• O People of Faith, don’t be unresponsive to God and His Messenger, and unfaithful to your trust (أَمَـٰنَـٰتِكُمْ/truth and justice) while you have been endowed with the knowledge. Also, be aware that your material possessions and your family could be a source of trials and temptations and with God is the finality of all rewards and contentment.

Surah An-Faal: Highlights (v. 29 - 28)

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• O People of Faith, if you are mindful of God and your responsibilities to each other (tattaqu), ALLAH will endow you with capacities to distinguish (truth vs. falsehood), give you distinction, remove your evils and protect you. God is without limit in His grace. People without faith (your adversaries) were devising a plan to restrain you in your place or kill you or drive you away – this they planned, and God planned as well. (Always know that) God is a better planner!
• You should resist and go to war (if needed) to put an end to all forms of persecutions and restore all pursuits of life (deen) to God’s Way.
• But if they return (to persecute you), then rest assured that God is your Patron and Protector, the Most Excellent Patron and the Most Excellent Helper!

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Session 10: June 21^st (Sat at 11AM)

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• Link to reading – https://myllife.org/read/monthly-quran-readings.html/title/session-10
• Weekly rhythm – each week (reading/reflections)
• Perhaps keep a journal, if that is helpful

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