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The basmallah, the very first (1:1) and most recited Quranic verse is a declaration, invocation, commitment and goal. It declares that Allah is widely and indiscriminately loving, kind and merciful to every individual life. It invokes this Rahma upon the reciter of the basmallah, it binds the reciter’s actions to this Rahma and it hopes for an outcome that is Rahma. It brings Allah’s Rahmaniyyah to the front, out of which the world is created; and Allah’s Rahimiyya, through which each creature in this world is sustained and cared for through continuous and repeated acts of Rahma. Both Rahman and Rahim are rooted in ‘rahm’, the womb, the loving and nurturing source of life.
— Dr. Ghazala Anwar
"Have you seen those who have taken their own desires as their god?"
— Allah, Qur'an, (The Kneeling chapter, 45:23)
أَفَرَءَيْتَ مَنِ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَـٰهَهُۥ هَوَىٰهُ
and turn away whenever they hear frivolous talk, saying, ‘We have our deeds and you have yours. Peace be with you! We want nothing to do with the company of those who act ignorantly.’
— script given from Allah in the Qur'ān (28:55)
وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا۟ لَنَآ أَعْمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـٰلُكُمْ سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِى ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ
God is sufficient for me. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. In Him I put my trust. And He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.
Quran | Surah Tawbah [9:129]
"Do you realise what the steep road is? It is to free a human being who is enslaved. To feed in famine an orphan or a poor person in distress. And above all, to be one of those who have faith and call each other to steadfastness and compassion." (90:12-17)
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْعَقَبَةُ (12) فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ (13) أَوْ إِطْعَـٰمٌۭ فِى يَوْمٍۢ ذِى مَسْغَبَةٍۢ (14) يَتِيمًۭا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ (15) أَوْ مِسْكِينًۭا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍۢ (16) ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْمَرْحَمَةِ (17)
the Qur'an | Its opening chapter is likely the most recited text in human history, at bare minimum 323 million times a day (assuming only 1% of the world's living Muslims prayed 5 times that day). Muslims believe the Qur'an is the Creator's word as first revealed to a highly literate community of 7th century Arabs by Muhammad (peace be upon him), an illiterate and reputable orphan husband of a successful older woman. The Qur'an self-identifies as both oral revelation and sacred scripture, so it is meant to be both recited and read. It contains 6236 verses / signs composed into 114 surahs / chapters. Its surahs are interrelated and consistent despite being revealed in parts over 23 years then arranged by length instead of most recently added. Although revealed in the 7th century, non-Muslims were the only English translators for 285 years before it was translated into English by a Muslim for the first time in 1934. The Qur'an speaks about itself, its Revealer, its purpose, its...
second-order thinking | "Let every soul consider carefully what it sends ahead for tomorrow." Second-order thinking is to look beyond the first obvious result of something and consider effects that are long-term, indirect, or hidden. It’s about asking, “What happens next because of this?” and considering the long-term effects or hidden consequences of a decision. It’s like thinking two or more steps ahead, not just about now.
