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Small Kindnesses
Suratul Ma’un is a short but beautiful Surah full of wisdom and guidance. It is one those surahs that you can study over and over again and still find some new way to benefit from it.
The most important part, in my opinion, is how Allah warns us not to overlook the little things in life. We are advised to be careful about certain things that we might consider trifling or inconsequential.
Here’s a quick recap of the Tafsir. But the explanation in the video goes much deeper.
Have you seen the one who has denied the Day of Reckoning?
Allah is asking Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and by extension all Muslims, if they have seen, or witnessed the case of those people who deny the Resurrection and Judgement by Allah.
That is the one who pushes the orphan away.
In this verse Allah tells us that those people who abuse and neglect the orphans are among those who have rejected Islam and denied the Resurrection and Judgement.
And does not encourage feeding the needy.
These same people are also stingy and do not share their wealth with those in need. They are not even willing to feed the poor and needy, even though their wealth belongs to Allah in the first place.
So woe to those who pray.
Allah is cautioning and warning those people who are Muslims on the outside and go through the motions of prayer. However, their prayers are not sincere and they do not have any true belief. Otherwise, how could they drive away the orphans and ignore the needy?
Those who are neglectful of their prayers.
These are people who neglect their prayers in every manner. They skip prayers without even thinking about it. They may only pray on Friday Jumuah. Or perhaps only during Ramadan. And when they do pray, there’s no focus or concentration. They don’t even attempt to improve their focus, or Khushoo. That is because they’re praying for the wrong reason.
Those who only do it for show.
The reason they pray at all is only to be seen. They do it only so that they can be counted among the Muslims. That is part of the reason they may only pray on Fridays and during Ramadan. These are the times that Muslims generally gather together to pray. But these “Muslims” do not pray at home. They do not pray when no one is looking. And what prayers they do are simply to show off.
And deny small kindnesses.
And if these same people do not pray with Allah in mind, they are have little Taqwa, or piety. Therefore, they overlook small kindnesses and small favors that would help others and perhaps improve their standing with Allah in the next life. They are not worried about being courteous to their neighbor or helping their fellow Muslims by giving them a ride home or loaning them a few bucks. And why should they be worried about these things? As Allah mentioned in the first verse, they do not believe in the Resurrection and Judgement of the next life anyway.
Video and Audio Download
The video recording of the Tafsir is available below. If you’d like, you can also click the link on the bottom to download the audio. And of course, if you have an iPod, iPhone, or iPad (mini or otherwise), you can also get the recording on iTunes in the ILM Podcast.
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[...] For those of you who are Muslim but are negligent on your prayers, take this opportunity to make the change now. You must immediately correct this, and make the Salah a part of your daily routine. [...]
[...] they don’t see you reciting and learning the Quran, most likely, they will not bother with it [...]
yes this is a beautiful surah…..