The belief in the Qur’an as one of our Holy Books is one of the six articles of faith in Islam. It forms such a significant basis of our faith, not only for us to seek guidance, knowledge, and protection, but also comfort – to be close to Him by being close to His words.
In this series, some of our fellow NTU students share with us their favourite surahs and what it means to them. From the surahs we recite everyday in our prayers to the surahs with enriching historical stories behind them, let us learn more about the Qur’an and how we can make it a valuable part of our lives.
وَلَقَد يَسَّرنَا القُرآنَ لِلذِّكرِ فَهَل مِن مُدَّكِرٍ
And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?
(Al Qur’an, 54:17)
Let us all yearn and strive to be Muslims who hold close to the Qur’an, InshaAllah.
Muhammad Ariff
1. What is your favourite surah?
It's pretty difficult to choose just one - for me, Surah Ar-Rahman and Al-Kahf are among my favourites, but I feel like Surah Yusuf is probably my favourite!
2. What does it mean to you personally?
I enjoy the stories and lessons from the surah! It details the story of our Prophet Yusuf AS; how he was betrayed by his own family and trusted allies, how people tried to put fitnah on him and how he was forgotten by a man whom he helped. Yet he never gave up in the face of rising adversity and kept faith in Allah SWT until he managed to gain his freedom and met his beloved father, Prophet Yaaqub AS. This is such an inspiring journey, in my opinion, because even when it looked like there was no way out and everything seemed bleak, he never lost faith in Allah SWT. He still put in effort and prayers towards Allah SWT and managed to emerge victorious in the end. This is something which we can apply to everyday life - even though whatever adversity we face will never be as difficult as what our prophets faced, we still have our own trials and tribulations that we will have to go through. And InshaAllah, with the help of our family and loved ones, and most importantly, with our prayers towards Allah, we will get through it eventually.
3. Do you have a favourite ayah from it?
It is so difficult to pick just one, but this would be right up there!
قَالَ لَا تَثۡرِيبَ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡيَوۡمَۖ يَغۡفِرُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡۖ وَهُوَ أَرۡحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
He said, "No blame will there be upon you today. May Allah forgive you; and He is the most merciful of the merciful."
(Al-Qur’an 12:92)
Sahih International
This ayah is regarding how Prophet Yusuf AS responded to his siblings - the same siblings who had thrown him into the well and left him there while claiming to their father, Prophet Yaaqub AS, that Prophet Yusuf AS had been killed. Prophet Yusuf AS could easily have chosen to punish his siblings for their ill-treatment and gotten revenge for setting off the entire chain of events which caused him so much hardship. Yet Prophet Yusuf AS chose to forgive them and let them go freely, treating them fairly and with compassion. Again, it gives us so much to reflect on. How do we treat the people who have wronged us? Are we cold towards them, or do we treat them with kindness?
4. Are there certain times that you will listen to/recite it?
I was told that this is a good surah to listen to or recite whenever one is feeling sad, so it is one of the surahs that I turn to whenever I'm feeling down.
5. How does it make you feel every time you listen to/recite it?
Alhamdulillah, just like most surahs, it gives me a sense of tranquillity and it does make me feel a lot better. Even though I don't understand it when I listen to it, just knowing the backstory and the stories of our prophets gives me hope that InshaAllah, with faith and belief, better days are coming.