Two Types of People During Ramadan: Sulayman al-Ruhayli

On the eve of the last ten nights of Ramadan, sheikh Sulayman al-Ruhayli wrote:

في رمضان مرحوم ومحروم : المرحوم من سمع ياباغي الخير أقبل ، وأن لله عتقاء من النار في كل ليلة ، وأن أبواب الجنة تفتح ، وأن فيه ليلة خير من ألف شهر فتحرك قلبه ، ولان للصالحات جسده فصان صيامه وأحسن قيامه إيمانا واحتسابا واجتهد في طاعة مولاه ، وكلما نقص شهره زاد اجتهاده

In Ramadan there are some people who are granted mercy and some people who are in a state of deprivation.

Those granted mercy are those who hear:

• “O doer of good, proceed!”
• and that Allah frees people from the hellfire every night
• and that the doers of Jannah have been opened
• and that this month contains a nigh that is better than one thousand months

so all of this moves their hearts and prompts their bodies to do good deeds. Such a person guards his fast and strives in his night prayers, motivated both by his faith and anticipation of the reward, and he puts himself to work in obedience to his master. The shorter this month becomes, the more striving he performs.

Virtues of the Ha Mim Surahs: Tafsir ibn Kathir

There are seven sequential surahs within the Qur’an – Ghafir (40), Fussilat (41), al-Shooraa (42), al-Zukhruf (43), al-Dhukhan (44), al-Jathiyah (45), & al-Ahqaf (46) – that all begin with the disconnected letters حم Ha Mim. These seven surahs are sometimes referred to as Āl Ha Mīm – “The Ha Mim Family” or al-Hawāmīm – “The Ha Mims”.

In the beginning of his explanation of the first of these surahs, surah Ghafir, al-haafidh Ismaa’eel ibn Kathir included the following statements from two of the sahabah:

قال عبد الله بن مسعود : ” آل حم ” ديباج القرآن .ـ

‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood said, “The Ha Mim surahs are the adornment of the Qur’an.”

وقال ابن عباس : إن لكل شيء لبابا ولباب القرآن ” آل حم ” أو قال : الحواميم .ـ

Ibn ‘Abbaas said, “Everything had a core essence, and the core essence of the Qur’an is the Ha Mim surahs,” or he said, “al-Hawāmīm.”

قال مسعر بن كدام : كان يقال لهن : ” العرائس ” .ـ

Mis’ar ibn Kidam said, “People used to called them ‘the brides.'”

روى ذلك كله الإمام العلم أبو عبيد القاسم بن سلام ، رحمه الله ، في كتاب : ” فضائل القرآن ” . ـ

All of those reports were mentioned by the great scholar Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam in his book, Fadha’il al-Qur’an.

Having Bad Thoughts of Your Lord: Tafsir al-Qurtubi

In surah Fussilat, Allah tells us that He will address the disbelievers on the Day of Judgement by saying:

وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم مِّنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

And that thought of yours which you thought about your Lord has brought you to destruction, and you have become among the losers. [41:23]

Commenting on this in his book of tafsir, Imam al-Qurtubi wrote:

قوله تعالى : وذلكم ظنكم الذي ظننتم بربكم أرداكم أي أهلككم فأوردكم النار . قال قتادة : الظن هنا بمعنى العلم . وقال النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم – : لا يموتن أحدكم إلا وهو يحسن الظن بالله ، فإن قوما أساءوا الظن بربهم فأهلكهم ، فذلك قوله : وذلكم ظنكم الذي ظننتم بربكم أرداكم . وقال الحسن البصري : إن قوما ألهتهم الأماني حتى خرجوا من الدنيا وما لهم حسنة ، ويقول أحدهم : إني أحسن الظن بربي . وكذب ، ولو أحسن الظن لأحسن العمل ، وتلا قول الله تعالى : وذلكم ظنكم الذي ظننتم بربكم أرداكم فأصبحتم من الخاسرين . وقال قتادة : من استطاع منكم أن يموت وهو حسن الظن بربه فليفعل ، فإن الظن اثنان : ظن ينجي وظن يردي . وقال عمر بن الخطاب في هذه الآية : هؤلاء قوم كانوا يدمنون المعاصي ولا يتوبون منها ويتكلمون على المغفرة ، حتى خرجوا من الدنيا مفاليس ، ثم قرأ : وذلكم ظنكم الذي ظننتم بربكم أرداكم فأصبحتم من الخاسرين . ـ

Allah’s statement:

وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ

And that thought of yours which you thought about your Lord has brought you to destruction …

i.e. has destroyed them and brought them to the fire.

Qatadah said, “The word ‘thought’ here refers to their certainty.”

The Prophet said:

None of you should die unless he had good thoughts of Allah, for there were a people who had bad thoughts of their Lord and so He destroyed them. That was His statement:

وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ

And that thought of yours which you thought about your Lord has brought you to destruction …

al-Hasan al-Basri said, “There are people who indulge their unfounded hopes so much that they leave this world without any good deeds. They say, ‘I have good thoughts of my Lord,’ but they lie, for if they had good thoughts of Him then they would make their actions good.” And then he recited this ayah.

What Has the Qur’an Grown in Your Hearts: Sheikh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Badr

Abu Nu’aym recorded:

قال مالك بن دينار رحمه الله : يا حملة القرآن ، ماذا زرع القرآن في قلوبكم ؟! فإن القرآن ربيع المؤمن كما أن الغيث ربيع الأرض؛ وقد ينزل الغيث من السماء إلى الأرض فيصيب الحش فيكون فيه الحبة فلا يمنعها نتن موضعها أن تهتز وتخضر وتَحْسُن ! فيا حملة القرآن ،ماذا زرع القرآن في قلوبكم ؟! .. أين أصحاب سورة ؟! … أين أصحاب سورتين ؟! … ماذا عملتم فيهما ؟ ـ

Malik ibn Dinar said:

O you who have memorized the Qur’an, what has the Qur’an cultivated in your hearts? The Qur’an is a life-giver for the believer just as rain is a life-giver for the earth. Rain might come down from the sky to the earth and land on some green area with a seed beneath it and nothing in that place to stop it from growing, ripening and producing something good. O you who have memorized the Qur’an, what has the Qur’an grown in your hearts? Where are the people who have memorized one surah? Where are the people who have memorized two surahs? What have you done with them?

[Hilyah al-Awliya’ 2/358]

In one of his khutbahs, sheikh ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Badr mentioned this report and then followed it up by saying:

وهذا المعنى جاء تبيانه في قول الله سبحانه { أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ (16) اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ } : أي كما أن الله سبحانه يحيي الأرض الميتة بالماء فإن القلوب الميتة لا حياة لها إلا بوحي الله وتنزيله جل في علاه. ـ

And a clear demonstration of this message can be found in Allah’s statement:

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ * اعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُحْيِي الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا ۚ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ

Hasn’t the time come for those who believe that their hearts would be humbled by the remembrance of Allah and the truth that He has sent down and that they wouldn’t be like those who were given the scriptures before, that a long time passed and their hearts became hard. And many of them were wrong-doers. * Know that Allah gives lives to the earth after it having been dead. Allah makes the signs clear to you so that you might understand. [57:16-17]

meaning: just as Allah gives life to the dead earth through water, the dead hearts cannot have any life without revelation from Allah and His sending the revelation down.

A Servant’s Tawbah Lies Between Two Tawbahs from His Lord: Ibn al-Qayyim

In one of his celebrated writings, the great scholar ibn al-Qayyim wrote:

فصل توبة العبد بين توبتين من ربه

A Servant’s Tawbah Lies Between Two Tawbahs from His Lord

وتوبة العبد إلى الله محفوفة بتوبة من الله عليه قبلها ، وتوبة منه بعدها ، فتوبته بين توبتين من ربه ، سابقة ولاحقة ، فإنه تاب عليه أولا إذنا وتوفيقا وإلهاما ، فتاب العبد ، فتاب الله عليه ثانيا ، قبولا وإثابة ، قال الله سبحانه وتعالى لقد تاب الله على النبي والمهاجرين والأنصار الذين اتبعوه في ساعة العسرة من بعد ما كاد يزيغ قلوب فريق منهم ثم تاب عليهم إنه بهم رءوف رحيم وعلى الثلاثة الذين خلفوا حتى إذا ضاقت عليهم الأرض بما رحبت وضاقت عليهم أنفسهم وظنوا أن لا ملجأ من الله إلا إليه ثم تاب عليهم ليتوبوا إن الله هو التواب الرحيم فأخبر سبحانه أن توبته عليهم سبقت توبتهم ، وأنها هي التي جعلتهم تائبين ، فكانت سببا مقتضيا لتوبتهم ، فدل على أنهم ما تابوا حتى تاب الله تعالى عليهم ، والحكم ينتفي لانتفاء علته . ـ

A servant’s tawbah is surrounded by tawbah from Allah towards him beforehand and tawbah from Him afterwards, such that his tawbah lies between two tawbahs from his Lord – one before and one after. For Allah turns to Him firstly by permitting, enabling and inspiring him to repent. Then the servant repents, so Allah turns to Him in forgiveness a second time by accepting his repentance and rewarding him for it.

Allah said:

لَّقَد تَّابَ اللَّهُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَةِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِيقٍ مِّنْهُمْ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِهِمْ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ * وَعَلَى الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوا أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ‎

Allah has certainly turned to the Prophet, the Muhajiroon and the Ansar who followed him during the hour of difficulty after the hearts of a group of them had almost gone astray, and then He turned to them [in forgiveness]. He is certainly Kind, Merciful. * And [He also turned in forgiveness] to three of those who were left behind to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls became tightened and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Allah is Accepting of Repentance, Merciful. [9:117-118]

Descriptions of the Believers in Surah Aal ‘Imran: Tafsir al-Baghawi

Allah addresses the believers in surah Aal ‘Imran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّبَا أَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَةً ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ * وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ * وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ * وَسَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ * الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ * وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ * أُولَٰئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ

O you who believe, do not consume ribaa multiplied over and over again. And have taqwa of Allah so that you would be successful. * And have taqwa of the hellfire which has been prepared for the disbelievers. * And obey Allah and the Messenger so that you might receive mercy. * And rush to forgiveness from your Lord and paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth which has been prepared for the righteous ones. * Those who spend in both ease and hardship and restrain their anger and who pardon the people. And Allah loves the good doers. * And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, they remember Allah and therefore seek forgiveness for their sins – and who forgives sins besides Allah? – and do not persist in what they were doing while they know. * The reward for those ones will be forgiveness from their Lord and gardens under which rivers flow, remaining in them forever. What an excellent reward for the workers. [3:130-136]

Commenting on this in his famous book of tafsir, Imam Abu Muhammad al-Baghawi wrote:

ـ ( ياأيها الذين آمنوا لا تأكلوا الربا أضعافا مضاعفة ) أراد به ما كانوا يفعلونه عند حلول أجل الدين من زيادة المال وتأخير الطلب ، ( واتقوا الله ) في أمر الربا فلا تأكلوه ، ( لعلكم تفلحون ) ثم خوفهم فقال : ( واتقوا النار التي أعدت للكافرين ) . ـ

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّبَا أَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَةً

O you who believe, do not consume ribaa multiplied over and over again …

Allah here is referring to what the people used to do when the time to pay a debt came and they would increase the amount owed and extend the time given.

وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ

… and have taqwa of Allah …

regarding ribaa so that you do not consume it

لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

… so that you would be successful. [3:130]

Allah then motivates them to be fearful by saying:

وَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ

And have taqwa of the hellfire which has been prepared for the disbelievers. [3:131]

ـ ( وأطيعوا الله والرسول لعلكم ترحمون ) لكي ترحموا . ( وسارعوا ) قرأ أهل المدينة والشام سارعوا بلا واو ، ( إلى مغفرة من ربكم ) أي بادروا وسابقوا إلى الأعمال التي توجب المغفرة . [ ص: 104 ] قال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما : إلى الإسلام ، وروي عنه : إلى التوبة ، وبه قال عكرمة ، وقال علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه : إلى أداء الفرائض ، وقال أبو العالية : إلى الهجرة ، وقال الضحاك : إلى الجهاد ، وقال مقاتل : إلى الأعمال الصالحة . روي عن أنس بن مالك أنها التكبيرة الأولى . ـ

وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

And obey Allah and the Messenger so that you might receive mercy. [3:132]

i.e. so that you would receive mercy.

The Beautiful Arrangement of the First Four Large Surahs: al-Zarkashi

In part of his famous manual to the Qur’anic sciences, Badr al-Deen al-Zarkashi wrote:

تنبيه :ترتيب وضع السور في المصحف

A Side Note on the Arrangement of the Surahs in the Mushaf

لترتيب وضع السور في المصحف أسباب تطلع على أنه توقيفي صادر عن حكيم : ـ

The surahs were arranged into the places that they are within the Mushaf for specific reasons which show that this arrangement is divinely-ordained by the Perfect Maker.

أحدها : بحسب الحروف ، كما في الحواميم ، وثانيها : لموافقة أول السورة لآخر ما قبلها ; كآخر ” الحمد ” في المعنى وأول ” البقرة ” ، وثالثها : للوزن في اللفظ كآخر ” تبت ” وأول ” الإخلاص ” ، ورابعها : لمشابهة جملة السورة لجمله الأخرى مثل : والضحى و ألم نشرح . ـ

First: By letters, such as with the Ha Meem surahs.

Second: How the beginning of one surah will match with the end of the previous one. Take, for example, the end of surah al-Fatihah being further explained in the beginning of surah al-Baqarah.

Starting & Stopping One’s Reading at Appropriate Places: al-Nawawi

In his famous handbook to the Qur’anic sciences, al-Nawawi included the following chapter:

ينبغي للقارئ إذا ابتدأ من وسط السورة أو وقف على غير آخرها أن يبتدئ من أول الكلام المرتبط بعضه ببعض، وأن يقف على الكلام المرتبط، ولا يتقيد بالأعشار والأجزاء؛ فإنها قد تكون في وسط الكلام المرتبط، كالجزء الذي في قوله تعالى: وما أبرئ نفسي وفي قوله تعالى: فما كان جواب قومه [ ص: 116 ] وقوله تعالى: ومن يقنت منكن لله ورسوله وفي قوله تعالى: وما أنـزلنا على قومه من بعده من جند من السماء وفي قوله تعالى: إليه يرد علم الساعة وفي قوله تعالى: وبدا لهم سيئات وفي قوله: قال فما خطبكم أيها المرسلون . ـ

When starting from the middle of a surah or coming to a stop before the end of a surah, the one reciting should start from the beginning of a passage whose contents are tied together and stop at the end of a complete passage rather than strictly sticking to grouping of ten ayaat or the juz’ divisions which might occur in the middle of a passage.

Take for example the juz’ that begins:

وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي

And I do not acquit myself [12:53 – beginning of juz’ 13]

or

فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ

But the answer of his people was only … [27:56 – beginning of juz’ 20]

Tafsir of Surah al-Insan: al-Tafsir al-Muyassar

The book Al-Tafsir al-Muyassar was written by a group of scholars under the direction of sheikh Saalih Aal al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was designed to be a simple and easy-to-understand tafsir according to the understanding of the salaf. What follows is its brief tafsir of surah al-Insan (76) and translation:

ـ {هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا (1)}
قد مضى على الإنسان وقت طويل من الزمان قبل أن تُنفَخ فيه الروح، لم يكن شيئا يُذكر، ولا يُعرف له أثر. ـ

هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا

Wasn’t there a period of time for man when he was nothing to be mentioned? (1)

A long time has already passed for man since the period before a soul was even blown into him when he wasn’t even anything to be mentioned and he was not known to have any significance.

ـ {إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا (2) إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا (3)}
إنا خلقنا الإنسان من نطفة مختلطة من ماء الرجل وماء المرأة، نختبره بالتكاليف الشرعية فيما بعد، فجعلناه من أجل ذلك ذا سمع وذا بصر؛ ليسمع الآيات، ويرى الدلائل، إنا بينَّا له وعرَّفناه طريق الهدى والضلال والخير والشر؛ ليكون إما مؤمنًا شاكرًا، وإما كفورًا جاحدًا. ـ

إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا * إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا

We created man from a sperm drop mixed so that We would test him, so We made him hearing and seeing. (2) We showed him the path; either he will be grateful or ungrateful. (3)

We created man from a sperm drop, mixed with the fluid of a man and the fluid of a woman. We informed him of his legal responsibilities according to the sharee’ah going forward. In order to fulfill those responsibilities, We made him with the ability to hear and see so that he could listen to the ayaat and see the evidences. We have clarified those things for him and made him aware of the path of guidance and misguidance, good and evil. This is all in order that he may either be a grateful believer or an ungrateful disbeliever.

Du’a of the Qur’an Part 10: al-Sa’di

In his collection of various reflections on the Qur’an that he penned during Ramadan, Sheikh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di included a beautiful section on some of the du’a found within the Qur’an. What follows is his explanation of the du’a of Nuh, as found in surah Hud:

ومثل قول نوح لمَّا لامه اللهُ بسؤال نجاة ابنه الكافر، الذي ليس من أهله، وأن هذا عمل غير صالح، فقال: ﴿قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَإِلَّا تَغْفِرْ لِي وَتَرْحَمْنِي أَكُنْ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ﴾[هود: 47] فتوسل بربوبية الله واستعاذ به أن يسأله سؤالا ليس له به علم، وإنما حمله عليه مجرد محبة النفس لا إرادة رضى الله، واعترف بأن هذا الذي جرى منه يوجب التضرع والاستغفار، وأنه إن لم يغفر له ربُه ويرحمه كان من الخاسرين،فالناس قسمان: رابحون: وهم الذين تغمدهم الله بمغفرته ورحمته، وخاسرون: وهم الذين فاتتهم المغفرة والرحمة، ولا يحصل ذلك إلا بالله. ـ

Another example of a comprehensive du’a is what Nuh said when Allah reprimanded him for asking for his disbelieving son to be saved, when Allah told him that his son was not one of his people and that this was not a righteous action. At this point, Nuh said:

رَبِّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِهِ عِلْمٌ ۖ وَإِلَّا تَغْفِرْ لِي وَتَرْحَمْنِي أَكُن مِّنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

Lord, I seek refuge with You from asking You for what I have no knowledge of. If you do not forgive me and show mercy to me, I will be one of the losers. [11:47]