⛰️ #3 | Surah Rahman: Reminders in Repetition?

Surah Rahman: Reminders in Repetition?

Allah reminds us about His mercy, bounty, and creations, interlaced and embedded throughout the holy Quran, within stories, reminders, and messages. While there are different surahs or ayaat that come to mind for each of us, Surah Rahman is at the forefront, for me personally.

One of the largest reasons is because of its unique repetitive pattern, and its soul-touching verses. More so, the repetition of a particular ayah, and its connection to Allah’s gifts and creation:

{فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ}

Then which of your Lord's favors will you both deny?

Surah Rahman is beautifully distinct with respect to this repetition paired with the varying themes explored in this chapter. He begins with the mention of the Quran itself, and then to various worldly bounties surrounding us, to the Day of Judgement, to the description of the Hellfire and Paradise. Throughout all of these massively deep topics, Allah centers the surah around the idea of the marvels of His favors. This alone is a large attestation to the significance of appreciation of these blessings.

More beautifully, the continuous anchoring of this verse throughout these themes largely emphasizes a myriad of facets of Allah’s Rahma (mercy).

Naturally, the mercy of Allah with respect to Paradise, is emphasized, with the mention of the rewards of gardens, beauty, and eternal bliss.

And against the backdrop of the description of Hellfire, the mercy of Allah is highlighted tremendously as well.

Although that sounds counter-intuitive, hear me out.

Firstly, the mere fact that Allah has described the torment of the Hellfire is a gift to us. Why?

Because, Allah is giving us the chance to KNOW about the punishment, so we strive to do our best to protect ourselves from it. And not only does He do that, He gives us the very shield to do so: remembrance of His favors, and following His commands.

SubhanAllah!

And finally, us humans are forgetful beings. It is easy to get blinded by our troubles and worldly affairs. But Allah again and again, gently gives us sight through this surah. We only need to open our hearts with appreciation and the rest of our way will be opened up by our Lord, inshaAllah.

May we be adorned with the mercy of Allah in this life and the next. Ameen!