Quran Reflections

In the historical account of the Israelites, Allah sent them provision from the heavens in the form of manna and salwa. Yet they were ungrateful and asked for garlic, onions and lentils - reminiscent of their period of slavery under Firaun. It's easy to write off this episode as something that would never happen to us. How are we missing the point when we think in this way?

In this episode, Zulaikha and Natasha discuss the aayaat from Al-Baqarah where the Israelites had worshipped a calf and Allah commanded them to kill each other as a way to make taubah. As Muslims, we may read these aayaat and feel that they are "remote"; they don't relate to us. But they absolutely do! Listen to this episode to understand the ways in which we make the same mistakes as they did.

We all strive to earn Allah's pleasure by doing good deeds that we hope will be accepted by Him. In this episode, Zulaikah and Natasha reflect on personal experiences in the hope that others can benefit from the personal reminders.

Recording of a live talk on parenting, where Natasha shares lessons on bringing up children to be successful from akhirah as well as dunya perspective. Among others, she draws from surah Saba and surah Luqman. Please note that sensitive questions asked by the audience were edited out to respect their privacy.

What were the two things that the Companions radhiAllahu anhum do, that made them worthy of Allah giving them Al-Fath, or the Conquest?

n this Episode, we discuss the narrative we tell ourselves and our loved ones when facing trials. We discuss the importance of going beyond saying “Allah knows best”, and look at other ayaat from the Qur’an that help us to empower ourselves to respond to trials.

In this Episode, we discuss lessons from Surah Muhammad on how to avoid falling into hypocrisy and invalidating our deeds. It's scary that the first lesson is about not being inattentive when a religious reminder is being given!

This episode is different from the rest, because Natasha and Zulaikha are joined by a mutual friend, Ezzaty Hasbullah. They discuss the topic of trials, and what lessons we can extract from surah Al-Ankabut in terms of how to navigate trials.

In this Episode, we switch tracks a bit and talk about exploring inter-surah linkages in the Qur’an. Natasha and Zulaikha talk about the Ha Meem surahs and elaborate on the linkages between these seven surahs.

In this Episode, we go deeper into one surah from the Ha Meem series, which is Surah Ash-Shura. Among the lessons we learn is about not causing divisiveness on matters of the religion and standing up to tyranny.

For variety, in this Episode we cover a Madinan surah - Surah Al-Hujurat, which talks about the etiquette of a Muslim community.

Alhamdulillah, we wrap up this season by discussing the link between the surahs in Juz 23: As-Saaffaat, Sad and Az-Zumar. They relate to the topic of how to be Mukhliseen so that Allah picks us to be the Mukhlaseen.

Natasha and Zulaikha discuss types of doubt, the opposite of doubt (yaqeen or certainty) and the three levels of yaqeen. What leads to doubt? What do we need to do to increase to the next level of yaqeen?

Natasha and Zulaikha discuss the first historical account in the reading order of the Qur'an, which is also the very beginning of the history of mankind. What does it mean to be created as khalifahs? What can we learn from the sin of Adam 'alayhi salam? How sure are we that we are not replicating the early sins of Iblees? A reminder to be shukr and to avoid negative comparisons.

Continuing the voice notes of her research on Al-Baqarah, Natasha shares the 4 ways in which the word "ittaqa" (root word for muttaqeen) is used in the Qur'an.

A 15-minute episode where Islamic author Natasha Kamaluddin records voice notes of her Qur'an research. In this episode, Natasha talks about the first few phrases in Al-Baqarah. She shares additional insights on Huruf Muqatta'ah and the five ways in which Allah uses the word "kitab" in the Quran.