Small things in the Quran worth stopping at

One Dua for Both Kinds of Struggle

A Numerical Pattern in Surah al-Kahf

This World, Like Rainwater

Three Levels of Certainty

• ʿIlm al-yaqīn, knowing with certainty: we know Paradise and Hell exist.
• ʿAyn al-yaqīn, the eye of certainty: seeing them shown to creation.
• Ḥaqq al-yaqīn, the absolute truth: entering them.

Two Times Repentance Is Not Accepted

• Specific: at the moment of death, saying "I have repented now" (4:18)
• General: when the sun rises from the west, a sign of the Last Day (6:158)

Two Meanings of "Time" in One Verse

• Ajal, a person's lifespan; the term ends at death.
• Ajalun musamma, the specified time, meaning Qiyamah, known only to Allah.

The Etiquette of Duʿā in the Quran

• "My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house a believer, and the believing men and believing women." (71:28)
• "Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers, the Day the account is established." (14:41)

Leadership, in One Verse

• Humility and tolerance
• Pardon mistakes
• Ask forgiveness for your people
• Consult before deciding
• Once decided, commit, and trust Allah with the outcome

Five Causes of Victory

• Oneness of Allah (tawḥīd)
• Establishing salah
• Fulfilling zakat
• Enjoining what is good
• Forbidding what is wrong

Six Life Lessons From an Ant

• Took action on a threat
• Announced it clearly, using "O ants!"
• Made sure the warning reached everyone, even those far off
• Stayed with the group instead of fleeing alone
• Explained her reasoning
• Assumed the best of Sulayman (as) and his army

Three Moments of Loneliness

Conditions for a Deed to Be Accepted

• Sincerity to Allah. Without it, the deed is hollow.
• Following the Sunnah. Without it, the deed goes astray however sincere it was.

Pardon, Overlook, Forgive

Sins vs. Misdeeds

The Secret and the More Hidden

Good Earned, Evil Earned

Arrogant vs. Boastful

Looking vs. Radiant

Calmness vs. Disgrace, Same Root

Goodness vs. Righteousness

Three Ways to Ask, in the Quran

• Yasʾalūnaka, "they ask you", a question to learn something (2:78)
• Yastaftūnaka, "they request from you", asking for a legal ruling (5:98)
• Yastanbiʾūnaka, "they ask information", something weighty and important (10:53)

One Root, Four Meanings: ن ظ ر

• Seeing: "looking at their Lord" (75:23)
• Waiting: "wait for what my envoys return with" (27:35)
• Considering: "let people consider their food" (80:24)
• Mercy: "nor will He look at them with mercy" (3:77)

Awe vs. Fear

Five Prophets Named Before Birth

• Muhammad ﷺ (61:6)
• Ishaq (as) (37:112)
• Yaʿqub (as) (11:71)
• Yahya (as) (19:7)
• ʿIsa (as) (3:45)

Four Verses, Four Kinds of Protection

• Evil eye: "Mā shāʾ Allāh, lā quwwata illā billāh" (18:40)
• Shayṭān: "Ḥasbunallāhu wa niʿmal wakīl" (3:174)
• People's plots: "Wa ufawwiḍu amrī ilAllāh" (40:45)
• Grief and sorrow: "Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu minaẓ-ẓālimīn" (21:88)

Two Journeys

At the Time of Affliction

• Types: direct, such as fear and hunger; and indirect, such as loss of wealth, life or produce.
• Response: patience, and saying "innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn".
• Reward: Allah praises them, shows them mercy, and guides them.

Three Pillars of Religion, in One Verse

• Abstaining from what is prohibited
• Carrying out what is commanded
• Being patient with what is decreed

"The Poor" vs. "The Needy"

Boys Named in the Quran

Surahs Named After...

• Names of Allah: ar-Rahman, an-Nur, al-Aʿla
• Celestial bodies: an-Najm, al-Qamar, ash-Shams
• Angels: as-Saffat, al-Mursalat, an-Naziʿat
• Prophets: Yunus, Ibrahim, Muhammad, Nuh, Yusuf, Hud
• Nations and tribes: Al ʿImran, Saba, ar-Rum, Quraysh
• Qiyamah: al-Haqqah, al-Ghashiyah, al-Qiyamah and more
• Animals: al-Baqarah, an-Naml, al-ʿAnkabut, al-Fil, an-Nahl
• Times of day: al-Fajr, ad-Duhaa, al-ʿAsr, al-Layl

Themes of the Short Surahs

• Al-Fatihah: the relationship between Allah and His servant
• Ash-Sharh: the favours given to the Prophet ﷺ after prophethood
• Al-ʿAlaq: what elevates or degrades a person, through knowledge
• Al-Bayyinah: the essence of revelation and its impact
• Ad-Duhaa: Allah consoling the Prophet ﷺ before revelation began
• At-Tin: humans as the best of creation, and the fall from it
• Al-Qadr: when the Quran was revealed, and the night's value
• Az-Zalzalah: what will unquestionably happen on Judgment Day

What Iman Actually Looks Like

• It rises and falls, since the verse says it increases
• Inward: hearts trembling, trust placed in Allah
• Outward: establishing salah, giving from what you have

Five Words for Sleep

• Sinah, drowsiness: "Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep" (2:255)
• Nuʿas, a short nap: "He covered you with a slumber as security" (8:11)
• Hujuʿ, light sleep: "They used to sleep but little by night" (51:17)
• Subat, deep sleep: "And We made your sleep for rest" (78:9)
• Ruqud, long sleep: "You would have thought them awake, whereas they were asleep" (18:18)

Five Fruits of Thanking Allah

• More of whatever you were grateful for (14:7)
• His pleasure: "if you are grateful, He approves it for you" (39:7)
• Reward: "Allah will reward the grateful" (3:144)
• Being remembered by Him: "remember Me, I will remember you" (2:152)
• Safety: "What would Allah gain from your punishment if you are grateful and believe?" (4:147)

Two Things Allah Does for the One Who Repents

Five Blessings of Jannah in Four Verses

• Sustenance: "a provision determined" (37:41)
• Honour: "fruits of every type, and they will be honoured" (37:42)
• Surroundings: "in gardens of pleasure" (37:43)
• Comfort: "on thrones..." (37:44)
• Company: "...facing one another" (37:44)

Two Kinds of Cure

Five Ways Fasting Was Made Easier

• A limited number of days, not a permanent state (2:184)
• Those who can only fast with hardship feed a poor person instead (2:184)
• The whole night to eat and drink (2:187)
• Permission to break it when ill or travelling (2:185)
• Missed days made up later rather than lost (2:184)

Battles the Quran Speaks About

• Badr, Ramadan 2 AH (3:13, 123-125)
• Uhud, Shawwal 3 AH (3:121-122, 167)
• The Trench, Shawwal 5 AH (33:10, 25)
• Hudaybiyyah, Dhul-Qaʿdah 6 AH (48:1; 60:10)
• Khaybar, Muharram 7 AH (48:20-21)
• The conquest of Makkah, Ramadan 8 AH (48:1)
• Hunayn, Shawwal 8 AH (9:25-26)
• Tabuk, Rajab 9 AH (9:38-44)

Three Ways Allah Speaks to a Human

Two Types of Death

Three Things That Cool You Down, Undone

• Samum, the air: scorching
• Hamim, the water: boiling
• Yahmum, the shade: black smoke

When the Sound Carries the Meaning

• Saja (93:2), the night falling still: a soft, settling sound
• Qadhan (100:2), flint striking: the qaf and dal strike, the ha rebounds
• Thajjaja (78:14), water pouring: a run of vowels that splatters
• As-sakhkhah (80:33), the deafening blast: harsh, scraping consonants
• Waswas (114:5), whispering: the word repeats itself, as the whisperer does
• Damdama (91:14), pounding flat: a doubled, hammering syllable

Five Manners of Hosting, from Ibrahim (as)

• He returned the greeting with a better one
• He slipped away to prepare food without being asked
• He brought the best he had, a whole roasted calf
• He placed it near them instead of calling them over
• He invited them gently: "Will you not eat?"

Food Named in the Quran

Colours in the Quran

• Yellow: "a bright yellow cow, pleasant to see" (2:69)
• Green: "fire from green trees" (36:80)
• White, red and black: "streaks of varying shades of white, red, and raven black" in the mountains (35:27)
• Blue: "We will gather the wicked that Day blue-faced" (20:102)

Nine Things Istighfar Brings

• Mercy (27:46) and forgiveness (71:10)
• Rain in abundance (71:11)
• Wealth and children (71:12)
• Gardens and rivers (71:12)
• Good provision for an appointed term (11:3)
• Strength added to your strength (11:52)
• Punishment held back (8:33)

The Longest Word in the Quran

Six Things Honoured by the Revelation

• Allah: "a revelation from the Lord of all worlds" (26:192)
• Jibril: "the Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down" (26:193)
• The Prophet ﷺ: "into your heart" (26:194)
• Arabic: "in a clear Arabic tongue" (26:195)
• Ramadan: "the month in which the Quran was revealed" (2:185)
• Makkah, where the revelation began

Ten Verses for When Things Are Hard

• "Who responds to the distressed when they cry to Him" (27:62)
• "In Your hand is all good" (3:26)
• "Perhaps Allah will bring about a change later" (65:1)
• "Surely with hardship comes ease" (94:5)
• "Do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah" (12:87)
• "See then the impact of Allah’s mercy" (30:50)
• "Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us" (9:40)
• "In the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised" (51:22)
• "Is Allah not sufficient for His servant?" (39:36)
• "Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you" (2:216)

Why Your Home Counts as a Mercy

Why the Longest Surah Is Named After a Cow

The Middle Verse Is About a Middle Nation

The Longest Verse in the Quran Is About Paperwork

Taqwa Turns Up in 37 Verses of One Surah

The River You Were Allowed to Drink From

Spend First, Then See Who You Are Spending For

Infaq and Nifaq Share a Root

The Greatest Surah Is Seven Verses Long

Al-Fatihah Falls Into Three Parts

• Verses 1 to 4: who Allah is, His name, His praise, His mercy, His ownership of the Day of Judgement
• Verse 5: the relationship itself, we worship You and we ask You for help
• Verses 6 and 7: what we ask for, the straight path and the people already on it

Mercy Named Twice in Seven Verses

Al-Fatihah Asks, Al-Baqarah Answers

Born Without a Father, Like One Born Without Either

A Surah Written During a Live Debate

Two Kinds of Verse

A Vow Made for a Son, Answered With a Daughter

They Lost the Battle, and Were Told to Be Consulted

Two Annunciations, One After the Other

• The name is given in advance, before the child exists
• The parent objects on physical grounds: too old and barren (3:40), or untouched by any man (3:47)
• The same answer both times: Allah does what He wills

Three Names in Three Lines, and the Order Is Doing Work

• Rabb: the one who made you and keeps you going, true whether you admit it or not
• Malik: the one with authority, which asks for obedience
• Ilah: the one actually worshipped, which asks for your heart

Al-Khannas: the One Who Backs Off

The Last Two Surahs Came Down on the Same Night

The Quran Opens at Its Widest and Closes at Its Closest

Half the Whispering Is Done by People

An-Nas Names the Whisperer but Never Quotes Him

Whispered To, and Overheard

The Longest Set of Rights in the Quran Opens by Addressing Everybody

The Most Argued-About Verse in the Surah Is Answering a Question About Orphans

Nasiban Mafrudan: a Share That Is Not a Favour

Testify, Even If It Goes Against You

The Last Verse Revealed Was About an Inheritance

Given as a Gift, and Not Taken Back

A Surah Named After the Question It Refuses to Answer

You Did Not Throw When You Threw

The Ratio That Was Set, Then Lightened

Neither Army Chose to Be There

The Thing the Surah Keeps Warning About Is Not the Other Army

• 8:6 — they argued with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم about going out at all
• 8:43 — the enemy was shown to him as few precisely so the believers would not falter and quarrel over it
• 8:46 — "obey Allah and His messenger, and dispute not one with another lest ye falter and your strength depart from you"

Yawm al-Furqan: the Day of the Criterion

Four Stories, Four Ways a Person Comes Undone

• The cave (18:9) — young men who kept their faith when everyone around them had not
• The two gardens (18:32) — a man who thought the harvest was his own doing
• The journey (18:60) — Musa told he is not the most knowledgeable man alive
• Dhul-Qarnayn (18:83) — given power over the earth, and he hands the credit back

The Same Three Words Inside Three of the Four Stories

The Rule in Verse 23, and the Man Who Never Followed It

The Quran Never Names Al-Khidr

The Surah Gives You the Number, Then Takes Back the Certainty

Ten Verses Against the Dajjal, and the Narrators Disagreed Which Ten

He Finishes the Wall and Says It Will Fall

Where "the Heart of the Quran" Actually Comes From

The Quran Does Not Say They Killed Him

Three, Then One, Then One

• Three messengers sent to the town, all three rejected and threatened with stoning (36:14)
• One man comes running from the far end of the city and says the same thing (36:20)
• One Shout, and the town is finished (36:29)

No Army Was Sent, and None Ever Is

Wa Atharahum: and the Marks They Left

Peace, Then Stand Apart

The Objection Answered by Pointing at the Objector

The Only Surah That Opens on a Name of Allah

Thirty-One Times, and Every Word of It Means Exactly Two

From the Sky to a Set of Shop Scales in Three Verses

A Title Used Twice in the Whole Quran, Both Times in One Surah

The Quran Is Taught Before Man Is Made

Nobody Is Questioned, and Everybody Is Recognised

If You Can Get Out, Go

Death Is Named Before Life, and Both Are Called Created

Look Again. The Looking Runs Out Before the Creation Does

Nobody Has to Prove Anything Against Them

The Unseen Cuts Both Ways

Saffat wa Yaqbidn: Spreading, and Folding In

The Surah Opens on Everything and Closes on a Drink of Water

A Surah of Thirty Verses That Interceded Until He Was Forgiven

The Last of the Twenty-Nine Surahs That Open on Letters

The Same Insult at Both Ends of the Surah

Wa La Yastathnun: and They Made No Exception

One of Them Had Already Told Them

Do Not Be Like Him. Then: His Lord Chose Him.

The Insult Is Answered by Saying What He Actually Is

They See It Far Off. We See It Near.

What He Would Hand Over, in Order

• His children (70:11)
• His wife and his brother (70:12)
• The kin who sheltered him (70:13)
• And everyone on the earth — "if then it might deliver him" (70:14). Al-Baqarah 2:48 had already refused the offer: no compensation will be taken from it.

Haluʿa, Jazuʿa, Manuʿa: Three Rhyming Words for One Problem

The List of Believers Opens and Closes on the Same Thing

The Same Word, in a Cup and Across the Sky

Two Easts in One Surah, All of Them in Another

Running Out of the Graves the Way They Used To

Night and Day, Then Loudly, Then Quietly

• "I have called unto my people night and day" (71:5)
• "And lo! I have called unto them aloud" (71:8)
• "I have made public proclamation unto them, and I have appealed to them in private" (71:9)

The Same Two Things, Offered and Then Ruinous

Ask for Forgiveness, and It Rains

The 950 Years Are Not in Surah Nuh

Seven Heavens in Layers, in Exactly These Words, Twice

One Prayer Against Them, Then One Prayer For

Five Idols, Named Out Loud in One Verse

Centuries of Calling, Against One Recitation Overheard

The Dare in One Surah, the Attempt Reported in Another

Rahaq: What One Kind of Refuge Adds, and Another Removes

They Introduce Themselves as a Divided Group. Twice.

Fourteen Verses in a Row Open on the Same Word

Seeking Refuge, Pointed Two Ways

The Unseen, and the One Exception

The List of What They Do, and the Confession of What They Did Not

Nine Steps From Thinking to Speaking

• He thought, and he measured (74:18)
• Destroyed be he, how he measured — said twice (74:19–20)
• Then he looked (74:21)
• Then he frowned and scowled (74:22)
• Then he turned his back and was arrogant (74:23)
• And only then: "This is naught else than magic from of old" (74:24)

Three Words, Then the Longest Verse in the Surah

Created Alone, Given Everything, Wanting More

Six Orders, Each Two or Three Words Long

The Objection Is Part of the Design

Bolting Like Animals That Heard Something

Asked About Bones. Answered With a Fingertip.

The Same Four Words at Both Ends of the Surah

An-Nafs al-Lawwama: the Self That Turns On Itself

Four Verses About Something Else Entirely

Two Faces on the Same Day

He Refused Everything, Then Walked Home Pleased

To Your Lord That Day, Said Twice

The Word They Dismissed Is the Word the Others Are Paid In

A Sentence, Then the Same Sentence Again

Eleven Ordinary Things, Before Any Argument

• The earth spread out, and mountains set as pegs (78:6–7)
• You, created in pairs; your sleep, made a rest (78:8–9)
• Night made a covering; day made for earning (78:10–11)
• Seven strong ones built above, and a blazing lamp (78:12–13)
• Water poured from the clouds — grain, plants, and dense gardens out of it (78:14–16)

Mirsada: Something Already Positioned on the Road

Both Outcomes Are Called the Same Thing

The Day Nobody Gets a Word In

The Last Four Words of the Surah

Two Verdicts Written as the Same Sentence

Khafa Maqama Rabbihi: the Phrase That Earns a Garden Twice

Five Rhyming Oaths That Never Say What They Are Swearing By

The Charge, and the Confession Seven Verses Later

Answered With a Comparison, Not an Explanation

The Objection Takes Three Verses. The Answer Takes Two.

A Whole Life, Measured as One Evening

Two Verses Before the Surah Says "You"

Attention Given, and Attention Withheld

The Same Four Words End Two Different Arguments

The Same Family, Running Two Different Ways

The Burial Is Counted as Part of the Account

Told He Has Not Done What He Was Commanded — Then Pointed at His Dinner

Kalla Innaha Tadhkirah: the Full Stop, in Two Surahs

Twelve Clauses of "When", and One of "Then"

Thirteen Verses of Three Words, Then a Fourth Word

The Question Is Put to Her, Not to Them

Trustworthy, Then Mad, One Verse Apart

Two Surahs Close on the Same Sentence

Kuwwirat: a Verb You Have Already Watched Work

The Same Three Steps, in Three Surahs

Four Clauses of "When", and One of "Then"

Two Surahs in a Row, the Same Three Words

Not What Made You Ignorant — What Made You Bold

The Only Two Things This Surah Calls Generous

Two Destinations, Two Matching Lines

The Same Five Words, Twice in a Row

The Fact in One Surah, the Reason in Another

Two Woes, and the One About Grams Comes First

Yastawfūn and Yukhsirūn: One Hand, One Scale

Both Records Get the Same Two Words

Rān: the Rust a Heart Earns for Itself

Veiled From Him, or Looking at Him

The Surah Ends by Naming What Is Worth Competing Over

The Reversal Is Written as a Grammatical Swap

The Sky Gets a Sentence, and the Earth Gets the Same One

Kādiḥ: You Are Not Going to Be Summoned, You Are Already Walking

The Same Sentence, With the Hand Changed

Delighted Among His People, and Delighted Going Back to Them

The Verse About Not Prostrating Is One You Prostrate At

Told You Are Labouring, Then Told What the Wage Is

Good News of a Painful Punishment

The Best-Known Story in Al-Buruj Is Not in Al-Buruj

Shāhid and Mashhūd: the Word the Whole Surah Turns On

The Only Thing They Had Against Them

Two Words in the Middle of a Sentence About Torturers

Al-Wadūd: the Loving, Placed Here of All Places

The Same Clause, Two Surahs Running, Two Different Rewards

A Fire at One End, and Something That Cannot Burn at the Other

One Keeper, Singular, on Every Single Soul

The Same Two Words, Pointed at Two Different Things

The Whole Case for Resurrection, in Four Verses

A Decisive Word — and Not the Joke

Their Plot Gets Three Words. The Answer Gets Two

Asked, and Answered in the Next Two Words

Seventeen Verses, None Longer Than Six Words

Nineteen Verses, and Every One Ends on the Same Sound

The Instruction in Verse 1, Described as Done in Verse 15

The Same Words, With and Without the Pronouns

The Reminder That Benefits, in Two Surahs

The Longest Verse in the Surah Is an Exception Clause

One Takes It, and One Goes Around It

The Same Move, Made in Two Surahs

Two Words That Sort Everyone, in Three Surahs

One Question, Three Surahs, Three Lengths of Answer

A Food That Fails at Both of the Things Food Does

The First Thing Said About the Garden Is What You Won’t Hear in It

The Same List, in the Active and in the Passive

So Remind — You Are Not the One in Charge of Them

Upon Us, and Then Upon Us Again

The Word That Usually Means No, and Here May Not

Three Meanings for One Word, and All of Them Are Held

Kabad: Created in Pain, or Causing It

The Same Question Twice, With One Word Changed

What Is the Steep Climb? Freeing a Neck

Not Just an Orphan — One Who Is a Relative

And Then He Was One of Those Who Believed

Six Verses for One Group, One Line for the Other

Sawwāhā: the Verb That Shapes a Soul, and Levels a People

Seven Oaths in a Row, and They Narrow the Whole Way

Both Things Were Put In, Not Just One

Succeeded, and Failed, in Two Matched Lines

One Man Was Roused — Then Every Verb Turns Plural

Fujūr: Carried Inside, or Worn as a Name

Fifteen Verses, and Every One Ends on the Same Sound

Two Outcomes, One Word Apart

The Same Pair, Reversed, in Consecutive Surahs

Shattā: Your Strivings Have Gone Off in All Directions

The Same Root, in the Opposite Voice and About the Opposite Man

Nobody Has a Favour on Him to Repay

Giving Is Named Before Believing

His Wealth Will Not Avail Him

The Rhyme Changes at the Exact Verse the Commands Start

One Surah Ends on It, the Next Begins With It

Three Surahs in a Row Open on Light and Dark

Three Times: He Found You, and Then He Did Something

Enriched — Which Is Not the Same as Thinking Yourself Rich

He Found You an Orphan — So Do Not Oppress the Orphan

A Favour Owed, and a Favour to Speak About

The Same Sentence, Immediately Again

Maʿa: With the Hardship, Not After It

Four Verses in a Row Ending on "You"

When You Are Finished, Start

Two Surahs That Open With the Same Unanswerable Question

Four Words In, Two Surahs Part Company

Three Oaths, and the Commentators Do Not Agree What They Are

The Secure City — and the Surah That Said It Was Not

Radadnāhu: Returned, Not Fell

The Same Exception, One Letter Apart

Three Superlatives, One in Each Section

The First Command of the Quran Was Given to Someone Who Said He Couldn’t

A Clot and a Pen, in the Same Five Verses

Kallā, Three Times, and Each One Turns the Surah

Because He Sees Himself as Needing Nothing

The Two Verses Reciters Prostrate At — and They Are Opposites

A Man Forbidding Prayer, and a Surah That Ends in Prostration

Five Verses, and It Never Says What "It" Is

The Name, Three Times in Five Verses

The Same Two, In the Other Order, on Two Different Days

Three Things Said About This Night That the Surah Does Not Say

Salām: Not Peaceful — Peace

The Same Long Phrase Opens the Surah and Returns Near the End

The Same Sentence in Two Surahs, With Two Words Swapped

And They Were Commanded Nothing Except This

Al-Bariyyah: Not Worst of People — Worst of Everything Made

One Clause, Five Surahs, Five Different Endings

Pleased With Them, and They Pleased With Him

Five Verses in a Row All End on the Same Word for "Her"

Zulzilat Zilzālahā: Shaken With Its Own Shaking

The Last Two Verses Are One Sentence With One Word Swapped

The Earth Will Tell Its News — Because It Was Told To

Man Speaks Once in This Surah, and It Is a Question

The Heaviest Thing the Ground Holds, and the Lightest Thing You Do

Five Oaths, and the Surah Never Says What It Is Swearing By

One Wa, Then Four Fa — the Oaths Are One Movement

Kanūd: Ungrateful — and He Knows He Is

What Is in the Graves, and What Is in the Chests

The Same Verb for the Graves in Two Surahs, Subject Swapped

Khabīr: He Was Already Aware of Them

Named Three Times Before the Surah Says Anything About It

One Verse Here Is Another Surah’s Verse With a Single Word Added

The Lightest Thing Alive, and the Heaviest Thing Standing

The Question It Asks Twice — and Answers Both Times

Mawāzīn: the Scale You Use, and the One Used on You

Fa-ummuhu Hāwiyah — a Line the Commentators Read More Than One Way

One Verse Here Is the Verse Before It With a Single Word in Front

Alhākum: Kept Busy, Not Condemned

Until You Visited the Graves — Visited, Not Stayed

Two Certainties, One Letter Apart

Three Surahs Repeat a Line, and Each Does It Differently

An-Na’īm: You Are Asked About the Comfort, Not the Pile

The Exception Is Longer Than the Rest of the Surah

Al-’Asr: Three Readings, and All of Them Are Time

Four Words, and Nobody Is Left Out of Them

Seven Identical Words, and the Same Shape of Argument

Tawāsaw: Two of the Four Cannot Be Done Alone

Humazah and Lumazah: Two Words One Letter Apart

He Gathered It — and Then He Counted It

Two Surahs That Open on the Same Word

The Fire Is Described as Reaching the Hearts

Named, Asked About, and Answered in Three Words

Five Verses About a Famous Event, and Not One Name in Them

Every Verse Is Shorter Than the One Before It

The Rhyme Holds for Four Verses and Breaks on the Last

Two Groups Named Only by the Thing Beside Them

They Plot a Plot — and a Plot Is Put Astray

One Surah Narrows to Nothing; the Next One Opens Out

The Surah That Tells the Event Names Nobody; the One After Names Them First

Fed Them Out of Hunger, Secured Them Out of Fear

This House, This City — Pointed At, Never Named

Winter and Summer, Meaning All of It

Two Verses About People Who Pray, One Preposition Apart

It Asks About a Belief and Answers With a Behaviour

Woe to Those Who Pray

The Two Failures This Surah Charges, Confessed in Another

Al-Mā’ūn: the Word the Surah Is Named After, and Nobody Agrees On

The Shortest Surah in the Quran Is Ten Words Long

The Only Two Verses Where the Quran Says He Gives You

A Surah About Prayer That Never Once Names the Lord

Al-Kawthar: the Companions Asked, and Got an Answer

Li-rabbika: Two Verses in the Whole Quran, and Both Are Orders

The Insult Handed Straight Back

A Surah About Worship That Names Nobody At All

The Pair That Looks Identical and Is Not

Verse 5 Is Verse 3, With Nothing Altered

The One Place the Quran Addresses People This Way

Lakum Dīnukum Wa Liya Dīn

When Is the Help of Allah? And the Surah Where It Comes

Afwājan: Crowds, in the Only Two Places the Word Is Used

Six Verses Say Glorify With Your Lord’s Praise. Five Are About Hardship.

What the Surah Asks For at the Moment of Victory

Ask Forgiveness, Because He Has Always Been

Lahab: His Name in Verse 1, the Fire in Verse 3

His Wealth Will Not Avail Him, and His Wealth Did Not

The Verb Occurs Twice in the Quran, and Both Are in One Verse

Firewood Become, and Firewood Carried

Two Words Used Once Each in the Quran, Both in the Last Verse

A Surah That Opens and Closes on the Same Word

As-Ṣamad: a Word the Quran Uses Once

Seven of Al-Falaq’s Words Are Used Nowhere Else

The Widest Thing First, Then Three Particular Ones

The Only Two Verses That Open I Seek Refuge in the Lord Of

One Verse for the Ungrateful, Eighteen for the Grateful

What Is Thanked Is the Striving, Not the Result

Asīr: the Captive, Named Once in the Quran

Two Surahs Name Their Subject, Then Ask What It Is, Then Ask Again

The Same Verse, Word for Word, in Two Surahs

Two Men, Two Hands, and the Same Two Rhyme Words