Articles

Short articles on the Qur’an, prayer and faith. Every article lists its sources.

• The Qur’an · 2 min readFirst page, last pageThe Qur’an opens with Al-Fatihah and closes with An-Nas. Both name Allah with the same three titles, and what begins as a request ends as a search for refuge.Read the article →أَعُوذُ
• The Qur’an · 3 min readA third of the Qur’an in four versesAl-Ikhlas is one of the shortest surahs of the Qur’an. The Prophet ﷺ said it equals a third of it.Read the article →أَحَدٌ
• The Qur’an · 2 min readThe first word: “Read”The first word of the Qur’an to be revealed was a command to read, given to a man who could neither read nor write. And its first five verses mention the pen.Read the article →ٱقۡرَأۡ
• The Qur’an · 3 min readOne question, 31 timesIn Surah Ar-Rahman the same sentence returns again and again, like a refrain in a poem. Where it falls is no accident.Read the article →ءَالَآءِ
• The Qur’an · 3 min readThe dream that closes the storySurah Yusuf opens with a dream and ends with it coming true. In between lies a story the Qur’an calls “the best of stories”, full of mirrors.Read the article →رُءۡيَٰيَ
• The Qur’an · 3 min readThe middle of the middleAl-Baqarah is the longest surah of the Qur’an, 286 verses. In verse 143, exactly halfway, Allah says He has made Muslims “a middle nation”.Read the article →وَسَطٗا
• The Qur’an · 4 min readThe verse built like a ringAyat al-Kursi is the greatest verse of the Qur’an. Its nine sentences mirror one another, and at the centre stands a single thought.Read the article →ٱلۡقَيُّومُ
• Prayer · 3 min readFive prayers, one sunPrayer times are not clock times but positions of the sun. In Iceland you can see that more clearly than almost anywhere.Read the article →مَّوۡقُوتٗا
• The Qur’an · 3 min readThe request answered on the next pageAl-Fatihah is arranged like a conversation between you and Allah. It ends with one request, and the answer is waiting on the very next page of the Qur’an.Read the article →ٱهۡدِنَا