Kitab

Kitab means book. As Muslims we believe in Allah, the angels, the books, the messengers and the last day. It occured to me a while ago that there were books besides the qu'ran and the bible that are considered to have divine origin, it was only later that I realised that Islam has an explanation for each of these books.


The zabur is associated with the book of Sabiens however some scholars suggest this is the psalms of Dawud (David), which is a collection of songs and hymns. The tawrat is the old testament / torah revealed to Musa (Moses, pbuh) and the injil is the new testament / gospels of Isa (Jesus, pbuh). The qu'ran of course is the book of revelations revealed to Mohammed (pbuh) through the angel Jibril (Gabriel) over a period of 23 years.


This new knowledge made me realise the importance of studying all of these books. Inshallah in the summer when my studies are finished (woohoo), I will inshallah study the qu'ran closer and increase my understanding of Islam.

The First 20 Names of Allah

In the name of the Beneficient, the Merciful


1. Ya Allah
2. Ya Rahman
3. Ya Rahim
4. Ya Maliku
5. Ya Quddus
6. Ya Salaam
7. Ya Mumin
8. Ya Muhaymin
9. Ya Aziz
10. Ya Jabbar
11. Ya Mutakabbir
12. Ya Khaliq
13. Ya Bari
14. Ya Mussawwir
15. Ya Gaffar
17. Ya Qahar
17. Ya Wahab
18. Ya Razaq
19. Ya Fattah
20. Ya Alim


I am going to memorise the 99 names of Allah once again Inshallah. Once I have memorised the first 20 names of Allah I will memorise the other 69 Inshallah.

Distance & Closeness

At times I find myself far away from Allah (swt) and at times closer. This is in proximity to how often I think of Allah (swt). The sweetness of this closeness is sweeter than honey, and the closeness I am talking about really is like no other.


Tanzih is 'to declare something pure and free of something else' and tashbih means 'to declare something similar to something else.' Allah is absolute. We humans are relative. We exist because we were created by Allah (swt). Our distance to Allah (tanzih) or difference can be attributed in the Oneness of Allah and that Allah alone is real (tawhid). Recitation of the qu'ran and prayer are opportunites for Muslims to be close to Allah (Tashbih), to read and understand if not only a little bit. Tanzih and tashbih are the 2 sides of tawhid. Whilst Tanzih stresses distance and tashbih stresses closessnes, tawhid is the recognition of the Oneness of Allah (swt).


(For any error I make in expressing knowledge through this blog, I ask for Allah's forgiveness)


The 99 names of Allah are Allah's attributes. Through them we can understand our likeness or difference to Allah. We humans may also be forgiving, however we are not as forgiving as Al Gaffar (The Forgiver). I have a confession, as a child I memorised the 99 names of Allah and as I grew up I did not recite them very often and you can guess that I forgot them. I am going memorise them again Inshallah.

Sirat al-Mustaqim

Sirat al-Mustaqim means the Straight Path. Found in Al Fatiha, the first surah of the qu'ran, I recite it 48 times daily across the 5 daily prayers. The significance of Sirat al-Mustaqim is that the reader / reciter asks Allah (swt) that they be guided onto the straight path. For nearly 2 decades I recited this surah never knowing its meaning. And for 2 decades I carried out the practices of a Muslim without concisely thinking like a Muslim. Inshallah this will change.