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Have you heard the other Reflect with Me episode? Check it out below:

Share Sincerely, Sumayah

Are you using your intellectual capacity, education, gifts and skills to understand the Qur'an?

We're doing it for years at a time to get our degrees, follow our interests or learn our craft; can we extend this curiosity to understanding what our Creator is saying to us?

Today we're touching on one word, from Surat Al-Baqarah ayah 61, where Allah (awj) uses a word with a couple of possible meanings to explore the application of tadabbur in practice.

What comes up for you when you hear those two meanings?

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Women's UK Qur'an Retreat in August 2026

This is your official invitation to the Qur'an Halaqah Retreat this summer at the De Vere Latimer Estate in Chesham, UK. We’re meeting from the 14th–16th of August 2026, bi ithnillah ta'ala.

I will be there alongside some of my own teachers and Ustadha Abeer Sadary, Ustadha Ola Shoubaki and Ustadha Umm Salihah

The topic of this year's retreat is: The Powerhouses of Sūrat Al Baqarah

Over 3 days, we will immerse ourselves in learning and embodying:

Äyat at al-Kursī the greatest āyah in the Qurān

The final two āyāt of Sūrat AI Baqarah- verses of protection, sufficiency, and deep connection with Allāh.

This intimate sisters' Qur'ān retreat is not about amassing information, it is about transformation. A return to the Qurān, not only to recite it, but to be nurtured and shaped by it.

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The conversation on this ayah continues below with my paid subscribers.

Jazakum Allah khairan for listening and I look forward to sharing more!

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“Will they not contemplate the Quran? Do they have locks on their hearts?” (47:24)

While we consider reflection to be a primarily intellectual exercise, Allah (swt) is telling us that the barrier to reflection is a lock on their hearts. That points to the role of the heart in understanding and reflecting on the Qur'an.

The state of our hearts will either help or hinder us on our journey with His words. So that takes us back to the practices that purify our hearts like Istighfar—seeking forgiveness, and the spiritual discipline of tazkiyah—purification of the soul. A holistic approach to practicing this faith and seeking Allah's pleasure is beneficial in more ways than one. It's actually a key to coming closer to Him and His words.

“What’s meant is the fear of Allah in the hearts, which is for the heart to worship Him alone, without any others for the purpose of being His servant. Being a servant entails the greatest love and the epitome of humility and sincerity. This is the way of Ibrahim (as) Al-Khalil, and all of this points to the fact that the worship of the heart is the key.”

— Ibn Taymiyah’s in Majmoo’ Al-Fatawa

Jazakum Allah khairan for listening and I look forward to sharing more!

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Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah

We're back with episode 2 of the Recite & Reflect Series, covering our second verse about Tadabbur in the Qur'an. Today we're looking at ayah 82 of Surat An-Nisaa’ —here are a couple of translations:

Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān? If it had been from [any] other than Allāh, they would have found within it much contradiction. (4:82)

Will they not think about this Quran? If it had been from anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency in it. (4:82)

Contradiction and Inconsistency

There's an Arabic saying that says, Things are known by their opposites.

We are taught about Allah (awj), His exclusivity in divine qualities, His singular right to be worshipped and the miracle in His words through negation.

When we say, Subhan Allah, we declare Him free of any faults or imperfections, while affirming the opposite, which means that everyone besides Him is going to be flawed and imperfect.

Hasbuna Allah, Allah is sufficient for us: Everyone else will let you down at some point, fall short, or not be able to/choose to show up.

The phrases of remembrance, thikr, that we repeat aren't just affirmations—they teach us about the nature of Allah (awj) and everyone and everything besides Him (swt).

Coherent: describes ideas, arguments, or plans that are logical, consistent, and well-organized, ensuring all parts connect clearly. It also refers to a person speaking clearly and rationally.

Synonyms include consistent, logical, orderly, rational, and systematic.

Cohesive describes people, ideas, or materials that are closely united, stick together, or work well as a whole. It implies a strong, organized connection, often used for effective teams, logical arguments, or physically bonded materials. It signifies a well-integrated, unified structure

Consistent describes acting, behaving, or occurring in a steady, unchanging manner over time, or being in agreement/harmony with something else without contradiction. It implies reliability, uniformity, and compatibility. Common synonyms include steady, stable, regular, compatible, and uniform

A Key to Reflecting on the Qur'an

In this Ayah, Allah (SWT) is telling us that the Qur'an is free from contradictions and inconsistencies. That's an invitation for us to look for that quality of consistency as we explore the Qur'an.

That looks like reading while searching for all the ways that the Qur'an reinforces itself, each verse relays precisely what we need to know in a way that complements and supports the other.

Tafsir Al-Quran bil Qur'an: Interpreting the Qur'an with the Qur'an is one of the main ways early scholars used to interpret the meaning of the Quran. They used ayat or verses to explain one another, and this is based on the consistent nature of the Qur'an.

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The conversation on reflections from today's episode continues for paid subscribers below, until next the next episode

Jazakum Allah khairan for listening and I look forward to sharing more.

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Reflection is an exercise in paying more attention to the message of the Qur’an and listening to the words of our Creator carefully.

Haven't heard the introduction episode?

Listen here:

https://open.substack.com/pub/sumayah/p/new-recite-and-reflect-series-on

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[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.

Qur'an (38:29)

Let's Talk Tadabbur

• What do you think of when you hear the word Tadabbur or Qur'anic Reflection?

• What do you already know about it?

• Have you done it before? How was the experience?

• What worked? What didn't?

If you have a minute, please do let me know your experience in the comments.

This is a new series and I'm still figuring out how to best present it, what is most beneficial to focus on or include.

Requesting your feedback isn't an engagement gimmick 😅 you are literally helping me shape the series going forward insha'Allah.

Barak Allahu feekum for sharing!

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I'm excited to be sharing a new mini-podcast series called Recite & Reflect with you. The series is based on a workshop that I created in 2015 to teach how to reflect on the Qur'an, which in Arabic is called Tadabbur.

The R&R Workshop

The Recite & Reflect workshop has been attended in-person and online by hundreds of women, in almost a dozen cohorts and it has literally changed their lives.

I don't say that to blow smoke, because any good that comes from it is purely from Allah (awj), or to push the workshop—that’s coming in a few months insha'Allah 😌—but to express how the practice of Tadabbur really is a game changer.

That setup worked well for those who learn best in a classroom or academic collaborative setting, but if we're completely honest, that's not everyone.

The Book: 50 Reflections on the Quran

So for the next couple of years I spent my Ramadans reflecting on verses that stood out for me as I went through the Qur'an. By the end of that I had a couple hundred reflections in my notes. So in 2018 I compiled some of those into a book called, 50 Reflections on the Qur'an.

Publishing 50 Reflections was another way to model tadabbur for my readers. To be able to hand them something that shows them what thinking about and reading the Qur'an with reflection looks and feels like.

Now that you see the progression, this new series is the next step. An informal set of reminders, offering my listeners things to think about. Brief episodes discussing reflections on the Qur'an to help you get used to engaging with Allah's words in a real way.

The goal is to shift our interaction with the Qur'an from being something academic, intellectual, distant, information intensive and ultimately impersonal—to a living, breathing, day-to-day guide for our lives insha'Allah.

Episodes will only be around 10 minutes long, because this is not an extensive study of Tafseer or analysis. There are tons of teachers and scholars out here already doing that way better than I ever could, may Allah (awj) increase them and bless their work.

It’s meant to be a touchpoint, with Allah's permission to plant a seed, to hold space in your mind, to nudge your perspective, even a fraction of a degree towards seeing differently and connecting your life with what you're reading in the Book of Allah.

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All Are Welcome!

This series is for everyday Muslims, curious non-Muslims, students of knowledge, and anyone who cares to listen in. It doesn't matter if you aren't practicing, don't consider yourself religious, or don't know very much about the Qur'an just yet.

This is an opportunity to take a closer look, and who knows maybe you'll find yourself in some of it.

If something I say isn't clear or I don't explain it clearly enough, please let me know in the comments and I'll break it down insha'Allah.

Any mistakes I make are from me and all good that comes from this is from Rabb Al-Alameen.

May Allah give us tawfeeq and place barakah in this series, guide us, make it easy for you to understand, apply and eventually teach this powerful practice to others. Ya Rabb.

Yalla, Bismillah!

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