WHY DO WE GET TOGETHER FOR TAFSEER?

Women studying tafseer: Photo courtesy of Flickr: Quran pool

Once a week we put away our personal and professional obligations to get together to study tafseer of the Quran.

For each woman attending this tafseer Halaqa requires significant amount of preplanning and self discipline.

Some sisters have commented that they can listen to the tafseer online at home, others have said that they have already read the surah and its tafseer that we are reviewing, and have thus excused themselves from participating. Others have dunya reasons.

I have wondered at the reasons why we meet, other than to bond with each others as sisters in Islam?

A I was reflecting on this question, I happened to come across this hadith from Sahih Muslim and would like to share it with you:

Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book: 35
KITAB AL-DHIKR 
(BOOK PERTAINING TO THE REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH, SUPPLICATION, REPENTANCE AND SEEKING OF FORGIVENESS)

Chapter 8: MERITS OF THE ASSEMBLIES IN, WHICH ALLAH IS REMEMBERED

Book 35, Number 6505:
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying:
Allah has mobile (squads) of angels, who have no other work (to attend to but) to follow the assemblies of Dhikr and when they find such assemblies in which there is Dhikr (of Allah) they sit in them and some of them surround the others with their wings till the space between them and the sky of the world is fully covered.
When they disperse (after the assembly of Dhikr is adjourned) they go upward to the heaven and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them although He is best informed about them:

Where have you come from?
They say: We come from Thine servants upon the earth who had been glorifying Thee (reciting Subhan Allah), uttering Thine Greatness (saying Allah o-Akbar) and uttering Thine Oneness (La ilaha ill Allah) and praising Thee (uttering al-Hamdu Lillah) and begging of Thee.

He would say: What do they beg of Me?
They would say: They beg of Thee the Paradise of Thine.

He (God) would say: Have they seen My Paradise?
They said: No, our Lord.

He would say: (What it would be then) if they were to see Mine Paradise?
They (the angels) said: They seek Thine protection.

He (the Lord) would say: Against what do they seek protection of Mine?
They (the angels) would say: Our Lord, from the Hell-Fire.

He (the Lord) would say: Have they seen My Fire?
They would say: No.

He (the Lord) would say: What it would be if they were to see My Fire?

They would say: They beg of Thee forgiveness.

He would say: I grant pardon to them, and confer upon them what they ask for and grant them protection against which they seek protection.

They (the angels) would again say: Our Lord, there is one amongst them such and such simple servant who happened to pass by (that assembly) and sat there along with them (who had been participating in that assembly).
He (the Lord) would say: I also grant him pardon, for they are a people the seat-fellows of whom are in no way unfortunate.

Dua: May Allah Subhanawataala accept our tafseer meetings and grant each one of us jannah tul Firdous.