I received a touching letter from a brother currently in prison, which led me to contemplate the profound implications of these ayahs. In the letter, he spoke about his regret for past actions. He further explained his dire conditions and lack of religious support, resources and basic needs such as a mat to pray on. Something that inspired me is the spirituality in what he expressed. Despite all of these barriers, he still had the will to fast by saving his food for iftar. Moreover, he specifically asked for resources to study and develop spiritually even in his state of loneliness and societal alienation. These ayahs draw our attention to the fact that Allah is the Owner of all kingship. Normally, the word 'Maalik' is associated with 'milk' (owner of property) and 'Malik' goes with 'mulk' (king of a kingdom), but here we see 'Maalik al-mulk'. There’s a subtle difference between an owner and king. You may own something small like a car and know the ins and outs of it, like you know when to change the oil and so on. A king, in contrast, is unable to see and know what goes on in every street of the kingdom. Here, Allah explains that He owns all of the kingdom: He knows every detail of everything that goes on. Hence, it is He who sees and appreciates His slaves, even in a place where no one sees and appreciates them. It is He who takes care of the needs of each and every individual slave because He is the Owner and the King. He further explains that He is the One who gives and withdraws the kingdom from whomever He wills. That is to say that someone could have nothing and Allah can grant them vast amounts of riches; similarly, he may take it away from those who have it and leave them with nothing. The same applies to what He says about dignity. It could be that we feel humiliated in front of people - like the brother who said in his letter that he was afraid to contact members of the community out of fear of being shunned. However, with Allah, these are the people to whom he sends his angels to cleanse their hearts. This ayah makes us question our definitions of 'power', 'dignity' and 'celebrity'. We think of dignity or achievement as reflected in the degrees someone has, the car they drive, and so on. With Allah, in contrast, it is these people - who struggle and show tenacity through hardship - who are the real celebrities whom He mentions in His company of angels. Moreover, in these ayahs, Allah mentions that day and night are recurring. Therefore, the human will experience times of spiritual uplift followed by times in the 'dark'. He explains that both are states that pass. He further explains that He brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living, which furthers the idea of potential even from people who have done wrong in the past, but find Allah, repent, and strive to be better. It is all to prove ourselves, to show how we will react in times of adversity and how we will be in times of ease. Allah concludes these ayahs, and this prayer gifted to the believers, by saying that He gives sustenance to whomever He wills without account. Therefore, it is He who chooses us and blesses us with knowledge and the will to study his religion even in the darkest and the most unlikely of places. At the same time, there are people who have plenty of free time, resources and possibilities of which they don’t take advantage. Let’s learn from the word of Allah, let’s focus on what we have and let’s worry about our standing with Allah. Let’s shift our perception of humility and dignity. And let us remember that all good comes from Allah, and that having a good standing with Allah is much more important than building a following or enjoying all the luxuries of this life. RamadanReflections2021