Run · 45 min · No preparation
Nine cards for running this session with no preparation. One person, the host, reads each card aloud and keeps time. Print them (cards.pdf), or read them from a phone. For the full session, with tafsir and the Facilitator guide, go to the overview.
1Welcome
3 min
Begin
Say salam and welcome everyone. Then say:
“We are a community of learners, not scholars. We use classical tafsir and verified hadith. For religious rulings, please ask a qualified scholar you trust.”
“This passage is about the gift of clothing and the dignity it gives, not about judging anyone's dress.”
Say the du'a
Open with the du'a from Surah Ta Ha:
20:114, the end of the ayah
وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِى عِلْمًۭا
wa qur Rabbi zidnee 'ilmaa
and say, "My Lord, increase me in knowledge."
Qur'an 20:114. Arabic: the Uthmani text. Transliteration: the AlQuran Cloud edition, as it prints. English: Saheeh International, quoted.
If a question comes
If someone asks a question that needs a ruling, write it down and take it to a scholar you trust. More help: When a question comes.
2The passage
7 min
Play, then read
Play the recitation of 7:26–31 (2:50) on the Verses page, or ask someone in the circle who recites well. Then read the English aloud, slowly.
7:26
يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًۭا يُوَٰرِى سَوْءَٰتِكُمْ وَرِيشًۭا ۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌۭ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
Yaa Baneee Aadama qad anzalnaa 'alaikum libaasany yuwaaree saw aatikum wa reeshanw wa libaasut taqwaa zaalika khair; zaalika min Aayaatil laahi la'allahum yaz zakkaroon
O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember.
7:27
يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ كَمَآ أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنْهُمَا لِبَاسَهُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتِهِمَآ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ يَرَىٰكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُۥ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Yaa Banee Aadama laa yaftinannnakumush Shaitaanu kamaaa akhraja abawaikum minal Jannati yanzi'u 'anhumaa libaasahumaa liyuriyahumaa saw aatihimaaa; innahoo yaraakum huwa wa qabeeluhoo min haisu laa tarawnahum; innaa ja'alnash Shayaateena awliyaaa'a lillazeena laa yu'minoon
O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you as he removed your parents from Paradise, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe.
7:28
وَإِذَا فَعَلُوا۟ فَٰحِشَةًۭ قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَآ ءَابَآءَنَا وَٱللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِهَا ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ ۖ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Wa izaa fa'aloo faahishatan qaaloo wajadnaa 'alaihaaa aabaaa'ana wallaahu amaranaa bihaa; qul innal laaha laa yaamuru bilfahshaaa'i a-taqooloona 'alal laahi mmaa laa ta'lamoon
And when they commit an immorality, they say, "We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has ordered us to do it." Say, "Indeed, Allah does not order immorality. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?"
7:29
قُلْ أَمَرَ رَبِّى بِٱلْقِسْطِ ۖ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَٱدْعُوهُ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ ۚ كَمَا بَدَأَكُمْ تَعُودُونَ
Qul amara Rabbee bilqisti wa aqeemoo wujoohakum 'inda kulli masjidin wad'oohu mukhliseena lahud deen; kamaa bada akum ta'oodoon
Say, [O Muhammad], "My Lord has ordered justice and that you maintain yourselves [in worship of Him] at every place [or time] of prostration, and invoke Him, sincere to Him in religion." Just as He originated you, you will return [to life] -
7:30
فَرِيقًا هَدَىٰ وَفَرِيقًا حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةُ ۗ إِنَّهُمُ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ
Fareeqan hadaa wa fareeqan haqqa 'alaihimud dalaalah; innahumut takhazush Shayaateena awliyaaa'a min doonil laahi wa yahsaboona annnahum muhtadoon
A group [of you] He guided, and a group deserved [to be in] error. Indeed, they had taken the devils as allies instead of Allah while they thought that they were guided.
7:31
۞ يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ
Yaa Banneee Adama khuzoo zeenatakum 'inda kulli masjidinw wa kuloo washraboo wa laa tusrifoo; innahoo laa yuhibbul musrifeen
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.
Arabic: the Uthmani text. Transliteration: the AlQuran Cloud edition, as it prints. English: Saheeh International, quoted.
3A quiet minute
3 min
Read Q1 aloud
Ayah 26 names two kinds of clothing. One covers us and makes us look good. The other, the clothing of taqwā, Allah calls best. We spend real time and money on the first kind. What makes it hard to give the same care to the second, and what helps?
Then
For one minute nobody talks. Everyone writes one sentence in answer, and you write one too. Online, everyone types it in the chat.
4Pairs
6 min
Share
Each person reads their sentence to the person next to them. If you are only a few, go round the circle. Online, read a few sentences from the chat aloud. Anyone may pass.
Q1, the follow-up
Then, if the conversation goes there: think of someone whose character you trust. Did you notice first what they wore, or how they behaved when things went wrong?
5Ayah 28
8 min
Read the ayah
7:28
وَإِذَا فَعَلُوا۟ فَٰحِشَةًۭ قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَآ ءَابَآءَنَا وَٱللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِهَا ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ ۖ أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Wa izaa fa'aloo faahishatan qaaloo wajadnaa 'alaihaaa aabaaa'ana wallaahu amaranaa bihaa; qul innal laaha laa yaamuru bilfahshaaa'i a-taqooloona 'alal laahi mmaa laa ta'lamoon
And when they commit an immorality, they say, "We found our fathers doing it, and Allah has ordered us to do it." Say, "Indeed, Allah does not order immorality. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?"
Arabic: the Uthmani text. Transliteration: the AlQuran Cloud edition, as it prints. English: Saheeh International, quoted.
Then read the explanation
Ibn Kathir reports from Mujahid that the idolaters used to go around the Kaʿbah without clothes, saying they would circle it as their mothers bore them. He adds that the Arabs apart from Quraysh — who were called al-Ḥums — would not perform ṭawāf in clothes they had disobeyed Allah in. They borrowed a garment from the Ḥums, or wore a new one and threw it away afterwards, and whoever had neither went around unclothed. He calls it a practice they invented, following only their forefathers, and then claimed it was Allah's command. The ayah answers: Allah does not command indecency, and asks whether they say about Allah what they do not know.
Source summary: Ibn Kathir. A paraphrase, not a quotation.
Ask Q2
Ayah 28 ends with a question: do you say about Allah what you do not know? The people in the ayah had a habit and put Allah's name on it. In ordinary life, where do we most easily say “Islam says…” without having checked, and what would help us pause first?
Then: when someone tells you “Islam says” about something, what is a kind way to ask where it comes from?
6Ayah 31
8 min
Read the ayah
7:31
۞ يَٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ
Yaa Banneee Adama khuzoo zeenatakum 'inda kulli masjidinw wa kuloo washraboo wa laa tusrifoo; innahoo laa yuhibbul musrifeen
O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.
Arabic: the Uthmani text. Transliteration: the AlQuran Cloud edition, as it prints. English: Saheeh International, quoted.
Then read the hadith
The Prophet ﷺ said that no person fills a container worse than his own stomach. A few mouthfuls that keep his back upright are enough for the son of Adam. If he must eat more, then a third for his food, a third for his drink and a third for his breath.
Hadith summary, written for this session, not a translation. Narrated by al-Miqdam ibn Maʿdikarib. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 2380 · Book 36, Hadith 77 · Grade: Sahih (Darussalam, as listed on Sunnah.com); at-Tirmidhi calls it hasan sahih.
Ask Q3
Ayah 31 puts three ordinary things side by side: dress well for every masjid, eat and drink, and do not go past the limit — wa-lā tusrifū. In an ordinary week, where is “enough” hardest for you to judge — food, clothes, spending, your phone — and what helps you notice before you have gone past it?
7Reflection
5 min
Say
“Finish this silently, in your head or on paper. Nobody has to share.”
One thing I tend to overdo is ……… One small limit I will keep this week is ………
Personal reflection, written for this session.
Give two or three quiet minutes.
8Closing du'a
2 min
Say
“We close with the du'a the Prophet ﷺ said when he got up from a gathering.”
Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, ashhadu an la ilaha illa anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk.
Glory be to Thee. O Allah, and I begin with praise of Thee, I testify that there is no god but Thou; I ask Thy pardon, and return to Thee in repentance.
Transliteration as the sample circle says it. Narrated by Abu Barzah al-Aslami. Sunan Abi Dawud 4859 · English as on Sunnah.com · Grade: Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani), as listed on Sunnah.com. Full narration on Sunnah.com ↗
9Take home
1 min
One line to keep
“But the clothing of righteousness - that is best.” (7:26, Saheeh International)
The full session: the verses and audio, tafsir, hadith and all seven questions.