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Welcome to Episode 59 of the Middle Ground Podcast. The following is from my post-Fajr talk on October 11th, 2026, discussing memory and remembrance.
The opening passages of Sūrah Yūnus and Sūrah al-Sajdah share several themes, including Allah’s creation of the heavens and the earth, His governance of all affairs, and the repeated invitation to remember Him. This repetition in the Qur’ān serves an important purpose. By encountering the same ideas in different passages, sometimes expressed in slightly different language, we begin to recognize their relationships and develop a more coherent understanding of the Qur’ān. This leads to an important distinction between memory and remembrance (dhikr). Memory allows us to recall information and experiences, while remembrance gives those experiences meaning by connecting them to our awareness of Allah. The Qur’ān repeatedly invites us to engage in this process through the question, أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ (Will you not remember?), encouraging a form of reflection that continues beyond the immediate moment of reading or listening.
