Prophetic Guidance Regarding
the Excellence of Reciting the Qur’an.’Recite the Qur’an. It will appear on the
Day of Rising as an intercessor for its people.’[Muslim] On the Day of Rising
the Qur’an will be brought with the people who used to act by it in this world,
preceded by Surat al-Baqara (2) and Ali ‘Imran (3), arguing on behalf of those
who knew them.’[Muslim]The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and
teaches it.’[al-Bukhari]Verily the one who recites the Qur’an beautifully,
smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient
angels. And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or stumbling
through its verses, then he will have twice that reward.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim,
Agreed upon]It will be said to the companion of the Qur’an: Read and elevate
(through the levels of the Paradise) and beautify your voice as you used to do
when you were in the dunya! For verily, your position in the Paradise will be at
the last verse you recite![Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi - sahih] The metaphor of a
believer who recites the Qur’an is that of a citron - its scent is fragrant and
its taste is good. The metaphor of a believer who does not recite the Qur’an is
that of a date - it has no scent but its taste is sweet. The metaphor of a
hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is that of basil - its scent is fragrant but
its taste is bitter. The metaphor of a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an
is that of colocynth - it has no scent and its taste is bitter.[Agreed upon]By
this Book Allah elevates some people and abases others.[Muslim] The Qur’an is an
intercessor, something given permission to intercede, and it is rightfully
believed in. Whoever puts it in front of him, it will lead him to Paradise;
whoever puts it behind him, it will steer him to the Hellfire.[At-Tabarani, on
the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud - sahih] There was once a man who had a
horse tied with two ropes (due to the horse’s strength) and was reading Surah
Al-Kahf. Then a cloud came over them, such that it began to twirl and come
closer. His horse began to flee from it. So when he (the man) woke up he came to
the Prophet and told him (what happened). He said: This is the tranquility that
descended due to the Qur’an.[Bukhari, Muslim] You can only have envy for two
things: for a man to whom Allah has given the Qur’an and he gets up and recites
it throughout the night, and for a man to whom Allah has given wealth and he
spends it throughout the night and the day.[Agreed upon]A man was reciting Surat
al-Kahf (18) and he had a horse with him tethered by two ropes. Then a cloud
came over him and began to draw near and his horse began to shy away from it. In
the morning he went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
mentioned that to him and he said, ‘That was the Sakina which descended on
account of the Qur’an.’[Agreed upon]Whoever recites a letter of the Book of
Allah earns a good deed, and each good deed is worth ten like it. I do not say
that ‘Alif-lam-mim’ is one letter, but that alif is a letter, lam is a letter,
mim is a letter.[at-Tirmidhi]A person who has nothing of the Qur’an inside him
is like a ruined house.[at-Tirmidhi] And the Qur’an is a proof for you or
against you.[Muslim]Will not any of you go to the Masjid and learn or read two
verses from the Book of Allah, The Exalted, Mighty and Glorified be He? (For)
that is better for him than two she-camels, and three (verses) are better for
him than three (she-camels), and four (verses) are better for him than four
(she-camels). And the number (of verses read in total) are better than the same
number of camels..[Muslim]It will be said to those who know the Qur’an, ‘Recite
and ascend. Recite slowly as you did in the world below. Your station will be at
the last verse you recite.’[Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]Undoubtedly, the heart
gets rusted like metal gets rusted when water goes over it. The People asked,
“How can they [hearts] be cleaned.” The Prophet replied, “To remember death in
abundance and to recite the Holy Qur’an.[Mishkat]Whoever read the Qur’an and
memorized it and believed its’ Halal to be Halal, and its Haram to be Haram
[i.e., accepted it commandments of Halal and Haram], Allah will accept the
intercession for such 10 people on from him whom Hell had already become
Wajib.[at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Darimi]Decorate the Qur’an with your
(good) voices[Mishkat]Engender the Qur’an with your voices, for verily the voice
of beauty increases the beauty of the Qur’an.[Al-Hakim from Bara ibn ‘Azib -
Sahih]Verily the best of people with regard to voices, is he whom you feel fears
Allah, when he recites.[Ad-Darimi and others - Sahih] Fasting and the Qur’an
will intercede for the slave on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: ‘Oh
my Rabb! I prevented him from food and desires, so accept my intercession for
him.’ And the Qur’an will say: ‘I prevented him from sleep during the night, so
accept my intercession for him.’ He ! said: “And they will (be allowed to)
intercede.”[Ahmad, At-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, and others from Abdullah ibn Umar ibn
Al-Aas - Sahih]O People of the Qur’an, do not make the Qur’an a pillow, that is
do not be lazy and be careless, and read the Qur’an in the day and night like it
is the Haq of Recitation, and spread it, that is, read with good voices or do
not take compensation for it, and whatever is in it, reflect upon itso that you
may attain success, and do not hurry in its reward because the reward for it is
great (which will be given in the Akhirah).[Bayhaqi]Read the Qur’an, put it into
practice, do not abandon it, do not put grudges (upon others) through it, and do
not eat and gain wealth through it.[Ahmad, at-Tabarani, and others from Abdul
Rahman ibn Shibl - Sahih]He who recites the Qur’an well and clearly is equal in
rank to the Angels who record creation’s deeds. These Angels are gracious,
honourable and of lofty rank. He who finds difficulty in reciting the Qur’an
will obtain a double reward.[Bukhari, Muslim]Continue reciting the Qur’an
because on the Day of Qiyaamah it will appear as an intercessor for the
reciter.[Muslim]Maintain the Qur’an. For verily, by He in Whose Hand Muhammad’s
soul is in, it (the Qur’an) is more intense in escaping (memory) than a camel
from its rein.[Bukhari, Muslim] Maintain learning the Qur’an, by heart for
verily it is greater in escaping from the chests of men than camels from their
reins.[Bukhari, Muslim]Verily the likeness of the beholder of the Qur’an is like
that of a reined camel. If he were to undertake it, he would grasp it. And if he
were to leave it, it would escape.[Bukhari, Muslim] The Qur’an will be brought
on the Day of Resurrection, along with its companions who used to act by it, at
the front being Surah al-Baqarah and Al ‘Imran like two black clouds or canopies
with light, or two flocks of birds pleading for their companion[Muslim]Do not
turn your homes into a graveyard [by giving up reading the Qur’an]. Satan flees
from a house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited[Muslim]May Allah make us of
the people of the Qur’an and help us to act by His Book.Ameen.Sources:Imam
Nawawi’s Gardens of the Righteous (Riyad al-Salihin)Hayaat-ul-Muslimeen by
Mohammad Ashraf Ali ThanviMiscellaneous ahadith collections
Tilawa of the Qur’an
The most important nourishment for the qalb or heart is the Qur’an. Those who
lived in the time of the Prophet received their training and inspiration from
the Qur’an. It was their guide, their light and their leader. Likewise, it must
be your constant companion.
The Qur’an contains a treasure house of soul-stirring inspiration and wisdom. We
can and should spend hours in understanding the Qur’an. There are thousands of
pages of tafsir or Quranic exegesis to read. But we must know that the real test
of benefiting from the Quran lies somewhere else. The Qur’an says that when
people really listen to it, their faith must increase:
Believers are those who, when God is mentioned, feel a tremor in their heart,
and whenever His Messages are conveyed to them their faith is strengthened. [Surah
al-Anfal 8: 2.]
Where there is a fire, there is smoke. If the ‘fire’ of iman has been lit inside
the heart, there must be smoke, and you will see that those who truly listen to
the Qur’an, their eyes begin to well up with tears which trickle down their
cheeks.
Nowadays, when we listen to the Qur’an or read it, our hearts are not moved, nor
do our lives change. It is as if water is felling on a rock and flowing away.
Our task is to replace this hard rock with soft absorbent soil so that the
Qur’an may nourish the seed that has been planted. We should always study the
Qur’an as if it is being revealed to us today. One of the greatest injustices we
do to the Qur’an is that we read it as if it were something of the past and of
no relevance to the present.
Remember that the whole purpose of the man is to guide you and to change you by
bringing you into submission to Allah. As you read it, also try to live by what
it invites you to. If it does not have any impact upon your actions and if you
do not observe what it enjoins and avoid what it prohibits, then you are not
getting anywhere nearer the Qur’an. In fact, one who reads the Qur’an and does
not try to act upon it may be more likely to be cursed and punished by Allah.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) said:
Many of the hypocrites in my Ummah will be from among the reciters. [Ahmad.]
He is not a Believer in the Qur’an who makes halal or lawful what has been made
haram or prohibited. [at-Tirmidhi.]
It is also narrated that many Companions, like Uthman and Abdullah ibn Masud,
once they learnt ten verses from the Prophet did not move further unless they
had `learnt’ it fully both in understanding and in action; that is how they
sometimes spent years in learning only one surah or chapter.
If you sincerely start changing your life according to the Qur’an, Allah will
certainly help you and make the path easy for you. Allah reassures us in the
Quran:
Those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and continue upon the straight way, the
angels descend upon them: Do not fear, nor be grieved, and receive glad tidings
of the Garden which you were promised. We are your supporters in this world and
in the Hereafter. And for you therein is whatever your souls desire, and for you
therein is whatever you ask for.’ [Surah al-Fussilat 41:30-31.]
Studying the Qur’an: Tips and Pointers
There are certain aids which you will require to help you if you intend on
studying the Qur’an as fully as possible. Try to acquire as many of them as you
can.
Have a copy of the Qur’an with a translation in your language. This is the
minimum that you will require. This you should use for both general reading and
study. The same can be used for memorization, if it is handy. But, take care
that throughout life you stick with the same copy for memorization, otherwise
revision will be difficult.Remember, too, that no translation can be perfect or
accurate. Each translation contains an element of interpretation by the
translator. There is not, and cannot be, an ‘authorized’ translation of the
Qur’an.
The same copy may contain a short commentary, or you may have to acquire one
separately. But you must have one. A translation and a reliable commentary
should be enough for your initial, main objectives.
You may find it useful, though it is not necessary, to have more than one
translation and commentary to investigate various meanings of words and text as
understood by different scholars.
For more advanced study, you should have at least one more detailed tafsir. You
may not find one in English; but, then, try to acquire whatever part-Tafsir
works are available.
Have a good Arabic dictionary, preferably a Qur’anic dictionary, to enable you
to look deeper into the meanings of words.
Have a concordance. (This is an alphabetical verbal index (of the Qur’an)
showing the places in the Qur’an where each principal word may be found, with
its immediate context in each place. - for example; the word “Hamd” can be found
in various places in the Qur’an; surah al-fatihah, al-Kahf, and so on)
The History of the Qur’an
In this Book, the Holy Prophet’s life, the history of the Arabs and the events
which occurred during the period of the revelation of the Qur’an have not been
mingled with the Divine Verses, as is the case with the Bible. The Qur’an is the
pure word of God. Not one word therein is not divine. Not a single word has been
deleted from its text. The Book has been handed down to our age in its complete
and original form since the time of Prophet Muhammad.From the time the Book
began to be revealed, the Holy Prophet had dictated its text to the scribes.
Whenever some Divine Message was revealed, the Holy Prophet would call a scribe
and dictate its words to him. The written text was then read out to the Holy
Prophet, who, having satisfied himself that the scribe has committed no error of
recording, would put the manuscript in safe custody.The Blessed Prophet used to
instruct the scribe about the sequence in which a revealed message was to be
placed in a particular Surah (chapter). In this manner, the Holy Prophet
continued to arrange the text of the Quran in systematic order till the end of
the chain of revelations. Again, it was ordained from the beginning of Islam
that a recitation of the Qur’an must be an integral part of worship. Hence the
illustrious Companions would commit the Divine verses to memory as soon as they
were revealed. Many of them learned the whole text and a far larger number had
memorized different portions of it.
Method of preservations of the Qur’an during the Prophet’s time
Besides, those of the Companions (radiAllahu anhum) who were literate used to
keep a written record of several portions of the Holy Qur’an. In this manner,
the text of the Holy Qur’an had been preserved in four different ways during the
lifetime of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him):
a) The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had the whole text of the Divine
Messages from the beginning to the end committed to writing by the scribes of
revelations.
b) Many of the Companions learned the whole text of the Quran, every syllable of
it, by heart.
c) All the illustrious Companions, without an exception, had memorized at least
some portions of the Holy Qur’an, for the simple reason that it was obligatory
for them to recite it during worship. An estimate of the number of the
illustrious Companions may be obtained from the fact that one hundred and forty
thousands Companions had participated in the Last Pilgrimage performed by the
Holy Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam).
d) A considerable number of the literate Companions kept a private record of the
text of the Qur’an and satisfied themselves as to the purity of their record by
reading it out to the Holy Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam).
Method of preservations of the Quran after the demise of the Prophet
It is an incontrovertible historical truth that the text of the Holy Qur’an
extant today is, syllable for syllable, exactly the same as the Holy Prophet (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) had offered to the world as the Word of God.After the demise of
the Holy Prophet, the first Caliph Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu) assembled all the
Huffaz and the written records of the Holy Qur’an and with their help had the
whole text written in Book form. In the time of Uthman (radiAllahu anhu) copies
of this original version were made and officially dispatched to the Capitals of
the Islamic World. Two Of these copies exist in the world today, one in Istanbul
and the other in Tashkent. Whosoever is so inclined may compare any printed text
of the Holy Qur’an with those two copies, he shall find no variation. And how
can one expect any discrepancy, when there have existed several million Huffaz
in every generation since the time of the Holy Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
and in our own time? Should anyone alter a syllable of the original text of the
Qur’an, these Huffaz would at once expose the mistake. In the last century, an
Institute of Munich University in Germany collected FORTY-TWO THOUSAND copies of
the Holy Qur’an including manuscripts and printed texts produced in each period
in the various parts of the Islamic World.Research work was carried out on these
texts for half a century, at the end of which the researchers concluded that
apart from copying mistakes, there was no discrepancy in the text of these
forty-two thousand copies, even though they belonged to the period between the
1st Century Hijra to 14th Century Hijrah and had been procured from all parts of
the world. This Institute, alas! perished in the bombing attacks on Germany
during World War II, but the findings of its research project survived.,br>
Another point that must be kept in view is that the word in which the Qur’an was
revealed is a living language in our own time. It is still current as the mother
tongue of about a hundred million people from Iraq to Morocco. In the non-Arab
world too, hundreds of thousands of people study and teach this language.
The grammar of the Arabic language, its lexicon, its phonetic system and its
phraseology, have remained intact for fourteen hundred years.
A modern Arabic-speaking person can comprehend the Holy Qur’an with as much
proficiency as did the Arabs of fourteen centuries ago. This, then, is an
important attribute of Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), which is shared by
no other Prophet or Leader of Religion. The Book which God revealed to Him for
the guidance of mankind is today’s in its original language without the
slightest alteration in its vocabulary.
The Qur’an: Categories of Understanding
Broadly speaking, we may divide the study of the Qur’an into two categories:
Tadhakkur and Tadabbur, after the Qur’anic verse:
"That men may ponder over (li yaddabbaru) its revelations and … may take them to
heart (li yatadhakkara)"[surah Sad 38: 29].Intellectual Copyright (c) 2003
Mutmainaa. All Rights Reserved. P
Tadhakkur
Tadhakkur, used extensively in the Qur’an, has been translated variously as
receiving admonition, deriving advice, remembering, taking heed, and taking to
heart. It can therefore be taken to signify the process whereby you try to grasp
the general messages and teachings being conveyed by the Qur’an, to find out
what they mean for you and what demands they make upon you, to take them to
heart, to bring forth corresponding responses of heart and mind and attitudes,
to have the will to act in accordance with whatever you find, and, finally, to
determine what message you have to deliver to your fellow human beings.
Tadhakkur is a category of understanding which, in its essential nature, should
not require any sophisticated tools of scholarship. You may not know the meaning
of every word, you may not be competent enough to explore the full meaning of
all the important and key words, and you may not understand every verse, but the
general, overall message, especially the message for you-how to live-should come
out clearly and radiantly.
After all, the people who understood the Qur’an most and benefited from it the
greatest were its first hearers they were city merchants, farmers, shepherds,
camel riders and nomads. They did not have at their elbows lexicons, tafsir
books, treatises on style, diction, cadence, rhetoric nor did they possess all
the knowledge of philosophy, history, geography, archaeology, anthropology, or
of the social and physical sciences. Yet they were the most successful in
understanding the Qur’an. For, they took the message of the Qur’an to their
heart and began to live it. Hence this category of understanding ought to be and
is available to every person who fulfils the necessary condition for it in this
respect. The degree and intensity of what he receives will depend on his effort
and capacity. Of course, tools of scholarship may add new dimensions, lend added
weight, give new insights, to this process; but they are not a must.
It is in the sense of Tadhakkur that the Qur’an categorically states that it is
easy to understand, it is available to every sincere inquirer if he only
comprehends what he is reading and ponders over it. It is to this Tadhakkur that
the Qur’an invites everyone who can hear, see and think, to be guided by it. It
is in this sense that it says:
"Indeed we have made this Qur’an easy for understanding and remembering (dhikr).
Is there any, then, that will take it to heart (muddakir)"[surah al-Qamar; 54:
17]."Indeed we have made it [the Qur’an] easy [to understand] by your tongue [O
Prophet] so that men might take it to heart (yaTadhakkuran)"[surah al-Dukhan;
44: 58]."Indeed We have made propounded unto men all kinds of parables in this
Qur’an, so that they might understand (yatadhakkarun)"[surah al-Zumar; 39:
27]."In this there is indeed a reminder (dhikr) for everyone who has a heart, or
will give ear while he is a witness [present with his mind]"[surah Qaf; 50: 37].
Tadhakkur is not some lower category of understanding; it is the basic essential
purpose of the Qur’an. You will have to strive all your life in order to gain
the light and guidance and healing through Tadhakkur and through this process
you, personally, must continue to gather an unlimited number of gems.
Tadabbur
Tadabbur is the other category of understanding. It signifiesL that you try to
find the full meaning of every word, Ayah, and, Surah, that you explore the
fuller meaning behind those words, metaphors and parables, that you discover the
textual cohesion and underlying unity, that you determine the central ideas,
delve into lexical intricacies, tanzil, and historical background, and that you
undertake a comparative study of different tafsir. Then, that you discover all
the implications for the relationship between man and his God, his fellow human
beings, his own self, and the world around him; that you derive laws and morals
for individuals and society, rules for state and economy, principles for history
and philosophy, and implications for the current level of human knowledge.
Such a study would require a greater and deeper knowledge of various ‘ulum al-Qur’an
(the Quranic disciplines), depending on your goals and aims.
Tadabbur and Tadhakkur are not entirely separate nor mutually exclusive
categories of understanding, they overlap.
Your Aims
What should your aims be? Obviously aims will vary from person to person and,
even for a person, from time to time. Tadhakkur, in my view, is obligatory for
every Muslim who is or can become capable of understanding the Qur’an.
Hence, as an average-educated Muslim, who is trying to fulfil his commitment to
Allah in the light of his capabilities and limitations, Tadhakkur should be your
first aim, and the most important one. You will stay with it forever; you will
never reach a stage where you may dispense with it.In Tadhakkur, remember, you
essentially set out to nourish your heart and mind, to increase your faith, to
discover the message that the Qur’an is giving to you, to take it to heart, to
remember it. Through all your labours you should be able to hear God’s voice:
what He wants you to be and to do.
Learning the Qur’an
The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.-
MuhammadsalAllahu alayhi wa salam
These references are narrated in the Hadith. For reasons of brevity, only the
following summary and reference of each Hadith is mentioned instead of the
entire Hadith.
1. Whoever recites the Qur’an well and clearly is equal in rank to the Angels
who record creation’s deeds. These Angels are gracious, honorable and of lofty
rank. He who finds difficulty in reciting the Qur’an will obtain a double
reward.[Bukhari, Muslim].
2. A person whose breast is devoid of the Qur’an (i.e. has not learnt anything
of the Qur’an Majeed) is like a desolate house.[at-Tirmidhi].
3. A person who recites one letter of the Qur’an, obtains one virtue; each
virtue multiplies to ten virtues. I am not saying that (ALM) is one letter. But,
Alif is one letter; Laam is one letter and Meem is one letter.[at-Tirmidhi,
Darimi].
4. On the day of Resurrection a crown of such brilliance will be placed on the
heads of the parents of one who learnt the Qur’an and practiced on its laws,
that its glitter will outshine the brilliance of the sun which penetrates your
houses. What then do you think will be the position of the one who himself
learnt the Qur’an and acted in accordance with it? [Ahmad, abu Dawud].
5. Whoever recites the Qur’an, memorizes it, accepts its halal (lawful things)
as halal and haram (forbidden things) as haram (i.e. his beliefs in these
matters are correct), Allah, the Exalted, will enter him to Paradise and accept
his intercession on behalf of ten such persons of his family upon whom entry
into Hell has become incumbent (i.e. Allah will forgive them because of his
intercession).”
[Ahmad, Tirmidhi, ibn Majah, Darimi].
6. Continue reciting the Qur’an because on the Day of Qiyamah it will appear as
an intercessor for the reciter. [Muslim].
7. Whoever listens to even a single ayat (being recited by another person)
obtains such a virtue which perpetually multiplies (it increases in merit
continuously). The one who recited the ayat will on the Day of Resurrection find
the recited ayat in the form of a Noor (which will be of greater value and
significance than the virtue which accrued to the one who had listened to the
recitation).[Ahmad].
8. The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it. [Bukhari].
9. On the Day of Resurrection the Qur’an will petition Allah to cloak the one
who had recited it with garments of honor and respect. A crown of honor will
then be placed on the head of the reciter. The Qur’an will then petition Allah
to shower His pleasure on the reciter. Allah will then become pleased with him.
The reciter will then be asked to recite the Qur’an, thereby attaining higher
ranks of elevation. In reward for each ayat a virtue will accrue to him. [at-Tirmidhi,
ibn Khuzaimah].
10. Continue climbing (higher and higher in rank) with your recitation in the
same way as you recited with care and concern on earth. Your abode (of residing)
is located (at that rank attained) with the last ayat recited. [Tirmidhi, Abu
Dawud, ibn Majah, ibn Habban]
Approaching the Qur’an
he one pre-requisite for understanding the Qur’an is to study it with an open
and detached mind. Whether one believes it to be a revealed book or not, one
should, as far as possible, free one’s mind of bias in favour of or against it
and get rid of all pre-conceived opinions and then approach it with the sole
desire of understanding it. Those people who study it with preconceived notions
of their own, read only their own ideas between its lines and cannot, therefore,
grasp what the Qur’an wants to convey. It is obvious that this method of study
can never be fruitful even with other books but it is utterly fruitless when
applied to the study of the Qur’an.
There is another thing which must be kept in view. If one wants to have merely a
cursory acquaintance with the contents of the Qur’an, then perhaps it might
suffice for him to read it once. But, if one wishes to have a deep knowledge of
it, one will have to go through it several times and each time from a different
point of view.
One should also try to find out its fundamentals and the way of life it aims to
build on them. During this preliminary study, if some questions occur in his
mind, the reader should note them down and patiently continue his study, for he
is likely to find their answers somewhere in the Qur’an itself.
After getting a general insight into the Qur’an in this way, one should begin
its detailed study and take down notes of the different aspects of its
teachings. For instance, one should note down what pattern of life it approves
and what it disapproves. One should note down the qualities of a good man and
those of a bad man, side by side, in order to bring both the patterns clearly
before his mind simultaneously. Similarly, one should note down, side by side,
those things which lead to the success and salvation of man and those which lead
to his failure and ruin. In the same way, he should put down, under different
headings, the teachings and instruction of the Qur’an about creed, morality,
duties, obligations, civilization, culture, economics, politics, law, social
system, peace, war and other human problems. These notes should be consolidated
to form a complete sketch of each aspect of the teachings and then fitted
together to form a complete system of life.
Then, if one desires to know the Qur’anic solution of a certain human problem he
should first make study of the relevant literature, both ancient and modern, and
note down the basic issues. He should also make use of the research so far made
into the problem and note down the points at issue. He should then study the
Quran with a view to finding out the answers to those issues. I can say from my
own personal ,experience that when one studies the Qur’an with a view to making
research into any problem, one will find an answer to it even in those verses
which one had skipped over without ever imagining that it lay hidden therein.
One cannot grasp the inspiring spirit of the Qur’an, unless one begins to put
its message into practice, for the Qur’an is neither a book of abstract. ideas
and theories which may be studied in an easy chair nor is it a book of religious
enigmas which may be unravelled in monasteries and universities. It is a Book
that has been sent down to invite people to start a movement and to lead its
followers and direct their activities towards the achievement of its mission.
One has, therefore, to go to the battlefield of life to understand its real
meaning. That was why a quiet and amiable person like Muhammad had to come out
of his seclusion and start the Islamic Movement and fight against the rebellious
world, It was the Qur’an that urged him to declare war against every kind of
falsehood and engage in conflict with the leaders of disbelief without any
consideration of the consequences. Then it attracted good souls from every home
and gathered them under the banner of its leader in order to fight against the
upholders of the old order who organised themselves into a gang to oppose them.
During this long and bitter struggle between right and wrong, truth and
falsehood, which continued for twenty-three years or so, the Qur’an went on
guiding the Movement in every phase and at every stage, until it succeeded in
establishing the Islamic Way of life in its perfection.
It is thus obvious that one cannot possibly grasp the truths contained in the
Qur’an by the mere recitation of its words. For this purpose one must take
active part in the conflict between belief and un-belief, Islam and un-Islam,
truth and falsehood. One can understand it only if one takes up its Message,
invites the world to accept it and moves on and on in accordance with its
Guidance. Thus alone will one experience and understand all that which happened
during the revelation of the Qura’n. One will meet with the same conditions that
were experienced at Makkah, Taif and Habash and pass through the same kind of
fire that had to be passed through at Badr, Uhd, Hunain, Tabuk etc. One will
meet with Abu Jahls and Abu Lahabs and come across hypocrites, the double-faced,
in short, every type of people mentioned in the Qur’an. Incidentally, this is a
wonderful experience of its own kind and worth the trial.
While passing through any one of these stages of this experience, one will find
some verses and some surahs of the Qur’an, which will themselves tell that they
were revealed at such and such a stage and brought such and such instructions
for the guidance of the Movement. In this way the Qur’an will lay bare its
spirit even though one might not be able to understand all the lexical meanings
of its words and solve all the intricacies of grammar and rhetoric. The same
formula applies to its Commandments, its moral teachings, its instructions about
economics and culture and its laws regarding different aspects of human life.
These things can never be understood unless they are put into practice. It is
thus obvious that those individuals and communities who discard it from
practical life, cannot understand its meaning and imbibe its spirit by mere
lip-service to it. This is from me and true knowledge is With Allah; I have full
trust in Him and turn to Him for true guidance
7 Reasons to Read the Glorious Qur’an
1. InimitableIt dares you to disprove it. How? It says that humans cannot write
a book like this even if they pooled all their resources together and got help
also from the spirits. The Qur’an said this fourteen hundred years ago and yet
no one has been able to disprove it.. Billions of books have been written, but
not another one like the Qur’an.2. IncorruptibleIt is the only religious sacred
writing that has been in circulation for such a long time and yet remains as
pure as it was in the beginning. The Qur’an was kept intact. Nothing was added
to it, nothing was changed in it, and nothing was taken away from it ever since
its revelation was completed 1400 hundred years ago.3. UnsurpassableThe Qur’an
is God’s final revelation to humankind. God revealed the Torah to Moses, the
Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and finally the Qur’an to Muhammad. Peace
be upon Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad. No other book will came from God to
surpass His final revelation.4. IndisputableThe Qur’an withstands the test of
time and scrutiny. No one can dispute the truth of this book. It speaks about
past history and turns out right. It speaks about the future in prophecies and
it turns our right. It mentions details of physical phenomena which were not
known to people at the time; yet later scientific discoveries prove that the
Qur’an was right all along. Every other book needs to be revised to accord with
modern knowledge. The Qur’an alone is never contradicted by a newly discovered
scientific fact.5. Your Roadmap for Life and AfterlifeThe Qur’an is the best
guidebook on how to structure your life. No other bok presents such a
comprehensive system involving all aspects of human life and endeavor. The
Qur’an also points out the way to secure everlasting happiness in the afterlife.
It is your roadmap showing how to get to Paradise.6. God’s Gift of GuidanceGod
has not left alone. You were made for a reason. God tells you why he made you,
what he demands from you and what he has in store for you. If you operate a
machine contrary to it’s manufacturer’s specification you will ruin that
machine. What about you? Do you have an owner’s manual for yourself? The Qur’an
is from your Maker. It is a gift for you to make sure you function for success,
lest you fail to function. It is a healing from God. It satisfies the soul, and
cleans the heart. It removes doubts and brings peace.7. Your Calling Card to
Communicate with you LordHumans are social creatures. We love to communicate
with other intelligent life. The Qur’an tells us how to communicate with the
source of all intelligence and the source of all life, the One God. The Qur’an
tell us who God is, by what name we should address Him, and the way in which to
communicate with Him.