Semester B 17/18, 19th January 2018
One of the greatest miracles we have been granted in this life is the Qur’an. Allah says in the Qur’an:
“This is a book about which there is no doubt; a guidance for those who are conscious of Allah.” — 2:2
So, Allah tells us that the main reason for this book is to guide us.
The Qur’an has three main overarching themes:
· Glorification of Allah – we get to know him and love him
· The hereafter – so we can yearn and work for Jannah, and escape the hell fire.
· Stories of the people of the past and the people of the future – to take lessons from the people of the past and as for the future, Allah proves his perfection through their mention.
The scholars say that all of the problems we see today in the Ummah are due to us turning away from the book of Allah.
Ibn Al-Qayyim RH mentions that there are 5 main ways in which the Qur’an has been abandoned:
· Listening and believing in the Qur’an
· Acting according to the Qur’an
· Judging by the Qur’an
· Contemplating and understanding the Qur’an
· Using the Qur’an as a form of Medicine
We can turn these ways in which the Qur’an has been abandoned to find ways we can bond and get closer to Allah SWT:
1. It is a Sunnah of the Prophet SAW to listen to others reciting the Qur’an because indeed the reciter is concerned with pronunciation whereas the listener is concerned with the meaning.
2. The people of Jannah will have no regrets except one regret for eternity: the regret of not doing enough Dhikr (remembrance of Allah SWT) in the Dunya. So ultimately, they would regret not reading enough Qur’an because reciting Qur’an is the best form of Dhikr.
3. We should strive and making it our upmost priority to memorise the Qur’an as indeed it is virtuous. When we enter Jannah Insha’Allah, we will be told to recite the Qur’an (by memory) and rise in the ranks in Jannah. Where we stop is where we shall reside in Jannah so to achieve the highest levels of Jannah, we must memorise the Qur’an and also live by it. So, we should start small and memorise little by little with a teacher so that one day we can finish the memorisation of the Qur’an. Be consistent for Allah loves consistency.
4. The worst way we can abandon the Qur’an is by not reflecting over It. The best way to purify your heart is to tadabbur (contemplation and reflection) over the Qur’an. When we want to do a sin that we are addicted to, instead of turning to that sin as an escape method, we should turn to Allah SWT and read the Qur’an. This is where our heart feels truly at rest and we feel a sense of contentment unlike the contentment we taste from addiction. We must learn to be patient so we can taste the results of the Qur’an. If you were to know the virtue of reciting the Qur’an with contemplation, you would devote yourself entirely to it at the expense of everything else. It is an obligation to do tadabbur with the very least using a translation of the Qur’an.
5. It is not enough to just recite the Qur’an, we must act upon it. Sufyan Athawari said: “Imaan is not in wishful thinking, but in firmness and proof by the limbs.” We will never attain true happiness unless we act by the Qur’an.
6. We neglect using the Qur’an as a medicine many times when indeed it is the best of medicines. It heals both physical and spiritual diseases in ways we cannot imagine. By making small steps with the Qur’an, we can change our lives for the best.