IT IS NOT about how far you get through the Qur’an. It is about how far the Qur’an gets through you!
Of course, we should recite it. With ten rewards for each letter recited from the Qur’an, who wouldn’t? And even more so in Ramadhan when the reward is multiplied further.
Of course, we should memorise it. The more Qur’an we have locked in us, the higher we ascend through the levels of Jannah.
Ramadhan becomes without doubt the month of the Qur’an where we try to complete reciting the whole Qur’an in the month and listen to its entire recitation at taraweeh.
But to only recite or listen to the Quran, rewarding as it is, is to miss its purpose as the guidance for humanity and mercy and healing for the Believers.
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ
Ramadhan is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the criteria (to distinguish between right and wrong). (al-Baqarah 185)
Quality is more important than quantity. We shouldn’t rush through the Qur’an. Taking the time to understand its message and allowing it to resonate within us brings change. This deeper connection is ultimately more fulfilling than just reading the words quickly.
So how do we connect better to the Qur’an?
Of course, for the non-Arabic speaker, there is a clear barrier. The Qur’an is in classical Arabic so how can we understand and interact with it?
Whilst learning Arabic is the obvious solution, we can all read a translation of the meaning of the Qur’an to start our journey. We can read tafsir. We can listen to the scholars discuss the ayat. We can discuss and check our understanding with those with knowledge. And then there are the moments of personal reflection.
Some advice for the non-Arab to help reflect (tadabbur) on the Qur’an.
1. Approaching the Qur’an with the right attitude.
This is not knowledge for the sake of knowledge or some worldly gain. Rather these are the Words of my Creator, who loves me and wants to guide me to all that is good. So, I need to turn to the Qur’an with attentiveness and a mind free of distractions to benefit from it. I need seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan and I need to ask Allah for His help so that I can be guided correctly.
2. What can I take from it?
What does this ayah mean? What is its context? What are the consequences? How does it get me closer to Allah and His pleasure? How does this ayah apply, if at all, to the wider context of family, community, and society? What do I have to do or changes do I have to make to embody/realise this ayah?
3. What other questions and thoughts arise from this ayah?
Don’t be afraid to go on tangents or dive deep into an ayah.
4. Relate it to some incident or observation
Try to relate the ayah to some incident or observation in your life to make it more personal and real (i.e., give it an emotional attachment as well as an intellectual understanding)?
For instance, for the one who has found himself in great difficulties and not able to find a way out, coming across the dua of Musa (as) is truly a revelation that is not forgotten.
رَبِّ إِنِّى لِمَآ أَنزَلْتَ إِلَىَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَقِيرٌۭ
“My Lord! I am truly in (desperate) need of whatever provision You may have in store for me.” (al-Qasas 24)
Or watching Trump humiliate Zelensky in the White House and create chaos for his European allies highlights the meaning of the ayah
بَأْسُهُم بَيْنَهُمْ شَدِيدٌۭ ۚ تَحْسَبُهُمْ جَمِيعًۭا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ شَتَّىٰ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَعْقِلُونَ
Their malice for each other is intense: you think they are united, yet their hearts are divided. That is because they are a people with no (real) understanding. (al-Hashr 14)
5. Turn the ayah into a dua
If the ayah mentions a lesson or quality that Allah loves and we should attain, then ask Allah specifically that you heed that lesson and attain His love through those qualities. Similarly, for ayat that describes punishment and negative qualities, ask Allah to save you from His wrath and those negative qualities.
For instance, after reciting the ayah
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَآءٌۭ لِّمَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ وَهُدًۭى وَرَحْمَةٌۭ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
O humanity! Indeed, there has come to you a warning from your Lord, a cure for what is in the hearts, a guide, and a mercy for the believers. (Yunus 57)
One could say: ‘O Allah make me one who heeds Your warning and let me, and the believers together find in Your Book a cure for what is in the heart, guidance, and mercy. Ameen’
6. Keep coming back
Have you seen how children learn? It’s repetition and repetition and coming back to the same thing. Similarly, we need to come back again and again.
At the start, we may gain very little from an ayah. But with persistence, wide reading, thinking, and interaction with the people of knowledge, the relationship grows and becomes rich. Sometimes it needs life experiences and observations to occur before the meaning of the ayah is understood. And even then, the Qur’an keeps giving, a sure sign of the One from whom it comes.
As our connection develops, we find that the taraweeh, salah, and tilawah become of greater value. They become the means of being in the presence of those divine words. The ayat start to come alive and stirs our hearts every time we recite or hear them.
This journey with the Qur’an is and will always be a lifelong journey. May it be our constant companion. Ameen.
Living For Islam 