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THE NOBLE QURAN<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Qur'an is the word of the Ever-living God; it has been<br />
sent down to guide man for all times to come. No book can<br />
be like it. As you come to the Qur'an, Allah speaks to you.<br />
To read the Qur'an is to hear Him, even to converse with<br />
Him, and to walk in His ways. It is the encounter of life with<br />
the Life-giver. 'God - there is no god but He, the Ever-living,<br />
the Self-subsisting (by whom all subsist). He has sent down<br />
upon you the Book with the Truth ... as a guidance unto<br />
mankind ...' (Al 'Imran 3: 2-3).<br />
<br />
For those who heard it for the first time from the lips of<br />
the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, the Qur'an was<br />
a living reality. They had absolutely no doubt that, through<br />
him, Allah was speaking to them. Their hearts and minds<br />
were therefore seized by it. Their eyes overflowed with tears<br />
and their bodies shivered. They found each word of it deeply<br />
relevant to their concerns and experiences, and integrated<br />
it fully into their lives. They were completely transformed<br />
by it both as individuals and as a corporate body - into a<br />
totally new, alive and life-giving entity. Those who grazed<br />
sheep, herded camels and traded petty merchandise became<br />
the leaders of mankind.<br />
<br />
Today we have the same Qur'an with us. Millions of copies of<br />
it are in circulation. Day and night, it is ceaselessly recited. In<br />
homes, in mosques, and from pulpits. Voluminous exegetical<br />
works exist expounding its meaning. Words pour out<br />
incessantly to explain its teachings and to exhort us to live<br />
by it. Yet eyes remain dry, hearts remain unmoved, minds<br />
remain untouched, lives remain unchanged. Ignominy and<br />
degradation appear to have become the lot of the followers<br />
of the Qur'an. Why? Because we no longer read the Qur'an<br />
as a living reality. It is a sacred book, but it tells us something<br />
of the past only, concerning Muslims and Kafirs, Jews and<br />
Christians, the faithful and the hypocrites, who 'once upon a<br />
time used to be'.<br />
<br />
Can the Qur'an, again, be a living, relevant force, as<br />
powerful for us now, 1400 years away, as it was then? This is<br />
the most crucial question that we must answer if we wish to<br />
shape our destiny afresh under the guidance of the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
There appear, however, to be some difficulties. Not least of<br />
which has to do with the fact that the Qur'an was revealed at<br />
a certain point in time. Since then we have travelled a long<br />
way, made gigantic leaps in technological know-how, and<br />
seen considerable social changes take place in human society.<br />
Moreover, most of the followers of the*rfnan today do not<br />
know Arabic, and many who do hav¢,4ttle idea of the 'living'<br />
language of the Qur'an. They cannot t3e expected to absorb its<br />
idiom and metaphor, so essential to exploring and absorbing<br />
the depths of the Quranic meaning.<br />
<br />
Yet its guidance, by its own claim, has an eternal relevance<br />
for all people, being the word of the Eternal God.<br />
<br />
For the truth of this claim, it seems to me, it must be<br />
possible for us to receive, experience, and understand the<br />
Qur'an as its first recipients did, at least in some measure<br />
and to some degree. We seem to almost have a right to this<br />
possibility of receiving God's guidance in its fullness and<br />
with all its riches and joys. In other words, despite the<br />
historical incidence of the revelation in a particular language<br />
at a particular time and place, we should be capable of<br />
receiving the Qur'an now (because its message is eternal),<br />
capable of making its message as much a real part of our<br />
lives as it was for the first believers and with the same urgent<br />
and profound relevance for all our present concerns and<br />
experiences.<br />
<br />
But how do we do this? To put it very forthrightly, only by<br />
entering the world of the Qur'an as if Allah were speaking to<br />
us through it now and today, and by fulfilling the necessary<br />
conditions for such an encounter.<br />
<br />
Firstly, then, we must realize what the Qur'an as the word of<br />
God is and means to us, and bring all the reverence, love,<br />
longing, and will to act that this realization demands.<br />
Secondly, we must read it as it asks to be read, as Allah's<br />
Messenger instructed us, as he and his Companions read it.<br />
Thirdly, we must bring each word of the Qur'an to bear upon<br />
our own realities and concerns by transcending the barriers of<br />
time, culture and change.<br />
<br />
For its first addressees, the Qur'an was a contemporvry<br />
event. Its language and style, its eloquence and rationale,<br />
its idiom and metaphor, its symbols and parables, its<br />
moments and events were all rooted in their own setting.<br />
These people were both witnesses to and, in a sense, par-<br />
ticipants in the whole act of revelation as it unfolded over a<br />
period of their own time. We do not have the same privilege;<br />
yet, in some measure, the same ought to be true for us.<br />
<br />
By understanding and obeying the Qur'an in our own setting,<br />
we will find it, as far as possible, as much a contemporary<br />
event for ourselves as it was then. For the essence of man has<br />
not changed; it is immutable. Only man's externalities—the<br />
forms, the modes, the technologies - have changed. The<br />
pagans of Makka may be no more, nor the Jews of Yathrib,<br />
nor the Christians of Najran, nor even the 'faithful' and the<br />
'unfaithful' of the community at Madina; but the same<br />
characters exist all around us. We are human beings exactly as<br />
the first recipients were, even though many find it extremely<br />
difficult to grapple with the deep implications of this very<br />
simple truth.<br />
<br />
Once you realize these truths and follow them, once you<br />
come to the Qur'an as the first believers did, it may reveal<br />
to you as it did to them, make partners of you as it did of<br />
them. And only then, instead of being a mere revered book,<br />
a sacred fossil, or a source of magic-like blessing, it will<br />
change into a mighty force, impinging, stiring, moving and<br />
guiding us to deeper and higher achievements, just as it did<br />
before.<br />
<br />
The New World that Awaits You<br />
<br />
As you come to the Qur'an, you come to a new world.<br />
No other venture in your life can be so momentous and<br />
crucial, so blissful and rewarding, as your journey to and<br />
through the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
It is a journey that will take you through the endless joys<br />
and riches of the words that your Creator and Lord has sent<br />
to you and all mankind. Here you will find a world of untold<br />
treasures of knowledge and wisdom to guide you on the<br />
pathways of life, to mould your thoughts anWactions. In it you<br />
will find deep insights to enrich you a3htetr you along the<br />
right course. From it you will rec<tive a radiant light to<br />
illumine the deeper reaches of your soul. Here you will<br />
encounter profound emotions, a warmth to melt your heart<br />
and bring tears running down your cheeks.<br />
<br />
It is crucial for you because, as you travel through the<br />
Qur'an, at every step you will be summoned to choose, and<br />
to commit to Allah. To read the Qur'an is nothing less than<br />
to live the Qur'an willingly, sincerely, devotedly, and totally.<br />
The outcome of your entire life depends on how you heed<br />
the call given by God. The journey is therefore decisive for<br />
your existence, for mankind, for the future of human<br />
civilization.<br />
<br />
A hundred new worlds lie in its verses.<br />
Whole centuries are involved in its moments. <br />
<br />
Know, then, that it is the Qur'an, and only the Qur'an,<br />
which can lead you on and on to success and glory in<br />
this-world and in the world-to-come.<br />
<br />
What is the Qur'an?<br />
<br />
It is beyond man's power to comprehend, or to describe,<br />
the greatness and importance of what the Qur'an holds for<br />
him. Yet, to begin with, you must have some idea of what it<br />
is and what it means to you, such that you are inspired to<br />
immerse the whole of your self in the Qur'an, in total commit-<br />
ment, complete dedication and ceaseless pursuit, as it<br />
demands.<br />
<br />
The Qur'an is Allah's greatest blessing for you. It is the<br />
fulfilment of His promise to Adam and his descendants:<br />
'There shall come to you guidance from Me, and whosoever<br />
follows My gu,idance no fear shall be on them, neither shall<br />
they sorrow' (al-Baqarah 2: 38). It is the only weapon to<br />
help your frail existence as you struggle against the forces<br />
of evil and temptation in this-world. It is the only means to<br />
overpower your fear and anxiety. It is the only 'light' (nur),<br />
as you grope in the darkness, with which to find your way<br />
to success and salvation. It is the only healing (shifa') for<br />
your inner sicknesses, as well as the social ills that may<br />
surround you. It is the constant reminder (dhikr) of your<br />
true nature and destiny, of your station, your duties, your<br />
rewards, your perils.<br />
<br />
It was brought down by one who is powerful and trust-<br />
worthy in the heavens - the angel Jibra'il. Its first abode was<br />
that pure and sublime heart, the like of which man has never<br />
had - the heart of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and<br />
peace be on him.<br />
<br />
More than anything, it is the only way to come nearer and<br />
closer to your Creator. It tells you of Him, of His attributes,<br />
of how He rules over the cosmos and history, of how He<br />
relates Himself to you, and how you should relate to Him,<br />
to yourself, to your fellow men and to-every other existence.<br />
<br />
The rewards that await you here are surely many, increasing<br />
manifold in the Hereafter, but what awaits you at the end<br />
of the road, promises Allah in the Hadlth qudsi, 'the eye<br />
has seen not, nor the ear heard, nor the heart of man ever<br />
conceived', and, adds Abu Hurayrah: read if you wish [in<br />
al-Sajdah 32: 17]: 'No human being can imagine what joys<br />
are being kept hidden for them in reward for all that they<br />
did' (Bukhari, Muslim).<br />
<br />
Most important to remember is that what you read in the<br />
Qur'an is the word of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, which He<br />
has conveyed to you in a human language, only because of His<br />
mercy and care and providence for you. 'The Most-merciful,<br />
He has taught the Qur'an' (al-Rahman 55: 1-2). 'A mercy<br />
from your Lord' (al-Dukhan 44: 6). The majesty of the<br />
Qur'an, too, is so overpowering that no human being can<br />
comprehend it. So much so that, says Allah: 'If We had sent<br />
down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you svwld have seen it<br />
humbled, split asunder out of the fear of Ahah' (al-Hashr<br />
59: 20).<br />
<br />
This act of Divine mercy and majesty is enough to awe<br />
and overwhelm you, to inspire you to ever-greater heights<br />
of gratitude, yearning and endeavour to enter the world of<br />
the Qur'an. Indeed, no treasure is more valuable and<br />
precious for you than the Qur'an, as Allah says of His<br />
generosity:<br />
<br />
O men! There has come to you an exhortation from<br />
your Lord, healing for what is in the hearts, and a<br />
guidance, and a mercy for believers. Say: In [this]<br />
bounty of Allah, and in His mercy - in it let them<br />
rejoice. It is better than whatever they amass (Yunus<br />
10: 574).<br />
<br />
Hazards and Perils<br />
<br />
Rejoice you must, in the mercy and blessing and generosity<br />
of Allah. Seek you must, for the treasures that await your<br />
search herein. But the Qur'an opens its doors only to those<br />
who knock with a sense of yearning, a sincerity of purpose<br />
and an exclusive attention that befit its importance and<br />
majesty. And only those are allowed to gather its treasures,<br />
while they walk through it, who are prepared to abandon<br />
themselves completely to its guidance and do their utmost<br />
to absorb it.<br />
<br />
It may quite possibly happen therefore that you may read<br />
the Qur'an endlessly, turn its pages laboriously, recite its<br />
words beautifully, study it most scholarly, and still fail to<br />
make an encounter with it that enriches and transforms your<br />
whole person. For, all those who read the Qur'an do not<br />
profit from it as they should. Some remain unblessed; some<br />
are even cursed.<br />
<br />
The journey has its own hazards, as it must, just as it has<br />
its own precious and limitless rewards. Many never turn to<br />
it, though the Book always lies near at hand, and many are<br />
turned away from its gates. Many read it often, but come<br />
back empty-handed; while many others who read it never<br />
really enter its world. Some do not find, but are lost. They<br />
fail to hear God even among His own words; instead, they<br />
hear their own voices or those other than God's. Still others,<br />
though they hear God, fail to find inside themselves the will,<br />
the resolve and the courage to respond and live by His call.<br />
Some lose even what they had and, instead of collecting<br />
priceless gems, they return with back-breaking loads of<br />
stones which will hurt them for ever and ever.<br />
<br />
What a tragic misfortune it would be if you came to the<br />
Qur'an and went away empty-handed - soul untouched,<br />
heart unmoved, life unchanged; 'they went out as they came<br />
in'.<br />
<br />
The Qur'an's blessings are limitless, but the measure of<br />
your taking from it depends entirely upon the capacity and<br />
the suitability of the receptacle you bring to it. So, at the<br />
very outset, make yourself more deeply aware of what the<br />
Qur'an means to you and what it demands of you; and make<br />
a solemn determination to recite the Qur'an in an appropriate<br />
manner, so that you may be counted among 'Those whom<br />
We have given the Book, they recite it as it ought to be<br />
recited; it is they who believe in it' (al-Baqarah 2: 121).<br />
<br />
Tilawah<br />
<br />
Tilawah is the word that the Qur'an uses to describe the<br />
act of its reading. No single word in English can convey its<br />
full meaning. 'To follow' is closest to its primary meaning.<br />
To read is only secondary, for in reading too, words follow<br />
each other, one closely behind the other, in an orderly and<br />
meaningful sequence. If one word does not follow the other,<br />
or if the sequence and order is not observed, the meaning<br />
is destroyed.<br />
<br />
So, primarily, tilawah means, move closely behind, to go<br />
forward, to flow in a sequense, tet go in pursuit, to take as<br />
a guide, leader, master, a model, to accept the authority, to<br />
espouse the cause, to act upon, walk after, practise a way<br />
of life, to understand, to follow the train of thought - or to<br />
follow. Reading the Qur'an, understanding the Qur'an,<br />
following the Qur'an - that is how those who have any right<br />
to claim faith in it relate themselves to it.<br />
<br />
Tilawah or recitation is an act in which your whole person,<br />
soul, heart, mind, tongue and body—participates. In short<br />
your whole existence becomes involved. In reading the Qur'an,<br />
mind and body, reason and feeling lose their distinction; they<br />
become fused. As the tongue recites and words flow from the<br />
lips, the mind ponders, the heart reflects, the soul absorbs,<br />
tears well up in the eyes, the heart quakes and trembles, the<br />
skin shivers and softens just as the heart does, there no longer<br />
remains any duality between the two, even your hair may stand<br />
on end. And 'so he walks in a light from his Lord ... that is<br />
God's guidance, whereby He guides whomsoever He will'<br />
(al-Zumar 39: 22-3).<br />
<br />
To read the Qur'an thus, as it deserves to be read, is not<br />
a light task; but nor is it too difficult or impossible. Otherwise<br />
the Qur'an could not have been meant for laymen like us,<br />
nor could it be the mercy and the guidance that it surely is.<br />
But obviously it does entail much travail of heart and mind,<br />
soul and intellect, spirit and body, and requires that certain<br />
conditions be observed and obligations be fulfilled - some<br />
inwardly, some outwardly. You should know them all, now,<br />
and endeavour to observe them before you enter the glorious<br />
world of the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
Only then will you reap the full harvest of blessings that<br />
await you in the Qur'an. Only then will the Qur'an open its<br />
doors to you. Only then will it let you dwell inside it and<br />
dwell inside you. Nine months spent in the womb of your<br />
mother have transformed a drop of water into 'you' -<br />
hearing, seeing and thinking. Can you imagine what a<br />
lifetime spent with the Qur'an - seeking, hearing, seeing,<br />
thinking, striving - can do for you? It can make you into an<br />
entirely new 'being' - before whom even angels will feel<br />
proud to kneel.<br />
<br />
Ascending at every step taken within the Qur'an and every<br />
moment spent therein, you will reach towering heights. You<br />
will be gripped by the power and beauty that breathe and<br />
move within the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
From Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn al-'As: The Prophet,<br />
Allah's blessings and peace be on him, said, 'The<br />
companion of the Qur'an will be told: recite and ascend,<br />
ascend with facility as you used to recite with facility in<br />
the world. Your final abode is the height you reach at<br />
the last verse you recite' (Abd Da'ud, Tirmidhi,<br />
Ahmad, Nasa'i).
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