Reflections from the Quran

Have a Relationship With The Quran.

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The emphasis here is the ‘relationship’ with the Quran versus read more Quran. Do you read Quran out of love for Allah or because you ‘should’ read it?

Do you read Quran because it makes you so happy, brightens up your day and gives you inner peace or because you’d feel guilty if you don’t? Whether you come from a place of love or guilt, effects the way you interact with the Quran. (Tip: choose love!)

Building a relationship with the Quran begins with reading it frequently and branches out to developing multiple ways of connection — read it, talk about it, study tafseer, learn Arabic, implement it and let your heart be open to receiving the guidance of the Quran.

Notice the ayahs that resonate with your soul. Do you have a favourite Surah or an ayah that you keep coming back to? Is there a reciter that soothes all your worries?

#Its Effect on a Mountain.

We are yet to fully appreciate the reality of this book that is with us, that book that would have caused mountains to crumble had it been sent upon them.

“If We had sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and crumbled from the fear of Allah. And We present these parables to people for them to ponder.” (59:21)

Shawkani explained that this is “…because of its importance, its greatness, its eloquence, its strength of expression, and the lessons it contains that soften hearts.

Because of all this, were it to have been sent down upon any of the mountains on Earth, you would have seen that mountain — no matter how solid and massive — crumbling to pieces from humility before Allah, from caution of His punishment, and from fear that it would not be able to give due respect to His Words. So, with this vision and parable, one grasps the loftiness of the Qur’an and how deeply it affects the heart.”

In other words, if this is how a solid, hulking, inanimate mountain would be changed by the Qur’an, imagine its potential in changing your tender, living heart and soul…

When people open themselves to it, its effect surpasses magic.

Appreciate that Revelation “got it right” in the very first instance
This thought should come towards the end of any steady period of meaningful reflection. The reader should ruminate that all the benefits, lessons, wisdoms and ways that he can now better his own life with, all taken from a single verse, had but one single chance to be presented in the beginning.

When the Messenger conveyed new revelation, it was to an audience ready to listen, memorise and preserve those words, in that order, precisely. Let us consider the last written work we drafted: a school assignment, a message on a card or letter to a prospective employer? An article for Islam21c? No matter how many times you read it back, you will always feel a sense of ill-satisfaction and wonder: ‘Should I have changed a word?’ Or, ‘Why is this sentence so poorly worded?’

The next time you reflect upon the words of your Lord, either in a Tafsīr class or listening to an online lecture on your favorite verses, remember that the Qur’ān only ever had one “version” and it transformed the world as we know it. This is a testament to the divinity of this Book. The Qur’ān is flawless and there was only ever one draft.

“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?” (47:24)

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~maryambintisa