Our Relationship with the Holy Qur'an

Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata¹ala tells us in verse 82 of Surah An-Nisaa:

"Do they ponder on The Qur¹an? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found
therein much discrepancy."

The unity of the Holy Qur¹an is admittedly greater than that of any other sacred revealed book. And
yet, how can we account for it except through the unity of Allah¹s purpose and design?

From a mere human point of view, we should have expected much discrepancy because
(1) our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alaihi Wasallam who promulgated it was not a learned man or
philosopher,
(2) it was promulgated at various times in various circumstances, and
(3) it is addressed to all grades of mankind.

Yet, when properly understood, its various pieces fit together well even when arranged without any
regard to chronilogical order. There was just the One Inspirer and the One Inspired.................Almighty
Allah Azza Wajjal.

Of all the intimate blessings and favours that has been bestowed upon humanity, nothing can match
the Most Holy and Glorious Qur'an.If every hair on our body becomes a tongue praising and thanking
Him, if every drop of blood in our body turns into a joyful tear, even then our praises and gratitude will
not match His enormous generosity that is the Most Glorious Qur¹an.

The Most Holy Qur¹an is no ordinary Book for this is confirmed by Almighty Allah Jallah Wa'ala
in verses 1 and 2 of Surah Al-Baqara:

"A.L.M. This is the Book; In it is guidance sure, without doubt, To those who fear Allah."

Our main purpose for reading and studying the Most Holy Qur¹an is to seek the spiritual guidance that
will transform our whole being and to be guided on the Straight Path - The Path of Seerathal
Mustaqeem.
The Path of Seerathal Mustaqeem is the cry of our heart to which the Qur¹an is the response.

We may all, in our very own ways admire the Most Holy Qur¹an, we may even be informed by it, but
we cannot be transformed by it
unless and until our words soak in to awaken us , to grip us, to heal us and to change us. This cannot
happen unless and until we take them for what they truly are - the words of none other than Almighty
Allah Subahanahoo Wata¹ala Who confirms in verse 17 of Surah Ash-Shura that He is the Author of
the Most Holy Qur¹an:

"It is Allah Who has sent down the Qur¹an in truth, and the balance and what will make thee realise
that perhaps the Hour is close at hand?"

The revelation of the Most Holy Qur¹an is like a balance, an instrument placed by Almighty Allah in our
hands, by which we can weigh all moral issues, all questions of right and wrong in conduct and we
must do so constantly. Without this faith we cannot come to acquire all the inner resources we will
need to reach the heart of the Glorious Qur¹an and to absorb its message.

Once it comes to reside in our hearts, we cannot but be filled with the qualities and attitudes such as
sincerity of purpose, awe, reverence, Muhabbatand gratitude, trust and dependence, conviction of its
truth,surrender to its message, obedience to its commands and vigilance against dangers which stalk
to deprive us of its vast treasures.

Let us for a brief moment think of Almighty Allah¹s Greatness, His Majesty, His Glory and His Great
Power, and we all will feel awe, reverence and devotion for His words. Reflect on His sustenance,
mercy and compassion, and we will be filled with gratitude, love and longing for His message.

Know His Great Wisdom, knowledge and kindness, and we will become willing,eager and ready to
obey all His Commandments. That is why the Most Holy Qur¹an reminds us of this important truth
again and again: in the very beginning, in the opening verses of many Surahs, and frequently in
between.

Almighty Allah confirms His Muhabbat for humanity in verse 29 of Surah Al-Baqara where He
reminds us of His Love:

"It is He Who had created for you All things that are on earth; Then He turned to the heaven and made
them into seven firmaments And of all things He hath perfect knowledge."

We must for always remain conscious that every word that we are reading,reciting, or trying to
understand, is directly from Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata¹ala. Do we truly possess this faith?
We do not have to look far for an answer.All we really have to do is to examine our hearts and our
behaviour. If we all have it, then where may I ask is the desire and longing for companionship with the
Most Holy Qur¹an, where is the labour and hard work in trying to understand it, where is the surrender
and obedience to its message?

How do we obtain this faith, and how we keep it alive? The most effective way is reciting the Qur¹an
itself. As we read the Qur¹an, we will surely recognize it as being the word of Almighty Allah.Our faith
will surely increase in intensity and depth because this has been
promised by Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal in verse 2 of Surah Al-Anfal:

"For Believers are those Who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they
hear His Revelations rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust In their Lord."

We should read the Qur¹an with the purpose of receiving guidance from our Maker, to draw closer to
Him, and to seek His good pleasure.What we get from the Most Glorious Qur¹an depends entirely on
what we seek from it because our Niyyah is crucial. Most certainly, the Quran has come to guide us,
but we may also go astray by reading it should we approach it for impure purposes and wrong motives
for Almighty Allah warns us of such behaviour inverse 27 of Surah Al-Baqara:

"Those who break Allah¹s Covenant After it is ratified, and who sunder what Allah has ordered to be
joined, And do mischief on earth: These cause loss (only) to themselves."

The Most Holy Qur¹an is the word of Almighty Allah; it therefore requires as much exclusiveness of
intention and purity of purpose as does worshipping and serving Almighty Allah Jallah Wa'ala. We
should not read the Holy Qur¹an merely for intellectual pursuit and pleasure; even though we must
apply our intellect to the fullest to the task of understanding it.

There are many people today who will spend a lifetime in studying the language, style, history,
geography, law and ethics of the Glorious Qur¹an and yet their lives remain untouched by its message.
The Holy Qur¹an frequently refers to people who have been blessed with knowledge but do not derive
benefit from it.

Then again we find people who approach the Holy Qur¹an with the fixed intention of finding support for
their own views, notions and doctrines. For those who do so all that they will hear is an echo of their
own voices and not that of Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata¹ala. It is this approach to the
understanding and interpretation of the Glorious Qur¹an that our Beloved Nabee Muhammad
Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam has said: (and I quote from Tirmidhi)

"Whoever interprets the Qur¹an by his personal opinion shall take his place in the jaws of Jahannum."
Nothing could be more unfortunate than to use the Holy Qur¹an to secure wordly gains such as name,
fame, status or money. One can achieve all these worldly things, but we will be bartering away a
priceless treasure and incurring loss and ruin. Reading every single word of the Holy Qur¹an carries
with it great rewards. We should remain conscious of all the rewards, and make them an objective of
our Niyyah, for they will provide us with those strong incentives required to spend our life with the Most
Glorious Qur¹an.

We should not forget that on understanding, absorbing and following the Holy Qur¹an we have been
promised much greater rewards in this world as well as in the Hereafter. This is what we should all aim
for,Nothing brings us closer to our Glorious Creator than the moments we spend with His words. For it
is only in the Qur¹an that we enjoy the unique blessings of hearing His voice¹addressing us.

Our Niyyah should be directed to seeking only Almighty Allah¹s pleasure by devoting our hearts, our
minds and our time to the guidance that He has blessed us with. That is what we barter when we
surrender ourselves to Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal who speaks very highly of such a person in verse
207 of Surah Al-Baqara:

"And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah; And Allah is full of
kindness to (His) devotees."

As the favoured Ummah of Allah¹s Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam- we should always ask
ourselves: Why am I reading the Qur¹an? We should remind ourselves constantly why we should
because this may be the best way to ensure the purity and exclusiveness of purpose and intention. We
should alert ourselves with intense praise and gratitude to Almighty Allah Jallah Wa'ala for having
blessed us with one of His Greatest gift - the Holy Qur¹an - and for having guided us to its reading and
study.

Insha¹Allah, once we realize what a priceless treasure we all hold in our hands, it is but natural for our
hearts to beat with joy and murmur, and for our tongues to join in by thanking and Praising our
Glorious Creator in the words of the Holy Qur¹an: (Verse 43 Surah Al-A¹raf)

"Praise be to Allah, Who had guided us To this (felicity): never could we have found guidance, had it
not been For the guidance of Allah: Indeed it was the truth that the Messengers of our Lord brought
unto us."

Why do we thank Almighty Rabbul Ala'meen for having blessed us with the Qur¹an? Principally
because He has, thus, guided us to the meaning and purpose in life and brought us on the Straight
Path which leads to the Path of Seerathal Mustaqeem. The way to honour and dignity in this world has
been opened for us for we can converse with our Glorious Creator and Maker. Only by following the
Qur¹an in this world can we attain forgiveness, Jannah and Almighty Allah¹s good pleasure in the life
to come.

O Almighty Allah! Let not our hearts swerve from the truth after Thou has guided us. Bestow upon us,
upon our offspring and upon the Ummah of Your Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam Thy
Mercy, Bounty, Forgiveness and Blessings for indeed Thou art Gafooroor Raheem.
By Moulana Abdul Hamid Lachporia(Canada)