بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
No doubt you will find many people desirous to read and complete reciting the Qur'an. But there are also many among them who have completed reciting the Qur'an once, only to never touch it again for whatever reason -- perhaps ignorance, laziness or think they have better things to do. Know that your first round of completing reciting the Qur'an is only the beginning in building your relationship with the Qur'an. There is no stopping with the Qur'an. It is our real lifelong companion.
Allah told us that the Qur'an is guidance for the people and the criterion between right and wrong as if people don't already know this. When we read the Qur'an again and again, it is almost as though we don't know anything about what it was. This is the spirit we should have when we recite the Qur'an -- to refresh our relationship with the Qur'an all anew as if we never had a relationship with it before.
The actual relationship we have with the Qur'an is when we are standing in prayer and reciting it, and when we are standing behind an imam and listening to the Qur'an being recited. The relationship we have with the Qur'an happens five times (17 units) a day at least. If you add the sunnah prayers (emphasized and recommended), it is at least 12 units more daily. If somebody's prayer is good, his Qur'an is good, and if somebody is not engaging with the Qu'ran in his prayers, then his relationship with the Qur'an is entirely superficial.
Therefore, we should understand the Qur'an and try to memorize a little of the Qur'an as a family everyday. All this boils down to so we can have a better prayer. If you don't have a better prayer, all the Arabic knowledge, tafsir, etc, is doing you no good. Doing it as a family has many advantageous...one of which is to protect us from Shaytan and his evil because shaytan is stronger on one person rather than two/group.
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "It is incumbent upon you to be with the Muslim group and you must avoid disunity. The Shaytan is with a single person and it is far from two persons." [At-Tirmidhi]
Dedicate an hour or more a day to memorize Qur'an and understand it. Aim high for yourself and your family. You may set rewards for your children. Allah acknowledges our effort and He will reward us in a way we don't expect in this world before the next.
There are two kinds of requirements for understanding the Qur'an and benefit from the Qur'an: 1) Academic -- learning the Arabic language, study tafsir, undertsand the linguistic analysis anything that require you to study, and 2) Psychological requirements/spiritual requirements, which are the harder ones. Somebody with intelligene can study Arabic and know Allah's Book in no time but they don't benefit from it because they lack the spiritual requirements.
Don't be surprise if you find it very difficult to sit down and memorize. It is a life long struggle. You can meet the requirements at one point in life and lose at another point in life. We have to start and fight our own selves to maintain it. Remind ourselves every single time "why am I memorizing this ayat (verse)." The cliche answer is "So I can have guidance!" But that term is used so often but people don't really understand why they are asking Allah for guidance.
What 'asking for guidance" means is this...we have 2 choices everyday 1) Should I be quiet and pursue memorizing Qur'an and leave those friends? or 2) Should I respond back to the text messages? When we ask Allah for guidance we ask Allah for the strength to make the right choices. When you are ready and strong enough to make the right choice, you will find easy to rid of those distractions.
All of a sudden music, going to concerts, talking about useless things, etc, are not appealing to you anymore. All of a sudden, having hijab on (for the woman) is like a cool breeze in the hot summer or a warm breeze in the cold winter. No longer you have concerns about how you look in hijab or how others view or perceive you for covering yourself properly; and for the man, no longer having a beard becomes a big deal for you.
That's why we have to recite the Qur'an and reflect on it regularly. Remember, shaytan does not spare on any of us. He will come from all sides ready to ambush and lead you to shamelessness but constant remembrance of Allah act as a shield from shaytan's ambush.
We, as a Muslim community, is suffering from weakness of faith we need to find a way to strengthen our faith. Qur'an is the starting point and no stopping. We should keep the company of pious people because they can help you jolt your iman. We should keep on the recitation of Qur'an and remembrance of Allah; do much good, fulfill your duty on those who have rights upon you, avoid prohibitions at all cost, and always seeking Islamic knowledge.
May Allah guide us to excellence in His worship and protect us from evil. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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