Ramadan and reciting the Quran
Dear brothers, we carry on the topic of Ramadhan in this week’s khutba and of course, this is a topic that we can span across many Friday’s. But specifically this week the focus is on the blessing of this month and that is of the revelation of the Quran.
The following Sahih Muslim hadith emphasises the power of certain Sura’s in the Quran:
From Abu Umamah al-Bahili r.a., he said he heard Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “Recite the Quran as it helps the reader come the Day of Judgement. Read Zahrawain, which is Surah al-Baqarah and Al-Imran, because they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds that will provide shade to its readers or as two groups of birds in flight in the goal to defend its readers.
Read al-Baqarah, for the blessing and those having read it will be with no regrets and the readership having read it cannot be controlled by witchcraft.
The hadith is emphasising the benefits of the reading the Quran dear brothers. However, for some of us, the idea of reciting the second and third sura of the Quran is quite a challenge.
For some of us the Arabic language is taught solely for the Quran and so if we don’t recite often enough we begin to forget how to do so.
Dear brothers, we are in a situation here where the greatest connection to our Lord, our afterlife, our destiny is the Glorious Quran and yet we are in danger of forgetting it.
In Sura Al-Furqan, ayat 30, Allah SWT speaks of these times when it says:
And the Messenger has said: “O My Lord, indeed my people have taken this Quran as a thing abandoned.”
My dear brothers, at the very least we must strive to not be of these people. We can be proactive in learning to recite the Quran. Let’s get the Glorious Quran back onto our tongues and into our hearts.
The following is a 3 step guide on how each and every one of us can achieve this insh’Allah.
By the end of this guide, even those who have never recited the Quran before will be able to recite as much as they wish and without having to find classes to attend for learning.
And dear brothers, recall from previous khutbas that Allah SWT gives greater reward to the one who struggles to recite as he is learning to do so.
Step 1, go to the Masjid website. For those who do not know it is www.salahadeenmosque.org.uk Along the top you will find a section called Education and underneath that there are three items.
The first item is Listen to Quran. Here you can pick any ayat from any sura and it will play it either once or as many times as you like in case you wish to memorize.
The second option is Read Quran. This is for those who have forgotten or want to learn to read Quran. The Quran is displayed as if you were holding it in your hands. You hear the recitation and the section is highlighted on the Quran so you know what is being read.
This option also has translation of each section you are reading and for those who cannot read Arabic at all, it has English transliteration too.
The third option is the Kurdish Quran which has both the Arabic and the Kurdish translation.
Step 2, make intention now to recite just one level above what you have done previously. For those brothers who have not recited Quran at all, it could be just one ayat. For those who are a bit rusty then maybe a page. The key here is to start minimal because then you can only improve.
Step 3, meet that intention through the resources mentioned on the website and aim to make that habit consistent through this month.
My dear brothers, it is a struggle to find anyone these days that cannot access the internet. Now is the time to use it to take that step closer to Allah SWT and the Glorious Quran inshAllah.
May Allah SWT help us recognize the blessings of the month of Ramadhan. May Allah SWT protect us from the group that have abandoned the Quran. And may Allah SWT enable us to return the glorious Quran to our tongues and our hearts.
Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.
