Living with the Quran

For those of us who follow the news, there were incidents this week in a European country in which the Quran was burned as part of a minority group of people who felt it was their right of freedom to perform such a cowardly and provocative act.

Interstingly, in the same week, in the same country, an individual was banned from burning the Torah, the holy scripture of the Jewish faith, as this was an act of hatred as so the authorities didn’t allow it to proceed.

What is interesting in this story, and lessons that we must learn from is that this is nothing new. From the first ayat being revealed to the Prophet SAWS to the present day, there will always be people who want to provoke a reaction, who want to demonise Islam and who want to destroy our faith and our scripture.

We need to remind ourselves that Allah SWT has protected this book from those people and as the imam referenced the 8th ayat of Sura As-Saff, it is translated to say:

They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.

And Sura Al-Hijr, ayat 9 which is translated to say:                     

Indeed We have Revealed this Quran and surely We are its Guardian to protect it

Dear brothers and sisters, we should not be worried on the impact this week will have on the Quran because this book is a miracle of our lives. The following two points illustrate this miracle.

First of all, this book is the most read, understood, memorized, discussed and contemplated book in the whole world and it will continue to be until the last day of this life.

This book is such that it is being read all the time somewhere in the world due to the time zones that span the whole world. It is a book that, if the world was to burn every single copy of every single book in the world tomorrow, we would have the Quran back on paper within 24 hours due to the amount of people that have memorized it across the world.

This book is a book that is unaltered and cannot be altered due to the vast number of people who have memorized this book over the world. It is a book that is repeated in part in every single masjid in every town in every country in the world. And there is no variation, there is no discrepancy and there is no change. Nothing else written past, present or future has and will come close to this.

And secondly, and most importantly, this book is a source of happiness, healing and mercy. In a world where the hedonistic pursuit of one’s desires results in the chaos we see, the Quran is the true source of contentment until the return to our Lord.

Dear brothers and sisters, it may be painful to see the images on the news but we have a responsibility to keep the book of Allah alive in our hearts, minds and our action. By doing this, the events of this week can never impact our deen and our book. This reminder concludes with a 5 short reminders on how we can make this happen.

Read it. It’s not given to gather dust in our homes. It ought to be a member of our family and all should witness it’s reading, especially children in the home.

Try to memorize some of it. Allah SWT said in Surat-Qamar, ayat 17:

And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance

Since, this book is a guidance for all, regardless of nationality or language, not a single Muslim should ever think that this task is beyond them to achieve. However, it requires effort and focus which lies within the induvial to commit to.

Try to ponder over the ayats of the Quran. Dear brothers and sisters, for those of us who are not native Arab speakers, this may appear like a difficult task. However, this is a question of attitude. Imagine this, you’ve just received a message from out of this world. This message is from your most beloved person. It is a message that is however encrypted. However this message is one you have waited your whole life for. It is the key to understanding everything about your beloved and about yourself. However, it’s encrypted. But good news, you can learn to decrypt the message as there are people who can help you do this. The question then is: Would you not then make the effort to decrypt that message? would you not then spend every waking minute wondering what this super message is to you? Would you not seek the best people to unlock this supernatural message that’s been sent just for you?

Dear brothers and sisters, this is the Quran. It’s encryption is the language of Arabic. And this is a message delivered from the Heavens by an Angel to a Prophet specifically for you. Why wouldn’t you make a small commitment to work towards understanding the book of your beloved Creator?

Work on practically adhering to the lessons within the Quran. This book is a living book, unlike any other which talks back to the reader and guides them to the path of Allah SWT. And alongside that we have the example of the living embodiment of the Quran, the sunnah of the Prophet SAWS to help us live out the lessons of the Quran.

Lastly, the Prophet SAWS said: The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it. So let’s spread wisdoms and lessons we learn from Quran. Let’s teach our youth how connected we are to the book. Let’s make the book of Allah SWT the central point in each of our homes.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are the nation to which belongs the single greatest miracle in existence today. However, the Quran serves not only to prove the authenticity of Islam but also provides each and every believer with a source of happiness that cannot be found anywhere else in life. The biggest tragedy that can befall us is that we do not realise this fact and that we don’t make the effort to acquaint ourselves with this living miracle and source of real happiness in this life.