IMPROVING LIVES
BY REFLECTING ON THE VERSES OF THE QUR’AN
Dr. Ruqaia Al-Alwani
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Introduction
Though an unlettered nation, when the Noble Qur’an came to the Arabs, they received it with attentive hearts. Before memorizing it, they first implemented it in their lives and their behaviors. This was in response to the Almighty’s injunction: Read.1 This thoughtful reading of the Qur’an bore fruit, entirely changing the lives of those first Muslims. The outcome was seen in their improved behavior, in outstanding human progress, and in their openness to the whole world in spite of their most basic tools of education and communication.2
Unfortunately, this level of reading, understanding and applying the teachings of the Qur’an in one’s life could not be maintained. It started receding gradually due to multiple factors until it reached an unparalleled state
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1 The Arabic word اقرأ (iqra’) which means ‘read’ or ‘recite’ is the first word of the Qur’an revealed to Prophet Muhammad (96:1).
2 In a few years the Muslim nation became a superpower in all aspects. From Spain to China, great Muslim scientists and thinkers carried the torch of civilization when Europe was going through the Dark Ages. Muslims excelled at art, architecture, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, geography, chemistry and other sciences. Muslim scholars shared their knowledge with medieval Europe and this led to the Renaissance.
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of (Qur’an) illiteracy. Despite the widespread use of printing and publishing means which facilitated the writing, reading and listening to the Qur’an, Muslims became disconnected from the Book of Allah in their day-to-day affairs. Many Muslims limited their engagement with the Qur’an to an occasional recitation and memorization of its words, focusing merely on the rules of recitation and the articulation of letters without any proper understanding or reflection on its meanings. Some only recite it to the sick who seek blessings and cure, to those dying and in funerals. What the Muslim nation is going through today – this backwardness, continuous defeats, inability to act, etc. – is a reflection, one way or another, of the way Muslim communities deal with the Book of Allah.
This book addresses Muslims with the aim of showing them how to mend their relationship with the Qur’an. The book highlights the reasons why many do not reflect upon the Qur’an or relate what they have read to their own lives. These reasons are mostly linked to the corruption of our senses and cognitive faculties. By fixing such problems, Muslims will be able to benefit from the Qur’an, allowing it to improve their lives.
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Why We Read the Qur’an:
Though there is great reward for the mere recitation of the Qur’an, the main purpose of revealing it, however, is for people to contemplate and reflect upon its verses. In chapter 38 of the Qur’an,3 Allah – Most Exalted is He – says:
كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ (29) ص.
[This is] a blessed Book which We4 have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded. (38:29)
In chapter 4 of the Qur’an,5 the Almighty says:
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3 Surat Sad
4 It is to be noted that the reference of Allah to Himself as “We” and “Us” in many verses of the Qur'an is necessarily understood in the Arabic language to denote grandeur and power. In the English language this is known as the Royal We, where a plural pronoun is used to refer to a single person holding a high office such as a monarch.
5 Surat An-Nisa’
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أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِنْدِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا (82) النساء.
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction. (4:82)
Again in chapter 47 we read:6
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا (24) محمد.
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts? (47:24)
The phrase “reflect upon the Qur’an” which appeared in the previous verses implies making the effort to comprehend the meaning, the significance and the purpose of the verses of the Qur’an, and then implementing their teachings in one’s life. By doing so, we enable the Qur’an to guide us, correct our behavior, amend our moral values, and improve the way we deal with ourselves and with others.
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6 Surat Muhammad
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The above verses also stress the importance and obligation to contemplate and reflect upon the Qur’an, each one according to his or her own mental, intellectual and psychological capacity (which a Muslim should be keen to increase). In his exegesis, Ibn Kathir reported that Al-Hassan Al-Basry said, “By Allah: its contemplation is not by memorizing its words while neglecting its injunctions. Sadly, some would dare say that they have recited the entire Qur’an whereas one cannot detect any impact upon their manners or deeds.”7
In his commentary on the Almighty’s words “Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an?” (4:82), Ibn Kathir wrote: “Allah – Most Exalted is He – commands His servants to contemplate and reflect upon the Qur’an, forbidding them from ignoring its verses or not making enough effort to understand their explicit meanings.8 Allah’s command (to reflect upon the Qur’an) is unambiguous and when Allah – Glorified and Highly
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7 Tafsir Ibn Kathir, volume 4, p. 34.
8 as opposed to the allegorical meanings
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Exalted is He – commands, the command should be obeyed. Therefore, contemplation is obligatory.”9
Warning people against ignoring the contemplation of the Qur’an, the Almighty says:
وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ (78) البقرة.
And among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Scripture except in wishful thinking,10 but they are only assuming. (2:78)
In his commentary on the above verse, Ibn Al-Qayyim had another interpretation of the Arabic word أماني . He wrote: “Allah has criticized those who tampered with the Scriptures11 (2:75) as well as the “unlettered ones” who do not know of the Scripture except the Amany أماني , i.e., its mere recitation.”12 And there are many
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9 Tafsir Ibn Kathir, volume 1, p. 530.
10 Another translation: who know the Scripture not except from hearsay.
11 Books previous to the Qur’an
12 Amazing Points of Exegesis ( بدائع التفسير ), by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya, volume 1, p. 300.
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other warnings by Muslim scholars against ignoring the contemplation of the Qur’an and only focusing on the recitation of the verses without reflecting on their meanings, objectives, lessons and teachings which we should apply in our daily lives.
Check your Priorities:
To benefit from the Glorious Qur’an in our lives, we need to liberate our senses and cognitive faculties – namely, the visual sense of sight, the sense of hearing, the heart and the mind – from all that which distracts and corrupts them. Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ (78) النحل.
And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect13 that perhaps you would be grateful. (16:78)
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13 The original Arabic word is أفئدة which is also translated as ‘hearts.’
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These senses and cognitive faculties, which Allah has blessed humans with, are the means by which we receive the verses of the Qur’an and reflect upon them. These are constantly occupied with a complex mixture of spontaneous precipitants, images, information and all that is part of Man’s cultural, social and natural environment. Since human beings are creatures of habit who tend to yield to whatever they are accustomed to, we need training to be able to detect what sort of things reach our senses and cognitive faculties, for these things shape our mindset and affect our decisions and attitudes. Unless we are selective about what we allow ourselves to see and hear, thus impacting the heart and mind, one cannot optimize the benefit from the Glorious Qur’an.
To be able to carry this out successfully, we need to stop and review our priorities in life. We should be prepared and willing to renounce arrogance, lethargy and self-deception, confronting ourselves with the truth confirmed by the following verse of the Qur’an:
أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُونَ (115) المؤمنون.
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Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned? (23:115)
Spiritual Detoxification:
Poisons, in the context of biology, cause disturbances to the body when a certain quantity is absorbed by the body. But there are other poisons which affect the mind and soul. These, when accumulated in us, cause a state of spiritual paralysis. Allah, the Almighty, says:
مَنْ يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِي وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ (178) وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُولَئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ (179) الأعراف.
Whoever Allah guides - he is the [rightly] guided; and whoever He sends astray - it is those who are the losers. And We have certainly created for Hell many of
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the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless. (7:178-179)
Most of these poisons come from using our senses in that which Allah has forbidden, for everything that Man sees or hears is stored in the subconscious, one way or another. For example, some use their visual sense of sight to look at haram14 things or to look at what others have, envying them for their possessions or skills. This leads to the poisoning of one’s heart and mind. When such poisons accumulate, our senses and cognitive faculties become ineffective. As a result, we become unable to comprehend the meanings of the Glorious Qur’an and benefit from its guidance.
Preventing these poisons from reaching the heart and mind can be achieved by stopping such glances and words which anger Allah – Glorified and Highly Exalted is He – in the early stages. This requires a strong will and perseverance. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya said that
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14 religiously forbidden
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those who exercise regularly will strengthen their bodies and this applies to everything that needs to be strengthened such as our memory and mental abilities.15 Therefore, a believer needs to exert continuous effort to improve the effectiveness of his senses and cognitive faculties gradually until he attains an insight by which he fully comprehends the signs16 of Allah – Glorified is He.
The heart and mind are like mirrors: the more they are free from flaws, the clearer they reflect the truth. The Almighty says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ تَذَكَّرُوا فَإِذَا هُمْ مُبْصِرُونَ (201) الأعراف.
Indeed, those who fear Allah - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight. (7:201)
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15 Healing with the Medicine of the Prophet ( الطب النبوي ), by Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya.
16 verses, teachings, messages, etc.
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