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Chapter 2:
Basic Prerequisites
Certain basic states and attitudes of heart and mind are a necessary
prerequisite to any fruitful relationship with the Qur'an. Develop them as much as you
can. Make them part of your consciousness, keep them ever-alive and active. Integrate them
in your actions. Let them penetrate the depth of your being. Without the help of these
inner resources you will not receive your full measure of the Qur'an's blessings. They
will be your indispensable companions, too, throughout your journey.
These inner resources are neither difficult nor impossible to find.
Through constant awareness and reflection, through appropriate words and deeds, you can
acquire and develop them. The more you do so, the closer you will be able to come to the
Qur'an; the closer you come to the Qur'an, the greater will be your harvest.
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First: Come to the Qur'an with a strong and deep faith that it is
the word of Allah, your Creator and Lord.
Why should such a faith be a necessary prerequisite? No doubt such is
the power and charm of the Qur'an that even if a man takes it up and starts reading it as
he would an ordinary book, he will still benefit from it, should he read it with an open
mind. But this book is no ordinary book; it opens with the emphatic statement: 'This is
the Book [of God], there is no doubt in it' (al-Baqarah 2:2). Your purpose in reading
and studying it is no ordinary purpose; you seek from it the guidance that will transform
your whole being, bring you and keep you on the Straight Path: 'Guide us on the
Straight Path' (al-Fatihah 1:5) is the cry of your heart to which the Qur'an is the
response.
You may admire the Qur'an, even be informed by it, but you cannot be
transformed by it unless its words soak in to awaken you, to grip you, to heal and change
you. This cannot happen unless you take them for what they truly are the words of God.
Without this faith you cannot come to acquire all the other inner
resources you will need to reach the heart of the Qur'an and absorb its message. Once it
comes to reside in your heart, you cannot but be filled with the qualities and attitudes
such as sincerity of purpose, awe and reverence, love and gratitude, trust and dependence,
willingness to labour hard, conviction of its truth, surrender to its message, obedience
to its commands, and vigilance against dangers which stalk to deprive you of its
treasures.
Think of His majesty and glory and power, and you will feel awe and
reverence and devotion for His words. Reflect on His sustenance and mercy and compassion,
and you will be filled with gratitude and love and longing for His message. Know His
wisdom and knowledge and kindness, and you will become willing and eager and ready to obey
His commandments.
That is why the Qur'an reminds you of this important truth again and
again: in the very beginning, in the opening verses of many Surahs, and frequently in
between.
That is why even the Messenger, blessings and peace be on him, is
instructed to proclaim his own faith: 'Say: I believe in whatever God has sent down in
this Book' (al-Shura 42: 15). In his faith all believers must join him: 'The
Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him by His Lord, and all believers too'
(al-Baqarah 2:285).
You must, therefore, always remain conscious that each word that you
are reading, reciting, hearing, or trying to understand, has been sent for you by Allah.
Do you truly have this faith? You do not have to look far for an
answer. Just examine your heart and behavior. If you have it, then, where is the desire
and longing for companionship with the Qur'an, where is the labour and hard work to
understand it, where is the surrender and obedience to its message?
How do we obtain this faith, and how can it be kept alive? Although
there are many ways, I will mention only one here . The most effective way is reciting the
Qur'an itself. This may look as if we are moving in a circle, but this is not really the
case. For, as you read the Qur'an, you will surely recognize it as being the word of God.
Your faith will then increase in intensity and depth: Believers are only those who,
whenever God is mentioned, their hearts tremble with awe; and whenever His revelations are
recited to them, they increase them in faith ... (al-Anfal 8: 2).
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Second: Read the Qur'an with no purpose other than to receive guidance
from your Lord, to come nearer to Him, and to seek His good pleasure.
What you get from the Qur'arn depends on what you come to it for. Your niyyah
(intention and purpose) is crucial. Certainly the Qur'an has come to guide you, but you
may also go astray by reading it should you approach it for impure purposes and wrong
motives.
Thereby He causes many to go astray, and thereby He guides many; but
thereby He causes none to go astray save the iniquitous
(al-Baqarah 2:26).
The Qur'an is the word of Allah; it therefore requires as much
exclusiveness of intention and purity of purpose as does worshipping and serving Him.
Do not read it merely for intellectual pursuit and pleasure; even
though you must apply your intellect to the full to the task of understanding the Qur'an.
So many people spend a lifetime in studying the language, style, history, geography, law
and ethics of the Qur'an, and yet their lives remain untouched by its message. The Qur'an
frequently refers to people who have knowledge but do not derive benefit from it.
Nor should you come to the Qur'an with the fixed intention of finding
support for your own views, notions and doctrines. For if you do, you may, then, hear an
echo of your own voice in it, and not that of God. It is this approach to the
understanding and interpreting of the Qur'an that the Prophet, blessings and peace be on
him, has condemned. 'Whoever interprets the Qur'an by his personal opinion shall take his
place in the Fire' (Tirmidhi).
Nothing could be more unfortunate than to use the Qur'an to secure, for
your own person, worldly things such as name, esteem, status, fame or money. You may get
them, but you will surely be bartering away a priceless treasure for nothing, indeed even
incurring eternal loss and ruin. Indeed, the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, said:
'If anyone studies the Qur'an seeking thereby a living from people, he will rise on the
Day of Resurrection with his face as a fleshless bone' (Baihaqi). He also said that one
who learns, recites and teaches the Qur'an for worldly acclaim will be thrown into the
Fire (Muslim).
You may also derive other lesser benefits, from the words of the
Qur'an, such as the healing of bodily afflictions, psychological peace, and deliverance
from poverty. There is no bar to having these, but, again, they should not become the be
all and end all that you seek from the Qur'an nor the goal of your niyyah. For
in achieving these you may lose a whole ocean that could have been yours.
Reading every single letter of the Qur'an carries with it great
rewards. Remain conscious of all the rewards, and make them an objective of your niyyah,
for they will provide you with those strong incentives required to spend your life with
the Qur'an. But never forget that on understanding, absorbing and following the Qur'an you
have been promised much larger rewards, in this-world and in the Hereafter. It is these
which you must aim for.
Not only should your purpose be pure, but you should also, once you
have the Qur'an with you—both the text and its living embodiment in the
Sunnah—never go to any other source for guidance. For that would be like running
after mirages. It would mean a lack of confidence, a denigration of the Qur'an. It would
amount to divided loyalties.
Nothing brings you nearer to your Lord than the moments you spend with
His words. For it is only in the Qur'an that you enjoy the unique blessing of hearing His
'voice' addressing you. So let an intense desire to come nearer to Allah be your one
overwhelming motive while reading the Qur'an.
Finally, your niyyah should be directed to seeking only your
Lord's pleasure by devoting your heart, mind and time to the guidance that He has sent to
you. That is what you barter when you surrender yourself to Allah: 'There is such as
would sell his own self in order to please God' (al-Baqarah 2:207).
Purpose and intentions are like the soul of a body, the inner
capability of a seed. Many seeds look alike, but as they begin to grow and bear fruits,
their differences become manifest. The purer and higher the motive, the greater the value
and yield of your efforts.
So always ask yourself: Why am I reading the Qur'an? Tell yourself
constantly why you should. This may be the best way to ensure the purity and exclusiveness
of purpose and intention.
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Third: Make yourself constantly alert with intense praise and gratitude
to your Lord for having blessed you with His greatest gift the Qur'an and for having
guided you to its reading and study.
Once you realize what a priceless treasure you hold in your hands, it
is but natural for your heart to beat with joy and murmur, and for your tongue to join in:
'Thankful praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this; [otherwise] never could we
have found guidance had not Allah not guided us' (al-A'raf 7: 43).
Of all the intimate blessings and favours He has bestowed upon you
nothing can match the Qur'an. If every hair on your body becomes a tongue praising and
thanking Him, if every drop of blood in your body turns into a joyful tear, even then your
praise and thanks will not match His enormous generosity that is the Qur'an.
Even if the Qur'an had not been sent down for us, its perfection and
beauty, its majesty and splendour would deserve all the praise at our command. But that
this sublime and perfect gift, having the unique distinction of embodying our Lord's
speech, has been given solely for our sake must intensify our praise beyond bounds.
Such intense praise inevitably turns into intense gratitude. And no
word expresses this intense praise combined with overflowing gratitude and thanks as well
as does al-hamd.
alhamdu li 'llahi 'I-ladhi hadana li hadha
...
Why thank Allah for having given us the Qur'an? Principally because He
has, thus, guided you to meaning and purpose in life and brought you on the Straight Path.
The way to honour and dignity in this-world has been opened for you. In the Qur'an, you
can converse with Allah. Only by following the Qur'an in this-world can you attain
forgiveness, Paradise and Allah's good pleasure in that-world.
Gratitude and joy lead to trust, hope and greater gifts. The One who
has given you the Qur'an will surely help you in reading, understanding and following it.
Thankfulness and joy generate an ever-fresh vigour which helps you to read the Qur'an
always with a renewed zeal. The more you are grateful, the more Allah gives you of the
riches that the Qur'an has to offer. Generosity evokes gratitude, gratitude makes you
deserve more generosity an unending cycle. Such is God's promise: 'If you are grateful,
I will surely give you more and more' (Ibrahim 14: 7).
Having the Qur'an and not feeling immensely grateful for it can only
mean two things: either you are ignorant of the blessings that the Qur'an contains, or you
do not attach any importance to them. In either case you should be seriously worried about
the state of your relationship with the Qur'an. The sentiment of gratitude that permeates
every pore of your heart and mind, must also pour out in your words, which should be
profuse and incessant. Thank Allah at every step of your journey: for having had time for
the Qur'an, for reading it correctly, for memorizing it, Łor every meaning you discover
in it, for having been enabled to follow it. Gratitude must also be transformed into
deeds.
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Fourth: Accept and trust, without the least doubt or hesitation, every
knowledge and guidance that the Qur'an conveys to you.
You have the freedom to question whether the Qur'an is the word of
Allah or not, and to reject its claim if you are not satisfied. But once you have accepted
it as His word, you have no basis whatever to doubt even a single word of it. For to do so
would negate what you have accepted. There must be total surrender and abandonment to the
Qur'anic teachings. Your own beliefs, opinions, judgements, notions, whims should not be
allowed to override any part of it.
The Qur'an condemns those who receive the Book as an inheritance and
then behave as bewildered and puzzled, doubting and sceptical 'believers'.
Those whom the Book has been given as an inheritance after them [the
early people], behold they are in doubt about it, disquieting
(al-Shura 42: 14).
The Qur'an also repeatedly emphasizes that every measure was taken to
ensure that it came down and was conveyed without any adulteration. And affirms:
With the Truth We have sent it down and with the Truth it has come down
(al-Isra' 17: 105).
And perfect are the words of your Lord in Truth and Justice
(al-An'am 6: 115).
Accepting and trusting the Qur'an as true, and wholly true, does not
mean blind faith, closed minds, unenquiring intellects.
You have every right to enquire, reflect, question and understand what
it contains; but what you cannot fully comprehend is not necessarily irrational or untrue.
In a mine where you believe that every stone is a priceless gem and it may have proved to
be so you will not throw away the few whose worth your eyes fail to detect or which the
tools available to you are inadequate or unable to evaluate.
Nor can part of the Qur'an be discarded as being out of date and
old-fashioned, an old wives' tale. If God is Lord of all times, His message must be
equally valid fourteen centuries later.
To accept some part of the Qur'an and to reject some is to reject all
of it. There is no room for partial acceptance in your relationship with the Qur'an; there
cannot logically be (al Baqarah 2: 85).There are many diseases of the heart and mind which
may prevent you from accepting the Qur'anic message and surrendering to it. They have all
been described in the Qur'an. Among them are envy, prejudice, gratification of one's
desires and the blind following of the ways and customs of society. But the greatest are
pride and arrogance, a sense of self-sufficiency (kibr and istighna') which
prevent you from giving up your own opinions, recognizing the word of God, and accepting
it with humility.
I shall turn away from My revelations all those who wax proud in the
earth, without any right; though they see every sign, they do not believe in it, and
though they see the way of rectitude, they do not take it for a way, and if they see the
way of error, they take it for a way
(al-A'raf 7: 146).
And those who deny Our revelations and wax proud against them the gates
of heaven shall not be opened to them, nor shall they enter Paradise until a camel passes
through a needle's eye
(al-A'raf 7: 40).
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Fifth: Bring the will, resolve and readiness to obey whatever the
Qur'an says, and change your life, attitudes and behaviour-inwardly and outwardly-as
desired by it.
Unless you are prepared and begin to act to shape your thoughts and
actions according to the messages you receive from the Qur'an, all your dedication and
labour may be to no avail. Mere intellectual exercises and ecstatic experiences will never
bring you anywhere near the real treasures of the Qur'an.
Failing to obey the Qur'an and to change your life-because of human
frailties and temptations, natural difficulties and external impediments is one matter;
failing to do so because you have no intention or make no effort to do so is quite
another. You may, then attain fame as a scholar of the Qur'an, but it will never reveal
its true meaning to you.
The Qur'an reserves one of its most severe condemnations for those who
profess faith in the Book of God, but when they are summoned to act or when situations
arise for decision-making, they ignore its call or turn away from it. They have been
declared to be Kafir, fasiq (iniquitous), zalim (wrongdoer).
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Sixth: Always remain aware that, as you embark upon reading the Qur'an,
Satan will create every possible hazard and obstacle to stalk you on your way to the great
riches of the Qur'an.
The Qur'an is the only sure guide to the Straight Path to God; to walk
that path is man's destiny. When Adam was created he was made aware of the hurdles and
obstacles man would have to surmount in order to fulfil his destiny. All his weaknesses
were laid bare, especially his weakness of will and resolve and his forgetfulness (Ta Ha
20: 115). It was also made plain how Satan would try to obstruct him at every step of his
journey:
I shall surely sit in ambush for them all along Thy Straight Path; I
shall, then, come on them from between their hands and from behind them, from their right
and their left. Thou wilt not find most of them thankful
(al-A'raf 7: 16-17).
Obviously the Qur'an the 'Guidance from Me' is your most powerful ally
and help as you battle all your life against Satan and strive to live by God's guidance.
Hence, from the very first step when you decide to read the Qur'an till the last when you
try to live by it, he will confront you with many tricks and guiles, illusions and
deceptions, obstacles and impediments which you will have to surmount.Satan may pollute
your intention, make you remain unmindful of the Qur'an's meaning and message, create
doubts in your mind, erect barriers between your soul and the world of Allah, entangle you
in peripheral rather than central teachings, tempt you away from obeying the Qur'an, or
simply make you neglect and postpone the task of reading it. All of these dangers are
fully explained in the Qur'an itself.Take just one very simple thing. Reading the Qur'an
every day, while understanding it, sounds very easy. But try, and you will find how
difficult it becomes: time slips away, other important things come up. Concentrating mind
and attention become something you wish to avoid: why not just read quickly for barakah.It
is with the consciousness of these perils and dangers that your tongue should, in
obedience to the Qur'an 'When you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from Satan,
the rejected' (al-Nahl 16: 98) say:
a'udhu billahi mina 'sh-Shaytani 'r-rajim
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Seventh: Trust, exclusively and totally, in Allah to lead you to the
full rewards of reading the Qur'an.
Just as it has been Allah's infinite mercy that has brought His words
to you in the Qur'an and brought you to it, so it can be only His mercy that can help in
your crucial task. You need weighty and precious provisions, and these are not easy to
procure. You face immense dangers, which are difficult to overcome. Whom can you look to
but Him to hold you by the hand and guide you on your way. Your desire and effort are the
necessary means; but His enabling grace and support are the only sure guarantees that you
will be able to tread your way with success and profit. In Him alone you should trust as
true believers. To Him alone you must turn for everything in life. And what thing is more
important than the Qur'an? Also, never be proud of what you are doing for the Qur'an, of
what you have achieved. Always be conscious of your inadequacies and limitations in the
face of a task which has no parallel. So approach the Qur'an with humility, with a sense
of utter dependence upon Allah, seeking His help and support at every step. It is in this
spirit of trust, praise and gratitude, that you should let your tongue and heart, in
mutual harmony, begin the recitation:
Bismi illahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most-merciful, the Mercy-giving
This is the verse which appears at the head of all but one of the 114
Surahs of the Qur'an. And also pray, asking His protection:
Our Lord! Let not our hearts swerve [from the Truth] after Thou hast
guided us; and bestow upon us Thy mercy, indeed Thou alone art the Bestower
(Al 'Imran
3: 8).
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