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Encyclopedic Facts about The Holy Quran

Excellence of the Quran from Ahadith

 

This is recorded by Ibn Habbaan. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that he once asked the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him to give him some advice. The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him replied, “Be attentive to piety because this is the foundation or root of all actions.” I then asked him to mention something else with this, the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him stated, “

 

Be attentive to the Quran because this is a Nur in the word and a treasure for the hereafter.”

In this hadith shareef, one has been advised to hold fast to piety and this is also the life and soul of ibaadah. We see that when the command has been given to make ibaadah, at the end of the verse, it is mentioned that perchance through this, one can become pious. The same objective is mentioned when the command has been given to keep fast. When the command has been given to offer animal sacrifice, again it is mentioned that the blood of the animal does not reach the Almighty but the piety which is in the hearts of people. The piety in the hearts of people have also been described as one of the signs of Islam.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that he once asked the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him. “O Prophet of Allah, how many books Divine books were revealed?” He replied that they were a hundred Suhuf and four Kitabs. Fifty were sent to Nabi Sheesh Peace be upon him, thirty were sent to Nabi Idrees Peace be upon him, ten were sent to Nabi Ebrahim Peace be upon him and ten Suhuf were sent to Nabi Moosa Peace be upon him prior to the Taurah.” The four kitabs mentioned are the Torah, the Zabur, the Injeel and the Quran. I then asked, “What was in the Suhuf of Nabi Ebrahim Peace be upon him?”

 

He replied, “They contained many similitude’s and a message to kings that, “I did not send you to the world to gather wealth upon wealth. I sent you to the world so that the voices of the oppressed do not reach Me. In other words, before (the oppressed plead in the Divine Court of the Almighty) they should be helped and also remember that the pleading of the oppressed are not rejected in the Divine Court of the Almighty even if the oppressed person is a kaafir.”.

 

There is also no doubt that whenever the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him used to send governors or leaders into other areas, he used to also give them strict advise which was, “Protect yourself against the curse of the oppressed because between him and His Creator, there is no barrier or veil or obstacle.”

 

Division of time

Another important point which a person should bear in mind is that as long as he has common sense, he should divide his time into three segments. One part should be for ibaadah, one part should be to inspect his carnal desires and have them under control. He should think about the good deeds he has performed and the bad deeds. One part should be kept aside for the seeking of Halal sustenance. An intelligent person should also protect his time. He should think of improving his state and condition. He should protect his tongue from useless speech and conversation. He who protects his tongue, his tongue would not talk of useless things. A person who has common sense will not travel except for three things.

 

He will travel to prepare the provisions for the hereafter, or for sustenance or for permissible outing. I then asked, “O Prophet of Allah! What was contained in the Suhuf of Nabi Moosa Peace be upon him?” He replied, “All of it were issues of warning. Such as, I am surprised about that person who is certain about death, and yet becomes happy about something. (Look at a person who has been given the death sentence, nothing makes him happy). It is also mentioned, ‘I am surprised about that person who again is certain about death and yet he laughs (in excess). I am surprised about that person who sees the calamity on earth, the changes, the upheavals all the time, and yet, he is satisfied with the world.

 

I am surprised about that person who is certain about taqdir, yet performs no good deeds.” I then asked, “O Prophet of Allah! please give me some more advice.” He replied, “I firstly advice you about you about piety this is the basis and foundation of everything.” I then asked for more advice, he replied, “Establish the recital of the Quran and the Zikr of Allah because this is Nur in this world and a source of tresure in the hereafter.” I then asked for more and he replied, “Protect yourself from laughing in excess, the heart begins to die because of this and the nur of the face also decreases.” (In other words, laughing in excess damages a person both internally and externally). I then asked for more and he replied, “Establish Jihad because this is priesthood in my ummah.” (In the beginning, true and honest priests were those people who divorced themselves from the world and became people of Allah).

 

I then asked for more and he replied, “Be more in the company of the poor and needy. Make them your friends and sit with them.” I then asked for more and he replied, “Look at those below you in status (so that you can make shukr for your state) and do not look at those above you, perchance through this, you will think low of the Divine Grace of the Almighty.

 

I then asked for more and he replied, “Your faults should stop making you point out faults in others and stop trying to find out about their faults in which you yourself are suffering from. Sufficient for you to be considered as someone who picks faults in others when you have the same faults within you and yet you are unaware of it. And you hold them accountable for those things which you yourself are guilty of committing.” The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him then tapped my chest with his blessed hands and said, “There is nothing more intelligent than planning. There is nothing better than piety than to refrain from impermissible things and there is nothing better than decency than to be good in your manners (with others).” We have endeavoured to shorten it a little but the actual message of the excellence of the Quran has been highlighted.

 

Hadith 2. Hadrat Sayyidah Ayesha May Allah have mercy upon her narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet in which he had stated that for everything there is glory and honour through which (a person) can boast about. The Nur and honour of my Ummah is the Quran. (Al Hulyah).

 

From this hadith shareef, we come to realise that honour and glory is not based on a person but it is based on someone who reads and teaches the Quran and also practises on it. This is considered as the greatest glory and honour. We also know that there is always an end of all greatness and status except the status and honour of that person who achieves this through the Quran. This greatness and glory never goes away from the person. If we look at the world, we will find that sometimes a person is a general and then becomes a retired general. He is a CEO of a company and suddenly has to retire.  He is the GM of a company and suddenly becomes a retired CEO, the same with a president or a prime minister. But you do not see a Haafiz or a Qari becoming a retired Haafiz or Qari.

 

The Quran is such a beloved Kalaam that a person will continue to read it his entire life even if he only knows one ruku. On the other hand, if a person gets a letter from someone beloved, sooner or later, he would get tired of reading the contents of the letter after some time even if he reads it ten times over.

 

The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has described the Quran as a means of honour and glory, yet, sadly most Muslims consider having many degrees and certificates from a certain college and university as the ultimate glory and honour. What answer will these people give on the day of Judgement?

 

Hadith 3. Hadrat Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is that, “The best among you is he who learns the Quran and teaches it.” (Bukhari, Abu Daud, Tirmidi, Nisaa’i, ibn Maja etc).

 

The reason for this is very simple. As we have mentioned earlier, the foundation of Islam is the Quran. Hence, in whichever manner a person spreads its message or propagates its words, this is indeed a most noble and notable deed. Even if you only teach a person the letter Alif, you have certainly achieved immense reward in bother worlds.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Sahl Tustari May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that one of the signs of showing love for the Almighty is to have love for His Divine Message in the form of the Quran. In the sharah of the Ihya, it is mentioned that among the people who will enjoy the shadow of the Divine Arsh on the day of Judgement are also those people who teach the Muslim children the Quran. In other words that person learns the Quran when he or she is young and when they grow older, they spend time reading the Quran.

 

Such is the benefit and barakah of reading and teaching the Quran. It is sad to see that there are many people who do not consider this important and when people do come to them for help in regards to a madressah or other Islamic education, it seems to be a huge burden to people, Yet what will be the condition of these people on the day of Judgement when they are questioned about not helping spread the Quran?. Therefore it is very important that we concentrate on helping all those who are involved in spreading the message of the Quran. As much as we can contribute to various Madaaris, we should contribute because you are not wasting your money but saving it for the hereafter.

 

Hadith 4. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Saeed May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is, “The Almighty has declared that, ‘That person who does not find time for Zikr or making dua because he is busy with the Quran, he is given even more than those who make dua

 

And the greatness of the Kalam of Allah over all other kalam is like the Greatness of the Creator over all creation.” (Tirmidi, Daarimi, Imam Bahiqi in the Shuhubul Imaan). In other words, that person who does not find time to make dua or the zikr because he is occupied with the Quran, either teaching it, propagating it etc, that person will be given even more than the person who makes dua. We notice that when there is a person making sweets for another and because he suddenly becomes busy in some other work, when the sweets is been distributed the owner of the sweets make sure that he keeps the most amount for that person who has not arrived. In another hadith shareef, it is mentioned that the person who makes shukr for whatever the Almighty has given him. that person gets even more than others. The reason is because he is happy and satisfied with what he has received.

 

Incidents revealing how easy the Quran is to memorize

 

This incident is mentioned by a young lady from the city of Jalandhar in Pakistan. She continues, “I was born in 1919 in a Muslim Rajpur family and my father was a sufi and derwish. He spent twelve in the jungle in zikr with Peer Ghulam Jilani May Allah have mercy upon him. Our house was also a house in which there were many Huffaz in every generation. My father due to his involvement in the life of a derwish, he did not manage to become a Haafiz. However, he certainly felt great regret that this chain could not continue through his generation He also had a great wish to make his one son a Haafiz, but unfortunately, this did not happen. This wish continued to exist in him and before I was born, he had an intention that if the child was a boy, he would certainly make him a Haazif.

 

However, since I was a girl, some of the desire in him disappeared. Bear in mind that due to his old age and environment, he did not realise that girls could also become a Haafiz of the Quran.

 

When I was eleven years old and was in the sixth grade, my elder sister went to a function and in this function, we were privileged to listen to Haafiz Qari Khushi Mohammed. He read with such immense sweetness and grace that everyone listening was in state of shock. When we arrived home, my elder sister informed my father of this and my father decided to invite him to our house.

 

When the respected Qari saheb arrvied at home, my father also requested him to teach me some Qirah. When he saw my interest and zeal, he decided to put more effort into teaching me the Quran. At the same time, whenever my father heard me recite the Quran, he was also extremely overjoyed. Qari saheb then taught me books me books like Zinatul Qaari, Mufeedul Qari, Siraaajul Qari etc. As the days went, when the Qari saheb saw my interest and enthusiasm, he also began to teach me even more. I also learned the different Qirah styles like the Egyptian and Arabic styles and when people heard me read the Quran, they were also amazed. All due to praise to the Almighty, my voice was also something people were amazed by. People used to come from far and wide to listen to me read the Quran and obviously, the joy of my father knew no bounds.

 

Once, during the month of Shaban, Qari saheb mentioned to me, “my dear daughter! You have also memorized a lot of surahs by and let us count these and find out how many actual paras you have memorized. ” When we added, we saw that I had memorized nearly seven paras. He then advised me to arrange a ladies taraweh where I could allow the ladies in the area to listen to the Quran in Ramadan. I was obliviously very scared but when I saw the other ladies who gave me encouragement, I decided that I would come forward and perform the taraweeh that year.

 

Obviously, whatever I had learnt before, I recited it very easily but the minuted I had completed these surahs the ladies insisted that I read more. I then went home and whatever I learnt in the day, I used to repeat during the same night in taraweeh. The most amazing thing is that in that one single month, I managed to learn thirteen other paras and completed twenty paras in that month. I myself was amazed by what had been achieved. There is no doubt that when a person is attracted to the Quran and wishes to learn it, the Almighty creates all types of means and convenience for that person. In fact such means are created for the person, that the person himself becomes surprised. It is as if the entire path was opened in front of me.

 

Obviously, my father himself was already in a state of shock and amazement.

I was also studying in Madrassatul Banaat in Jaalandhar and the heads of this institute, namely Moulana Aqaa Ji and his wife gave me special attention at school. In fact, they treated me as their own daughter. I pray that the Almighty bestow upon them a high status in Jannah.  They used to also teach me after school. I also learn the tafseer and hadith from them as well and also the translation of the Quran.

 

The following year when Ramadan appeared, I was again requested by the females to read the Taraweeh and the most amazing thing is that within this period, I actually memorized the balance of the Quran. I was also shocked that within a few months, I had completed memorizing the entire Quran. Until the present day when people ask me how long it took me to memorize the Quran, I always inform them that this incident itself is nothing short of a miracle. (Haafiz Islam Akhtar Begum Mirza Naseerudeen. Qaid-e-Abad colony, Peshawar).

 

Hadith 5. Hadrat Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that once the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him appeared and we were sitting in the Suffah. He then asked, “who among you would like to go in the morning to the bazaar of Aqeeq and Bathaan and bring two beautiful camels without any sin and breaking any family relationship.” The blessed Ashaab then mentioned that all of them had this wish and intent. He then declared, “To enter the masjid and recite two verses (of the Quran) or teach two verses (is more valuable than) two camels and three verses (is more valuable than) three camels and four verses (is more valuable than) four camels.  The amount of camels is equal to the amount (of verses recited or taught).” (Muslim, Abu Daud).

 

Suffah was a special place which was created for the poor Muhaajireen where they spent all their time learning Islam and teaching it to others. According to Imam Jalaludeen Suyutwi May Allah have mercy upon him, at times, the number of companions are this place numbered nearly a hundred.

 

Bathaan and Aqeeq were the names of two places near Madina Shareef where camels were sold. From this, an indication is given about the merits of learning and teaching the Quran.

Among the Arabs, the most valuable camel is that camel with the largest hump, this is the reason that an example is given to them which appealed to their minds. Another important advice is that we are supposed to speak and advice people according to the capacity of their intellect. In other words, when we speak to ordinary people, speak according to their level. When you speak to a professor, speak according to his level. In this way, each group would be be able to relate according to their own circumstances.

 

At the same time, this hadith shareef is explaining to us we are able to acquire such immense benefit with hardly any work or effort, hence we should certainly celebrate this fact. At the same time, the message is being given to us that all worldly riches would certainly come to an end while reward for the recital of the Quran will never come to an end. The hadith shareef also informs us that these camels which are nothing but wordily riches would finally be destroyed unlike the Quran and the reward for the Quran.

 

In other words, reciting one single verse is even more valuable than a camel. How unfortunate are those people who do not even take heed of such immense reward and would rather run after mundane things which have no value or meaning. There are people who have made the acquisition of wealth and riches as their ultimate goal and very soon, they will come to know the folly and stupidity of their actions.

 

Mullah Ali Qari May Allah have mercy upon him writes that once there was a saint who was travelling with a few people and they requested that he should arrive with them in Jeddah so that through his presence and barakah, they would be able to gain some benefit in the business which they intended to undertake. At first the saint hesitated but when they insisted, he asked them, “What is the profit that you people make from each transaction?” They replied that the most they make is two rupees from every one rupee they had spent. He was shocked when he heard this. He then mentioned, “You people work so hard for such little reward?

 

How is it possible that we should delay our arrival in the Haram shareef where for every single salah, we receive a hundred thousand reward”. In other words, money wise, for every single rupee spent, you get the profit of one hundred thousand rupees! Muslim should certainly ponder on these things. Most of them are wasting so much of time running after things which have no value in the Hereafter.

 

Hadith 6. Hadrat Sayyidah Ayesha May Allah have mercy upon her narrates the statement of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is that the expert in Quran will be in company of the select Angels and he is also considered as very pious and as for that person who struggles and reads the Quran and spends time in this, he will receive double the reward. (Buhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidi, Nisaa’i and ibn Maja).

 

The expert in the Quran is that person who had memorized the Quran properly and also someone who reads the Quran very fluently. At the same time, if this is someone who also understands the meaning of the Quran, then what can be said about his eminence. In other words, as the Angels have delivered the message of the Quran, this person also delivers the message of the Quran. It could also mean that on the day of Hashar, they will be together. Even though the person who struggles to read the Quran will get double the reward, still, we cannot say that he is higher in status than the first person.

 

As we have said, the expert will be in the company of the Angels. When we say he will receive double reward means that he will receive reward for his hard work and effort. Therefore, one should not desist from trying to read the Quran because he cannot read fluently. Mullah Ali Qari May Allah have mercy upon him has mentiones that in the Tabarani and Bahiqi shareef it is mentioned that, that person who recites the Quran and cannot remember it, still he will receive double the reward and that person who has a wish to memorize the Quran but does not have the power to memorize and at the same time, he does not desist from reading (or making an effort), the Almighty will still allow him to rise among the Huffaz.

 

Hadith 7. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the statement of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is that, “Envy is allowed for only two people. The first person is that person to whom the Almighty has (given the gift of) reciting the Quran and he spends day and night reading the Quran. The second person is that person whom the Almighty has given immense wealth and he spends this wealth; day and night (for Islam).” (Bukhari, Tirmidi and Nisaa’i shareef).

 

From the Quran and Ahadith, we also know that to envy someone has also been declared as Haraam. However, from this hadith shareef, it seems that for two people this is permissible, how is this possible? This is the reason that the Ulama have further elaborated on the actual meaning of this hadith shareef. They have explained that the meaning of envy in the context of this hadith shareef is actually not envy in the true sense of the word but something which is referred to as “Ghibtun”. There is a difference between the both.

 

The meaning of true envy is when you see someone has a special attribute or something valuable and you wish that this person does not have this any longer. This is irrespective whether that special item should be in your possession or not. However, the second implication or meaning is when you have the wish that, that item comes to you and you do not have the wish that this is removed from the other person or not. Since Hasad or envy is something which has been termed as Haraam, hence the Hasad in this hadith shareef is actually taken in the meaning of “Ghibtun”.

 

This is considered as Mubah in wordily matters and Mustahab in religious matters. Sometimes, these issues are mentioned in such a manner whereby the indication is given that if ever there was was envy displayed or allowed, it would be in these two issues.

 

Hadith 8. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Moosa May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “The Muslim who reads the Quran, the example of this person is like an orange. The scent is nice and the taste is also nice. That believer who does not read the Quran, the example of this person is like a date. There is no scent in it, but its taste is sweet. The munaafiq who does not read the Quran, the example of this person is like the wild gourd, the taste (of something like this) is bitter and there is no scent in it. That munaafiq who reads the Quran, the example of this person is like a flower whose scent is sweet smelling but it is bitter (when eaten).” (Bukhari, Muslim, Nisaa’i and ibn Maja).

 

Obviously, the examples presented in this hadith shareef is presented by those items which one can see and feel so that the intellect can more readily accept otherwise, what do these fruits have in common with reading the Quran. At the same time though, the immense knowledge of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him is also being revealed. After all, in those days, who had knowledge of the benefit of an orange?

 

Today, all of us know that an orange creates a sweet smell in ones mouth, it cleans the stomach and it aids in digestion and various other benefits. This also proves that when a person reads the Quran, it creates a sweet smell in the mouth of a person. Its cleans a person internally and creates immense spiritual power in a person. Another amazing thing about oranges is that it is mentioned in certain books that in that house in which there are oranges, the jinns do not enter that house. If this is true, then certainly its similarity with reading the Quran becomes even more pertinent.

 

Certain medical experts have also explained that oranges also help and aid a person’s memory. In the Ihya, the blessed words of Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali May Allah have mercy upon him is also mentioned where he has states that three things also aid a person’s memory and they are miswaak, fasting and recital of the Quran. Another important advice which is given in the hadith shareef and which is recorded in the Abu Daud shareef is the importance of good company.

 

It is said that if you are in the company of someone who sells fragrance, even though he may not give you any fragrance himself, yet by merely being in his company, the effect of this fragrance will also be felt by you. In like manner, a person who is in charge of a furnace or fire, even though he may not burn you himself personally, yet, there is a possibility that the sparks flying from this furnace could damage your clothes. Hence, we should be very careful in whose company we find ourselves in.

 

Incident.

One day, this servant (Hafiz Ludhiani) and Ataa’ullah Shah Bukhari were sitting on a train and were discussing the subject of poetry. Very soon, the topic turned to Quran and those who were Haafiz of the Quran. Shah Saheb then mentioned that one of the most qualified Haafiz of the Quran whom he heard people speaking about was a Haafiz named Hafiz Mohammed Qasim.

 

It is mentioned that this was one of those amazing Haafiz of the Quran who never once made a mistake reading the Quran while in Taraweeh. It is also mentioned that when he used to read the Quran, nearly twenty other Huffaz used to also join the congregation with the purpose of correcting him if ever he made a mistake. However, no one had the opportunity of correcting. No matter in which speed he read the Quran and no matter how many paras he completed in that time, no mistakes could be found.

 

He mentions that there was once a famous contractor in Ludhiani who had the Quran written and wanted to have this corrected before it went into print. He went around to a few people and they recommended that he visits Hafiz Mohammed Qasim. When this person approached the said Hafiz saheb, he mentioned to him, “I will recite the Quran from what I have recorded and you will listen to it and if there is any mistakes, you will be able to point this out to me.”.

 

However, Hafiz Mohammed Qasim mentioned that there would be an easier way to complete this task. Bear in mind that Hafiz Mohammed Qasim was someone who was also blind. He gave the person an amazing solution. He mentioned that he will recite the complete Quran from the beginning to the end with only mentioning the haraqat in each letter and not the words. In other words, he will mention the zer, zabbar, pesh etc of each letter as he goes forward and the person will merely have to follow this line by line, word by word. In this manner, they completed the entire Quran.

 

There were many people who were witness to this amazing miracle. In other words, the words of the Quran were not mentioned but each haraqaat was mentioned as they moved from word to word. Others mentioned that in the history of Islam, they had never heard the Quran being mentioned and recited in this manner. (Narrated by Hafiz Ludhiani).

 

Hadith 9. Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “How many people are raised in status by the Almighty through the Quran and how many people’s status is lowered through this Quran.” (Muslim shareef).

 

In other words, those people who sincerely believe in the Quran, practise on the Quran, the status of these people are raised and elevated in both worlds. As for those who do not do this, they are disgraced in both worlds.

 

In the Quran also in Surah Baqarah, it is mentioned that there are many who are misguided through this Quran and there many who guided through this Quran. In another verse in Surah Bani Israeel, the Quran declares that the Almighty has revealed a shifa in the Quran and it is also a source of Divine Grace to the believers while those who are destined to be disgraced, when they read the Quran, they only increase in disgrace and misguidance. The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has also stated that there were will be many munaafiq haafiz in this ummah.

 

Certain Mashaa’ikh have reported from the Ihya shareef that there are people who begin to read a surah and (from that moment onwards), the Angels begin to make dua for them until they complete. There are others who begin to read the Quran and (from that moment onwards) until they complete, the Angels curse them. Someone Ulama have mentioned that there are certain people who read the Quran but they achieve nothing but curse upon themselves and they are not even aware of it.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna ibn Amir May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar May Allah have mercy upon him had nominated Hadrat Naaf’e bin Abdul Haarith May Allah have mercy upon him as the governor of Mecca shareef. He them met him somewhere and asked him whom he had placed in this position while he was away. Hadrat Sayyiduna Naaf’e May Allah have mercy upon him mentioned that he had placed Ibn Abzaa in his place.

 

When the great leader asked who this ibn Abzaa was, Hadrat Sayyiduna Naaf’e May Allah have mercy upon him mentioned that this was his servant. When he heard this amazing reply, Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar May Allah have mercy upon him replied, “This is the reason that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him had stated that there would be many whose status would be raised by the Quran and there would be many whose status would be lowered through the Quran.”

 

Incident.

This incident is narrated by a person named Mohammed Saeed Baig. He narrates, “I was born in a poor area in the village. There were also many so called peers and ulama who lived in the area. As all the other children, I was sent to madressah while I was young and then school. However, there was hardly any further Islamic education given to me. I then began to attend gatherings and meetings which created nothing but confusion in my mind. I also came to the conclusion that there was no reality to Islam.

 

In this confusion, I also became attached to a Christian mission and started to read all the free literature which they handed out. My doubt in Islam further increased. When I approached some of the Muslim leaders and ulama present, I could not get further answers to my confusion. One day, while I was travelling in a train, I also began to discuss the “greatness” of the Christian religion and also tried to prove to many people in the train about the “truth” of Christianity. When I alighted from the train, I also met a person in a suit who mentioned that he had indeed being very impressed with my presentation and answers. We then together in the waiting room and spoke further and we then also exchanged contact details.

 

However, this person started to send me literature through which I also began to have doubts about the Christian religion. A few days later, this person came to visit me and made it clear that there was no such thing as religion. He mentioned that this had been created by a few people to manipulate the minds of people. He also mentioned to me that I should not become a tool in the hands of these people. He even claimed that he was a syed and even though this was the case, he admitted that the Islam was created by the Prophet to empower the Quraish (ma’azzallah) and this was also the case with Moosa Peace be upon him and Esa Peace be upon him (ma’zallah).

He gave me further free literature and promised to help in various other ways as well. Some of these books made it clear that “true success” lay in the teachings of Karl Marx and Lenin. These books also mentioned that there was no such thing as god. In other words, he was propagating communism.

 

However, at the time, I was highly impressed and started to distribute some of these free literature. I also heard that there was a family function somewhere nearby and decided that this would be an ideal place to distribute these booklets. However, while I was distributing these booklets, I had an argument with a person named Nisar Mohammed, (who has since become one of my close friends and associates). He asked me which books I had read and I mentioned that besides a few book of taawez and wazaa’if I have not read anything else on Islam. He then mentioned that I should firstly study the Quran before making comments about Islam and the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him. Suddenly. I also began to have doubts about my standpoint and views.

 

I also became a little insane with all the questions which arose in my mind. Questions such as; what is the purpose of my life, if the Almighty exists, who created Him etc. I experienced no tranquillity in my mind. Finally, one night in this immense confused state, I sat on my bed and made a silent dua, ‘O Allah (of You really exist), please guide me to the right path.’ A few minutes later,  I dozed off. I then dreamt that I was going somewhere and I could see a building which was brightly decorated.

 

There was a large crowd and there was someone who was giving a speech. He then called a few people towards him and I also joined these people. He then handed me a very beautiful looking book which he also gave to others in my group. I then stood in front of him and opened the book and the first sentence I noticed was the 83^rd verse of Surah Ale Imran which is:

اَفَغَیۡرَ دِیۡنِ اللہِ یَبْغُوۡنَ وَلَہٗۤ اَسْلَمَ مَنۡ فِی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَّکَرْہًا وَّ اِلَیۡہِ یُرْجَعُوۡنَ﴿۸۳﴾

 

So do they desire a religion other than the religion of Allah, whereas to Him has submitted whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or grudgingly, and it is to Him they will return?

 

My eyes then opened and I noticed that the mu’azzin at the local masjid was calling people to salah. I then made proper ghusal and joined the congregation for Fajr salah. I have never experienced such tranquillity in my life before. After the Fajr salah, I also started to read the Quran. However again, the same amazing thing happened. The first verse I noticed when I opened the Quran was the 83^rd verse of Surah Ale Imran.

 

Thereafter I started to study the Quran at the feet of my respected teacher and I continued to be blessed daily with the Nur of the Quran. I also received many other books from the same Nisar saheb and further educated myself about Islam.

 

Hadith 10. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Auf May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “There are three things which will be below the Divine Throne of the Almighty on the day of Judgement. The first will be the Quran which will argue (on behalf of someone), there is an outer and inner dimension of the Quran. The second will be Amaanah (trust), the third will be family relationship (or connection) who will shout that, that person who joined me should join with the Divine Grace of the Almighty and he who has broken away from me, the Almighty should separate that person from His Divine Grave.”. (Sharah As Sunnah).

 

When we speak about these things being under the Divine Throne, we imply that they certainly have a very close connection and mighty status in the Divine Court of the Almighty. When we speak about the Quran fighting or arguing, it implies that it would fight for those who fulfilled its rights, those who practised upon it etc. On behalf of these people the Quran will argue with the Creator to allow them to enter Jannah and to increase their status and stature. Mullah Ali Qari May Allah have mercy upon him records from the Tirmidi shareef that the Quran will declare in the Divine Court of the Almighty that this person should be connected with the Divine Grace of the Almighty and because of this, the Almighty will allow this person to wear a crown of respect.

 

Again the Quran will argue on their behalf and again a (a complete) crown of respect will be given to them. The Quran will then ask the Almighty to be pleased with this person and the Almighty will declare that he is pleased with this person. We see that in the world when there is no greater joy experienced by a person than his beloved being pleased with him, imagine on the day of judgement when the Almighty becomes pleased with someone. What words can we use to describe this? As for those who robbed the rights of the Quran, the Quran will declare that these people did not fulfil its rights. According to the great Imam in the Ihya shareef, it is mentioned that “among the rights of the Quran” is to complete its recital at least twice a year.

 

Those who completely ignore this, should ponder on this message. There is no doubt that death will appear to all people. The inner and outer meaning is that there is an inner dimension of the Quran which is only known to the special slaves of the Almighty. This is one of the reasons that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has declared that, “that person who admits his own personal opinion about (a verse) of the Quran, even though he may be right, still he had erred.” Some have said that the outer meaning of the Quran is that which everyone reads and the inner dimension is known differently according to the knowledge of that person.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna ibn Mas’ud May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that, “He who desires knowledge, should ponder on the meaning of the Quran because in it, is contained the knowledge of what had happened and what will happen.” However, the various conditions in this regard has also to be fulfilled. It should not be like what happens in the present world general where we find someone who knows a little Arabic suddenly becomes a great scholar of the Quran. If this is the case, then the ordinary Bedouin villager living in the desert should be a greater scholar because he knows classical Arabic!

 

Some of the Sciences Required.

Some scholars have mentioned fourteen faculties of knowledge which are required if one merely needs to understand the basics of the Quran. Still too, it does not mean that even with these, a person would be able to fathom the inner secret of the Quran. The first is a professional knowledge of the Arabic language. He should understand the words of the Arabic language. According to Imam Mujaahid May Allah have mercy upon him it is not permissible for a person to utter any explanation of the Quran if he is not familiar with the rules of “lughaat”.

 

We notice that in the Arabic language, one single word can have diverse meaning. The second branch of knowledge is “Nahw”. This deals with the science of the haraqat of the each word. Bear in mind that these also changes the meaning of a word. The third branch is “Sarf”. The reason is that the various scales on which a word is based also affects the meaning of the word.

 

Ibn Faaris May Allah have mercy upon him has also mentioned that when a person acquires the knowledge of Sarf, he had indeed attained a great branch of knowledge. Allamah Zamakshari has mentioned that once a person translated the verse of the Quran in which it is mentioned that everyone will be called by their Imams on the day of Judgement as everyone will be called by the names of their mothers. In other words, this person looked at the word “Imaa ma hum” and translated it as mothers. In other words, he mistook the plural of this word. The fourth branch is “Ish ti qaaq”. This is a special faculty which enables a person to understand the root of each word so that he can also understand the different meaning and implication of each root word. If we look at a simple word like, “Maseeha” which is extracted from the word, “Masee”.

 

It could have two meanings, one implies touching something or running one’s wet hand over a certain object and it could also imply “Masaa hat” implying measuring something. The fifth branch is the knowledge of “Ma’ani”. This allows a person to understand the connection and sequence of each word with another word. The connection and sequence of each letter and sentence with another etc. The sixth is the knowledge of “Bayaan”. Again this enables a person to understand the deep implication of each word. The seventh is the knowledge of “Badee”.

 

This enables a person to understand the merits of each word. The above three are considered within the faculty of “Ilmul Balaaghat” and considered as one of the important branches of knowledge for the true Mufassir. The wonders of the Quran are also understood through this. The eight is “Qirah”. Through this, the various different meanings of one word and the change in meaning when recited differently also becomes apparent. It also enables a person be able to choose one meaning over the next. The ninth is “Aqaa’id”.

 

This is also necessary because there are certain words which if translated in the apparent sense would not be proper for the Divine Being of the Almighty. Hence, one needs to know how to be able to translate this and also give a proper explanation. An example of this is the “Hand” of Allah which is mentioned in the Quran. If one does not understand the real manner of explaining this word, then certainly he would be creating confusion in religion. The tenth is the knowledge of “Fiqh”. Through this, the manner of extracting and explaining various laws in the Quran become easier.

 

The eleventh is “Asbaab-e-Nuzul”. In other words, the actual knowledge of why, when or where a certain verse was revealed. This would also enable a person to better understand the meaning and implication of a certain word or verse. The twelfth is the knowledge of “Naasikh and Mansukh”. In other words, which verse or command has been abrogated with which verse or word. Thirteen is the complete knowledge of Ahadith so that one can understand which hadith shareef implies to which verse of the Quran.

 

Finally, the last faculty is known as “Ilme Wehbi” or that faculty which is bestowed to a person by the Almighty as a special Divine Gift. This is only given to His special servants. This is also indicated in the following hadith shareef which explains, “When a person practises on that which he understands, then the Almighty bestows upon him such knowledge which he is unaware of.” In other words, due to a person being consistent and sincere in his practise of Islam, he is given further inspired knowledge by the Almighty.

 

Understanding the Quran

Ibn Abid Dunya May Allah have mercy upon him has stated that, “The knowledge of the Quran and whatever is attained through it, is an ocean without shores. The knowledge which has been expressed by the Mufassireen is merely an instrument (to go deeper into this). If a person tries to explain the Quran using his own personal opinion without the aid of these Tafaasir, then this is Tafseer bir Ra’i which has been prohibited.

 

There is no doubt that the blessed companions were masters in the Arabic knowledge, however, whatever else they attained was through the light and Nur of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him. A giant of the Ahle Sunnah wa Jamaah, namely Hadrat Allamah Imam Jalaaludeen Suyutwi May Allah have mercy upon him explains, “Perhaps you are under the impression that it is impossible for a person to acquire Ilm-e-Wehbi or inspired knowledge.

However, in reality this is not the case. In fact, one of the ways of acquiring this special branch of knowledge is to practise upon what you have learnt and to completely refrain from all wordily things etc”.

 

In the Kimaayah Sa’aadat it is written that the knowledge of the Quran does not become apparent on three types of individuals.

 

The first is that person who is not well versed and learned in the Arabic knowledge. The second type of person is one who is consistent in the performance of evil or a Bid’ati and because of this, his heart has become black and this is the reason that he cannot understand the Quran. The third type of person is that person who is opposed to the true beliefs as outlined in the Quran. In other words, he is someone whose beliefs completely contradict the true message of the Quran. May Allah protect us from all of this. Ameen.

 

Incident.

There are many people who when they look at the message of communism feel that this is a set of rules which gives them a better life. This is certainly not the case. Bear in mind that this is something which has been created by certain people for their own benefit and that is why those who were in power used to live in fancy houses and drive fancy cars while the poor remained poor. There was no equality in this set of beliefs.

 

As we have seen, communism is something which is slowly dying and since it is merely man made laws, by nature, it is destined to die. The same with the law of capitalism which we are experiencing in the world today. Many people today believe that this is the best law possible. Yet, it is something which makes the rich, super rich. In other words, the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.

 

There is no greater plan for a persons success in both worlds than the religion of Islam. If the world had to practise on merely one single law of Islam, we would have world peace. There would be no need to spend millions of dollars having fancy seminars and peace conferences around the world. In this manner, we could take the money saved and spend it on more pressing needs such as decreasing poverty and helping the poor nations of the world.

 

The one single advice of Islam which would be bring instant world peace would be the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him in which he has stated that, “Those who do not respect their elders and show no kindness to those younger than them, they are not among us”. In other words, for every person on earth, there are only two groups. Those who are younger and those who are older. Now if you respected everyone who was older than you and showed kindness to everyone who was younger than you and then pass this to other households or families, very soon, the entire country in which you live would have peace.

 

The millions you save on peace conferences could then be spent on creating jobs and helping the poor and socially, you would have a more stable country! This message could then be spread to other countries and again you would have global peace. All of this was achieved by only practising on one single hadith shareef!

 

Of course, the tragedy is that this would never happen because if people did this, then Islam would become the most respected religion in the world and the creation of the word terrorism which has been created in the West to blacken the name of Islam would not achieve its purpose. But as we always say, on the day of Judgement, the true identity of everyone would be revealed.

 

Hadith 11. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amar May Allah have mercy upon him narrates

that there is hadith shareef which explains that a person should read the Quran in proper Tarteel. (Musnad Ahmed, Tirmidi, Abu Daud, Nisaa’i, ibn Maja, ibn Habban).

 

The word “Saahibul Quran” in this context is meant a Haafizul Quran. Mullah Ali Qari May Allah have mercy upon him has explained this in depth. At the time same, it would not exclude someone who recites the Quran in abundance. At the same time, in the Mirqaat, it is mentioned that it would not include that person whom the Quran curses. In the hadith shareef, it is mentioned that there are many people who read the Quran but the Quran only curses them. This would also include that person whose beliefs are not according to the beliefs of the Ahle Sunnah wa Jamaah. There are many ahadith which condemn those who have corrupt beliefs.

 

What is Tarteel?

In the Tafseer of Shah Abdul Aziz May Allah have mercy upon him it is explained that by Tarteel is meant to recite in a plain and clear fashion. In the shariah, this would imply reading the Quran in making sure that one is careful of the following important rules. They are firstly to pronounce each letter in its proper manner. The Taa should not be confused with the Thaa, the Qaf should not be confused with the Kaf etc. Secondly, one has to make sure that where he needs to pause, he should pause so that he does not confuse the recital.

 

Thirdly, he should be very cautious about the different harakaat and make sure he does not make a mistake in this regard. In other words, he should pay special attention to the zer, zabbar etc. Fourthly, he should read slightly louder so that the sound of his voice reaches his ears. When it reaches his ear, it is hoped that after this, it would create an effect on his heart. Fifthly, he should recite in such a manner which also creates an effect in his heart. There is no doubt that the voice of a person certainly creates an effect in a person and also creates an effect on his soul.

 

This is also one of the reasons that the medical people have mentioned that, that medication which creates an effect in a person should also be mixed with a special fragrance which further has a effect on a person because this causes a change in his heart.

 

This is the reason that it has been mentioned that when a person recites the Quran, there should be sweet smelling fragrance around the person so that this certainly creates an impact on the heart of the person. Sixthly, a person must be aware of the places where there is Tashdeed and Madd so that the greatness of the Quran also becomes apparent. Sevently, one should give due rights to verses which mention Divine Grace and Divine Wrath.

 

These are the seven things which are considered as within the faculty of “Tarteel”. The objective of all of them is so that one can better understand the Quran and one can also ponder on the meaning of the Quran. When the mother of the faithful, Hadrat Sayyidah Ummul Mo’mineen May Allah have mercy upon her was asked about how the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him used to recite the Quran, she replied, “He used to drag the harakaat. In other words, every zer and zabbar used to be clearly pronounced and same with every letter as well”.

 

It is considered as Mustahab to recite the Quran with tarteel even though one may not be aware of what he is reading.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that he considers it better to read (small surahs) like Surah Al Qari’ah and Surah Zilzal with tarteel than to read the large surahs like Surah Baqarah and Surah Ale Imran without tarteel.

 

The Mashaa’ikh have also mentioned that as each letter is pronounced in the proper fashion, the spiritual status of a person also increases. It is also mentioned that perchance the stages in Jannah is the same as the number of verses in the Quran. In other words, in Jannah, the person will be in the same level as the number of Quranic verses he reads properly and with tarteel. Mullah Ali Qari May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that from the hadith shareef, we also come to realise that there is no higher status in Jannah than for the person who recites the Quran properly and with Tarteel. It is through the Quranic verses that a person reaches higher and higher ranks.

 

For every verse of the Quran, there is increase in status in Jannah.

This has been mentioned in the Ihya shareef. The Qari will be told to climb the ranks of Jannah as much as he can recite. Hence, he who completes the Quran, will certainly reach a very elevated rank.

 

At the same time, a person must have this firm belief that if he is correct in whatever he does, this is from Allah and if there is any mistake, then this is from his own personal self.

 

Incident.

This incident is reported by an individual named Mia Ghulam Nabi. He narrates, “When one travels to the town of Hoshi-yar nagar in the city of Amritsar, one has to pass a small village which is inhabited by a Sikh family. There is a farmer in this small village whose name is Karam Singh. He is also the owner of a large plot of land. He also built a small house outside the limits of the village and around this he also built other houses as well. Hence, it took the shape of a little village.

Once, I was travelling through this little village with my father and little brother.

 

We had just purchased a buffalo and were returning home. We also owned a lot of land in the area. My father had also decided that after purchasing this buffalo, the three of us will walk back to our village with the new animal. We left later in the day and when it was evening, we arrived in the small settlement of Karam Singh. My father and this person knew each other quite well and when we passed the Sikh’s village, he called us to his house to spend the evening with his family.

 

We then tied our buffalo with the other animals he had in his stable and these included a few cows and camels as well. As it was quite late and while we talking about performing our salah, this person then went and brought a new brass container full of water and mentioned that we could use this to make Wudu. We were surprised by his comments. He also mentioned that we could also perform our salah at that spot. Obviously as Muslims, we were a little hesitant.

 

When he saw our hesitation, he said something else which surprised us even more and that there were many other Muslims who also read their salah in his house whenever they passed by. His wife also appeared with a box and inside this box there was a piece of clean white material which she handed to us to perform our salah. After we had completed our salah, more strange things were seen. Karam Singh then brought something which looked like a book and it was covered in two or three pieces of clean while cloth.

 

He then placed this book in front of us with immense respect. He then mentioned, ‘whatever you see in our house, is through the barakah of this book. This book is the Quran and since it came into our house, all our financial problems had disappeared. Our lands are filled with crops, our animals become fatter daily and there is plenty of milk in our animals. Our store room is also filled with bags of grain.’

 

My father then asked him the history behind this. His wife mentioned, ‘There was once a person who lived nearby and after the main person in this family died, there was only a female who lived in this house. The other members of her family also lived very far away. A little while, this female also died. Their family from the other village also came and took all their belongings

 

There was also a small room which we had given them a while ago and I decided to one day visit this room to see whether there was anything inside the room.

 

As I walked around the room, I noticed that in one small section of the wall, there was something which was wrapped in a very old piece of cloth which had also become soiled. I then took this and brought it home. When I removed the cloth, my husband informed me that this was the holy book of the Muslims. We then decided to clean each page in this book and also decided to wrap it in a new piece of cloth and placed various bits of fragrance around this book. We then placed it on a hight spot in the room.

 

Our buffalo was also an animal which hardly gave any milk and whatever milk it gave was also bitter and sour. However, suddenly, this same buffalo gave milk in abundance and we were certain that all of this was through the barakah of the Quran. With the result, every week we remove the Quran from its place and make sure that we again clean each page, place fragrance on it and then replace the Quran. The immense barakah in our crops and property is all because of the Quran. We have also made the intention that no matter how much people offer us, we will never sell this Quran.’”

 

This is the barakah of the Quran which is seen even by those who do not accept its message. Many miracles of this nature has been seen and reported from around the world. The shocking part is that the sons of satan in Saudia who are the followers of the Wahabi cult actually sit on the Quran and turn their backs on the Quran. We have already seen the hadith shareef of the immense status which would be given to those who recite the Quran with respect. Now imagine the state of those who show complete disrespect to the Quran. In which state would these people be in the fire of Hell? This is the reason that it has been mentioned that the munaafiqs would be in the lowest pit of hell.

 

Hadith 12. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the statement of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him in which he has stated that, “Whoever recites a single letter of the Book of Allah, for every single letter, he will receive a good deed and the reward of each good deed is equal to ten rewards. I also do not say that Alif Laam Meem is one letter, bur rather Alif is one letter, Laam is one letter and Meem is one letter.” (Tirmidi shareef, Daarimi).

 

Unlike other good deeds and actions which are taken in their totality, in the Quran, for every single deed and letter, there is a separate reward. At the same time, this is merely an estimate. If the Almighty wishes, with His Divine Grace He can also increase this as well.

 

We come to realise from this that merely reciting these three letters achieves for the person thirty rewards. In the Bahiqi shareef, the same has been mentioned about someone who recites the Bismillah.

 

Hadith 13. Hadrat Sayyiduna Mu’az Juhani May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him that, “That person who recites the Quran and practises upon it, on the day of judgement, the parents of such a person would be given a crown to wear whose brightness is brighter than the sun. If this sun is in your house, what is your impression of that person who practises on this?” (Musnad Imam Ahmed, Abu Daud, Imam Haakim).

 

Imagine the sun which is considered to be millions of miles away and it is still so bright that you cannot even look directly at the sun, imagine for one moment, if this appeared in your house, how bright would this be? In fact, the sun which appears in your house would be even less in brightness than the crown worn by the parents of such a person. At the same time. If this is the reward for his parents, what is the actual reward which is kept for the person who actually reads the Quran?

 

Imam Hakim May Allah have mercy upon him has also recorded a hadith shareef from Hadrat Sayyiduna Buraydah May Allah have mercy upon him that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “That person who reads the Quran and practises upon it, he will be given a crown to wear which is made from Nur and his parents would be given such clothing to wear which the entire world cannot compete against. They will then ask the reason for this and they will be told, “This is (in reward) for your child reciting the Quran.”

 

The excellence of teaching your children to read the Quran.

In the book Jam’ul Fawaa’id, it is mentioned from the Tabarani shareef that Hadrat Sayyiduna Aanis bin Maalik May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “Whoever teaches his child to read the Quran, all his past and present sins would be pardoned. Whoever, makes his child a Haafiz of the Quran, on the day of Judgement, he will be raised as the fourteenth night moon. His son will also be commanded to read (the Quran) and when the child recites one verse, the father would be elevated a degree until the Quran is completed”.

 

The reward for the father who teaches his child to read the Quran.

There is immense benefit and reward for the father who teaches the child to read the Quran. At the same time, there is another to the parents. If you decided to rob your child of this blessing for a few cents, then not only will you rob yourself of immense benefit but he will have to answer for this. There are certain people who have this impression that when the child becomes a Moulana or someone learned in Islam, then he will be become reliant on the trustees of the masjid or he will become a beggar etc. One should remove these thoughts from one’s mind. Bear in mind that the hadith shareef has clearly stated that, “Everyone is a caretaker of someone and each will be asked about those under their care.”

 

Therefore, we should protect ourselves from these curses. If you educate your child about Islam, it would hold you in better stead in the future. Remember that a child which has been given good education will always remember you in their duas when you leave this world. However, if you only think of this world and rob your children of Islamic education, then you are creating a bad world for yourself and an even worse future in the hereafter. Bear in mind that the world will end very soon and the life of the hereafter will always exist.

 

Hadith 14.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that he heard the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him declare that, “If the Quran is placed in a piece of skin and this is placed in a fire, it will not burn.” (Daarimi).

 

The great Mashaa’ikh have translated this hadith shareef in two ways. According to some, this would mean and signify any ordinary piece of leather or flesh such as the leather of any animal and the fire in this regard would mean the fire of this world. It is said that this was a miracle which was specific to the time of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him such as miracles in the time of the other Prophets. Another meaning signifies the flesh of a human and that the fire of hell would not touch such flesh.

 

In this regard, this command or information would be considered as common and is not specific to any time or era and that as long as the person has the Quran inside him, he will never be harmed by the fire. In other words, we are speaking about a Haafiz of the Quran. In other words, if a Haafiz of the Quran is placed in a fire, he will not burn. In one report that it is mentioned that the, ‘fire will not even touch him.’

 

This is also supported in the Sharahus Sunnah by Imam Mullah Ali Qari May Allah have mercy upon him reported from Abu Umaamah May Allah have mercy upon him. This clearly explains that the person who has memorized the Quran or has the Quran in his heart, the body of such a person would be protected from the fire. This subject is based on a clear and apparent message. As for those stupid people who claim that it is a waste of time to memorize the Quran, (ma’azzalah), they should take special heed of this advice.

 

In the Sharah of the Ihya shareef there is a list of people who will be below the Divine Grace on the day of Judgement and there is a report from Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali May Allah have mercy upon him in which it is stated that among these people will also be the Huffaz who will also be in the ranks of the Prophets and pious people. There are so many reports and narrations in this regard that it is difficult to mention all of them.

 

Hadith 15. Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “that person who reads the Quran and then memorizes it and considers the Halal in it to be Halal and the Haram in it to be Haram, the Almighty will allow him to enter Jannah and from his family, ten such people will be allowed to enter Jannah through the intercession (of this Haafiz) for whom the fire of hell has become waajib.” (Imam Ahmed, Tirmidi shareef, Ibn Maja and Daarimi).

 

There is no doubt that all the believers will certainly enter Jannah even if some have to taste punishment and enter, yet, they will all enter Jannah. However, the Huffaz will certainly be among the first to enter Jannah. Also bear in mind that those people who remained mushriks in this world, will never ever enter Jannah. All the various verses of the Quran are very specific about this.

 

Hence, the message which is mentioned in this hadith shareef is also meant for those believers who were great sinners in this world and it certainly does imply or mean the mushriks. Therefore, looking at this message, we wish to appeal to those who are not Huffaz to please make the effort of becoming a Hafiz and if this is not possible, then help family members around you to become Huffaz and in this manner, you will also entitle yourself to enter Jannah.

 

First appeal.

It is our appeal to the Muslims around the world to remember the historic occasion of when the Quran was revealed. Bear in mind that this is unique moment in history which will never be repeated again. The Quran is an open invitation towards guidance and salvation and entails all types of guidance, rules and regulations. It is also a book which substantiates all the previous books which came to previous Prophets.

 

The teaching of the Quran can be summarised in two ways. The first is Aqeedah and the second is Shariah. As far as Aqeedah is concerned, it means belief in One Creator, belief in the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him who is a guide for the entire universe. It also means belief in the hereafter.

 

As a far as Shariah is concerned, it means to follow the laws and regulations as outlined in Islam and in this is the hidden salvation in both worlds. A Muslim who calls others towards guidance is a messenger of the Almighty. (Mufit Azam Palestine, Syed Mohammed Ameen, Al Husaini).

 

Hadith 16. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Huryarah May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “Learn the Quran and then teach it. Because the person who learns the Quran and teaches it and recites it in the Tahajjud is like a palm on which there is Muskh (a sweet fragrance) and its fragrance spreads around the house and the person who learns (the Quran) and then goes to sleep is like that container of fragrance which is closed, (in other words, no fragrance appears from that person). (Tirmidi shareef, Nisaa’i, Ibn Maja, Ibn Habban).

 

That Muslim who learns the Quran and is also concerned about spreading its message and also recites the Quran in his salah at night is like an open container of fragrance. Through this fragrance, the entire area and house becomes full of fragrance. While the Haafiz who sleeps away becomes like a closed bottle who has the sweet fragrance inside him but it does pass it on this to others.

 

Second appeal.

In the present time when we are surrounded on all four corners by our enemies and the entire earth is become a very constrained place for the Muslims, there is no path to salvation except through following the shariah.

 

In the present time, the cure for all ills is following the Quran. In the present time, we have to understand the Quran  and the message of the Quran. It is a message which entails the path to our salvation.

 

When we turned away from the Quran, defeat has always stared us in the face and our enemies have become bolder. If we hope for success in the future, this can only be gained through the Quran. Certainly, if we do this sincerely, then success and salvation will once again smile on the Muslim ummah.

 

Hadith 17. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “In that person in whose heart there is no part of the Quran which is saved, then he is like a desolate house”. (Tirmidi shareef, Daarimi, Haakim).

 

Another result of an any empty and desolate house is that the jinns normally take control of such houses. In like manner, a heart which is empty of the Quran, is a heart which is taken control of by the satan. The importance of remembering the Quran is mentioned at this juncture. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah May Allah have mercy upon him also explains that in that house in which the Quran is recited, there is abundance of good in that house. The Angels also enter such a house and the satan turns away from that house. A house in which the Quran is not recited, there is also difficulty and lack of baraqah in that house.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud May Allah have mercy upon him also mentions that a few people have reported from the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him who has made it clear that the desolate and barren house is that house in which the Quran is nor recited.

 

Third appeal.

There is no doubt that the appearance and revelation of the Quran on the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him was indeed a most revolutionary event in history and no one has seen the like of this anywhere in the world since then. The Quran was revealed with the purpose of guiding mankind and removing them from darkness. The entire message of the Quran was to guide people.

 

Our pious elders in Islam not only restricted themselves from only reciting the Quran but made sure that the Quran guide in them every part of their life. Their worship, the affairs in the world and every part of their behaviour was guided by the Quran. They never allowed themselves from being divorced from the guidance of the Quran. This is the reason why they gained such prominence and respect in both worlds.

 

Yet sadly today, the Muslims have completely divorced themselves from the Quran and the message of the Quran. Even though today, there are millions and millions of Muslims, yet, they certainly do not have the same power and respect they once enjoyed. Most Muslims have not even taken the time to learn the Quran, therefore, how can we even make dua that we should once again be the leaders of the world? If the Muslims of the present day, want to once again achieve the same status as the earlier Muslims enjoyed, we have to once again turn to the message of the Quran, only in this way can we rise once again.

 

Hadith 18. Hadrat Sayyidah Ayesha May Allah have mercy upon her narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him in which he has stated that, ‘Recital of Quran in the salah is more superior to recital out of salah and recital of Quran out of salah is more superior toTasbeeh and Takbeer and Tasbeeh is more superior than Sadqah and Sadqah is more superior to Fasting and Fasting is protection against the fire.” (Shuhubul Imaan by Imam Bahiqi May Allah have mercy upon him).

 

The superior act of reciting the Quran is quiet clearly understood because these are the Divine Words of the Almighty. We have also understood from other reports that there is no greater Kalam than the Quran. There are also many other reports which substantiate that the Zikr of Allah is superior to charity. There are of course various other reports which have mentioned that fasting is superior to charity, however, bear in mind that these are specific to certain conditions and states. In other words, at certain times, fasting is more superior and at certain times, charity is more superior.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali May Allah have mercy upon him has also stated that the person who stands in salah and recites the Quran, for every letter, he will receive a hundred rewards. A person who sits in salah and recites the Quran, will receive fifty rewards and that person who recites the Quran while not in salah, he will receive twenty five rewards. That person who recites the Quran without Wudu, he will receive ten rewards. That person who cannot read the Quran, but listens to another person recite the Quran, for every letter, he will also receive a reward.

 

Fourth appeal.

The Quran is a book revealed to the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him and has become a book of guidance for the whole of mankind. Mankind was able to plot their journey through this Divine Book.

 

Over fourteen centuries have passed by and we need to remember and bear in mind that the Quran was not revealed so that we could only read it and do nothing else. It was not revealed so that we could beauty our homes by placing it on high walls. It was not only revealed so that only men could read the Quran. It was revealed for a greater purpose than this. It was revealed so that it could guide man and jinn until the last day. It was intended that through the light of the Quran, people would see the  path of guidance and salvation and through this, they would be able to establish the Divine Command of the Almighty on earth which belongs to the Almighty. (Abdullah Aqeel. Kuwait).

 

Hadith 19. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Huraryah May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that once the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him asked, “Do any of you like that when he returns home, he finds three of his camels pregnant and fat.?” We replied yes, why not. He then stated, “Whoever among you recites three verses of the Quran in his salah it is more valuable and superior than three camels.”. (Muslim shareef).

 

The same message has been given in a few previous narrations. The example of a pregnant camel is describing two gifts. The first is that the person has a camel and the second is that the camel is pregnant. Same with reading Quran in salah. The first is that the person is in salah and the second is that the person is reading the Quran in salah. Hence, the immense reward and benefit from these actions. Another important point to be noted here is that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him is giving an example which appeals to the mind of people.

 

This is something which people should always bear in mind when they try to explain Islam and the various points of Islam to others. As we have mentioned, if you wish to appeal to the common mind of people, appeal to them through something which they can relate to.

 

Fifth appeal.

The tragedy for Muslims in the present era is that because they have forgotten the message of the Quran, most of them have lost both worlds. If we had only remembered the message of the Quran, then certainly our state and condition in the present time would be different. The first tragedy is we hardly recite the Quran and when we do recite the Quran, we hardly practise upon the message of the Quran. It is very important that we recite the Quran and practise on its message. I can never forget the environment in which I was brought up in. There was a small masjid in our area and once, someone started to recite Surah Baqarah.

 

When I heard the Quran been recited, I experienced a great joy and something which could not be explained. I also wanted the recital never to stop. Even though I was a young man who enjoyed the so called pleasures of music, yet, nothing could be compared to the joy of listening to the Quran. After listening to the Quran, anyone would certainly come to the conclusion that this is certainly the Divine Message of the Almighty. (Justice B. Zaid).

 

Hadith 20. Hadrat Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abdullah bin Auf Saqafi May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is that memorizing the Quran contains a thousand degrees in reward and reciting the Quran while looking at it, increases this to more than two thousand degrees.” (Shuhubul Imaan Imam Bahiqi May Allah have mercy upon him).

 

Obviously, one of the reasons for the immense benefit achieved by looking at the Quran while reciting it, is because a person can certainly be able to understand its message and think carefully on the words that he is reading. In other words, through this, there are many actions which are taking place. The act of holding the Quran, the act of looking at the Quran etc. Since the message is different in various ahadith, hence the Ulama have given a different explanation to each facet. Some Ulama have stated that when one looks at the Quran, he can protect himself from making mistakes in his recital.

 

Hence, they say that it is better to look at the Quran and recite its verses. The second group of Ulama give the opinion that it is better to read the Quran from memory because it creates a better and more peaceful feeling within a person and it was also the habit of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him to recite the Quran from memory. However, the great Imam, Imam Nawawi May Allah have mercy upon him has stated that these would depend on the individual state of each person. For some, it would be better to look at the Quran and read so that they can gain a better understanding and a clear message and those who are able to gain this same objective through reciting the Quran from memory, then they should recite the Quran from memory.

 

In the Fathul Bari, this an explanation which is preferred. It is also mentioned that Hadrat Sayyiduna Uthman May Allah have mercy upon him had two copies of the Quran in which pages were torn and this proved the amount of times he used to recite the Quran. Amar bin Maymun in the Sharah of the Ihya shareef explains that, that person who performs the Fajr salah and thereafter recites a hundred verses, he would receive reward equal to the entire world. Looking at the Quran also improves the vision of a person. Abu Ubaid May Allah have mercy upon him has also mentioned that this has been narrated through many sources. The great Imam, Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Shafi May Allah have mercy upon him used to open the Quran at the time of Esha and used to only close the Quran at the time of Fajr. This proves the great Imam used to spend the entire night reciting the Quran.

 

Hadith 21. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him in which he has stated that, “The heart also becomes affected with rust like metal becomes affected with rust through water.” He was asked, “What is the manner of cleaning this?” He replied, “To remember death in abundance and to recite the Quran.” (Shuhubul Imaan by Imam Bahiqi May Allah have mercy upon him).

 

There is no doubt that when the heart becomes oblivious of the Zikr of Allah then it also becomes rusty like iron. However, when one starts to make the Zikr of Allah and remembers death often, then this acts like a cleaner which completely eliminates the rust and cleans the heart. Bear in mind that the heart is like a piece of glass and when the glass becomes clean, it acts as a manifestation of Ma’rifah. In like manner, when a person becomes involved in sins and transgression, then this manifestation of Ma’rifah becomes less and less.

 

This is one of the reasons that the great Mashaa’ikh educated their mureeds about Mijaahidah and other forms of penitence. In the hadith shareef it is mentioned that when a person commits sins, then there is a black spot which appears on the heart and if there is another sin committed, then another black spot appears. If a person performs a good deed, then this black disappears or increases with another sin. If the person continues to perform sin, then the entire heart becomes black. When this happens, the heart does not wish to perform good and takes great pleasure in performing sin and transgression.

 

The rust of the heart.

In the hadith shareef, it is mentioned that there are propagators in the heart. One which is silent and the other which speaks. The one which speaks are the words of the Quran and the one which remains silent is the remembrance of death. However, the both are only beneficial to that person who adheres to the advice.

 

However, when the religion of a person is useless or corrupt, then there is no chance of spiritual elevation or success. Hadrat Sayyiduna Hasan Basri May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that at the beginning, the Muslims used to sincerely believe in the Quran as the Divine Words of the Almighty. They used to spend day and night trying to understand the words of the Quran and during the day, they used to practise on the advice of the Quran. However, in the present day, people spend little time analysing different aspects of the Quran but very less time practising on the Quran and very less time trying to understand the Quran.

 

Seventh appeal.

As there is no one like the Almighty in His Divine Being and Attributes, in like manner, there is no book or material like the Quran. The Quran has presented all types of guidance for people and various nations and these laws and regulations are for all times and all peoples. Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar May Allah have mercy upon him had also reported that it is through the Quran than a person gains eminence and there are many who lower themselves by not abiding by the Quran. (Abu Bakr Ghaznawi. Islamic university department of Engineering and Technology. Lahore).

 

Hadith 22.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah May Allah have mercy upon him mentions the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is, “There is no group (or nation) who do not gather in the house of Allah and recite the Quran and do not leave; but, on these people, peace and tranquillity descends. Divine Grace also envelopes these people.

 

The Angels of peace also surrounds these people and the Almighty also mentions these people among the Angels.” (Muslim, Abu Daud shareef).

 

In this hadith shareef, the Islamic school and the Madaaris is given special reference. There are many benefits associated with these institutes. In fact, so much of benefit are attained from these places that if they were spent or divided among people, they would spend their entire life and not be able to fully spend it.

 

What is meant by Sakeenah?

This is mentioned in different places and in different reports. There are also various opinions of the Mashaa’ikh in this regard, however, none of these opinions conflict with each other. In fact, the meaning of each of them actually indicates to the whole concept itself. Hadrat Sayyiduna Ali May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that Sakeenah is a special wind or air whose face is like the face of a human. Allamah Suddi May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that it is a special tray from Jannah which is made from gold and the hearts of the Prophets are washed in this tray.

 

Some have said that it indicates to a special Divine Grace. Imam Tabarani May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that it signifies peace which descends on a persons heart. Some have mentioned that this signifies greatness. Some have mentioned that this signifies the Angels. Allamah ibn Hajr May Allah have mercy upon him in the Fathful Qadeer mentions that this could imply all of the above. Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Nawawi May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that it implies all types of Grace which descends with the Angels. The words Sakeenah has been mentioned in Surah Baqarah, Surah Taubah and Surah Fat’a. This has also been explained on many occasions in the Ahadith. In the Ihya shareef, it is mentioned that once ibn Thouban May Allah have mercy upon him promised one of his friends that he would visit him for Iftaar, but managed to only appear the next morning.

 

When his friend complained about this, he replied, “If I did not make a promise to you, I would not reveal actually why I was delayed. The reason I was delayed is because I noticed that it was the time of Esha.  I then decided to also complete the Witr because there is no guarantee on life and perchance I might die in the night and this immense responsibility would remain incomplete. However, as I was reading the Dua Qunut, I was able to see a green orchard in Jannah in which there were all types of fruits. I continued looking at this orchard not realizing that morning had arrived.” There are many examples of this nature which are recorded in the lives of the Awliyah. However, all of these amazing things are seen by those special slaves of Allah who divorce themselves from all worldly objects and wishes. In every action of theirs, they only look at the Divine Pleasure of the Almighty.

 

People being surrounded by the Angels have also been mentioned. There is the famous report of Hadrat Sayyiduna Usaid bin Hudair May Allah have mercy upon him who reports that he saw what looked like a white cloud above him when he was reciting the Quran and was informed by the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him that this was a congregation of Angels who had come to listen to the Quran. Due to the large number of the Angels, it appeared as a white cloud. Another blessed companion also mentioned that he had seen a whitish cloud and this was explained as being a Sakeenah which came from the Almighty. In other words, His Divine Grace.

 

There is another report which explains that a person who distances himself from the Divine Grace of the Almighty through his sins and transgression, his family lineage and his family will not make him come near Divine Grace. In other words, in spite of his eminent family, he cannot come close to an ordinary Muslim who is pious. The Quran has also mentioned that the closest people with Allah are those who are the most pious.

 

Eighth appeal.

There is no doubt that the difficulties which are being faced by the Muslims of Pakistan and other countries are something which has never been seen before. On one side, there is the Anglo American block which is trying to do everything to obliterate Islam and the Muslims and on the other side, there is the state of Israel which is trying its level best to completely destroy the Palestinian race. Yet, on another side, there is the threat of socialism which sometimes disguises itself as a friend of the poor and needy and sometimes as a friend of the ordinary worker. However, the real mission of all of these corrupt movements is destroy the pristine teachings of the Quran.

 

These movements have created immense confusion in Pakistan and other Islamic countries. There is only one thing which would be able to unite the Muslims and that is the message of the Quran. We see that through this book, various nations were able to unite themselves into one single Ummah. (Justice Chowdary Mohammed Afzal Cheemah).

 

Hadith 23.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him in which he has stated that, “There is nothing greater for you people to turn towards Allah and to achieve His Divine Nearness  except through that which has come from Him (in other words, the Holy Quran). (Imam Hakim, Imam Abu Daud, Tirmidi shareef).

 

There are numerous reports which have given us this message that the the special thing which brings a person closer to the Almighty is the recital of the Quran and to practise on its message.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Ahmed bin Hambal May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that he saw the Almighty in his dream and asked, “O Allah! Which is the best thing through which a person can achieve closeness to Your Divine Court?” The Almighty declared, “O Ahmed! It is My Divine Words.” I then asked, “To read with understanding or without?” He declared, “To read with understanding and without understanding. Both of these achieve closeness.”

 

Another point which proves this is through the words of Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlwi May Allah have mercy upon him which we see in his Tafseer. It explains that one of the best ways of Suluk or travelling on the path of Allah is achieved in three ways. The first is deep thought according to the Awliyah this is known as Muraaqibah. The second is verbal Zikr of Allah and the third is recital of the Quran. Since the first is known as Zikr as well, therefore there are only two methods. The first is zikr through the heart and the second is audible zikr and the other method is through the recital of the Quran.

 

Another method is through the performance of Nawaafil.

Another method which is mentioned in various reports is through the continued performance of Nawaafil salah. In other words, when a person achieves the closeness of the Almighty through the performance of nawaafil, then the Almighty becomes the Protector of this person and all of his powers of hearing etc become subservient to the Divine Wishes of the Almighty.

 

The reason that Nawaafil is mentioned as being “in abundance” is because the Fard salah is something which is restricted to a certain number of rakah while the Nawaafil is not.

 

Ninth appeal.

It is my opinion that the world of Islam has been largely contaminated by fisq and fujur, or sin and transgression and also with irreligious behaviour. One of the main reasons for this is that the Muslims have turned away from the teaching of the Quran. One of the reasons for their mental stress and discomfort is that they have robbed themselves of the barakah of the Quran. The greatest tragedy is that they have also completely ignored this fact. (Doc. Syed Abdul Qadeer).

 

Hadith 24.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Aanis bin Malik May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which are, “There are certain people who are considered as the special people of Allah.” The blessed Ashaab asked, “O Prophet of Allah, who are these people?” He replied, “They are the ones who recite the Quran and they are indeed the special and close people to Allah.” (Nisaa’i, ibn Maja, Imam Hakim and Imam Ahmed).

 

The people of the Quran are those people who are always reading the Quran.

 

As we have already explained in the previous hadith shareef, when these people continue to recite the Quran, then they acquire the Special Attention of the Almighty. As for those who remain in the blessed company of these people, they also become the special servants of the Almighty through association. Look at the immense Divine Grace of the Almighty in that He rewards a person to such a degree even though there is hardly any effort from the person himself.

 

Yet, when we look at the world, if a person wishes to become a member of Parliament, he has to sacrifice both time, energy and even money to become a member. He has to lower himself in front of people, he has to put up with all types of insults and ridicule, yet, sadly the people of the world consider these things as part of life but when it comes to reciting and spending time reading the Quran, they consider it as a waste of time.

 

Tenth appeal.

There is no doubt that the Quran is a foundation of guidance and the light achieved from the Quran is something which is beyond explanation. We are certainly fed up with what is happening in the world today and hardships that people have to face when all around them, there are people who have no care for religion. In this type of environment, the Quran is certainly a powerful guide to all of us. (Abdur Rahman Jhughta’i).

 

Hadith 25.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which are, “The Almighty does not turn His Divine Attention to anyone except towards the voice of His Prophet who recites His Divine Words with a beautiful tone.”

 

One of the reasons for this is because a Prophet recites all of these Words in the best possible manner as it should be recited. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in this statement. And when this is mixed with a beautiful voice, then this is beyond description. It also stands to reason that after the Prophets are those people who recite the Quran in a beautiful voice.

 

Eleventh appeal.

The Quran is indeed a Book which was Divinely revealed. It is indeed a blessed book and a book which is full of barakah and a pure and pristine book. For the Muslims, it is indeed a book which is a complete guidance for them in their entire life and there is nothing which can be changed in this. (M Aslam).

 

Hadith 26.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Fudaalah bin Ubaid May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him who states that, “The Almighty loves the voice of a true Qari even more than that person who listens to the voice of his favourite singer and He also pays more attention to this.” (Ibn Habban, Imam Hakim).

 

There is no doubt that the attention of a person is always on someone who sings in a beautiful voice, however, due to the restriction placed on him by shariah, people are not allowed to listen to this person. However, if the person signing is someone who belongs to you, then there are no restrictions on a person. However, an important point which should be borne in mind is that one is not allowed to read the Quran in a singing voice or tone. In the hadith shareef, there is strict prohibition on this. In one report it is mentioned that one should save oneself from that person who signs in a ghazzal fashion and according to music rules. The Mashaa’ikh have mentioned that someone who sings in this fashion is a major sinner and the one listening is also to be considered a sinner. However, if one does not read in this fashion and makes certain that he reads in a beautiful tone without music, then there is no harm in this. In one report it has been advised that one should beautify the Quran with ones voice and in another report it is mentioned that with a beautiful voice, the beauty of the Quran is also doubled.

 

A singer left his trade and started to read the Quran.

The king of saints, Hadrat Sayyiduna Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani May Allah have mercy upon him in the “Ghunyatut Taalibeen” mentions that one day, the eminent companion. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud May Allah have mercy upon him was walking somewhere in Kufah. At the same place, there was also a gathering of sinners who were listening to someone singing. The name of the singer was Zazaan. He was also using a flute. When the eminent companion heard this person’s voice, he remarked, “It is such a beautiful voice if only it was reciting the Quran.”

 

He then covered his head with a shawl and walked past. Zazaan heard this remark and he asked the people who this person was. They replied that this was Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud May Allah have mercy upon him the famous companion of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him and he had mentioned these words. However, the person had already become so stunned by these words of the eminent companion that he started to walk behind him and became one of the greatest scholar of his time. As we have mentioned that there are many reports which praise the reciting of the Quran in a beautiful tone. Do remember however, that it is prohibited to read the Quran in a singing voice.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Huzayfah May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has advised that the Quran should be recited in the Arab style and we should not read it like in the manner of those who sign love songs or in the manner of the Jews and Christians. Very soon, there is a nation who will appear who will read the Quran like those who display grief and those who sing. None of their recital will be of any benefit to them. They will become embroiled in fitnah and those who think good of them will also become embroiled in fitnah.

 

Imam Taa’us May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that someone once asked the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him about that person who recites the Quran in a good voice or tone and he replied, “it is that person when you hear him recite the Quran then you will sense that he fears the Almighty”. In other words, one will be attracted to his voice. There is no doubt that everyone will be rewarded by the Almighty according his own effort. The key factor is to make sure that the person does indeed make an effort. It is mentioned in the hadith shareef that there are angels who have been given the task to correct the recital of people and then deliver it to the Divine Court.

 

Twelfth appeal.

There is a common belief among people that among the business community, there is no sense of what is haraam and what is halaal. At the same time, they do not even give this any consideration or importance whatsoever. In fact, they entertain whatever is possible without the least bit of conscious. As long as they acquire more wealth, they care about nothing else. In fact, they do not care whether this opposes the law of Islam and whether this earns the Divine Wrath of the Almighty.

 

However, this is not applicable to everyone. There are certain people in this world whose deeds and actions are even more sweeter than the sweetest of fragrance. These are those people upon whom is the Divine Blessing of the Almighty. These are those people who continue to study the Divine Book of Allah. They continue to delve into the inner meaning of the Quran.

 

All of us are of the opinion that this Quran is a book of guidance. The rays of this book is able to brighten every aspect of a person’s life. As for those who walk on this path of the Quran, they certainly reach their destination. However, this is not easy and there is tremendous effort required in this regard. (Peer Karam Shah Al Azhari).

 

Hadith 27.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Ubaidah bin Mulayki May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “The people of the Quran do not make the Quran a pillow and they should continue to recite the (Quran) day and night as is its right. They should propagate the (message) of the Quran and recite it with a good tone (or voice).

 

They must also ponder on the meaning so that they can achieve success and they should not seek the (world) in place of (the hereafter) because for them, there is immense reward. (Shuhubul Imaam. Imam Bahiqi).

 

There are a few important points which needs to be kept in mind from the above mentioned hadith shareef. People should not make the Quran a pillow or something to rest on because this is completely against the respect that should be accorded to the Quran. Imam ibn Hajr Makki May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that to rest on the Quran like one does against a pillow, to place ones feet in the direction of the Quran, to turns ones back to the Quran, to destroy it, all of these acts are Haraam.

 

Secondly, one should increase the recital of the Quran bearing all the important aspects of respect in mind. It also means to ponder on the words and message of the Quran. In other words, make the intention to obey and follow the Quran. Thirdly, one should propagate its message through writing and speech. It is sad to see that many people claim to be great supports of Islam, but they completely ignore all of these important aspects in their life.

 

Our actions.

The command of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him is to spread the message of the Quran but we make sure that we create every possible obstacle in its propagation. How? We do not spread the message and neither do we help others who want to spread the message. We make sure that our children learn Western education instead of the Quran. We have the impression that the teacher in the Madressah is wasting the time of our children.

 

When we find that the teacher in the Madressah has been a little severe with the child, we find all types of reasons to make sure that we do not send our children there again. There is no doubt that you are certainly robbing yourself and the child of a great reward. We find that in the present climate, parents who complain about the Madressah teacher will not even think twice of taking the teacher to court or bringing some legal action against the Madressah teacher. This was never seen in the past. In the past, the Madressah teacher was considered as the most important figure in the Muslim community while today, people do not even have time to greet a Madressah teacher.

 

The world has so corrupted them that they think of him as a person who is living on donation. In the Ihya shareef it is mentioned from the Taurah that the Almighty has stated, “O My servant, you have no shame. When you receive a letter from any friend, you stop on the road and read this letter even while you are walking. You even sit on one side of the road so that you can study the contents of the letter. You ponder on each word. Yet, the Divine Word of Mine which has reached you and in which everything is mentioned. In which some messages are repeated so that you can ponder on these words, yet, still, you totally ignore it and show no concern or interest! If this your condition than certainly you think of Me even less than you think of your friend? O my slaves! when your friend speaks to you, you pay complete attention to his words and whenever someone wants to interrupt, you severely stop this person and yet, when I speak to you through My Words, you pay no attention to it. Do not seek payment for this in this world.

 

Certainly, in the hereafter, there is immense reward for having recited the Book. If one seeks reward for this in the world, then it is as if someone has sought waste in place of wealth. The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has also stated that when this Ummah starts to think of dinar and dirhams as major things, then the power of Islam will leave them and when they start to ignore prohibiting good and propagating good, then the barakah of Wahi, in other words, the power of understanding the Quran will leave them.

 

Message.

There is no doubt that there is immense barakah in the words of the Quran, By reciting the Quran, the heart also achieves immense peace and the meaning of the Quran is also a message of guidance. By practising on the message of the Quran, there is respect and eminence for a human being. The Quran has opened the minds of people and has given respect to people and nations. Those who have sincerely practised on the message of the Quran, they have been given power in both worlds.

 

Such a nation was give pre-eminence and leadership in this world. When we look at the early stage of the Arabs, we will find that they were divided and disunited. They were immersed in war and strife. However, the message of the Quran completely transformed this nation. It took a nation which was a mere drop on the universe to become the world leaders of every generation. This was the effect of the Quran and this will remain the effect of the Quran until the day of Judgement. The problems which are faced by the world in the present age, all of these problems can only be resolved by the Quran. When we look at the world today, we see that man is in a constant state of stress and worry.

 

Political and social upheavals are taking place all around him. It is vitally important that we understand the Quran and publicise the message of the Quran and follow the guidance of the Quran. When we look at Pakistan, we will see that it was established on the principles of the Quran. Yet, sadly, besides the Islamic institutes, there are no other institutes in government who are spreading the message of the Quran. In fact, many people who wish to attain Islamic knowledge cannot do so because there are no facilities available or if there are facilities, they lack the capacity to fulfil this important need.

 

One of the main reasons for this is that we have ignored the laws of the Quran and we hardly try to understand the Quran. If the common people are given the chance to understand the Quran and be educated about the Quran, certainly, society as a whole will also change for the better. (Mufti Mohammed Husain Naeemi).

 

Hadith 28.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Waa’ilah May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that in place of the Taurah I have received the seven (long surahs), and in place of the Zabur, I have been given the Me’een and in place of the Injeel, I have been given the Mathaani and the Mufassil is unique to me.(Jam’ul Fawaa’id).

 

The first seven surahs of the Quran are called the Taweel or Taul The next eleven surahs are called the Me’een. The next twenty surahs are referred to as the Mathaani. Whatever surahs after that are known as the Mathaani or the Mufassal.

There is no difference in meaning or implication which is meant by these words. At the same time, the words used are merely an indication of what has been given in place of the previous books especially in the length of the surahs and messages. Besides this, there are also other unique features which are found in the Quran which is are not found in any of the previously revealed books.

 

One of the Western writers have mentioned that the message of the Quran had such a great impact on the Arabs that some have even mentioned that it was like they had been overtaken by magic. Although this was certainly not the case.

 

Hadith 29.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Saeed Khudri May Allah have mercy upon him narrates, “I was once sitting among the poorest of the Muhaajireen and they were such people that they did not even have enough clothes to fully cover their bodies. Some of them protected each other, (in other words some of them blocked the blessed bodies of others with the intention of creating a type of cover over them). One of them was reading the Quran when suddenly the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him appeared among us and he stood near us. When the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him appeared, the person reading the Quran remained silent.

 

The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him then greeted everyone and then asked, ‘What were you people saying?” We replied, “We were listening to the Quran.” The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him then declared, “All Praise is due to Allah in that He has created such (blessed) people in my ummah (and they are such people that he has commanded me) to sit with them.” Thereafter, the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him sat among us so that he could be (equally seen by everyone) and not appear far from anyone.

 

He then ordered everyone to sit in a circle. (This also proves that when they saw him, everyone stood up with respect and continued standing until he instructed them to sit). Everyone then sat facing him and he declared, “O those who are the Muhaajireen and (are considered as) poor! Glad tidings to you. On the day of Judgement you will be (blessed with) Kaamil Nur and will enter Jannah half day before the rich and this half day is equal to five hundred years.” (Abu Daud shareef).

 

It is quiet obvious that by their bodies being without clothes obviously means that they had the barest minimum clothes to cover their bodies and it is also quiet clear that their private area was also ready covered. Such was their modesty that even though their private area was covered, yet they also tried to hide other parts of their bodies through one another. When they realised that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him had arrived, the person reading the Quran stopped out of respect.

 

What was the purpose of asking?

It is quite obvious that the question asked by the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him was merely to display his pleasure because he was already aware of what they were listening to. The story of half a day been equal to one day is only for a believer while the kaafir, this is different. In fact for a kaafir, one day in the hereafter is equal to fifty thousand years in the world. In fact, it is mentioned that the day of Judgement for some believers will be as long as it takes to read two rakah of salah. As the benefits of reading the Quran is mentioned in many reports, in the same manner, the excellence and benefit of listening to the Quran is also mentioned in many reports.

 

In fact, one of the greatest testimony to this is that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him was actually commanded to sit in such a gathering. Some Ulama have given the opinion that it is more superior to listen to the Quran than actually recite the Quran. The reason is that to recite the Quran is a Nafil act while to listen to the Quran is an act of Fard. There is also another issue which is extracted by the Ulama from this report is that who should be considered as more excellent. The poor person who displays patience and does not reveal his actual state or that rich person who continues to make Shukr and someone who fulfils his right. From the hadith, it is seen that it is better to make Sabr.

 

Hadith 30.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “Whoever listens to one single verse of the Quran, he receives double thawab. And the person who recites the Quran, for him, on the day of Judgement, there will be Nur.” (Imam Ahmed).

 

Even though there is difference of opinion on the people who narrates this hadith shareef, yet there are many other supporting testimony which prove the excellence of listening to the Quran. Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud May Allah have mercy upon him mentions that once the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him was on the blessed mimbar and said to me, “allow me to listen to the Quran.’ I then replied, ‘but the Quran has been revealed on the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him’. The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him then mentioned that his heart wanted to listen to the Quran. When he started to recite the Quran, the blessed eyes of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him filled with tears.

 

Once, Saalim the servant of Hadrat Sayyiduna Huzayfah May Allah have mercy upon him was reciting the Quran and the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him stood on one side for a long time and listened to the Quran. Once, when the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him heard the Quranic recital of Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Moosa May Allah have mercy upon him, he praised the recital.

 

Hadith 31.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “The person who recites the Quran aloud is like the one who gives charity openly. And the one who recites the Quran softly. is like the one who gives charity quietly.” (Tirmidi shareef, Abu Daud, Nisaa’i. Imam Haakim who explains that this verse also fulfils the precondition of Imam Bukahri).

 

Obviously, at times, giving charity publicly is also allowed if the purpose is to encourage others and there is some wisdom and reason behind it. At times, giving charity in private is considered beneficial if there is a possibility that one can become a victim of self conceit etc. In like manner, at times, it is better to read the Quran aloud when it can encourage others and so that others can also gain blessing from listening to the Quran. At times, it is better to read softly when this is causing disturbance to others and there is a possibility of self conceit.

 

This is the reason that there have been different reports and different excellences explained as per the circumstances. Some have extracted the excellence of reciting softly from the above report. In the Shuhubul Imam, there is a report from Hadrat Sayyidah Ayesha May Allah have mercy upon her (even though according to some Muhaditthen the sanad of this report is weak) that an action committed privately is seventy times better than an action committed publicly. There is also a report from Hadrat Sayyiduna Jabir May Allah have mercy upon him in which the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “Do not scream and read to such an extent that the voices of both people become mixed.”

 

Once, a person was reading aloud in the Masjidun Nabawi and he was stopped by Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar bin Abdul Aziz May Allah have mercy upon him. When the great leader was asked his evidence for this, he replied, “If you are reading for the sake of Allah, then you should read silently and if you are reading for the sake of others, then this is a useless recital because there is no honesty in this. The same similar words have been echoed by the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him about someone who screams and reads. In the sharah of Ihya shareef, both types of reports have been mentioned.

 

Hadith 32.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Jabir May Allah have mercy upon him narrates from the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him who has stated that, “The Quran is such an intercessor whose intercession is accepted and such an instrument of argument whose argument is accepted.

 

That person who keeps it in front of him, it will lead him towards Jannah and he who turns away from it, it wil allow him to fall into the fire of hell. (Ibn Habban, Imam Hakim).

 

In other words, whoever the Quran makes intercession for, its intercession is accepted in the Divine Court of the Almighty. And when it wishes to argue on behalf of someone, then its argument in the Divine Court is a accepted. A person who fulfils the rights of the Quran and obeys the rules and laws of the Quran, the Quran will allow him to enter Jannah. That person who turns his back to the Quran and does not obey the rules of the Quran, he will eventually fall into the fire of hell.

 

There are many reports which give clear warning for those who disobey and turn their backs on the Quran. In one hadith shareef, it is mentioned that one of the punishment for these people is that the head of the person will be constantly broken by a large rock. When it was asked as to what had happened to this person, it was told that this person was taught the Quran through Divine Grace but he did not recite the Quran at night and neither practise upon it during the day therefore, this will continue to happen to this person until the day of Judgement. We make dua that the Almighty protect us from this punishment. Ameen.

 

Hadith 33.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amar May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “Both fasting and the Quran will intercede for a person. Fasting will declare, “O Allah, during the day I restricted him from eating and drinking. Please accept my intercession. The Quran will declare, “O Allah, during the night I used to restrict him from sleeping, please accept my intercession. Thereafter, the intercession of both will be accepted.” (Imam Ahmed, Ibn Abid Dunya, Tabarani, Hakim).

 

In another report, instead of drinking, the words used will be “I used to restrict him against obeying his carnal desires and also from eating and drinking.” In another report it is mentioned that the Quran will appear as a powerful person and will say, ‘I am the one who kept you awake during the night and kept you thirsty during the day.” Therefore, it can be seen that one of the acts of nawaafil is to recite the Quran in salah during the ibaadah at night.

 

The method of reciting the Quran by the pious elders of Islam.

There are many reports from the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him and the blessed Ashaab that many of them used to spend the entire night reading the Quran. There is also a report that Hadrat Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani May Allah have mercy upon him used to complete the recital of the Quran in one single rakah of the Witr.

 

In like manner, there is another report about Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair May Allah have mercy upon him that he used to complete the Quran in one single night. Hadrat Sayyiduna Saeed bin Jubair May Allah have mercy upon him used to recite the complete Quran inside the Kaba in two rakah of salah. Hadrat Sayyiduna Thabit Banaani and Hadrat Abu Hurrah May Allah have mercy upon them used to complete the Quran in one single twenty four hour period.

 

Hadrat Sayyiduna Shaikh Hanaa’i May Allah have mercy upon him mentions, “In one night, I used to complete the Quran on two occasions and on the third night, I used to complete until the tenth para and if I wished, I could have completed the entire Quran again.” It is mentioned that Hadrat Sayyiduna Saleh bin Kaysan May Allah have mercy upon him used to be someone who used to complete two Qurans on one night while travelling for Hajj. In the sharah of Ihya shareef, it is mentioned that there are various reports from various Awliyah on the manner in which they completed the Quran.

 

Some Awliyah used to complete one Quran in one single day such as Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Shafi May Allah have mercy upon him used to do in Ramadan. Some used to complete three Qurans in a day. As we have mentioned that there are many different reports on the exact amount of Quran which used to be completed. Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Nawawi May Allah have mercy upon him reports in the Kitaabul Azkaar that the highest number is said to be eight complete Quran in one single day from Hadrat Sayyiduna Ibnul Kaatib May Allah have mercy upon him.

 

Ibn Qudaamah has mentioned from Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Ahmed bin Hambal May Allah have mercy upon him that there is no set number of Qurans which should be completed in one single day. All of this is dependent on the individuals himself. Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Azam May Allah have mercy upon him is said to have completed three Qurans in one single day during the month of Ramadan on each day. There are of course certain reports which mention that one should not complete it in less than three days, however, there have been many eminent Awliyah who have completed it in less time than this.

As we have mentioned, the amount of Quran a person recites is according to his ability during the day, the month and the year. Some Ulama have stated that there is no harm in completing the Quran within a forty day period. In other words, one should complete one third every day. If one misses one day, then he should complete this on the following day. Bear in mind that although this is not something which is considered as Fard, yet, since certain Ulama have mentioned this, there is no harm in completing it within this period. There are also certain Ahadith which prove this as well. Some Ulama have mentioned that one should complete it within one month or a thirty day period. Some have mentioned that it is better to complete it within seven days starting from the day of Jumuah.

 

As we have mentioned, Imam Azam May Allah have mercy upon him has mentioned that one of the rights of the Quran is to complete the Quran at least twice a year. Therefore, one should endeavour not to read less than this. Some Ulama have mentioned that in summer, one should complete the Quran at the beginning of the night and in winter, during the early part of the evening. In other words, since the days are longer in summer, he would receive more thawab and since the nights are longer in winter, he would get greater reward.

 

A German poet has written, “One of the reasons that the Quran has spread so rapidly in the world is that as one delves deeper into the Quran, more and more realities become revealed. Very soon, this Book fascinates and captivates a person and places a person into complete wonderment.”

 

Yet, sadly, in this regard, the Muslims continue to lag behind.

 

Is this what the Divine Word of Allah has taught you? Or are you someone who completely lacks all interest in the Divine Word of Allah? The worst part is that some people say that this is merely Taqdir and there is nothing we can do about it. These are all feeble excuses because the very first verse of the Quran teaches us to read.

 

Hadith 35.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Saeed bin Sulaim May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is that, “There is no greater object which would intercede for people on the day of Judgement but the Quran, neither a Prophet nor a Angel etc.” (Sharah Ihya shareef).

 

This same subject has been mentioned in many other reports as well. We make sincere dua that the Quran also intercedes for me and you insha Allah and does not become a testimony against us. In one manuscript it is mentioned that when a person dies and the people are busy with the kafan and burial of a person, there is a handsome person which stands near the head of the deceased. When the kafan is given to the person, this same person stands near the chest of the person.

 

When the person is buried and when the Munkar and Nakeer arrive in the grave of the person to question, they also request this handsome person to leave so that they will not be disturbed while questioning this person, however, this person replies that the deceased person is his companion and that he will never leave this person alone. He also urges the Munkar and Nakeer to do what they have to do and he will do what he has to do. This handsome person also declares, “I will never leave this person till the moment he enters Jannah.”

 

This person then turns to the deceased person and declares, “I am that Quran which you used to recite sometimes aloud and sometimes softly. Do not be worried. After the Munkar and Nakeer, you will have no concern”. After the Munkar and Nakeer, this handsome person then prepares a bed for the deceased person which is made from silk and filled with sweet fragrance. We make dua that the Almighty blesses us with this reward. This is also a lengthy hadith and we have abridged it.

 

Comment of a French scientist.

It is recorded the French government has once instructed a Doctor Maurice to translate the Quran into the French language. In one of his articles after completing this task, he wrote, “The Quran is such a fantastic book from which one cannot extract any faults. This is a book which millions of Muslims are justifiably proud of. Due to its eloquence and brilliance, it certainly holds precedence over all other Divinely revealed books. We can safely say that this is to be considered as the best of the best from all the revealed books. It contains a message of salvation and success in both worlds. And is certainly far greater than any Greek manuscripts. It is filled with praise for the Divine Creator and each letter and word is dripping with words that prove the Greatness of the Divine Creator.”

 

Yet, sadly the Muslims do not take heed of the Divine Book of Allah and today, most of them would read something else besides the Quran.

 

Hadith 36.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amar May Allah have mercy upon him narrates the blessed words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him which is, “He who has recited the Quran, he has captured in between his ribs the knowledge of the Prophet hood. (In other words, in his chest). Although no revelation is sent to him. Therefore the person who carries the Quran should not become angry with those who are angry (with him) or display ignorance with those who display ignorance since the Divine Word of the Almighty is in his stomach.” (Imam Hakim).

 

Obviously, since Divine Revelation has now ceased, no Divine Revelation would be sent to the person, however, since the person is blessed with this knowledge, he should create good manners and behaviour in himself and refrain from bad habits and behaviour. Hadrat Sayyiduna Fuzail bin Ayyaz May Allah have mercy upon him explains that the Haafiz of the Quran is a flag of Islam and therefore, it is not proper that he should become involved in sport and play and useless activities. Or he becomes part of those who are oblivious of the Divine Creator or he becomes a useless person.

 

Another Western writers mentions that, “There is no doubt that to explain the words of the Quran and its actual revelation is indeed very difficult. In fact, the mind is boggled when it looks at the Quran. How can such words appear from someone who was considered as unlearned or unlettered. In fact, most people looking at the Quran have admitted that no one has been able to match the unique quality of the Quran or answer its challenge. The words of the same book stunned a person like Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar May Allah have mercy upon him to accept the Divine Creator. When the king of Abyssinia heard the words of the Quran from Hadrat Sayyiduna Jafer Tayyar May Allah have mercy upon him, he burst into tears and mentioned that these are the same words which appeared from Nabi Esa peace be upon him.”

 

Hadith 37.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “There are three people who on the day of Judgement would not experience fear and apprehension. They will not have to account for their deeds until everyone has completed giving accountability for their deeds. They will enjoy themselves on a mount of sweet fragrance. The first is that person who recited the Quran for the Divine Pleasure of Allah.

 

And performed Imaamat in such a manner that his followers were pleased with him. The second is that person who calls people for salah strictly for the Divine Pleasure of Allah. The third person is that person who had good relationship with his master and those under him.” (Imam Tabarani in all the Mu’jam).

 

The difficulties, the immense test, the immense fear which will be displayed on the day of Judgement is not something which Muslims are unaware of. On that day, if these things are removed from a person, you can imagine the immense joy which would be felt by a person. And one of the ways of being able to achieve this is through the recital of the Quran, yet sadly, Muslims pay no heed to this. In fact in the Mu’jam Kabeer in which this report is mentioned, it is reported that the eminent companion who narrated these words of the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him mentions that if he had not heard this advice from the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him nearly seven times, he would not have reported these words!

 

The famous English historian Gibbons mention that, “From the Atlantic to the river Ganges, it was accepted that the Quran was the soul of any Parliament. It is a set of rules and not only is it a set of religious laws, but a set of rules which determines punishment and those rules which determine and rule a government and through which the life of people are determined. There is no doubt that it encompasses Shariah and this covers everyone from an ordinary citizen to a king. There is no doubt that there is nothing on earth which exists like this.”

 

Hadith 38.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Abu Zarr May Allah have mercy upon him narrates that the Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has stated that, “O Abu Zarr! If you learn one single verse of the Quran in the morning, it is better than a hundred rakah of nafil. And if you acquire one chapter of knowledge whether the time is appropriate or not, then it is better than a thousand rakah of nafil salah.” (ibn Maja shareef).

 

There are many reports which prove that the acquisition of knowledge is far superior to ibaadah. It is also difficult to be able to present all of them in this small space. The Holy Prophet peace and salutations be upon him has also mentioned that the status of an Islamic scholar is like his status over an ordinary person. In one report, he has stated that a single Faqih has more power over the satan than a thousand worshippers.