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#35 – Recitation of The Qur’an
April 4 – 10, 2022
Ramadan 3 – 9, 1443

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Recitation of The Qur'an

What have Allah and His Messenger said about

Recitation of The Qur'an

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَـٰبَ ٱللَّهِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنفَقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً يَرْجُونَ تِجَـٰرَةً لَّن تَبُورَ
Surely those who recite the Book of Allah, establish prayer, and donate from what We have provided for them—secretly and openly—˹can˺ hope for an exchange that will never fail,

[Surah Al-Fatir, Ayah 29]
وَٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن كِتَابِ رَبِّكَ ۖ لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَلَن تَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِۦ مُلْتَحَدًا
Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. None can change His Words, nor can you find any refuge besides Him.

[Surah Al-Kahf, Ayah 27]
حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ زُرَارَةَ بْنَ أَوْفَى، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ مَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهْوَ حَافِظٌ لَهُ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ، وَمَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهْوَ يَتَعَاهَدُهُ وَهْوَ عَلَيْهِ شَدِيدٌ، فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ ‏”‏‏.‏
Narrated Aisha: The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Such a person as recites the Qur’an and masters it by heart, will be with the noble righteous scribes (in Heaven). And such a person exerts himself to learn the Qur’an by heart, and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward.”

[Sahih al-Bukhari 4937]

Commentary

In the first of the present verses (29), some those qualities of the same blessed people, the awliya’ or men of Allah, are mentioned that find expression through outward parts of the body. Out of these, the first quality is the tilawah (recitation) of the Qur’an. This denotes the people who recite the Book of Allah constantly. The use of the aorist tense (mudari) in: یَتلُونَ (yatluna: they recite) releases a hint in this direction. Then, there are other elders who have taken: یَتلُونَ (yatluna) at this place in its literal sense, that is, they follow the Qur’an in deed. But, the first Tafsir is weightier, even though, it also stands determined from the context that recitation can be trustworthy only when it brings forth actions in accordance with the Qur’an. But, the word: تِلَاوَت (tilawah or recitation) used here appears in its recognized sense. Similarly, Mutarrif Ibn ` Abdullah Ibn Shikhkhir (رح) said: ھَذِہٖ آیَۃُ القُرَّاِء (This verse is for al-qurra’ ), the phoneticians of the Qur’an, who make the recitation of the Qur’an their special activity of life.

[Maarif ul Quran Vol-8 (pg 601 – 602) , Maktabah Dar al Uloom, Translation by Prof. Muhammad Hasan Askari & Prof. Muhammad Shamim]

The Virtue of The Noble Quran

The Qur’an is an illumination and a light; by it is obtained deliverance from error and deception; and in it lies the healing of those [diseases] which exist in men’s souls. Anyone, of [even] the most powerful men, who contradicts it is severely punished by God, and anyone who seeks knowledge from a source other than it is led astray by Him. The Qur’an is the strong rope of God [which man should grasp firmly], His clear light [in which man should walk in life], the strongest and most dependable support [which man should take hold of], and the most perfect shelter [to which man should have recourse].



The Qur’an encompasses [the core principles of all matters —] little and much, small and great. Its wonders do not exhaust [despite the passing of ages , nor do its rare, strange features come to an end [even after deep and thorough researches}. No definition can encompass its benefits in the estimation of men of reflection, nor can much-repeated recitation make it old for those who recite it; [rather, the more-repeated its recitation the newer is it felt by them].

It is the Qur’an which has guided the ancients and the moderns [of Muslims] to the right path. [Even] the jinn, whenever they heard its [recitation by the Prophet], returned to their community with the warning, “Saying:

فَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْءَانًا عَجَبًا ۞ يَهْدِىٓ إِلَى ٱلرُّشْدِ فَـَٔامَنَّا بِهِۦ ۖ وَلَن نُّشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَآ أَحَدًا
“We have certainly heard [the recitation of] a wonderful Qur’an which guides to the right path; so we have believed in it and we shall never associate anyone with our Lord”
[Surah Jinn, Ayah 1-2]

Everyone who has believed in it has indeed been favored [by God]; one who has professed the doctrines of it has surely spoken the truth; one who has held fast to it has really become rightly guided; and one who has acted in accordance with it has certainly achieved success. Allah (exalted is He!) said,

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا ٱلذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ
“Surely We Ourselves have sent down the Exhortation [i.e. the Qur’an] and We will most certainly safeguard it
[Surah Al-Hijr, Ayah 9]

Among the means of preservation of the Qur’an in men’s minds and in mushafs , are continuance in its recitation and perseverance in its study, by following its rules (adab) and stipulations and by carefully observing the mental tasks and the external rules which concern it.

[Taken from “Kitab Adab Tilawah al-Quran” by Imam al-Ghazali, Translated by: Imam al-Ghazali Institute, pg 19-21]

Spiritual Reminders

Mental Tasks While Reciting The Noble Qur’an

1) The first mental task is understanding the magnification of the divine speech [i.e. the Qur’an] and its elevated nature, and the bounty of Allah (SWT) and His kindness towards His creatures [i.e. men] in descending from the throne of His majesty to the level of their understanding.

2)The second mental task is magnification of the Speaker [in the Qur’an]. At the start of Qur’an-recitation the reciter should bring to his mind magnification of the One Who speaks [in the Qur’an, i.e. Allah SWT], and should realize that what he is reading is not the speech of a human being.

3)The third mental task is to pay attention and abandon the inner distractions of the soul.

4) The fourth mental task is pondering [over the verse recited]. This is more than attention of the mind, because sometimes [it so happens that] a man who is reading the Qur’an is not thinking about anything else but is confining himself to listening to it, whereas he is not pondering over it. The purpose of reading the Qur’an is to ponder over it. For this reason it is sunnah to read the Qur’an in a slow and distinct manner (tartil).

5) The fifth mental task is understanding [the meaning of verses recited].

6) To render [the teachings of the Qur’an] specific. This means that the Qur’an-reader will suppose that every part of the Qur’an is intended for him. If he hears any command or prohibition [contained in a Qur’anic verse] he will suppose that he is the man commanded or will suppose that he is the man to whom the prohibition applies. If he hears any promise of reward or any threat of punishment, he will make the same assumption.
7) To feel the Qur’an. This means that the mind of the Qur’an-reader will be affected by different feelings according to the different verses recited. Thus in accordance with what his mind understands, he will be in a state of grief, fear, hope, and soon.

8) The Qur’an-reader’s gradually rising to [a state in which he feels that he is] hearing the speech of God from Allah (great and mighty is He!) and not from himself.

9) The Qur’an-reader’s getting rid of any sense of his ability and power and his looking at himself with the eye of satisfaction and purification. When the Qur’an-reader recites verses on promise to, and praise of, the pious he will not view himself as one of these; rather he will view those who have the most certain faith and those who are the most truthful in religion [i.e. the most devout] and will hope that God (great and mighty is He!) will join him with them [by raising him to their spiritual status]. When he recites verses on divine reproach of the disobedient and those falling short of [religious duties] he will view himself here and, fearing and pitying, will suppose that he is the man addressed and intended in these verse.

[Condensed from “Kitab Adab Tilawah al-Quran” by Imam al-Ghazali, Translated by: Imam al-Ghazali Institute, pg 56-83]

YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF

Sirah

A Jinn Companion of the Holy Prophet
Ibn Jauzi, in his book Sifat-us-Safwah, through his own chain of authorities, reports from Sahl Ibn ` Abdullah ؓ that he saw an old Jinn, in a place, who was performing salah in the direction of Ka’bah. He was wearing a woolen cloak that looked beautiful on him and in which he looked graceful. After he completed his prayer, Sayyidna Sahl ؓ greeted him. Replying to his greeting, he said: ‘You seem to be admiring the beauty of this cloak. This cloak is on my body for seven hundred years. I have met Holy Prophet ` Isa (علیہ السلام) in this cloak, and in the same cloak I met Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and I am from among those Jinns about whom Surah Al-Jinn was revealed.’ According to the Hadith narratives that recount the incident of the ‘Night of Jinn’, (i.e. the night in which the Jinns visited the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ was with the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and the Holy Prophet ﷺ met the Jinns in a valley near Makkah for the specific purpose of inviting them to the call of Islam and making them hear the Qur’an by deliberate design. Apparently, this incident occurred after the incident mentioned in Surah AI-Jinn. ` Allamah Khafaji has said that reliable Ahadith confirm that the Jinn delegations met the Holy Prophet ﷺ six times. Thus there is no contradiction between the two versions of the incident, because they are two separate incidents. The Holy Prophet ﷺ was not even aware of the incident of the Jinn’s coming to him and listening to the Qur’an that is mentioned in Surah Jinn. He only learnt about it later through revelation. This incident happened at Nakhlah on his way back from Taif. The other narratives from which we gather that the Holy Prophet ﷺ met the Jinn by deliberate design in a valley near the city of Makkah to preach to them and make them hear the Qur’an – is a separate incident which took place after that.

[Maarif ul Quran Vol-8 (pg 601 – 602) , Maktabah Dar al Uloom, Translation by Prof. Muhammad Hasan Askari & Prof. Muhammad Shamim]

Sunnah Acts

Avoiding Evil Talk
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
“Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”

[Sahih al-Bukhari 1903]

Adhkar/Dua

Du’a for Intending to Fast in Ramadan
وَبِصَوْمِ غَدٍ نَّوَيْتَ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَمَضَا
Wa bisawmi ghadinn nawaiytu min shahri ramadan

I intend to keep the fast tomorrow in the month of Ramadan
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