Ramadan and the Quran
All praise is due to Allah the Knowing, the Aware. He guided us to Islam and taught us the Quran and made us from the ummah (nation) of fasting and night prayer. We praise Him for His bountiful giving. And we are grateful for His beneficence. His Prophet ﷺ would stand in prayer at night worshipping Him reciting the verses of the Quran until his honorable feet swelled.
So be conscious of Allah and obey Him. And take heed from what has passed from Ramadan for what remains of it. For the record of deeds have closed for the past days from what they contain of good or bad deeds. So congratulations to those who are exceled, and condolences to those who fell short. Allah says:
Al-Zalzalah (99) 7-8: (7) So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. (8) And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.
The blessed month of Ramadan is a month of fasting, charity, generosity and night prayer. And it is likewise the month of the Quran and criterion between right and wrong.
Allah said:
Al Baqarah (2) 185: The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)
And Allah said:
Al Qadr (97) 1: Indeed, We sent it [i.e., the Quran] down during the Night of Decree.
And Allah said:
Ad Dukhan (44) 3:Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind].
Allah revealed the Quran a light whose illumination does not turn off. And a lamp whose fire is not extinguished. A way that those following it do not go astray. And might that those supporting it are not defeated. For it is the material of Iman (faith) and the fountain of knowledge. And a sea that is not depleted by those who draw from it. And an infinite spring for those who take from it.
Allah made it a quencher for the thirst of scholars. And a spring for the hearts of the jurists. And a medicine after which there is no disease. It is Allah’s firm rope, the wise reminder and straight path.
It has the narratives of those before. And the news of those after them. And a judge between the people. It is the truth and not amusement. And with the truth He sent it, and with the truth it descended. Whoever acts upon it is rewarded. And whoever judges by it is just. And whoever calls to it is guided to the straight path. Whoever asks for guidance from it, Allah will honor him. And whoever seeks guidance from other than it, Allah will disgrace him. Through it, Allah raises people and lowers others. And it will come as an intercessor for its people on the Day of Judgement. The Prophet ﷺ said:
Whoever recites a letter from Allah’s Book, then he receives the reward from it, and the reward of ten the like of it. I do not say that Alif Lam Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter. [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2910]
A person without Quran is like life without water and air. Rather, he ails within his senses and within himself. This is because the Quran is the medicine and the cure. Allah said:
Al Isra (17) 82: And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.
And Allah said:
Fusilat (41) 44: Say, “It is, for those who believe, a guidance and cure.” And those who do not believe – in their ears is deafness, and it is upon them blindness.
And perhaps distress smothers a person. And fear permeates his conscious. And his pain intensifies, so he finds nothing that comforts him more than some verses that he repeatedly recites from the Quran.
Allah said:
Al Isra (17) 45: And when you recite the Quran, We put between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a concealed partition.
When a Muslim recites the Quran, peace and tranquility fill his heart and limbs. Then the soul advances, not minding what happens to it while it reads the words of its Lord:
At Tawbah (9) 51: Say, “Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector.” And upon Allah let the believers rely.
And through that the evil whispers dissipate as well as whispers of weakness. Then it is evident to the soul that the person is afflicted with delusions rather than an actual affliction. And he is defeated internally before the realities of life defeat him. Allah said:
Al Imran 173-175: (173) Those to whom people [i.e., hypocrites] said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.”(174) So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty. (175) That is only Satan who frightens [you] of his supporters. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers.
How many people are unjust to the Quran and shun giving it its due. And how few are those who are knowledgeable of the Quran. And if one goes searching for those genuinely acting upon it, based on most of what is seen and heard, he will come up empty handed.
Verily people have deserted the Quran. And have replaced the superior with the inferior. Idly wasting their time away, throughout the day and the night. Allah said:
Al Anam (6)116: And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.
And Allah said:
Yunis (10) 36: And most of them follow not except assumption. Indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.
A Muslim is astonished by the stance of many people in front of the Book of Allah Almighty while they have been surrounded by darkness from every direction. And flounder aimlessly without direction. And many communities have been devastated.
There is nothing more beneficial to a person in his life and hereafter, and closer to his salvation and happiness than contemplating the Quran and looking at it for a long time. And pondering upon the meanings of its verses. It informs its reciter of the meanings of good and evil and the condition of its people. And it provides him the reality of this worldly life. And it presents the previous communities before him. It shows him Allah’s punishment of them. So he sees the drowning of the people of Noah. And he learns of the thunderbolt that struck Aad and Thamud. And he knows the drowning of Pharaoh and the swallowing up of Qarun.
Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ once said to her:
Oh Aishah, leave me to worship my Lord this night. I said, by Allah I love your closeness. And I love what delights you. She said: So he got up and performed the ritual purification. Then he stood in prayer. Then he continued to weep until he wet his chamber. She said: then he wept and kept weeping until his beard was wet. She said: then he wept and kept weeping until the floor was wet. Then Bilal came seeking permission (to the call) for prayer. When he saw him weeping. He said: Oh Messenger of Allah, why do you weep while Allah has forgiven you your previous and latter sins?” He said, “Should I not be a grateful servant? A verse was revealed to me this night and woe to the one who recites it but does not ponder upon it. Al Imran (3)190:Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. [Sahih Ibn Habban 620]
And Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was not able to recite due to how much he wept. And Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) went out one night and heard someone reciting:
At Toor (52) 1-8: (1)By the mount (2) And [by] a Book inscribed (3) In parchment spread open (4) And [by] the frequented House (5) And [by] the ceiling [i.e., heaven] raised high (6) And [by] the sea set on fire, (7) Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will occur. (8) Of it there is no preventer.
So he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A truthful oath by the Lord of the Kaba. And he fainted and collapsed. Then he was carried to his home. And he remained sick for thirty days, and people would visit him.
Rather, the Quran used to reach the hearts of the polytheists and they are the furthest from Allah and the Book of Allah. ‘Utbah bin Rabee’ah, and he was from the polytheists, listened the Prophet’s recitation from Surah Fusilat. So when ‘Utbah returned to his companions , they said to one another, we swear by Allah that Abu Al Waleed returned with a different face than when he left. Then he said: I have heard speech and by Allah I have not heard the likes of it ever. And by Allah it is not poetry or magic or sorcery.
The Quran is the words of the Lord of mankind. It amazes the minds. And makes the eyes weep. And revives the hearts. Rather, it amazed the jinn and moved them internally when they heard the Prophet ﷺ reciting, and they piled on him almost becoming a compacted mass.
Al Jinn (72) 1-2: (1) Say, [O Muḥammad], “It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, ‘Indeed, we have heard an amazing Quran [i.e., recitation]. (2) It guides to the right course, and we have believed in it. And we will never associate with our Lord anyone.
This is the reality of the Quran with people, believers and disbelievers, as well as the jinn.
Al Hadid (57) 16: Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.
Ibn Masood said:
Four years did not pass between Allah’s reproach of us through this verse and my reversion to Islam. [Muslim 3027]
Therefore, it is our duty to give the Book of Allah Almighty our attention. And free our time for it. And fill our homes with its recitation. And saturate our hearts with its lessons. And relax our chests with its verses. And illuminate our minds with its proofs. And teach it to the members of our household. For there is nothing that illuminates their way in life like the Quran. And there is no guarantee for their future except through the Quran. For it is their glory, honor, dignity, and strength.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
Verily, Allah elevates some people through Quran and lowers others. [Muslim 817a ]Oh Allah, make the Great Quran the wellspring of our hearts and the light of our chests. And the banisher of our worries and the reliever of our sorrows. And our driver and guide to You and to Your Gardens of Bliss. Indeed You are All Hearing, Answering.
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