This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Episode 1, Episode 2

Transcript

All thanks and praise are due to Allāh and may His peace and blessings be upon His last and final Messenger, His family, His companions, and those who follow them until the end of times. Rāmādān is the month of the Qur’ān.

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ النَّبِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنِ هُدَلِّ النَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ.

The month of Rāmādān is the month in which the Qur’ān was revealed. It is the month in which the Qur’ān was sent down. هُدَلِّ النَّاسِ as a guide for mankind. وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْقُرْآنِ And as a detailed explanation of guidance. وَالْفُرْقَانِ And as a criterion. Distinguishing between what’s right and wrong. Between truth and falsehood. Between belief and disbelief. So in this verse, Allāh tells us that He chose, He selected the month of Rāmādān to be the month in which He sent down His last and final Revelation for the guidance of all of mankind until the end of times.

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ أَلَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنِ

The Prophet ﷺ first received revelation during the month of Rāmādān on Laylatul Qadr in the cave of Hira. That famous story of first revelation. Iqra. That took place in this blessed month of Rāmādān. And that’s why this month is so special. That’s why this month is so unique. That’s why it’s full of all of these amazing blessings and opportunities. Because it’s connected to the Qur’ān. And anything that’s connected to the Qur’ān is elevated in rank and status. Anything connected to the Qur’ān becomes blessed. Because the Qur’ān is the actual, divine, eternal, uncreated speech of Allah.

Just as Allah is far greater and far superior than all of His creation, similarly, His speech is far greater, is far superior than all of His creation. It is the most beautiful, the best, the most eloquent, the most beneficial speech, the most beneficial discourse. Allah ﷻ sent down the most beautiful speech, the most beautiful discourse, the best discourse, the best speech. The angel that was assigned the responsibility of bringing revelation to the Prophet ﷺ. Our beloved Prophet ﷺ is classified as the best angel, Jibreel . Our beloved Prophet ﷺ is the highest ranking Prophet and Messenger. He is Sayyidul Anbiya wal Mursaleen. He is the leader of all Prophets and Messengers. He is Khātamul Anbiya wal Mursaleen. He is the seal of all Prophets and Messengers.

He is the most perfect example of a human being to ever walk on the face of this earth. He is the most beloved to Allah. Those who learn the Qur’an and teach it are the best of our community.

As the Prophet ﷺ said, خَيْرُكُم مَّن تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it. So this month is blessed. It’s elevated in rank, it’s elevated in status because of the Qur’an. The time period between Isa and the Prophet ﷺ was approximately around 600 years.

So there had been a gap in communication between the heavens and the earth for about 600 years. Allah ﷻ selected this month to reopen that line of communication. That that first revelation that was received by the Prophet, it changed the trajectory of human history. It is the most important, the most significant, the most transformative moment in human history. That Allah re-established this line of communication between the heavens and the earth. And He began the revelation of the Qur’an هُدَلِّ النَّاسِ as a guide for all of mankind. This is something significant to reflect on. Often when we think of the Qur’an, we think of the Qur’an as being scripture specifically for us as Muslims.

But Allah ﷻ tells us that هُدَلِّ النَّاسِ it’s a guide for all of mankind, for all of humanity. It doesn’t matter who they are, where they’re from. It doesn’t matter what their ethnicity is, what their race is, what their language is. It doesn’t matter what their religion is. It doesn’t matter if a person is a Jew, Christian, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, doesn’t matter. Anyone who approaches the Qur’an with an open heart, with an open mind, genuinely, sincerely, will benefit from its guidance. هُدَلِّ النَّاسِ And Allah ﷻ has made us as believers, those who derive the most benefit from it. Because elsewhere Allah ﷻ tells us هُدَلِّ المُتَّقِين That it’s a guide for the people of Taqwa.

Meaning the people of Taqwa, the believers, they derive the most benefit from the Qur’an. Because they believe in it, they accept it, they affirm it. And because we have the Qur’an, we have this guide, we are supposed to share it with the entire world. Without the guidance of the Qur’an, humanity is in a state of grave, deep loss. Humanity will continue devolving and drowning in sin, immorality, darkness, unethical practices. It’s just going to be in a state of loss. Just like before the coming of the Prophet. When we look towards the books of history, when we look at some of the books of Sira, they begin by describing the social, political, religious reality of the entire world before the Prophet ﷺ during the time he was born.

And they describe a very, very dark picture. The world was drowning in darkness, in ignorance, disbelief, sin, immorality, debauchery. It was a very, very wicked place, a very dark place. And then the Qur’an brought this light. It illuminated the world. And it elevated humanity again. Similarly, in the modern era, we find that humanity is going through struggles. Humanity is at a low point. Despite all the advancements in medicine, technology, despite all the luxuries and comforts we have access to, despite how far we have advanced in technology and computers, whatever it may be, humanity is struggling. People’s souls are diseased and sick. And we have the cure with us. We have the guide with us that will lead people out of darkness to light. That will lead people from falsehood to truth.

And it’s our responsibility to bring that light to people. هدى الناس وبينات من الهدي. And it is a detailed, clear explanation of that guidance. والفرقان. The Qur’an is a criterion. It distinguishes, it judges, it separates between truth and falsehood, belief, disbelief, morality, immorality, what’s ethical, what’s unethical, what’s right, what’s wrong. There’s absolutely nothing more beneficial than spending time in the company of the Qur’an. And during this month, all of us should increase the frequency of our contact with the Qur’an. Whether it’s recitation, whether it’s memorization, whether it’s reflection, whether it’s learning, whether it’s teaching, whether it’s listening. Our frequency of contact with the Qur’an should increase. All of us should be doing something to help nurture and develop a stronger, deeper relationship with the Book of Allah.

Allah has given us a Book of Guidance. He’s given us a literal roadmap. That if I follow this roadmap, it’s going to lead me to success in this life. I’m going to be living the good life. And it’s going to lead me directly to Paradise. But unfortunately, I have no clue what that book says. For a lot of us, we respect the Qur’an. We honor the Qur’an. We place it on the highest shelf in our homes. You know, we respect it. We don’t put it on the floor. We don’t point our feet towards it. If we recite it, we kiss it. We recite it on important occasions. We look at it as a Book of Blessing. All of that is good. It’s praiseworthy.

It’s a sign that at least we have love for the Qur’an. We have respect for the Qur’an. But real true love, real true respect for the Qur’an comes by reciting it and understanding its message. Reflecting on its meanings. Implementing it into our lives. And building our lives upon Qur’anic principles. And if we do so, it’s going to lead towards self-reformation. We are going to reform who we are internally, externally. And it can also lead towards revival. It’s going to revive the Ummah. It’s going to bring back this Ummah’s glory and prominence and rank and status. As the Prophet ﷺ said, إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْفَعُ بِهَذَا الْكِتَابِ أَقْوَامًا وَيَضَعُوا بِهِ آخَرِينَ That truly with this Book, Allah elevates nations.

And with it, He lowers others. Meaning, any community, any nation that recites the Qur’an, understands its message, reflects on its guidance, and puts it into practice, Allah elevates them. He gives them honor, dignity, power, authority, influence, rank, status, but any community that abandons the Qur’an, they don’t recite it regularly, consistently, they don’t understand its message, they don’t reflect on its meanings, they don’t put it into practice, Allah lowers them. Allah humiliates them. Allah disgraces them. And that is why I argue that that is the root cause of the majority of problems we’re experiencing as an Ummah. And one of the ways of reviving the Ummah is reconnecting with the Qur’an. And Ramadan is an opportunity for us to do so. There’s so much more to say, there’s so many blessings associated with learning, reciting, memorizing, and studying the Qur’an.

But during this blessed month, I encourage everyone, including myself, to increase the frequency of our contact with the Qur’an in four ways:

Number 1: Increase our recitation. We should be reciting the Qur’an every single day. For those of us who are fluent, our Qur’anic recitation is fluent, it’s proficient, we should make a goal of completing the recitation of the entire Qur’an at a bare minimum once. If not once, then twice, thrice, four, five. There’s some people that do it even more than that. Our history is full of amazing individuals who dedicated their time to the Qur’an and Ramadan. Some would finish the Qur’an every ten days, some every three days, some every two days, some every evening.

So if we are fluent, if we are proficient, bare minimum, we should at least try to recite the Qur’an, cover to cover. One complete cycle. For those of us who aren’t, no problem. Don’t worry. We can still work on our fluency, proficiency, but I should dedicate a portion of my day to Qur’anic recitation. Whether that’s ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, thirty minutes a day. Because even recitation of the Qur’an is an act of worship. As the Prophet told us, مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَنَهُ حَسْنًا وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا That whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah receives a reward.

And that reward is multiplied by ten. And then the Prophet explains, I’m not saying that Alif, Laam, Meem is one letter. Alif is a separate letter. Laam is a separate letter. Meem is a separate letter. Immense reward for recitation. So number one, recite the Qur’an daily, regularly, consistently. 

Number 2: Understand. Understand what we’re reciting. I cannot emphasize how important it is for us to understand the message of the Qur’an. For those of you who have not yet read the Qur’an in a language that they understand. For those of you who don’t understand Qur’anic Arabic, if you have not yet read the Qur’an in a language you understand, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to do so.

Make a resolution, make a commitment, that in this blessed month, I am going to read the Quran in a language I understand cover to cover. So at least I know what my Lord is saying to me. At least I know, I understand, the message that Allah has sent, not only to me, but to all of mankind. 

Number 3: Reflection, study. Read a book of tafsir. Listen to a tafsir lecture. Listen to a series that goes through a commentary and explanation of the Quran. And then, have your own reflections, engage. 

Number 4: Listen. Listen to the Quran. During this month, as we’re fasting from food, drink, and intimacy, I recommend fasting from all media as well. Social media, Facebook, Twitter, IG, TikTok. Just delete the apps for this one month. It’s not going to take anything away from your life. YouTube, turn it off. All these various streaming services, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, God knows what else there is. Cancel your subscriptions for the month. It’s going to improve the quality of your life. And all the time you’re saving, dedicate it to the Qur’an. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala give all of us the tawfiq, the ability to do so. 

May Allah make all of us among Ahlul-Qur’an.