Importance of Qur'an during Ramadan

[Ms DD]

Salaam aleykum

 

The Qur’an is a source of inspiration for us all and there are many ways in which the Qur’an can be implemented not only throughout Ramadhan but throughout our lives. Below are a few examples of how we could use Qur’an in our lives.

 

Listen to the Qur’an - this can be done in a number of ways at home. Listen to other members of the family reciting Qur’an, or put a tape on and listen to a recitation. While out and about you can listen in the car, or take a personal stereo player - but remember personal safety at all times.

 

How much time do we spend waiting for someone or something or in a queue? This time could be put to use, listening to a Qur’anic recitation tape. This will help you relax and make better use of your time.

 

Study and understand the Qur’an – this can be done on your own, or with a group of friends. You could set up a study circle which helps make studying easier. The circle could meet regularly, or just as a one off. Remember that during Ramadhan the rewards are increased.

 

Convey the message of the Qur’an – the Qur’an is useful for everyone. Conveying the message of Islam is compulsory upon all Muslims, and this can be done through the Qur’an, which is beautiful to read. Most translations contain an easy to follow guide.

 

Make use of the Qur’an in our lives - the Qur’an contains invaluable information that Muslims should use in their personal and communal matters, and at all levels of society.

 

 

The Qur’an will help guide us through all the situations in our lives.

 

Memorise verses of the Quran - Memorisation in Ramadan carries more reward than at any other time in the year. Be sure to check your memorised recitation by reciting it to a Qur’an teacher, or someone who has good knowledge of the Qur’an.

 

Increase your recitation of the Qur'an in Ramadan – Recitation during Ramadhan carries much reward, and extra recitation should be encouraged. During salah (obligatory prayer) make use of longer surah’s where you might previously have used shorter ones.

 

Perform Taraweeh prayers in congregation - The completion of the Qur’an takes place over the period of Ramadhan and there is much reward for praying in congregation.

 

Recite during the night – “Truly the rising by night is most potent for governing (the soul) and most suitable for (framing) the Word (of Prayer and Praise).” The Holy Quran 73:6. Reciting during the day is also beneficial, but night time recitation is easier as there are less distractions and noise.

 

Narrated by Ibn 'Abbas:

“The Prophet was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadhan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadhan till it elapsed. Allah's Apostle used to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he used to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good”.

This hadith contains recommendation of the following:

 

Studying the Qur'an in Ramadan;

coming together for this purpose;

checking (one's memory/knowledge of) the Qur'an with someone who has preserved it better;

increasing recitation of the Qur'an in Ramadan;

that the night time is the best time to recite, when other preoccupations decrease and it is easier to concentrate, as in Surah al-Muzzammil 73:6.

 

Therefore let us also become generous by increasing the amount of Qur’an we recite in the month of Ramadhan.

 

The early Muslims during Ramadan

 

Ibn Rajab talks about the situation of the early Muslims during Ramadan:

 

"... Some of the early muslims would complete reciting the whole Quran during the night prayer of Ramadan every 3 days, others every 7 days e.g. Qataadah, others in 10 days e.g. Abu Rajaa' al-Atardi. The early muslims would recite Quran in Ramadan in Prayer as well as outside it.

 

Al-Aswad would finish the Quran every 2 nights in Ramadan; Ibrahim an-Nakh'I would do likewise in the last 10 nights specifically, & every 3 nights during the rest of the month. Qataadah would regularly finish the Quran in 7 days, but in 3 days during Ramadan, when he would study the Quran especially, and every night during its last 10 days. Al-Zuhri would say when Ramadan began, 'It is recitation of the Quran and feeding of people.' When Ramadan began, Imam Malik would cease narrating Hadith and sitting with the people of knowledge, and stick to reciting the Quran from its pages, while Sufyan al-Thawri would leave other acts of worship and stick to reciting the Quran. 'Aishah would recite from the pages of the Quran at the beginning of the day in Ramadan (i.e. after Dawn), until when the sun had risen, she would sleep. Zayd al-Yaami would bring copies of the Quran when Ramadan began and gather his companions around him. ..."

 

Ibn Rajab later continues, "The forbiddance of completing recitation of the Quran in less than 3 days applies to this being made a regular practice, but as for favoured times such as Ramadan, esp. the nights in which Laylat al-Qadr is sought, or favoured places such as Makkah for the visitor, it is recommended to increase reciting the Quran to avail the time and place. This is the view of Ahmad, Ishaq & other Imams, and the practice of others indicates this too."

 

the practice of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), his Companions, and those who followed their path, should be clear enough. As a further example, Bukhari (3/79) quotes from the noble Companion Zaid bin Thabit who answered the question, "How much time was there between the pre-dawn meal and the Dawn Prayer?" by saying, "Enough time to recite fifty ayat"; since the practice of the Arabs was to measure time in terms of everyday actions, this shows that the Sahabah were pre-occupied with the Qur'an, especially in Ramadan.

 

Compare all this with our sad state, when we talk so much about establishing Islam, implementing the Quran, etc. and yet have such little contact with it, maybe not completing its recitation ever at all since childhood, or perhaps never! Hence we become imbalanced in our understanding of Islam, because there are ayat which we rarely or never hear or think about; we repeat only certain selected ayat over and over again; we lost the context of the verses, the overall flow, argument and balance of the Quran, all of which is beautiful & miraculous. Because of this ignorance we go astray from the Straight Path, split up into sects, lose the blessings of Allah ...

 

"We took a covenant from those who said: we are Christians, but they forgot part of the message with which they had been reminded, so we ingrained amongst them enmity and hatred until the Day of Judgment..." (Surah al-Ma'idah 5:14)

 

In Sahih Bukhari (6/521), there is an amazing piece of advice from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "Recite the Quran as long as your hearts agree on it; if you disagree about it, stop reciting it (for the time being)" -- studying the Quran should bring people together!

 

In Surah al-Mu'minoon (23:53), there is mention of the people before us (in whose footsteps we would follow), who broke up their Deen into sects (zuburan), each party rejoicing in what it had. One understanding of this, from the word zuburan meaning literally 'books', is that each sect left the Book of Allah, & concentrated solely on the books of its own sect, so "they split their deen up into books"!

 

The most twisted, ridiculous, shallow ideas, innovations and superstitions are propagated amongst Muslims when they are away from the Quran, because any little knowledge of the Quran would be enough to dispel them.

 

Hence, O slave of Allah, leave aside secondary books and concentrate on studying the Blessed Book of Allah in this Blessed Month (use a good translation/commentary if needed), for it is the source of all Knowledge in other books, and keep away from wasting time, especially in futile discussions and arguments which lead nowhere, for that is a sure sign of being misguided, as the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "Whenever a people went astray after they had been on guidance, they were given to argumentation (jadl)." (Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah - Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir, no. 5633)

 

Finally, remember that the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) will complain to Allah on the Day of Judgment that his people neglected the Qur'an (Surah al-Furqan 25:30). Neglect of the Qur'an is of different levels, as Ibn al-Qayyim writes:

 

 

not reciting or listening to it;

not studying and understanding it;

not conveying its message;

not judging by it in personal and communal matters, at all levels of society;

not believing in it.

All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

 

Abu Dharr, Ramadan 1415.

 

Source

[Ms DD]

Running Away From the Qur'aan

Shaykh `Abdul `Aziz ibn Baz

 

 

Question:

What is your advice - O Shaykh - for those who go without reading the Qur'aan for a month, or even many months, and who have no excuse for such behaviour? However, you will find some of them reading those magazines that contain no benefit for them, and following them up closely!

 

Answer:

It is recommended for every Believing man and woman to recite the Book of Allah often, with due contemplation and understanding. This may be done by using a copy of the Qur'aan or from one's memory.

Allaah - the Most High - said: "This is a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that you may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember." [soorah Saad 38:29].

And:

"Indeed those who recite the Book of Allaah and offer the Prayer perfectly and spend in charity out of what We have provided for them - secretly and openly - hope for a sure trade-gain that will never perish. That He may pay the their wages in full and give them even more out of His Grace. Indeed, He is Oft-Forgiving, ready to appreciate good deeds." [soorah Fatir 35:29-30]

 

The aforementioned recitation of the Qur'aan includes both reciting and acting upon it. The recitation is to be done with contemplation and understanding of it. Sincerity to Allaah is a means of complying with and acting upon the Qur'aan, and its recitation contains a great reward -

 

as the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam said: " Recite the Qur'aan. For on the Day of Resurrection, it shall come as an intercessor for its companion ." This was recorded by Muslim in his Saheeh (no. 804). The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam also said: " The best of you is he who learns the Qur'aan and teaches it ." This was recorded by al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh (9/66). Another narration states: " Whoever reads one harf (letter) of the Qur'aan shall receive a good deed and ten good deeds similar to it. I do not say that Alif Laam Meem is a harf, but Alif is a harf, Laam is a harf and Meem is a harf. " [saheeh; Recorded by at-Tirmidhee (no. 2912), who authenticated it, from the hadeeth of `Abdullaah ibn Mas`ood, radhiallaahu `anhu]. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam said to `Abdullaah ibn Amr ibn al-`Aas: "Complete the recitation of the Qur'aan once a month." He said: I am able to do more than that. So he said: "Then complete its recital once in seven days ." [al-Bukhaaree (no. 5054)]

 

The Companions used to complete the entire Qur'aan once every seven days.

 

So I advise all the readers of the Qur'aan to increase in their reading of it, with contemplation and understanding it, along with sincerity to Allaah in this - with the purpose of learning and benefiting from the Qur'aan. They should read the entire Qur'aan once a month. If, however, they are able to do more than this without any difficulty, then they should complete it in less than this time. However, it is best not to complete it in less than three days, since this is the least amount of time that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam mentioned to `Abdullaah ibn `Amr ibn al-`Aas. This is because if it is read in less than three days, the person becomes hasty and lacks thought and concentration…"

[Fataawaa al-Mar`ah (no. 294)]

[Jacpher]

Timely reminder. Shukran Miss.

[Ms DD]

Once again, Ramadan ayaa naga soo food leh. BUt I am sti at the same place I was last ramadan. I havent increased my knowledge of the Quran and memorising it. But for the 5th year or making the same resultion after every ramadan, I failed once again.

 

May Allah make it easy for us.

[Buuxo]

^Amiin.

 

 

Finally, remember that the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) will complain to Allah on the Day of Judgment that his people neglected the Qur'an (Surah al-Furqan 25:30). Neglect of the Qur'an is of different levels, as Ibn al-Qayyim writes:

 

 

not reciting or listening to it;

not studying and understanding it;

not conveying its message;

not judging by it in personal and communal matters, at all levels of society;

not believing in it.

All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

And how easy it is to fall into all of the above.