“Qur’an!” Is The Answer! | April 24, 2005
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Dr. Pasha
Pray tell me, Muslims! Just how did we Muslims manage to accomplish this feat? Just how did we manage to abandon the Qur’an?
We, whom Allah blessed to be the bearers, keepers, servants and custodians of the Qur’an in this world.
We, for whose benefit – along with all the rest of humanity – use and guidance Allah sent the Qur’an into this world.
And along with the Qur’an, out of his infinite mercy and grace, he also sent his beloved messenger Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, into this world.
To teach us the Qur’an.
To show us how to read the Qur’an.
To show us how to understand the Qur’an.
To tell us what the words, expressions and passages of the Qur’an meant.
To demonstrate for us how the Qur’an worked in the real world.
To open for us the doors of divine mercy and blessings that every letter of the Qur’an contains.
To make us see the wonderful wisdom and guidance that is in the words and pages of the Qur’an.
To make us realize the marvels and miracles that every Aayat or passage of the Qur’an holds.
To show us how to put the Qur’an into practice in our daily life.
In our personal affairs.
In our social and cultural affairs.
In our political and economic affairs.
In our moral, military, diplomatic and international affairs.
In short, in every single aspect and dimension of our individual and collective lives:
As persons and individuals;
As families and kinship networks;
As formal and informal groups and organizations;
As institutions and social structures;
As nations and societies;
As cultures and civilizations;
And as the whole world taken together.
And to cleanse and purify us, and to exalt and elevate us, so we would be ready and able to interact with the Qur’an in a positive, meaningful, productive and fruitful way.
In a way that would fill our life – and the lives of all those around us and our world – with the blessings, mercy and grace of Almighty Allah.
That is how Allah describes the role of his beloved messenger Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, in this world. Here is how the Qur’an puts it:
Yatloo ‘Alaihim Aayaatika,
Wa Yu-‘Allihumul Kitaaba wal Hikmata,
wa Yuzakkeehim (Al-Baqarah).
Paraphrase:
He recites for them your Aayats and signs;
And he teaches them the book and wisdom;
And he cleanses and purifies them (2:129).
This was part of a prayer that Prophet Abraham, may God Almighty bless him, prayed a long time ago, asking Allah to bless and guide the progeny of Ishmael, May Allah bless him – his first-born son from Hagar.
Allah also tells us in the Qur’an how he responded to that prayer by his friend Abraham, may Allah bless him, and granted Abraham his wish. For, that is what Allah calls Abraham (May Allah bless him), in the Qur’an: his friend.
See how the Qur’an repeats the exact same concepts and expressions this time also:
Huwalladhee Ba’atha Fil Ummiyyeena Rasoolan
Minhum, Yatloo ‘Alaihim Aayaatihi wa Yuzakkaeehim,
Wa Yu’allimuhumul Kitaaba wal-Hikmah (Al-Jum’ah).
Paraphrase:
He is the one who raised among the illiterate people,
A messenger from among them,
Who recites for them his Aayats and signs,
And who cleanses and purifies them,
And who teaches them the book and wisdom (62:1).
Allahu Akbar!
What kind of a miracle is this?
A miracle!
Call it an event the probability of whose occurrence is infinitesimal; miniscule; really, really, really tiny and small. A miracle is an event that is most unlikely to happen.
Now consider the Qur’an purely in terms of its authorship. Who wrote the Qur’an? Who could have produced it? A human mind? Muhammad? Is that who wrote the Qur’an? What is the likelihood? What is the probability of that happening?
What are the chances, what are the mathematical odds, what is the probability, the likelihood that a book that made its appearance in illiterate, bookless Arabia, in a land without libraries, schools and bookshops, or many scholars or readers of books, will have the same concepts and words repeated in both the prayer of a human being to God, as well as in the divine response of God Almighty to that prayer – each separated from the other by hundreds and thousands of Aayats or passages from the Qur’an?
What is the probability of something like this happening? What are the chances that this remarkable fact is capable of a common human explanation and attribution, and not miraculous evidence of the divine origin and nature of the Qur’an?
Muhammad, the prophet of Allah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, mind you, was not writing down all this in a book, which he could go back and change and revise if and as he wanted to.
On the contrary, he simply recited and read out to those around him – his companions (Ashaab), not followers mind you, he called them – these Aayats or passages from the Qur’an, these divine revelations, as the Archangel Gabriel delivered them to him.
So, what is the probability or likelihood that in chapter 2 (Aayat 129) he will talk about the prayer of Abraham about his son’s descendants and then in chapters 3 and 62 – Aayats 164 and 2 respectively – remember to revisit and record God’s answer to Abraham’s prayer in exactly the same words?
Who can calculate the odds of this happening as a routine human occurrence?
That is why I say: Allahu Akbar, what a miracle it is.
And that is partly why passages from the Qur’an are called Aayats - signs and miracles each one of them, rather than verses, as people have so naively taken to referring to them.
In fact, Aayaat is the name that God Almighty himself gives in the Qur’an to passages of the Qur’an, which is another miracle in itself.
For, how many books do you know that call their sentences, phrases, letters and passages Aayaat – or miracles and marvels?
Pray tell me then Muslims!
Just how did we do it?
How did we manage to turn our back on such a book?
We, who know only too well how the Qur’an is the means to true success and happiness in life on earth.
We, who understand only too thoroughly how the Qur’an is the means of success and salvation in life after death.
Just how did we manage to turn our back on a book that came directly from our creator and our master – addressed to us?
A book that he sent through his trusted messenger, may Allah bless him!
Qur’an:
Wa Nazala Bihir-Roohul Ameen (26:193).
Paraphrase:
The trusted Rooh brought it down (26:193).
A book that is God Almighty’s specially preserved and protected word on earth.
A book that remains in its pure and original form with us to this day (15:9; 9:32; 61:8).
A book that God Almighty sent to help and guide us (17:9 72:2; 2:97; 2;185; 27:2).
A book that he sent to show us the way out of our woes and troubles.
Hudan Linnaas wa Bayyinaatin Minal Hudaa
wal Furqaan (2:185).
Right here in this world.
As well as in the next world (2:201; 3:148; 4:134).
And whenever humanity runs into a fork on the road.
Whenever humanity faces a difficult choice.
A book that is pure light.
Noor.
From a God who is the light of the heavens and earth.
Allahu Noorus-Samaawaati wal Ard (24:35).
What a glorious combination of light upon light this book is!
Noorun ‘Alaa Noor (24:35).
From a God who is closer to us than our jugular vein.
Wa Nahnu Aqrabu Ilaihi Min Hablil Wareed (50:16).
From a God who is close enough to answer our call when and as we call him.
Ujeebu Da’watad Daa’I Idhaa Da’ani (2:186).
From a God who is all-hearing, all-knowing and all-seeing.
Wa Huwas Samee’ul ‘Aleem (2:137).
Wa Huwas-Samee’ul Baseer (42:11).
From a God who is most praiseworthy and most glorious.
Innahoo Hameedun Majeed (11:73).
From a God who is most merciful and even more merciful and compassionate.
Huwar Rahmaanur Raheem (59:22).
This book – this glorious and incomparable Qur’an – which is such amazing and wonderful advice from Allah to us!
Mau’izah.
How did we manage to turn our back on such a book?
A book that is a cure for all that ails our hearts and cultures and societies.
And our troubled world.
Ash-Shifaa’.
Mau’izatum Minr-Rabbikum,
Wa Shi-faa-unl-Limaa Fis-Sudoor (10:57).
A book that calls out to us and addresses us directly, as no other book does.
As “Yaa Ayyuhannas!” (2:21).
As “Yaa Ayyhal Insaan!” (82:6).
As “Yaa Ayyuhalladheena Aamanoo!” (2:13).
And as “Yaa ‘Ibaadiyalladheena Asrafoo
‘Alaa Anfusihim!” (39:53).
A book that talks to us about us.
Feehi Dhikrukum (21:10).
A book that talks to us about our families.
A book that tells us to work to save our families from hellfire.
Qoo Anfusakum wa Ahleekum Naaraa (66:6).
And warns us that our own families may sometimes keep us from getting closer to Allah.
Inna Min Azwaajikum wa Awlaadikum’Aduwwal
Lakum, Fahdharoohum! (64:14).
A book that continually reminds us about our appointment – our meeting – with God (6:154; 13:2; 18:110; 29:5).
A book whose very name is “Reading.”
Al-Qur’an! (17:9).
Or “To Read.”
Or “The Thing to be Read.”
A book that calls itself “The Book.”
Al-Kitaab (2:2; 2:176; 4:140; 7:2).
And refers to itself as Al-Furqaan (25:1).
The standard.
Or the criterion.
Or the separator and the sorter.
Between right and wrong.
Between light and darkness.
Between truth and falsehood.
Between success and failure.
Between victory and defeat.
Between those blessed by God and those destined to damnation and hellfire through their obduracy, intransigence and persistence in evil.
No other book is called any of that.
No other book did ever have a name like that.
Or content quite like that.
A book unlike any other book in the world.
Not just in its name, but also in its content.
A book that we were clearly told to read.
A book that we were ordered and commanded to read.
A book our beloved Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, left with us as a safeguard and guarantee for our future.
A book that has been running the world for the past 1400 years.
And from time immemorial before that.
And shall as long as the world lasts.
For, this book is that book.
Dhaalikal Kitaab (2:2).
Eternal, ageless, everlasting.
From that true master of ours.
Dhaalikumullahu Rabbukum (35:13; 40:62).
A book without a doubt.
Laa Raiba Feeh (2:2).
A book without confusion or contradiction (4:82).
A book that builds on what the earlier prophets and messengers of God had taught.
A book that offers humanity a common platform to live and work together.
A book that provides humanity a joint agenda of success in this world and salvation in the next world.
Pray tell me Muslims!
How did we manage to abandon a book that honors the virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, may Allah bless them both, as perhaps no other book in this world – not even the Bible – does?
This book even has a chapter called Maryam or Mary, may Allah bless her – chapter 19 – which the Bible does not.
Wadh-kur Filkitaabi Maryam (19:16).
And what a touching, beautiful and heartwarming story does it tell, in that chapter, of Mary, Allah bless her, and of her encounter with the angel!
And of the miraculous birth of her blessed son Jesus, Alaihis Salam – Allah bless him!
A book that teaches the world to respect and love Jesus, the fatherless son of Mary, may Allah bless them both, as perhaps no other book does.
A book that venerates Noah, celebrates Abraham and marvels at the wondrous adventures and miracles of Moses, David, Joseph and Solomon, may Allah bless them all, as no other book does.
A book that exalts, vindicates and applauds the biblical prophets, may Allah bless them all, as perhaps no other book does.
A book that confirms and validates the true teachings of all the earlier prophets and messengers of God in all cultures, times and places.
A book that invites Jews and Christians to come and talk matters of common interest over with the Muslims.
And encourages them to find a common denominator of faith and practice with the Muslims.
Ta’alau Ilaa Kalimatin Sawaa-in Baynanaa
wa Baynakum (3:64).
A book that admonishes people to cooperate with one another on the basis of virtue and goodness, but not for purposes of evil and aggression (5:2).
A book that teaches human unity and equality as no other book in the world does (4:1; 49:13).
A book that propounds the message of human dignity so strikingly and resoundingly.
A book that makes service to humanity tantamount to the worship of God Almighty.
A book that declares the various forms and species of animal life on earth similar to human groups, nations and peoples (6:38).
A book whose core message is truth.
Al-Haqq.
A book in which God himself refers to himself as truth.
Al-Haqq.
A book that teaches peace and blessings and their wherewithal as perhaps no other book of its kind does.
As-Salaam.
A book in which one of God’s chosen names is peace.
As-Salaam.
A book that asks people to walk softly (25:63) and talk sweetly (16:125; 17:53).
A book that tells its followers to shun falsehood (25:72).
To honor their word.
And to fulfill their commitments and contracts (2:177; 3:17; 9:119; 17:34; 23:8; 33:35; 70:32).
A book that teaches tolerance and forgiveness as no other book does (2:109; 5:13; 15:85; 24:22; 43: 89).
Fasfahis-Safhal Jameel (15:85).
Fasfah ‘Anhum wa Qul Salaam (43:89).
A book that extols the virtues of peacemaking as no other book does (8:61; 4:90; 2:208).
Because that is the higher road to take, the nobler path to pursue (42:43.64:14).
Was-Sulhu Khair (4:128).
A book that teaches people to deal with dignity with the riffraff (25:72) and graciously with troublemakers (7:199; 25:63; 28:55).
A book that makes good manners and kind and respectful treatment of others a part of a person’s devotion to God.
A book that applauds the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, for his wonderful character, good manners and kindness to others (68:4; 9:128).
Wa Innaka La-‘Alaa Khuluqin ‘Azeem (68:4).
A book that tells men – and also women, in the same breath – not to mock others and not to use derogatory names and labels for each other (49:11).
A book that asks us not to indulge in backbiting; not to spy on one another; and not to view each other with suspicion and doubt (49:12).
A book that asks people to always say that which is better, nicer, more wholesome and more conducive to better relations among people (17:53).
A book that asks the Prophet, Sallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam, to take the high road even in arguments and disputations with others (16:125).
A book that admonishes Muslims not to discuss or argue things with Jews and Christians except in the nicest and the most wonderful possible manner (29:46).
A book that declares murder to be tantamount to genocide and humanicide – killing of all of humanity (5:32).
A book that forbids coercion (2:256; 10:99), abhors confrontation and bids hardened adversaries to respectfully agree to disagree (42:15; 109:1-6).
A book that tells the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, to give the non-believers their space and not to pester them and asks him not to react in anger and frustration to their repeated rejection of his message (42:15; 42:48; 43:89).
A book that even asks the believers to forgive their non-believing tormentors and move on with their own lives (45:14).
A book that warns its followers against stealing the wealth of orphans and other innocents and admonishes human beings against all other kinds of social, moral, political, economic and military excess, aggression, mischief-making and wrongdoing (2:188; 4:2; 4:10; 83:1-3; 6:152; 7:85; 17:35; 11:84,85; 4:30; 58:9; 2:190; 5:87).
Pray tell me Muslims!
Just how did we manage to turn our back on a book that liberates, uplifts and empowers women, as perhaps no other book of its kind in the world does?
A book that, 1400 years ago, turned the status of women from chattel and property to property owners.
A book that, 1400 years ago, put women on par with men (2:22; 33:35).
A book that even has a chapter called The Women – chapter 4 – which no other book of its kind or time perhaps does.
A book that exalts all of humanity, as perhaps no other book of its kind in the world does.
A book that, 1400 years ago, ushered in a new era of universal human liberty and empowerment in the world by making it a requirement for all human beings to read – like no other book of its kind or time did.
Iqra’! (96:1) said that book: Read!
That most wondrous, thunderous, compact, categorical, sweeping and powerful of all commands and imperatives known to humanity in any age or place or culture – Read!
A book that, 1400 years ago, created in the world a new culture of human equality, brotherhood and sisterhood based on reading, writing, the book and the pen (96:4).
A new culture whose foundation is education, knowledge, understanding, truth and enlightenment.
A book that for 1400 years has thundered against female infanticide as an abomination (81:8) – something that no other book of its kind or time did.
A book that articulates and details human rights as no other book of its kind in the world does (4:36; 9:60).
A book that mandates justice and fairness for all and forbids injustice, oppression, excessive force, brutality and aggression, as no other book in the world does (4:135; 5:8; 16:126).
A book that, 1400 years ago, gave the world the amazing and the most revolutionary concept of “The People” (2:21) – as no other book in the world did.
An-Naas – The People!
Not peasants; not villains; not riffraff; not serfs; not “men”; not “mankind”; but “The People.”
A concept that was global, class-neutral, race-indifferent, supra-national and gender-inclusive 1200 years before the American Constitution and the French Revolution caught up with parts of it - and 1400 years before any of the rest of the world woke up to it.
Who but God Almighty could have produced a miracle like that?
If this book – the Qur’an – had given the world – and humanity – nothing but that one single word, and that one single notion, the world – and humanity – will still be in its debt forever.
The Qur’an then goes on to repeat and drive home that magnificent concept, “The People,” more than 200 times in its 6000-plus Aayaat or passages.
What kind of a miracle is that?
An-Naas.
What a concept!
And what a book!
Al-Kitaab!
A book that freed “The People” from the clutches of the clergy and the royalty and the nobility and made them equal among themselves and to everyone else.
A book that in a single swoop of divine grace wiped out divisive and destructive distinctions and domination-and-subordination structures based on racial, tribal and territorial divisions (49:13).
A book that made charity and “spending” an integral part of the faith and the comprehensive divine way of life it came to establish on earth (2:3; 2:43; 2:83; 2:262; 22:41; 24:37; 27:3; 57:10; 2:267).
A book that calls us to a culture of success and tells us about people blessed with success.
Wa Ulaa-i-ka Humul Muflihoon (3:104).
Great success!
Wa Dhaalika Huwal Fawzul ‘Azeem (9:111).
Clear success!
Dhaalika Huwal Fauzul Mubeen (45:30).
Huge success!
Dhaalikal Fauzul Kabeer (85:11).
And tells us also about the unfortunate people who have chosen a fate of failure, self-destruction and damnation for themselves and for those close to them (22:11; 18:103; 6:14; 4:119).
What a book it is!
An embodiment of divine grace, mercy and blessing on earth, in a form that human beings can physically reach out to, touch, handle, read, understand and practice.
How did we, then, manage to abandon such a book?
Pray tell me, Muslims, just how did we Muslims manage to bring about this feat, and this colossal and global tragedy?
Pray tell me Muslims!
How did we manage to abandon a book that not only preaches moderation and balance in everything, but also outlines practical ways of achieving them – as no other book in the world does (1:6,7; 2:143; 7:31; 17:29; 17:110; 25:68)?
A book that is a bulwark against dogmatism, fanaticism, extremism, fundamentalism, lawlessness, anarchy and terrorism of all kinds (4:171; 5:77; 2:217; 7:56; 7:85; 13:25; 28:77; 28:83).
A book that challenges humanity to rationality and critical thought.
And invites it to negotiation and compromise.
And to a pragmatic approach to life and its problems.
And to mutual accommodation and adjustment in matters of dispute and disagreement.
And to a culture of inquiry, rationality and critical thought.
A-Falaa Ta’qiloon? (2:44).
Inna Fee Dhaalika La-Aayaatin Li-Qawmin
Yatafakkaroon (13:3; 16:11; 16:69; 30:21; 39:42; 45:13).
A book that is most beautiful to read.
A book that is also the easiest to read.
And to learn.
And to understand (54:17; 54:22; 54:32; 54:40).
A book that has all the wisdom of the ages.
And whose wisdom and teachings are for all ages.
And for all races, peoples and cultures – for males as well as for females.
A book that has all the answers for all the questions anyone can ask.
At any time or in any place.
With regard to any subject.
A book that is the most wonderful to practice.
A book that is the source of such unspeakable joy and blessing to read and to recite and to ponder.
Pray tell me then, Muslims!
Just how did we Muslims manage to abandon such a book?
As the Qur’an itself puts it:
“And the Rasool said:
My Rabb! – My master!
My people have indeed abandoned this Qur’an!” (25:30).
Yaa Rabbi Inna Qawmit-Ta-khadhoo
Haadhal Qur’ana Mahjoora (25:30).
Tell me then, Muslims!
How is it that we Muslims read everything except the Qur’an?
How did it happen that we Muslims manage to do everything in the world except to read the Qur’an?
Except to learn to read the Qur’an correctly?
Except to learn the meaning of the words and passages of the Qur’an?
Except to understand the teachings of the Qur’an?
And do so directly from the Qur’an, using the wonderful explanation and example provided by God’s beloved Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam?
And to practice the Qur’an?
To turn the wisdom and precepts of this book into models of everyday human behavior?
For individuals as well as for groups?
For organizations as well as for cultures and societies?
And for the entire world?
Just how did we manage to do that, Muslims?
How did we manage to abandon the great and timeless culture of education and knowledge that God Almighty himself gave us?
How did we manage to accomplish this great feat of turning our back on the Qur’an?
This most amazing and glorious of all books.
That book.
For this book is that book!
From that master of ours.
That indeed it is.
That is why the Muslims are the way they are today!
Because Muslims abandoned the book of Allah.
They abandoned the Qur’an.
They abandoned knowledge and education.
They abandoned the very foundation of their faith.
And the secret of their success in this and the next world.
And the secret of every individual and nation’s success in this world.
They threw the book of Allah behind their back.
They put the Qur’an on the backburner.
They made other things their priority.
They put their time, effort, resources and energies in everything except the Qur’an.
They substituted human words and wisdom for the divine words and wisdom that are in the Qur’an.
Muslims thus chose earth over heaven.
Wa Laakinnahoo Akhlada Ilal Ard (7:176).
They chose darkness over light.
They opted for the mundane over the sublime and for the human over the divine.
As a result, we have among us a strange mix of people today who go about calling themselves Muslims and yet who have nothing to do with the Qur’an.
And therefore with Allah or with Islam.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have not set eyes on the Qur’an – who knows for how long!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have not touched the Qur’an or held a copy of the Qur’an in their hands – who knows for how long!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have not turned the pages of the Qur’an – who knows for how long!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have not read an Aayat or a passage or a Soorah from the Qur’an – who knows for how long!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims who read practically everything else except the Qur’an.
Books.
Newspapers.
Magazines.
Office documents and reports.
But not the Qur’an.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims but who have not made any serious attempt – who knows for how long! – to learn to read the Qur’an correctly!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and who wait for a death to occur in the family before they would read the Qur’an!
Or, in most cases, get someone else to read the Qur’an for them.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims who never once in their entire life tried to finish reading the Qur’an from cover to cover.
From Al-Faatihah to Annaas.
Not on ordinary, regular days.
Not in the month of Ramadan, the glorious month of the Qur’an.
Shahru Ramadan Alladhee Unzila Feehil
Qur’an (2:185).
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims who never made any serious attempt to memorize an Aayat, a passage or a chapter from the Qur’an.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims but who understand not a word of the Qur’an!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims, and who perform their daily prayers, but who barely understand the Qur’an they read in their Salaah or Namaaz!
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who never pondered the meaning or connotation of the Aayats of the Qur’an.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who never asked themselves how they must put the Qur’an into practice.
In their individual and personal lives.
As well as in the context of their communities, cultures and societies.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet to whom the Qur’an is little more than dogma and theology -”religious” book like so many other religious books in the world.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet for whom the Qur’an is little more than a book for individual use – like all the other books of the world.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet for whom the Qur’an has no social use, purpose, relevance, implication or meaning.
Or wider cultural use, purpose, relevance, implication or meaning.
Or deeper political or economic use, purpose, relevance, implication or meaning.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have not done a thing to correct or change or improve any of this.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have not lifted a finger to teach anyone the Qur’an.
We have among us those who call themselves Muslims and yet who have done not a thing to help ensure that the Qur’an is practiced.
That the Qur’an is understood.
That the Qur’an is memorized.
That the Qur’an is read and recited.
And that it is read and recited correctly and properly.
In our homes.
In our schools.
In our mosques.
And everywhere else.
We all go about calling ourselves Muslims, regardless of what type, level or stripe of Muslims we are, and we all have one thing in common: We all have abandoned the Qur’an!
In one way or another.
To one degree or another.
In short, we Muslims today are guilty of forgetting the Qur’an.
And of playing games with the Qur’an.
We have thus committed a most heinous and reprehensible crime.
Either out of ignorance and negligence, or through ego and arrogance – Nafs and Hawaa – we have turned our back on the Qur’an.
We have turned our back on Allah’s book.
We have thus turned our back on Allah.
And thus we have turned criminals and felons (45:31).
We have become fugitives from Allah’s justice – rejected and disowned by everyone and yet pursued by everyone of Allah’s creation.
Which earth would want to carry a burden such as this on its back? And which sky would want to shelter a criminal gang like this?
The curse of the Qur’an is upon us. As we pass the Qur’an everyday:
This is what happened, Muslims!
This is what happened to us.
And this is what happened to the world in which we live.
We Muslims forgot the Qur’an.
And in the process we forgot Allah.
As a result, Allah forgot us.
Nasullaha Fa-Nasiyahum (9:67).
So much so, he even made us forget ourselves
Nasullaha Fa-Ansaahum Anfusahum (59:19).
He made us forget who we are.
What our true identity is.
What our real purpose in life is.
What our role is in this world.
And what our duties are.
To ourselves.
To others.
And to God Almighty.
We turned away from Allah, and Allah turned away from us.
It is as simple as that, Muslims!
It is as simple as that!
Wa Tawallaw Was-Taghnallah (64:6)
Now tell me Muslims!
Pray tell me!
Those who forget themselves, and whom Allah forgets, what kind of people are they?
What kind of people will they be?
Bemused?
Lost?
Dazed?
Unsure of themselves?
Divided, bickering and quarrelsome?
Ignorant and foolish?
Weightless and worthless?
Miserable and wretched?
Hunted, hounded, harassed and set and preyed upon by everyone?
And now tell me Muslims is that not the lot of the Muslims today?
How can it be otherwise?
Read the Qur’an for answers, Muslims!
Read the Qur’an!
For, that is where the answers are.
Those who turn away from Allah have a miserable life in store for them, says the Qur’an.
Wa Man Aa’rada ‘An Dhikree,
Fa Inna Lahoo Ma’eeshatan Danka (20:124).
Therefore, Muslims!
If the question is, what is wrong with the Muslims today, the answer is, the Qur’an, the Qur’an, the Qur’an: The Muslims have abandoned the Qur’an.
That is what is wrong with the Muslims.
“The Qur’an!” That is the answer.
The Muslims have abandoned the Qur’an.
That is my answer.
If the question is, what is wrong with the world today, my answer is, the Qur’an, the Qur’an, the Qur’an: The world has turned its back on the Qur’an.
“The Qur’an!” That is the answer.
That is what is wrong with the world.
The world has turned its back on the Qur’an.
That is my answer.
“The Qur’an!” is the answer.
The only way out for the Muslims, therefore, is to return to the Qur’an.
Muslims must return to the Qur’an.
And do so immediately.
And do so in a thorough and comprehensive manner.
And do so with full sincerity and devotion.
If the question is, what is the way out for the Muslims, my answer is, the Qur’an, the Qur’an, the Qur’an: Muslims must return to the Qur’an.
“The Qur’an!” is the answer.
Muslims must read the Qur’an.
Muslims must run to Allah!
Fa-Firroo Ilallah! (51:50).
They must run to the Qur’an.
That is my answer.
“The Qur’an!” is the answer.
And what a direct and short answer it is.
And what a clear and self-evident answer it is.
And yet what a powerful, effective and life-giving and life-changing answer it is.
And how easy it is to understand and to put into practice.
Because that is part of Allah’s guarantee to us: that he has made the Qur’an easy for us.
Wa Laqad Yassarnal Qur’ana Lidh-Dhikr (54:17).
Not once or twice, but four times in the same Surah – Surah 54 – Al-Qamar .
Allah has made the Qur’an easy. That is what Allah says in the Qur’an.
Easy to read.
Easy to learn.
Easy to memorize.
Easy to understand.
Easy to remember.
Easy to teach.
And easy to practice.
All of this rendered easy by God Almighty himself, so that we will pay attention (54:17; 17:4).
So that we will take heed.
So that we will turn away from the path of self-destruction (2:195; 16:33) and embrace the light and the guidance that are in the Qur’an and that came directly from Allah (10:57; 5:15; 64:8).
That means, beginning today, beginning right now, and beginning wherever one may be, every Muslim must take one step forward – one small step forward – on a personal scale of getting closer to the Qur’an.
And thereby getting closer to Allah.
And closer to what Islam really is.
That is all we need to do.
And that is what we must do.
Take One Step Forward!
Take one step toward Allah.
Take one step toward improving our relationship with the Qur’an.
And with Allah.
That means those of us who have not set eyes on the Qur’an – who knows for how long! – must run to the nearest place where there is a copy of the Qur’an – and feast our eyes on it.
That means those of us who have not touched the Qur’an – who knows for how long! – must reach out to the nearest copy of the Qur’an we can find and touch it with our hands, making sure we make Wudu first.
That means those of us who have not picked up and held a copy of the Qur’an in our hands – who knows for how long! – must do so right away.
That means those of us who have not opened the Qur’an and turned its pages – who knows for how long! – must do so now, without wasting one more minute.
That means those of us who have not read a word, an Aayat, a passage, a Surah from the Qur’an – who knows for how long! – must do so at the earliest possible opportunity.
And must keep doing it systematically forever thereafter.
And those of us who never learned to read the Qur’an correctly – for whatsoever reason – must do it now. They must leave no stone unturned to teach themselves how to read the Qur’an correctly.
And those of us who do not know any part of the Qur’an by heart must set about memorizing parts, passages, Aayats and Surahs of the Qur’an systematically.
Memorizing as much of the Qur’an as they can.
And those of us who do not understand the Qur’an must undertake immediate, serious and systematic efforts to do so now.
And those of us who never thought of putting into practice what the Qur’an teaches, must set about doing so now.
That is all we need to do, Muslims! That is all we need to do!
That is all we need to do to turn our lives around.
And to make Allah’s world a better place for all.
All we need to do is to take one step forward – beginning today, beginning right now and beginning wherever a person may be.
One step forward in the direction of the Qur’an. For, the answer is “The Qur’an!”
However, we Muslims may have an excuse – for the distance we have put between ourselves and the Qur’an.
There may be mitigating circumstances that apply to the terrible state in which we are today.
In the case of most of us at least.
We all know, most of us were never really taught the meaning of the Qur’an – the way it should have been taught.
We all know, understanding the Qur’an was never a priority in the Muslim community in which we grew up, going back who knows how long.
Study of the Qur’an was not, who knows for how long, a part of the Muslim culture where we came from – wherever it was.
So, Muslims, it is perhaps quite fair to say that most of us started out with a handicap – with an empty, blank slate.
Someone, somewhere along the line, forgot to tell us what we must do with the Qur’an.
Someone, somewhere along the line, forgot to teach us the Qur’an and its meaning.
Those who loved us – and the Muslim community as a whole – gave us everything except the Qur’an.
They taught us everything except the Qur’an.
Someone, somewhere along the line, dropped the ball, as they say in America.
Someone, somewhere along the line, fell asleep at the wheel, as they say.
But all that is in the past, Muslims!
All that is in the past.
That is what happened to us then.
Then is the past, and the past is dead and gone.
The question is what do we do now?
Now is the present, so, how do we take charge of our present?
And how do we save our future?
People don’t live in the past, Muslims! They live in the present.
And they move toward the future – and do so inevitably and inexorably.
So, what do we do to fix our present and safeguard our future?
That is the question, Muslims, that is the question: How to save our present and our future. Because there is nothing we can do about the past – except to learn from it and determine not to make in the future the mistakes we made in the past.
So, what is the way out for us?
The answer is clear, and there is only one answer.
The answer is “The Qur’an!”
The way out is the Qur’an: for us and for the world.
The way out for all of us, beginning today, beginning right now, and beginning from wherever we may be, is to take one step forward toward the Qur’an.
To read it.
To learn it.
To try to memorize as much of it as we can.
To understand it.
To teach it.
And to practice it.
For, now it is our turn to act. Not our parents’ or grandparents’ turn.
For, now everything is up to us. Not up to our parents or grandparents.
It is now for us not to drop the ball, regardless of who may have dropped it in the past.
It is now for us to be awake and not to fall asleep at the wheel, no matter who may have fallen asleep at the wheel in the past.
Because now we are in charge of our lives, not the ghosts of our past.
We do not have an excuse any more.
Allah has put us directly in charge of our destiny.
And of our present and our future.
He has put the Qur’an within our reach. For, the answer is “The Qur’an!”
Therefore, it is all up to us now.
It is now we who must step up to the plate.
It is now we who must march up to the wicket.
It is now we who must pick up the ball and run.
It is now we who must score the goals.
And pile up the runs.
And win the matches.
And lock up our success in our Dunya and in our Deen – in this world as well as in the next world.
It is, therefore, now entirely up to us to ponder the deeper meaning and connotations of the Aayats and passages of the Qur’an.
It is now our job to put some of what we read in the Qur’an in practice.
It is now our job to reflect on ways of putting all of the Qur’an in practice.
It is now up to us to wonder how in a span of 23 short years Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi was Sallam, changed the world using the Qur’an.
It is now our duty to figure out ways of doing the same in our time and in our own communities.
For the benefit of the world in which we live today.
It is now for us to figure out ways for making the reading of the Qur’an more correct, more proper and more meaningful.
In our mosques.
In our schools.
In our homes.
And in our communities.
It is now our duty to work out the mechanisms to make sure that all other Muslims in our community – and in our society and in our world – learn to read the Qur’an correctly.
They understand it properly.
And they practice it diligently, faithfully, enthusiastically and wholeheartedly.
It is now our job to work out ways to make sure every non-Muslim in our community, in our society and in the world at large has an opportunity to read the Qur’an.
To hear the message of the Qur’an.
And to reflect on the Qur’an if he or she chooses to.
And to embrace the Qur’an if it is her or his choice to do so.
Using the right and the freedom that God Almighty gave everyone.
A right and freedom, of which he made us – Muslims – the custodians and keepers in this world, even though we Muslims may be among the last to know it.
Or the least to care or do anything about it.
Therefore, Muslims, that is what the answer is.
The answer is “The Qur’an!”
To return to it.
To reclaim it.
To relearn it.
To learn to read it correctly and properly.
To embrace it all over again.
To immerse ourselves into it.
To teach it.
To understand it.
And to put it into practice.
And to help everyone in the world to be able to do the same.
We no more have an excuse for not doing it, no matter what may have happened to us in the past.
No matter through whose fault, or through what quirk of misfortune or negligence, we may have ended up the way we did – separated from the Qur’an physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.
Taking the Qur’an for granted.
Putting the Qur’an on the backburner of our life.
Because, now it is all up to us.
Because, now we are in charge of our lives.
And of our destinies.
Because from now on, it is we – and we alone – who must answer for what happens to us in this world – as well as in the next world.
And Muslims!
If the question is, what must the world do to get out of the troubles it is in, my answer is, the Qur’an, the Qur’an, the Qur’an.
The world must embrace the Qur’an openly and wholeheartedly, even as it has been, all along, stealing and copying things from the Qur’an secretly and surreptitiously.
That is the answer.
“The Qur’an!” is the answer.
That is the answer.
That is the one and only answer, regardless of the question.
That is the answer now and forever.
The Qur’an!
The Qur’an!
The Qur’an!
The answer is: “The Qur’an!”
“Qur’an!” is the answer.
END
© 2005 Syed Husain Pasha
Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at]
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com.