Qur’an is the book of guidance and wisdom. It is the book of inspiration and blessings it is the final revelation of Allah(s.w.t) towards the mankind.
For a muslim it is incumbent to read it and learn it, a muslim should keep it with himself in his heart throughout his life in every time. Qur’an is the part of the life of a muslim. He recites it in the Salah and he recites it when he is ill, when he is in fear, and as a means of seeking Allah’s nearness and his reward.
Allah(s.w.t) has made the Quran clear for us, He says
Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the Book and a clear Qur’an.
– Al-Hijr (15:1)
He says this at many other places in the Qur’an, in surah al-Shu’araa, an-Naml, al-Qasas etc.
What does the learning of the Qur’an mean
The Prophet (s.a.w) said, “The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
-[Sahih al-Bukhari 5027]
What did the Prophet(s.a.w) meant here by saying “learn the Qur’an”, did he meant to read and memorize it?
Is it only sufficient to recite it? Do we get all the results and benefits only by reading and memorizing it?
No! The Prophet(s.a.w) said that “those who learn it” which does not only mean to read and memorize but it comprises a lot of meanings. It means to recite it, understand it’s meaning, reflect and ponder upon it, study it, learn it, implement it and also memorize it.
The fact is that many Muslims only read and recite the Qur’an but they don’t understand it properly. There are people who memorize the whole Qur’an but don’t understand it. They read the words which they don’t understand. Qur’an is the divine speech of Allah(s.w.t) though they get the reward of reciting it in salah and in other times but they don’t get the total benefit of it.
They don’t know what Allah said and what he commanded, what he allowed and what he did not. If we don’t act upon what it teaches then we can’t be the ones whom the Prophet(s.a.w) called “best” and will not find guidance. So we must learn it and apprehend it’s meaning and act upon it.
Allah(s.w.t) commands us to reflect upon the Qur’an as it is the guidance from him towards mankind. A person can only be successful if he follows what Qur’an teaches him and practices it and takes it as a guide in this world.
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.- Saad (38:29)
Those who don’t reflect upon Qur’an their hearts are locked up.
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?
You will understand the difference between “the learning and acting upon the Qur’an” and “just reciting of the Qur’an” and what is meant by it.
Narrated Abu Musa:
The Prophet (s.a.w) said, “The example of a believer who recites the Qur’an and acts on it, is like a citron which tastes nice and smells nice. And the example of a believer who does not recite the Qur’an but acts on it, is like a date which tastes good but has no smell. And the example of a hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is like a Raihana (sweet basil) which smells good but tastes bitter. And the example of a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an is like a colocynth which tastes bitter and has a bad smell.”-[Sahih al-Bukhari 5059]
This Hadith needs to be deeply understood,
A believer who recites the Qur’an and acts on it he is like a citron tastes good and as well as smells good and a believer who only acts on it but does not recite it gains a little lesser virtue but still is like a date which tastes good but don’t have any smell. But if a hypocrite recites Qur’an he either recites it to show off his faith without acting on it or he neither recites it nor acts on it.
The one(a hypocrite) who doesn’t act upon the Qur’an has been compared with the bitterness of colocynth (bitterness of inside disbelief) while as the one(a believer) who acts upon the Qur’an has been given the appellation of having the good taste of citron (sweetness of faith).
The Qur’an is revealed in Arabic language so that we may understand it in a clear way and it has been made easy for us to remember the Qur’an.
Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an that you might understand.
And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?
Reading and understanding the Qur’an properly with it’s meaning and then acting upon it should be the the goal of every muslim. Doing this gives the best results and benefits which a muslim needs to be rightly guided by it.
The benefits of learning(understand) the Qur’an
Undoubtedly even only just reciting the Quran is much rewardable even if we recite one letter(Harf) from the Qur’an we are rewarded 10 times(10 rewards) but as previously mentioned in the above, a muslim can’t become the best and cannot be rightly guided only by reciting it while leaving its main aim.
•When a muslim knows the meaning of the Qur’an it makes him understand what Islam is in reality.
•He will come to know about Allah(s.w.t) and his angels, his books, his prophets and messengers (a.s).
•He will understand more comprehensively the commands of Allah and commands of his Prophet (s.a.w), importance of Tawheed and graveness of Shirk.
•He will know about stories of the old nations.
•He will know what Allah prohibits and what he has Allowed.
•What Allah made obligatory and what Allah hates and for what He punishes and for what He rewards.
•He will know about this material world and about the eternal hereafter. And about the bliss of Jannah and torment of Jahannam.
•Understanding the Qur’an helps to be more conscious in salah and to be more focused on it by repeating it’s meaning in the back of mind during recitation in the salah. When a person will offer salah he will understand what he is saying and what he is asking Allah(s.w.t) and with which words he praises Allah(s.w.t), for example we recite al-fatihah in salah we say “only you do we worship and from only you do we seek help” a person who understands this will never seek help from anyone else. He will come to know what salah really is, that it is not just a physical daily routine and the words he utter are not simple. He will realize that it is one of the greatest acts of worship and that he is praising Allah(s.w.t) and asking his forgiveness and favours in salah.
•Those who believe and ponder upon it their eeman becomes stronger and their heart becomes nourished with it.
•He will leave all forms of shirk and will adhere to Tawheed and sound Aqeedah.
There are other tremendous benefits of it which would take many pages to write them all here.
So we should read the Qur’an and understand it properly and apply it in our lives. All muslims are not Arabic speakers hence they don’t understand Qur’an linguistically but its not impossible to understand the Qur’an, Alhamdulillah there are many translations available out there almost in every prominent language to make it easy to understand the Qur’an, so we should use these resources and take benefit from them. We should strive to understand and learn the Qur’an and apply it and teach it to others as well, only then we can benefit from it and find guidance in it and be the Best Muslims.
May Allah(s.w.t) make us of those who understand and act upon the Qur’an and strive to teach it. May Allah(s.w.t) make the Qur’an placed in our hearts and guide us towards the true path. Ameen
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