Outline
- Introduction
- What is the Qur’an?
- The Prophet and the Qur’an
- The Companions of the Prophet and the Qur’an
- The Qur’an Then and Today
- How to Put What We Learn in the Qur’an into Practice
- The Implication of Putting What We Learn in the Qur’an into Practice
- Conclusion
Introduction
Alhamdulillah… All praise and thanks are due to the Almighty Allah. I send peace and blessings upon Ḥabībī Muḥammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path till judgement day.
The Qur’an is the dearest to the heart of every true Muslim. As we learn it, we, gradually, develop the enthusiasm and desire to put what we learn in it into practice. However one learns it, either by the normal recitation or memorization, he will need to put it into practice. It’s by doing so, that he could be entitled to be a real companion of the Qur’an (Ahl al-Qur’an), who follow the footsteps of the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
This article aims to highlight how to put what we learn in the Quran into practice in our daily lives. It starts with a brief introduction to the Qur’an. The article also discusses the relationship the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam had with the Qur’an, followed by the relationship the companions raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhum had with the Qur’an, as they followed the footsteps of the Prophet. Another section highlights the Qur’an then and today. The article then presents suggestions on how to put what we learn in the Qur’an into practice, followed by the implication of putting what we learn in the Qur’an into practice.
What is the Qur’an?
In my book, how to memorize the Qur’an in 10 years, Regardless of Age and Profession, I gave a brief introduction to the Qur’an. However, here, I’m repeating that with a little modification and addition.
The Qur’an, as we know is known to be the manual book of life for every Muslim, and its teachings are explained by the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam. It’s, therefore, a guidance for those who seek to be guided.
In addition to the fact that, it contains cure for the illness of mankind, the Qur’an is also a book of verses (signs of Allah), which are carried by memory, in the hearts of the believers and the knowledgeable.
It’s the only revealed book, that has been read and recited in its original language of revelation, and it’s divinely set to remain as such, till judgement day.
Since the Qur’an was the essential evidence of the prophecy of the Sayyidina Muhammad, let’s look at how he related to it.
The Prophet and the Qur’an
The Prophet’s relationship with the Qur’an started the moment Sayyidunā Jibrīl ‘alaihi al-salām descended to him in the cave of Ḥirā’ and said to him Iqra’ (Read)! Since then, the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam turned into a living and walking Qur’an. He observed its instructions in all his actions and interactions. He recited it very frequently; literally on daily basis. In order to maintain its solidness in his noble and blessed heart, he presented the Qur’an in front of Jibrīl once every Ramaḍān, until the last Ramaḍān of his life, when he presented it twice before Jibrīl, ‘alaihi al-salām.
The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam recited the Qur’an and reflected upon its contents, even though it was descended upon him. When one of his companions, Ḥudhaifah, raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu described his recitation and contemplation about it, he said, in the hadīth reported by Imam Muslim:
إِذَا مَرَّ بِآيَةٍ فِيهَا تَسْبِيحٌ سَبَّحَ، وَإِذَا مَرَّ بِآيَةِ سُؤَالٍ سَأَلَ، وَإِذَا مَرَّ بِتَعَوُّذٍ تَعَوَّذَ
“When he passed by a verse that glorifies Allah, he (stops and) glorifies Him. When he passed by a verse that contains invocation, he invokes, and when he passed by a verse that contains seeking refuge, he seeks refuge.”
He continuously encouraged the Ummah to learn and teach the Qur’an. And he made the companion of the Qur’an the best in his Ummah. For that, he said in the ḥadīth reported by Imām al-Bukhārī from the narration of Sayyidunā Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu:
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ القُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
“The best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it [i.e., to others]”.
Since learning and teaching are different from reciting it, as well as putting them into practice is more difficult than the learning or reciting process, he warned us from learning or teaching the Qur’an without genuine intentions, nor putting it into practice. For that, the hellfire will be fueled with some people, among them, is the one who recites it, in this life, so people will recognize him as a reciter (Qari’).
To lead by example, the Prophet ensured that the companions sensed Qur’an in his dealings with them. So did his family members. This is understood from the description of Sayyidah ‘Āishah raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhā for him, when she was asked about his relationship with the Qur’an. She described it and said:
كَانَ خُلُقُهُ القُرْآنُ
“His character was the Qur’an!”
This implies that he applied its commands unconditionally, and unconditionally abstained from its forbidden.
As much as he appreciated and valued the Qur’an, he respected the companions of the Qur’an and gave them priority over others. Thus, he made a young boy an imām to lead his people in prayers because he had memorized Sūrah al-Baqarah. This implies that the young boy was the only one who had memorized that amount of the Qur’an among his people.
The above privileges are given to the learner of the Qur’an in this life. The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam also assured the companions of the Qur’an with more privilges after their death. When he attended the burial of the martyrs among his companions, he would ask, for the one among them who had momorized more chapters from the Qur’an, to be placed first in the (mass) graves. This means, the true companions of the Qur’an are leaders here and there.
That’s why he also encouraged us to recite the Qur’an, so to attain the abundant rewards that come out of it. In a ḥadīth reported by Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim, from the narration of Sayyidatinā ‘Āisha raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhā, the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:
الْمَاهِرُ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ وَالَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَيَتَتَعْتَعُ فِيهِ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِ شَاقٌّ لَهُ أَجْرَانِ
“The one who recites the Qur’an smoothly and precisely will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels. And the one who recites it with difficulty, stamming and stumbling through its verses, will have double rewards.”
The Companions of the Prophet and the Qur’an
In following the footsteps of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam, the companions, too, raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhum, strove to live the Qur’an in their lives. Each one of them demonstrated as a walking Qur’an. They demonstrated that in the presence the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam and carried it on after his passing.
It’s narrated that Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar raḍiya Allāhu ‘ahumā spent 10 years or 12, just to master Surah al-Baqarah. In a process like this, it’s obvious that ibn ‘Umar raḍiya Allāhu ‘anhu was not determined only to memorize the Surah, but in addition to memorizing it, he was determined to comprehend it, and put every single verse of it into practice.
Abū Abdul-Rahman al-Sulamī narrates that, when they used to learn the Qur’an from the companions, such as Sayydina ‘Uthmān, Ubay ibn Ka‘b and Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd, they would tell them, that when they learnt from the Prophet, everyone ensured when he receives 10 verse from the Prophet, he won’t go for more until he has mastered the 10 and put them into practice. As a result, they learnt the Qur’an, comprehended it, and then practised it accordingly.
The Qur’an Then and Today
The Qur’an then and today remains the same Qur’an. Nothing has changed in its nature. And nothing shall change in it till the day of resurrection. If not for anything, it’s for the fact that Allah has promised to safeguard and preserve His book.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
“It is We who have sent down the Reminder [Qur'an] and We will, most surely, safeguard it” (Surah Al-Ḥijr, 15:9).
This implies that if any of the companions of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam is to wake up (from his grave) today, and enters a mosque to perform a congregational prayer, he may be caught by a shock (of his life) due to some of the practices of Muslims in the various mosques today, as a result of obsessive innovations in the religion. But be rest assured, that the Qur’an will still sound the same to him. In other words, in the next two centuries, you and I will surely be no more by then. If any of us is to be resurrected, and he walks into any mosque, he will see more customizations to the religion than he sees today, but he’ll still see the Qur’an the same. Allah’s does never break His promise. He’s promised to safeguard His Book!
The people of every time come out with their own set of attitudes and understanding. Some are constructive, contributive and beneficial. Some are destructive, and harmful. It is with that, that they behave towards the Qur’an. The same thing applies to us; we live in a different era, and thus our attitude towards the Qur’an has, as well, changed. Other than that, the Qur’an, is and shall remain, the same.
Remember that, the Qur’an shall be recited in the Jannah. Have you forgotten that? It’s going to be the same Qur’an that you and I shall recite in the Paradise. That’s why it’s preserved from any alteration and customization.
How to Put What We Learn in the Quran into Practice
It’s by now, known to many of us, that the companions of the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam, used to learn 10 verses, and wouldn’t learn new ones, until they’ve implemented those 10 verses or what they’ve learnt previously.
Implementation comes fruitful only after one has understood what he has learnt and memorized. In order to implement, we need to combine between understanding and memorization. For instance, if you want to master a language, could you do so without memorizing as many ‘vocabs' as possible? Is there any other way out? Thus, if you want to internalize any chapter or verses in the Qur’an, you need to understand it by heart. And memorizing it is precedent to understanding it by heart.
We also agree that, when one of us decides to start learning the Qur’an, be it learning to recite or memorize, he would have a copy of the whole Qur’an in his hands. I believe, that this is one of the factors, which push learners of the Qur’an, today, to want to finish everything in no time. In addition to that, we live a time of impatience, possibly because our objective of learning is no longer similar to that of the companions. They learnt to practise, we learn to teach (make money out of it)! Isn’t it?
However, we acknowledge, that despite that being the case, a book of knowledge is not covered and comprehended in shorter periods. Forget about the modules offered in commercial institutions. In any systematic process of learning, learning likely progresses from the foundations, followed by the basics, and builds up to the most complexes. The same thing applies to learning and memorizing the Qur’an.
The learner is usually advised to start from the shorter chapters (basically Juz’ ‘Amma) and then the teacher (Murabbi, not just any teacher) will subsequently advise him along the way on how to proceed. Among the wisdom of taking it from shorter chapters, is to enable the learner to measure his progress and better understand his prayers. This is in addition to the fact that, it’s easier to practise shorter chapters than longer ones, at least for the beginner.
This technique is applicable to those who understands Arabic language. It’s hence, a pressing requirement for those who understand not Arabic Language.
The learner of the Qur’an, who doesn’t understand Arabic Language, and who has the intention to master it, and put it into practice can seize this opportunity to understand the meaning of the words and verses of the Qur’an as he progresses. With the availability of the significant number of Qur’an translations in English and other languages, this is easily achieved.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn Arabic as an independent subject. Having Arabic knowledge gives you a higher level of understanding the Qur’an. But… Whether with or without Arabic knowledge, understanding the Qur’an requires extra reading, time to reflect and look at the verses from various angles.
Understanding gains its significance and beauty when the learner puts what he understands into practice. Doing so, does not only honour him, it also puts him on the category of following the footsteps of the Prophet.
It’s worth indicating here, that you don’t have to be a Ḥāfiẓ before you seek to practise what you know in the Qur’an. One may memorize nothing in the Qur’an but he’s able to apply its teachings in a great deal. But combining between memorization and application is certainly a better deal.
The Implication of Putting What We Learn in the Qur’an into Practice
We, the nation of The Prophet Muhammad, are expected to differ from those who were given Torah (Taurah). Most of those who were given the Taurah recited it, but failed to seek to know what it carries and what it implies and with that, they failed to act upon it. For that, they are compared with a donkey, which carries volumes of scriptures without being able to benefit from it, due to its inability to read and to understand what’s written in them.
This tells us, that putting the theoretical knowledge we attain from the Qur’an into practice helps to engrave it in our hearts, and that turns it into blessings upon us. Failure to put that into practice turns it into a curse upon us, may Allah forbid!
Also, achieving that entitles you to be a true companion of the Qur’an, who follows the footsteps of the Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam. It’s by achieving that, that you can be a “walking Qur’an.”
Conclusion
When we strive to practise the Qur’an, we are expected to align our desires to the commands of the Book. We shouldn’t alter the book to match our desires. We lose if we try to do that, as the book is preserved by its Revealer. The Jews and the Christians did that. If we do as they did, we should expect the consequences they encountered as a result.
Putting what we learn in the Qur’an into practice is achievable. But achieving that comes with some conditions. One should have a genuine intention towards the Book of Allah. He should develop patience for seeking knowledge, as true knowledge gives you a bit of it, only after you’ve given it the whole of you.
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Until our next article, I leave you in Allah’s protection.
Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂
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