by Ambreen Juvale on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 12:42am
Wanna increase your status in this life & the next?? Then hold on to the Speech of Allah (swt) forever.
Honour, dignity, success, rizq , peace of mind, joy------Everything lies in the hands of Allah (swt) !!
We spend a huge amount of time on facebook, twitter, outings, parties, reading magazines, novels, newspapers, studying & working. BUT ask yourself did you actually open the Book of Allah today?
If you have taken the time and effort to learn so many matters of this world how then can you be neglectful of learning those matters, which will save you from the punishment of Allah and His anger after death?? Does Allah not say: Ask the people of remembrance (i.e. knowledgeable scholars) if you do not know. [Surah An-Nahl 16:43]. Learn therefore, the requirements of your religion.
Ask yourself-- What is your brain filled with?? The verses of the Qur'an or the garbage that you see on TV ?? Do you hum to the beautiful Qur'anic sentences or do you hum to the latest song that is released? Does your speech carry the wise words of Allah or does your speech carry words of gossip that will lead you to the Fire??
The Qur'an is not any ordinary book which we can just leave aside for days & months. That is like an insult to Allah's speech, when we neglect it without giving it it's due right & importance!!
How come we read the newspaper everyday sincerely, but when it comes to the Book of Allah--------------- ??????
How come we carry our cellphone everywhere while traveling, but when it comes to the Book of Allah---------??????
How come we are excited to read the text msges from our friends, but when it comes to the Message of Allah-----????
How come we try to overcome our grief by turning to a friend , & not to the Book of Allah-------- ??????
And then you wonder why don't I feel close to Allah?? Why are my Duaa's not being answered?? Why am I going through so much misfortune?? You only need to take the first step towards Him, then He will shower His guidance upon you inshaa'Allah!! So WAKE UP from your sleep & strive to EXCEL in your Deen!!
- Do you know that the moments of ANXIETY & GRIEF in your life could be because you NEGLECT THE QUR'AN ?
Allah says, "And whoever turns away from My reminder (the Quran) - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." [Quran 20:124]
He will say: "O Lord! Why have you raised me up blind here, while I was clear-sighted before?" Allah will say: "Just as Our revelation came to you and you played blind; so are you blind today."
- Your status in this life & the next will be raised:
Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Verily, Allah elevates some people with this Qur'an and abases others.'' [Muslim].
Only such people will be elevated who act upon the teachings of the Qur'an and abstain from what is forbidden by Allah. The Muslims of the early centuries of Islam were blessed with great honour by Allah because they loved and applied the Qur'an. Because of this meaningful attachment with the Qur'an, they made great achievements in religious and worldly spheres. Those who neglected the teachings of Islam will be disgraced and humiliated.Exaltation and humiliation mentioned in the Hadith is bound to happen in both this life and the Hereafter.
Aishah (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The one who is proficient in the recitation of the Qur'an will be with the honourable and obedient scribes (angels) and he who recites the Qur'an and finds it difficult to recite, doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have a double reward.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary: Proficient here means one who reads the Qur'an in accordance with the rules of "Ilm At-Tajwid'' (the science of the recitation of the Qur'an) as is evidenced from the words of Imam Bukhari's narration and the title given to the chapter.
“Allah will exalt those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge, to high ranks..” (58:11)
Some men asked ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, “Whom do you use to govern Makkah?” He said, “Ibn Abzaa.” They asked, “And who is Ibn Abzaa?” Umar replied, “A freed slave from those we freed.” They remarked, “You left a freed slave in charge of the people of the Valley ?(the noble tribes of the Quraysh)” So he answered them, “Verily he is a reader of the Book of Allah and is knowledgeable about the obligations of the Muslims. Haven’t you heard the statement of your Messenger: “Verily Allah raises some people by this Book and lowers others by it.”
[Sahih Muslim]
- You will be from the best of People:
- The Qur’an will intercede for us on the Day of Judgment. Aboo Umaamah relates that the Prophet (saw) said: “Read the Qur’an, for verily it will come on the Day of Standing as an intercessor for its companions.” [Muslim]
Okay, so now you know the importance of the Qur'an in our lives. So you will start reciting it with understanding from now onwards inshaa'Allah!! Make it habit where no day passes by without reading the Book of Allah. Read a few pages EVERYDAY, if not that atleast 1 page per day, if not that atleast 1 paragraph & if not that then atleast 1 sentence!!!! And if you can't do this, then have some guilt & just think, how is it that you make time for unnecessary things in life like tv, music, talking on the phone, reading magazines etc. & dare to IGNORE THIS BOOK!!! Build a relationship with the Qur'an & see how Allah swt will ease all your worries , inshaa'Allaah!!
And Remember, DO NOT GIVE IMPORTANCE TO READING THE TRANSLATION ALONE & NEGLECTING THE RECITATION: So do recite it too. But can you recite it, just like that?? The way you want?? In your style?? Or the style in which it was revealed to RasoolAllah (saw) with proper Tajweed?? Here pops up another Excuse!!!!! " I DON'T KNOW WHATS TAJWEED" & "I DON'T HAVE TIME to learn tajweed now!!"
- What is Tajweed?
We get some people nowadays who spend hours and hours reciting the Qur'an thinking that they are getting and attaining great rewards. But because their pronunciation of letters is incorrect, a very big problem arises. It sounds very small when we say, 'I am only pronouncing a letter incorrectly.' But did this thought ever cross our minds that when a letter changes in a word, the word changes and if a word changes in a sentence then the whole sentence changes and eventually the meaning also changes.
Imagine this now: You are driving very fast on a road that has a certain speed limit--Then the traffic police gets hold of you to fine you--then you excuse yourself saying- " Im sorry officer!! I "DIDN'T KNOW" there was a speed limit on this road!!" Will the police let u go without a fine just because u didn't know? Wasn't it "your" duty to find out before hand about the speed limit?
Now, what excuse will u give Allah swt when He asks you about your recitation of the Qur'an?? Will u say "Ya Allah! I DIDN'T KNOW about the rules of recitation"?
We have all the time in the world to learn things that are absolutely of no benefit to us (info on fashion,games, latest movies, songs, sports etc), but when it comes to the Book of Allah--- "Excuse me!!! I'm very busy, Allah understands!! He is Ghafoor Ar- Raheem!!" We have forgotten that it is this Quran which will intercede for us on the Day of Judgment!!
Allah (swt) says in the noble Qur'an, "And recite the Qur'an with Tarteel (in a slow pleasant tone and style)." (73:4)
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said, 'Indeed Allah desires that the Qur'an be recited in the manner it was revealed.'
When asked about the meaning of Tarteel, Ali (Radhiallaahu Anhu) replied, 'It means that the Qur'an should be recited with Tajweed and with due observance to the rules of Waqf (pausing or stopping at the end of the verse).'
According to some scholars, the verse, 'Verily my people have renounced the Qur'an' (25:30) has two interpretations. Firstly, it could mean that they had renounced the Qur'an by not believing in it and practicing upon it. And secondly, it could mean that they used to recite the Qur'an in such a disgusting manner that it sounded like senseless and meaningless jabbering.' Reading the Qur'an without Tajweed could also be included in the second interpretation.
The Prophet (saw) has said, 'The Qur'an will either testify in your favour or against you.' Hence, if we fail to observe the requirements of the noble Qur'an during our recitation, the Qur'an will testify against us. If we are unacquainted with these prerequisites, we are compelled to acquire the laws of Tajweed.
Due to the vastness of the Arabic language, any small mistake in pronunciation of a letter or word may change the meaning of that word. For example, the word 'Qalb' (with q) means heart, if read 'Kalb' (with k), it will mean a dog'.
So just as how in any other language we learn pronunciation of letters and words, for example, in English we learn that 'ph' stands for 'f' (as in phone) and not pone. Similarly, in the Arabic language, we also have to learn pronunciation of letters and words, which we term as 'Tajweed'.
Some people read so much of the Qur'an but because they do not know the correct pronunciation of the letters, they change the letters, which then changes the words which eventually leads to the changing of the sentence and meaning of the Qur'an.Only Allah knows whether this person's reward is decreased or no!!
Think about this: Would you like to hear any rhythmic poetry where the rhyming of the words has been changed?? Or for those who sin by listening to Music, what if someone comes & sings your favourite song with a bit of alteration in the tune & wrong words?? What would you say??
"STOP !!!! YOU'RE KILLING IT MAN!!!!!!"
So then how is it that you sing your latest songs with proper Tajweed & the neglect the Tajweed of the Qur'an? Can you recite the beautiful speech of Allah the way you want?
Something to think about............!!!!!!!
We should remember that from the time and generation of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) till now, no one has ever denied this fact that Tajweed is definitely important. It is only now in our generation that people have lost respect and forgotten the status of Tajweed.
The Qur'an is the word of Allah. If we change the word of Allah then Allah Ta'ala will definitely get angry with us and take us to task. So from all this, we can see the importance of reading the Qur'an with Tajweed.
So what now?? Don't just sit there & grumble that I wish I was taught Tajweed earlier. There is still time. Get up & do something about it! Try to find out a Tajweed class in your locality & master the Science of recitation of the Qur'an. It will benefit you for the rest of your life& for the hereafter, Inshaa'Allah!!
May Allah give us the ability to read the Qur'an correctly with understanding so that we may earn the mercy of Allah (swt)!!
The Qur’an wasn’t sent down to look pretty on our bookshelves. It was sent to enter our hearts, to beautify our actions, and to help us lead the best of lives. With the power of the Qur’an on our side, every commandment that we have to implement will become so much easier, inshaa’Allah!!
NOTE: If you read the Qur'an the way it should be read ( i.e. regularly,with understanding, Tajweed, & reflection) then it will have a TREMENDOUS EFFECT in helping you build the required "Khu'shoo" in your Salaah inshaa'Allah. And in order to benefit from your Salaah, Khu'shoo is a must!!
Here are some awesome "MUST SEE" videos about Importance of the Qur'an & Tajweed: See to it that you watch them all for greater benefit, inshaa'Allaah!!
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_1RfPa0xkc (Respecting the Qur'an)
2)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO6U8e_AFYM&playnext=1&list=PL414EBB66C25DE3E9&index=7
(My duty to the Qur'an)
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM0ZHW_QWh4 (Neglecting the Qur'an)
4)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6fK0culDRU&feature=related (Essence of the Qur'an)
5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZFtxG0XSO4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0aVOAWoITk&feature=related
(Allah Chose You - Tajweed Tangents with Wisam Sharieff)
6) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09nnES9oFqs (Live to recite) Watch this one till the end patiently....... you will want to run for a Tajweed class now!! Inshaa'Allah
