THE MIRACLE OF AL QURAN
Muhamad Arifin Ismail
The Quran is Allah’s greatest blessing for you. It is the fulfilment of His promise to Adam and his descendants : “ there shall come to tou guidance from me, neither shall they sorrow “ ( 2 : 38 ).The Quran is the word of the Ever-living God, it has sent down to guide man for all times to come. No book can be like it. As you come to the quran , Allah speaks to tou. To read the Quran is to hear Him, even to converse with Him, and to walk in His ways. It is the encounter of life with the Life-giver . “ God-there is no god but He, the Ever-living, The Self subsisting ( by whom all subsist ). He jas sent down upon you the Book with the Truth..as guidance unto mankind…( 3 : 2-3 ). It is the only weapon to help your frail existence as you struggle against the forces of evil and temptation in this world. It is only means to overpower your fear and anxiety. It is only light as you grope in the darkness, wuth which to find your way to success and salvation. It is only healing for your inner sicknesses, as well as the social ills that may surround you. It is the constant reminder ( dzikr ) of your true nature, and destiny, of your station, your duties, your rewardss, and your perils. Therefore such conditions we should fulfill to encounter with it :
1. We must realize what the Quran as the word of God is and means to us, and bring all reverence, love, longing, and will to act that this realization demands.
2. We must read it as it asks to be read, as Allah’s massenger instructed us, as he and his Companions read it.
3. We must bring each word of the Quran to bear upon our own realities and concerns by trancending the barriers of time, culture, and change.
The Quran has certain features which make it unique and of inimitable quality. This inimitability is called the miraculous nature of the Quran ( ija’z al quran ). The word ijaz is derived from the root “ ajaza” which has various meanings, ranging from ‘to be incapable, to make powerless, to be impossible, to be inimitable. In technical languange it means the inimitable and unique nature of the Quran which leaves its opponents powerless or incapable of meeting the challenge wich the revelation poses to them. It is also said that the Quran is the mu’jiza, the miracle of Prophet Muhammad.
Narrated Abu Huraira : The prophet said “ Every prophet was given miracles because of which people believed but what I have been is divine inspiration which Allah has revealed to me so I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of the other prophets on the Day of Resurrection “.
The Muslim scholaral al – Qurtubi ( d.656/1258) in his commentary on the Quran has indicated the following ten aspects of the miracles of Al Quran :
1. Its language excels all other Arabic language.
2. Its style excels all other Arabic style.
3. Its comprehensiveness cannot be matched.
4. Its legislation cannot be surpassed.
5. Its narration about the unknown can only result from revelation.
6. Its lack of contradiction with the sound natural science.
7. Its fulfilment of all that it promises, both good tidings and threat.
8. The knowledge it comprises ( both legal and concerning the creation ).
9. Its fulfilment of human needs.
10. Its effect on the hearts of men.
Science and the Quran
The classical scholars while dealing with the unique nature of the Quran has already pointed aout that the Quran contains information about the nature things, the material environment, etc. and that this information is not in conflict with man’s perspective and experience. Furthermore, the development of science and its immediate effect upon the lives and societies of Muslims, especially during the last and in the present century, have led many Muslims to look at science against the backround of the Quran, and they have made numerous suggestions about the correct description in the Quran of certain secientific facts.
Among some of the very important aspects of this line of thought, i.e. that the Quran contains information on scientific facts which are in perfect agreement with the findings of man’s scientific pursuits , are the following :
- That the earth was previously part of the sun and only after separation from it became a habitable palce for mankind ( 21 : 30 ).
- That all life originated from water ( 21 :30 ).
- That the universe was in the shape of a fiery gas ( which Qiuran calls “Dukhan “) ( 41 : 11 ).
- That matter is made up of minute particles ( 10 : 62 ).
- That the oxygen content of the air is reduced at higher altidutes (6 : 125).
- That the embryo in the womb is enclosed by three coverings ( 39 : 6 ).
- That in nature everything consists of complementary elements, not only man and animals, but also plants and inorganic matter ( 36 ; 36 ).
- That fertilisation of certain plants is done by the wind ( 15 :22 ).
- That microsopic organisms exist that are not visible to the naked eye, such as spermatozoon ( 96 : 1 ).
- That each human being has permanent individual fingerprints ( 75 : 4 ).
All these matters which are in agreement with scientific findings could not, it is argued, have been known to any human being at the time of the revelation of the Quran. They were only discovered many centuries later after intense scientific research. Hence, their inclusion in the Quran shows the heavenly origin of the book. This heavenly origin is further corroborated by the correctness of the description of the scientific facts.
How to study The Quran
There are such basic state and attitude of heart and mind are necessary prerequisite to any fruitfull relationship with the Quran :
1. Come to the Quran with a strong and deep faith that it is the word of Allah, your Creator and Lord.
2. Read the Quran with no purpise other than to receive guidance from your Lord, to come nearer to Him, and to seek His good pleasure.
3. Make yourself constantly alert with intense praise and gratitude to your Lord for having blessed you with His greatest gift – the Quran – and for having guided you to its reading and study.
4. Accept and trust without the least doubt or hesitation, every knowledge and guidance that the quran conveys to you.
5. Bring the will, resolve and readiness to obey whatever the quran says , and change your life, attitudes and behaviour –inwardly and outwardly- as desired by it.
6. Always remain aware that as you embark upon reading the Quran , satan will create every possible hazard and obstacle to stalk you on your way to the great riches of the Quran.
7. Trust, exclusively and totally, in Allah to lead you to the full rewards of reading the Quran.
The Quranic criteria of inner participation.
1. Say to your self : My Quran reading will not be truly tilawah ( reading 0 unless my inner self participates in it as allah desires it to participate.
2. Say to your self : I am in Allah’s presence, he is seeing me.
3. say to your self : I am hearing from Allah.
4. Say to your self : Allah adresses me directly, through His Massenger, when I read the Quran.
5. Say to your self : Every word in the Quran is meant for me.
6. Say to your self : I am conversing with Allah when I am reading the Quran.
7. Say to yourself : Allah surely give me all the rewards he has promised me through His messenger for reading the Quran and following it.
There are such actions of your heart and body wich will greatly help you in immersing your inner self reading of the Quran :
1. Let your heart become alive and respond to whatever the Quran says.
2. Let your tongue express in words the appropriate response to what you read in the Quran.
3. Let the response in your heart overflow through your eyes – tears of joy or of fear- an answer to what you read in the Quran.
4. Adopt an outward posture that reflects your inner reverence, devotion and submission for the words of your Lord.
5. Read the Quran with perfect reading ( tartil ).
6. Purify yourself as much as you can.
7. Ask Allah for His help, mercy, guidance, and protection while you read the Quran.
Etiquette with the Quran
1. Keep the Quran in a clean place.
2. Seek only Allah’s pleasure not any worldly gain.
3. Concentrate fully and leaves aside all other preoccupations.
4. Be ritually clean, and sit on clean ground.
5. Preferably sit facing the Qibla.
6. Observe humility, tranquality and respect.
7. Begin with “ A’udzubilahi…Bismillah…”.
8. Read with a good voice.
9. Ask Allah’s Blessing when reading a verse which contains a promise, and ask Allah’s help when reading a verse which contains a threat.
10. Repeat important verses many times.
11. say “ sadaqallahul adzim “ at the end of the recitation, and close with a “ du’a “ that Allah may accept it from you.
12. Let no day pass without reading the quran.
13. Do not read in a manner that disturbs others.
14. Observe basic rules of reading ( ilm tajwid )
15. Memorise as much as you can.
How to memorise passages from the Quran.
1. Make memorisation a part of your daily routine. Do a little at time but do it regularly.
2. Choose a passage which is paticularly meaningful to you. It should not be very long.
3. Read this passage aloud a few times.
4. Write this passage on a small piece of paper.
5. Memorise it.
6. Read it from memory.
7. Ask someone to read it for you from the book.
8. Write down what he has read
9. Recite the portion in your prayers.
10. After you have memorised the passage, repeat it on many occasion ( such as during prayer, etc.) which will deeply engrave it in your memory.
11. Choose another passage and do likewise.
THE DIVORCE
The divorce in islamic legation is the release of the tie of marriage and ending up marital relation. The settlement of the marital life is a goal of the goals which the islam is cautious to safeguard. The marriage contract , but is convened for the continuous, and for the eternity till the ends, that it would be easy for the spouses to make of the house a cradle to come to it, and they enjoy in its abundant shadow, to enable to breed their children a righteous breeding. Because of this, the tie between the two spouses is the holiest ties and the most authentic. Allah said in the Quran : “ And they have taken from you a solemn covenant “ ( /4 : 21 ).
Every matter concerned to weaken this tie, and to loosen of its affair is loathed to islam, because of missing the benefits, and the losing of the affairs of each of the two spouses. The messenger Muhammad had said :
“ The most loathed of the lawful as to allah is the divorce “ ( narrated by Abu daud and Hakim ).
“ He is not of us who sows dissension of a woman on her husband “.
“ The women doesnot ask the divorce of her to replace her, and to marry the husband, but it is for her what is ordained for her “.
“ Any women who asks her husband to divorce her with no anguish, then the smell of paradise is forbidden on her “.
“ Allah exalted cursed every one who tastes the relish of marriage and divorces “.
No comments:
Post a Comment