YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad)
The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey.
What is the Quran?
The Quran is the Book of God preserved for all time to come. It is written originally in Arabic and accessible through its translations to the non- Arabic knowing world. The Quran is the word of God. It aims to bring about an intellectual revolution within man, called Marifah (realization of God) (5: 83), and make him aware of the Creation Plan of God. The purpose of the Quran is to tell man why God created this world, the purpose of settling man on earth, what is required from man in his pre-death life span, and what he will confront after death. The Quran, thus, serves as a guide for man in this world as well as in the Hereafter.
What is the message of the Quran?
The message of the Quran is the Creation Plan of God. According to the Creation Plan of God, man is born as an eternal creature, and his life span has been divided into two periods, pre-death period, which is a time of trial, and the post-death period, which is the time for receiving reward or punishment merited by one’s actions during one’s lifetime. Therefore, the secret to man’s success in life is to discover God while He is unseen, understand His creation plan and map out his life accordingly.
How should one read the Quran?
We should make it a point to read the Quran in the language we understand, instead of just mere recitation of the Arabic text. There are two layers of Quranic learning: one is understanding its literal meaning, and the second is understanding its more profound meaning and its application in daily life. If you want to know the message of the Quran, then knowing its literal meaning will suffice. To find the deeper meaning of the Quran, besides developing a seeking spirit and sincerity, we need to contemplate its verses. Then we must extract principles of life from these verses and apply them in our daily life.
How can we apply the Quran in daily life?
If we read the Quran, we will feel that God Almighty directly addresses man in it, saying: ‘O man! This is your God addressing you. Listen to Me and follow it. This is the path of success for you.’ It is as if at any moment, we as readers of the Quran can consult its Writer—God Almighty—put our questions to Him and receive answers. As man’s Creator, God directly hears and answers man’s call. When we connect with God, we develop a live attachment to the Book of God. The Quran becomes a source of inspiration and spiritual nourishment in our lives. All our thoughts and actions spring from the Quran. The Quran becomes the very life and soul of our existence. It is the way of applying the Quran in our daily life.
What is the importance of reading the Quran in the morning?
The Quran says that the recitation of the Quran at the dawn prayer “is indeed witnessed”. (17: 78) “Witnessed” here means validated by the angels. We learn from a Hadith that the early morning is a time especially favourable for God-realization, when in peace and solitude the angels in great numbers become witnesses to the recitation of the believer. When, in the morning, a person reflects upon the message of God in the peaceful environment of nature, he starts feeling the presence of God. Then he has that state induced in him which has been thus expressed in an injunction in a hadith: “Worship God as if you are seeing Him.”
What is the spiritual interpretation of the Quran?
Quranic spirituality is the spirituality of the positive kind. It means living in the world and trying to derive spiritual food from material things as an intellectual discipline. It means to control rather than kill one’s desires. The formula for Quranic spirituality is expressed as: Be devoted servants of God. (3: 79) Becoming a devoted servant of God means adopting a God-oriented life. The God-oriented way of life is a complete way of life. It calls for the use of all human faculties. It means God-oriented thinking, speech, behaviour, morality, etc.
What does the Quran tell us about being God-conscious?
God Almighty is the treasure trove of all goodness. He is the only Giver. At the same time, he is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy (7: 151). When a person discovers God Almighty and realizes that He has all these high attributes, he will be filled with feelings of love for Him. At the same time, you know that God is the Greatest, the All-Powerful, and God is the Lord of everything. You want to bow down and show your love and reverence to such a Being. The Quran says: True believers are those whose hearts tremble with awe at the mention of God. (8: 2)
God consciousness is the highest form of man’s sentimental expression. When a person reaches this level of consciousness, he finds himself living in midst of awe and fear of God. Such a fear is a positive fear, fear of not treading the wrong path or of wronging God’s creatures so as to displease Him.
In the present world, success is
destined only for those who choose
THE PATH OF PATIENCE
in unfavourable circumstances
