How to read the Quran ? It is such an innocent and simple question. Nevertheless, the answer(s) might be simple or otherwise. It depends on what you are looking for.
The Quran in the original is written in Arabic. The man , Muhammad (peace be upon him), was an Arabian Prophet sent to all mankind. As such, if you happens to pick the Quran up either in a translation or the original, the message in the Quran is indeed addressed to you.
If you are a Muslim than reading the Quran in Arabic is part of a Muslim tradition in so called Sunday classes. As a kid you might remember your Quran teacher taking the trouble to teach you to pronounce those foreign Arabic words if you are non-Arab. Sometimes you get beaten up for misbehaving in class or your tongue was just not meant to pronounce Arabic words. Somehow after sometime, you will get use to it.
For a non Muslim, either out of pure curiosity, fault finding or you are planning to marry a Muslim man or woman, than reading the Quran in a translation be it in any language would be an invaluable experience. Either you are a Muslim or non Muslim, there are no advantages or disadvantages because the God of the Quran is the same be it to Muslim or non-Muslim.
Again, how do we read the Quran ?
The most important thing about reading the Quran is to establish your intention of reading this book ? Why do you want to read the Quran ? That answer part of the question of how to read the Quran ?
The greater the need to understand the Quran, the more the book will open-up itself to you. The Quran is like a unified resource location (URL) where the whole book is connected to God (Himself). As long as you are connected to God, once you are wired up to the Quran , than you will be able to grasp the meaning of the message. The whole Quran originates from a Preserved Tablet . That tablet is in God's knowledge.
Once you established your intention of reading the Quran, than there are some simple protocols that you need to observe.
That this is indeed a Quran most honourable. In a Book well guarded. Which none shall touch but those who are clean:
Quran - Chapter 56 (Al-Waqiah) verse 79
It doesn't matter whether you are a Muslim or non Muslim, but we all agreed that physical cleanliness is just common-sense. Since you know that the Quran is the Word of God, even if you don't believe in Islam, you should be in a clean state before reading the Quran. It is not proper to read the Quran in an unclean state or environment. What about menstruating women ? Can they read the Quran ? The answer is yes. There is no reason why menstruating women can't read the Quran. Just be sure that you have everything in control and nothing spills out. You should be ok. If you are a believer and you have just had intercourse with your spouse, make sure that you take a bath so that you are not in ceremonial impurity before reading the Quran. This is again common-sense. For non-Muslim, shower after sex is common sense as well.
The above are not of primary importance. The primary concern is the spiritual part of it. Your intention must be clean when you approach the Quran. That is the context of the verse above. You must rid your mind of any unclean thoughts, evil intentions, prejudices, pre-conceive notions or any other disturbing condition like in a rage or anger before reading the Quran.
As a reader of a translation of the Quran, do not feel that you are loosing any essence of the message. The Quran will open itself up to you if you are sincere. Reading a translation will be a good start. The whole idea behind this is to start reading the Quran and make it a daily affairs. To read the Quran is like going for a long journey. You must keep on walking in order to reach your destination. No doubt you will find obstacles and difficulties in your path, but you need to move on in order to reach your destiny. Once you read the Quran, you are connected to God, you will get connected to the message of the Quran and that part of the message in the Quran will be in turn connected to your life. Your relationship with God will develop, your understanding of the Quran will develop gradually and you will understand your life better.
Before you start reading the Quran, it doesn't matter whether you are Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jew or even non believer, it will be good to seek protection in God from Satan the Accursed.
When you do read the Quran, seek God's protection from Satan, the Rejected One.
Quran - Chapter 16 (An-Nahl) verse 98.
You may begin your reading of the Quran, either from 1st Chapter or you may also begin from the last chapter. You are allowed to begin anywhere you like. From the middle, 1/3rd of the book, 2/3rd of the book or any other way you wish to start from. Thats the beauty of the Quran. Read few verses daily and have a book marker. So that you know where you stop and from where you should begin. In the beginning, you might not be able to understand everything that you read. Don't worry. Continue reading.
Follow this link to start reading the Quran. This is an English Translation of the Arabic Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
The Yusuf Ali English text is based on the 1934 book, The Holy Qur-an, Text, Translation and Commentary, (published in Lahore, Cairo and Riyadh). This version is widely used because it is a clear, modern and eloquent translation by a well-respected Muslim scholar. The English text was revised in 2009-10 to more closely match the source book.
Another method of reading is just by looking at the Index. Many translations of the Quran, in English especially, at the back end of the translation, you will find a very comprehensive index. Subjects found within the Quran, listed alphabetically. You may browse at your leisure and read subject by subject what the Quran say about almost anything. Kindly refer to the link below to find the Quranic Index.
Start your journey now. Read the Quran and change your life before it changes you.
"That Day (resurrection), will every soul be requited for what it earned; no injustice will there be that Day, for God is swift in taking account.
Quran - Chapter 40-(Ghafir) verse 17
Next posting - How to read the Quran ? Part 2 - An introduction to English translators and translations. Insya Allah.
Good advise on how to read the Quran.
No comments:
Post a Comment