بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
At the beginning of Surah Yusuf, Allah says:
الر ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
Alif-Laam-Raa. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. These are the Verses of the Clear Book (the Quran that makes clear the legal and illegal things, legal laws, a guidance and a blessing). Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran in order that you may understand. [Surah Yusuf (12) : 1-2]
Imam Ibn Kathir (rahimahullah) points out an overlooked fact in his explanation of the second verse:
“The Arabic language is the most eloquent, plain, deep and expressive of the meanings that might arise in one’s mind. Therefore, the most honorable Book, was revealed in the most honorable language, to the most honorable Prophet and Messenger, delivered by the most honorable angel, in the most honorable land on earth, and its revelation started during the most honorable month of the year, Ramadan. Therefore, the Quran is perfect in every respect.”
Did you count how many most honourables (or “honorables”) there were in that short paragraph?
- Most Honourable Book
- Most Honourable Language
- Most Honourable Prophet and Messenger
- Most Honourable Angel
- Most Honourable Land on Earth (i.e. Makkah)
- Most Honourable Month of the Year
Stunning, isn’t it? Subhan Allah, we have been sent down such a blessed Book and we NEED to be grateful for it.
One way that we can show our gratitude to Allah for sending us this Book is by spending more time with it. In turn, that leads to so many blessings (which would take too long to enumerate here).
Now, this is something that everyone already knows but the problem is that many people just dream about the day that they will get closer to the Quran but never get around to it! [You know who you are.]
So, to make things easy, choose just one way that you will use to spend more time with the Quran (e.g. learning the rules of recitation (tajweed), reading the translation, reciting more frequently, memorisation, tafsir (explanation), etc), then work on that for the next month, because it’s easier to focus for a short span of time, rather than imagining being at it for ten years (which is very difficult).
Some things are better done daily like recitation. If that’s tough for you, choose a tiny amount to recite daily e.g. one ayah (verse) and do that in the morning or at least right before you go to sleep.
For the rest of the options, you can try to do it once a week, perhaps for 20-30 minutes. Schedule a day and stick to it.
If there’s one thing I learned in the last month, it’s that consistency works. Just doing a little bit of something on a regular basis REALLY adds up to a lot.
So, go ahead and choose how you are going to get closer to the Quran and work on that for at least a month. Trust me, you’ll see how big of a difference it makes in your life.
After the month is over, you then focus on the next month and so on. If it’s too much for you, you decrease the amount. If you want to do more, you increase the amount. Simple.
And remember, it’s going to be easy and not difficult. Proof?
Here you go:
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ
And We have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember, then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)? [Surah Al-Qamar (54) : 17]