Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi

This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear ALLAH. [Al-Baqarah: 2]


Reasons to Read The Glorious Qur'an

Intimate:

It addresses to humans focusing on their needs and requirements, dealing with their social interactions giving a complete code of conduct. It looks after both the physical and spiritual areas in human development.

Challenges:

It dares you to disprove it. How? It says that humans can not write a book like this even if they pooled all their resources together and got help also from the spirits. The Quran said this fourteen hundreds years ago and yet no one has been able to disprove it. Billions of books have been written - but not another one like the Quran.

Incorruptible:

It is the only religious sacred writing which has been in circulation for such a long time and yet remains as pure as it was in the beginning. The Qur'an was kept intact. Nothing was added to it; nothing was changed in it; and nothing was taken away from it ever since it was completely revealed 1400 years ago.

Unsurpassable:

The Qur'an is God's final revelation to humankind. God revealed the Torah to Moses, the Pslams to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and finally the Quran to Muhammad. Peace be upon all of them. No other book will come from God to surpass his final revelation.

Indisputable:

The Qur'an withstands the test of time and scrutiny. No one can dispute the truth of this book. It speaks about past history and turns out right. It speaks about the future in prophecies and it turns out right. It mentions details of physical phenomena which were not known to people at the time; yet later scientific discoveries confirm that the Qur'an was right all along. Every other book needs to be revised to accord with modern knowledge. The Qur'an alone is never contradicted by a modern discovery.

Your Road map for Life and Afterlife:

The Qur'an is the best guidebook on how to structure your life. No other book presents such a comprehensive system involving all aspects of human life and endeavour. The Qur'an also points out the way to secure everlasting happiness in the afterlife. It is your road map showing how to get to paradise.

ALLAH's Gift of Guidance:

ALLAH has not left you alone. You were made for a reason. ALLAH tells you why he made you, what he demands from you, and what he has in store for you. If you operate a machine contrary to it's manufacture specification you will ruin that machine. What about you? Do you have an owner's manual for you? The Qur'an is from your function for success lest you fail to function. It is a healing mercy from ALLAH. It satisfies the soul, and cleans the heart. It removes doubts and brings peace.

Your Calling Card to Communicate with ALLAH:

Humans are social creatures. We love to communicate with other intelligent life. The Qur'an tells us how to communicate with the source of all intelligence and the source of all life- the only One God. The Qur'an tells us who ALLAH is, by what name we should address Him, and the way in which to communicate with ALLAH. Are these not seven sufficient reasons for reading the Qur'an?

[Shabir Aly]



Tips for improving your relationship with the Qur'an

Are you one of those people who rarely touches the Qur'an? Or do you read daily, but don't find it is having the impact on you that it should? Whatever the case may be, these are some simple tips that can help you connect with the Qur'an.

Before you touch it, check your heart. The key to really benefiting from the Qur'an is to check your heart first, before you even touch ALLAH's book. Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was described by his wife as a "walking Qur'an": in other words, he didn't just read and recite the Qur'an, he lived it.

Do your Wudu (ablution). Doing your Wudu is good physical and mental preparation to remind you you're not reading just another book. You are about to interact with ALLAH, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him.

Read only 5 minutes everyday. Too often, we think we should read Qur'an for at least one whole hour. If you aren't in the habit of reading regularly, this is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care of step one, Insha ALLAH (God willing), you will notice that those five minutes will become ten, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more!

Make sure you understand what you've read. Five minutes of reading the Qur'an in Arabic is good, but you need to understand what you're reading. Make sure you have a good translation of the Qur'an in the language you understand best. Always try to read the translation of what you've read that day.

Remember, the Qur'an is more interactive than a CD. In an age of "interactive" CD-Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Qur'an is not like that. Remember that when you read Qur'an,you are interacting with ALLAH. He is talking to you, so pay attention.

Don't just read, listen too. There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Qur'an, a number of them with translations as well. This is great to put on your walkman or your car's CD or stereo as you drive to and from work. Use this in addition to your daily Qur'an reading, not as a replacement for it.

Make Dua (supplication). Ask ALLAH to guide you when you read the Qur'an. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of ALLAH, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Dua to ALLAH for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this.

May ALLAH give us taufeeq to read, understand and apply the Book of ALLAH in our lives. (A'amin)