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The Noble Quran is guidance and manifestation, counsel and evidence, enlightenment and remedy, reminder and notification, promise and threat, warning and good tidings. It guides unto the Truth and righteousness as well as the straight path. It brings forth people from the shadows to the light by the leave of their Lord to the path of the All- Mighty, All-Laudable.
It decides between the people touching their differences. It contains clarification of everything, and it is a healing to the hearts.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) described the Noble Quran saying,
“ It is Allah’s Book which contains information of those before you, and news of those (to come) after you, and a decision of what (you have) among you. Whosoever seeks guidance elsewhere will be misguided by Allah.
Man's need to the Quran
It is the firm bound of Allah and wise remembrance. Men possessed of knowledge are never fed up with it. It never becomes boring of repetition. Its miracles never end. Whosoever judges by it acts justly; whosoever speaks by it says the truth; whosoever works on it will be rewarded; and whosoever calls unto it is rightly guided to the straight path.”
Beyond a shadow of doubt, the Noble Quran, being the Word of Allah, is a major source for knowing Him; similarly are the heavens and Earth, His creation, and natural events, His Deeds.
When a very complicated apparatus is purchased, it must necessarily be provided with a special catalogue that shows its proper functions and uses as well as maintenance instructions. The catalogue is indispensable if the apparatus is to be used properly and accurately. Similarly, man, with his miraculous and most sophisticated mind and body, is the most complicated. Its cells, tissues, organs and apparatus are so delicate, so complicated and so perfect that a great many secrets of its nature and functions are still unveiled. Furthermore, there dwells inside the human body his own Self with its conflicting feelings and sentiments, caprices and values, needs and principles. There also exists a miraculous brain with millions and millions of controversial principles, rules, facts, ideas as well as analytical and creative abilities that qualify man to rank all other creatures.
Now the question is: does not this honored creature, man, so miraculously complicated as he is, need to be provided with a catalogue from his Creator, Sustainer, Cherisher, the Lord All Mighty, a Book in which he is informed of the purpose he has been created for and the proper equipment that enables him to achieve this purpose?
Does not this honored creature need a Book in which he finds the way that he should follow, so that his movements and actions are rightly guided and safeguarded from any kind of error, confusion or vainness?
Does not this creature, marvelously created as he is, need a Book where he can find the rules ensuring his safety - safety of his body from harm, his own self from corruption and his mind from idleness or falsehood?
Does not this honored creature need a Book containing principles ensuring his happiness in the present life and the life to come?
Allah is praised for revealing the Quran and creating the universe
The Maker’s Catalogue, Allah’s guidance for mankind, is the Noble Quran, which is by no means less important than the creation of the heavens and earth, due to the great guidance and enlightenment it provides. To this effect, Allah, All-high, says,
“Praise belongs to Allah who has created the heavens and the earth”
and
“Praise belongs to Allah who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has not assigned unto it any crookedness.”
Allah is praised for the favor of creating the heavens and earth, and so is He for the favor of providing guidance through His Book, the Noble Quran.
Allah bears witness that the Quran is His Words
Allah, All high, bears witness to man that the Noble Quran is His Word, and that the man to whom the Quran was revealed was the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (PBUH). To this effect, the Quranic verse goes,
“But Allah bears witness to that He has sent down to thee; He has sent it down with His knowledge; and the angels also bear witness; and Allah suffices for a witness.”
Evidence: Allah, All-high, says,
“And whosoever does a righteous deed, be it male or female, believing, We shall assuredly give him to live a goodly life.”
Therefore, if man is possessed of true belief and performs righteous deeds, Allah is sure to make him taste of a goodly life of tranquility, peace, stability, ease, success, happiness and joy.
Through such goodly life that Allah has made him taste, in fulfillment of His promise, man is sure to sense that Allah, All high, bears witness to him that the Noble Quran is really His word, and that this goodly life is of Allah’s favor in fulfillment of His promise. And when such an act of Allah matches with what He says in the Noble Quran, it becomes crystal clear that the Noble Quran is verily the Word of Allah.
Counter Evidence: Allah, All-high, says,
“…but whosoever turns away from My remembrance, his shall be a life of narrowness.”
Whosoever turns away from remembering Allah and His word, the Noble Quran, and neglects His commandments and prohibitions, promises and threats, Allah makes him taste a life of narrowness, fear, anxiety, depression, tension, hardship, frustration, wretchedness and loss. Through such a narrow unhappy life, which he tastes in fulfillment of Allah’s threat, he learns that Allah bears witness to him that the Noble Quran is definitely His Word.
The Quran is enlightnment from Allah
The human eye, no matter how physically sound, or how properly it works, can see nothing in the absence of light. Similarly, the human mind can perceive nothing in the absence of Allah’s Guide-light, the Noble Quran. To this purport, Allah All high says,
“O men! A proof has now come to you from your Lord; and We have sent down to you a manifest Light,”
Once a believer is endowed with enlightenment from Allah, his mind will never go astray; his soul will never be unprosperous. Allah, All high, says,
“but if there comes to you from Me guidance, then whosoever follows My guidance shall not go astray, neither shall he be unprosperous.”
How could a person who reauthors the Quran go astray?
How is it possible for a person who reads the Quran to go astray after the Quran provides him with the truthful authentic explanation of the realities of such vital matters as the universe, life and man, as sent down from the Originator of all worlds, Provider of life and Creator of man.
* The heavens and earth have been created in the Truth, i.e. stability, continuity and highness. They have not been created in Falsehood or Play.
* The heavens and earth have been subjected for man to help him get to know Allah, have faith in Him and be thankful to Him.
*The present life is but a place for trial, discontinuity and labor; the Hereafter is the place for recompense, continuity and honor.
*The present world, as described by Allah, All high is nothing but play, sport, temporary enjoyment, adornment, ostentation, rivalry in wealth; the Hereafter is better and more enduring; it is the abode of stability. Allah, All high, says,
“ Whatever thing you have been given is the enjoyment of the present life and its adornment; and what is with Allah is better and more enduring. Will you not understand? What! Is he to whom We have promised a fair promise, and he receives it, like him to whom We have given the enjoyment of the present life, then he on the Resurrection Day shall be of those that are arraigned? “
* Man was not created merely for sport, and shall not be left to roam at will. He is a clear proof against himself, even though he offers his excuses. He is the creature whom Allah has created in the fairest stature and bestowed the greatest honor upon. Even more, He has carried the Trust, which was offered to the heavens and earth and mountains, but they refused to carry it, and were afraid of it. Man was created weakling, hasty, fretful - impatient when visited by evil, grudging when visited by good - save those that pray. Surely, every man shall have to his account only as he has labored; and his laboring shall be seen, then he shall be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense. He prospers and wins if he obeys Allah and His Messenger and if he cleanses himself and remembers the Name of his Lord and prays. On the Resurrection Day, neither wealth nor sons shall be of any avail except for him who comes to Allah with a pure heart. Surely, man is in the way of loss, save those who believe, do righteous deeds, counsel each other unto the truth, and counsel each other to be steadfast.
* How is it possible for a person who reads the Noble Quran to go astray after the Quran explains to him that there is no god but Allah, that He, All-high, prevails in His purpose, but most men do not know, that it is He who in heaven is God and in earth is God, that He is the All-wise, All-Knowing, that unto Him the whole matter shall be returned, that He is the Guardian over everything, that He judges and none repels His judgment, that He, All high, associates in His government no one, that there is no creature that crawls but He takes it by the forelock, that whatsoever mercy Allah opens to men, none can withhold, and whatsoever He withholds, none can loose after Him, and that Allah does not change what is in a people, until they change what is in themselves!
* Whosoever the Quran rightly guides, his mind shall never go astray nor shall his soul be unprosperous. How come that man’s soul become unprosperous and unhappy after Allah, All-high, has bestowed upon him security and peace of mind that a great many people psychologically lack. Once he believes in Allah as the One and Only, he frees himself from polytheism, both manifest and cryptic, and hence remains securely aloof from psychological disorders. In proof of this, Allah, All high, says,
“ So call you not upon another god with Allah, lest you should be one of those that are chastised.”
Once a person believes in Allah as the One and Only, and that unto Him alone the whole matter shall be returned, his faith is sure to lead him to obey his Lord and avoid doing evil things to any of His creatures, and consequently to deserve the favor of security. To this effect, the Noble Quran goes,
“ Which of the two parties has better title to security if you have any knowledge? Those who believe, and have not confounded their belief with evil doing - to them belongs the true security; they are rightly guided.”
*How come that the Self of anyone who reads the Quran should taste of wretchedness or sadness when he reads the Holy verses,
“or do those who commit evil deeds think that We shall make them as those who believe and do righteous deeds, equal their living and their dying? How ill they judge!”
Is there greater tranquility and peace of mind than that promised by Allah, Creator of the whole universe, Who reassures man that his true faith and righteous work shall never be left to waste, and that his life shall never be like the life of those who turn away from their Lord, commit grievous sins and go astray into the shadows.
*How can the Soul of someone who reads the Quran be unprosperous or wretched after he reads Allah’s words, “ Those who have said, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ then have gone straight, upon them the angels descend saying
‘Fear not, neither sorrow; rejoice in Paradise that you were promised. We are your friends in the present life and in the world to come; therein you shall have all that your souls desire, all that you call for, as hospitality from One All-forgiving, One All-compassionate.”
Is there a sensation more destructive to man’s soul than fear? You are ill when you fear illness, poor when you fear poverty. Expecting a disaster is even more disastrous than disaster itself.
Is there a more crushing feeling than that of regret and sadness for something after it is too late? When man is suddenly visited by death, he cries out desperately,
“Alas for me that I have neglected my duty towards Allah! O would that I had forwarded for my life! Would that I had taken a way along with the Messenger of Allah! Alas! Would that I had not taken so-and-so for a friend!”
The Quran reassures the believers:
However, the Quran reassures the believers who have faith in Allah and adhere strictly to His commands, that they shall never fear a thing in the present world, for Allah is their Protector and Supporter Who defends them, and guides them to the straight path. Never shall they be sorry to leave this present life, for true believers are transferred through death from the narrowness of the present mundane world to the infinite vastness of the world to come - just like a baby coming out from the narrowness of his mother’s womb to the vastness of the world.
*How come that a believer should refrain from reclaiming his extorted rights after Allah, All high, reassures him,
“And Allah said, ‘ I am with you, surely, if you perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and believe in My Messengers and succor them, and lend to Allah a good loan”
“Victory comes only from Allah”
“If Allah helps you, none can over come you” [III, 160] and, “If you help Allah, He will help you, and confirm your feet.”
*How come that a believer should refrain from reclaiming his extorted rights after hearing Allah’s address to true believers,
“If there be twenty of you, patient men, they will overcome two hundred; if there be a hundred of you, they will overcome a thousand unbelievers, for they are a people who understand not.”
and,
“Faint not in seeking the heathen; if you are suffering, they are also suffering as you are suffering, and you are hoping from Allah for that for which they cannot hope.”
Al-Hafez Mohammad Ibn Nasr Al-Marwazi mentioned in his book- the chapter of staying up the night in religious devotion- that Al-Ahnaf Ibn Kays was one day sitting at home reading the Quran when he met a verse saying,
“Now, We have sent down to you a Book wherein there is your mention, will you not understand?”
Not only did The verse draw his attention but also stirred him up to find out where he stood in the Noble Quran and what kind of man he was.
While reading, he came across a people who,
“Little of the night would they slumber, and in the morning they would ask for forgiveness; and the beggar and the outcast had a share in their wealth”
other people who,
“Their sides shun their couches as they call on their Lord in fear and hope; and they expend of that We have provided them” [XXXII; 16] a third group who, “pass the night prostrating to their Lord and standing”
sh3er who,
“expend in prosperity and adversity in almsgiving, and restrain their rage, and pardon the offences of their fellow men, and Allah loves the good-doers”
those who,
“prefer sh3er above themselves even though poverty be their portion”
He stopped there and invoked, “O Allah, I do not find myself among these, [i.e., he did not find himself possessed of such great qualities]
He resumed reading and came across a people who,
“When it was said to them, ‘There’s no god but Allah’; they were ever waxing proud”
sh3er being asked,
“What cast you into Sakar (of Hell)?’ They said, ‘We were not of those who prayed, and we fed not the needy, and we plunged along with the plungers, and we cried lies to the Day of Doom, till the Certain came to us’.”
Here, he stooped and invoked,
“O Allah, I acquit myself from these”
and went on reading until he came to this verse,
“And sh3er have confessed their sins; they have mixed a righteous deed with another evil. It may be that Allah will turn towards them; Allah is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.”
Here he said,
“ I find myself among these!”
Perhaps he said that out of modesty (because he was a venerable righteous man).
Therefore, when we read the Noble Quran, we should try to find out where we stand in the Book of Allah.
Now, what does the Prophetic Sunna and Tradition say about the Quran? It has been narrated that Uthman Ibn Affan, the venerable companion, once quoted the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) as saying,
“The best one among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it”. Omar Ibn All-Khattab also quoted the Messenger of Allah as saying, “Allah, All high, verily upgrades some people with this Book and downgrades some”.
The Messenger of Allah also says
“He who reads the Quran, and is skillful in it, shall be with the Scribes, noble and pious; and the believer who reads the Quran is like a citron whose odor is nice and taste delicious”,
“No envy save in two things: A man whom Allah has taught the Quran-so he reads it day and night, and a man whom Allah has granted property-so he spends it [i.e., in the way of Allah]day and night”.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was also quoted as addressing the venerable Companion Mou’ath Ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him,
“O Mou’ath, a believer is bound by the truth; he knows that there is an Observer watching him-his ear, his eye, his tongue, and his hand. A believer is bound by the Quran from his caprices and desires, and he is safeguarded from perishing in what he loves.”
He (PBUH) also said,
“The Quran reader never grieves; and Allah does not chastise a heart that retains the Quran; and he who comprehends the Quran, Allah grants him enjoyment in his mind until he dies,” , “Read the Quran so as it forbids you [i.e., from evildoing] if it does not forbid you [from evildoing] you don’t really read it.” and, “He isn’t a true believer in the Quran - he who takes as permissible the things it deems as unlawful; and many a reader of the Quran are cursed by it.”
