The Quran's Enduring Miracle: Its Universal And Flawless Recitation

The Miraculous Nature of the Qur'an

And it is being recited. Anyone who studied the Arabic language for even 3 or 4 days, he wouldn't understand — in the Arabic language there are only 2 tenses. Like in English we have 3 tenses: past, present, future. In the Arabic language there is only ماضي and مضارع. ماضي is past, مضارع means it's such a tense that can be used for the present as well as future at the same time. Allah uses this tense when referring to the Qur'an.

Is this not sufficient enough a miracle for them that we sent the Qur'an to them? Which is such that it is being recited to them and it will continue to be recited to them. Isn't the Qur'an a sufficient enough miracle? And if we ponder and we think about the Qur'an and its miraculous nature, subhanAllah, it's a never-ending subject matter. Every single time a person looks and he examines the Qur'an, he will find more things to speak about.

In fact, it's an entire genre that many ulema have contributed to, referring to the i'jaz of the Qur'an — the miraculous nature of the Qur'an in various different aspects. If you examine the Qur'an, then it's such a miracle that specifically the aspect of its recitation, where you find not just a few individuals, not just 10 or 11 or 12, you find hundreds of thousands of individuals who have memorized the Qur'an. This is such a miraculous feat, subhanAllah, it's not even humanly possible.

In fact, regarding the previous nations, it's mentioned in the Qur'an:

They actually considered Uzair, who became a prophet of Allah, to be the son of God at one point in time — because of the mere fact that he had memorized the scripture. There is nothing that compares. Then when you look at those individuals who are memorizing the Qur'an, you see them from various different backgrounds.

A Universal Recitation: The Miracle of Qira'ah

Also with respect to the recitation of the Qur'an — if you hear a person speaking in the English language, just a few minutes ago there was a guest, our guest speaker who came, and he mentioned, "For some reason I thought you were from this particular area of America, because of your accent." You can pick out where a person is from: there's a southern accent, there's an eastern accent, a western accent, people from New York speak a little bit differently, and so on and so forth. That's just in America.

Then when you go outside of America, and you have people from different countries, you can almost immediately detect where this person is from based on the way that he speaks English. You can tell if he's from India, if he's from Pakistan, if he's from China — it doesn't matter. Just the way that he speaks, the accent that he has, you can tell where he's from.

But if you were to look at an individual who has learned how to recite the Qur'an, and you were to line them all up — one Qari from Africa, one Qari from India, one Qari from China, one Qari from anywhere in the world — and you were to close your eyes and listen to them recite, every single one of them, you would not be able to determine who is from where. That is again the miraculous nature of the Qur'an. You find children who don't even understand the Arabic language, yet they are able to meticulously recite it in such a manner that you also cannot tell where the child is from.

This is the miraculous nature of the Qur'an. And wallahi al-'azim, I have come across such individuals — we had a classmate ourselves, he would have a terrible stutter. Whenever he would speak, he would always stutter. But when he would recite the Qur'an, wallahi al-'azim, he would not stutter. That is part of the miraculous nature of the Qur'an.

You will find that the Qur'an is the only compilation of all time which, despite being the first major contribution to that language, still stands as the pinnacle of eloquence in the language. The first book in the Arabic language, yet it is the perfection of that language. That is the Qur'an.

The Qur'an addresses such regions and it provides history regarding those regions regarding which no prior documentation has ever existed. This is the miraculous nature of the Qur'an. You will find the Qur'an is so powerful that despite the fact that people do not even understand what is being recited, it has such a profound effect that it smashes through the hardest of hearts and causes people who have no idea what's going on to even shed a few tears. This is the miraculous nature of the Qur'an.

We witness the miracle of the Qur'an every single Ramadan, when we see — subhanAllah, we are so blessed in the Chicagoland area — not just one completion, two completions, but hundreds, and perhaps without even exaggeration even close to a thousand, plus or minus, completions of the Qur'an, where individuals are reciting it from beginning to end without even looking at it. That is also a miracle. And subhanAllah, we are supposed to ponder about this miracle.

Is this not sufficient enough a miracle for us to understand the reality of this world, to understand the power of our Creator, to understand the truthfulness of the deen of Islam?

Ways of Drawing Closer to Allah

There are various different ways of coming closer to Allah. Some can come close by means of appreciation, shukr:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2486; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1765)

You will attain similar rewards to one who is fasting by being extremely appreciative, coming closer to Allah. Some people elevate in the court of Allah through bearing patience in difficulties that come their way. Other individuals, by exerting themselves in ibadah and constantly going against their carnal desires, come closer to Allah. And others, by constantly calling out to the greatness of Allah, they come closer to Allah.

One of the ways of coming closer to Allah is through knowledge, through ilm. And it is with regards to this that Allah says in the Qur'an, according to some Mufassirun:

Those individuals whom we granted the Qur'an to, and they recite it, and they study it, and they go over it — they are the ones who truly believe in it. Because they are the ones who, when they read the ayat of the Qur'an and they ponder about the miraculous nature of the Qur'an, they realize: this is impossible. This can only be provided from a Creator. This can only be from:

The King of all Kings. When a person studies the deen of Islam, they realize very quickly — how is it possible that we have such a systematic, such a wonderful, super intricate way of life that addresses every single aspect and part of our lives? It's perplexing. You realize immediately, you submit: this has to be from Allah. How is it possible? This has to be from Allah.

The Three Groups of People of the Qur'an

And when it comes to this miraculous nature of the Qur'an, when it comes to this miracle that Allah has provided, Allah addresses us again and He says:

That this wonderful miracle that we blessed mankind with — we gave it as a gift to select servants of ours. Allah mentions we gifted it in such a manner. The word أَوْرَثْنَا — like مِيرَاث, وِرَاثَة — this is inheritance. A person is gifted inheritance; he doesn't have to work for it. When someone passes away — may Allah grant all of our relatives long lives with aafiyah, iman, contentment, and happiness — but when a person passes away, then you are granted a share of inheritance which you never even worked for. You're gifted it; it's your right, it's yours.

Allah says: we gifted this Qur'an to select servants of ours. And from those to whom we gifted the Qur'an, there are different groups — three groups in particular.

Allah says, number one:

There are those who don't take advantage of this gift, and rather they waste it away. And in doing so, they are not harming anyone but themselves. SubhanAllah — when it comes to a gift, for example, let's say someone is suffering in the cold, and you see them suffering in the cold. So you go to the store using your own time, your own wealth, and you purchase a nice warm hat, a nice scarf for that individual. The next time you see them, you give it to them. What do you expect? You expect the next time he goes into the cold, he's going to wear the hat, he's going to wear the scarf, he's going to gain warmth. How are you going to feel if that same individual, over the next few days and months, is still battling and suffering against the cold, despite the fact that you granted him such a kind gift? You would feel very upset, perhaps offended.

Allah says: فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ — they are those who are not harming anyone else. Unfortunately, we are only causing harm to ourselves.

Then there is a second group of individuals:

Those who are at an intermediate level. They recite the Qur'an, they make it a habit, but they don't necessarily place themselves at the forefront. They read it, mashAllah, but they also neglect it from time to time.

And then you have:

Those who, with the permission of Allah, are at the forefront. It is with regards to these individuals that Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned:

Allah has such individuals that are so close to Him — Rasulullah ﷺ even used the word "family." Allah has no family members, Allah has no son, Allah has no wife, etc.:

But they are so close to Allah that Rasulullah ﷺ used the word أَهْلِينَ مِنَ النَّاسِ. So then the Sahabah, they were so eager to find out — who are these individuals that are so close to Allah?

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 215; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 12279)

Those individuals who have stuck to the Qur'an, who have made it truly a part of their lives, those who are known as the people of the Qur'an — these are the select, chosen servants of Allah. We make du'a that Allah makes us amongst these individuals, and that He protects us from the first category especially, and that He elevates us — if we are in the second category — to the third category.

Ramadan and the Qur'an

The month of Ramadan is known as:

It's a month wherein the Qur'an was revealed. It's a month wherein Rasulullah ﷺ himself would ensure that he recited the entire Qur'an. So we should make it a habit also to try and complete at least one recitation of the Qur'an. And in order to do that, in order to achieve that, we have to start working from now. We have to start and create a habit.

If we think about it, it's very easily achievable. And if we are not at that level — perhaps some of us have not yet learned how to recite the Qur'an — then mashAllah we have so many different avenues available to us where we can begin to learn how to read the Qur'an. If we do know how to read the Qur'an, let us make a timetable, let us make a goal — that perhaps after every single salah I will recite at least 5 pages in about 20 minutes. In some of the Mus'hafs you'll find every Juz is 20 pages. There are 30 Juz, plus or minus usually 30 days in Ramadan. So if you recite 5 pages after every salah, which may take you 20 to 30 minutes — in the month of Ramadan you have so much extra time because you're not eating, you're not drinking, you don't have to go to the bathroom as much either. So you have all the extra time. And perhaps there's extra time at night, or we can even make extra time.

SubhanAllah, I'll end off with this. Rasulullah ﷺ mentions that on the Day of Judgment, two things will come and they will beg in the court of Allah on our behalf. The first thing is fasting, which is something that we all do. It will say: ya Allah, I stopped him from all of his carnal desires, I stopped him from eating, I stopped him from drinking. And the second thing that will come is the Qur'an. It will come on the Day of Judgment and will say: ya Allah, I prevented him from sleep, I prevented him from comfort, I made him stay awake at night. So let us ask ourselves — how many of us have actually gone through that difficulty for the Qur'an, such that we can say for a fact, or at least be comfortably hoping, that on the Day of Judgment the Qur'an will intercede on our behalf.

So let us make a schedule, and even if it means sacrificing some of our sleep and our comfort to achieve that, then so be it. That will be eternal success. May Allah grant us all the ability to do so.

Is There Reward Even Without Understanding?

Lastly, there is a notion that — what's the benefit of reading Qur'an if I don't know the meaning? But that is not something that we should keep in our minds. Every single book usually has a foreword that mentions a little bit about the book. And the Qur'an also — subhanAllah — the ulama have mentioned how Surah Al-Fatihah condenses everything that's mentioned in the Qur'an. It's like a summary, it's like a foreword to the whole entire Qur'an.

Similarly, if you look at الم — it's such words that no one understands what they mean, yet they are still in the Qur'an. الم, حم, طه, يس — no one knows what they mean, but yet they still result in reward. That's why Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2910)

For every letter a person recites, he will receive one reward, and that reward will be multiplied by ten. No one knows what الم means, yet Rasulullah ﷺ himself said that الم will still yield reward. So therefore, everyone is requested to insha'Allah make it a point to attach themselves to the Qur'an. May Allah grant us all the tawfiq and the ability to do so.

We'll ask for du'a, and alhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin. Insha'Allah the adhan will be called out, and then after the adhan we can perform our sunnah, and then insha'Allah announcements will be called after the sunnah.

Announcements

Kindly note that there is no curb parking. Please do not park on the curbs behind the seminary building or Swift Highway. Please also do not park in the condos parking lot.

Alhamdulillah, we have our annual No-Tech Retreat, which is a 24-hour escape from technology to connect with our Creator. It will take place this Saturday after Maghrib Salah until Sunday after Maghrib Salah — with Shaykh Zakariyya Patel. He is the Imam of Masjid Taqwa in Toronto. MashAllah, because of weather conditions he had to miss his flight, but yet he braved the weather and drove all the way here — subhanAllah, making such a sacrifice to benefit us and to be with us. So all the brothers and sisters are humbly requested to join and participate.

Additionally, we have a program tonight — The Psychology of Change — after Isha Salah, with Shaykh Munsif Mubarak and also Shaykh Zakariyya Patel. This is part of Dar Es Salaam's series of programs to prepare ourselves for the month of Ramadan and to get ourselves in the best of mindsets and insha'Allah the best of habits. So this is also a wonderful lecture to attend. All the brothers and sisters are humbly requested to join and participate.

Our Ta'lim Weekend Islamic Studies program has already begun. Enrollment is still open. Classes are online and on-site every weekend. You can see the website for more information.

Upcoming programs that we have: Guide to a Healthy and Balanced Fast with Mawlana Asifuddin — this will be on Friday, March 1st after Isha Salah. And Fiqh of Ramadan will be on Friday, March 8th after Isha Salah with Mufti Minhaj, insha'Allah.

Our weekly programs are also continuing. Team Fajr will be tomorrow at Fajr Salah at 6 a.m. Tuesday Tafsirs are also continuing after Isha Salah, which are at 7:30. We also have our weekly Salawat and Khatira every Thursday. And we also have various different sister programs — particularly a weekly Tafsir in Urdu on Thursdays from 12 to 1. Those who would like to register and see more information can check the website.

Du'a Requests

We also have multiple du'a requests. First and foremost, let us all insha'Allah make sincere du'a for all of our brothers and sisters who are suffering throughout the world — particularly in Palestine, in Yemen, in Syria, in China, etc. May Allah alleviate them of their situation. May Allah protect them, and may Allah protect all of the Muslims that are going through difficulty throughout the world.

Additionally, we have special du'a requests for Dr. Faisal Anwar's younger sister. She is on a respirator in very critical condition in Karachi. Please make special du'a for her. Rafi Ahmad is also in critical condition in the ICU. Let us make du'a for his shifa. As well as Dr. Shahid Mumtaz, who is currently in a coma. May Allah grant them all recovery.