For Qur’an, Always Save Your Best
Dr. Pasha
(Bringing Islam to the World One Concept at a Time!
Taking the Qur'an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It --
And which One Does Not?)
Qur’an Is for All Occasions
Qur’an is for all times and for all occasions and purposes. And it is for everyone. Yet, the Qur’an is for the best of you and you must always save your best for the Qur’an.
Allah’s doors are open for all, and yet the Qur’an will accept some and reject some others. The Qur’an will embrace some and raise them to heights they cannot even imagine. And the Qur’an will push some others away and down to depths and distances no one wants to plumb or traverse.
Qur’an Is Everything
Qur’an is the universe and the world is nothing but an unfolding of the Qur’an in perpetual Time-Space Continua. If all of the story of humanity, its beginning and its end, and its past, present and future can all be summarized in one word, that word would be Qur’an.
If all of the complexity, range and richness of Islam can be stated in one word, it will be Qur’an.
Qur’an is everything.
Qur’an Is Direct Access to the Divine
Qur’an is the true and the most direct reflection of the divine in weak, mortal and flawed human hands. It is the most direct access humans have to the divine.
That is why if this Qur’an were to be set down on a mountain that mountain would disintegrate into a billion pieces.
No different from what happened to Musa, Alaihis Salam, and the mountain.
Ja’alahu Dakka, says Allah, “Turned it to dust.”
And yet the Qur’an is placed in our hands. And we are invited to read the Qur’an – and to handle the Qur’an, albeit not without Ghusl (complete formal bath) and not without Wudu (complete formal wash).
So, Save the Best for the Qur’an
That is why we must save our best for the Qur’an. And – that means – when it comes to organizing the Qur’an Khatm, it must be done by the best of the best of us – going down in rank.
A rank earned through sustained dedication, sincerity and hard work over a long period of time.
Qur’an Khatm has strong grounding in the Hadith. It is an honored and established Islamic tradition. And the best Muslims always practiced it, albeit more individually and on their own, than in formal groups.
So, let us all remember this: Nothing and No One but the Best of the Best for the Qur’an.
A Divine Hierarchy of the Qur’an
While Qur’an could and should be read anywhere and everywhere, always with Wudu of course, and never in bathrooms and really, really dirty places such as slaughterhouses, the best recitation of the Qur’an is in Salaah.
And here is a natural hierarchy of the reading and recitation of the Qur’an, a totally divine arrangement. Follow this hierarch very carefully.
Nazala Bihir Roohul Ameen.
“Ar-Rooh Al-Ameen brought it down with him.”
Ar-Rooh Al-Ameen? How about “The Most Trusted Spirit”? Reference is to Allah’s most special and trusted (Al-Ameen: most trusted) angel, Hazrat Jibraeel, Alahis Salaam.
That is Step One after Allah: Hazrat Jibraeel, Alahis Salaam.
Step Two:
Allah’s Most Special Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam
And then who was in charge of reading and reciting the Qur’an in public on this earth? Who did Hazrat Jibraeel, Alahis Salaam, entrust the Qur’an to?
Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, of course.
What did he do?
Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, not only read out the Qur’an to the people; he not only taught them the Qur’an; he not only explained the Qur’an to the world and show the world how to practice the Qur’an in every single aspect of their life; he also read and recited the Qur’an – Tilaawant – in public five times a day in the five daily prayers.
And he did that till his last breath.
Steps Three, Four, Five and Six:
Khulafaa’ Raashideen, Ridwaanullahu 'Alaihim Ajma’een
And then, even as Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, was ailing and ready to depart this world, he appointed Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeque, Radiyallahu Anhu, to read and recite the Qur’an in public by deputizing him to lead the Salah.
Hazrat Abu Bakr, Radiyallahu Anhu, carried out this most important and noble duty till his death.
After Hazrat Abu Bakr’s death, Hazrat Umar, Radiallahu Anhu, took over as the next Khaleefah and spearheaded the reading and reciting of the Qur’an in public in Salah till his death.
Hazrat Umar, Radiallahu Anhu, met his death even as he was leading the Fajr (morning) Salah in the Masjid (mosque) – reading and reciting the Qur’an in public.
Hazrat Uthman and Hazrat Ali, Radiallahu 'Anhuma
Then came Hazrath Uthman, Radiallahu 'Anhu, who succeeded Hazrat Umar, as the third Khaleefah, after whom came Hazrat Ali, Radiallahu 'Anhu, as the last of the four elected Muslim Khulafaa’ Raashideen – blessed and guided and put on the right track by God.
And they all read and recited the Qur’an in public as they led their communities in Salah.
So, Do You See Now?
So, do you see now who was in charge of reading and reciting the Qur’an in public?
And therefore, by extension, who should be in charge of organizing public readings and recitations of the Qur’an today such as a formal and organized Khatm?
Qur’an Is Not a Refuge from Reality
Yet, at the same time, let us also not forget this: The Qur’an is not a refuge from reality – even though it is.
And the Qur’an is not a place for us to escape from our daily, hourly, minute-by-minute obligations and responsibilities, whether they are our so-called worldly duties and chores or our so-called other-worldly duties and requirements.
Even though the Qur’an is all of the above – and more!
Qur’an No Substitute for Working for Allah
But don’t ever forget that Qur’an is no “substitute” to Working for Allah.
Hiding in the house, or in the Masjid (mosque), and doing the Tilaawat of the Qur’an (reading and reciting the Qur’an, that is), is no substitute for toiling mightily; for hitting the road; for roaming the streets; for wandering the world – doing what you must do, which is meeting and talking to people, trying to “Take the Qur’an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It – and Which One Does Not?”
That is, to the kind of activities we have been calling Working for Allah!
Even though it is.
Qur’an:
Where All Opposites and Polarities Meet
In the Qur’an, all polarities, all opposites, all contradictions and all conceivable dimensional divergences meet and resolve themselves into one truly seamless and integrated whole of never-ending wonders, joy, beauty and perfection.
For that is who God is. How can he be otherwise? How can he be anything else?
Even though it is not right – it is simply bad form – to attribute anything bad or evil to God – Ma’aadhallah.
And that is precisely also what God Almighty’s book, the Qur’an, is: the place where all contradictions and controversies go to die.
All Good from God, All Bad from Us
That means all Good – every conceivable good thing – comes from God Almighty.
But what about bad and evil things, where do they come from?
Of course they all come from us: you and me and the rest of this world. Where else?
That is what Allah says. Read the Qur’an:
Maa Asaabaka Min Hasanatin Fa-minallah!
Ws Maa Asaabaka Min Sayyi-atin Fa-min Nafsika!
Everything Is from Allah
But then the fact is all things are from Allah. Nothing comes – and nothing can come – from anywhere else, from any other source.
For, he is the only doer, the only actor. For, he is the only one who has the power and the capability to do anything, everything.
Go back to the Qur’an:
Qul, Kullun Min 'Indillah!
“Say, everything is from Allah!”
Can’t Figure Out?
Can’t figure out? Your head is reeling? Don’t get it?
Well, turn to the Qur’an and read on:
“What is wrong with these people?” asks the Qur’an. “They don’t seem to understand a thing.”
They just don’t seem to get it.
Fa-maa Li-Haa-ulaa-il Qawumi, Laa Yakaadoona
Yafqahoona Hadeethaa!
So, what must you do then? What is the answer? Where do you go looking for one?
Qur’an Is the Answer
Go to the Qur’an. For, that is where all the answers are. So, read the Qur’an and figure out:
Huwal Awwalu Wal Aakhiru, Waz Zaahiru Wal Baatinu!
“He is the first, and he is the last; he is the beginning, and
he is the end. He is the manifest, and he is the concealed.
He is what meets the eye, and the eye sees, and he is also what is concealed from the eye.”
Get it? Read elsewhere in the Qur’an:
Nabbi’e 'Ibaadee Annee Anal Ghafoorur Raheem!
Wa Anna 'Adhaabee Huwal 'Adhaabul Aleem!
“I am the most forgiving and most merciful,
and my punishment is the most terrible one.”
And also read in the Qur’an:
Inna Rabbaka Saree’ul 'Iqaab,
Wa Innahu La-Ghafoorur Raheem!
Run to Allah! Run to Qur’an!
And that is why all must run to the Qur’an, even as the entire universe is running to the Qur’an. And even as the Qur’an is unfolding in the universe.
Says the Qur’an:
Fa-Firroo Ilallah!
“Run to Allah!”
How?
Easy!
Run to the Qur’an, you will run to Allah.
So, remember, from now on, when it comes to the Qur’an, nothing but the best.
Don’t palm off the Qur’an to underlings, assistants or truant relatives or offspring who are too afraid, too busy, too distracted or too indifferent to regularly show up in the activities that we call Working for Allah.
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