"Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah, he will have a reward. And that reward will be multiplied by ten. I am not saying that “Alif, Laam, Meem” is a letter, rather I am saying that “Alif” is a letter, “laam” is a letter and “meem” is a letter.” So increase your recitation of the Qur’an to gain these merits, and to gain the following merit as well." (Prophetic Teaching)
I was raised in a traditional Pakistani home. No, we didn't eat Pratha every morning. I’m talking about our relationship with the Quran.
My siblings and I learned to read the Quran in our early childhood, memorizing large portions, enabling us to recite at extremely high speeds – all the while never understanding a word. I was taught of the immense rewards for reciting the Quran and so I dutifully complied, reading as much as possible in an attempt to accumulate good deeds.
Later, when I went away to college, rationality found its way into my religion. I figured it made no sense that I was reading something I didn’t understand. I felt strongly, as many college students do when it comes to their under-developed thoughts, that reciting the Quran without understanding was a completely worthless endeavor.
And as many immature individuals are wont to do, I began to look down on those who differed from my newfound approach. I would pity the Bangladeshi man whizzing through his Quran recitation or arrogantly correct my aged Aunt who would dash through her litany of nightly dhikr.
I figured the only way to benefit from any act of worship is by *intellectually* internalizing it and this required a competent level of understanding what was being recited and contemplating over it.
I extended this line of thought to my dhikr. In my childhood I would witness my elder relatives whirring through their post-prayer dhikr (Subhan’Allah 33x, Alhamdul’Ilah 33x, and AllahuAkbar 34x) and naturally I adopted their methodology. However, in my college years, I felt dhikr performed at the speed of light was fruitless and instead opted for a more sedate approach, choosing to recite less and ponder more.
So while I used to rush to finish reciting the Quran during the 30 days of Ramadan, I chose instead to read less with an emphasis on studying the translation. Similarly, I stopped sprinting through my dhikr and lessened the load, reciting each term 5 or 6 times, focusing on the meaning rather than reciting it exactly 33 times.
I convinced myself that intellectual comprehension was the key to spiritual bliss.
After all, that is the only way to internalize worship, no? Through understanding, contemplation, and deep reflection, right?
Ahh, the rotten fruits of modern secular thought.
Thankfully, I've been blessed to be in the company of people who have freed themselves from these chains of backwards thinking.
I’ve learned that great spiritual blessings (barakah) are found in reciting the Quran and doing dhikr, regardless of the intellect's ability to process the content. As long as the heart and soul are focused on Allah (swt), the blessings of partaking in these blessed acts are beyond our measly rationale.
I now understand how special Godly individuals are able to recite the entire Quran in one week or three days or even one day. I understand how some select few are able to recite the Tahlil (La-Illaha-il-Allah) thousands of times each day.
For the heart moves at a pace which the brain can simply not maintain.
Blessings are not derived purely from understanding. The Prophet (saw) even said so.
When he taught us that reciting each letter of the Quran will bring about 10 blessings, the examples he gave – the beginning letters of Sura Baqarah (Alif, Lam, Mim) – are universally accepted as being beyond the understanding of man.
So according to our beloved Master, blessings reside in the recitation of something we will *never* understand.
Now, does this mean that we needn't ponder and reflect on what is being recited? Of course not.
I am simply stating that we mustn't belittle those speeding along the fast lane of the spiritual highway, without a care for their intellectually mandated speed limits.
WAW
4 days ago
20 comments:
Salaam
You make a good point. I held that same arrogant position, and still succumb to it now and then, astagfirullah.
I guess there should be balance, but from a personal perspective. So what is 'fast' for you, might be just the right speed for another, and vica versa.
As long as your heart is in it. :)
Naeem,
Jazack Allahuu Kharin for the post. It seems that I too have traveled the winding road that you described. How Allah guides, Allahuu Akbar!
Assalamu alaikum brother Naeem,
You make a wonderful point. I think both recitation of Quran and pondering its meaning should go hand in hand most of the time, but just plain recitation is better than not reciting at all. Thus we shouldn't chastise Muslims who only recite without necessarily understanding the meaning; we should only gently remind them to also sometimes ponder about the meaning behind what they recite.
It's akin to how you'll find most Muslims don't practice faithfully all the tenets of Islam but Mash'Allah if they ever get the chance they are willing to spend time, money and energy to perform Hajj no matter how expensive it is or how old they are. They're still love and conviction for the Deen and for Allah which is something truly wonderful to behold.
Naeem, I think you should have both. You must recite because recitation itself is an act of worship, but if you don't make an attempt to understand what God is telling you then you will be asked to account for that. Nowadays with multiple translations and the internet there is no excuse for not understanding the Quran.
Besides, the state of decay that is the Muslim world in the east is because they outsourced their understanding of the Quran to someone else. This is why Islam will rise from the west.
Wow. This is kind of what I've been talking about in my last few posts. I wonder if you've read them. I have to get to school right now but I will "rationalize" this and come up with a point. I wish I could have a discussion with you on this whole rationalizing concept, your a very smart person. :D
I will respond soon.
-Faique
ROFL it seems you have a personality that runs to extremes.
"Modern secular thought" isn't backwards nor is it completely secular.
It is well proven and well known if you repeat something over and over you can easily put yourself into calm peaceful trance-like state. Which is the point of Salah and Dhikr so that we may reflect upon reality not be deluded by the dunya.
The dunya deceives us to believe we are not somebody unless we have something. While the reality is we as humans were made by Allah to amal as saalihat. To work to put things in the proper perspective and to perform proper actions.
Confusing an action that produces a mental and biological effect (calm,peaceful state) with something other worldly is superstition.
Allah created the world to function in certain way and just because one hasn't noticed how other deens perform similar actions that produce similar results doesn't mean there's something inherently mystical about performing certain actions (dhikr,Qira'at,etc).
As far reciting Quran without meaning the Quran says very clearly it is guidance. How can it guide you if you don't understand it?
AA-
Thanks for the comments folks!
@iMuslim, yes it does seem that a balance is important and can only be established on an individual level.
@RCHOUDH, thank you for understanding my post. Sometimes when I don't have the energy to *study* the Quran, I can at least take out 15 minutes to recite several pages. There are GREAT blessings to be earned by that.
@Haleem, yes, I agree that we should have both. But we shouldn't restrict ourselves to believing that the only benefit from reciting the Quran is from studying it. Our minds may convince us that it makes 'no sense' to read something that you don't understand (thus preventing you from acting upon it), but like I said in my post, our hearts travel in a different dimension than our minds.
We need to appreciate this fact and even celebrate it. I recently sat with a Sheikh who taught us to do salawat upon the Prophet (saw) 100 times in less than 2 minutes - showing us how easy it is to do every day. Years ago, I would have scoffed at him, as I'm sure many would do so today.
But in reality the benefits derived from such actions are not rationalizable. They are of the spiritual realm.
AA- Hamza21,
Yeah I probably do have a personality of extremes, but wondering which extremes you are referring to in this case? :-)
When I referenced modern secular thought, I was simply alluding to the Cartesian 'I think, therefore I am' approach to existence, which foolishly posits Reason as the sole source of knowledge.
"While the reality is we as humans were made by Allah to amal as saalihat. To work to put things in the proper perspective and to perform proper actions."
I may be nitpicking here, but I can't say I agree completely with this statement. We weren't created to perform good deeds. That isn't our purpose or objective in life. Deeds are merely a result of complete submission (uboodiyah). Perfecting that state of submission is our purpose. Achieving said state is not only by rationalizable actions.
"Confusing an action that produces a mental and biological effect (calm,peaceful state) with something other worldly is superstition."
Not sure what you're getting at here.
"Allah created the world to function in certain way and just because one hasn't noticed how other deens perform similar actions that produce similar results doesn't mean there's something inherently mystical about performing certain actions (dhikr,Qira'at,etc)."
Ditto. Please explain.
"As far reciting Quran without meaning the Quran says very clearly it is guidance. How can it guide you if you don't understand it?"
Because guidance is not restricted to the intellect.
Listen, I'm not saying that we should all ditch our translations and tafseers and blindly recite day and night. We will all be held accountable to read, ponder, reflect, and act upon what we read. Yes, I agree.
But I repeat, that hidaya (guidance) is not only achieved through our Reason. There are other, greater sources of such knowledge.
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Salamu'alaykum,
Muslims often get excited and proud about the fact that Muslim-written translations generally keep the Arabic script intact next to translation.
The fundamental reason we are proud of this is because we acknowledge that the meaning of the Quran is beyond any translation, anything else is corruptible and an interpretation.
We may give lip service to the idea that we are aware that was Yusuf Ali wrote is not 'The True Meaning', but for all intents and purposes we act as if it is.
So, one of the consequences of rationalization is the inherent reductionism that occurs.
Imam Ali (R) once said that were he to write a Tafseer on Al-Fatiha it would take 70 camel loads of books.
That is just 7 ayats.
If the meaning of Fatiha is contained in 70 camel loads of books written in pure Arabic, which was never written... Who are we kidding when we talk about being guided by Quran by our physical and lexical reading?
Understanding the meaning doesn't come from its lexical interpretation, it comes from using it as a means to connect to Allah.
Spiritual reading and spiritual understanding is far more important.
This is the realm of tacit knowledge, and exactly how and why sunnah is so important to Islam.
Assalamo elikuim
What no paratha everyday :(
Mashallah great post.
I was in the arrogrant group too that I know better and we should understand first and recite later. But there are blessing in just reciting the Quran also. And ofcourse understanding Quran is extremely important but that should not stop us from reciting.
Wasalam
UmmOsman
http://themuslimkid.blogspot.com/2009/12/irrational-baraqa-factor.html
This blog posts incorporates my comments/views on this post.
Thank you for this post, you don't know how much it has helped me!
-Faique
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I may be nitpicking here, but I can't say I agree completely with this statement. We weren't created to perform good deeds.
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Really? Does not the Quran say so(67:02) :
"He Who created death and life, that He may try which of you is best in deed"
So according to this ayah Allah created death before life and he only created life or human existence on earth for purpose the qualifying who has qualities to exist in Jannah or not. And no I wold think deeds aren't a result of submission because a atheist can perform "good" deeds.
But Allah tells us to perform beautiful and good deeds (al hasanaat) but more often in Quran he tells to amal as salihaat. To perform proper deeds that put affairs within order. So I think you may have a misunderstanding what amal as salihat as principle means.
And yes being in state of submission is a objective in life but how does one know they are in submission? by performing deeds that Allah has commanded. The latter is proof of the former. You can't have the former without he latter.
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Achieving said state is not only by rationalizable actions.
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I would say you can't achieve this state without rational actions. If you actions aren't rational then by nature of things they would be construed as irrational. Does Allah tell humanity to be irrational in the Quran? I think not. The Prophet & Sahaba were not irrational people.
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"Confusing an action that produces a mental and biological effect (calm,peaceful state) with something other worldly is superstition."
Not sure what you're getting at here.
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I was implying just because one develops a emotional and physical state by reading the Quran and performing dhikr doesn't mean it's other worldly. People can achieve these same states without being muslim or reading quran nor performing dhikr.
Like I stated before the world functions in certain way. Allah makes no distniction people in this regard. you perform an action it produces a result. Whether you believe in a God or not is irrelevant. A certain action will produce a certain result.
Reading Quran performing dhikr produces a calm effect upon person because by saying something and concreting you breath rate slows thereby producing a calm effect upon a person. It has nothing to do quran or dhikr but slowing the breath rate.
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Because guidance is not restricted to the intellect.
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restricted no but I'm not so sure about guidance coming from something not connected to the intellect. As feelings and emotions can be controlled and manipulated. Which as spiritual people we should know and understand we can control how we feel and what we think.
Unless you're speaking within sufi vernacular of the heart but even that is connected the aql.
when copy and pasted I missed the first part.
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Yeah I probably do have a personality of extremes, but wondering which extremes you are referring to in this case? :-)
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well fisrt you stated :
"I felt strongly, as many college students do when it comes to their under-developed thoughts, that reciting the Quran without understanding was a completely worthless endeavor."
and
" I began to look down on those who differed from my newfound approach."
then you wrote:
"As long as the heart and soul are focused on Allah (swt), the blessings of partaking in these blessed acts are beyond our measly rationale."
You went from one extreme (extreme rationalism and prejuduce) to another (forsaking reason for emotionalism).
Ma as salamah
Brother Naeem,
Naturally, I agree with you. Hamza here, is kicking your behind though in this intellectual discussion.
I seem to be agreeing with the points he has made but I have a question.
"
Reading Quran performing dhikr produces a calm effect upon person because by saying something and concreting you breath rate slows thereby producing a calm effect upon a person. It has nothing to do quran or dhikr but slowing the breath rate."
What does that mean? I think your rationalizing the activity of reading Quran to just reading any other material which might calm you physically but I think the Quran, if you believe you are reading the word of God, it'll calm spiritually to a much deeper level.
Your a very hard read. I'm trying to understand how conservative or liberal you are, or nontraditional or traditional and nothing fits.
You believe in schools of thought and taqleed, that's good yet your 'rationalizing' everything.
Anyway, this is a very interesting discussion.
-Faique
AA- MK,
"Hamza here, is kicking your behind though in this intellectual discussion."
Why don't you come over here to Riyadh and see what a real butt-kicking feels like?!
:-)
"Verily in the dhikr of Allah do hearts find tranquility"
Is this tranquility only for people who can understand the meaning of the Qur'an?
"We have revealed in the Qur'an a healing for that which is in the heart"
Is this healing only for people who are intellectual and can rationalise the meaning of the Qur'an?
The sahabas used to extract scorpion venom from people by reading surah fatiha.
Is this because the meaning of surah fatiha has a medical connotation?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbveUmk0_yg&feature=related
Mufti Taqi Usmani on this issue. (Reflections on Surah 62, verse 002)
I'm sorry. I forget that on this blog, the rules of a traditional Pakistani orthodox-Muslim household still apply.
My bad brother lol. (is that overly colloquial too? the fact that I'm asking myself probably means it is but your a cool guy..)
I was trying to be as nice as possible yet make a point.
I have a question about your point.
"Verily in the dhikr of Allah do hearts find tranquility"
Is this tranquility only for people who can understand the meaning of the Qur'an?
Yet, Hamza made a point about someone doing a calm-effect producing activity being the real cause behind feeling calm rather than the fact that it is Quran.
That point made sense because its true that people do find solace in other activities such as a monk might find in reading a bible or a nature-lover in nature.
So when you the Quran says "Verily in the dhikr of Allah do hearts find tranquility"...
If someone is seeking God, whether it be a Muslim, Christian or Jew: they are remembering Allah.
That might give them tranquility and then that goes against the point that the Quran is itself producing the calm-ing affect.
I mean, couldn't the verse have been, "Verily in this Quran, do hearts find tranquility"
Just saying. Excuse my ill-logic if something doesn't make sense.
-The Muslim Kid-
AA- Hamza21,
"And yes being in state of submission is a objective in life but how does one know they are in submission? by performing deeds that Allah has commanded. The latter is proof of the former. You can't have the former without he latter."
Not necessarily my friend. While you state that faith is proven by deeds, I can equally submit that deeds are proven by faith, without which the deeds are useless. You see, they go hand in hand.
I think we both can agree to that, no?
However, I am additionally stating that treating our lives as a calculus of good/bad deeds is the wrong way to go. If so, the prostitute who was saved after feeding the dog wouldn't make sense. The same with the man who killed 100 people. The same with the man who asked to have his ashes scattered in the ocean. And so on.
While deeds are essential and fundamental to our deen, they are not the end all. They are simply a means to the end, that being submission, replacing your will and desire with that of Allah's will.
"Does Allah tell humanity to be irrational in the Quran? I think not. The Prophet & Sahaba were not irrational people."
Irrational and beyond rationale are two completely different terms. Actions of the Prophet and Sahaba were not irrational, but they were beyond our rationale. Like the example cited by Anon above, of reciting Fatiha upon the victim of a scorpion bite - where does your intellect dictate such a course of action?
Also, I recall Hazrat Ali (ra) stating that our deen is not dictated by our rational/intellect. If it were, we would wipe underneath our socks during wudu, not above them.
"I was implying just because one develops a emotional and physical state by reading the Quran and performing dhikr doesn't mean it's other worldly."
But where did I ever state that such a state was the purpose of reading Quran/performing dhikr? One benefit I stated was the blessing (baraka) of Allah in ways we cannot understand. Nothing about achieving some other-worldly state.
"restricted no but I'm not so sure about guidance coming from something not connected to the intellect. As feelings and emotions can be controlled and manipulated."
But why have you restricted guidance/knowledge to only these sources (intellect and emotions). Whatever happened to intuition? or inspiration (ilhaam)? or innate-nature (fitra)? There are many ways for Allah (swt) to guide His slave.
Finally, might I be so bold as to suggest a quick reading of a previous post on the need to conquer our the inner idol, the intellect.
@ Muslim kid
"I think your rationalizing the activity of reading Quran to just reading any other material which might calm you physically but I think the Quran, if you believe you are reading the word of God, it'll calm spiritually to a much deeper level"
Thats' just the thing if you "believe" something to be true it will be. It's called a placebo effect. If one doesn't believe it will do something it won't.
Now the Qur'an is a powerful book yes but let's not get superstitions and forget what the "book" actually is... a book of guidance.
It's not some mysterious hocus pocus magical thing. It has a function. To rely information to humanity on how we should relate to Allah,self & others.As well as other matters of importance but it is not magical.
Magical would be taking the Prophet from Madinah to Quds. The Qur'an isn't magical it's practical.
"Your a very hard read. I'm trying to understand how conservative or liberal you are, or nontraditional or traditional and nothing fits.
You believe in schools of thought and taqleed, that's good yet your 'rationalizing' everything."
Well those labels don't define me and no I don't believe in taqleed. I'm absolutely against it.
I do believe it's the responsibility of every mu'min to understand the issue and solution presented by the Faqih and then come to conclusion as to which position fits their personal situation.
The fuqaha are teachers not spokesmen for Allah. Their job is to teach you principles and give options of what could or should be done but in the end the decision is left to individual.
Blindly shutting off the aql and taking whatever someone gives you is why so many muslims are confused. They have placed the ulama as priests instead of teachers.
And yes I do tend to "reason' things out but I'm not a person born within a culture where magical thinking is predominant.So you can't well expect me to think like an Arab or Pakistani.
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