Part I
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Initial
Supplication
I seek refuge with Allah
from the Accursed Shaytan
In the Name of Allah Most
Gracious Most Merciful
All Praise is due to
Allah, Lord of the Worlds
And peace be upon the
greatest among the prophets and messengers
Our master and leader
Muhammad…..
And upon his righteous and
pure progeny.
As-Salaam Alaykum Wa
Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuho!
The Peace, Mercy of God
and the Blessings of God be on you!
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What does the Allah say about the Qur'an (the Final Testament)
The Qur’an mentions the
following verses about Patience
Bismillah Hir Rahman
Nir Raheem
In The Name of God, Most
Compassionate, Most Merciful
إِنَّ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنَ يِهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ
وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ
الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا
017.009 Verily this Qur’an doth guide to that which is
most right (or stable), and giveth the Glad Tidings to
the Believers who work deeds of righteousness, that they
shall have a magnificent reward;
ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ
وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
والَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا
أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ
أُوْلَـئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ
هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
002.002-005 This is the Book; in it is guidance sure,
without doubt, to those who fear Allah; Who believe in
the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of
what We have provided for them; And who believe in the
Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and
(in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter.
They are on (true) guidance, from their Lord, and it is
these who will prosper.
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Impact of the Quran on History
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Formal way
the Prophet stood against the idol worshippers
and brought an entire region under the fold of
Islam
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Muslims
developed unprecedented interest in the Quran
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Qira'ah - or
Arabic grammar is a result
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Tafseer - or
commentary is a result
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Uloom-e-Quran
- or sciences in the Quran is a result
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Legal /
Jurisprudence
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Moral
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Social
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Philosophical
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Gnostic
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Scientific questions
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Impact on
non-Muslims
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Financial
- 0% interest
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Cultural
- Islamic art
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Intellectual - during the Medieval times
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Challenge of the Quran
وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى
عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ
شُهَدَاءكُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
002.023 And if ye are in doubt as to what We have
revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce
a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or
helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your
(doubts) are true
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People who were
first challenged were those who had their property
taken away, their livelihood and lifestyle
threatened, their friends and family killed in
battle by the Muslims
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As time goes by
it is more and more impossible to meet this
challenge because one now has to produce a surah
that has the same gripping power as the Quran has on
over a billion people and be the root of the
developments we have seen over a thousand years
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Gripping power of the Quran
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَذَا
الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ
"The polytheists said: 'Do not listen to the verses of
the Quran, and make a noise while they are being
recited; perhaps you will thus triumph.'" (41:26)
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The same book
caused people to secretly sit outside the homes
where the Quran was being recited for the first time
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The same book
caused the kings and Sultans over a thousand years
to weep when they heard it
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The same book
charged common people to create the largest
religious based state within the shortest time
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The same book
caused the age of exploration and intellectual
thought in the Middle east, a place shunned by the
Romans and preceding emperors
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And today this
same book, with its same verses grips Muslims and
non-Muslims all over the world with its eloquence,
melody, multi-faceted meaning, thought provoking
ideas
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How is it I often
ask myself that the book can
talk to
you like you never knew what the book was about
before? Like its history never reached you?
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Purpose of the Quran
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To be the guide
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To be the
criterion between right and wrong
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To be the Glad
Tidings
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To be a Mercy
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To be a Warning
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For Muslims
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For Non-Muslims
وَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
068.052 But it is nothing less than a Message to all
the worlds.
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Supplication
In the end, we ask Allah to guide us to the truth and to
the right path, to illuminate our hearts with the light
of faith, fill them with love, grant our sick ones a
speedy recovery, our dead ones salvations
Part II
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The Circle of Life
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Science shows
that man's life is between 2 points only, birth and
death
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The Quran has
expanded this vision and shed some light on the dark
areas (the unseen), i.e. according to the Quran we
know there is a before life and an after life
قَالُواْ إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
"To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return":-
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Improving
our relationship with the Quran
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Before you touch it,
check your heart. The key to really
benefiting from the Qur'ân is to check your heart
first, before you even touch Allaah'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'ân": in other words, he
didn't just read and recite the Qur'ân, he lived it.
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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
God, so being clean should be a priority when
communicating with Him.
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Read only 5 minutes
everyday. Too often, we think we should read
Qur'ân 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!
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Make sure you
understand what you've read. Five minutes of
reading the Qur'ân in Arabic is good, but you need
to understand what you're reading. Make sure you
have a good translation of the Qur'ân in the
language you understand best. Always try to read the
translation of what you've read that day.
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Remember, the Qur'ân 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'ân is not like
that. Remember that when you read Qur'ân, you are
interacting with Allaah. He is talking to you, so
pay attention.
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Don't just read,
listen too. There are now many audio
cassettes and CDs of the Qur'ân, 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'ân reading, not as a replacement for it.
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Make
Dua'
(supplication). Ask Allaah to guide you when you
read the Qur'ân. Your aim is to sincerely, for the
love of Allaah, interact with Him by reading,
understanding and applying His blessed words. Making
Dua' to Allaah for help and guidance will be your
best tool for doing this.
- Mujtaba Khambatti,
Jan. 20, 2006
