Reviving Iman By Tadabbur Al- Qur’an

Reviving Iman

By

Tadabbur Al- Qur’an

 

 

Allah the Almighty has commanded us in many verses of The Holy Qur’an to the necessity of Tadabbur of the Qur’an.

 

Allah the Almighty said:

 "أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا"

“Will they not ponder the Quran? Or are there locks upon their hearts?”[1].

 

Allah the Almighty also said:  

"كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ"  

“A blessed Book that We sent down to you, that they may ponder its Verses,  and for those with intelligence to take heed”[2].

 

Tadabbur of the Qur’an means: contemplation and contemplation of its meanings, purposes, and rulings, not just recitation despite its great reward.

 

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said while explaining the importance of Tadabbur:

 “Nothing is more beneficial to the servant in his life and his hereafter than Tadabbur of the Qur’an and focus on thinking about the meanings of its verses, for It informs

 

the servant of the signs of good and evil in their entirety, and gives him a distinction and a light by which he differentiates between guidance and error, and gives him strength in his heart and a wide life”[3].

 

 Because of the importance and greatness of Tadabbur, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade the completion of the Qur’an in less than three nights, as in the hadith on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with them both) he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:  "The person who reads the whole Qur'an in less than three days does not grasp its meaning”[4].

 

Among the wisdom of this prohibition: the completion of the Qur’an in less than three nights may be a reason for weakness and lack of Tadabbur.

 

The hadith indicates that understanding of the Qur’an and Tadabbur of its meanings and aims are better and more beneficial than recitation without it.

 

Among the matters that help in Tadabbur Al-Qur’an:

1-           Improving the recitation:

 Allah, the Almighty, commanded the (Tarteel) which means the recitation of the Qur’an Correctly.

 

Allah the Almighty said :

  "أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا"  

 "Or add to it; and chant the Quran rhythmically”[5].

 

 And the Messenger of Allah  (peace be upon him) urged to improve the recitation, in his saying:

“Narrated Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "Allah's Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Whoever does not recite Qur'an in a nice voice is not from us,' and others said extra," (that means) to recite it aloud"[6].

 

Imam Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “What is legally required is to improve one’s voice, which motivates the Tadabbur and understanding of the Qur’an, reverence and submission, and submission to obedience of Allah”[7]. 

 

2-           Recitation of the Qur’an in The night prayer:

 The night prayer and meditation on the verses, admonitions and passages of the Qur’an helps in understanding It. and in that, Allah Almighty says:

"إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًا"    

“The vigil of night is more effective, and better suited for recitation”[8].

 

 Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) commented on this verse by saying:

)The words “speech more certain” (aqwamu qilan) means that this time is more suitable for the understanding of the Qur’an)[9].

 

3-           Listening carefully when hearing the voice of the Qur’an:

Allah Almighty commanded His faithful servants to listen and be attentive when reciting the Qur’an;  So that they can benefit from it, and reflect on the wisdom and interests in it.

 

AllahThe Almighty said:

 "وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ"   

"When the Quran is recited, listen to it, and pay attention, so that you may experience mercy [10] ".

 

The meaning as Imam al-Tabari )may Allah have mercy on him ( said: “Listen your hearing to the Qur’an  that you may understand its verses, consider Its sermons, and listen to It to make sense of It, and ponder It” [11].

 

4-           Understand the meanings:

Actually not knowing the meanings of the Qur’anic verses distracts from Tadabbur and the heart’s pleasure in reading it. In that, Imam al-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “I am astonished by the one who reads the Qur’an and does not know its interpretation. How does he enjoy reading It?”   [12].

 

Rather, learning the meanings of the Qur’an is more important than learning its letters, and in this regard, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Based on the meaning understood from the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him): “The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it” [13].  Teaching all its letters and meanings;  Rather, learning its meanings is the first intended purpose by teaching its letters, and that is what increases faith, as Jundub bin Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “We were with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and we were strong youths, so we learned faith before we learned Qur’an. Then we learned Qur’an and our faith increased thereby” [14]_[15].

 

5-           Standing at the intended meaning of the Verse:

 It means that the reader stops at the meaning and does not go beyond it to others, meditating on it, and reflecting on it.

 

And among the most eloquent and clearest evidence about that is what Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “One night, I prayed with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He started (reciting) Sūrat al-Baqarah, so I said: "Perhaps he will bow at the hundredth verse." But he continued. I said: "Perhaps he will recite it all in one Rak‘ah." However, he continued. I said: "Perhaps he will bow when he completes it." Then he started Sūrat An-Nisā' and recited it (all); then he started Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān and recited it (all), and he was reciting leisurely. When he recited a verse containing glorification of Allah, he would glorify Him; when he recited a verse containing supplication, he would supplicate; when he recited a verse containing seeking refuge with Allah, he would seek refuge with Him. Then he bowed” [16].

 

Repetition of the verse that touches the heart is one of the most prominent forms of standing at the meanings, and we have a good example in the Messenger of Allah,  peace be upon him. 

         

It was narrated that Jasrah bint Dajaja said: “I heard Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) says: ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon) him stood reciting a Verse and repeating it until morning came. That Verse was:

 "إِن تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِن تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ"  

“If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. ” [17]_[18].

 

Imam al-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on him) said: “There was a group of the ancestors (Assalaf) one of whom used to spend the whole night reciting one verse for the whole or most of the night, contemplating it while reciting” [19] .