The Qur'an and Its Influence

The Qur'an in general influences the human soul greatly and thrills the noble feelings of man.  The Qur'an reaches its peak of influence in a child's soul because the   more   pure   the   soul   is,   the   more impressive the influence will be. The surahs of the Makkan Era are the most suitable for a child's capability in memorizing the Qur'an as they are short and effective in style.

Mustafa  Sadiq  ar-Rafi’i, the well-known   author, explained   this  point   in  more  details   saying,  "The short surahs  of the Qur'an contain  great  wisdom  that represents  Divine  evidence.  They were  not revealed successively   as  they  have  been  arranged   in  their present  form  that  you  observe  in the Mushaf.  

For example, the verse that reads: “Say, I seek refuge with the Lord and the Cherisher of mankind.”  (Surah An-Nas: 1); this verse was neither the first nor the last to be revealed.   Moreover, these surahs present no more than one Juz.' (Part)  out of   thirty of the whole Qur'an.   

Allah  (Exalted  be  He)  has prepared  certain reasons,  which  make  the  Qur'an  easily  recited  and permanently memorized.   The   most   effective   and useful  reason  is  the  nature  of  these  short  surahs, which are few  in  words and short  in  length  having the  same  final  word  in most  verses.  They present every verse separately, as an independent surah that consists of a   few words. 

Such surahs have characteristics  that make them easy to be memorized by a child; Their  shortness  suits the child's  ability  to control   his breath,  and the resemblance  of the final word  composes  an  interesting   rhyme  that  aids in memorization.  

Soon   after  that  he  will  be  able   to recite  the whole  Qur'an  and   receive  its influence  in his soul. The more he proceeds with the Qur'an, the easier it will   be.  In this connection, Allah, the Almighty, says:

 “We send  down  (stage  by stage)  in the Qur'an that  which  is a  healing  and  a mercy  to  those who believe:  to the unjust it causes  nothing  but loss after loss.” (Surah AI-Isra': 82)

The best example may be found in Surah an-Nas, which is the first surah to be learned by a child. Considering the surah, you find that each verse has the same word at the end.  Also,  you  find  that  it  is so short  that  it suits  the ability  of a child  at this  stage. How   compatible this  surah is in  all aspects; lettering, composition,   and meaning.  Moreover,   we may  turn  to  Ibn  'Abbas   who  related  to  us  a living example  of  the  influence  of  the  Qur'an  on  a child when  listening  to it.

Ibn 'Abbas said, “When Allah revealed the verse reading: “O you who believe, save yourselves and your families from fire.” (Surah At-Tahrim: 6), the Messenger of Allah recited it to his Companions. Upon hearing this verse a young boy fell down from fear, but he was still alive when the Prophet (peace be upon him) put his hand on the boy's chest. There, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘O boy, testify that there is no god but Allah.’ I thus the young child did so and the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him glad tidings that he will enter    Paradise. The Companions wondered saying, ' O Messenger of Allah, is it only for him?' "Did  you  not  listen  to Allah's  saying, “This is for  such as fear  the time when they  shall  stand  before  My tribunal,  such as fear My punishment.” (Surah Ibrahim:  14)[1]

The  Qur'an   confers  all  that  is  good  to  a child especially  when being  recited  and when  the child  is attached  to it with  a sense  of sound  understanding. In this case, his memory  would be expanded  to give service  to  him  when  necessary and  enable  him  to cope with his psychological problems and belief-oriented  matters.