Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Alhamdulillah, so many people nowadays are interested in learning not just the recitation of the Quran, but also its meaning and the message it contains for all of humanity. In addition to that, there are also more options available today than ever before for anyone who wants to learn the Quran. There are Quran classes available in many Muslim as well as non-Muslim countries and cities and villages. There are online classes which are so easy to access, one such being available here in Understand Quran Academy, where you can enroll in 1 to 1 teaching sessions.
However, because learning Quran has become so widespread and available to anyone and everyone, we sometimes take it for granted. It’s human nature that we don’t value the things made available easily to us, for which we don’t have to work too hard. Scholars in the past used to travel long distances to collect one hadith. Nowadays it’s just one click away. And yet can we really claim to be more knowledgeable than the scholars of the past? Of course not!
The difference is not the availability of knowledge, but on the attitude with which we go about trying to gain that knowledge. Quran is not just any intellectual exercise— it’s divine knowledge, and it doesn’t come easily. Even the great scholar Sufyan ath Thawri (rh) said: ‘I was blessed with the understanding of the Qur’aan, and when I upturned the money purse, it was taken away from me.’
Let us then look at some of the etiquettes of learning Quran that are not often practiced by students of knowledge, especially those studying online.
• Renewing your intention every time you sit in class.
We start Quran classes with so much enthusiasm and good intentions, and then over time we tend to slacken and slacken until only a few students remain in the class and the rest just give up. Why? Because we don’t keep up that initial zeal by constantly reminding ourselves why we’re here. Sufyan ath Thawri said, ‘I did not treat anything more difficult than my sincerity.’ Then what about you and me?!
Umar ibn Dharr said to his father, ‘O, my father! Why is it when you preach to people they are taken by their weeping, and when others preach to them they do not cry?’ So he replied: ‘O my son! The bereaved woman who cries is not the same as the woman who is hired to cry.’ [Bakr abu Zayd]
• Adhering to Allah’s commandments
Imam Ahmad (rh) said, ‘The foundation of knowledge is the fear of Allah, the Most High.’
In order to learn the Quran, prove to Allah that you’re worthy of it. If our hearts are filled with fahsha and evil, how will sacred knowledge enter inside?
• Never keep your smart phones or your various devices active when in class.
Allah the Exalted said,
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
So when the Qur’an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy. [7:204]
Being attentive in Quran class is essential if we want to respect the Quran. Don’t forget, the Quran is not just a book, it’s Allah speaking to you and me. How will it be if we’re talking to the president of our country, and suddenly we interrupt him/her in order to answer a facebook message? Allah is above all examples.
• Do not give up
Of course shaytan will try to divert you from studying the Quran. That’s like his goal in life. And of course you’ll encounter various problems and obstacles on your way, and you’ll sometimes get sick or just depressed, and sometimes feel hopeless because you just can’t get the hang of pronouncing ayn. Sometimes you’ll miss one or two classes out of sheer laziness, then feel so guilty that you’re scared to face another class, and so just give up.
Don’t give up! That’s what shaytan wants! This is what he had the audacity to say to Allah:
[Satan] said, “Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” [7:16-17]
Do we want to prove him right? If not, then just hold fast to it and soon Allah will make our path easy in sha Allah.
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ
And We have certainly made the Qur’an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember? [54:17]
If you’ve already surpassed the skills taught in 50% and 70%, move on to to our 100% OF QURAN WORDS COURSE!
