Assalamualaikum Dear Brothers & Sisters,
Understand Qur’an Academy has always tried to make the learning of Qur’an easy and simple.

Why reading Qur’an with understanding is important?
Whenever a person reads a book he wants to understand it to gather knowledge and apply it in his daily life. Qur’an is the word of Allah SWT and the most fortunate of people apply it in their lives by putting an earnest effort to understand it.
The first revelation of the Holy Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad SAWS was ‘Read’ ‘اقرا’ from (Surah Alaq verse 1) which shows the importance of acquiring knowledge by reading.

Let us look into some of the benefits of reading and understanding Qur’an for better implementation:

1. Reading and Understanding Qur’an are the rights of Qur’an
There are mainly five rights of the Qur’an upon the reader.

Attentive listening: ” So when the Qur’an is recited then listen to it and pay attention so that you may receive mercy”. (Surah Al A’raf verse 204). But nowadays people put on the Qur’an recitation through tape recorders and keep themselves busy with their usual chores. It is an insult of the Qur’an. So forbid from doing so.

Recitation: Allah also says in the Holy Qur’an,” recite the Qur’an with measured recitation”. (Surah Al Muzammil verse 4) In this verse, it is said to recite Qur’an in a slow measured tone so that it could soothe and strengthen the mind and soul of the reciter. The tajweed (rules of recitation) also beautifies the recitation immensely.

Memorization: Allah says in the Qur’an,” he who has no Qur’an in his heart is like a house that is destroyed”. (Hadeeth narrated by At Tirmidhi on the authorization of Ibn Abbas).So try to memorize one Sur’ah every week.

Contemplation: Allah says in the Qur’an:” Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an or are there locks upon their hearts?” (Surah Mohammad verse 24)One should read the Qur’an contemplating the depth of each ayah so that the meaning of each word would penetrate into his mind and reflect in his behavior so that the heart and soul will be filled with the light of its pure guidance.

Application: Allah says in the Qur’an, and this “(Qur’an) is a book We have revealed which is blessed, so follow it and fear Allah that you may receive mercy”. (Surah Al Anam verse 155) One can apply the teachings of the Qur’an in daily life by obeying all commands of Allah and heeding all His prohibitions which will result in his transformation into a true servant of Allah.

All the above references stress upon including Qur’an, the word of Allah in one’s life, to be guided, to fill one’s heart with the assurance of each word of the Qur’an.

2. One can implement teachings of Qur’an better when one tries to understand it and ponder on its meaning: Abu Abdur Rahman as Sulami said, we were informed by those who used to teach us the Qur’an, Uthman Bin Affan, Ibn Masud, and others, that they would learn ten verses at a time from the Prophet SAWS and they would not go beyond them until they had learnt the knowledge and application within them. They said, so we learnt the Qur’an along with its knowledge and application at the same time.

Likewise, a person can allow some time in his schedule on a daily basis to read Qur’an in Arabic as well as its meaning in whichever language he feels to understand it better and then keep underlining the verses which he could incorporate or include in his life. That would be a very effective way of applying the knowledge of Qur’an in one’s life. But unfortunately, people nowadays think that they have fulfilled the rights of the Qur’an by reading it without understanding the real purpose of its revelation. May Allah guide all of us to understand the true essence of our religion through the teachings of Qur’an and Hadeeth.

3. Khushoo and khuzoo (concentration and humility) in Salah: When a person prays Salah five times daily, there are chances of not being precise in it. He also might get distracted with many thoughts of his concerns and plans that are running in his mind. This can be avoided only when the person ponders on the meaning of each verse he recites in his prayer, that would not only help the person have khushoo and khuzoo in his prayer but he will be able to make a strong bond between him and Allah SWT.

4. Clear interpretation of the Qur’an while inviting people towards our religion (Da’wah): When a person wants to attract people towards Islam, he himself should have a proper and a clear understanding of Islam through Qur’an and Hadeeth. He may provide guidance, examples, and virtues of the noble teachings of the Qur’an while doing da’wah only if he has the basic foundational knowledge about teachings of Qur’an.

5. Qur’an is the main source of knowledge as it is revealed on our last Prophet Muhammad SAWS: The main base of our religion is that Allah is our lord and Muhammad SAWS is our Prophet after whom no prophet will come and the noble Qur’an that was revealed on him is the final word of Allah SWT. It contains all the knowledge about the events like the creation of the universe, the creation of human beings, differentiation of good and bad, the day of resurrection, etc.

6. Source of motivation for leading a successful life: Today’s life is full of competition, struggle, jealousy, corruption, indecency, distractions like social media, etc. So the best gift for the upcoming generation would be a clear understanding of Qur’an and constant guidance by the parents to attain Allah’s pleasure and succeed in this life and in the hereafter.

Qur’an is revealed in Arabic because it is the most comprehensive language that has words with beautiful intonation and stress. The words are very precise and have a richness in their meaning. It also has the most unique quality of including a vast number of messages in a few words, which means a single phrase or a sentence would have innumerable messages within it. According to Imam Shafi’, it is a duty of every Muslim to learn Arabic to understand Qur’an.

Praying you will benefit,
Aaisha Imran

May Allah ease the journey of knowledge for you, Aameen.
JazakAllahu Khair,
Team UQA