BRIEF SIGNIFICANCE OF CONNECTION WITH HOLY QUR’AN

BRIEF SIGNIFICANCE OF CONNECTION WITH HOLY QUR’AN

ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA

http://variousislamicdawadocuments.blogspot.com

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emails:gonidamgamiri@yahoo.com; abba.abana@gmail.com

THURSDAY 22ND MUHARRAM 1439 AH – 12TH OCTOBER 2017 CE

Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Sallalhu alaihi Wasalam) is His slave and Messenger.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF CONNECTION WITH HOLY QUR’AN

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

ALLAH Subhanahu WaTa’ala says:

“Every soul shall taste death. And only on the day of judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the garden will have attained the object (of life); for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception. (Holy Quran chapter 3:185)

Another misconception that prevails is, being Muslim is enough. Well, just because you’re Muslim, doesn’t mean that you have peace. Tranquility is something that you must work for, and keep working for. Our hearts are like the pots with a hole perked in it, to keep it full, we need to keep pouring Imaan in it. Or else, it would run out, and it will be dumped with spiritual junk instead. As Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said:

“Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts”.

It is also stated in Holy Quran that:

“You who believe, if any of you go back on your faith, Allah will soon replace you with people He loves and who love Him.” Holy Quran chapter 5:54.

To be able to protect ourselves from deviation, we need to start restoring our connection with Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. And honestly speaking, Qur’an and Sunnah are enough to put us back on the tracks.

For anyone, who says that if they had a certain thing, they would be happy; the question is that even if they get the thing they desire, or the person they love, or the job they fancy, how long would it have lasted? We always forget to appreciate the blessings we are bestowed with, and run after thing which aren’t destined for us. Wanting for more and more is doubtlessly human nature, but not being grateful isn’t something that is going to get us anywhere. Overlooking our blessings will only cause depression and disturbance in our hearts. We lack the ability of insight, just because we are taking our relationship with Qur’an for granted. The more and more we come close to the book of Allah the calmer we become. Because it guides our hearts out of the misery and depression by making us realize how blessed we are. Allah Almighty said in Holy Quran:

“And We send down of the Qur’an that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss”. (Holy Quran chapter 17: 82)

We may feel less blessed, but what we tend to ignore is that we have been blessed more than many others, we’re blessed with health, someone may not have it but they must be blessed in some other capacity. The book of Allah puts light on the greener side of our lives, at the same time motivates us to work on our shortcomings.

On the contrary, the word of Allah calms the soul down. But obviously when you’ve been eating terrible food for a while, healthy food tastes bad. So, when you enter MASJID, after you’ve been dumping all that junk in your heart, you want to get out of there as soon as possible. Ultimately it starts to feel different when you put down your head in a bow that feel hits you, or at least something inside of you is touched. Eventually all that junk that you’ve been polluting your heart with, starts getting swiped away and replaced with good deeds. The things which initially haunted you, now don’t bother you anymore.

SHUKR IN ISLAM

Allah (Subhanahu wa taala) has sent us the Quran as a guidebook on how to live. He mentions only the things that are relevant to that purpose and doesn’t mention a single word or letter that is irrelevant or useless. In the same way, the things Allah has mentioned in the Quran repeatedly also have specific purposes. He reminds us many times about taqwa. ‘Wattaqullah!’ Why? Because it is something which we tend to really lack.

Similarly, He talks a lot about shukr. He keeps reminding us to be grateful. Why? Because human beings TEND TO BE UNGRATEFUL! This is something we need to put extra care on, since Allah keeps warning us about it so many times in the Quran. Let us look at some of the ways in which gratefulness is highlighted in the Quran.

1) Quran begins with Alhamdulillah: The very first chapter of the Quran starts with “Praise be to Allah.”

2) The last call of the people of Paradise is Alhamdulillah.

Their call therein will be, ‘Exalted are You, O Allah ,’ and their greeting therein will be, ‘Peace.’ And the last of their call will be, ‘Praise to Allah , Lord of the worlds!’ [Holy Quran chapter 10:10]

3) If you indeed worship Allah, then you have to be grateful:

O you who have believed, eat from the good things which We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is [indeed] Him that you worship. [Holy Quran chapter 2:172]

4) The purpose of fasting in Ramadan is to make us grateful.

The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an … Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 2:182-188]

5) Allah is ash-Shakir.

What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing. [Holy Quran chapter 4:147]

6) Allah reminds us of His favours upon us so many times in the Quran:

And We have certainly established you upon the earth and made for you therein ways of livelihood. Little are you grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 7:10]

And it is He who subjected the sea for you to eat from it tender meat and to extract from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships plowing through it, and [He subjected it] that you may seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 16:14]

And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 16:78]

7) This uncertainty of our gratefulness at the end of these verses is to make us more concerned about being grateful to Allah. He has given us so much and yet we find it difficult to even express our gratitude. In fact, we can’t even thank Him enough for all of His favours on us.

8) Shaytan challenged Allah that we wouldn’t be grateful.

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].’ [Holy Quran chapter 7:17]. Are we going to let Shaytan have what he wants, or are we going to give him a fight? Greatest warning to me and you?

9) ‘If you’re grateful, I will increase you.’

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.‘ [Holy Quran chapter 14:7]

WAYS OF EXPRESSING GRATITUDE

Gratitude of the Tongue: Allah said in the Quran, And proclaim the grace of your Lord. [Holy Quran chapter 93:11]

We can express gratitude by saying Alhamdulillah. In fact, that is what we say at the start of every prayer, and it is a highly recommended dhikr, to be said after prayers, after eating, after anything good happens to you, even after sneezing. It was reported that Allah’s messenger said, ‘’What you mention of glory of Allah, of Tabsih (Subhan-Allah), Tahlil (Allahu-Akbar) and Tahmid (Al-Hamdu lillah), revolves around the Throne, buzzing like bees, reminding of the one who said it. Wouldn’t any one of you like to have, or continue to have, something that reminds of him (in the presence of Allah)’’? [ibn Majah]

Gratitude of the Heart: This is the amazing emotion that fills your heart when realizing the blessings of Allah on you.

Gratitude of the Limbs: Whenever Allah mentions belief in Quran, He usually mentions good deeds right after it. For example, ‘’But they who believe and do righteous deeds – those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally’’. [Holy Quran chapter 2:82]

Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds [that] for them there is forgiveness and great reward. [Holy Quran chapter 5:9]

Gratitude of the limbs entails showing Allah your gratefulness through obeying Him with your actions; It is the proof of gratefulness of the heart and the tongue that you actually do the things which He commanded you to do.

Showing Gratitude to Others: The Prophet (saws) said, ‘’Whoever is not grateful to the people, he is not grateful to Allah’’. [Tirmidhi]

Even Musa (Alaihi salaam) acknowledged the favours of Firaun, the great evildoer. This is another warning to you and me.

Making Good Use of Allah’s Favours: We show gratitude to Allah by using the favours He bestowed on us in a way that pleases Him. We acknowledge the blessing of our health and time by worshipping Allah. We show gratitude for the laptops and gadgets He has given us by using it to spread dawah. We show gratitude for the wealth He has provided us with by spending it in charity.

Benefits of Gratitude:

1. Safety from the Hellfire:

Ingratitude is one of the qualities of the disbelievers. In fact, Allah uses the same word for disbelief as for ingratitude:

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ [Holy Quran chapter 14:7]

2. Huge reward from Allah

Allah said in the Quran several times:

Thus do We reward he who is grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 54:35]

Allah will reward the grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 3:144]

And we will reward the grateful. [Holy Quran chapter 3:145]

The Prophet (saws) said, A grateful eater will have a reward like that of a patient fasting person. [ibn Majah]

3. Feeling of Happiness and Contentment

Research in positive psychology has revealed that one of the most effective ways of attaining happiness is to express gratitude. It makes sense because when you’re grateful, you’re focusing on the positive aspects of your life rather than the negative, which automatically makes you happy and content.

4. Increase in blessings

Allah promised in [Holy Quran chapter 14:7] that if we’re grateful, then He will increase us. He didn’t put a limit of what exactly He will increase us in, because His bounties are limitless. So if you have just had some delicious ice-cream and say ‘alhamdulillah’, Allah will give you more icecream, or perhaps He will give you something better than icecream, for example taqwa.

May Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta’ala enable us to see the brighter sides of our lives and guide us through His Holy Book, so we may be able to find the ultimate happiness which lies in the next world in the form of Jannah. (Ameen)