Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem:

As the timeless words of Allah SWT, the Holy Quran is unlike any other. The study guide for life, death, and what then follows.

Therefore, it most assuredly deserves a great deal more careful study than any other book, necessitating the reader return to the early narrations of those who witnessed its revelation and heard its explanation by the one deputed by Allah SWT, to rehearse and explain His words to humanity, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

“Verily, Allah the Exalted has people from among mankind, and the people of the Quran are the People of Allah, and His Chosen Ones.”
~ Abu Dawood

Each letter you read from the Holy Quran equals the equivalent of 10 blessings!

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, ”Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah will receive a hasanah (good deed) from it (i.e. his recitation), and the hasanah is multiplied by ten. I do not say that Alif-Laam-Meem is (considered as) a letter, rather Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter, and Meem is a letter.”
~ At-Tirmidhi, Ad-Darimi

The Holy Quran opens the doors of paradise to the one who reads it.

“VERILY, this Qur’an shows the way to all that is most upright, and gives the believers who do good deeds the glad tiding that theirs will be a great reward;”
~ Holy Quran: 17:9 (M. Asad)

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “The Quran is an intercessor – something given permission to intercede, and it is rightfully believed in. Whoever puts it in front of him, it will lead him to Paradise; whoever puts it behind him, it will steer him to the Hellfire.”
~ At-Tabaraani

Should you find studying the Holy Quran difficult, have no fear, for you will recieve a double reward!

Lady Ayesha, may Allah bless her, related that the Prophet, peace be upon him, had said: Verily the one who recites the Qur’an beautifully, smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels. And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or stumbling through its verses, then he will have twice that reward.”
~ Bukhari and Muslim

Memorise if you can, and/or encourage others to do so…

“It will be said to the person who memorized the Quran, ‘Read, ascend and recite with slow, rhythmic chanting just as you used to recite in the worldly life. For verily, your position in Paradise will be at the place of the last verse that you recite.’ ”
~ Abu Dawood and At-Tirmidhi

We should try to recite it everyday, even if only for a few minutes. The inner demons of our ego (nafs) may say, “What’s the point!”. Well, there is certainly a point, and indeed manifold benefits.

“The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.”
~ Bukhari

This hadith from Bukhari raises another important point, that we shouldn’t just recite the sacred verses in Arabic, but as Allah SWT indicates in His book, it’s vital to reflect and understand his revelations. For this, we may need to get a good translation, if Arabic isn’t our mother tongue, and research other subjects that the Holy Quran touches on, such as history, archeology, the sciences, comparative religion etc. Indeed, we are far more likely to entirely miss the point of the Holy Quran, if we do not approach it in this way.

“Will they not, then, try to understand this Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!”
~ Holy Quran 4:82 (M. Asad)

“No people gather in a house of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquility descends upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him (the lofty gathering of angels).”
~ Muslim

“Nay, but this [divine writ] consists of messages clear to the hearts of all who are gifted with [innate] knowledge – and none could knowingly reject Our messages unless it be such as would do wrong [to themselves].”
~ Holy Quran 29:49 (M. Asad)

Wa salam.

Sheikh Salahuddin Abu Sophia

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