Way to the Quran

150 Pages·2020·2.514 MB·English

by  Khurram Murad

->>' 'a
i
KHURRAM MURAD (1932-96) was formerly Director General of the Islamic
Foundation (1978-86). He studied civil engineering at the Universities of Karachi (BE
1952) and Minnesota, USA (MS 1958), and worked as a leading consulting engineer at
Karachi, Dhaka, Tehran and Riyadh. Actively involved in the Islamic movement since
1948, he was the President, Islami Jam‘iat Talaba, Pakistan (1951-52); a member of
the Central Executive, Jama‘at Islami, Pakistan (1963-96) and Amir of its Dhaka
(1963-71) and Lahore (1987-89) branches. Prior to his death he held the position of
Na'ib Amir of the Jama‘at. His more than 30 published works in English and Urdu
include Inter-Personal Relations in an Islamic Movement !Urdu); Islamic Movement in
the West; Reflections on Some Issues; The Quranic Treasures, and Gifts from
on to a number of books for^chpltlreu. He was also the editor of
/ Qur'an, Lahore and World Book Review,
..........
mm m"AN, Khurramjitir '#§11fruits of his own
« •Ipns'
mly the young men

t; in order to fulfil their
p:1 ■
Ml Mil ^ been born out of the
Hr ■ tea
gnj ■living God, is as
EiU, r. almost have a right

wjsmr ^rovided we fulfil
— —.............-*7* ^ t^ad and understand the
■Xii.tfor. t.. iit. T' o explain the necessary^(^dlig»si$ the purpose of this book.
It consists of seven chapters on what the QuPiij means to us, what provisions are
essential prerequisites; what postures and actions of heart, mind and body will lead to
full inner participation; what rules of reading should be observed, why and how to.
understand it; how to study collectively, and what it summons us to live for. Some of m' .
m
what the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, said about various parts of the Qur’an;’^
has been gathered in one appendix; another appendix suggests syllabuses for ■userin;S, ,j I
study circles, something which may be very useful. '
This is not a book to be put away after one hurried reading. A wayfarer should fitf
it useful as his constant companion all along his journey.
THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION is an educational and research organization devoted
making Islam a living reality in our age. For this purpose, it aims to improve hruman’ i
communication and develop a better understanding of Islam jimong all people of tffe
world, Muslim and non-Muslim, so as to galvanize man to tie message and ideal f
One God and the unity of mankind, as brought by all the Prophets of God throughout •
the ages, last of whom was the Prophet Muhammad (blessing&W Allah and peace be v*v
on him). The Foundation has research units in Islamic Econormc^ Christian-Muslim
Relations and Literature for Children. Its regular publications imM^Muslirn World
Book Review containing an Index of Islamic Literature (quarterlyEncounters:
Journal of Inter-Cultural Perspectives (bi-annually). • . is
The Islamic Foundation
United Kingdom
i
I
i
I
:
!
:
'
I
TO THE

QUR’AN
KHURRAM MURAD

Tito Offamic J'oun/ationj
© The Islamic Foundation 1985/1405AH; 1986/1406 AH; 1990/1411 AH (Revised )
Reprint 1997/1418 AH; 2000/1421 AH. and 2005/1425 AH.
ISBN 0 86037 153 0 (PB)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.
Published by: The Islamic Foundation,
Markfield Conference Centre
Ratby Lane, Markfield,
Leicestershire LE67 9SY, UK.
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: www.islamic-foundation.org.uk
Quran House
P.O. Box 30611
Nairobi, :
Kenya
P.M.B. 3193
Kano,
Nigeria
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Murad, Khurram
Way to the Qur’an.
1. Koran-Study
I. Title II. Islamic Foundation
297’. 122*07 BP130.8
ISBN 0- 86037-153-0 Pbk
Printed in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Cover design: Rashid Rahman
‘Be thankful to Me, and to your parents’
(Luqman 31: 14)
to
MY MOTHER
At her knees I learnt to read the Qur’an, upon her
insistance that I must learn Arabic I was sent to the
school maulavi saheb who gave me the rudimentary
knowledge upon which I could build later; seeing her
devotion to the Qur’an, reading it with understanding,
for hours and hours, kindled a spark in my heart which
has continued to illumine my way; and, finally, through
her example and silent but solid support I found my
way to a life of struggle in the way of Allah.
‘My Lord! Bestow Thy mercy upon my parents, as they
raised me up when I was little’
(al-Isra’ 17: 24)
5
!
.
1
i
■
I
i
1
;
Contents
Preface 9
Chapter 1: The Journey of Life 15
The Eternal, Living Reality 15
The New World that Awaits You 18
What is the Qur'an? 19
Infinite Mercy and Majesty 20
Hazards and Perils 21
Tilawah 22
Chapter 2: Basic Prerequisites 25
Faith: The Word of God 25
Purity of Intention and Purpose 27
Bringing Gratitude and Praise 30
Acceptance and Trust 31
Obedience and Change 33.
Hazards and Obstacles 34
Trust and Dependence 35
Chapter 3: Participation of the Inner Self 37
What is the Heart? 37
Dynamic of Inner Participation 39
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS 39
The Quranic Criteria of Inner Participation 39
In Allah's Presence 40
Hearing from A Hah 42
A llah 's Direct A ddress 43
Every Word for You 43
5
Conversation with Allah 44
Trusting and Expecting Allah’s Rewards 45
ACTS OF HEART AND BODY 46
Response of Your Heart 46
Response of Your Tongue 48
Tears in Your Eyes 49
Postures of Your Body 50
Reading with Tartll 51
Self Purification 52
Seeking Allah’s Help (Du*a’) 53
Reading with Comprehension 57
Chapter 4: Rules of Reading 59
How Often to Read? 59
How Much to Read? 60
When to Read? 61
Reading Correctly 62
Reading Beautifully 63
Listening Attentively 64
Completing the Reading (Khatm) 65
Memorizing 66
Chapter 5: Study and Understanding 69
Importance and Need 69
Personal Study 70
Argument Against Studying 71
The Quranic Emphasis 73
The Early Practice 75
Risks of Personal Study 76
Categories of Understanding 77
Tadhakkur 77
Tadabbur 79
Your Aims 79
Levels and Forms of Understanding 80
Basic Requirements 80
Arabic 80
Reading the Whole Qur'an 81
Reading Tafsir Works 82
6
Study of Selected Portions 83
Reading Again and Again 84
Inquiring Mind 84
Aids for Study 86
How to Study 87
How to Understand Meanings 89
General Principles 89
Understand as a Living Reality 89
Understand as a Message for You 90
Understand as a Part of the Whole 91
Understand as a Coherent Unified Text 92
Understand with the Whole of Your Being 92
Understand What the Qur'an Tells You 93
Stay Within the Consensus 93
Understand by the Unique Quranic Criteria
Alone 93
Understand the Qur'an by the Qur'an 94
Understand with the Hadith and Sirah 95
Language 95
Methodological Guidelines 96
Studying Words 96
Textual Context 96
Historical Background 96
‘Original' Meaning 97
Translating to Your Situation 97
Far-fetched and Irrelevant Meanings 98
Level of Knowledge and Intelligence 98
Current Human Knowledge 98
What You Cannot Understand 99
Life of the Prophet 99
Chapter 6: Collective Study 101
Importance and Need 101
Forms of Collective Study 103
Four Basic Rules 103
Study Circle 104
Participants 104
7