The Month Of The Quran :
Surah Al-Alaq was the first surah revealed to Prophet Muhammed (sallalahu-alayhi-wa-salaam) after he began having dreams in the night that became true the next day. Rasool (sallalahu-alayhi-wa-salaam) then began to spend many nights in the cave of Hira praying to Allah before returning home to spend a few nights with his wife Khadija (radhiya-allahu-anhuma) – the only person aware of what Prophet Muhammed (sallalahu-alayhi-wa-salaam) was going through at the time. This continued for a very long time before one night the angel Jibreel (alayhi-salaam) was commanded by Allah to reveal Surah Al-Alaq to the Prophet Muhammed (sallalahu-alayhi-wa-salaam) which marked the beginning of the Qur’an being revealed.
There are many reasons as to why the revelation of the Qur’an impacted so many Muslims during the time of the Prophet Muhammed (sallalahu-alayhi-wa-salaam) and why it still is affecting Muslims today. Before the Qur’an was revealed, Muslims were aware that Allah existed however they used idols as mediators between them and Allah. The Qur’an of Allah helped to shed light on communicating directly to Allah and to show that this was the only way to reach Him. Muslims were impacted by the words of the Qur’an as it was written in a way that no human could which helped to emphasize that it came directly from Allah and affirmed His Greatness (الكبير – Al-Kabeer).
So why is this relevant today?
Reciting and memorising the Qur’an is just as important today as it was back then as it still acts as a daily reminder of our Lord who looks over us (البصير [The All-Seeing]). It aids in softening our hearts and strengthening our Eeman; Belief in Allah, His Angels, Books, Messengers, Day of Judgement and the Good and Evil. Qur’anic practise is implemented in many different ways. For instance:
- The traditional Qur’an which is colour-coded to teach Tajweed (rules for reading the Qur’an)
- A braille Qur’an to cater to the needs of our blind and partially sighted brothers, sisters and children – http://braillequran.org/objectives
- Through digital purposes (e.g. audio recordings)
- Translation/Tafseer (a deeper explanation of the Qur’an) in multiple languages –https://ia801705.us.archive.org/11/items/TafsirIbnKathir10Volumes-Alhamdulillah-library.blogspot.in.pdf/TafsirIbnKathir10Volumes-Alhamdulillah-library.blogspot.in.pdf
- Reading and memorising the Holy Qur’an to use daily in Salaat (prayer)
It is understandable that teaching another is not easy, regardless of their ability and level of understanding. However, as our beloved Prophet (sallalahu-alayhi-wa-salaam) says: “The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” [Bukhari].
From this we can learn that, the Qur’an is not specific to anyone and is free for all to read, learn and connect to.