'The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an as a guidance to the people, and clear proofs of guidance and criterion…' - [2:185]

A quick thread of a reminder I heard on the beauty of this blessed month, and what tadabbur (deep contemplation) can look like.

When it comes to Ramadan, we often think of fasting as the main purpose (which is ofc a major act of worship). But we seldom recognise that this month is special not because of fasting, but because it was the month in which the Qur'an was revealed.

In the verse above, Allah swt explains the purpose of this revelation: He tells us that it is a guidance, a criterion giving us instructions on how to live our lives both as individuals, and as societies.

Even so, though the purpose of the Quran is guidance, there are other benefits. There is reward in recitation, there is an aid within for ailments etc. But during Ramadan, we tend to have a focus on the things in the book unrelated to the guidance, but rather to the benefits.

So we end up making checklists aiming to recite as much as possible, but without pondering or giving thought to what it is that we are reading. Without really understanding the purpose. Like buying a phone for the torch or camera feature, but not for the calling.

Further, when we want to attain guidance we need to understand the instruction. If someone gave you a map in a language you didn’t understand, would you be able to get to your destination? So it falls on us to understand the actual words in front of us.

Abu Dardah narrated: 'Whenever the time comes when you will decorate your mosques and your mushafs, that is the time when you will be destroyed because that is an indication you are favouring symbols over substance.'

At the end, a donkey laden with books remains a donkey.

The companions of the Prophet then are a great example of how we can engage with the Qur'an. When they were presented with a new verse, they would learn that verse, then attempt to implement in in their lives, and then move on to the next one.

And to this effect, we see how Abdullah ibn Umar took four years to memorise just surah Al-Baqarah. Because he would learn, understand, internalise, and then move on. Some narrations argue that it was even longer.

When we read the Qur’an and translation then, to ascertain our level of study and engagement we should ask ourselves;

1. Has this verse impacted my thinking or how I view things?

2. Has this impacted my emotions/feelings towards something?

3. Has this impacted my behaviour?

And if we find that none of this ever happens or that we have not engaged in a purposeful/meaningful way, perhaps we should ask what we are gaining from our recitation of the Qur'an. The reward, or the purpose?

To end:

[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [Oh Muhammad], that they may ponder over its verses, and that those of understanding may remember.’

Praying these last ten days of #Ramadan are beneficial to us all.