The Qur’an - In Ramadan

If someone was to ask you, why is Ramadan an important month, how would you respond? Some of us might respond by saying, it is a month in which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Some might say, Muslims pray for longer than usual, throughout the night. Others might say, it is a month in which the bad Muslims stop doing bad things. All of these points are good and are secondary reasons why Ramadan is a special month. Allah actually answers this question by saying, 
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ 
“Ramadan is the month in which the Qur’an has been revealed”. [2:185]  

The month of Ramadan existed even before Islam. The name Ramadan was there, but it was not that special. The name and the month became special, because the Qur’an was revealed in that month. Allah has honoured and made this month so special that it is the only month, out of the 12 months, mentioned directly by name in the Qur’an. Moreover, not only is the month of Ramadan made special, but also the night in which the Qur’an was revealed was made special. In the famous Surah, Surah Qadr, Allah says,
 إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ 
“Verily We have revealed it (the Qur’an) in the night of Qadr”. [97:1]  

The very night the Qur’an was revealed became blessed. Allah blessed it by giving it a name, the Night of Qadr, and by giving it the status of being better than a thousand months. So my question to myself and to you brothers and sisters is, what would my status and what would your status be if we recite the Qur’an? What would my status and what would your status be if we memorise the Qur’an and understand its meaning? What would my status and yours be if we practice the teachings of the Qur’an? What would my status and what would your status be if we teach something related to the Qur’an, even if it is just one verse. If the month and the day the Qur’an was revealed are elevated, then what sort of elevation will we get?  

In a Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said,"The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it." [Bukhari]  

Yes, that is right, if you spend time learning the Qur’an, even if you struggle, you are automatically amongst the best Muslims. Allah will raise your status, just for learning the Qur’an. Do not worry about teaching the Qur’an, just by learning it Allah will raise your rank. So next time you recite, learn or even teach the Qur’an, remind yourself of this hadith and feel proud that you are reciting the words of Allah. You are not reading a normal book, you are not reciting the words of a human, you are reciting the words of Allah.  

If someone decides not to care about the Qur’an and not spend time with it, what will happen to this individual? If one does not want to even spend a minute or two per day with the Qur’an, whether it is reciting it, or reading the meaning, or listening to someone recite it, what will happen to this individual on the Day of Judgment? It is enough to know that our Prophet, Muhammad ﷺ will complain to Allah about those who did not engage with the Qur’an. 
وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا 
“And the Messenger has said, "O my Lord, indeed my people have abandoned this Qur'an”. [25:30] 

We all want to meet our Prophet ﷺ, we all want our Prophet to be happy with us ﷺ. It is almost impossible to imagine a scenario whereby the Prophet will say something against us. So let us do ourselves a favour by reciting and implementing the Qur’an in our lives.  

As we mentioned before, by reciting and learning the Qur’an, you become amongst the best Muslims - that is the reward in this world. However, you might ask the question, what is the reward in the hereafter? The Prophet ﷺ told us that on the Day of Judgement, Allah will say to the one who memorised the Qur’an,“Recite, and rise up, recite (melodiously) as you would recite in the world. For indeed your rank shall be at the last ayah you recited.” [Tirmidhi] 

Subhanallah, is that not a great reward? For every verse you recite, your rank in paradise increases. For every ayah you learn and practice, you will ascend higher and higher in Jannah.  

I would like to share a few practical points on studying the Qur’an. We are all different here and have different capabilities. If I was to ask, who is the best Qur’an reciter? One will say this imam, another one will say so and so. It just shows that when it comes to the Qur’an, we all have a different taste and a different approach to others. For those who rarely touch the Qur’an, recite only two or three lines a day. Do not worry about reciting the whole Qur’an. Just try your best to recite only two or three lines and get into the habit of doing it every day. For those who recite the Qur’an regularly, maybe read a page or two per day. Once again, make the amount you select a habit. There is no point in reciting a huge portion on day and none for the next three or four days.  

When it comes to memorising the Qur’an, it is a challenge from me to all of you brothers and sisters to only memorise four or five lines this Ramadan. Maybe pick one of the small Surahs from the back. Spend few days memorising one line, and then few more days memorising another line. Do this until you have completed memorising 5 lines. Do not worry about memorising a large portion, just stick to five. Once you have memorised them, see if you can recite them in your prayer. See if you can recite them when you walk to the masjid. Once you know how to recite the five verses and have memorised them, study the meaning. Read the meaning of the five lines and then tell others about it. 

In conclusion, if you spend time with the Qur’an, Allah will raise your rank in this dunya and in Jannah. We should make time to study the Qur’an. A good start for this Ramadan might be to recite a small portion, like three or four lines every day. Make an attempt to memorise at least few lines and understand its meaning.  There are 30 days of this month, let us make them count InshaAllah.  

May Allah give us the tawfeeq to study the Qur’an and make this Ramadan better than the previous ones.  Ameen.