Interacting the with the Qur’an: The first step toward Tadabbur

Our religious texts allow us to appreciate communication at different levels: At times the ma'sum speaks to a non-ma’sum at his level; in another the ma'sum addresses a fellow ma'sum in which it may be a higher level of discourse; at another the ma'sum is conversing with Allah swt in which the restrictions are removed and is the peak of human expression toward the divine. The Qur’an being the Word of Allah swt is the creator communicating with the creation, of which there are billions. And therefore whilst the words are the same, each verse must communicate with each of the creation at their level.

In the month of Ramadan we are encouraged to reflect on the Qur’an to unlock these deeper levels, however there are certain impediments to doing so: It may be the language barrier, or that we are used to reading at a very quick pace in order to complete our recitation or it may be that we don’t know how to reflect and are concerned about wrongfully imposing a meaning onto the Qur’an.

In this sermon we will look at the examples of Ahl al-Bayt (a) and how they interacted with the Qur’an as opposed to reading it passively. We will find that they would pause at various types of verses and respond either with a du’a or verbalising the theme of the verse. This meant they were conscious of what was read and this would be the foundation of reading the Qur’an reflectively.

Imam as-Sadiq (a) is narrated to have said, “Surely the Qur’an is not to be read in a rush or very quickly. Rather, it should be recited in slow, measured portions. Whenever you reach a verse which talks about Heaven, then stop (at that verse) and ask from Allah (the bounties of) Heaven. And whenever you reach a verse which speaks about the Hell, then stop (at that verse) and seek protection from Allah from the Hell Fire (and the punishment).” (al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, Volume 3, Page 301)