Elevated stage in Paradise by virtue of the Holy Quran - Part 2

Ummu Salmah r.a. (one of Rasullullah s.a.w wife) was once asked by someone as to how Rasullullah s.a.w used to recite Quran. She said, “In a way that all vowel sounds were clear and the pronunciation of each letter was distinct.” It is desirable to recite the Quran with propriety even if one may not understand the meaning. Ibnu Abbas r.a. said that he preferred to recite with propriety, short sowar (plural of surah – a chapter of the Quran) like AlQariah or Iza Zulzelat rather than to recite (otherwise long) sowar like AlBaqarah or AlImran without it.

The commentators and learned scholars explained the above-mentioned hadith to mean that, for each ayat recited, the reciter will be elevated to a higher level in Paradise. From other hadith, it appears that there are as many levels in Paradise as the number of ayat in the Holy Quran. Therefore, the status of the person will be raised by as many levels in Paradise as the number of ayat in which he is well versed. As such, the one best versed in the whole Quran will reach the highest level in Paradise.

According to Mulla Ali Qari, it is mentioned in a hadith there is no level in Jannah higher than that given to reader of the Quran. So the readers will ascend in proportion to the number of ayat recited by them in the world. Allamah Dani (RahmatulallahAlaih) says that authorities agree that there are a six thousand ayat in the Quran. But there is some difference of opinion about the number over and above six thousand. These are variously reported to be 204, 14, 19, 25 and 36.

It is written in Sharah-ul Ihya that each ayat corresponds to a higher level in Paradise. So a reader will be asked to ascend according to his recitation. One who reads the whole of the Quran will attain the highest level in Paradise. And one who knows only a part of the Quran will rise up to the proportionate level. In brief, the stage or level reached will be fixed by the numbers of ayat recited.

According to my understanding, the above hadith has a different meaning :

I think that the elevation implied in this hadith is not that which can determined by the number of ayat to be recited, i.e., when one ayat be recited, the status will be raised by one step, whether it be read with propriety of without. But this hadith points to another kind of elevation which is a type of an inner experience and is related to the recitation being with propriety or without is. So a person will be able to read in the same way as he reads in worldly life. Mullah Ali Qari (RahmatullahAlaih) has quoted from one hadith that, if a person reads the Quran very often in this life, he will remember it in the life Hereafter, otherwise he will forget it. May Allah help us there. There are many among us who memorized the Quran in their childhood through the religious zeal of their parents, but through sheer carelessness and negligence on their own part, have forgotten this capability in the later part of this very life. It is mentioned in others hadith that one who dies while labouring and working hard to commit the Glorious Quran to memory. Will be record amongst the Huffaz. Allah bounty has no limits. We should only seek it. As a poet says:

O’ Shahidi..! His bounties are common for all, you could not be denied (these bounties), if you were all worthy.


(If my interpretation is correct, it is from Allah and if is wrong, it is from me and satan, and Allah and His Prophet are free from it.)

Solat Wipes Out the Sins

From Abu Dzar r.a narrates that once the Holy Prophet s.a.w came out of his house. It was autumn and the leaves were falling off the trees. He caught hold of a branch of a tree and its leaves began to drop in a large number. At this he remarked, “O, Abu Dzar! When a Muslim offers his Solat to please Allah, his sins are shed away from him just as these leaves are falling off this tree.”

In autumn, usually, the leaves of the trees fall in large number, so much so that some trees not a single leaf is left behind. The same is the effect of solat perfomed with sincerity and devotion. All the sins of the person offering solat are wiped off. Its should, however, be remembered that according to the verdict of the theologians, it is only the minor sins that are forgiven by the performance of solat and others services. The major sin are not pardoned without repentance. We should, therefore in addition to saying solat, be particular about doing “Taubat” (repentance) and “Istighfar” (seeking forgiveness). Allah may however, pardon by His bountiful Grave, even the major sins of any person because of his solat.




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Abu Dzar Ghifari’s Conversion to Islam

Abu Dzar Ghifari r.a is very famous among the Sahabah (Prophet’s companion) for his piety and knowledge. Ali r.a used to say:

“Abu Dzar is the custodian of such knowledge as other people are incapable of acquiring.”

When he first got news of the Prophet’s mission, he deputed his brother to go to Mecca and make investigations regarding ‘the person’ who claimed to be the recipient of Divine revelation. His brother returned after necessary enquiries and informed him that he found Muhammad s.a.w to be a man of good habits and excellent conduct and that his wonderful revelations were neither poetry nor soonth-sayings. This report did not satisfy him and he decided to set out for Mecca and find out the facts for himself. On reaching Mecca he went straight to the Haram. He did not know the prophet s.a.w and he did not consider it advisable (under the circumstances prevailing at the time) to enquire about him from anybody. When it became dark, Ali r.a noticed him and seeing in him a stranger; could not ignore him, as hospitality and care for the travelers, the poor and the strangers, were the sahabah’s second nature. He therefore, took him to his place. He did not ask him about the purpose of his visit to Mecca, nor did Abu Dzar himself disclose it. Next day, he againt went to the Haram and stayed there till nightfall without being able to learn who the Prophets was. In fact everybody knew that the Prophets and his companions were being persecuted in Mecca and Abu Dzar might have had misgivings about the result of his quest for the Prophet s.a.w . Ali r.a again took him home for the night, but again did not have any talk with him about the purpose of his visit to the city. On the third night, however after Ali had entertained him as on the two previous nights, he asked him:

“Brother, what brings you to this town?”

Before replying. Abu Dzar took undertaking from Ali r.a that he would speak truth and then he enquired from him about Muhammad s.a.w. Ali replied:

“He is verily the Prophet of Allah. You accompany me tomorrow and I shall take you to him. But you have be very careful, least people come to know of your association with me and you get trouble. When on your way, I apprehend some trouble, I shall get aside pretending some necessity or adjusting my shoes, and you will proceed ahead without stopping, so that the people may not connect us.”

Next day, he followed Ali r.a. who took him before the Prophet s.a.w. In the very first meeting, he embraced Islam. The Prophet s.a.w, fearing that the Quresh might harm him, enjoined upon him not to make an open declaration of his Islam. And bade him to go back to his clan and return when Muslims had gained the upper hand. Abu Dzar r.a. replied:

“O, Prophet of Allah! By Him who is the master of my soul, I must go and recite the Kalimah in the midst of these unbelievers.”

True to his word, he went straight to the Haram, and right in the midst of the crowd and at the pitch of his voice, recited Shahadah viz:

“I bear witness that there is no god save Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad s.a.w is the Prophet of Allah.”

People fell upon him from all sides and would have beaten him to death if Abbas (the Prophet’s uncle, who had not till then embraced Islam) had not shielded him and saved him from death. Abbas said to the mob:

“Do you know who he is? He belongs the Ghifar Clan, who live on the way of our caravans to Syria. If he killed, they will waylay us and we shall not be able to trade with the country.”

This applead to their prudence and they left him alone.

The next day, Abu Dzar r.a repeat his perilous confession of iman and would have surely been beaten to death by crowd, had not Abbas intervened once again and saved him for the second time.

The action of Abu Dzar r.a was due to his extraordinary zeal for proclaiming Kalimah among the disbelievers, and the prohibition by the Prophet s.a.w was due to the soft corner in his heart for Abu Dzar r.a, lest he be put to hardships that might prove too much for him. There is not the least shadow of disobedience in this episode. Since the Prophet s.a.w himself was undergoing all sorts of hardships in spreading the message of Islam, Abu Dzar r.a also thought it fit to follow his example. Rather than avail of his permission to avoid danger. It was this spirits of Sahabah that took them to the heights of material and spiritual progress. When a person once recited the Kalimah and entered the fold of Islam, no power on earth could turn him back and no oppression or tyranny could stop him from tabligh.


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Elevated stage in Paradise by virtue of the Holy Quran - Part 1

From Abdullah ibni Amar r.a. reports that Rasullullah s.a.w said; “On the Day of Judgment, it will be said to the MAN devoted to QURAN, go on reciting the Quran and continue ascending the storeys of Jannah (Paradise) and recite in the slow manner you had reading in worldly life; your final abode will be when you reach at the time of the last ayat of your recitation.”

“The Man of Quran” apparently means a “Hafiz”. Mulla Ali Qari has explained it fully that this honour is reserved for a “Hafiz”, and that this hadith does not apply to one who regards by looking into Holy Quran. First, because the words “Man of Quran” points towards a hafiz and secondly there is a traditional in Musnad Ahmad:-

“Till he reads of whatever Quran in with him”

This word more clearly refers to a Hafiz, although a reader who remains very often engaged in reciting the Quran may also be implied.

It is written in Miqrat that this hadith does not apply to a reader who is accursed by the Quran. This is with reference to the hadith that there are many readers of the Quran, who read the Quran but the Quran invokes curses upon them. Therefore, the reading of Quran by a person who does not adhere to the correct tenets does not constitute an argument that he is acceptable to Allah. Many hadith of this type relate to the “Khawarij” (a sect who were opposed to Ali r.a).

In this commentary, Shah Abdul Aziz (Rahmatullalaih) has written that “tartil” literally means read and with good and clear pronunciation, while according to Islamic principle it means reading in accordance with certain rules as follows :

1. The letters of alphabets should be correctly uttered to ensure their correct pronunciation so that ‘tha’ is not reads as ‘ta’ and ‘tho’ is not reads as ‘da’ and so on.

2. Stop correctly at the pauses, so that the joining or finishing of the verses may not take place at in appropriate places.

3. The correct pronunciation of ‘iqlab’.

4. Raising the voice slightly so that the words of Quran uttered by the mouth may reach the ears and thus influence the heart.

5. Setting the sound in a way that it may become full of pathos and may affect the heart quickly, because the pathetic voice influences the heart at once, moves and strengthens the soul more effectively.

The physicians are of the opinion that if a medicine is required to affect the heart quickly, it should be given a sweet smell by means of a perfume, for the heart sensitive to sweet and smell and if the medicine is required to affect the liver, it should be sweetened with sugar because the liver likes sweet things. Therefore, if a perfume is used at the time of recitation, it will have a better influence on the heart.

6. Tashdid (doubling of alphabets) and madd (prolongation of alphabets) should be fully pronounced because this reveals the grandeur of the Quran and adds to its effectiveness.

7. As stated earlier, the reader’s should respond to the ayat indicating mercy of Allah or chastisement by Him.

The above-mentioned seven rules constitute the correct way of reciting the Quran, which is called ‘tartil’ and the sole object of all this is to reach the correct understanding and grasp of deeper meaning of the Holy Quran.


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Bilal and his Suffering

Bilal r.a (Rodiallahu anhu) is a one of the best know of the galaxy of Sahabah as Moazzin of the Prophet's Mosque. He was an Abyssinian slave of a disbeliever in Mecca. His conversion to Islam was, naturally, not liked by his master and he was, therefore, persecuted mercilessly. Ummayah bin Khalaf, who was the worst enemy of Islam, would make him lie down on the burning sand at mid-day and would place a heavy stone on his breast, so that he could not even move limb. He would then say to him:

"Renounce Islam or swelter and die."

Even under these afflictions, Bilal r.a would exclaim:

"Ahad-The One (Allah).. Ahad"-The One (Allah)

He was whipped at night and, with the cuts thus received, made to lie on the burning ground during the day to make him either forsake Islam or to die a lingering death from wounds. The tortures would get tired and take turns (Abu Jahal, Ummayah and others) and vie with one another in afflicting more and more painful punishment, but Bilal r.a would not yield. At last Abu Bakar r.a bought his freedom, and he became a free muslim.

As Islam taught implicitly the oneness of Almighty Creator, while idolaters of Mecca believed in many gods and goddesses with minor godlings, therefore Bilal repeated:

"Ahad (The One), Ahad (The One)."

This shows his love and devotion to Allah. Allah was so dear to him that no amount of persecution could distract him from reciting His Holy name. It is said that the urchins of Mecca would drag him in the streets, with his words "Ahad!.. Ahad!" ringing in their wake.

Look how Allah rewarded his steadfastness! He was to have the honour of becoming the Prophet's Moazzin. He was always to remain with him at home ad abroad to call out the Azan for his Solat. After the Prophet's death it became very hard for him to continue his stay in Madinah where he would miss him at every step and in every corner. He therefore left Madinah and decided to pass the rest of his life striving in the path of Allah. Once he beheld the Prophet s.a.w in his dream saying to him:

"O, Bilal! How is it that you never visit me."

No sooner did he get up than he set out for Madinah. On reaching there, Hasan r.a and Hussein r.a (The Prophet's grandsons) requested him to call out the Azan. He could not refuse them, for there were very dear to him. But as soon as the Azan was called, the people of Madinah cried openly out of their anguish at the memory of the happy old days of the Prophet's time. Even the women came out of their houses weeping. Bilal r.a left Madinah again after a few days and died in Damascus in year 20 After Hijrah.



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