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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Three thing shall be under Arash (of Allah) on the Judgement Day. Part 2.

It is this special understanding that was implied in the reply of Ali (Karramullahu Wajhu – May Allah be kind to him) when he was asked by the people if he had received from Rasullulah s.a.w any special knowledge or instructions which were not received by others. Ali r.a said, “ I swear by Him Who made the Paradise and created life that I possess nothing special, except the clear understanding which Almighty Allah bestows upon a person in respect of the Quran."

Ibni Abu Dunya says that the knowledge of the Holy Quran and that which can be derived out of it are as vast as a boundless ocean.

The Branches of knowledge described above are like tools, i.e. essential pre requisite fo commentator. A commentary written by a person who is not thoroughly acquainted with these branches of knowledge will be based on his personal opinion, which is prohibited. The Sahabah (companions of the Holy Prophet s.a.w) already had Arabic language as their mother-tonque, and they reached the depth of the knowledge by means of their illuminating contact that they had with Rasullulah s.a.w.

Allahmah Suyuti says that those who think that it is beyond the capacity of a man to acquire Ilm Wahbi or gifted understanding, are not right. To get this knowledge from Allah, one should adopt the means to this end, e.g., acting upon the knowledge that one has acquired, and disinclination towards the world.

It is state in Kimia-e-Sa’adat that three person are not blessed with complete understanding of the Quran. First, one who is not well versed in Arabic, secondly, one who persists in committing a major sin or indulges in act of religious innovation, because these actions blacken his heart, which is turn prevent him from understanding the Quran. Thirdly, one who is a rationalist, even the matter of faith, and feel embarrassed when he reads an ayat of the Quran which he is not able to fully rationalize.

“May Allah protect us from all such sins and evils."


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Three thing shall be under Arash (of Allah) on the Judgement Day. Part 1.

From Abdul Rahman ibni Auf r.a, narrates that Rasullullah s.a.w said, “ One the Day of Judgement, three things will under the shade of the Arash (Allah’s Throne). One, the Holy Quran which will argue with men – the Quran has both an apparent and deeper meaning. The second will be amanah (trust). The third will be kinship, which shall proclaim “O, Allah have mercy on the person who upheld me and deprive him of Your mercy whosoever severed me.”

Three thing wil under the shade of the Arash, signifies their utmost nearness in the sublime presence of Allah. “The Quran will argue” means that it will plead the cause of those people who read it, respect it and act upon its commandments. It will intercede on their behalf and solicit upgrading of their rank. Mulla Ali Qari has narrated on the authority of Tirmizi ( a book of Hadith) that, in the presence of Almighty Allah, the Holy Quran will beg Allah to grant an apparel to its reader. Almighty Allah will given him a crown of honour. The Quran will again beg for additional favour for him. Thereupon Almighty Allah will award the reader a complete robe of honour. The Quran will again beseech Allah to be pleased with him, and Almighty Allah will express His pleasure to him.

We find in this life that the pleasure of beloved is considered to be the most coveted gift. Similarly in the life Hereafter, no bounty shall stand comparison with the pleasure of our Beloved Almighty Allah. And in case of those who ignore their duty towards the Quran, it will challenge them saying, “Did you care for me? Did you fulfil your obligations towards me?”

It has reported on the authority of Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullah Alaih) in Ihya that it is the due right of the Quran that it should be read completely twice a year. Those of us who never care to read the Quran should first consider how their defend themselves against such a strong plaintiff. Death is inevitable and there can be no escape from it.

The Meaning of expression “body and spirit of the Quran” is evident. The Quran has an apparent meaning, wich can be understood by all, but the deeper spiritual significance is not understood by everybody. It is in this connection that Rasullulah s.a.w has said: “Whosoever expresses his personal opinion in respect of anything in the Quran commits a mistake, even if he be right in his opinion.”

Some scholar hold that the word ‘outward’ i.e., the body of Quran, refer to its words, which can be recited properly by everybody and word inward, i.e., spirit refer to its meanings, and its underlying ideas, the understanding of which varies with the ability of the readers.

Hadrat ini Mas’ud r.a said, If you seek knowledge, you should meditate on the meanings of the Quran, because it embodies the history of the former times as well as of the latter. “It is, however, essential to observe the pre-requisites for interpreting the Quran. And unbecoming present day fashion is that even those who possess little or no knowledge of Arabic vocabulary offer their personal opinion on the basis of vernacular translations of the Quran. Specialists have laid down that any one attempting a commentary of the Holy Quran should be well versed in fifteen subjects. These as briefly given below, will show that it is not possible for everybody to understand the underlying significance and real meanings of the Holy Quran.

1. Lughat, i.e., Philology of language. Which helps in understanding the appropriate meanings of words. Mujahid says, “One who believes in Allah and the Day of Judgement should not open his lips in respect of the Quran, unless he is thoroughly conversant with the philology of the Arabic language. Quite often an Arabic word has several meanings. A person may be knowing only one or two of them, though in a given context the actual meaning may be quite different.”

2. Nahv, i.e., Syntax, a branch of grammar, which helps in understanding the relation of a sentence with another and also of Iqlab (vowel sounds) of the letters of a word. A change in Iqlab often means a change in the meaning.

3. Sarf, i.e., Etymology, a branch of grammar, which helps in knowing the root words and conjugations. The meaning of the word changes with the change in the root and with a change in its conjugation.

In Ibni Faris says, “ One who loses the knowledge of etymology loses a great deal.” Allamah Zimarkhshari mentions that, when a certain person set to translate the ayat

“On the day that We shall call each and every people after their leader”.

Ignorantly rendered it thus: “One the day We shall call each people after their mother.” He supposed that the singular Arabic word imam (leader) was the plural of the Arabic word ‘um’ (mother). If he had been conversant with etymology, he would have know that the plural of ‘um’ is not ‘imam’.

4. Ishiqaq, i.e., Derivatives. It is necessary to have the knowledge of derivatives and their root words, because if a word has been derived from two different root words, it will have two different meanings, e.g., the word ‘masih’ is derivable from ‘masah’ which mean to touch or to move wet hands over, and also from ‘masahat’ which means measurement.

5. Ilm ul-Ma’ani. i.e, Knowledge of semantics, because phrase constructions are understood from their meanings.


6. Ilm ul-Bayan. i.e., Knowledge of figure of speech, like similes and metaphors, due to which expressions or shades of meaning or similes and metaphors become known.

7. Ilm ul-Badi. i.e., Knowledge of rhetoric, the knowledge which reveals the beauty of language and its implications.

The last three are branches of ilm ul-Balaghat (knowledge of oratory), and are considered very important subject, which a commentator should master, because the Glorious Quran is a perfect miracle and its amazing constructions can only be understood after mastering these subjects.

8. Ilm ul-Qiraat. i.e., Knowledge of the art of pronunciation, because different methods of recitation sometimes convey different meaning, and sometimes one meaning is to be preferred over the others.

9.Ilm ul-Aqaid, i.e., Knowledge of fundamentals of faith. This is necessary to explain certain analogies. The literal meaning of certain ayat referring to Almighty Allah is not the correct one. For example, the analogy in the ayat :-

“The hand of Allah is over their hands”

Will have to be explained because Allah has no physical hands.

10. Usul Fiqah. i.e., Principle of Islamic Jurisprudence. These are necessary for reasoning out and finding arguments in the basic support of statement.

11. Ashab Unaz ul. i.e., The particular circumstances which caused the revelation of ayat. The meaning of an ayat will be better understood if we know how and when it had been revealed. Sometimes the true meaning of an ayat is understood only if we know the circumstances in which the ayat had been revealed.

12. Nasikh o Mansukh. i.e, Knowledge of commandments that have subsequently been abrogated or changed, so that abrogated commandments may be distinguished from the standing ones.

13. Ilm ul-Fiqah. i.e. Knowledge of Islamic Jurisprudence, because it is only through this knowledge that we arrive at a complete understanding of general principles.

14. Knowledge of such Hadith that happen to be commentary on certain brief verses of the Quran.

15. The last but most important is the Ilm Wahbi, or the gifted understanding, bestowed by Almighty Allah upon His selected ones, as is referred in the hadith :-

“Whosoever acts upon what he knows, Almighty Allah bestows upon him the knowledge of things not know to him.”


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Discarding Solat (Praying) is Leaving Islam

From Ubadah bin Samit r.a narrates; 'My dear friend the Prophet s.a.w while enjoining upon me seven good practices said, "Do not ascribe anything as partner to Allah, though you may be cut into pieces or burn alive or crucified; do not forego solat intentionally, least you should get out of the fold of Islam; do not perpetrate disobedience of Allah, least you deserve His warth; and do not take to drinking, for that is the mother of all evils."'

In another hadith, Abu Durda r.a says, " My dear Prophet s.a.w warned me saying, 'Do not ascribe anything as partner to Allah, though you may cut into pieces or burn alive or crucified; do not discard Solat intentionally, as Allah is free from any obligation to a person who knowingly neglects Solat; and do not take wine, for that is the key to all vices."


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