Just like the Holy Books before it, the Qur'an was sent down by God through an angel to the prophet to give the message of God to mankind. The message given to mankind is for their own salvation and ultimately for their happiness in the both worlds, this transient world and in the Hereafter. When reading the Qur'an, Muslims should try to be attuned to the message from Allah. Our hearts and minds should be present as we read the verses of the Qur'an. We have been commanded to think, to reflect, and to ponder on what we read. Reading hastily and absent mindedly will take away from the benefits that we can otherwise achieve if we read with contemplation. When reading the Holy Qur'an, ask yourself, "Which of the verses of the Qur'an best describe me?" Search through the Qur'an to find yourself. When coming across the verses that describe the believers, evaluate yourself to see if you measure up to those believers who have been promised the gardens, with rivers flowing beneath them. Take for example these verses from the third chapter in the Qur'an. If you find yourself lacking in these praiseworthy qualities, use these verses as a reminder to yourself for some spiritual and personal growth. {And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous. Who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people-and Allah loves the doers of good.} (Chapter 3, verses 133-134) A Muslim needs to hold himself/herself to higher standards to live up to this verse. To be able to give in hardship and in ease, to restrain my anger, not lose my temper, and to forgive and pardon those who have hurt me; that is not easy. However, if I am able to do that, then I can consider myself one of the believers praised by Allah in the Qur'an. Keep reading the Holy Qur'an; read it every day to find the verses that best describe you. One of my teachers, a teacher of the Holy Qur'an, who has spent his whole life learning and teaching the Holy Qur'an, said that the verse in the Qur'an which he holds dearest to his heart is the following: {Indeed, those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer and spend [in his cause] out of what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, [can] expect a transaction [i.e. profit] that will never perish.}(Chapter 35, verse 29) That transaction or profit which will never perish is a transaction between the believer and Allah, when the believers do good, Allah gives them ten-fold or one hundred-fold, with immeasurable generosity and rewards. From after the dawn prayer until nightfall, this teacher listens to his students reciting the Holy Qur'an, and he corrects and teaches them, taking breaks only for prayer and meals. He has students all over the world from Jordan to Saudi Arabia to Czechoslovakia to the United States. For the past 23 years, he has devoted his life to teaching the Holy Qur'an and he found himself in this verse, as those who recite the Book of Allah. When reading verses that describe people who are reprimanded by Allah, we must try our best not to make the same mistakes. Be honest with yourself, and beware of being one of these types of people as described in the Qur'an who sever the ties of blood relations, are miserly, those who backbite and slander, those who skip prayers, those who do not feed orphans and the poor, or those who cheat in business transactions. One of the earlier scholars of the Holy Qur'an, Al-Ahnaf bin Qays, wanted to find out who he was; which type of people mentioned in the Holy Qur'an did he resemble? He spent several nights reading the Holy Qur'an with deep concentration. He read about a group of people described in this verse, {They used to sleep but little of the night. And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness.}(Chapter 51, verses 17-18) The believers described in this verse stay up most of the night in prayer, prostration, supplication, and remembrance of Allah. Al-Ahnaf bin Qays was very humble; he did not think that he was included in such a high rank as these pious worshipers, so he kept searching. He came across these verses of the Holy Qur'an, which describe the state of the heart of the disbelievers, {Indeed, they when it was said to them, "There is no deity but Allah" were arrogant. And were saying, "Are we to leave our gods for a mad poet?"} (Chapter 37, verses 35-36) Since he believed in Allah and he believed in Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he knew that he was not one of the people described in the verses above. Afterwards, Al-Ahnaf kept turning the pages of the Qur'an, searching for the group that he belonged to until he stopped at this verse, {And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.} (Chapter 9, verse 102) Thereupon, Al-Ahnaf said, "I am of these people." He was a righteous man; he feared Allah and was steadfast in his worship of Allah. He acknowledged that he was not perfect, that he had sins, but he was optimistic and hopeful for the mercy and forgiveness of Allah. How about you? Which verses of the Holy Qur'an best describe you?
