Pre-Ramadan Workshop (II)

By Sister Emaan Al-Obaid

[17 June 2014]

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INTRODUCTION Allah gives us different feelings / emotions in order that we get closer to Allah

With these emotions – you need an attachment

So use these emotions as a bridge to go to Allah

Earlier, Ramadan with joy was discussed

Those who are not happy with Ramadan; their characteristics are discussed in Surah Yunus #7

They don’t have a strong believe that they will meet Allah in the Day of Judgment

You need a strong belief in that

That’s how you will work in the life

They are pleased / emotionally connected to the worldly life

Test yourself

Do you feel sorrow/regret if you miss anything of the Hereafter?

Do you feel sorrow/grief if you miss something in the life?

And they are pleased / content with the life

RAMADAN & THE QURAN You need happiness and excitement in Ramadan!!!

You can achieve that by having a strong connection with the

Quran in Ramadan

You will then enjoy the month of Ramadan

Surah Al-Baqarah #185

ن الهدى نات م اس وبي شهر رمضان الذي أنزل فيه القرآن هدى للنهر فليصمه ومن كان مريضا أو على سفر والفرقان فمن شهد منكم الش

ة بكم اليسر ول يريد بكم العسر ولتكملوا العدام أخر يريد للا ن أي ة م فعد

على ما هداكم ولعل روا للا كم تشكرون ولتكب

The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people

and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let

him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah

intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the

period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be

grateful.

1st Connection

between

Ramadan &

the Quran

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The connection between the Heavens & the Earth started in Ramadan

All the divine books were revealed in this month

It’s a guidance for all mankind

It guides even the disbelievers (not just the believers) but it’s up to them that they are not

taking the guidance

The guidance is very clear – showing the criterion distinctly (right & wrong)

Then Allah mentioned how He has made it easy for you to fast in this month

You have some excuses to make up your fasts later

Sickness or travelling

What will make you enjoy Ramadan?

THE QURAN! Because Allah made it easy for you in this month

You cannot get the ease without the Quran

Allah wants you to magnify Him / exalt Him

Allah wants you to be grateful to Him

Because He wants the ease for you

He wants you to complete it

He wants you to magnify & exalt Him

With gratefulness, Allah will increase you

With gratitude you will trap the Joy of Ramadan

VIRTUES OF THE QURAN Quran is a Mercy

القرآن رحمة

Surah Al-Ankaboot #51

ا أنزلنا لك لرحمة وذكرى أولم يكفهم أنعليك الكتاب يتلى عليهم إن في ذ

لقوم يؤمنون And is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the Book which is recited to them?

Indeed in that is a mercy and reminder for a people who believe.

Nobody can encompass Allah, yet He allowed for His speech / words to be written + heard +

understood

o Though Allah is so great

o This is the mercy of Allah

Humans are so tiny and insignificant – yet Allah gave them this opportunity

This Quran should be enough for you

…so be grateful to Allah…

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The righteous predecessors never took any book in Ramadan except for the Quran

o Imam Malik, the scholar of Hadith; would flee from the Hadith study circles in order to

study the Quran

Quran will purify you inside out

Quran is a reminder!

o Reminds you to be patient

o Reminds you to be grateful

o Reminds you about the plots of Shaitaan

o Reminds you about the greatness of Allah

You will not find a friend who will benefit you like the Quran

o It is a truthful friend which will never leave you

o It will be with you even in your grave

o It will never betray you

The Quran is a mercy + reminder for those people who believe!

o Faith is necessary

o Without believe, the Quran may decrease your faith! It affects people differently

depending on their faith

o Even one medicine does not have the same effect on 2 people

Quran is Tranquility

طمأنينةالقرآن

Surah Az-Zumar #23

ثاني تقشعر منه جلود الذين تشابها م ل أحسن الحديث كتابا م نز للاهم ثم تلين جلودهم يهدي يخشون رب لك هدى للا

ذ وقلوبهم إلى ذكر للا

فما له من هاد به من يشاء ومن يضلل للاAllah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the

remembrance of Allah . That is the guidance of Allah by which He guides whom He wills. And one whom Allah leaves astray - for him there is no guide.

This is about the Quran and its effects

Allah revealed the Quran and there is nothing better than it - no statement better than this

The ayaat resemble each other in beauty & perfection

And are often repeated

o Repetition is necessary

o How many times does Allah talk about the heavens and the earth

o Each surah has mixed ayaat – all ayaat about one topic are not collected only in one surah

The skin will shiver when it hears the Quran

o Those who fear Allah, their skin will shiver when they hear the Quran

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o Not that the person will shiver but his skin!

o Quran is not for competition – it’s not a race to finish the Quran

o When Prophet Muhammad صلى هللا عليه و سلم passed away, he left behind 20,000 Sahaba

out of which, only 6 had memorized the Quran

o Now there are more memorizers of the Quran but there is no application!

o People are only memorizing the Quran but the behavior is not changing – that is a fitnah

o If someone’s child is not intelligent and does not get admitted into a good school/college,

he is put into a Quran Memorizing center – that is a very wrong concept!

o See the Sahaba! They didn’t memorize the whole Quran – but they were affected by the

Quran

Change your view about the Quran

o The Quran was not revealed to make you miserable

o ما أنزلنا عليك القرآن لتشقى [Surah Taha #2]

Then…their skin and their hearts become soft

o This becomes their default state now

o They always remember Allah

o Remembrance of Allah brings softness

Quran is a Cure

شفاءالقرآن

Surah Al-Israa #82

ل من القرآن ما هو شفاء ورحمة للمؤمنين المين إل وننز ول يزيد الظ خسارا

And We send down of the Qur'an that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.

Allah revealed the Quran which is a cure and a mercy for the believers

You cannot take the Quran without belief!

o It’s a prerequisite

When you don’t have belief you don’t have trust if you don’t have trust then you will not get

affected!

means cure – not just a remedy شفاء

o Remedy does not five a confirm result

o But a cure gives positive result immediately

The Quran will cure you from sicknesses that you don’t know!

o Physical sicknesses

o Mental sicknesses

o Sicknesses of the heart

Cure

Certainty / Trust

Belief

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To diagnose any sickness that you have, you need to go through tests to figure it out:

o Physical sicknesses – XRAY, MRI, Scan…

o Mental Sickness / Sicknesses of the Heart – shown by action/behavior

Imagine! The Quran will cure all your ailments without you even realizing your faults!

Quran cures from:

o Jealousy

o Greed

o Social problems

o Financial problems

o Starvation problems

o Economic problems

o Political problems

o Evil whispers

This is the speech of Allah – not just a speech of any human!

Don’t distract yourself from the Quran

o Reduce all your activities in Ramadan

o Reduce your activities so that you can focus on

Ramadan

Surah Al-Hadid #16

وما نزل من الحق ول ألم يأن للذين آمنوا أن تخشع قلوبهم لذكر للاعليهم المد فقست قلوبهم يكونوا كالذين أوتوا الكتاب من قبل فطال

نهم فاسقون وكثير مHas the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so

their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.

This is a very strong admonition from Allah

o It is addressed to the Sahaba

o The Quran has been revealed to you

o Prophet Muhammad صلى هللا عليه و سلم is in front of you – among you

Has the time not come? Allah wants to upgrade the believers

Allah wants something more from you!

Allah wants you to humble your heart

o Have focus – make your heart present

o Allah wants you to have خشوع for the Quran

o Give the Quran your priority

o Don’t get distracted when you are with the Quran

o Don’t disturb others when they are with the Quran

o Show respect, honor to the Quran

That’s why the

Quran is the life of

the heart!

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Even when your parents / elders speak you give them respect and are polite to them

o Then the Quran is not the speech of any human but it is

the speech of Allah

o Allah is the Greatest, who rose over the Throne above

the seven heavens, in a manner that suits His Majesty

o Reading the Quran is as if Allah is talking to you!

Focus on your Quality, not your Quantity

o Some Sahaba used to repeat only one ayah in their

Qiyaam (night prayers) – they would keep repeated that ayah in their prayer and keep

pondering & crying

o Allah wants the quality from you

o If you can do quality & quantity – that is the best – نور على نور

Quality comes from: كره هللاه تخشع قلوبهم لهذه

Shaitaan doesn’t want you to have quality so he will try to attack you in different ways

o He will not allow you to have focus

o He will push you to do more quantity but relax on the quality

The one who does not focus on the Quran his heart will harden

o When you hear an ayah = don’t say O I know this Ayah…

o If you hear something even if you know it or have memorized it, Allah wants you to listen

to it at that time

o Don’t let your heart harden

How will your heart become hard?

o When you are away from the remembrance of Allah

o When you don’t expose yourself to the ayaat during the day, your heart will become hard

o You will lose focus

o Don’t detach yourself from the Quran

o Always be connected and focused on the Quran

اللهم اجعل القرآن الكريم ربيع قلوبنا

May Allah make the Quran the Spring of our hearts

You need to have

manners & etiquettes

(inside & outside) with

the Quran

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RAMADAN: MONTH OF THE

QURAN

Hadith:

بي كان صلى الن كان جبريل لن رمضان شهر في يكون ما وأجود بالخير الناس أجود وسلم عليه للا

رسول عليه يعرض ينسلخ حتى رمضان شهر في ليلة كل في يلقاه صلى للا القرآن وسلم عليه للا

يح من بالخير أجود كان جبريل لقيه فإذا المرسلة الر

Prophet Muhammad’s صلى هللا عليه و سلم generosity was at its peak in Ramadan

o Generosity does not mean he was giving a lot of money

o He did not have a lot of money to distribute to people

Jibreel عليه السالم used to come to Prophet Muhammad صلى هللا عليه و سلم every night – not to bring

new revelation but to revise the ayaat that had already been revealed

o This was the daily provision of the Quran in the month of Ramadan

Opposite of generosity = greed / miserliness

o So if you are focusing on the Quran then you be generous and not miser

o It will solve the problem of ‘focusing on myself’

Ramadan is the month of generosity

This Hadith gives evidence that you need to focus on the Quran in the night (study the Quran at

night) because Jibreel عليه السالم came to Prophet Muhammad صلى هللا عليه و سلم at night

Another evidence there are 2 people studying together

When more people study the Quran together – Allah will open more doors of understanding

because everyone will give their input

There is no distraction in the nights

o Daytime there is a lot of distraction

Recommendation: Study the Quran more at night

Study the Quran in a group (2 or more)

2nd Connection

between

Ramadan & the

Quran

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Hadith:

ليلة قنوت له كتب ليلة في آية بمائة قرأ من :وسلم عليه للا صلى قال فقد

)اللبانى الجامع صحيح صحيح حديث(

The one who reads 100 ayaat in the night…anytime after Isha Prayer

o Whether in prayer

o Or just reciting / reading the Quran

Allah will record for you as if you spent the whole night praying

o As if you establish the whole night in prayer

Hadith:

:قال وسلم عليه للا صلى للا رسول أن عنه للا رضي هريرة أبي وعن

زده رب يا يقول ثم الكرامة تاج فيلبس حله رب يا القرآن فيقول القيامة يوم القرآن صاحب يجيء

حسنة آية بكل ويزداد وارق اقرأ له فيقال عنه فيرضى عنه ارض رب يا يقول ثم الكرامة حلة فيلبس

اإلسناد صحيح وقال والحاكم خزيمة وابن وحسنه الترمذي رواه

How will the Quran intercede for you in the Day of Judgment?

In the Day of Judgment, everything will be tangible

o Your reading of the Quran

o Your good deeds

o Your sins

The Quran will walk with you & it will speak

o “O Lord, Adorn him”

Then there will be a crown of honor placed on the person

o Then the Quran will say, it’s not enough so it will say to Allah “Increase him”

Then the person will wear a gown of honor

o It will still not be enough for the Quran so it will say again “O Lord, be pleased with

him”

o And then it will be said, recite, and with each recitation, he will be elevated in Paradise

o Each level in Paradise is the difference between the heavens & the earth

Don’t you want to be the Companion of the Quran? صاحب القرآن?

o You need some manners / etiquettes in order to be the companion of the Quran

o The companion of the Quran does not find any stress or difficulty in the Quran

o He enjoys the taste of the Quran

o Surah Al-Qamar #17 ولقد يسرنا القرآن للذكر ف هل من مدكر

And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is

there any who will remember?

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HOW WILL YOU FIND THE TASTE OF

THE QURAN IN RAMADAN? You need some etiquettes / manners in order find the taste of the Quran

You cannot be the companion of someone if you don’t enjoy the company of them

o So you need to enjoy the Quran in order to have its companionship

These manners are recommendations

o They are not HALAL/HARAM

o They are not obligatory

o It’s the best possible option for you

External Etiquettes

الظاهرةاآلداب Etiquettes of the Reciter:

To have Wudu (Ablution)

To face the Qiblah

To stand and recite (ie: in the prayer)

Surah Al-e-Imran #191 mentions 3 positions of reciting the Quran – from the best to least (standing in praying, sitting, lying down)

اآلداب القارئ

There is no fixed number of ayaat to recite – it depends on the

condition of your heart (your level of faith)

No one can say how many juz to recite

Maybe someone can recite many juz but with Ihsan so they are focusing & attentive. Maybe for your, the more you read, the less your quality will be

It depends on your heart

You need to see what will suit you – the more pure your heart it, the more faith you have, the more you will do / read

اآلداب القراءة

To recite word by word / letter by letter

Umm Salamah رضى هللا عنها described the recitation of Prophet

Muhammad صلى هللا عليه و سلم – MUFASSARA HARFAN HARFAN

– each letter was clear (not swallowing any letters)

You want to focus and ponder on your recitation – you need to

understand what you are reciting

If you recite very quickly and fast – how can you focus on the meanings and how will it have an effect on your heart?

TARTEEL shows more respect to Allah

Ibn Abbas it is more beloved to me to read Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Al-e-Imran with tarteel than to read the whole Quran quickly

الترتيل

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You cannot pretend or force tears

You will cry because of your faith

Every ayah will make you cry –Hell fire, punishment, or even blessings

You will weep naturally (out of joy & being overwhelmed) and

also tears of fear

You will not cry out of sadness & depression

كاءالب

If you feel you are disturbing someone then you read

quietly, secretly

Or if you feel that you might show off

Else, the best way is to read little loud

اإلسرار في القرآن

Improve your recitation

Use the 11 months (before Ramadan) to practice and perfect your Tajweed (pronunciation)

Follow the rules of recitation

Beatify your voice when reciting

There are 2 hadith to beautify your voices:

" نوا القرآن بأصواتكم It was narrated that Abu Bara' said:"The " زي

Messenger of Allah ( ) said: 'Make your voices beautiful when you

recite Quran.' Sunan an-Nasa'i 1015

(have the intention and Allah will give you – it’s about your heart and Allah will help you and open for you – beauty of the recitation comes from the purity of the heart)

" -Abu Lubabah Bashir bin 'Abdul " من لم يتغن بالقرآن فليس منا

Mundhir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet ( )

said, "He who does not recite the Qur'an in a pleasant tone is not of us." Abu Dawood Book 9, Hadith 1007

تحسين القراء

These external manners will help you to give each ayah its correct right

o Either you fulfill the rights

o Or you don’t fulfill the rights of the ayah

The ayah will either be for you or against you

How does the ayah affect you? How do you interact with the ayah?

o When something about sujood is mentioned you do sajdah

o When a blessing is mentioned you really think and feel gratitude

o When Alhumdulillah is mentioned you really feel Alhumdulillah

o When tasbeeh is mentioned you do tasbeeh in your heart

o When Paradsie is mentioned pause and make dua to enter Paradise

o When Shaitaan, Hell fire, nafs or evil is mentioned pause and make dua for protection

o When forgiveness is mentioned you also make istigfaar

o When there is some hope mentioned you ask Allah for it

If you are in prayer and fear to talk extra = you can do all these interactions in your heart

If you are reading the Quran = you can use your tongue and speak to Allah

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Internal Etiquettes

الباطنةاآلداب To understand the greatness of what you are reading

Knowing and understanding the meanings of what you are reciting الكالم عظمة فهم

Magnify the Speaker (Allah

The more your magnify Allah – the more you will magnify His speech

Else you will not taste the sweetness of His speech

للمتكلم التعظيم

Presence of your heart

Your heart should be present – focus and not think about anything else

القلب حضور Ponder on what you are reciting

what is the consequence of – (behind) دبر comes from the word تدبرthis ayah on you, what is the effect… (your reflections on the ayah)

التدبر

Understand word by word

Understand the words deeply, root words, grammar

More than Tafsir

Tafsir is a took or a means to more understand

التفهم

Know that Allah is speaking to you

Take every ayah personally (Allah is speaking to you directly) المخاطب هو

BARRIERS TO UNDERSTANDING THE

QURAN Worry to finish Quickly الهم هو النتهاء

Focusing on Tajweed and Pronunciation الهم هو المخارج و التجويد

o Tajweed should be a tool to understand – not an obstacle

Being arrogant and proud (sins of the heart) اإلصرار على الذنب أو الكبر

o When you feel you are better in reciting or understanding the Quran than someone else,

that itself is a barrier from understanding the Quran!!!!

o Your heart is like a mirror – if it’s not clear, then you will not be able to see the reflection

of the Quran on the Quran

Heart will be stained with sins

Arrogance, jealousy, hatred, humiliating others

Heart will not be able to reflect the Quran

Surah Qaf #8 ت بصرة وذكرى لكل عبد منيب Giving insight and a reminder for every servant who

turns [to Allah]

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You may NOT understand

so just leave it and make

Dua that Allah may open

the doors of understanding

for you!

IMPACTS (OF THE ETIQUETTES)

التأثر

Feelings

Having feelings while reciting the Quran (responding and connecting to the ayaat)

Making dua – interacting with the Quran when you understand what you are saying

الترقي

Upgrade

Upgrade while you recite – being promoted

Different levels of reciting

The more you apply the rules, the more you will be elevated

Different Levels of Recitation:

o Minimum Level = as if you are reading/reciting in front of Allah

Try and make this as the minimum level of your prayer and recitation

You feel fear and hope…

o Second Level = as if you witness in your heart that Allah is talking to you

You feel as though you are only hearing yourself but it’s what Allah is saying to you

You feel very shy because you feel as though Allah is speaking to you

o Maximum Level = to see Allah in His words

أن يرى في الكالم المتكلم و في الكلمات صفات هللا

See His actions, His attributes, Himself…

Your focus is on Allah

For example: when you speak to someone,

sometimes you see the person who is

speaking to you – not just his words

You see the words as a description of

Allah