Wednesday, 01 November 2006

• People's Connection with the Quran

  I was listening to a tafseer of Surah Al-Fatihah by Suhaib Webb, and here are a couple points from it with my own additions:
  
      For some muslims, the Quran is not in the center of their life because they had a bad first impression.  Perhaps, they were learning Quran when they were children, and a bearded uncle would beat them with a stick when they made mistakes during recitation.  Or misinterpreted by a teenaged volunteer at your sunday school.
  

  
  Image taken from Aieman

  
      Maybe for some people it's because the Quran was some sort of cultural, seasonal ornament only taken down from the mantle/bookshelf for holidays, during Ramadan, or someone passing away.
      Or the Quran was only discussed in the masjid during a khutbah, amongst uncles during a dinner party, or a friend's desperate attempt at a fatwa.  Not to be accessed outside the masjid or for discussion with your friends.  And only during times of despair or when you desire to "become more religious".
      I have noticed that trend with Desis, or at least some people I know.  If you want to be more religious, recite the Quran, they say.  True, as long as you have the correct intention and it's according to the sunnah, reciting the Quran (with mistakes and without understanding what you're saying) can have much blessings (a.k.a BARAKAH) and reward (especially for those who recite with difficulty, they get double reward inshaaAllah).
      But, the Quran was not sent for merely reciting, rather it is a book of guidance.  Those very same people don't seem very guided in some respects when you look at their actions and some of things they say (Scary thing is, they may have abandoned actions/beliefs they used to adhere to in the past!)  But you do know that somewhere inside, they have a desire to know the Quran.
      One of the problems with Desi people might be is that the classical Arabic of the Quran translates to classical Urdu.  This "hard Urdu" is not understood by uncles/aunts even though you think they would.  Or if they do try to dive in they'll then find something questionable (as no translation of the Quran can be considered equal to the Arabic Quran due to limitations of language differences).  And also they know they're not even getting a gist of what's going on because of the lack of commentary but yet they somehow forgot what a tafseer is.
      Consulting a qualified scholar is out of the question, for them.  According to them, scholars are thieves and criminals.  They take advantage of their power.  They are out of touch with laymen, with this dunya, or even reality.  They supposedly discourage technology, innovation, and secular education.  Their religious rulings are outdated or extremist.  In fact, they make religion impractical and much harder than it actually it is.  They call them "maulvis" and they are even the butt of jokes. (See 49:11)  That may be true when describing some "scholars", but you can't help but feel that those people are making excuses.
      And then it becomes a long time since they had a connection with a Quran at all, and they let their hearts fill with other than Quran. Examples abound; one could be preferring music to the Quran.
  
  More on this later, inshaaAllah.
  

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