Reading our Holy Quran v/s Chanting it; Is Islamic Shari'ah frozen in the Seventh/eight Century CE?

Reading our Holy Quran v/s Just Chanting it

Is Islamic Shari'ah frozen since the Seventh/eight Century CE?

Pearls of Haqq has tweeted a method to "easily complete a recital of the Qur'ān this Ramadān". Why this insistence on a “complete recital” of our Holy Text. Is it a book of poetry or an album of songs? Through HIS sacred Text, Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo is addressing us, teaching us, pleading to us, warning us, guiding us and blessing us with good news in the Hereafter. It therefore becomes our solemn duty to read it very carefully, try and get the message HE is conveying to us and endeavour our best to act on it. I have never been able to understand this rush to chant through our Holy Text as a mantra, frequently and usually even without understanding the obvious meaning of the words being chanted. Apart from this practice being mindless and useless, it amounts to being disrespectful to your Creator: HE is addressing us; instead of paying attention to it we are just rushing by, ignoring HIS words and HIS message. It is totally understandable with the unfortunate among us who are illiterate and intellectually blank. Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo will hopefully bless them handsomely for chanting the text of the Quran without any clue to what is being said. But what about the educated class discussing on Twitter and Facebook? They fully and cleverly use their God given qualities of intelligence and critical thinking in mundane matters to achieve a high standard of living for themselves and their children. When it comes to matters religious, they have a hidebound approach dating back to the eight century CE of uncritical conformity to hadith literature despite the fact that the Holy Quran commands us persistently to think and ponder to understand our Deen. 

Yes there is lot of blessing in reading the words of Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo but what is “reading" in English, “tilawat” in Arabic and “parhnaa” in Urdu? Let me quote the dictionary: 1. To examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed characters, words, or sentences).

2. To have the ability to examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed material in a given language or notation):reads Chinese; reads music.

3.

a. To examine and grasp the meaning of (language in a form other than written or printed characters, words, or sentences): reading Braille; reading sign language.

b. To examine and grasp the meaning of (a graphic representation): reading a map

Please note that “to grasp the meaning” is central to the act of reading; same is true for “tilawat” and “parhna”.  If one cannot grasp the meaning then this act CANNOT be called as reading. It is  just incantation, chanting of a mantra or parroting a text. 

Our Lord Creator declares in HIS Book in Surah 102/8:

ثُمَّ لَتُسأَلُنَّ يَومَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعيمِ

Then on that day you shall most certainly be questioned about the boons (timely blessings, Godsend, gift).  Shakir

There cannot be a greater gift or blessing from God Almighty than wisdom and intellect. Under this ayah we will most certainly be questioned about this talent and capability on the Day of Judgement as to how and to what degree we used it to understand, interpret and practice our Deen. If I have used it fully to build a strong career for me and my family but have refused to employ it to comprehend the Message of Islam conveyed to me by HIS beloved Messenger I better fall into sijdaa right away and cry for HIS forgiveness before it is too late. 

Muslim Ummah, Let us Welcome Ramadan by spelling out What it means in Islamic Shari'ah

Muslim Ummah, Let us Welcome Ramadan

 by

 Spelling out What it means in Islamic Shari'ah

RAMADAN MUBARAK TO ALL

It is probably a good time for a yearly reminder for me, for you and for the rest of us. I hope and pray that Allah Ta’aala guides all of us to make good use of this holy month of 

CONTINUOUS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (CRE) 

to enhance our understanding of Islam and to fathom the meaning and message of our great Deen. It is not entirely about Ibadaat (prayers, zikr, tasbeeh, taravih and etikaf) which of course is very important. This is also the time to take stock of ourselves and our demeanor and our attitudes and behaviour with our bosses, subordinates, associates at work, with the family at home, with neighbors in our surrounding and not the least with bystanders on the streets.

Let us all brace up for the forthcoming annual 

GRAND REDUCTION SALE

 of Allah Ta’aala Subhaanahoo  in the aakhri ashra (last ten days) of the Holy Month. Pay for ONE and get 30000 declares God Almighty in HIS OWN words (Surah 97/3): 

                                  

The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months.  (Yousuf Ali)

The authenticity and the status and piety of this night is universally accepted by the whole Ummah through out the centuries of our history because it is a Divine message enshrined in HIS book as a special Surah. In contrast Shabe Baraat, 14^th night of Shabaan remains rather controversial as it is based on rivayaat quoted in the great Books of hadith; a total human endeavour with all its weaknesses and limitations. 

In our jargon, the earthly mortals the “rate” of reward of praying in this holy night works out, in this part of the year, to one minute of devotion equal to 75 nights of supplication! The “deal” starts right after sunset; need not wait till middle of the night to profit from it. The “rate” is identical through out the period from sunset to dawn. Meditation after Maghrib is as rewarding as invocation in the middle of night. In this scenario, Iftar parties in these nights suddenly appear to be very costly if not a huge loss in terms of collecting blessings of this month.  Lastly for the convenience of folks like us there is no minimum “fees” to enter the transaction; pray for one minute, one hour, several hours or the whole night; Allah Ta’aala Subhanahoo will reward us with the blessings of this night in the proportions promised. 

Congregational Tarawih is one of, if not the most popular ibadah during this month done with great enthusiasm and organization. I also had been offering it since I was a young boy. May Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo reward us for this. However I would like to share with you my sentiments about this practice. After all, we all must constantly try to learn and understand our Deen. I felt guilty (and sinful, perhaps) on two scores during Tarawih: First, I could not understand most of the qirah. Second, we are commanded to recite the Quran “slowly and deliberately”. However I continued offering Tarawih in the mosque because I was sure I could not do it individually at home. I wish and pray that we can find a way to correct these defects. Incidentally, completing the whole Quran is a very noble tradition but there is no obligation in the Shari’ah for this. Moreover the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet requires us to offer Tarawih in the privacy of our home. Tarawih by Jam’aa was a “blessed bidah’ initiated by Sayyidna Umer. It was not practiced by him or any of the other guided Caliphs. Lastly about the congregational prayers in general. It is greatly encouraged to offer Farz prayer in jamaa’. This fact is forcefully and repeatedly emphasized. On the other hand, it is encouraged in the Shari’ah to offer sunnah and nafl prayers (tarawih comes in this category) in the privacy of our homes. This point in our Shari’ah is hardly spoken of, leave alone emphasised.  

So I believe, but Allah Ta’aala, the Pure and Exalted knows best. Let us pray to HIM that he guides us to take maximum advantage of this magnanimous offer within the constrains of our numerous duties and responsibilities.    Allah Hafiz

June 5, 2016