Brothers and sisters! In sha’ Allah, in my khutba today, I shall try to discuss the obligations we, as Muslims, owe to the Qur’an. What are these obligations? How do we go about fulfilling these obligations? What does the Qur’an demand from us? Indeed, it is impossible to fully comprehend the greatness and majesty of the Qur’an. There is a verse (ayah) in the Qur’an which suggests an analogy that might help us to understand the magnificence of the Qur’an. Allah (SWT) says in Surat al-Hashr,
لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآَنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُتَصَدِّعًا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“Had We had sent this Quran down on a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split apart out of fear of Allah. We offer these examples to people so that they may reflect.” (al-Hashr, 59:21)
It is sad but true that by and large, Muslims have abandoned the Qur’an. Had it not been so, the Muslim Ummah would not be in the crisis, in which it finds itself today. In order to rectify our condition, we must understand our responsibilities toward the Qur’an and try our best in fulfilling them. The Qur’an demands of every Muslim five obligations. A Muslim is required (1) to believe in the Qur’an, (2) to read it (3) to understand it, (4) to act upon its teachings, and (5) to convey its message to others.
Our first obligation is to have faith in the divine origin of the Qur’an. Faith or Iman has two phases: (1) verbal profession (iqrar bil-lisan) and (2) heart-felt conviction (tasdeeq bil-qalb). To believe in the Qur’an means to verbally profess that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah (SWT), as revealed by Him through Angel Jibril (AS) to the last of His Messengers—Prophet Muhammad (SAW). But verbal attestation is not enough. We also need to develop a conviction that the Qur’an is truly from Allah (SWT) and that it has been sent as the ultimate source of guidance for all of humanity. Only then our hearts and minds would come under the guiding light of the Qur’an. The conviction of the companions of the Prophet (SAW) that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah created in them a love and devotion for it. They accepted it as absolute truth.
Since our faith is weak, we do not turn to the Qur’an for guidance. We need to check ourselves to see if our belief in the Qur’an is a mere dogma that has nothing to do with practical life or we truly believe in the Qur’an as the ultimate source of guidance for all of humanity. If the Qur’an is studied and its meanings pondered upon in a quest for truth, all the veils of darkness shall be lifted from one’s heart and the soul will be illuminated by the light of true faith. Faith is not something that can be planted in us from the outside. It is a conscious realization of fundamental truths that already exist deep inside our souls. To be able to do justice to the other four obligations we have to the Qur’an, we really need to fulfill the first obligation first.
The second obligation is to read the Qur’an. To be able to recite the Qur’an properly, we should learn the basic rules of Tajweed. We should also try to beautify our voice during recitation. We should begin our recitation by seeking Allah’s refuge from the accursed Satan by saying “Audhu billahi min ash-shaytanir rajim”. We should also recite with Tarteel, i.e., with slow, measured rhythmic tone, and finally, we should memorize as much of the Qur’an as we can. To be able to fulfill this obligation, we need to establish a daily recitation schedule and recite as much as we can on a daily basis. Just as our bodies are in constant need of food for sustenance, our spirits are also in perpetual need of proper nourishment. Just as the food for our bodies is derived from the earth, the nourishment for our spirits is obtained from the Word of Allah—the Qur’an.
The third obligation of the Qur’an is to understand it. If we read it without understanding, how can we put it into practice? For those of us who have not yet learned Arabic, we should start by reading translations and exegeses (tafsirs) in the languages we know best. We should however strive to learn Arabic because translations will never do justice to the Qur’an. Once we have a basic knowledge of Arabic, we can proceed to the first stage of understanding which is tazakkur. Tazakkur in the Qur’an means to understand its meaning as provided on the surface, and this is not difficult. In this sense the Qur’an is an easy book to follow. Allah tells us four times in Surat al-Qamar,
وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآَنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ
“And We made the Qur’an easy to learn. Do any of you wish to learn?” (al-Qamar, 54:17).
Tazakkur has the same root as the word zikr, which means remembrance. By reading the Qur’an on a regular basis, we will constantly be reminded of the message. Deep inside, all of us know what is right and what is wrong. It is just that we are humans (insan) and we forget easily. That is why tazakkur is so important. The second stage of understanding the Qur’an is tadabbur or deep pondering over the Qur’an. This stage is much more challenging. Tadabbur in the Qur’an is to dive deep into the Qur’an for the purpose of discovering the hidden treasure of knowledge and wisdom from the Qur’an. In this sense, it is the most difficult book because it is unfathomable. No one can claim to have found all the treasures of the Qur’an, even after devoting his whole life to its study. We should, however, try our best to gain at least its basic understanding. After all, we are responsible for the amount of effort we put in toward understanding the word of Allah. To sum up, the first three obligations of the Qur’an are to believe in it, to read it, and to understand it. May Allah (SWT) give us the tawfiq to do so.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! The fourth obligation we owe to the Qur’an is to follow its teachings; not partially but fully. This is crucial. We can’t pick and choose and only follow the commands that are easy or appealing to our nafs. Allah warns the people who do this:
أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
“Do you believe in one part of the Book and reject the other? What repayment will there be for any of you who do that except disgrace in this world and a severe punishment on the Day of Resurrection. Allah is never unaware of what you do.” (al-Baqarah, 2:85)
We need to be determined to follow everything in the Qur’an and modify our character accordingly. Otherwise, if we read from the Qur’an but do not follow it, then we will be inflicting harm upon ourselves. For example, if we read the first verse of Surat al-Mutaffifin which says, “Woe to those who give less in measure and weight” or we read the first verse of Surat al-Humazah which says, “Woe to every slanderer and backbiter” while we ourselves are guilty of these sins, then we become the target of these warnings! We need to be very careful. We don’t want the wrath of Allah upon us! To avoid it, we need to strive to follow the teachings of the Qur’an. That will cause our character to be transformed. Our best example is that of our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) about whom the mother of the believers, A’isha (RA) said, “Kaana khuluquhul Qur’an” (كان خلقه القرآن ) “His character was the Qur’an.”
The commands of the Qur’an can be divided into two categories – individual and collective. At the individual level, it is imperative for every Muslim to mold his or her life according to the teachings of the Qur’an. The Prophet (SAW) said, “None of you can become a true believer until his desires become subordinate to what I have brought (i.e., the Qur’an).” The best way to benefit from studying the Qur’an is to change our lifestyles and mend our ways in accordance with its teachings. At the collective level of the community, we do not have a society that is fully governed by the principles of our noble Deen. So what should we do? We should strive to create such a society—a society based on a system of social justice as mentioned in the Qur’an.
The fifth and final obligation that we owe to the Qur’an is to convey its message to others. This task was first assigned to our Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This is mentioned many times in the Qur’an. One example is verse 67 of Surat al-Ma’idah, where Allah says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ
“O Messenger, deliver whatever has been sent down to you by your Lord. If you do not do so, you will not have conveyed His message.” (al-Ma’idah, 5:67)
After the demise of the Prophet (SAW), this responsibility of conveying the message falls upon the shoulders of his Ummah. In his farewell sermon, the Prophet (SAW) said, “Those who are present should convey (Allah’s Message) to those who are not.” He also said, “Convey from me even though it be a single verse (ayah).”
Let me conclude by summarizing what I said. We need to first understand and accept these five obligations that we have toward the Qur’an. We need to firmly believe that the Qur’an is the Book of Allah and the source of guidance for all of humanity. We need to read it regularly with proper etiquette. We need to understand what we read. We need to follow its teachings and then finally we need to convey the message to others. And we have the authentic hadith that says:
خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
“The best among you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
May Allah have mercy upon us by means of the Qur’an; and may He make it a source of light, guidance, and mercy for us. May He remind us from the Qur’an that which we have been made to forget, and teach us from it regarding which we are ignorant. May He bless us with its recitation, and may He make it a proof for us and not against us on the Day of Judgment. Allahumma Ameen.
