How Does the Quran Affect Our hearts
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AI Generated Summary ©
The speakers discuss the impact of the Quran on the heart and emphasize the importance of having a heart that is receptive and alive. They also discuss the need for people to be cautious and practicing daily practices to enhance their relationship with the holy book. The concept of "tafsir" is discussed, including its origins and cultural references to the United States. The speakers emphasize the importance of learning the Quran and not abandoning it, and provide examples of what they teach their students and teachers.AI Generated Transcript ©
To our esteemed audience.
My name is Zena Bensari, and I'm honored
to be an instructor
for the year of knowledge program with Jannah
Institute
and insha'Allah for this topic we are going
to focus on the impact of the Quran
on the heart, a very appropriate topic given
that we are in the month of Ramadan
and given that
our aspiration is to complete the Quran
during this month
or engage in an intensive study of this
beautiful
and noble book. So I will offer a
few reflections
by way of some of what I teach
to my students and also for my own
teachers regarding,
the impact of the Quran on the heart.
And let me preface this reflection,
to our esteemed audience. Let me preface this
reflection by saying that
the intention when we read the Quran
should be for the Quran to interact with
the heart.
And I want to begin by presenting to
everyone
just the concept
of the heart,
whether it's or that
the heart really is the seat of understanding
within
the Islamic tradition. In fact, dear sisters,
in the quranic
presentation
of human existence,
We are told that the insane, the human
being
is endowed with
different faculties
or,
entities.
So what are these faculties?
The human being is endowed with the.
The human being is endowed with the,
the nafs, the and the.
And it's very interesting to actually see how
Allah
addresses the and the in
particular in in the Quran.
Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala also makes reference to a category of
people
called
Those people endowed with sound understanding.
And what is very, very interesting is that
Allah
does not really refer to the akhil as
a stand alone entity in the Quran, but
instead Allah
focuses more
on the qal, the fu'ad,
the ruh and the naf sometimes, and of
course, this category people called ulul albaab.
So what we learn in all cases, my
dear sisters, is that the human being must
cultivate
certain
faculties and capabilities.
And I will give you an AI, and
I have several AIAs in the presentation I
prepared, but but I'm going to give you
an ayah right now that you can look
up. This is Surat,
13, so chapter,
Arad.
And Allah
says in this chapter,
So this is again chapter 13, Surat Rad.
This is verse 19, and Allah
revealed,
is the one who knows
that your lord's revelation
to you, oh, prophet, is the truth.
Can that one be like the one who
is blind?
None will be mindful of this except people
of reason.
So here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us
about the special category of
who are these people?
The people,
of understanding
are the people that understand the reality of
revelation.
They understand the truth of that. They understand,
my dear sisters, the truth of prophecy.
So these are people who are who are
endowed with
the correct understanding which is actually through the
as opposed to the. It might be strange
that I say that
because we are told that,
that that, the Islamic tradition beautifully brings together
reason and revelation, which is absolutely true.
But the point I want to emphasize, my
dear sisters, is that many a person,
who is endowed with,
I. E. With,
intelligence
or with the, with with with rationality,
many a person has come to the the
Quran,
but not necessarily come away being convinced of
the truth of the Quran.
I either are experts in the Quran as
a text, and they study the Quran. They
study its,
its vocabulary. They study its history and so
on. They study
the. They study even the Sira of the
prophet
So in other words, they come to the
Quran
to study it as an academic text,
and these are people that are intelligent people.
They are educated,
but
because the heart
is not endowed with this understanding because they
are not from then
they
they're not able to conclude that the Quran
is indeed from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, and
they're like the one even despite their education,
they're like the one who is Ama. They're
like the one who is his who is
blind as we, just saw in the ayah
in chapter 13.
So the,
my dear sisters,
is that,
the it is the entity that actually has
the greatest degree of sensitivity.
And let me just kind of, focus on
that and then inshallah, I'll come back to
what we looked at right right there.
So
Allah tells us in the Quran,
Will they, will they not then ponder
or meditate on the Quran,
or are there locks on the harps?
So we understand from this ayah, my dear
sisters, that
Allah ta'ala invites us to engage in a
process called,
which I'll speak more about in a moment.
And Allah ta'ala also tells us that the
requisite
capability
for engaging in,
the prerequisite
really is to have a heart
that is alive,
a heart that is,
attuned to the Quran, a heart that is
receptive.
Therefore, the person that approaches the Quran in
a very dry academic way,
the person that approaches the Quran
and, they view the Quran as some type
of,
historical text,
that person, unless Allah changes their heart, is
not gonna be able to access certain meanings
and truths because Allah. Right?
It's like their hearts have been,
locked
away from accessing
those meanings and those understandings
And we know my dear sisters from ayahs
in the Quran
that allah warns
us about a category of people
that,
they they have diseased hearts. So for example,
Allah
says
So these areas are in Al Baqarah,
and Allah subhanahu ta'ala is
revealed these areas to
inform the prophet
that whether you
exert your utmost
energy in warning the of the disbelievers
or you don't warn them, it will it's
the same they will not believe.
And then Allah
introduces after that another category of people after
the disbelievers.
Those are the
and they are actually described as people that
that there are some of there are some
from amongst the people that will come to
saying we believe,
but in fact they do not believe.
So they have this this outward pronouncement of
of of faith but it has not actually
entered the heart and in fact Allah tells
us in those ayahs again you can look
them up in the beginning of Al Baqarah
this is the second page Allah tells
us that
that they have in their hearts is a
disease and god increases them in this disease
And then they will have a painful punishment
because of the deceit in which they are
engaging.
So taking this, these concepts back to the
aya right here in Surat Muhammad
verse 24, we see that Allah ta'ala is
telling us something about a heart that is
receptive,
a heart that is open to receiving this
guidance, and a heart that is closed off,
sealed off, locked away, and a heart that
is diseased.
Now
the next, point that I want to make
my dear sisters is this aya really really,
stood out to me when I was reading
it And in this ayah in chapter
25,
And on that day, the apostle, the messenger
will say, oh my sustainer.
Oh my lord.
Behold, some of my people
have come to regard this Quran as something
that ought to be cast away discarded I
e abandoned. So what does this aya mean?
So what allah
is
revealing to us is that
when the hearts of the people
really, it's 2 things here. Number 1, when
the hearts of the people are closed off
to this message,
Allah has
sealed their hearts. Their hearts are locked against
this message,
and those people will,
sort of,
sink down in disbelief. And these people ultimately
will,
be punished in the Alkhira for
this,
this,
rebelliousness
against the truth.
But there's also sort of a a counterpoint
in this aya, my dear sisters, in terms
of how we can understand it.
And that the counterpoint here is that we
as Muslims as believers
should be cautious
least
we treat the Quran as a ceremonial
text
that we only reach for that book
when there is an occasion.
Right? Someone,
gets married
or someone passes away, and then we reach
for the Quran as a ceremonial text. And
we need to be very very careful because
when we treat the Quran as a ceremonial
text,
as opposed to a
book,
a repository of divine guidance
whose meanings we should be accessing on a
daily basis,
we actually run the risk
of behaving like these people
about whom the prophet
will actually beseech Allah ta'ala
on the day of judgment.
So we want to make sure that we
are not
through our neglect
casting aside the Quran or casting aside opportunities
to study the Quran.
All of us, for example, should endeavor
to read the Quran, to learn the Quran
with Tashweed,
to study its commentary, 'asbaab nuzulakajin's revelation.'
Whatever we can do, my dear sisters, to
enhance our relationship with the noble book of
Allah
So in that regard
I want to convey
a few points that I think are helpful.
Practically speaking, this is the practical part, in
enhancing our relationship with the Quran
and understanding how the Quran interacts with the
human heart, the heart that is receptive to
these,
understandings.
So this come this comes from Almatasir
and I'm gonna introduce a few points here.
So in the early days of the community,
I. E. In the days of a salafasalah,
I. E. Our righteous predecessors,
and this is the age of the prophet
the Sahaba tended to use the terms
and interchangeably.
And this was the very first Quranic science
as they sought to understand
the meanings of the ayahs of the Quran
so that they could do what put the
ayahs into practice because, again, they're hearts. Right?
The Quran is directly interacting
with their hearts and and and and increasing
them in understanding because of the sincerity
of this earliest generation of believers,
as Allah praised them in the Quran.
So,
initially, the terms were used interchangeably,
and, we have the example of the prophet
making dua for Abdullah,
that
that
that, teach him understanding of the Quran.
So
meant to go back to it comes from
the same root as which means first or
origins.
It actually meant to to go to the
origins
of the meaning
the meanings of the words, in the Quran.
Now in books of tafsir, you might see
that tawil is also understood as the qur'anic
science of trying to interpret the Quran or
the ayes of the Quran that are maybe
more figurative
but linguistically, it actually means that you want
to understand the origin of what's in the
Quran. And then tafsir,
from the idea of fasariu fasiru
is to explain, elaborate. This is a Koranic
exegesis or commentary, and the person who engages
in that is the mufassir.
So, my dear sisters, this is a very
lofty way of accessing the Quran because it's
a very,
site it it's a it's a it's a
discipline that has its methodology,
and that requires a lot of training.
And
there are prerequisites here.
However, the point that I want to emphasize,
my dear sisters, is that even though the
vast majority of us will not become or
we will not become
commentators officially of the Quran
that these are amazing
references for us to be accessing
because
the Quran is going to interact in the
heart multiple ways, many different dimensions
through its orality, through its recitation, through learning
it, through reflecting on it, and through studying
it, such as through tafsir.
But
the beginning, if you if you if you
will, my dear sisters, the origins of tafsir
go back to tadabbur and tadakkur.
And by the way, if you're looking for
a good resource this Ramadan,
the, the scholar the British Muslim scholar, Khurram
Murad, has a wonderful little book called wait
to the Quran in which he, presented his
methodology of engaging in tadabur.
So let's go back to that slide. Remember,
Ummaha
says
Will they not then ponder the Quran or
are there locks upon their hearts?
So there are a number of,
exhortations in the Quran
to engage in.
And this avenue, my dear sisters, is open
to everyone,
does not require any particular level of expertise,
but there is one
prerequisite,
and that is
as Allah tells us in Surat Shah Ara
that, and the previous ayah is on the
day when neither wealth,
nor nor children will avail 1
except the one that comes before Allah with
a sound
and a pure or purified heart.
So this is the only really prerequisite. It's
the heart that's receptive.
It's the heart that is humble.
It is the realization that we as human
beings are very limited in our faculties. And
that's why I started with my point about.
Islam is not anti intellectual. Not at all.
You know, historically speaking,
Islam as a faith tradition was far more
receptive to science for example than some other,
than some other of the other religions out
there.
What I want to really emphasize though my
dear sisters is that some of the quote
unquote most intelligent people
in our day and age are people that
deny the existence of god.
They deny the reality of scripture.
They are engaged in
activities that are so destructive
to humanity.
Look for example at the situation in Gaza
my dear sisters.
The armaments that are used by the state
of Israel that are
that are furnished
and funded by the United States
are the result of the work of people
who are educated,
people who ostensibly have
scientists,
researchers,
engineers.
So we have to understand, my dear sisters,
that
on its on its own is insufficient
for actually being able to to to to
access the truth unless the akan is sound
because the heart is sound.
So again the prerequisite
my dear sisters for engaging in tadapur
is that heart that is receptive.
So Tadapur
consists also of something else. It consists of
tafakur, which is thought and comple contemplation,
which I didn't mention that here, and and
also.
Is being able to take advice.
It is paying heed. It is receiving admonition
and acting on that.
And this was you know, these were the
values of the Sahaba
that they took everything in the Quran to
heart. Hence they tended to only learn the
Quran in increments of 5 to 10 ayahs
because again they wanted to apply what they
were learning.
So Tadapur
is tafakkur. It is thought and contemplation,
tathaakkur
receiving admonition,
and
and and then the actual tadab tadab bur
itself comes from the idea of where you
want
to reach the full meaning of every word
and ayah and surah in the Quran.
It's a very holistic way of engaging with
the book of Allah subhanahu ta'ala and it
does not require any particular
level of training my dear sisters.
Now I want to wrap up by mentioning
a couple points
because we are in the month of Ramadan
and so I have this line of poetry
here so
So what this means is that what the
poet here is saying and please forgive me
that I don't know the author of this.
I had it written down, and then I
don't have those notes. I'll have to find
this for you.
But what the author, of of the the
this poem is saying
is that have you not stopped
to reflect
and to ponder,
on what is in the Quran from my
gentle reminders and admonitions to humanity?
That you or reader of the book,
if you really claim to love me I
e God then why have you left
and abandoned reading my book?
So as we wrap this up, I want
us to all consider what is our relationship
to the Quran today.
How much of a culture do we have?
And I apologize. It says American Muslims. I
am based in the United States, so I
need to correct that because, masha Allah, this
is an international audience. So I should say
how much of our culture as Muslims in
the west is influenced by the Quran? And
the reason why I say that is because
one of the beautiful things, many beautiful things
about the Muslim Ummah globally and especially in
the historic Muslim world
is that even when the society has become
more modern or secular that we still find
a culture of Quran because those values are
so deeply embedded in that society.
So we need to make sure that we're
not in danger of abandoning that book, that
we don't treat it as a curious historical
artifact, but we treat it as a book
of
beautiful,
nourishing
day to day guidance.
Last but not least, I want, to end
with this reminder,
especially for those that maybe struggle with learning
the Quran or their pronunciation or the, the
rules of recitation, and so on.
And let's actually,
let me see here if I have the
this is it right here. Yes.
So what does this mean, my dear sisters?
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
who was one of the best of the
Quran
of the Quran, best of the reciters and
memorizers,
said that the messenger of Allah
said, whoever recites a letter from the book
of Allah, he will receive one good deed
as 10 good deeds like it. I do
not say that alif, la, mim I e
comp
compiled,
or composed together is one letter but rather
on its own is a letter, lam on
its own is a letter, and meme is
a letter. So you do the math and
you see how much the hasanat of reading
the Quran, how much that becomes multiplied
for you.
So with this,
reminder, my dear sisters,
I say that anything,
you know, anything,
beneficial that I shared is from Allah,
the mistakes are entirely my own. I ask
Allah to allow the Quran to be,
to be the spring of our hearts in
every season.
May Allah allow us to attain our Ramadan
goals and beyond.
And may Allah allow us to experience many
more,
Ramadans.
I ask Allah ta'ala to accept our recitation,
our fasting,
our standing at night in worship, our sadaqah,
all of our good deeds during this month.
I ask Allah to confer,
mercy and forgiveness and then I took my
and our salvation from the fire upon all
of us and our loved ones. I ask
Allah to bless the Jannah Institute team, Sheikha,
doctor Sheikha Hayfa,
and all of the amazing team, the students,
the supporters, the community.
I ask Allah
to bless all of you all who are
watching this and your loved ones to bless
all of you all with happiness and peace
and safety
and and long life.
And I ask Allah during
this
extremely difficult time of tribulation
for our beloved brothers and sisters in Palestine.
You Allah, please come to their aid. You
Allah, please bestow upon them victory, you Allah
please end the oppression of Zionism, you Allah
please free al Quds and al Aqsa,
you Rabbi in our lifetime.
to reflect upon the Quran.
to reflect upon the Quran.