Dr. Tesneem Alkiek and Dr. Nazir Khan
Suleiman Hani – Qur’an Convos #7 – Feeling Moved by the Quran
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of understanding the Quran and the importance of emotions in relation to the afterlife. They stress the need for a sense of purpose and motivation when talking about the afterlife, and the importance of bringing personal experiences to life through reading the Bible and building a habit of daily engagement with it. They also emphasize the need for a culture of value and finding connection to the Quran to achieve success in life.
AI: Summary ©
Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah. Welcome to Quran condos. This is a podcast where we are exploring the different ways in which you can connect to the Quran. In this first season. As you've seen, we are covering the theme of tetherball or how to reflect deeply on the Quran. We are doing this based on the work so in our early rahamallah, specifically the 10 inward x for the recitation of the Quran
I do have some exciting news that hamdulillah today we have two awesome guests. You are familiar with them. We have Al Hamdulillah. Dr. Nasir, and we have Dr. Tasneem. Welcome does that McClain cycle
affair?
Before we get started, I do have a really important question to ask, which is when we are talking about the instances in which you connect to the Quran, what are the times that maybe we can start Dr. Tasneem, in which you felt you're listening to the Quran and there was a deep emotional reaction in you know, in the context of tetherball, specifically 100 scientists and Mrs. wikiname Zack McClendon, very excited to join us all here today on one of probably my favorite topics. And the one thing that I was thinking about when I was reflecting on some of the iPads that have had really an emotional impact on me was back in undergrad when I did a study abroad, it was a few weeks we were
in Granada, Spain. Incredibly beautiful city. And one of the weekends with the students we organized a trip to go see it Hamra Alhambra. And if you've never seen it before, I mean, it's absolutely incredible, right where the actual palace built by, you know, a Muslim empire, near the end of the Golden Age, in an endless in Spain. It's a top of this mountain. It's an elaborate palace. It's known for its calligraphy and its architecture. But what it's also very famous for is that there's gardens throughout the entire palace, essentially, that you're walking through, and almost every main section you walks, you know, it opens up into this beautiful garden with trees and water and
ponds and all of this stuff. And so on. When I forget, we had a tour guide by the name of Mr. Beckett and this man, but he knew what he's talking about. He's clearly very passionate. And I'll never forget because you're in this sort of the setting right? Where to even get into Hamra. You're on top of this, essentially a mountain, you're going through trees to get into the palace area, and then you're opening up constantly into all of these different garden areas. And the the tour guide, he said it was so much confidence that it really resonated with me, he looked around as he's pointing to the beautiful garden and beautiful scenery, despite you know, sort of the quote unquote
manmade structure that makes up a camera. He goes how the Hubble law the only mother Hannah can live in and do any he, he goes, he looks around with all this confidence and says Heather Halekulani. This is the creation of Los pantalla show me what others have managed to do. Show me what anyone else can create. And that moment was so powerful because if you think about it, when you know being there looking at all this creation, I thought to myself, there is nothing in the world that is as beautiful as the actual nature itself. And every single time that I've gone in this is why I love to spend time in nature. Anytime I've traveled, I've gone you know, hiking or outdoors. I always look
around to myself and I think to my you know, I think of this, I say to myself, sometimes out loud, you know, have a hook one this is the question was patata and nothing will ever come close to it. I live in downtown I live in cities, I've traveled everywhere, no skyscraper No, you know, building has ever come to the nearness of the beauty in it always resonates and just gives me the shivers every time I you know, think of it, looking around that Allah Subhana Allah is really the Creator of the heavens in the earth. And even today, despite everything that happens in the world today, we humans can still acknowledge the power the beauty of nature, and that is what always has created and
that is something that we can connect to on a day to day basis. Zack MacKinnon barkcloth he conducted sistemi Allah subhanaw taala reward you Subhanallah we have these experiences in which oftentimes, walking in different places or experiencing nature in different ways. The more familiar we are with the Quran, the more likely we are to connect it to a loss of Hannah Montana. Dr. Nasir would you like to share an example as well about a coffee? Yeah, subhanAllah that reflection Dr. Tasneem shared, it just reminded me of how it's amazing when we think about certain verses we can almost, you know, take ourselves back to the exact moment and exactly what we were witnessing and
experiencing at the time that we were reflecting on this verse And subhanAllah I can remember you know, one of my most vivid memories is the memory of finishing memorizing the Quran and and the verses that I was reciting at that time, so
Allah
You know, I remember so it was basically, after my first year of undergraduate studies and things were getting really busy for me, I was taking summer courses at that time, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish my memorization. And I had just, you know, these two months to dedicate it to finish memorization and I was really struggling on on that goal and Subhanallah
what happened was I had previously memorized the font from from the back, and then I memorized from the, from the front. So I met in the middle, and the last year that I memorized with certain Nahal and the last page that I memorized was the last page of certain Nahal and the surah is talking about gratitude to Allah subhanaw taala right, the verse and certain winter Donaire Mithila, he led to suhar, right? If you were to try to count the blessings of Allah subhanaw taala you will, you would not be able to count them. And
I remember when I when I finished memorizing that last page, I was just so overwhelmed with emotion that the greatest blessing is the blessing of being able to connect to the Quran and being able to learn and, and act upon the guidance of the Quran. And feeling that immense responsibility and privilege that Allah spent Allah has given me the opportunity to learn his divine speech, how am I going to use this? And at that moment, I can remember exactly where I was in the masjid. Just falling down into sujood and, and crying and one of the last verses that I've memorized was the verse.
You know, the early Lhasa beat Arabic a bill Hekmati, will memory that it has now which added humility here and the verse, the famous verse about Dawa, right, the famous verse about inviting others to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching. And, you know, that was one of the verses on my mind at that moment. And I just felt like I needed to dedicate myself to conveying the message of Islam and sharing its beautiful teachings in a time when it's been so misunderstood and misrepresented. And so that was a lesson that I carried through with me that first luck McKinnon DuckTales. On May Allah subhanaw taala accept from you, you gave me an idea. Perhaps we should do a
series in which we are interviewing those who completed their memorization of the Quran and what experiences they had as they were finishing but a series for another time in Charlotte, Allah is that Muslim. We're now in the final two weeks of the show. And we've spent a lot of different. We've utilized a lot of different facets of Imam levels and his work. We spent a lot of time thinking about the different angles of approaching the Quran, and understanding the Quran how to reflect on the Quran. The N word acts are important and they need to be reviewed frequently. But oftentimes this question arises, understanding something intellectually, or linguistically is not the same as
feeling moved by it emotionally. And so the question that arises and we do hear this often from different parts of the community, is it possible or acceptable for someone to understand the ayat of the Quran verses of the Quran? But not to have an emotional reaction to them? It's a it's a beautiful question, really important question. I think we can actually appreciate the the importance of this topic even more when we look at the life of Imam Al Ghazali recommend Allah Himself, who's whose writings were reflecting upon.
What one of the things that we have to realize is that when we pick up the Quran, it's not like picking up a manual of information and data and or reading a rulebook. We're not just reading the Quran to just get a set of facts or a set of data or information. But rather when we read the Quran, we are engaged in a conversation with ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada and we are deeply connecting through an act of worship. And this is something when we look at the life of human medica Zadie Rahimullah, we we see this importance. You know, psychologists today call it the difference between propositional knowledge or knowing that something knowing a set of facts and participatory knowledge where you are
participating, experiencing directly involved, emotionally psychologically invested in what you're doing. And there's a different type of knowledge that comes out from that, in comparison to just learning a set of facts and Imam Al Ghazali. His life story really shows the difference between these two modes of knowledge. In his time, the philosophical sciences were quite dominant, and he had mastered the philosophical sciences and basically follow them to the furthest path that they lead. And he realized that something was still missing from that, from that viewpoint, no matter how far you follow that viewpoint, if you don't undergo a spiritual development, and personal
transformation, it can only lead you so far. And that was, you know, a personal journey that he experienced, and it's
Shoulder, the importance of not just taking matters of faith as just abstract information or theoretical information, but being emotionally involved and emotionally connected. So when we come to his writings on on this topic, he's talking about how we can be personally transformed by our recitation of the Quran, how we can be emotionally connected, and emotionally invested in the pond. That's what's going to bring about spiritual purification. There's a difference between, you know, some academic approaching the pond from a very detached perspective, just kind of looking at it as a book of history, versus a believer, recognizing that this is the divine speech of Allah subhanaw
taala, a guidance sent for for my heart and for your heart to transform us to become the best worshipers of Allah subhanaw taala, the best servants of Allah subhanaw taala caring for his creation. So this is, you know, one of the objectives of the font is emotionally connecting. And that's something you can get, you know, a certain level of understanding, just reading the verse, but when you are emotionally connected, a lust prompt, Allah opens up to your heart, different deeper reflections and realizations that you wouldn't otherwise be able to acquire. Does that make him better coffee? Can you reminded me of one of my teachers in our renewal of Quran class was
talking about how it's important for us to show others especially our children, specifically, how the Quran causes us to connect to different emotions, a wide spectrum of emotions. And so oftentimes you come across is that remind you about the reunions of family in Jannah or antelope meeting Allah subhanaw taala where the the instill some kind of fear as a deterrence from something harmful? These apps allow us to feel and channel these emotions and reference Allah subhanaw taala through them. And there are a number of different notes and every single one of them will cause us to react a specific way. And so for those who are trying to connect to the Quran Emotionally, it is a positive
thing to connect emotionally. But it's important as well to recognize the spectrum of emotions that it's not like you're always going to recite the Quran and feel sad. The increase in emotion here is not always connected to Hachette alone for instance. And so on that note, we can say that one of the most common themes of the Quran is the powerful imagery of the afterlife. So there's a lot of emotion involved, especially amongst the people of Jana, and their conversations that people the hellfire, their conversations. And so when we read about paradise and hellfire May Allah grant us paradise and protect us from the fire. We receive the same kind of question are we expected to
always feel hope? And when we read verses about the Hellfire are we expected to always feel fear? May Allah subhanaw taala protect us? Dr. Tasneem if you can take this one vertical. So I think when we're reading is versus about paradise and hellfire hope and fear are absolutely necessary. It's almost it's innate in us to have those reactions. But I think moving beyond that it should also be a source of motivation that what's so incredible about this is when you're talking about the paradise and hellfire Wallace Fantana does it's just it's like an inbuilt structure to evoke that emotion is that he brings these stories to life. When you think about the verses of Hellfire is he's he's
giving us imagery as to those people who are going to be in hellfire, the conversations that they're having. And unless Partha says that after someone young, he's telling them stop arguing, because you have all of these different factions of the people of hellfire orderliness, takoda laziness rifle, right. The people who are arrogant in this world are talking to the people who were who were weak and who followed them in this world. No, you did this to me. No, you did that to me. No, no, you'll be punished more, that there's these conversations that are honestly their gut wrenching that yes, they evoke a sense of fear. But that should also evoke a sense of motivation. I don't want to be a
part of these people that also have data doesn't just bring to life the voices of these people who are fighting and how fighter who are expressing this intense regret from their actions. But he also brings to life our thoughts, our bodies that that there are skins are our body parts, our hands, our arms, our eyes are all going to be now talking on this day on behalf of what we did. And the whole day a hustler.
a hustler Dad, I'm a philosophy Jamila what are the most powerful verses is that almost have that as being the to life, us that individual our thoughts that we're going to think to ourselves, yeah, hestra tarama philosophy jameelah that, oh my god, you know, I'm a philosophy gym. I wasted so much the opportunities I lost in remembering a loss of data in fulfilling what we were supposed to do. All of those opportunities, we're going to be pulling our hairs out thinking if only I did one more slot if only I listened to him in this one regard, that that is going to be the sensation and that shouldn't just be fear, but that should be telling us motivation that you know what I'm alive today.
I still have another second to breathe. I still have another moment in my life that I
I want to take advantage of it. And the way that that I ends in that particular way incontinent myself hearing that not only I'm going to have the sense of regret that I could have done more, I should have done more. I wasn't just not doing enough, but I was being I was mocking everything. I was being sarcastic that oh, yeah, those people that those they pray, you know, those conservatives, those religious people, hahaha, you know, and we do it so naturally, even for people who are, you know, myself, I find myself doing it too. And I consider myself to be relatively religious, that, Oh, you know, they're spending their whole weekend just doing martial law like these people are
saying, so that we're gonna go have a good time. This is something that I read this, I think to myself that you got to watch yourself, you got to catch yourself that you don't, we don't want to be be of the people who are mocking. And so we're also had to add up, brings to life, the imagery of paradise and hellfire he brings to life the conversations of thoughts that we have today. And it's a reminder that to, to think of yourself now, am I one of the people who are making fun of things that I'm always laughing at people who who choose to spend their time, you know, in doing Quran in pursuing really almost patata versus like, versus, you know, spending their time studying or having
a social life or going out? And obviously, there's a balance to it all, but I might want someone who's mocking Am I someone who is tied to the people who are, you know, weaker than me in terms of status, or power, or whatever it is, and let them stick but who delivers to life? Who am I? What are among those who are arrogant? Am I the one who's talking down to the people who are weaker? Am I calling people to things that are not bad. So there are just endless stories almost, that he uses to bring to life, the people of hellfire and same goes with the people of paradise, that the people of paradise, whatever metric the happiness, there's a whole you know, just imagery that there's the
melodic The angels are going to be surrounding a wasp Palace throne that the people of gender are going to handle. The lady had Danity Heather, oh my goodness, you had that these people are going to want to be agenda and they're going to be looking around with the amount of content and pleasure that Alhamdulillah that almost has allowed us to be among these people that we were we were among the people who remember the loss of hand data that we did good. So when you think of these, these verses, and use it and you recognize how it was pattern is bringing to life, these moments that should evoke hope and fear but motivation to bring it to your life that think about what is it that
I want to be seeing on the Day of Judgment? Where do I want to be? Do I want to be of those who are going to be fighting and hellfire literally burning from regret? Or do I want to be among those people imagine yourself you know, making its agenda and thinking to yourself with that amount of content you'll never feel in this world that at hamdulillah was guided us we were steadfast we did what we were told, and it was that it was so merciful to reward us for that. So think of those stories think bring that those stories to life in your in your mind and connect it to your day to day life as to where you want to be. And in that sense, it will be able to provide you that
emotional connection. But if if you think about it in that that framework could also provide you the motivation to to not just connect continue to connect with the Quran, but also to improve your day to day life in sha Allah. Does that McLaren doctorates esteem you reminded me of something that happened a few years ago in a seminar I was teaching about, we were covering Sahih Muslim, but there was this kind of self development angle to it. And one of the activities as I was doing research on how people think ahead about their future and change because of it. So the change psychology that sometimes we don't notice in ourselves. So one of the common activities a lot of people do or have
seen before, is the idea of thinking 10 years ahead, all these goals that you wrote down, how would you feel if it was let's say you're, you know, 2032 you're looking at your list of goals, and you will accomplish everything or you accomplished different goals but at a similar standard. And obviously, you know, goals change and objectives change over time. And the feeling of the students in the class was one of happiness celebration, so grateful that I actually ended up doing it. And likewise the pain of regret. 10 years go by you do absolutely nothing at all. You just wasted your life. How would you feel? And I thought it was very interesting because from a secular perspective,
most of the attention was on the feeling of these goals with regards to the time in this life. And it wasn't obviously the general approach with self development wasn't really religious. So from Islamic approach, we noticed that if we're looking at this motif of pain and deterrence and regrets the example I gave you a hassle altar or the many examples of Yeah, lately are the examples of low if only I did not do such and such or I wish I prepared for my afterlife. We see this is common throughout the Quran when referencing paradise and hellfire and it should cause us to think about the fear of future regret and the pain of future regret versus the joy of future celebration. Now
We can't deny that this is a part of, you know, our psychological makeup as human beings. In addition to this, of course, a reminder for those who are seeking the Mercy of Allah subhanaw taala, which is that in Naramata Liaquat EBO, Muna at the mercy of Allah is close to those who do good, and those who repent and those who seek forgiveness from Allah subhanaw taala. It's linked to the people agenda, it's linked to the reward of the afterlife. And so there's always a way back as well, so long as you take advantage today, as was mentioned, tomorrow is not guaranteed. But on that note, if if you're okay answering this, Dr. Tasneem, I think you brought us to, especially at then you want
us to really point it transition. Sometimes we read stories about some of the predecessors, some of the seller from the first generations who are reading the Quran reciting the Quran. And oftentimes you'd hear about someone who would recite so emotionally and passionately that some of them would faint. And this was stated to one of the tabulation. And they didn't like this, they were told us so and so always faint when they read the Quran. He said, Well, in that case, let them sit on a high wall and recite the Quran from their meaning. If they're really fainting, then they'll fall. But if they're doing this for a show, then they won't, because some people are going to extremes in this
and obviously this is an extreme example. But on the note of the righteous people before us, and during our times as well. May Allah subhanaw taala make us all better than what others see in public? What is it that we can take from their emotional reactions to the Quran? Why are people able to have such strong reactions to the Quran bought a coffee?
I think this question transitions really well from the last one in that when you're connecting with the Quran, when you're building that connection, it's all about bringing the stories the Maori Allah, the warnings, the reminders to life. And so when you have a connection with the Quran, such that you're reading it every single day, and it's not something that you pick up, you know, only Ramadan or only on Fridays, but you've done you've created this sort of habit that you're doing it even if it's 510 minutes a day, is that what's naturally is going to happen is your you're going to end up bringing your own challenges, your worries, your anxieties, your joy, into your reading of
the Quran. And in many ways, it's a good thing, right? That was Pattaya, that tells us time and time again throughout the Quran, think reflect on these words, bring it, you know,
have to duck but really what this podcast is, is that have this this deep connection with the Quran. And one powerful way to do that is to bring your life experiences as you read through the Quran, bring your life, to bring your life really to life by reading through the Quran. And so I can speak from experience here is that if I know that, there's one thing I'm going to do, every single day of my life is going to spend a few minutes reading Quran that the days that I'm happy, the days that I'm sad, those days are also going to be days in which I will Quran. And naturally, if I have just experienced a loss of wealth, or family, or this big transition in my life, and I'm feeling really
burnt out, or I'm feeling exhausted, I'm picking up the Quran reading it, I'm going to read it in light of those challenges. And I've had this happen so many times where, you know, I was under a lot of pressure to complete a project at one point, and I would read the is the verse in the Quran talking about sort of the temporariness of this life. And it put things into perspective. Because as I'm reading, I'm thinking in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about I have so much to do, I don't think I can do this and you know, all of these things that are naturally going to be in our subconscious whether or not working you know, putting them to the side. But then I'm going in I'm
reading the Quran, and here it is to almost pentile to talk me about sort of the pleasures of the next life have the type of contentment of Sakina that you feel with the remembrance of Allah Subhana Allah, and it puts put things into perspective for me that you know what this is even matter that at the end of the day, my purpose in life is not to finish these projects, it's not about work, my end goal is to please Allah subhanaw taala. And by having that daily connection, that daily dose of Quran and then, you know, reading my experiences into the Quran as a means of reflection that's going to that build a connection that is really an unbreakable bond. And to go back to what Dr.
Nasir said, for that first point, right, that when you think about bringing that emotional connection to the Quran, of bringing to life, I mean, I I study Islamic studies for a living. And if it was not for the Quran, I don't know where I would be, because there's it gets dry, things get dry. When you're debating law, you're looking at court records and filth and this and that, looking, you know, having all these what, as you mentioned, sort of these philosophical debates, none of it matters. When you go back to the Quran, you build that connection on those patata. Because at the end of the day, that's the divine Word of Allah Subhana Allah, and when you have that sensation,
that emotional connection, that's the only thing that's going to get you through that and of course, draw and talk about Allah. And so I encourage everyone to really make it a habit in your life to have that connection because what you'll end up seeing whether you do it intentionally or not, is that you'll bring your own experiences into your reading of the Quran and you'll see
See that was hard to add it talks back to you and every occasion is going to be different that you'll read the same sort of 10 times over but that one time you bring your your moments of difficulty or hardship to that to the same sort of you read 100 times over you'll read it in an entirely different light and so build a connection with the Quran by reading it consistently and it will come to life before you just as it came to life for the predecessors Shama mashallah that that point about thinking about your own struggles and you know, bringing it home to your to what you're dealing with in your own life I think is really important because a person shouldn't be worried
about like comparing themselves to others right imagine you're thinking oh, you know, last Ramadan that brother in the front row was crying so loudly next Ramadan I want to be crying louder than if that's not a real goal right. Your goal is not to be the person crying loudest in the most of your goal is to reflect and connect with the message of the pond connect with the guidance and the emotional reaction is what comes after that right. You know, unless parent that mentions insert the Zoomer which, you know, we were quoting from Dr. Sherry Ruhlman who delay the reaction, rob the home ready you have that Hershey you have that reverence of Allah Subhana Allah, then it brings out that
physical reaction, that emotional reaction as well. And you know, I remember this somewhat humorous story of a
brother who is leading Salah and in the masjid and got away. And he was, he got stuck. He couldn't remember the next verse. And there's nobody behind him to correct him. There's nobody with the must have no father behind him. And he's completely stuck. And he just panicked. And he got so overwhelmed. He's like, Oh, what are they going to do? I'm never gonna be able to leave that away again. And he starts crying. He's not crying because of the verses. He's just crying because he's messed up. And the people behind them they think he's just emotionally overwhelmed by the message of the of the verse of them, they start crying and the whole congregation is crying. This guy is the
best mashallah just got stuck, right? So Subhanallah, we shouldn't worry about the outward reaction, we should worry about our inward state. And as Dr. Tasneem mentioned, you know, think about not just past struggles, but even think about the future realities of life, the pond reminds us of our mortality, and those verses insert the Zoomer you know, which which we recited.
Talking about the regret a person will feel on the Day of Judgment, like it's a reality we should think about in the future, what is going to be my situation, at the time of my passing what is going to be my situation at the time of my family members passing rather than living my life in a state of heedlessness and calling out to Allah Subhana Allah just At those times, I should be reflecting on that from now, and thinking about how I can bring myself closer to Allah subhanaw taala and, you know, undergo that spiritual preparedness and spiritual readiness to be in a situation where, you know, I feel I'm closer to Allah subhanaw taala At those times, subhanAllah that's another does that
go ahead, I, I've experienced or seen the opposite example, as well, where somebody was reciting in Salah, and they got emotional. So they were, you know, trying to take their breath. And they were maybe try not to cry in front of others, but they were trying to take a breath, they were getting emotional. And then like 20 or 30 people started correcting oh boy who was Stan Subhanallah but I really liked the example that you gave of ensuring that your focus when it comes to the the emotional state of the Quran is not never an external thing number about other people never about what is seen and that's why we have so many examples of actually the very first thing that I
mentioned about some of the tabbing who didn't like to hear, Oh, that so and so fainted when they read the Quran. In fact, it was stated to Abdullah and Rama wrote the Allahu Akbar when he was walking by when he saw a man was supposedly unconscious. He asked what's wrong with this man? So some people said when the Quran is recited to him, or he hears the remembrance of Allah, he immediately falls unconscious out of Russia. He said, We fear a lot and we don't drop unconscious. This map in W Becker, she was asked a similar question, did any of the seller use to faint when they used to hear the Quran? Or when they had fear of Allah? She said no, but they used to cry and crying
is a reference throughout the receipt of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam the biographies of the companions in the tabulating and so it's really important for us to think about what it is that causes a person behind the scenes when nobody's watching, for you to shed a tear for the sake of Allah subhanaw taala will place you amongst those who are shaded on the Day of Judgment May Allah subhanaw taala make us amongst them. In addition to this, Allah subhanaw taala says in them and what we knew and Allah Deena either Dopiero Allah what Gina to do boom. What either truly utterly him to who's that from Imana wa la Robbie him yet our karoun the second I have solitude and fun, Verily the
believers are those who when Allah is mentioned or referenced to them that their hearts are moved What do you not follow boom. And when the Quran is recited upon them, that to me, man, their Eman increases and
They put their trust in Allah subhanaw taala Sophia Anatolia, Rahim Allah, he mentioned from one of the scholars of the time. He said this is like the example of a person who was about to commit a sin. And then he was told fear Allah. So when he heard it totally let fear Allah subhanaw taala have some god consciousness be mindful of Allah subhanaw taala he stopped me he didn't commit this and he abandoned it. So the hush you hear when you hear Allah's Name, when you hear the Quran is that you have some higher with Allah subhanaw taala that it moves something internally. And truly, truly, truly in this day and age when so many people are so heavily invested in a lot of argumentation and
the dry philosophical topics, interfaith interfaith and everything else. At times as Muslims, we should be cautious not to stray away from our Quranic worldview. And the Quran in general, because of what we see in terms of its impact on the state of the heart or on the fifth law that needs to be rejuvenated through it. Subhanallah we have a long seminar that I've been teaching about atheism, and the pursuit of truth. And it seemed to students at first like it might be a dry seminar. The very end of the class are actually the verses that Dr. Tasneem was referencing and Dr. Nasir as well, from Surah to Zuma. So I had selected this passage because it touches on so many important
notes that really bring us back to the purpose of life, bring us back to the fifth floor that we pray is constantly purified. Then we ask Allah subhanaw taala to keep our hearts connected to the Quran, Allah Amin. Sometimes, people mentioned that they feel very tired or unmotivated to read the Quran deeply to ponder on its meanings. And at times, they might not even feel like they're at a at a certain place with Allah subhanaw taala where they feel worthy of reading the Quran or they might trick themselves into saying, You know what, it's better for me not to read the Quran at all, because I don't have my full energy and attention at this time. Is this the correct response? And
what should we do when we don't feel motivated to read the Quran or to ponder upon the Quran from different angles? doctor knows that if you can take this one bountiful off?
That's a really important question. And there's a few things I want to say about that. The first is that no matter how disconnected you feel from the bond, the client will always welcome you back. Right the bond will always welcome you back. If you there's been a time where you haven't picked up the pond and recited in some time. And now you're you're you're feeling that anxiousness about going back, the pond will be there for you. As soon as you start to read the verses and you make the effort. Allah subhanaw taala opens up the emotions for you, it opens up that spiritual development for you. So don't be afraid or shy of turning back to the Quran and reconnecting with the Quran. The
second thing, you know, that I want to mention is we have to value quality over quantity. It's not about you know, you know, I want to be the person who recites this many eggs every day and whatever. It's about the quality of Imam Al Ghazali. In these writings that we're discussing. He quotes a statement from it a bit of a thought about the law one that says law Hira fear a bad that he left her fear well after it led to Deborah Rafi and the series or onto the board right, this statement is that there is there is no goodness in a ritual acts of worship that are devoid completely devoid of understanding. And there is there is no goodness in simply reciting without any reflection
whatsoever. A person should remember that the goal of the pond is guidance, the glow of the pond is guidance. And so connecting with the pond through our recitation is a means of attaining that guidance and reflecting on the meanings of the verse will allow a person to bring back that motivation. If they're feeling demotivated and they're not feeling able to connect that one of the things they can do, it's not always just about reciting. It's also about you can listen to recitation, you can read from a book of translation or tafsir you know, there are different ways to connect to the Quran, you can listen to a lecture explaining some verses of the Quran. So there are
different ways to connect to the Quran and bring back that emotional motivation. And you know, listen to a reciter with a beautiful voice I prayed behind shifts on a man and mashallah he has a very beautiful voice. So, you find a recited that who, whose heart allows that that emotions to stir within you. And this is another thing that relates to people's spiritual personality types. You know, we have an article on your theme, about spiritual personality and you can take a quiz and find out your spiritual personality people connect with different acts of worship, right and our scholars have some have mentioned this like Imam Malik and others said, Allah subhana, Allah has made some
people more inclined to some acts of worship than others. And the beauty of the plan is that it accommodates all those differences. So there are different ways in which we can connect with the power on and increase our relationship.
The Quran and also just like to add in that regard, sometimes it's we're always looking for sort of this motivation to read Quran right that like today I'm gonna feel great and I'm gonna pick up the Quran. And you know, today's the day that I'm going to read the Quran that, that we're gonna wake up one day and we're gonna just be overwhelmed by this emotion, this motivation to read the Quran. And a lot of us get that motivation on the lawn. And that's a great thing, right want to always take advantage of motivation. But when your motivation wanes, that's when the discipline needs to kick in that we can't rely always on motivation that sometimes you aren't going to be feeling down or blah,
or you're not really sort of in the mood to read the Quran. And then what happens is that you go and pick up the Quran, you think yourself, what's the point because I'm sort of reading this mindlessly, I'm not really there. I'm just going to wait until the next time I have that, you know, that really exciting feeling of motivation, so that at least when I read the Quran, I'm going to be connected. But besides the fact that we want to be able to create this discipline to read this Quran to read the Quran, because again, it's about having a day to day habit. Because as I mentioned earlier, once you have that day to day habit, what's going to happen is that your personal experiences are going
to bring the Quran to life, even when you're not expecting it. And if an author and he has a hikma, here's a here's a wisdom, that it says that don't leave the remembrance of Allah subhanaw taala. And here the remembrance can be the Quran, don't leave the remembrance of last Pat dad, because you lack that sort of presence while you're reading the Quran. Because you read in the Quran without really being there without really feeling motivated, is better than not reading at all. Because one day, maybe it was Pantai that will switch that that Afla that sort of heedlessness that like absent mindedness when you're reading the Quran, and he'll put your help bring to life sort of your
connection and that presents, it'll just take up an instant, it just takes one eye at one moment, one connection to a life experience, that you'll find yourself crying for every you know, hour, and I spent reading I might sense just one minute of you know, that that really means sensor. Oh, that connects back to you know, that conversation I had or that you know, the answer I was looking to, I could spend hours of my life days of my life and I and maybe all my, from all of that time spent on the plan, I have one moment of falling down in tears and crying and connection was right at that moment is going to be worth more than anything, right? So as you read the Quran, do it with
discipline, do it every day, even when you don't feel you know, quote unquote, feel like doing it. Because if you can create that type of discipline, and you have that connection with the Quran that make that one one of these days, you know what I don't feel like I'm into it today. But one of these days almost pantalla because of my discipline, because I've asked him to, I'm going to have that sense of connection, that that sense of emotion that's going to overwhelm me, I'm waiting for it and use it as you really put on it almost becomes like a challenge that let's see you no one else is gonna grab me that that insight grabbed me that opportunity to connect with him. And it becomes
exciting and it brings life into your day to day reading. And once you sense that once you get that experience that sense of connection of really I'm reading the words of Allah's past data, you're gonna have zero regrets for spending all those days with with that discipline, building that connection with
Zack McCann, Dr. Steam, I think a really good gem that can be taken from what you just said is nobody who reads the Quran sincerely in this life will regret it in the next life. So read Quran in proportion to how much you want to celebrate in the next life. Truly, when we think about the lack of motivation to connect to the Quran, we should pay very close attention because during the last two and a half years or so Subhanallah, we're in the third year of this pandemic. But during the last two and a half years or so, most of the world over now know some of the basic symptoms of something like COVID-19 like the loss of smell or taste, for example. And the reason I'm sharing
this is because oftentimes when there's a symptom of an illness, we tend to look for a solution. A lot of people unfortunately go online and they start diagnosing themselves. And they find out that they're diagnosed with something completely wrong. But oftentimes when there's a physical problem, we tend to look for a solution, what is the healing what is the the shift that I need for this problem. But we're not always in tune with our hearts, we're not always in tune with the symptoms that I'm not connected to Allah subhanaw taala during this phase of my life, or during the last few months, and some of these symptoms are connected to our interaction with the Quran. So someone who
used to have a habit for example of always reading Quran or having a daily just or a daily minimum, or listening to the Quran regularly, or feeling like they're interested just in the Quran in general, and the noticing a phase in their lives in which they have no motivation towards the Quran at all. While it may be difficult to get yourself started, it is the very healing for the problem that you're seeing, which is that you're not connected to the Quran Allah subhanaw taala says Falaya to the balloon and Purana Mahana of pollution of Aloha
Do they not reflect to the board? Do they not reflect upon the Quran? Or are there locks upon their hearts and it's a really frightening eye on some of the scholars would comment on this area. And sewerage Mohamed Ayah 24 I believe in detail because of how frightening it could be if you are noticing this symptom long term, and you're not doing anything about it. The thing is, as was stated before, the Quran always welcomes you back, no more subhanaw taala always wants you to turn back to the Quran. And so as you start to overcome that initial discomfort, in terms of reading in terms of listening in terms of teff see it in terms of a gathering, which you're just sitting there on the
outskirts and you're listening in the masjid.
It is that very act of sincerity in wanting to overcome the shackles of the heart or a disconnect between you and Allah subhanaw taala that will perhaps lead to the moments that are high as compared to others. The moments that Dr. Tasneem is referencing in which really on a particular day, or a particular time, you're reading the Quran, and you're just doing your parts daily minimum daily connection, daily purification, but then there was something you really needed on that day, and so might lead you to a strong emotional reaction might lead you to an insight might lead you to changing something in your life that needed to be changed. But that doesn't happen if we're not
always connecting to the Quran and putting forth the effort. May Allah subhanaw taala give us the life of the heart that we are need of through the Quran make the Quran the spring of our lives and the light of our chests Aloma Amin reminds me of a brother who was imprisoned. And there are a lot of examples like this. He was in prison, and it was unjust. And Jani had hamdullah. He's free now. But one of the things that he shared was he's making a lot of dua, he's going through, you know, torture and a lot of other people were being tortured. And he says one day they were passing out, I guess, books and board games and many other things. And a lot of these are secular things. They're
not Islamic, including the board game. I think there's a trivia game and he pulled out a random card. And that card said, basically asked a question about sort of Doha. Now with Dr. Abu Kawamata. Allah your Lord did not abandon your door, nor does he hate you. He said I started to cry as the last Panatela speaking to me, and as he went through the rest of the trivia questions, that was the only question that referenced in Quran, oftentimes, we're not even listening, we're not paying attention and we're not present enough to take anything from it and then we wonder why am I not motivated to connect to it? Put in the effort and you will inshallah Tada, see the fruits of it.
Almost a Panatela wants us to move forward. So ask Allah subhanaw taala to aid us in that and to give us the strength and the guidance to do so. Allah Hama, I mean, as we wrap up this, this episode, Dr. Murthy and Dr. Nelson Dr. Steam, we want to ask you just maybe one more question is Tala Tala very brief question. Maybe this time, we'll start with Dr. Nasir. Can you share one verse for a passage from the Quran that you feel captures some of the linguistic beauty? I know, it's something we can talk about, and we have maybe for hours, but if there's one particular thing we can leave the audience with Inshallah, tada, what might that be? Yeah, so Khalid, this really is
something that, you know, we could do, Inshallah, another future series just on this topic. But Subhanallah there's so many different ways to look at the verses of the Quran. And one thing that's really interesting, that I find just absolutely mind blowing, you know, somebody, you may be reading a work by a scholar, and they will point out something about a verse that you've recited for years and years and years, and you've never noticed that, that facet and you're just completely mind blown. And one way that they, you know, there's a discipline within tafsir where you can compare verses in the pond that are very similar and ask why is it that this the wording is slightly
different here and slightly different there? And it goes back to the context. So I'll share one example which I which I really like, which is, there are two verses in the Quran which are almost identical, except the wording is just switched around in one place and the first verse is inserted Nisa Wallace Ponton says yeah, you hola Dina. Amande Hakuna ko Amina Bill testy shahada and Allah Allah Allah unfussy como will valid anyone up Robin all you who believe stand firmly for justice as witnesses before Allah, even if it's against your your parents or your your family members, right? Or yourselves your parents or your family members. Now in certain made that a very similar wording
is there but almost parents out there says Yeah, you heard the denominator Kuno ko Amina lillahi shahada bill test. O you who believe stand firmly for Allah standards as firmly for Allah subhanaw taala as witnesses to justice, when he reminded CompTIA Anupam and Allah and let that do and do not allow the animosity of your enemies to prevent you from doing justice. Now Abu Hassan Al Andalusi he says, Why is it that the wording is switched around? So
When it's talking in Surah, Nisa first it mentions stand firmly for justice as witnesses before Allah and insert the lie that says, stand firmly for Allah as witnesses to justice. The answer goes back to the second part of the verse. So when it's talking sort Denisa the very next phrase is about your loved ones, your family members. And so you don't need any extra motivation to give them everything. In fact, you may give them more than their their do more than their right. So there are less prompt Allah mentions justice first, right to give them what is due to them and to be just when it's talking about enemies and the people who are showing animosity towards them there you may not
give them their right, right, you may you may find that animosity prevents you from giving them their right and so I'll just point out first motivates you by mentioning stand firmly for Allah, you're not doing it for them, you're doing it for a less prompt Allah. And that's why you stand firmly for justice. So even the way the pond talks about justice, it is cognizant of all of our social relationships and our psychological states as human beings and it's incredible how just something as subtle as the word order brings about such a profound lesson Subhanallah that lock in and up knows that and I agree 100% This could be its own series. So take notes and shall Tyler the
rest of the Quranic studies team. Beautiful reflection does acmarket And may Allah subhanaw taala make us amongst the people of justice consistently alum I mean, Dr. Tasneem what is one piece of advice I know you've given so many already deserve McClaren, but what's one maybe short practical piece of advice that you'd give to someone who right now is considering opening the quarter an app or reading from the most half today in Sharma. So I might sound like a broken record, but build a habit, right, start small, don't undermine anything, I think that's the one message that we really want to get across that, that opportunity for connection can come at a moment's notice. And so even
spending a few minutes of the Quran reading every single day, will will take you you know, so far. And I will share this example from my own personal life, because it really speaks to me is that before I started memorizing the Quran, I started off as you know what, I'm gonna start reading two pages every single day. And I remember thinking, when I told myself, I'm going to do two pages a day like, I mean, this is a joke, really, I know, I could do so much more. If I just put the time and I spent a few hours I can do you know, multiple exams. And I told myself, you know, what, no, just two pages every single day. And once I got really comfortable with two pages, I thought to myself, we'll
bump it up to five pages and to read five pages every single day. I know I can do it, I started really small. And there's no excuse, I'd have that every single day to read those five pages. And I got comfortable, right? And then once I got comfortable, I pushed it, I upped the ante a bit, right? Eventually, I got to the point where I said, You know what, I'm going to start memorizing a few lines every day, or half a page a page. And so I always encourage people start small with the intention of always going big, that at one point, you know what, maybe you want to be someone who memorized the Quran. Maybe you want to be someone who reads just one just every single day. But you
have a big goal at the end of the tunnel. But you're going to start small, and you're going to stay small until you're very comfortable and you're gonna push push yourself because when you start small, you build the habit. Once you got the habit in place you can you can really push yourself as far as you want to go. So don't undermine anything, even if it's just one idea, even if it's just a few minutes that is going to take you so far. If you really have that intention and you stick with it and create that habit and Shawn Zachman Lohan adopted his name you touched on two different elements and advices from the Sunnah of the Prophet salallahu Salam, the first was the act of
consistency being extremely important and the most beloved form of worship to Allah. And the second advice of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam with specific acts of worship like pm would lay for example, the night prayer when you stand to pray and start with to lay a rock as as authentically reported. And so oftentimes this gives a person the momentum to continue and to build a habit long term. So may Allah subhanaw taala accept May Allah subhanaw taala keep us all consistent along that I mean brothers and sisters, is that more hidden once again, this brings us to the end of another episode of Quran Convos and Hamdulillah. We had Dr. Knowles and Dr. Tasneem would
love to inshallah Tada future episodes, bring you back and ask you many more questions because you offered a lot of different gems and advices and insights for the global Ummah, for the global community. For all of our brothers and sisters, we invite you once again start your own habit today Charlotta putting the sincere effort and the sincere intention and the effort inshallah Tada to start reading the Quran to start reflecting more deeply to start finding different resources that will keep you consistent long term. But until next time, we'll see you in sha Allah may Allah subhana data, accept from all of you for Salam alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh