Why Understand Quran?

    

    Quran is the most read book in the world. It was revealed by Allah to his last prophet Hazrat Muhammad PBUH. Faithful are often inspired, consoled and moved by its poetic rythum and eloquence.

    The Quran says itself,

'' (This is) a Scripture that we have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations and that men of understanding may reflect" [Al-Quran, 38:29]

    In my own words, quran has been sent for our guidance but how are we to act upon its sayings when we don't even know what it says. Consider bringing home the latest gaming console which asks for you to first read the manual very carefully. Instead of reading the English tanslation, consider yourself reading the Vietnamese or the French portion of the manual. Right after skimming through a foreign language manual would you be confident to start operating the console? Would your heart truly feel at peace with the fact that even though you have read the manual, you didn't understand the word it said?

    Consider Quarn to be a manual for your life, how can you see youself following its teachings when you don't understand a word it says?

One thing is absolutely certain that you can PONDER only if you uinderstand something.

As a holy revelation Quran has five rights upon the readers,

• Attentive Listening: Allah says in the Quran

"So when the Quran is recited then listen to it and pay attention so that you may receive mercy” [Al-Quran,7:204]

So try not to put a Surah on a speaker and get busy with your chores.

• Recitation: One of the most frequent mistakes we make is rushing through the arabic words. Not only do we have any clue of what the words actually mean but on top of that we are culprits of  hurried miss-pronunciatons. Allah says in the Quran,

"and recite the Quran with measured recitation" [Al-Quran,73:4] 

• Memorization: A Hadeeth narrated by At-Tirmidhi on the authorization of Ibn Abbas, "he, who has no Quran in his heart is like a house that is destroyed." So try to memorize as much as you can. Start by smaller surahs and then move on to the ones which are closer to your heart. 

    As a clastrophic when I heard that Surah Mulk protects its readers from the torments of the grave I took the motivation to memorize it. Now I've made a habit of reciting it daily in my Isha prayers. As narrated by Abdullah Ibn Masood, "Whoever reads Surah Al-Mulk everynight, Allah will protect him from the torment of the grave"

• Contemplation: To comtemplate something means to have a good, long thoughtful look at some issue. Quran says 

  

  "Do they not ponder over the Quran, or do their hearts have locks" [Al-Quran, 47:24]

  
  

    The word ponder in the above ayah means "to think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion". 

    So as a general rule would it be possible to contemplate/ponder something when you dont even understand it in the first place?

• Application: The last right of th Quran is that the reader applies its teachings in his daily life. Ideally looking at every instance in his life in the light of Quranic teachings. Quran says,

"(Quran) is a book We have revealed which is blessed, so follow it and fear Allah that you may receive mercy."

     As said earlier one simply cannot apply the teachings of Quran without contemplating them and contemplating something is utterly impossible without understanding it.

 

    All that I've complied above, points and stresses towards the inclusion of Quran, the word of Allah in our daily lifes.