THE IDEAL MUSLIMAH

There can be no doubt that the Qur’aan is the greatest miracle of the Prophet (saws) - a miracle that can be appreciated by all of mankind. Yet, despite the power and status of the Qur’aan, many Muslims are heedless of it.

It is distressing to see that the Muslims of today have turned away from this great treasure that has been revealed to them - the very Speech of Allaah. They have made the Qur’aan a sacred family heirloom; to be treasured in exotic and expensive covers, yet to be uninhabited by the best of all covers - their hearts; to be recited and listened to in the best and most melodious of voices, yet to ignore its meanings; to be placed high above all other objects in any room, yet to occupy the lowest station in their daily lives; to be read when a death has occurred, yet to be ignored by the living; to be written in the fanciest of scripts and on the most expensive of papers, yet to be heedless of its commandments and prohibitions.

'What is the matter with them that they have turned away from the Remembrance?'^{Al Qur’aan: 74:49}

'O Mankind! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, the Most Generous?'^{Al Qur’aan: 82:6}

O Muslims! O Believers of the Qur’aan! Beware that you do not fall into those whom the Prophet (saws) will complain about to his Lord on the Day of Judgement:

'And the Messenger (will) say: ‘O My Lord, indeed my people took this Qur’aan as something worthy of being abandoned!’'^{Al Qur’aan: 25:30}

The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah ^{d. 758 A.H.} said,

There are various types of ‘abandonment’ of the Qur’aan:

1) To abandon listening to it and believing in it.

2) To abandon acting upon it, and ignoring its lawful and prohibited ordinances (Halaal and haraam), even if one believes in it and recites it.

3) To abandon judging by it and resorting to it as a judge when there are differences in the essence of the religion or other matters.

4) To abandon pondering over it, and understanding it, and seeking the explanation of it.

5) To abandon using it as a cure in all types of diseases of the heart, and instead to seek to cure these diseases by other means.

And all of these categories are included in the statement of Allaah,

'And the Messenger (will) say: “0 My Lord, indeed my people took this Qur’aan as something worthy of being abandoned!’'^{Al Qur’aan: 25:30}even though some of these types of abandonment are worse than others.^{Al Qur’aan: 8}

How many of these types of abandonments are we guilty of?  O Muslims! Have you not read the outcome of the one who turns away from the Qur’aan?

'And whoever turns away from My Remembrance (the Qur’aan), for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up, on the Day of Judgement blind. He will say, ‘O My Lord! Why have you resurrected me blind, when I used to see (in this world)?’ (Allaah) will respond, ‘Likewise (in this manner), Our verses came to you, but you ignored them. And, likewise, today you shall be ignored.’'^{Al Qur’aan: Chapter 20, Verses 124-126}

The one who was blessed with sight, but turned away from the light and guidance of the Qur’aan, deserves that his sight to be snatched away from him, for of what use was it? If his sight was blind to the light of the Qur’aan, then, on the Day of Judgement, it shall be blind to all else. 'And whoever is blind in this world (to the Qur’aan), then he will be blind on the Day of Judgement, and even more astray!'^{Al Qur’aan: 17:72}

The Prophet (saws) said, “Indeed, Allaah will honour people (i.e., in this world and the Hereafter) by this Book, and He will debase others by it.” ^{Reported by Muslim.}

There are only two categories of people when it comes to the Qur’aan; those that will be honoured because of it, and those that will be humiliated because of it. The Prophet (saws) also said, “Whoever puts (the Qur’aan) ahead of him, it will lead him to Paradise; and whoever throws it behind him, it will drag him into Hell.”^{Reported by at-Tabaraani.}

Which of these two categories do you wish to be in?

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• 7 Tips for Improving your Relationship with the Qur'aan