Loving and Living the Quran Marzia Hassan

As We Wrap Up The Blessed Month Of Ramadan, We May Be Feeling A Mix Of Emotions: A Tinge Of Sadness At The Ending Of The Month Of Blessings, Mercy And Forgiveness, A Sense Of Relief That We Were Able To Fast And Pray [And That We Can Eat Again!] And Maybe Some Regret That We Did Not Or Could Not Do More During The Blessed Minutes And Hours Of This Sacred Month Of Allah [Swt] When We Were His Guests. Many of us have been deeply impacted by the news from Palestine and our sense of helplessness to stop the atrocities. Please let us remind ourselves that we have the huge weapon of Dua at our disposal. And though the month of Ramadan may be coming to an end and our eyes may not water quite so much at every Sahoor and Iftar, thinking of our brothers and sisters starving while we are blessed with an abundance of food and drink at our tables, we cannot and must not forget that we have an ongoing duty to do what little we can which includes turning to Him in prayer to ease their plight and to grant them peace and freedom Ameen.  No matter what level of closeness and spirituality we attained during this month, we may be wondering of how to make it stay with us a little bit longer. For many of us, this is the only time in the year when we change the focus of our attention from worldly matters and at least cast a glance at matters of the spirit. During the rest of the year, although we may profess love and belief in Allah, we may think of Him or call on Him only in times of distress and rarely find time to turn to Him in extra prayer or gratitude.  During this awesome month, however, we have tasted of the Divine Banquet of Mercy, we have developed some good habits and feel a bit forlorn that we will lose this sense of spirituality again until next year. As we approach Eid, it is a good idea to reflect on some tiny steps that we can take to maintain the spirit of Ramadan alive so that the spiritual gains that we have achieved are not lost. So that we may start next Ramadan inshallah at a slightly higher plane of spirituality than we did this year.  Just as gains in health are only maintained if one continues with some good habits after time at a health spa, the spiritual gains achieved during this Spiritual Spa time can be maintained with some simple baby steps. Here are some actions that we took during this month which helped us nurture our spiritual bond to Him, and some ways that we can continue these practices: 1.    Establishing Salaat Ramadan is a time when we are most conscious of Salaat and its’ timings, especially the fajr and maghrib prayer. Regular and timely prayer is the most basic and vital way to maintain our connection to Him. Salaat is designed by the Almighty to be an intentional and consistent detachment from the world and an invitation to turn inwards, to connect to the Source at regular intervals to fuel our spirit. We are invited in the Quran to establish Salaat, not just to pray the occasional Salaat. This means that this act of worship has to be a pillar of our life, a structure of our existence. Baby steps: Make a commitment to start praying at least one Salaat exactly on time, every day. “Adorn” the Salaat by adding recommended actions to the basic prayer. Start with something small and do it consistently before adding the next piece. 2.    Reading the Quran To succeed in any area of life, the first step is knowledge about the rules that govern that area. We do not expect to excel at academics or in the workplace without reading the texts that govern the particular field. Similarly we cannot expect to succeed in this world, get to know the system of cause and effect, to know ourselves or figure out how to achieve ultimate success in the hereafter without looking at the manual gifted to us by the Creator of the system. Although we may have spent much time in recitation during the month of Ramadan, an ongoing relationship with the Quran necessitates understanding, contemplation and action. Only

Yesterday we reflected on a truth about this life from the Quran: that life is full of challenges. Today, let us look at a promise of Allah [swt] that gives us confidence that we have what it takes to succeed in these challenges and find our way through these distresses.  At the end of Chapter 2, Sura Al-Baqara the Quran tells us: Allah does not task any soul [impose a duty on, place a burden on] beyond its capacity. [2:286]  This brief selection from a longer verse suggests many important points of reflection: The word Quran uses for soul is “Nafs”, the struggling part of ourself. The part that struggles to be better and yearns to actualize.  In order not to burden us beyond our capacity or capability, He knows what that capacity is. So many times when we are facing challenges, they seem insurmountable and we feel completely overwhelmed and inadequate to deal with them. At times like these, it is important to remind ourselves of this verse. Even if we are unsure of our own potential, He is in His infinite knowledge and wisdom knows what our capacity is. We need to understand of course, that human capacity is not a static thing. That we grow by stretching ourselves. We experience this in all sorts of ways in the daily course of life in any case. When we go the gym, we do not lift Styrofoam weights that we can swing easily. We lift weights beyond what we think we can lift, thereby stretching our perceived capacity.  And in hindsight after going through a period of stress or challenge, we may look back with surprise and wonder at our own abilities to handle the situation. We realise that even though we may have thought we would DIE in the challenge, we actually didn’t! Now, without Divine intervention, given that we prefer a life of comfort and ease [even though this is not ultimately good for us, nor why we are created], human beings would very likely pass away “full of potential”.  His expectation from believers, however, is that they will live on the outer edges of their potential and fully realise and actualize it – not die with it.    And so we are given trials and distresses according to the measure of our ability and resources to actualize this potential.    When we go through and come out on the other side of such bespoke challenges, we are changed forever. There is no going back to “before”. We may have heard of the term “resilience” as the ability to “bounce back” after a set back. Let us deepen our understanding of our options in dealing with challenges.  Psychologists explain that people can react in three different ways to challenges and setbacks: we can be fragile and break easily. Or we can be resilient and withstand more stress before breaking down (and then bouncing back a little quicker than most). OR… we can be the OPPOSITE of fragile. Which means, the more challenge we face, the STRONGER we get. This is what Nasem Taleb calls being “Antifragile” in his book of the same name. Taleb gives us a great metaphor to bring the point home. Imagine the wind. It’s a strong wind. It is wind that will extinguish a candle. But it is the same strong wind that will fuel a fire and make it stronger.  In terms of this verse, Allah knows that we have the potential to be that fire and the challenges of life are meant to fuel this fire to bring it to its full blazing potential.  Our faith in Allah’s knowledge of our ability [beyond our recognition] can give us unshakeable confidence that we have what it takes. Let us do a little teaching on confidence.  Etymologically, the word confidence comes from two little Latin words: con and fidere. The word literally means "with intense trust." This is Intense trust in what? Not that everything will go perfectly. That is unrealistic of course and not in line with what we have been reflecting on. It is intense trust in Allah’s promise that it doesn’t matter what happens because we know we have the resources and the ability to handle thes

 
Today’s reflection is from Sura Balad where Allah [swt] says: Certainly We have created man to be in distress. [90:4]   In this verse, Allah [swt] uses the word kabad for distress. Scholars explain that the word kabad which originally means intensity, also signifies 'a disease in the liver of a person’ and is used for any trouble and misery.   This verse spells out a truth about the human experience during this plane of existence: from the time the human embryo is conceived it will go through difficult stages with pain and toil until the time it is born, and even from then on; during his childhood, the period of his adolescence, and through his mature and senior years, he is and will be faced with many kinds of challenges, stresses and distresses.    The problem, though is that even though Allah [swt] has explained this to us in the Quran, we human beings expect something different. We LOVE comfort and luxury and are deeply attached to the idea of a life of stability and ease. We feel entitled to such a trouble-free existence, even when we have no proof that it is possible. Even when we may recognize that moments of such comfort and ease move us further away from spirituality and recognizing the purpose for which we are here.   And so, when we are experiencing challenges and distresses, instead of reminding ourselves that this is, quite simply, the nature of this world, we tell ourselves that “something has gone wrong” and that “it is not meant to be this way” and a number of such things which actively resist the acceptance of this truth.    And then, of course, we look at others. We see the edited versions of their lives which are apparent to us in real life or in the virtual arena. And then we compare our distresses and challenges to the snippets of their apparently-distress-free life, to the abundance of peace and joy that we think they are enjoying, and we think that somehow they have managed to escape this reality.    I really love how Phil Stutz explains this truth in a hard-hitting way in his great book: Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You. .   Phil starts his book by telling us: "Our culture denies the nature of reality. It holds out a promise that you can live in an ideal world where things come easily, a world in which unpleasant experiences can be avoided, where there is never a lack of immediate gratification. Worse, it suggests that if you do not live in this world, something is wrong with you. This ideal world is a realm of illusion. No matter how promising this world seems, it does not exist." He continues by saying: "Be honest. Your own life experiences have been far from ideal. But what you have experienced is what is reality, not what you would like to experience. In short, the nature of reality is this: 1.    "Life includes pain and adversity."  2.    "The future is uncertain." 3.    "Accomplishment of any kind requires discipline." 4.    "You are not special. No matter what you did, you cannot avoid these aspects of life." 5.    "This will never change." In short: Life is hard. [or as the Quran puts it, we are created to be in distress] Denying and resisting this simple fact of existence and telling yourself the story that life “shouldn’t” be hard is, arguably, THE greatest obstacle to your enjoyment of life. When we quit arguing with reality and stop thinking something must be wrong with us because we’re experiencing life’s inevitable challenges, we can change our relationship to all the pain and uncertainty and hard work inherent to a meaningful life. In other words, when we stop resisting the truth that God has spelled out for us, we can fundamentally and permanently change our lives. Of course this does NOT mean that there is no joy or happiness or even moments of bliss on this earth. It does mean, as Stutz reminds us: “There is love, joy, surprise, transcendence, and creativity as well, but these never occur separately from the above

In Verse 39 of Sura Najm, Allah says: And that man shall have nothing but what he strives for. (Holy Quran 53:39) For today’s verse, I could not find a better title than the Urdu phrase: Harkat mein barkat, meaning there is blessing in movement/striving. One of the principles of life, taught by experience and by Divinity, is that human beings get what they strive towards. It is important to note that what the Quran is telling us is that our outcome will be in accordance with our striving. The Arabic word sa’ā which is used literally means to walk fast, to run almost, to walk with effort. It is used to denote hard work and effort as this means moving ahead fast on the path. It is interesting to note that it does not say that man will have nothing but in accordance to his actions, rather in accordance to the efforts behind his actions. What this means is that it the intention and effort behind the action that counts.  This is quite different to our experience in the material world. Here we are told that winning is everything and that being second best does not count. If we are working towards a goal or project, an admission to a university, a interview for a job, we either get it or not. It does not matter how much effort we put in if someone else beats us to it.

However, in our relationship with God, winning and the outcome does not matter as much as the effort and the intention with which any action is undertaken. Allah [swt] appreciates all the effort that we put in, regardless of how far we get or how close we come to our goal.  The outcome, of course, is never really in our control in the first place. We can work really hard at something and still not get the outcome we hoped for or worked towards. Or on the other hand, much can be handed to us through no effort on our part, just because we happen to win at the genetic or privilege lottery.  This verse reminds us that with Allah [swt] things are much more equitable and just. That all our striving towards worthy goals still counts. That even if we do not see the results of our striving, the striving still counts in terms of spiritual progress. So let us set our intentions straight and put wise effort into things that really matter. Things that will count towards eventual success. Let us make sure that the “ladder of our success is leaning against the right wall” [with a nod to Stephen Covey!]  

Today’s reflection is from Chapter 23, Sura Muminum where the Holy Quran says: "It is they who hasten to every good work and these who are foremost in them." [23:61]   In this verse and a couple of verses preceding it, Allah [swt] points out a few qualities of the believers. One of their qualities that they “hasten to do good deeds”. This desire is borne out of a desire to please Allah [swt] and drives them to take quick action towards worthy causes and goals.    The word the Quran uses is yusāri‘ūna which signifies “racing” towards good actions. It is interesting that while hurry or haste is not considered a virtue, when the haste is in racing towards goodness and virtuous action, it becomes an act of virtue.    Why is haste recommended in doing good works? Imam Bāqir (as) explains: “When you think of doing something good, rush to do it immediately for verily you do not know what could happen later [to prevent you from doing it]” (The Scale of Wisdom, H. 4002).   In other words, as we have experienced many a time, despite our good intentions, life will get in the way. Things will come up and other things will vie for our time and attention. What is important but not urgent [in a worldly sense] will be put on the back burner. When we rush towards actions, we are taking action before this happens.   Taking action quickly is also an indication of enthusiasm for performing the good deed. Once again, we have all experienced times when we have an initial burst of enthusiasm for doing good, for giving charity, for helping someone, for volunteering for a good cause. When we hear about distress of other humans, our natural empathy and humanness is activated and wants to act to relieve that distress. AND then, our mind begins to second guess ourselves and we have doubts about our initial intention. The doubts can be about our own ability, credibility of the cause, or any number of things. Imam Jaffar Sadiq [as] explains this as a normal human experience. “When one of you intends to do good or join relations then on his right and on his left are shaytāns, so he should hurry so they do not stop him from it” (al-Kāfī, v. 2, p. 143). In other words, we need to remind ourselves it is just Shaytan or our own minds doing their thing and we need to hurry up and take action.    The Quran uses the word sābiqūna to denote the ones who are foremost or the leaders in the race towards goodness.    Once again, it is interesting how the Quran picks a quality of humans which is generally not liked, that of competitiveness and turns it into a positive quality when it is used in the right way.  So while being competitive in worthy causes is recommended, we do need to be careful of a few things: i)               The desire to compete towards goodness must be driven with the intention to please God and not to look good. ii)             The mindset is to hurry to the pleasure of God and amongst His closest and chosen people and not to put others down. In fact, helping others along the way is one of the ways we can be in the group of the Sabiqun! 
So let us think of a time when we have had a intention to do something good (give charity, help someone, reach out to someone going through a tough time, visit a loved one) and thought you would do it later but then never got around to it?  [By the way, ever heard the phrase: the path to hell is paved with good intentions – that never materialized? OUCH!!]

Procrastination is a major human tendency. Our mind leads us to believe that “next week” things will magically work out and we will have the time to do things which are important but not urgent. Research now confirms that the more you delay something, the less likely it is that you will actually do it.

Piers Steele, who won the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in psychology for his work on motivation says that "As the deadline for any task gets pushed further into the future, Delay increases and

Today’s reflection is verse 9 from Chapter 62, Sura Juma, when Allah [swt] addresses the believers and says:   O you who believe! when the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trading; that is better for you, if you know. [62:9]   4 important points are made in this verse: 1.    When the call for the Friday congregational prayers is made, rush to attend to it  In other words, answer the call and join the congregation as soon as possible. 2.    Leave trading and other worldly distractions at this time Trading and business are particularly mentioned as the time for Juma prayers in right in the middle of the work day and these are also the main distractions for those in the marketplace. Of course, it applies to other distractions as well which stop us from joining the congregation on time 3.    This is better for you 4.    If only you knew Allah is reminding us that human beings are short sighted and are often unaware of the bigger picture or what lies beyond our immediate experience. Here the Creator is telling us that turning to Him in congregation has more benefit to us that what we immediately perceive in the profit of worldly business. The gain that we will get on a transcendent level [immediately and long term] is far greater than the monetary and material benefit of what is occupying our attention for the moment. Due to the evolution of our knowledge about mindfulness, pausing and redirecting our attention to something bigger than us, and doing so as a collective, we can now see through scientific studies how this is true. 
Scholars tell us that the day of Friday was named al-Jum‘uah when a group of Muslims in Madīna, before the Prophet [saw] migrated there, decided to assign a day of the week to get together and remember Allah (swt) and thank Him. The first congregational prayers were held at Masjid Quba, outside of Madina by the Holy Prophet [saw] when he migrated from Macca.     It is interesting that unlike the Christian or Jewish Sabbath, Friday is primarily the Day of Assembly, the weekly meeting of the Congregation, when we show our unity by sharing in common public worship, preceded by a Khutba, in which the Imam (or Leader) reviews the week's life of the Community and offers advice on connection to the Creator and on living a moral life.    The Friday congregation, while its primary purpose is worship, is very important in the social structure of Muslims and the interaction of and wellbeing of the Muslim Umma and fits in the gradations of social contact for Muslims with each other in this way:  (1) Each individual remembers Allah for himself or herself five or more times every day in the home or place of business, or local mosque, or open air, as the case may be.  (2) On Friday every week there is a local meeting in the central mosque of each local centre,-it may be a village, or town, or a big city.  (3) At the two Eids every year, there is a large local area meeting in one centre.  (4) Once at least in a lifetime, where possible, a Muslim shares in the vast international meeting of the Umma at the pilgrimage of Hajj.   By meeting in these expanding concentric circles, the Muslim expands his contact with other believers, find out what ails the Umma and gets introduced to the diversity within the faith. This is, what has been called a “happy combination of decentralisation and centralisation, of individual liberty and collective meeting, and contact at various stages or grades”.    While we may be meeting in such small and larger congregations throughout our lives [and more so in the month of Ramadan], we need to remind ourselves that the spirit of such congregations is meant to nurture the spirit of unity, brotherhood, acceptance, mutual consultation, and collective understanding and action.    When we take part in the congregation on Fridays, let us take with us this reminder: that the path to God is inseparable from our