Monday, November 26, 2007

Recite and understand

If i were to ask Singaporean muslims in general.. How many of us read the Quran? Hm, ok, maybe most of us do.. Now i ask again, how many of us actually read and understand the Quran and the whole of its contents? Aah, a show of hands here.. A little over there too.. Hm, what telah happened to the other 90+% now..?

Maybe i'm over-exaggarating, but seriously, how many of us can actually understand whatever that we're reciting daily? And as we're not native arabic linguists, then how many of us actually recite, then bother to spend some time pondering upon the translation and the 'tafsir' (explanation) of the verses read?

Reciting everyday with all the beautiful tones and correct tajweed is good but we won't gain much if we don't understand its meanings.

Imagine a 'mat jiwang' listening to his favourite songs.. He'd analyse and ponder upon the lyrics word by word, sentence by sentence and he'd sing it over and over with all his 'heart and soul' interwining the meaning of the lyrics and the melody at the same time.. Some extreme ones even go to the point of tears upon doing this.. *slaps head*

Now, apply this 'technique' to the Quran. We have to realise that The most important knowledge for muslims is the Quran, Allah SWT explained in surah al-Isra' ayat 9 yang bermaksud,

"Sesungguhnya Quran ini memberi petunjuk kepada jalan yang lebih lurus(aqwam) dan memberi khabar gembira kepada orang-orang mukmin yang mengerjakan amal soleh bahawa bagi mereka ada pahala yang besar."

Berhubung dengan ini, di dalam al-Jamik li ahkam al-Quran, Imam Qurtubi berkata,"Kalimat 'aqwam' bermaksud jalan yang paling benar, paling adil dan paling tepat."

In surah an-Nisa' ayat 82, Allah SWT says, yang bermaksud,

"Apakah mereka tidak 'tadabur' Quran? Sekiranya Quran itu bukan dari sisi Allah tentulah mereka akan mendapati percanggahan yang banyak di dalamnya."

Berhubung dengan ayat ini, Imam Ibn Kathir di dalam 'Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim' berkata,"Allah mengarahkan mereka agar mengamati isi-isi Quran dan melarang mereka dari berpaling daripadanya. Allah juga mengarah mereka agar memahami maksud ayat-ayat Quran yang begitu halus lafaznya serta dipenuhi kebijaksanaan."

Allah explained in surah al-Isra' ayat 82 yang bermaksud,

"(Quran) merupakan penawar(syifa) dan rahmat bagi mereka yang beriman."

Di dalam al-Asas fit Tafsir oleh Said Hawa disebutkan,"Syifa bermaksud (Quran adalah penawar) yang dapat menghilangkan syak, nifak, penyelewengan, kelemahan dan penyakit dalam hati. Quran juga adalah rahmat yang dapat menghasilkan iman, hikmat dan kebahagiaan." (source - 'Tip-tip cemerlang dari Quran')

The great muslim scholars of the past were successful mainly because they were encouraged and enlightened by the Quran.. It is a guide to success for both here and the hereafter..

Abdullah ibn Masud berkata,"Sesiapa yang menghendaki ilmu pengetahuan maka hendaklah dia membaca Quran. Di dalamnya terdapat ilmu orang-orang terdahulu dan yang kemudian."

5 comments:

madame blossom said...

totally agree. this issue has not been raised. but now i always try to tell people not only to read the Quran, but to understand.

The whole point of reading the Quran is a reminder, a zikr. But if we don't understand what we read, how to be reminded?

Sahalfikri said...

totally agree too..

i've tried to the right way to tadabbur quran..
but it really susah..

dulu ada sorang kawan bagitau yg adik kawan dia setiap hari baca quran n meaning dia..
so sejak aritu saya try plak..
after more than 1 year..
i can't finish even half of the mashah..
sbb bila baca byk yg terkena pada batang hidung..
bila nak teruskan, terasa makin bersalah..
i only managed to read 5-10 ayat wif meaning per day..
tapi ada gak kekadang missed..

apapun, u r rite..
we need to read n understand the quran wholeheartedly..

redtide said...

Yep2, reciting then pondering upon the explanation (tafsir) of the surahs is important, with an ustaz or/and alone.. The Quran should not be regarded as a source of 'berkat'(good blessings) where only certain surahs are read (and not even knowing the meanings).. What then of the other numerous surahs?

ogak said...

Kedekatan seorang mukmin kepada al-Quran bergantung dengan kesungguhannya melalui pelbagai ujian kenaikan tingkatan keimanan. Tangga pertama harus dilalui dengan belajar membaca. Disebabkan cintakan al-Quran dia rela meninggalkan kesenangan dan hiburan yang melalaikan.

Tangga pertama ini tidak dapat didaki dalam masa sehari, ada yang sudah 10 tahun membiasakan diri membaca satu juzuk selepas subuh, tetapi selepas zaman berubah dia pun lalai dan sedikit demi sedikit meninggalkan al-Quran hingga akhirnya tidak sempat menyentuhnya walaupun sesaat.

Tangga kedua yang harus didaki untuk sampai ke puncak al-Quran adalah tangga kajian, seterusnya tangga amalan dan akhir sekali tangga memperjuangkan mesej al-Quran.

Namun, kita tidak nafikan ramai yang terjatuh dan kembali mendaki. Ada pula yang tidak perasan sesungguhnya dia sudah lama berada pada tangga paling bawah saja. Dia tidak sedar cahaya al-Quran yang menghidupkan hati itu hanya dapat diperoleh dengan mencapai keseluruhan tangga-tangga hingga ke puncaknya.

mujahid dakwah said...

What u have said is absolutely correct, it is a sin reciting Al-Quran without the correct Tajweed. And for those who knew about it, the sin is even bigger if they didn't understand the meanings of Kalamullah.

Should be grateful that our love with Arabic Language enables us to understand more, and not just understand it but to implement and apply all the teachings in Quran to our daily life. Furthermore, Arabic is the language of Jannah.

May Allah bless your efforts by sending this message in your blog to the whole world. Jaga diri dan Iman, tingkatkan sifat Rasa Hamba kepadaNya

Mujahid Da'wah,
-jazlan-