Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon Muhammad, His last Messenger, his household, his companions and all those who follow him till the Last Day.
And When I Am iII
The Noble Prophet Ibraheem (alayhi sallaam), the father of monotheism, taught mankind a great lesson about illnesses and their cure, within the lines of a passage that teaches tawheed. [Oneness of Allaah] , when he said: And when I am ill, it is He who cures me" (Q26[ash-Shuara1:80).
Thus we know that the cure of every disease or illness is with Allaah! Mercifully, Allaah has pointed out the Quraan to us as a source of healing for both the diseases of the heart and the illness of the body. Allaah says: "And we send down from the Qur'aan that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe [in Islaamic monotheism and acts on it] and it increases the dhaalimuun [polytheists and wrong-doers] nothing but loss. And when we bestow Our Grace on man [the disbeliever] he turns away and becomes arrogant - far away from the right path." (Q 17 [al-lsraaJ :82)
Alas, many Muslims - in illness and in good health -have distanced themselves from the Quraan. Hence, they are sick and ill; yet they refuse to seek its cure. If you are one of those, as many of us are; here are some seven simple steps that can connect and bond you with the Book of Allaah!
7 Steps To Improve With The Quraan
Before You Touch It, Check Your Heart: The key to really benefitting from the Quraan is to check your heart first, before you even touch Allahs Book . Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (sallaallahu alayhi wa sallaam) was described by his wife as "walking Quraan". in other words, he didn't just read and recite the Quraan, he lived it.
Do your Wudhu (ablution): Doing your wudhu is a good physical and mental preparation to remind you that you are not reading just another book. You are about to interact with Allaah, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him.
Read At Least 5 Minutes Everyday: Too often, we think we should read Quraan for at least one whole hour. If you aren't in the habit of reading regularly, this may be too much.
Try 5 minutes daily for starters! If you took care of that one step, InshaAllaah those five minutes will become 10, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more!
Make Sure You Understand What You've Read: Five minutes of reading the Quraan in Arabic is good, but you need to understand what youre reading. Make sure you have a good translation of the Quraan in the language you understand best.
Always try to read the translation of what youve read that day. Remember,
The Quraan is More Interactive Than a Cd: In an age of "interactive" CD- Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Qur'aan is not like that. Remember that when you read the Quraan, you are Interacting with Allaah. He is talking to you, so pay attention.
Dont Just Read; listen Too: There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Quraan, a number of them with translations as well. This is great to put on your walkman or your cars CD or stereo as you drive to an from work. Use this in addition to your daily Quraan reading, not as a replacement for it.
Make Duaa (Supplication): Ask Allaah to guide you .when you read the Quraan. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allaah, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words.
Making duaa to Allaah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this. May Allaah cure us and leave no trace of our illness -both of the heart and of our body. Aamin!
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited