Approach the Quran

Actions of the Heart That Should Precede Contemplation

 

In his Ihya', Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali pointed out the actions of the heart that should exist before contemplation as follows:

 

l- Grasping the glory and superiority of the words: A reciter of the Glorious Qur'an should understand and grasp the glory of what he reads. He should ponder on Allah's favor upon His Servants when revealing understandable revelation to them.

 

2- Revering the Speaker: When reading the Glorious Qur'an, one should be mindful of the fact that what he reads is not the speech of a human; rather it is Allah's. Keeping this fact in

Mind, `lkrimah ibn Abu Jahl used to fall unconscious when opening the Musâhaf (the Glorious Book), saying, "lt is the Speech of my Lord, it is the Speech of my Lord." One, therefore, should ponder over the glory of the Speaker and His Attributes, Power, Throne, Creation, etc.

 

3- Consciousness of the heart: When reading the Glorious Quran, one should not be distracted from what he reads. In this light, the Qur'anic verse that reads, (Q Yahya! Take hold Of the Book with might),[1] is explained as a command to read the book attentively. Some early Muslims, therefore, used to repeat the verse from which his heart is distracted in order to read it attentively once more. Consciousness of the heart is the fruit of reverence for the Speaker of the Qur'an, i.e., Allah.

 

[1] Surat Maryam: I2.