Conversation with Allah
Sixth: Say to yourself: I am conversing with Allah when I am reading the Quran.
The Quran contains Allah’s words, addressed to you and meant for you. Though those words are on your lips and inscribed on your heart, they are yet a dialogue between Allah and man, between Him and you. This dialogue takes many forms. It may be explicit or it may be implicit in the sense that a response is implied from you or Him.
How does this implicit conversation take place? A beautiful example has been given by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a Hadith qudsi:
“I have divided the Prayer (salah) between Me and My servant, half is for Me and half for him, and My servant shall have what he asks for.
For when the servant says [All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds}, Allah says, ‘My servant has praised Me’.
When the servant says, {The Most-merciful, the Mercy-giving}, Allah says, ‘My servant has extolled Me’.
When the servant says {Master of the Day of Judgement}, Allah says ‘My servant has glorified Me.’
When he says, {Thee alone we worship and from Thee alone we seek help}, He says, ‘This is shared by Me and My servant. He will be given what he will ask.’
When he says, {Guide us on the Straight Path, , the path of those to whom Thou hast been Gracious not of those who have incurred Thy displeasure, nor of those who have gone astray}, He says ‘This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for” (Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, Ahmad) .
You will see later how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to respond with words to the message and content of various verses. Remaining conscious of thus conversing with your Creator and Master will impart an extraordinary quality of intensity and depth to your Quran reading.
Trusting and Expecting Allah’s Rewards
Seventh: Say to yourself: Allah will surely give me all the rewards He has promised me through His Messenger for reading the Quran and following it.
Many rewards are promised in the Quran. Assured are the spiritual gifts in life, such as guidance, mercy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, remembrance and light, as well as worldly favours such as honour and dignity, well-being and prosperity, success and victory.
Eternal blessings such as forgiveness (maghfirah), Paradise (Jannah) and Allah’s good pleasure (ridwan), too, are reserved for the followers of the Quran.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has told about many more rewards. Take any standard Hadith collection like Bukhari, Muslim, Mishkat or Riyad As-Salihin, read the relevant chapters concerning the Quran, and you will find them there. Some of them you will find in this book as well, especially at the end.
For example:
“The best among you is the one who learns the Quran and teaches it” (Bukhari)
“Read the Quran, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come interceding for its companions” (Muslim).
“On the Day of Resurrection, the companion of the Quran will be told: Read the Quran and ascend (in ranks, and recite (the Quran) as you used to do in the world for you will reach your (highest) rank at the last verse you read” (Abd Dawud).
“Whoever reads one letter of the Quran shall receive a hasanah, i.e. a good deed, [that will be multiplied to become] equall to ten similar hasanat (good deeds)” (At-Tirmidhi)
Store as many of these promises as you can in your memory and recollect whatever you find relevant, whenever you can. Trust, expect, and seek from Allah their fulfillment in your case.
Observance of such a measure, out of belief in Allah and seeking His reward, greatly enhances the inner value of your deeds. One Hadith tells that there are forty virtues. If a person performs any of these, hoping for the reward and trusting in the promise, Allah will admit him to Paradise; the highest of these virtues is as little as making a gift of some milk to one’s neighbour (Al-Bukhari).
References
Taken with slight modifications from the Author’s Way to The Quran
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