[Aya] Blessings

وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآ‌ۗ
إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَظَلُومٌ۬ ڪَفَّارٌ۬

"If you count Allah's blessings, you can never encompass them all.

Indeed, the human being is transgressing, unappreciative."

(Surat Ibrahim, verse 34)

Quran Mystic Experience

It should be remembered, nevertheless, that full appreciation of the spirit of the Quran demands practical involvement with the struggle to fulfill its mission. The Quran is neither a book of abstract theories and cold doctrines which the reader can grasp while seated in a cosy armchair, nor is it merely a religious book like other religious books, the secrets of which can be grasped in seminaries and oratories. On the other contrary, it is the blueprint and guidebook of a message, of a mission, of a movement, As soon as this Book was revealed, it drove a quiet, kind-hearted man from his isolation and seclusion, and placed him upon the battlefield of life to challenge a world that had gone astray. It inspired him to raise his voice against falsehood, and pitted him in a grim struggle against the standard-bearers of unbelief, of disobedience to God, of waywardness and error. One after the other, it sought out everyone who had a pure and noble soul, mustering them together under the standard of the Messenger. It also infuriated all those who by their nature were bent on mischief and drove them to wage war against the bearers of the Truth.

This is the Book which inspired and directed that great movement which began with the preaching of a message by an individual, and continued for no fewer than twenty-three years, until the Kingdom of God was truly established on earth. In this long and heart-rending struggle between Truth and falsehood, this Book unfailingly guided its followers to the eradication of the latter and the consolidation and enthronement of the former. How then could one expect to get to the heart of the Quran truths merely by reciting its verses, without so much as stepping upon the field of battle between faith and unbelief, between Islam and Ignorance? To appreciate the Quran fully one must take it up and launch into the task of calling people to God, making it one's guide at every stage.

...

This will be an experience different frm any so-called 'mystic experience'. I designate it the 'Quranic mystic experience'. One of the characteristics of this 'experience' is that at each stage one almost automatically finds certain Quranic verses to guide one, since they were revealed at a similar stage and therefore contain the guidance appropriate to it. A person engaged in this struggle may not grasp all the linguistic and grammatical subtleties he may also miss certain finer points in the rhetoric and semantics of the Quran, yet it is impossible for the Quran to fail to reveal its true spirit to him.

Again, in keeping with the same principle, a man can neither understand the laws, the moral teachings, and the economic and political principles which the Quran embodies nor appreciate the full imp0ort of he Quranic laws and regulations, unless he tries to implement them in his own life. Hence the individual who fails to translate the Quranic precepts into personal practice will fail to understand the Book. The same must be said of any nation that allows the institutions of its collective life to run contrary to the teachings of the Quran.

The above is quoted from the Introduction of the English translation of the book "Towards Understanding the Quran" by Abul Ala Maududi. (Really enjoying the book btw)

I have found that, once one begins to bring into their life the principles that is presented in the Holy Book, you truley do look upon everything from a different perspective. For one thing, you will find contement with whatever happens in your life, wether your life is like a ship sailing on calm beautiful waters, or like a ship sailing on stormy rough seas. When you feel angry, you say in your mind the verse from Surat Aal Umran (134)

وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِين

who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men;- for Allah loves those who do good

And you restrain your anger, for the sake of becoming one of those whom Allah loves. This will lead to an explosive situation being avoided.

When you have a person whom you are on bad terms with, you recall the following verse from Surat Fusilat (34)

ولا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ

Nor can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!

And you change your attitude towards the person, try to take the advice that Allah has given and be good to them. Suddenly, and somewhat surprisingly, you find that the person whom you have held hatred for before in your heart becomes a good friend.

The examples that I have shared now are extremely simple ones. I suppose with just these two verses being applied in a person's life, so many bad everyday situations can be avoided, and relationships between people will improve as well!

So now when you read the Quran, keep a look out for the advice and orders that Allah gives us in His Book. Make note of the qualities of a believer that Allah speaks of and try to implement them in your life, and avoid that qualities of a disbeliever. Understand why the stories that have been mentioned in the Quran are so important, and what their morals are. Sit up straight whenever you come across Allah calling to us in His Book with "Oh you who believe ..." and listen/read intently to what is being said.

Nouman Ali Khan - Divine Speech

Another 1 week and I will be done with a big stage of my life inshaAllah.

All thanks goes to Allah that I made it this far, it really does feel unreal .. AlHamdullah.

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Yes, I am going through a Nouman craze at the moment =P MashaAllah I can't have enough of his lectures ... the way he interprets the verses and presents his thoughts. I also love how he approaches it from the classical literature point of view, i.e that this is a book that was revealed to a tribe that took pride in literature and poetry and none of them could come even close to creating such a thing.

I am a big fan of literature, I read books and am mesmerized by the words that a human brain can produce, the tying together of thought, feeling and expression in a few sentences. However, over the past two years I lost my love for reading. I couldn't find anything that spoke to me on the level that books once did. In fact, I lost interest in a lot of things, life was generally living it out each day at a time. All this time the Quran was on my shelf and I am ashamed to admit that I hardly ever read it, and if I did it would be just because it's a duty (Friday: reading Surat al Kahaf, or during Ramadhan). This has all changed now.

I feel excitment when I am about to read the Quran. I sit on the floor, with my back leaning against my bed and recite the Quran slowly, carefully. It's like I am seeing things I never realized were in there before. Sentences jump out at me, I go back and reread verses again and again, I recall lectures and stories that I have heard over the years and I am able to pull out the morals from them. I tell myself that I should read a certain amount then go off and do chores, but end up reading more and more. It's almost like soul cleansing, the way I feel before and after reciting the Quran is completely different, all the negative emotions and feelings are completely gone. AlHamdulillah.

One of the things that contributed to this is education about my religion ... the more I learn, the more my eyes open and the more I fall in-love with Islam.

Here's a video that's excellent in terms of education, one of the best from brother Nouman. I've watched it twice already and will gladly watch it over and over. May Allah grant this brother and all the Muslims the high Ferdaws, Ameen.

Nouman Ali Khan - Divine Speech part 1

Nouman Ali Khan - Divine Speech part 2

Nouman Ali Khan - The Quran: The Book of Timeless Guidance

This is not part of the after taraweeh series by brother Nouman (won't be posting anymore of them since I've posted all that is available), but still an amazing lecture. You can't help but look at the Quran in a different light after this lecture.