Most of
muslims, instead of reciting the QURAN day and night , are yet miles away from
it.Do we even realize that?
In Islam,
there is no priesthood, and no centralized religious hierarchy. However, as
soon as you ask muslims about their religion, they will refer you to the
opinions of this or that Imam or a maulana who are often dogmatic religious
bigots, sometimes politically motivated and often are the cause of such
unabated increase in the divisions of the religion. Some being just
rabble-rousers. The common people are always carried away by the rhetoric
.Being gullible, never do the common muslims put any effort to at least read
the Quran with meaning, consider, weigh and contemplate it. We do not delve
into the Quran and remain ignorant and rummage around to find our solutions. We
are brought up in an environment where people know numerous hadith stories (which
are mostly hearsay) which dictate their action and jurisdiction but
they rarely know any Quranic verse on any issue. Normally in a religious
gathering one is allowed only to listen and not to question.
What do
we do with the Quran?
Muslim
households often have several of Quran lying respectfully wrapped in fine cloth
in the upper shelves..Ahh.,we are told that they are too sacred to touch
without ablution..(wudu)..well..being fussy in matters of faith is yet another
problem altogether. Anyways..We recite the Quran daily. The speed with
which you recite and the number of pages you cover is the yardstick of how much
'religious' you are. In the month of Ramadhan, i see many people reciting
the whole Quran over and over again and proudly saying about the number of
times they completed the Quran.What sort of achievement is this when you don't
know what you are actually reciting?
Very few of
Muslims read the Quran intelligibly, few read with meaning and fewer ponder
over its message .And even when you start self-exploring the verses, you are
told "Don't delve in too deep, you will be distracted" or" Quran
is very complex and no one can translate or derive its meaning exactly"
or" first learn Arabic then you can truly learn its message."
Till when
shall we experience our faith vicariously by listening to lectures or
submitting to fatwas of imams or other authorities?
In Madrasas,
we see children sitting on the floor of a room, swaying back and forth,
reciting lyrically, words and phrases they do not understand. Will it do any
good to them?
Many people
see Quranic verses as magical spells and use Quran for exorcism or medical
relief and by GOD's mercy chanting of divine verses might have a positive
effect but it really is not the purpose it was sent for and to the height
of ignorance many pious believers in their whole lifetime die without being
curious or without putting a slight effort as to discover what they
have been reciting in their prayers throughout their life.Is it blind faith or
ignorance or both?
54:17. And
certainly We have made the Quran easy for remembrance, but is there anyone who
will mind?
