|
|
In most of the Middle Eastern countries where Muslims are in majority, many of the people who can be considered as ‘average citizens’ would answer this question as: ‘The Qur’an is the holy book of our religion.’ Yet, they know very little about the content of the Qur’an. In fact, it is used for many purposes which are far away from its real revealed purpose. It is usually hung on walls of houses within a decorative cover and read usually by elder people from time to time. People read it in Arabic, but as they only know how to read Arabic letters without understanding the meaning, they, most of the time do not have a clue about what they have been reading and about the content of the Qur’an either. The Qur’an is also supposed to have some very interesting benefits to people. After reading it and performing some weird rituals like blowing hard on another person’s face, it is believed to protect that person and his close relatives from a possible future ‘accident or misfortune’. The Qur’an is believed to be some sort of amulet that includes words having talisman and protects people against bad luck. The Qur’an is also believed to have a frightening power. Because, it smites people if they tell lies! At graveyards, it is read for the deceased without knowing what is being read. It can even be used for telling fortune. Only a small percentage of Muslims know the content of the Qur’an and ponder on the Qur’an as required. As a result, people who are ignorant of the real message of the Qur’an, attribute different meanings to it. Many people believe some traditions to have their origin from the Qur’an, although they may be contradictory in the very nature of the Qur’anic message. For example, there are many people who believe that a blue bead, which is believed to possess power to avert the devil’s eye, is recommended in the Qur’an. The question then is: What is the true nature of the Qur’an? The answer must be derived from the Qur’an itself, as it has the real answer in it.
Many rituals, believed to have originated from the Qur’an, and that are being practised by many people, are in fact not from the Qur’an. On the contrary, they contradict the Qur’anic message. This shows that there is a huge difference between the true religion as explained in the Qur’an and the concept of religion prevalent among the common public. This difference has been caused by abandoning the real source, the Qur’an. The Qur’an informs us about this fact as follows:
Some people believe that the Qur’an addresses only Muslims of the 7th century and some other think that only a small part of the verses addresses people other than the Muslims of the 7th century. A person having such an approach gets satisfied with reading the Qur’an and thinks he fulfils his religious duties by doing so. However, this is not only a matter of learning what is inside of the Qur’an, but also putting them into practice, fulfilling the duties ordered in the Qur’an, adapting moral standards explained in the Qur’an; briefly, bringing the Qur’an into one’s own everyday life. Those who claim that the Qur’an has become outdated and needs to be revised according to new age, cannot realise the fact that the Qur’an is not confined to chains of time but it covers all ages and societies as it has been revealed from Allah, Who has the knowledge of everything, the past and the future. When a person reads the Qur’an with a sincere heart and an open mind, he sees that the models of people and societies described in the Qur’an existed at every age in history including today and the Qur’an explains the current state of people and societies. All disorder, perversion and mistakes made by a society which is away from true religious values have been clearly stated in the Qur’an. The reactions of the people of these societies towards religion have been described with detailed character analyses. These descriptions and analyses completely fit into the world of today and demonstrate the ‘sociological miracle’ of the Qur’an. When a person starts reading the Qur’an and tries to implement it in his daily life, he can be considered to be on his way to become a real Muslim as described in the Qur’an. He amazingly begins to see how the Qur’an covers every moment of his life. Many events that a person will come up against have been mentioned in the Qur’an and the proper reactions of a Muslim have also been explained in detail. Being satisfied with reading and knowing the Qur’an without practising it, may lead to some displeasing consequences. Allah describes Jews as an example of such kind of people and uses the analogy of ‘a donkey which carries huge tomes’ for them.
|