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Praise be to Allaah.
The Qur'aan is the word ofAllaah that was revealed to His Prophet
Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and isrecited as
an act of worship.
This definition of the Qur'aan is comprehensive.
Our saying "the word of Allaah" excludes the words of human beings orothers.
Our saying "revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)" excludes anything that was revealed to anyone
else, such as the Injeel (Gospel), Tawraat (Torah) and Zaboor
(Psalms).
Our saying "it is recited as an act of worship" excludes the hadeeth
qudsi (ahaadeeth in whichthe Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) narrated wordsfrom Allaah which are not part of the
Qur'aan).
It brings light and gives certainty, it is the strong rope, it is the
path of the righteous. It tells us of those who came before
us,Prophets and righteous people, and how those who disobeyed them
tasted the punishment of Allaah and were humiliated. It contains
verses which speak of the miracles of Allaah and His power in this
great universe. It tells us of the origins of human beings who are
created from "despised water" (semen). It contains the basic
principles of faith which must be embraced by every humble heart. It
contains the rules of sharee'ah which tells us what is permissible and
what is forbidden; what is true and what is false. It tells us of the
Resurrectionand the fate of human beings, either in the Fire inwhich
they will burn and be among those who are humiliated, or in Paradise
with its gardens, springs, plants and places of security.
In it there is healing for men's hearts, light and illumination for
the blind. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And We send down of theQur'aan that which is a healing and a mercy to
those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism and act on it), and it
increases the Zaalimoon (polytheistsand wrongdoers) nothing but loss"
[al-Isra' 17:82]
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer said in his commentary on this verse:
Here Allaah tells us about His Book, which He revealed to His
Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
which is the Qur'aan which "Falsehood cannot come to it from before it
or behind it, (it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise"
[Fussilat 42:41- interpretation of the meaning], that it is "a healing
and a mercy to those who believe" – i.e., ittakes away the diseases
inthe heart such as doubt, hypocrisy, shirk, deviation and
misguidance; the Qur'aan heals all of that. And it is also a mercy
which brings about faith, wisdom and the pursuit ofand desire for
goodness. This is only for those who believe in it and follow it; for
such it will be a healing and a mercy. But as for the kaafir and those
who wrong themselves thereby, their hearing the Qur'aan only makes
them further away (from truth) and increases them in kufr.The problem
comes from the kaafir, not from the Qur'aan. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Say: It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for
those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and
it (the Qur'aan) is blindness for them. They are those who are called
from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand)"
[Fussilat 41:44]
"And whenever there comes down a Soorah, some of them (hypocrites)
say: 'Which of you has hadhis Faith increased by it?' As for those who
believe, it has increased their Faith,and they rejoice.
But as for those in whose hearts is a disease (of doubt, disbelief and
hypocrisy), it will add suspicion and doubt to their suspicion,
disbelief and doubt; and they die while they are disbelievers"
[al-Tawbah 9:124-125]
Qutaadah said, concerning the phrase "And We send down of the Qur'aan
that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe": when the
believer hears it he benefits from it, memorizes it and understands
it. "and it increases the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers)
nothing but loss" means, they do not benefit from it, memorize it or
understand it. Allaah has made this Qur'aan a healing and a mercy for
the believers.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/60.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i.e.
the Qur'aan, enjoining all that is good and forbidding all that is
evil), and a healing for that which is in your breasts, — a guidance
and a mercy(explaining lawful and unlawful things) for the believers"
[Yoonus 10:57]
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