Will a person (a believer) be rewarded if he listens to the Qur’aan

Will a person (a believer) be rewarded if he listens to the Qur'aan
without understanding what he is listening to,
but he knows that it is Qur'aan? Or will he not be rewarded unless he
understands what he is hearing? I
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Allah, may He be exalted, has commanded the believers to listen to the
Qur'aan attentively, in a general command. He says(interpretation of
the meaning): "So, when the Qur'aan is recited, listen to it, and be
silent that you may receive mercy" [al-A'raaf 7:204].
Shaykh al-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This command is general and includes everyone who hears the Book of
Allah being recited. He is enjoined to listen to it and keep quiet.
The difference between listening and keeping quiet is that keeping
quiet is done outwardly by not speakingor being distracted with
anything that would keep one from focusing on listening to it.
As for listening to it, this means that one hears it with an attentive
heart, pondering the meaning of what one is listening to. The one who
adheres to these two commands when the Book of Allah is recited will
attain a great deal of good, beneficial knowledge, ongoing and renewed
faith, increased guidance and insight into his religion. Hence Allah
connected the attainment of mercy to them, which indicates that the
one whodoes not keep quiet and listen attentively when theBook is
recited to him will be deprived of the share ofmercy and has missed
out on a great deal of good.
The most emphatic command with regard to listening to the Qur'aan
attentively has to do with prayers in which Qur'aan isrecited out loud
by the imam, in which one is enjoined to listen attentively, to such
an extent that most of the scholars say that his focusing on keeping
quiet and listening attentively takes priority over his reciting
al-Faatihah etc.
End quote from Tafseer al-Sa'di, 314
The greater aim of keepingquiet and listening attentively is so that
the listener may ponder and understand the meanings, and act upon
them. Imam al-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah says to those who believe in Him and in His Book, for whom the
Qur'aan is guidance and mercy: "So, when the Qur'aan is recited", to
you, O believers; "listen to it", i.e. lend your ears so that you
might understand its verses and learn from its exhortation; "and be
silent" and listen to it attentively, so that you might understand and
ponder, and do not utter idle talk during it lest you do not
understand; "that you may receive mercy" i.e., that you might receive
the mercy of your Lord by heeding His exhortation and adhering to His
limits and to what He enjoins upon you in the verses.
End quote from Tafseer al-Tabari, 13/244
If a person manages to achieve that, i.e., keeping quiet, listening
attentively,pondering what is recited to him and understanding its
meanings, that will bring him goodness in thisworld and the Hereafter.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
By means of this listening, Allah guides His slaves andsets straight
their affairs inthis world and the Hereafter; with this the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was sent, and he enjoined
it upon the Muhaajireen and Ansaar and those who followed them in
truth. The early generations used to gatherfor this purpose. When
theCompanions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) gathered together, they would tell one of their number to
recite whilst they listened. 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be
pleased with him) would say to Abu Moosa: Remind us of our Lord, and
Abu Moosa would recite Qur'aan whilst they listened.
End quote from Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 11/626
Secondly:
As listening in the complete sense is that in which one understands
and ponders, there is no doubt that the one who does that as much is
he is able is to be commended for what he does, and he isexcused for
what he is incapable of. But what oneis incapable of should not be an
excuse for not doingwhat one is able to do of goodness. What is
possibleis not to be omitted because of what is difficult; in other
words, whatever a person is able to do of obligatory or mustahabb
actions is not waived because of what he is incapable of doing,
because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): "So keep your duty
to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can"
[al-Taghaabun 64:16].

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Funny story of threefriends who came tothe New York City

Not long ago, three friends came to the New York city. They decided to
stay in a hotel during the visit. It so happened that their room ended
up being on the 60th floor. The policy of the hotel was that every
night after12:00 a.m. the elevators are shut down for securityreasons.
So on the next day, the three friends rented a car and went outto
explore the city. They enjoyed movies, concerts, and other things
throughout the whole day. At one point, they remembered that they have
to get back to the hotel before 12 a.m. When they arrived, it was
beyond 12 a.m. at night. The elevators were shut down. There was no
otherway to get back to their room but to take the stairs all the way
to the 60th floor. All of a sudden,one friend got an idea. He said
"For the first 20 floors, I will tell jokes to keep us going. Then
another one of us could say wisdom stories for thenext 20 floors.
Then, we will cover the other 20 floors with sad stories." So, one of
the friends started with the jokes. With laughs and joy, they reached
the 20th floor. Now, another friend started saying stories thatare
full of wisdom. So, they learned a lot while reaching the 40th floor.
Now, it was time for the sad stories. So, the third friend started
thus, "My first sad story is that I left the key for the room in the
car."
Now, what is the point of this story? This story resembles our life
cycle. For the first 20 years of our life, we spend time in joking and
enjoying whatever is out there. Then, after we reach 20, we go into
the work force, get married, have kids and this is the time when we
use our wisdom.Then, if we reach 40, we finally see the white hairs
and begin to think that my life is coming to an end.
It's better that we start our life in the very beginning by
remembering death rather than preparing for it at the end our life
whenvery few of us have the energy to obey Allah completely.

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Standing by his mother's bedside

A long time ago there lived a great saint. His name was Sharafud-Din and he loved his mother very much. Once, when Sharafud-Din was still small, his mother fell very ill and had to stay in bed. One night she awoke witha burning thirst and calledout to her son to bring her a bowl of water.
The young boy hurried to do her bidding, but when he returned to her bedside with the water, he discovered that she had fallen asleep again. Sharafud-Din was not surewhat to do. Should he wake her up or wait until she awoke, or leave the water by her bedside and go back to bed himself? He decided to wait until she awoke.
Minutes passed...hours passed...the night passed...and still the smallboy waited patiently withthe water at his mother's side. Finally his mother awoke a little after the first light of dawn had paled the sky, and to her surprise there was her beloved son at her side.
"How long have you beenstanding here?" she asked. "You haven't been there all night have you?"
'Yes, mother," he replied,"I have been here since you asked me to bring you some water."
His mother was deeply touched by his devotion, and asked Allah to pour His blessings on her son. One day he grew up to bea great saint!
/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

Masjid Unaffected byEarthquake in Turkey Place: Golcuk Masjid, Turkey. Whatis amazing is that the thin minaret still stands!

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