2a] A Golden Principle About How to Benefit from the Qur’an

2a]
Allah says,
"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The metaphor of His
light is that of a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp inside a
glass, the glass like a brilliant start, lit from a blessed tree, an
olive, neither of the east nor the west, its oil all but giving off
light even if no fire touches it. Light upon light! Allah guides to
His Light whoever He wills, Allah propounds metaphors for mankind and
Allah has knowledge of all things." [5]
This verse refers to the light of the innate nature covered by the
light of revelation; this is the condition of the person who has a
living, receiving heart. We have explained this verse, its subtleties
and lessons in detail in ourbook, Ijtima` al-Juyush al-Islamiyyah `ala
Ghazw al-Mu`attila wa'l-Jahmiyyah. [6]
Therefore, the person who has this type of attentive heart receives
the meanings of the Qur'an and readily accepts them so much so that it
seems as if the words have been inscribed in his heart and he is able
to recite them fluidly from memory.
Other people have hearts which fall below the level of those mentioned
above;their hearts are not as ready to receive the truth, they are not
completely alive, and their innate nature is not as refined.
Therefore, they stand in need of a witness who would differentiate the
truth from falsehood for them. In order to be guided, such a person
must pay the utmost attention to the Qur'an's words, he must devote
his heart to it, ponder it and comprehend its meanings, and only after
this will he come to realise that it is true.
The first type of person sees the truth of what he is invited to and
informed of with his own eyes. The second type of person has learned
that it is the truth, has certainty in it and is satisfied. The first
has attained the ranking of beneficence, ihsan and the second has
attained the ranking of faith, iman . Thefirst has attained `ilm
al-yaqin from which his heart has ascended to the degree of ` ayn
al-yaqin . The second has acquired that level of unwavering belief
which takes him out of the fold of disbelief and into the fold of
Islam. [7]
` Ayn al-Yaqin is of two categories: what is acquired in this world
and what is acquired in the Hereafter. In this world it is to the
heart what the beheld is to the eye. All thematters of the unseen
thatthe Messengers informed us of will be seen by the eye in the
Hereafter and the inner sight in this world; in both cases, this is
`ayn al-yaqin. 1 Qaf (50): 37 2 Ya Sin (36): 69-70 3 Ibn Qutaybah,
Gharibu'l-Qur'an, pg. 419 4 Saba' (34): 6 5 al-Nur (24): 35 6 Ibn
al-Qayyim, Ijtima`, pp. 6-12. He also discussed this verse in al-Wabil
al-Sayyib, pp. 65-68, I`lam al-Muwaqqi`in, vol. 1, pp. 205-209,
al-Sawa`iq al-Mursalah, vol. 3, pg. 8517 i.e. he has acquired the
station of `ilm al-yaqin/

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1] A Golden Principle About How to Benefit from the Qur’an

1]
If you truly want to benefit from the Qur'an, your heart must be
attentive and alert when reciting it or listening to it.Listen to it
carefully with presence of mind, paying attention to it as if Allah
Himself was speaking to you directly. Understand that this Qur'an is
an address directed to you from Allah, Most High, upon the tongue of
His Messenger (SAW).
Allah, Most High, says,
"Truly there is a reminder in this for anyone who has a heart, or who
listens attentively with presence of mind." [1]
A deep and lasting impression is dependant upon something that will
stimulate a person, a location that can be influenced, his being in
theright condition, and removing any barrier that would impede this
from happening. This verse mentions of all of these in the most
succinct and lucidof ways; clearly articulating the intended meaning.
"Truly there is a reminder in this"
refers to the previous verses of this chapter. This,the Qur'an, is the stimulus.
"for anyone who has a heart"
refers to the location that can be influenced. The heart referred to
here is the living heart: the heart that is aware of Allah. He, Most
High, says,
"it is simply a reminder and a clear Qur'an so that you may warn
thosewho are truly alive," [2]
i.e. those whose hearts arealive.
"or who listens attentively,"
i.e. directs his faculty of hearing towards it and pays it the utmost
attention. This is the condition that must exist for a person to be
roused by the words.
"with presence of mind,"
i.e. with an alert and present heart, not one thatis unmindful and
absent. Ibn Qutaybah said,
i.e. a person who listens attentively to Allah's Book with presence of
heart andmind, not someone who isunmindful with an absent air.' [3]
This then alludes to the barrier: an unmindful and inattentive heart
which does not understand what is being said and, as such, is unable
to reflect upon it or direct any conscious thought towards it.
Therefore, if all these things come together, the end-result is
obtained: benefiting from the Qur'anand taking heed.
If someone were to ask: if the end-result, the lasting impression, is
only attained by the combination of these matters, why then did Allah
say
"or"
in the verse,
"or who listens attentively"
which implies a choice between one or another option? Surely "and"
should have been mentioned in its place?
It is said in reply: this is a good question; "or" has been mentioned
by taking into consideration the state of the addressee.
Some people have hearts which are alive, hearts thatwill readily
accept the truth and whose innate nature ( fitrah ) is intact; if such
a person was to reflect in his very heart and turn his mind to it, he
would conclude that the Qur'an is authentic and true. His heart would
witness what the Qur'an informs it of and the subsequent impression
upon it would be light layered on top of the light of its innate
nature. This is the description of those about whom it is said,
"those who have been given knowledge see that what has been sent down
to you from your Lord is the truth." [4]
Concerning them, Allah says,:->

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Does the one who startsto pray Taraweeh have to complete it?

If a Muslim starts to pray Taraweeh, does he have to complete it? Or
can he pray as much as he wants and then leave?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is no doubt that Taraweeh is a Sunnah andis naafil; it is the
qiyaam of Ramadan. The same may be said of night prayers, Duha
(forenoon) prayer and the regular Sunnah prayers that are offered
along with the obligatory prayers. All of them are naafil, so he may
do them if he wants or not do them if he wants, but doing them is
better.
If he starts to pray Taraweeh with the imam and wants to leave
beforecompleting it, there is nothing wrong with that, but staying
with the imam until he finishes is better, and it will be recorded for
him as if he spent this night in prayer, because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever prays qiyaam
with the imam until he finishes, Allah will record for him the qiyaam
of onenight." So if he stays with the imam until he completes it, he
will have attained the virtue of spending the whole night in prayer,
but if he leaves after praying some rak'ahs, there is nothing wrong
with that and no sin, because it is naafil. End quote.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him)

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The dhikr that is prescribed when breaking the fast

What is the ruling on the du'aa' from hadeeth which they say are
da'eef (weak), such as:
1 – Saying when breakingthe fast: "Allaahumma laka sumtu wa 'ala
rizqikaaftartu (O Allaah, for You Ihave fasted and by Your provision I
have broken the fast)."
2 – Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah astaghfir Allaah as'aluka
al-jannah wa a'oodhu bika min al-naar (I bear witness that there is no
god but Allaah, I ask Allaah for forgiveness, I ask You for Paradise
and Iseek refuge with You from the Fire).
Is this prescribed, permissible, not permissible, makrooh, notvalid or haraam?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Saying du'aa' in the wordsmentioned when breaking the fast was
narrated in a da'eef (weak) hadeeth which was narrated by Abu Dawood
(2358) from Mu'aadh ibn Zuhrah, who heard that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, when he broke his fast,
"Allaahumma laka sumtu was 'ala rizqika aftartu (O Allaah, for You
Ihave fasted and by Your provision I have broken the fast)."
There is no need for this, because we have the report narrated by Abu
Dawood (2357) from Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) who
said: When the Messengerof Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) broke his fast, he would say: "Dhahaba al-zamau'a, wa
abtallat al-'urooq wa thabata al-ajr insha Allah (Thirst has gone, the
veins are moist, and the reward is assured, if Allaah wills)." This
hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
Secondly:
It is mustahabb for the fasting person to say du'aa' whilst he is
fasting and when breaking the fast, because of the reportnarrated by
Ahmad (8030) from Abu Hurayrah(may Allaah be pleased with him) who
said: We said: O Messenger of Allaah, when we see you our hearts are
softened and we are people of the Hereafter, but when we leave you we
are attracted by this world and by our womenfolk and children. He
said: "If you were always as you are when you are with me, the angels
would shake hands with you andthey would visit you in your houses. If
you did not commit sin, Allaah would bring another people who would
commit sin so that He could forgive them." He said: We said: O
Messenger of Allaah, tell us about Paradise, what isit built of? He
said: "Bricksof gold and bricks of silver; its mortar is musk, its
pebbles are pearls and rubies, its soil is saffron. Whoever enters it
will be happy and will never be miserable, he will abide therein
forever and never die. His clothes will never wear out and his youth
will never fade. There are three whose du'aa' will not be rejected: a
just ruler, a fasting person until he breaks the fast, and the prayer
of one who has been wronged. Itis borne on the clouds andthe gates of
heaven are opened for it, and the Lord, may He be glorified and
exalted, says: 'By My glory, I will grant you help even if it is after
some time.'"
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shu'ayb al-Arna'oot in Tahqeeq al-Musnad.
It was also narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2525) with the words, "… the
fasting person when he breaks his fast…" This was classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
So you may ask Allaah for Paradise and seek refuge with Him from the
Fire, and you can pray for forgiveness, and offer other du'aa's that
are prescribed in Islam. As for the du'aa' in this particular form –
Ashhaduan laa ilaaha ill-Allaah astaghfir Allaah as'aluka al-jannah wa
a'oodhu bika min al-naar (I bear witness that there is no god but
Allaah, I ask Allaah for forgiveness, I ask You for Paradise and Iseek
refuge with You from the Fire) – we could not find any source for it.
And Allaah knows best.

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