Learn to Read Quran with Online Quran Tutor

Finding the time to do anything that does not give instant temporary gratification or instant monetary benefits is not a very attractive prospect in these rat race times of capitalism. Yet, despite our acquired preferences, one can vouch that reading the Quran while fully and truly comprehending the meaning of its words and Ayahs can give one true and everlasting pleasure; much more than your favorite drink, food, game, music, company, celebrity, or TV program.

Yet, man is shortsighted and people want instant temporary gratification even though they admit that this instant gratification is as short-lived as the time in which one demands and sometimes gets it.

And after that? After these short blips and long cravings? . . . An empty life searching for fulfillment. Sad and lonely. A void unfulfilled from teenage until death. Nothing lost and nothing gained. In fact, everything lost and nothing gained rings more true.

Indeed, such a life deserves better than mere instant temporary gratification . . . it deserves instant everlasting gratification. You will notice that all the difference lies between the word ‘temporary’ and the word ‘everlasting’. Only one thing in this world, The Quran, the Speech of Allâh, the most knowledgeable book in the whole world, can give instant everlasting gratification.

Indeed, how does it do that one may ask? The answer is that it does so by informing a person about what is the purpose of his, or her, life. You see, people want instant temporary gratification because they are frustrated. They are frustrated because they are lost. They don’t know what is the purpose of their life. Is the daily grind their destiny? They are lost in life because they do know what is the purpose of life. Once a person comes to know what is the purpose of his, or her, life, they then cease to be lost. Once they know what is the purpose of their life, they become aware of where they are going, what do they have to do in life, and what is their ultimate goal of their life.

Once a person comes to know his, or her, goal in life, then the book which has given them this knowledge ceases to be a just a book. It becomes the instruction manual which provides guidance every step of the way. Then one really begins to value this instruction manual upon which one’s life depends. Then one refers to this instruction manual often because it illuminates the way in the darkness all around. Indeed, it begins to provide instant everlasting gratification!

Dear fellow human being. Muslim or non-Muslim. Learn to read Quran today and dispel the darkness around you. You can now learn to read Quran from an online Quran tutor in the comfort of your home. All you need is a computer system, an internet connection, a headphone with a microphone, and some free software, and you can be on your way to learning to read Quran in no time. Do it now while you wait for your version of instant temporary gratification and end up with instant everlasting gratification.

Preservation of the Quran: 1. Memorization

The Glorious Quran, the Muslims’ religious Scripture, was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah(God) praise him, through the angel Gabriel. The revelation occurred piecemeal, over a period of twenty-three years, sometimes in brief verses and sometimes in longer chapters.[1]

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The Quran (lit. a “reading” or “recitation”) is distinct from the recorded sayings and deeds (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad, which are instead preserved in a separate set of literature collectively called the “Ahadeeth” (lit. “news”; “report”; or “narration”).

Upon receiving revelation, the Prophet engaged himself in the duty of conveying the message to his Companions through reciting the exact words he heard in their exact order. This is evident in his inclusion of even the words of God which were directed specifically to him, for example: “Qul” (“Say [to the people, O Muhammad]”). The Quran’s rhythmic style and eloquent expression make it easy to memorize. Indeed, God describes this as one of its essential qualities for preservation and remembrance (Q. 44:58; 54:17, 22, 32, 40), particularly in an Arab society which prided itself on orations of lengthy pieces of poetry. Michael Zwettler notes that:


“in ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown.” [2]

Large portions of the revelation were thus easily memorized by a large number of people in the community of the Prophet.

The Prophet encouraged his Companions to learn each verse that was revealed and transmit it to others. [3] The Quran was also required to be recited regularly as an act of worship, especially during the daily meditative prayers (salah). Through these means, many repeatedly heard passages from the revelation recited to them, memorized them and used them in prayer. The entire Quran was memorized verbatim (word for word) by some of the Prophet’s Companions. Among them were Zaid ibn Thabit, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Muadh ibn Jabal, and Abu Zaid.[4]

Not only were the words of the Quran memorized, but also their pronunciation, later which formed into a science in itself called Tajweed. This science meticulously elucidates how each letter is to be pronounced, as well as the word as a whole, both in context of other letters and words. Today, we can find people of all different languages able to recite the Quran as if they are Arabs themselves, living during the time of the Prophet.

Furthermore, the sequence or order of the Quran was arranged by the Prophet himself and was also well-known to the Companions. [5] Each Ramadan, the Prophet would repeat after the angel Gabriel (reciting) the entire Quran in its exact order as far as it had been revealed, while in the presence of a number of his Companions.[6] In the year of his death, he recited it twice.[7] Thereby, the order of verses in each chapter and the order of the chapters became reinforced in the memories of each of the Companions present.
As the Companions spread out to various provinces with different populations, they took their recitations with them in order to instruct others.[8] In this way, the same Quran became widely retained in the memories of many people across vast and diverse areas of land.

Indeed, memorization of the Quran emerged into a continuous tradition across the centuries, with centers/schools for memorization being established across the Muslim world.[9] In these schools, students learn and memorize the Quran along with its Tajweed, at the feet of a master who in turn acquired the knowledge from his teacher, an ‘un-broken chain’ going all the way back to the Prophet of Allah(God). The process usually takes 3-6 years. After mastery is achieved and the recitation checked for lack of errors, a person is granted a formal license (ijaza) certifying she has mastered the rules of recitation and can now recite the Quran the way it was recited by Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah(God). [Image]The image is a typical license (ijaza) issued at the end of perfecting Quran recitation certifying a reciter’s unbroken chain of instructors going back to the Prophet of Islam. The above image is the ijaza certificate of Qari Mishari bin Rashid al-Afasy, well known reciter from Kuwait, issued by Sheikh Ahmad al-Ziyyat. Image courtesy of (http://www.alafasy.com.)
A.T. Welch, a non-Muslim orientalist, writes:

“For Muslims the Quran is much more than scripture or sacred literature in the usual Western sense. Its primary significance for the vast majority through the centuries has been in its oral form, the form in which it first appeared, as the “recitation” chanted by Muhammad to his followers over a period of about twenty years… The revelations were memorized by some of Muhammad’s followers during his lifetime, and the oral tradition that was thus established has had a continuous history ever since, in some ways independent of, and superior to, the written Quran… Through the centuries the oral tradition of the entire Quran has been maintained by the professional reciters (qurraa). Until recently, the significance of the recited Quran has seldom been fully appreciated in the West.” [10]

The Quran is perhaps the only book, religious or secular, that has been memorized completely by millions of people.[11] Leading orientalist Kenneth Cragg reflects that:

“…this phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifdh (Quranic memorization) has made the Quran a present possession through all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation, never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone.”[12]


Footnotes:
[1] Muhammad Hamidullah, Introduction to Islam, London: MWH Publishers, 1979, p.17.
[2] Michael Zwettler, The Oral Tradition of Classical Arabic Poetry, Ohio State Press, 1978, p.14.
[3] Saheeh Al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.546.
[4] Saheeh Al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.525.
[5] Ahmad von Denffer, Ulum al-Quran, The Islamic Foundation, UK, 1983, p.41-42; Arthur Jeffery, Materials for the History of the Text of the Quran, Leiden: Brill, 1937, p.31.
[6] Saheeh Al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.519.
[7] Saheeh Al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith Nos.518 & 520.
[8] Ibn Hisham, Seerah al-Nabi, Cairo, n.d., Vol.1, p.199.
[9] Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, translated by Morroe Berger, A. Rauf, and Bernard Weiss, Princeton: The Darwin Press, 1975, p.59.

[10] The Encyclopedia of Islam, ‘The Quran in Muslim Life and Thought.’
[11] William Graham, Beyond the Written Word, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p.80.
[12] Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Quran, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973, p.26.

Are U prepared for Death ?

Life slips away second by second. Are you aware that every day brings you closer to death or that death is as close to you as it is to other people? As we are told in the verse
Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish. And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will remain forever” [al-Rahmaan 55:26-27]
“Every soul shall taste death in the end; to Us shall you be brought back.” (Surat al-’Ankabut: 57)
everyone who has ever appeared on this earth was destined to die. Without exception they all died, every one. Today, we hardly come across the traces of many of these people who passed away. Those currently living and those who will ever live will also face death on a predestined day. Despite this fact, people tend to see death as an
unlikely incident.
Think of a baby who has just opened its eyes to the world and a man who is about to breathe his last. Both had no influence on their individual birth or death whatsoever. Only Allah(God) possesses the power to inspire the breath of life or to take it away.
All human beings will live until a certain day and then die; Allah(God) in the Qur’an gives an account of the attitude commonly shown towards death in the following verse:
Say: “The death from which you flee will truly overtake you: then you will be sent back to the Knower of things secret and open: and He will tell you (the truth of) the things that you did!” (Surat al- Jumu’ah: 8)
The majority of people avoid thinking about death. In the rapid flow of daily events, a person usually occupies himself with totally different subjects: what college to enroll in, which company to work for, what color of clothing to wear next morning, what to cook for supper; these are the kinds of major issues that we usually consider. Life is perceived as a routine process of such minor matters. Attempts to talk about death are always interrupted by those who do
not feel comfortable hearing about it. Assuming death will come only when one grows older, one does not want to concern himself with such an unpleasant subject. Yet it should be kept in mind that living for even one further hour is never guaranteed. Everyday, man witnesses the deaths of people around him but thinks little about the day when others will witness his own death. He never supposes that such an end is awaiting him!
Nevertheless, when death comes to man, all the “realities” of life suddenly vanish. No reminder of the “good old days” endures in this world. Think of everything that you are able to do right now: you can blink your eyes, move your body, speak, laugh; all these are functions of your body. Now think about the state and shape your body will assume after your death.
While all this is taking place in the world, the corpse under the soil will go through a rapid process of decay. Skin and soft tissues will completely disintegrate. The brain will decay and start looking like clay. This process will go on until the whole body is reduced to a skeleton.
However, our beloved prophet, Muhammad(PBUH), was reported to have said that the dead body of prophets, pious people and martyrs would not decay in the grave and that there is enjoyment in the grave just as there is punishment in it.
There is no chance of going back to the old life again. Gathering around the supper table with family members, socializing or to having an honorable job will never again be possible.
In short, the “heap of flesh and bones” to which we assign an identity faces a quite nasty end. On the other hand, you – or rather, your soul – will leave this body as soon as you breathe your last. The remainder of you – your body – will become part of the soil.
Yes, but what is the reason for all these things happening? If God willed, the body would never have decayed in such a way. That it does so actually carries a very important inner message in itself.
The tremendous end awaiting man should make him acknowledge that he is not a body himself, but a soul “encased” within a body. In other words, man has to acknowledge that he has an existence beyond his body. Furthermore, man should understand the death of his body, which he tries to possess as if he is to remain eternally in this temporal world. However this body, which he deems so important, will decay and become worm-eaten one day and finally be reduced to a skeleton. That day might be very soon.
Despite all these facts, man’s mental process is inclined to disregard what he does not like or want. He is even inclined to deny the existence of things he avoids confronting. This tendency seems to be most apparent when death is the issue. Only a funeral or the sudden death of an immediate family member brings this reality to mind. Almost everybody sees death far from himself. The assumption is that those who die while sleeping or in an accident are different people and what they face will never befall us! Everybody thinks it is too early to die and that there are always years ahead to live.
Yet most probably, people who die on the way to school or hurrying to attend a business meeting shared the same thought. They probably never thought that the next day’s newspapers would publish news of their deaths. It is entirely possible that, as you read these lines, you still do not expect to die soon after you have finished them or
even entertain the possibility that it might happen. Probably you feel that it is too early to die because there are many things to accomplish. However, this is just an avoidance of death and these are only vain endeavors to escape it:
Say: “Running away will not profit you if you are running away from death or slaughter; and even if (you do escape), no more than a brief (respite) will you be allowed to enjoy!”(Surat al-Ahzab: 16)
Man who is created alone should be aware that he would also die alone. Yet during his life, he lives almost addicted to possessions. His sole purpose in life becomes to possess more. Yet, no one can take his goods with him to the grave. The body is buried wrapped in a shroud made from the cheapest of fabrics. The body comes into this world alone and departs from it in the same way…
According to the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray in his salaah (prayer),
“O Allaah, I seek refuge in You from the torment of the grave, I seek refuge in You from the tribulation of the Dajjaal, I seek refuge in You from the trials of life and death, O Allaah, I seek refuge in You from sin and loss).”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 798; Muslim, 589)