From: Tyagi@HouseOfKaos.Abyss.com
Subject: Islam:Quran
Date: Fri,  7 Jan 94 16:15:58 PST


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                           WAY TO THE QUR'AN
                           by Khurram Murad

 The New world that Awaits You

As you come to the Qur'an, you come to a new world. No other venture in
your life can be so momentous and crucial,so blissful and rewarding, as
your journey to and through the Qur'an. It is a journey that will take
you through the endless joys and riches of the words that your Creator
and Lord has sent to you and all mankind. Here you will find a world of
untold treasures of knowledge and wisdom to guide you on the pathways of
life, to mould your thoughts and actions.In it you will find deep
insights to enrichyou and steer you along the right course.From it you
will receive a radiant light to illumine the deeper reaches of your
soul.Here you will encounter profound emotions,a warmth to melt your
heart and bring tears running down your cheeks. It is crucial for you
because, as you travel through the Qur'an,at every step you will
summoned to choose,and to commit to Allah.To read the Qur'an is nothing
less than to live the Qur'an willingly,sincerely,devotedly,and
totally.The outcome of your entire life depends on how you heed the call
given by Allah.The journey is therefore decisive for your existence,for
mankind,for the future of human civilization. A hundred new worlds lie
in its verses. Whole centuries are invlved in its moments. Know
,then,that it is the Qur'an,and only the Qur'an,whichcan lead you on and
on to success and glory in this world and in the world to come.

What is the Qur'an?

 It is beyond man's power to comprehend,or to dscribe, the greateness
and importance of what the Qur'an holds for him.Yet,to begin with, you must
have some idea of what it is and what it means to you ,and such that you are
inspired to immerse the whole of yourself in the Qur'an,in total
commitment,complete dedication and ceaseless pursuit,as it demands.
The Qur'an is Allah's greatst blessing or you .It is the fulfilment of His
promise to Adam and his descendants:'there shall come to you guidance from
Me, and whatsoever follows My Guidance no fear shall e on them, neither
shall they sorrow'(al Baqarah 2:38).It is the only weapon your frail
existence as you struggle against the forces of evil and and temptation in
this world.It is the only means to overpower your fer and anxiety.It is the
only 'light' (nur) ,as you grope in the drkness,with which to find your way
to success and salvation.It is the only healing(shifa) for your inner
sickness, as well as the social ills that may surround you .It is the
constant reminder(dhikr) of your true nature and destiny, of your
station,your duties,your rew It was brought down by one who is powerful
and trustworthy in the heavens- the heart of the Prophet Muhammad,
blessings and peace be on him. to your Creator.It tells you of Him,of
His attributes, of how He rules o to you ,and how you should relate to
Him,to yourself ,to your fellow meny other existence.The rewards that await
you here are surely many,incrng manifold and the hereafter,but what awaits
you at the end of the road promises allah in the Hadith qudsi,'the eye has
seen not,nor the ear heard,nor the heart of man ever conceived'.and, adds
Abu Hurayra'no human being can imagine what joys are being kept hidden for
them in d or all that they did'(Bukhari,Muslim)

Qur'an As Living Constitution

Can the Qur'an again, be living, relevant force, as powerful for us now
1400 years away, as it was then? This is the most crucial question that
we must answer if we wish to shape our destiny afresh under the guidance
of the Qur'an.

There appear, however, to be some difficulties. Not least of which has
to do with the fact that Qur'an was revealed at a certain point in time.
Since then we have traveled a long way, made gigantic leaps in
technological know-how, and seen considerable social changes take place
in human society. Moreover, most of the followers of the Qur'an today do
not know Arabic, and many who do have little idea of the 'living'
language of the Qur'an. 

They cannot be expected to absorbs its idioms and metaphor, so essential
to exploring and absorbing the depths of the Qur'anic meaning. Yet its
guidance, by its own claim, has an eternal relevance for all people,
being the word of the Eternal God. For the truth of its claim, it seems
to me, it must be possible for us to receive, experience, and understand
the Qur'an as it's first recipients did, at least in some measure and to
some degree. We seem to almost have a right to this possibility of
receiving God's guidance in its fullnes and with all its riches and
joys. In other words despite historical incidence of the revelation in a
particular language at that particular time and place, we should be
capable of receiving the Qur'an now (because its message is eternal),
capable of making its message as much a real part of our lives as it was
for the first believers and with the same urgent and profound relevance
for all our present concerns and experiences. 

But how do we do this? To put it very forthrightly, only by entering the
world of the Qur'an as if Allah were speaking to us through it now and
today, and by fullfilling the necessary conditions for such an
encounter. Firstly, then, we must realize what Qur'an as the word of God
is and means to us, and bring all the reverence, love, longing and will
to act that this realization demands. Secondly, we must read it as it
asks to be read, as Allah's Messenger instructed us, as his Companions
read it. Thirdly, we must bring each word of the Qur'an to bear upon our
own realities and concerns by transcending the barriers of time, culture
and change. 

For the first addressees, the Qur'an was a contemporary event. Its
language and style, its eloquence anda rationale, its idiom and
metaphor, its symbols and parables,its moments and events were all
rooted in their own setting. These people were both witnesses to and in
a sense, paticipants in the whole act of revelation as it unfolded over
a period of their own time. We do not have the same privilege; yet, in
some measures, the same ought to be true for us. By understanding and
obeying the Qur'an in our own setting, we will find it, as far as
possible, as much a contemporary event for ourselves as it was then. For
the essense of man has not chnaged; it is immutable. Only man's
externalities- the forms, the modes, the technologies - have changed.
The pagans of Makka may be no more, nor the Jews of Yathrib, nor the
Christians of Najran, nor even the 'faithful'and the 'unfaithful' of the
community of Madina; but the same characters exist all around us. We are
humans being exactly as the first recipents were, even though may find
it extremely difficult to grapple with the deep implications of this
very simple truth. Once you realize the truths and follow them, once you
come to the Qur'an as first believers did, it may reveal to you as it did
to them, make partners of you as it did of them. And only then, instead
of being a mere revered book, a sacred fossil, or a source of magic-like
blessing, it will change into a mighty force, impinging, stirring,
moving and guiding us deeper and higher achievements, just as it did
before.

Typed and sent in by:
Umm Anas