Skip to main content

The Role of the Quran in the Spiritual Development

Argumentation and controversy over small issues is a problem that plagues our communities, but it’s not the problem per se. It is a symptom of a deeper, more serious issue within the self.

The root is a lack of spirituality and spiritual purity within the self. When an individual argues, especially in issues of faith, there is an underlying disease within the heart that is fueling the argumentation–the desire to prove the opponent wrong, to satisfy the ego and to prove one’s worth by belittling another.

This is further beautified for the people by Satan when he convinces them that they are arguing for the truth because clearly the other person is on a false path—he’s just trying to ‘guide’ the other person.

This attitude cultivates indifference towards others, and leads to contempt and discord between people. The irony is that this is far from the Quranic directive. I believe that one of the reasons this occurs is because there is a lack of spiritual connection with the Quran and the Divine message embedded therein–an abandonment of the Quranic message. God says:

O mankind, there has come to you instruction from your Lord [this Qur’an], and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers. (10:57)

This is why not abandoning the Quran is so critical for our spiritual development–the Quran grounds us by reminding us constantly of God, of the temporal nature of the life of this world, of death, of the Resurrection, of Judgment Day, of Paradise and of Hell. It puts everything into perspective.

Something that is mercy for the believers cannot become, by its very nature, something that is opposite of that. This is why the Caliph ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan said:

“If our hearts were truly pure, we would never get enough of the Words of our Lord, and I hate that one day passes with me not looking in the Quran.”

We should preoccupy ourselves with the Quran, and not distract ourselves by arguing over issues that do not benefit us. The Quran is truly ‘soul food’–it is the food for our souls, the healing for our hearts and our conversation with the Divine. Our bodies were created from this Earth and God placed sustenance for our body in the Earth as well. Everything we eat eventually originates from the Earth.

Our spirit, however, is from God; as such, its sustenance must also come from its place of origin–God. This is why the heart, when engaged with the Quran, feels tranquility and peace, and when it’s away from the Quran it slowly hardens up until it dies.

Ibn Qayyim, the Muslim scholar, notes that:

“The keys to the life of the heart lie in reflecting upon the Quran, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving sins.”

When a person turns away from the Quran, the heart starts to starve just as the body starves when it is not fed; as a result, life itself becomes depressing and incomplete, as the individual preoccupies themselves in other matters, seeking to fill that void within. Thus, argumentation and controversy becomes an avenue to satisfy the self.

Abandoning the Quran can range from not listening to it to not acting upon it to not referring to it as a source of guidance to not reflecting upon it and seeking it as a cure for our spiritual problems and diseases of the heart. All of this falls, as explained by Ibn Qayyim, under the explanation of the verse:

And the Messenger has said: “O My Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur’an as [a thing] abandoned. (25:30)

When we inspect the Quran and the verses where it commands us and forbids us, we always find it coupled with a reminder to have taqwa (awareness) of God or to reflect on Him or a reminder of Paradise and Hell.

The point is not doing the action correctly; rather there are spiritual dimensions such as sincerity are necessary. Their absence voids the good deed itself.

All this is part of the Quranic development which builds the spiritual connection a person has with God through those commandments and prohibitions. It allows a person to see the underlying goal of the directives–worshiping God and having a relationship with the Creator and functioning as a community based upon brotherhood.

So when a person engages in argumentation, he forgets this additional role the Quran plays in terms of the inner aspects of worship.

The Quran makes us focus on the important issues and ties us all together based upon our common goal–which is getting to Paradise and avoiding Hell.

Source: Suhaibwebb.com.

The post The Role of the Quran in the Spiritual Development appeared first on About Islam.



source https://aboutislam.net/spirituality/the-role-of-the-quran-in-the-spiritual-development/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Times and Places Where Dua is Accepted

A short reminder regarding the recommended times of dua . And I think what you need to know here is that the recommended times of dua or recommended things that can cause your dua to be accepted, can be divided into two sort of large groups: Am I Good Enough to Make Dua for Myself? Situations where your dua is accepted. Times where your dua is accepted So I’m going to very briefly mention them one after the other as much as possible. As for situations where your dua has been accepted: – The person who has been wronged or oppressed . – A person who finds themselves in severe difficulty after a calamity has struck. – The person who is traveling. – Someone who is fasting. – The one who is reciting the Quran or has just recited the Quran – Someone who is performing Hajj or Umrah or jihad. – The one who is making dua for someone in their absence . Because we know that when you make dua for someone in his absence an angel says: “ Ameen and to you”. – A person...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Derechos de Las Mujeres en Islam

Durante el Tiempo del Profeta (la paz sea con él) Veamos cómo fueron tratadas las mujeres de todo el mundo durante la época del Profeta (la paz sea con él). En la Europa del siglo VIII, la religión principal era el catolicismo y durante este tiempo debatían si las mujeres tenían alma. Dijeron que las mujeres eran impuras y que no tenían derecho a la herencia. A las mujeres tampoco se les permitía tocar la Biblia. No era como ahora en el Islam, donde ellas no pueden tocar el Corán durante la menstruación, pero a las mujeres en la Europa del siglo VIII nunca se les permitió tocar la Biblia. En China e India, fueron quemadas vivas cuando murieron sus maridos. En Arabia Saudita practicaron infanticidio femenino en el que, si nacía una niña, la enterrarían viva. Si el marido de una mujer muere, un miembro de su familia se unirá a ella para demostrar que ahora es de su propiedad. Mujeres en el Islam Con el Islam llegó una nueva era para las mujeres. En el Islam, las mujeres tienen la...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Ghuraba (The Strangers): Nasheed with English Subtitles

Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings the strangers. (Sahih Muslim 145) This famous nasheed has many versions; this one is from Muhammad al-Salman and has the subtitles in English embedded. [We are] strangers and we do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah  […] Transliteration to help in the pronounciation:  Ghurabaa’ wa li ghairillaahi laa nahnil jibaa Aisha Stacey  wrote in an article for Aboutislam.net : “I think that many of you would agree that being Muslim in the 21st century makes you well acquainted with being strange. It might even be a metaphor for random, as in you have been randomly selected. […] many converts to Islam will tell you about feeling as if they were strangers, before finding Islam. They will speak of feeling that they belonged somewhere else that their lives were just slightly off center. They often speak about a vague sense of knowing they were not like everyone else...
Post a Comment
Read More »