Khutba on Quran

Allah says in His Noble Book:

“We have sent down the Book to you making all things clear and as guidance and mercy and good news for the Muslims.” (16:89) 

 “We send down in the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the muminun.”

Allah has sent down, in His infinite mercy, the last of His Revelation to our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, a guidance to all of us. The Quran is the final Divine Book abrogating all previous revelations, such as the Injeel of Sayyiduan Isa and the Torah of Sayyiduna Musa. 

I want to remind you and myself of this immense, invaluable gift. It was the greatest of the miracles which the Messenger of Allah brought. It is the unaltered, uncreated and timeless Speech of Allah, revealed directly upon the heart of the Messenger of Allah, throughout the approximately 23 years of his prophethood in Makka and Madina. He implemented it unfailingly, completely and precisely, producing in consequence the best Umma, the purest and most elevated human beings around him, his Sahaba, and establishing the most just and most illuminated society in history. 

Allah says:
“You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind.” (3:110) 

The Quran is guidance – Huda. It is, coupled with the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah, the only guidance. 

Allah says: 
“Say: ‘Allah’s guidance, that is true guidance’.” (6:71)

It contains all the instructions, wisdom, teaching and indications for the human species to live a life pleasing to Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala. We follow the Quran in all of our affairs, private and public. Allah has made it a source from which knowledge is derived, as it is the His Word,  and He is the ‘Aleem – the All-Knowing. 

It is the light that dissipates all darkness, the certainty that eradicates all doubt, the discrimination – Furqan – which distinguishes between the correct and the incorrect, between truth and falsehood, and the guidance leading to the Sirat al-Mustaqim, and away from the misguidance. It is a cure, an intercessor and bringer of good news to the Muminun, and a severe warning to and proof against the kafirun. 

Allah says: 

“Praise belongs to Allah, Who has sent down the Book to His slave and has put no crookedness in it. 
It is straight, to warn of a violent force direct from Him, and to give good news to the believers, those who do right actions, that for them there is an excellent reward, a place in which they will remain for ever, and to warn those who say, ‘Allah has a son’.”

The ‘ulama have divided the Quran into three broad themes. The first one is Tawheed, the Unity of Allah, with passages dedicated exclusively to this, such as the Surah al-Ikhlas or Ayat al-Kursi.

It also contains stories of the previous peoples and their prophets, Qasas, telling the blessings they received and their rejection of Allah or the vices which beset them and corrupted them, their disobedience to their prophets and their going astray, leading to their destruction in some cases. These are told as examples, so that we may reflect and draw lessons from them. 

The third part is the ayat of hukm – legal rulings.

Allah says: 

“It is He Who sent down the Book to from Him: ayat clear judgement – they are the core of the Book.”

These teach us all we need to know regarding our actions in all circumstances and situations, be it of the ‘ibadah, such as the wudu’, tayammum, prayer, fast, hajj, ‘umra, Zakat, sadaqa, and so on, or mua’malah such as business transactions, jihad, marriage, contracts, loans, inheritance, etc. 

As the cornerstone of our day-to-day lives is the Quran, we remit to it and to the Sunnah of our Prophet for all rulings. Allah says: 

“We have not left out anything in the Book.”

We ask Allah to open our hearts to the Quran and to grant us the blessings and lights contained it. 

Muslims, we have this enormous blessing directly from Allah, revealed specifically for every single one of us. What shall we do with this immense gift Allah has given us, which has been preserved through time and which contains the message brought by the Messenger of Allah?

The first thing we must do is to recite it. Study it, memorise it and recite it as much as possible. 

Allah says: 
“Those who recite the Book of Allah and establish the prayer and give of what we have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a transaction which will not prove profitless: that He may pay them their wages in full and give them more from His unbounded favour. He is Ever-Forgiving, Ever-Thankful.”

And the Messenger of Allah said: 
“The best type or worship my community can do is reciting the Quran.”

And he also said:
“The best among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.” 

The recitation of Quran brings about tranquillity and peace to the heart. Allah says: 

“Only in the remembrance of Allah can the heart find peace.” 

It also washes away wrong actions, purifies the heart and draws you near to Allah and will intercede for you on the Last Day, as has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah. 
The recitation of Quran ought to be sincere for the sake of Allah, out of love for Him and for the Quran. And it has to go hand in hand with reflection, tadabbur, on its meanings. Allah says:

“It is a Book We have sent down to you, full of blessing, so that people ponder its Signs and those who possess intelligence take heed.”

And He also says: 

“Will they not then ponder the Qur‘an or are their locks upon their hearts?”

We must all try to take time to learn some of it, recite it – whether in the prayer or outside the prayer – and reflect and act on it. 

Individually and collectively it is necessary that we learn it, understand it and apply it, and its application will change ourselves and our surroundings. The remedy to everything is contained in the Quran. The situation in which both the Umma and the human species find ourselves in, drowning in the injustice of usury-based capitalism and oppression of entire nations can be cured if we return to the Quran and to the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah. 

Allah says: 

“Judge between them by what Allah has sent down.”
And He says: 

“Those who do not judge by what Allah has sent down, such people are unbelievers.” 
And in two other occasions He says: “… such people are the wrongdoers.” And “… such people are the deviators.”

Striving to apply it is especially important in this time, since we nowhere in our age is it fully applied. Only some aspects of it are. The example of the Sahaba is that they used to memorise a few ayat, and only carry on learning once they had understood them and put them into practice. This is how we must be. And thus, while we ought to perfect its recitation and strive to do it in the best possible way, as it is part of the Sunna, we must beware of making this the focus of our approach to the Quran and the only thing we derive from it. 

Like all other aspects of the Deen, when the core and fundamental was well established, it permitted for the refining of less important elements.

The Book of Allah, together with the Sunna of His Messenger, is the basis of our beliefs and actions, our existential guidance to our aim. The Sunna of the Prophet and his life are in fact the living practice of the Quran and an elucidation of it. His character was, as described by his wife Ummuna ‘Aisha, radiallahu ‘anha, the Quran. 

We can read the translation, if we do not understand Arabic, and read the tafseer of the people of knowledge who have distilled the unfolded the meanings of its ayat. Each within their own possibilities and capabilities, we should also strive to acquire the tools to get a deeper understanding of it, such as knowledge of the Arabic language and grammar, the circumstances of the revelation of each ayat and regarding what, the abrogating and abrogated, the muhakkamat and the mutashabihat, the seerah of the Prophet and the sayings of his Sahaba, the sciences of usul ad-deen, and so on. 

Whether that is possible for all of us or not, the Quran is accessible to all of us and we must not be deterred from reciting it. It must not be made into something inaccessible to the every single Muslims. We should all read it and reflect on it, increasing our knowledge of it, so long as we don’t pretend to derive judgements or meanings which are not intended, based on a lack of the necessary knowledge. However, everyone who is sincere in his actions, and has a pure intention, will receive the reward, the knowledge and the benefit from it. Allah loves people who love and recite the Quran, and he opens up our hearts to it when we strive to learn it.

We ask Allah to grant us love of the Quran and knowledge of the Quran, to make us return to it and to the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah. To forgive us our wrong actions through it and to make it a light for us in this world and the next.