Page 91 - Deep Thinking

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he Qur'an is the last book Allah sent to all mankind. Every per-
son living on the earth is responsible for learning the Qur'an
and fulfilling the commands communicated in it. Most people,
however, do not learn it and fulfill what Allah commands in the
Qur'an, although they accept it as a divine book. This is a consequence of
their not thinking about the Qur'an, but knowing it by incomplete infor-
mation gained here and there. For a man who reflects, on the other hand,
the importance of the Qur'an and its place in man's life is very great.
First of all, someone who reflects wants to know The Creator Who
created him and the universe in which he lives, gave him life when he was
nothing, and bestowed countless blessings and beautiful things on him. He
wants to learn what kind of conduct He would be pleased with. The
Qur'an, which Allah sent through His Messenger, is a guide answering the
questions above. For this reason, man needs to know the book Allah
revealed to people as a guide and in which He distinguished good from
evil. He needs to ponder over each verse and fulfill what Allah orders in
the most proper and pleasing way.
Allah states the purpose for which the Qur'an was revealed to people:
It (the Qur'an) is a Book We have sent down to you, full of bless-
ing, so let people of intelligence ponder its Signs and take heed.
(Surah Sad: 29)
No indeed! It (the Qur'an) is a reminder to which anyone who
wills may pay heed. But they will only heed if Allah wills. He is
entitled to be feared and entitled to forgive. (Surat al-
Muddaththir: 54-55)
Many people read the Qur'an, but the important thing, just as Allah
states in His verses, is to ponder on each verse of the Qur'an, to draw a
lesson from that verse and improve one's conduct in compliance with
these lessons. Someone who reads the verse, "For truly with hardship
comes ease; truly with hardship comes ease," (Surat al-Inshirah: 5-6),
for example, reflects upon it. He understands that Allah creates ease with
each hardship, and therefore, the only thing he has to do when he meets