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One night during the month of
Ramadan, when the Prophet was 40, Almighty
Allah ordained that His Light [i.e. the
Qur'an] be sent down [on earth]. On that
night, Allah revealed the first verses of the
noble Qur'an unto His Prophet:
(Recite:
In the Name of your Lord Who created, created
humans from clots of blood. Recite, and your
Lord is the Most Generous.)
(Al-`Alaq
96:1-3)
Thus, a communication was
established between the heavens and the earth
during the Prophet's lifetime.
But before this incident, the
whole text of the Qur'an was sent down from
the Preserved Tablet to the House of Glory in
the lowest Heaven. This happened in the Night
of Decree (Laylat Al-Qadr):
(Verily,
We have sent it (the Qur'an) down in the night
of Al-Qadr (Decree.))
(Al-Qadr 97:1)
Also:
(Lo!
We revealed it on a Blessed Night.)
(Ad-Dukhan 44:3)
Ibn `Abbas said, "The
(whole text of the) Qur'an was sent down to
the lowest Heaven at one time, yet it was
later revealed piecemeal over 20 years"
(An-Nasa'i and Al-Hakim).
Ibn Jarir said, "The
(whole text of the) Qur'an was sent down from
the Preserved Tablet to the lowest Heaven in
the Night of Al-Qadr during the month of
Ramadan. Then it was revealed unto Prophet
Muhammad in the way Allah willed it to be
revealed [i.e. in portions]."
Reciting the Qur'an
Ibn `Abbas is reported to have
said that Allah's Messenger was the most
generous of all people, and he used to reach
the peak of generosity in the month of Ramadan
when Jibreel (Angel Gabriel) met him. Jibreel
used to meet him every night of Ramadan to
rehearse the Qur'an with him. The Prophet was
the most generous person, even more generous
than the strong uncontrollable wind — in
readiness and in haste to do charitable deeds
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Imam Ibn Ragab said about this
hadith, "This hadith indicates the
importance of studying the Qur'an in Ramadan:
coming together for this purpose, checking
(one's knowledge of) the Qur'an with someone
who has preserved it better, and increasing
recitation of the Qur'an in Ramadan."
According to Fatimah — one
of the Prophet's daughters — (peace be upon
her), Jibreel used to revise the Qur'an with
the Prophet once every year, but he did so
twice in the year of his death (Al-Bukhari and
Muslim).
According to Lata'if
Al-Ma`arif (pp.355–354), it is reported
in a hadith that this revision of the Qur'an
between the Prophet and Jibreel occurred at
night. This indicates the recommendation of
reciting the Qur'an in Ramadan more during the
night when people are less preoccupied with
worldly activities, more capable of
concentration, and more able to make their
hearts and tongues unite in the remembrance of
Allah. Almighty Allah says, (Certainly,
rising at night has a stronger effect and is
more conducive to concentration)
(Al-Muzzammil 73:6).
Predecessors and Reciting
the Qur'an
The predecessors (may Allah be
pleased with them) showed such earnest
enthusiasm in reciting the Qur'an during the
month of Ramadan that [it may be said that]
there was nothing else preoccupying them.
For example, Az-Zuhri used to
say upon the coming of Ramadan, "It is
only about reciting the Qur'an and feeding the
poor."
Ibn Al-Hakam said, "With
the advent of Ramadan, Malik would completely
forsake studying Hadith and having sessions
with other scholars [so that he can
concentrate on reading the Qur'an]."
Abdur-Raziq said, "When
Ramadan came, Sufyan Ath-Thawri would give up
all acts of (voluntary) worship and devote
himself to the recitation of the Qur'an."
Sufyan said, "It was the
habit of Zubaid Al-Yami upon the coming of
Ramadan to bring copies of the Qur'an and
gather his companions [to study these copies
together]" (See Lata'if Al-Ma`arif,
pp. 359-360).
Fasting and the Qur'an in
Ramadan
Both fasting and recitation of
the Qur'an in Ramadan act as intercessors with
Almighty Allah for the true believer who
observes them. In this respect, the Prophet
said,
Fasting
and the Qur'an will intercede on behalf of
Allah's servant on the Day of Judgment.
Fasting will say, "O my Lord! I prevented
him from food and desires during the day, so
accept my intercession for him." And the
Qur'an will say, "O my Lord! I prevented
him from sleeping by night, so accept my
intercession for him." The intercession
of both will thus be accepted. (Ahmad)
Ibn Rajab said, "Know
that there exists two things during Ramadan to
which the believer has to apply
self-restraint. These are observing fast
during the day and offering Qiyam Al-Layl
(Night Vigil Prayer) during the night. Whoever
observe these two properly and patiently will
get their reward endlessly" (Lata'if
Al-Ma`arif, p.360).
The most telling example of
Ramadan being the month of the Qur'an is the
Tarawih Prayers. Reciting the Qur'an
constitutes the most part of these prayers as
if the prayer is performed so that people may
listen to a modulatory recitation of Allah's
Book. The Prophet used to prolong the
recitation of the Qur'an in Ramadan's Qiyam
Al-Layl more than he would do in other months
(Lata'if Al-Ma`arif, p.356).
In this regard, it is reported
that Hudhaifah, a Companion of the Prophet,
said, "One night of Ramadan I went to the
Prophet. He stood to offer the Qiyam Al-Layl.
He started with the following kind of Takbir: Allahu
Akbar dhul malakut wal gabarut wal kibryaa'
wal `azhamah (Arabic for "Allah is
the Greatest, the Possessor of the Dominion,
Power, Glory, and Majesty.") Then he
recited the chapters of Al-Baqarah, An-Nisaa',
and Aal `Imran, pondering deeply whenever he
recited a verse that emanates fear. Then he
bowed down saying, "Exalted be He my
Lord, the Greatest" for a duration
equal to that of his standing. Then he
stood up for an equal duration and said,
"Allah listens to whoever praises Him.
O our Lord, all praise is due to You."
He then prostrated himself for the same
duration too and said, "Exalted be He
my Lord, the Most High." After this,
he raised his head and sat back for the same
duration saying, "O Allah, forgive me."
He then prostrated again for an equal length
of time. Then he stood up to complete a two-rak`ah
prayer before Bilal came to inform him
that the Fajr Prayer was due" (Ahmad).
`Umar (may Allah be pleased
with) did command `Ubay ibn Ka`b and Tamim
Ad-Dary to lead people in Qiyam Al-Layl during
the month of Ramadan. One of them would
prolong the recitation during the prayer to
the extent that he might recite 200 verses per
one rak`ah. People would even lean on
sticks because of their long standing, and
they would leave the mosque shortly before
dawn.
Moreover, some predecessors
used to finish one khatmah of the
Qur'an (complete recitation of the Qur'an)
every three nights during Qiyam Al-Layl. Other
predecessors, such as Qatadah, would do this
every seven nights. Others like, Abu Rajaa'
Al-`Utaridy, would do it every 10 nights.
Three Methods
Having learned about such
great status of reciting the Qur'an during the
month of Ramadan, Muslims should devote
themselves to the Qur'an and contemplate its
verses. In this regard, I do suggest three
methods to be taken:
The First Method.
This method concentrates on reciting the
Qur'an as much as possible. One may set a
schedule for this purpose so that one may
finish as many khatmahs as possible
during Ramadan and thus receive the great
reward and blessings of this.
The Second Method.
This method is about meditating and applying
the teachings of the Qur'an. Muslims may
commence a long-term khatmah with the advent
of this blessed month. They may recite a
single page or so (preferably a group of
verses related in meaning), studying its
explanation for the purpose of reflecting upon
its meanings and indications and knowing what
it commands and what it prohibits. Then they
are to abide by its commandments and
prohibitions and bring themselves to account
if they were to act adversely.
This khatmah may last
for a year or so, provided that Muslims adhere
to reciting the proposed portion of the Qur'an
regularly with contemplation and determination
to abide by its instructions. The Companions
(May Allah be pleased with them) used to learn
no more than 10 verses from the Qur'an until
they study their instructions and abide by
them.
The Third Method.
This method is about memorizing the Qur'an and
reviewing this memorization. Muslims should
dedicate a specific amount of time for
memorizing a certain portion of the Qur'an and
reviewing it every day. This method would be
of great benefit to Muslims who have already
memorized the Qur'an but later forgot it. It
would be a great opportunity of revision for
them during this month.
We have learned a great deal
about the virtue of the noble Qur'an and how
it is closely linked to the blessed month of
Ramadan. Now, you only have to get ready and
arm yourself with determination and patience
so that you would be able to dedicate yourself
to learning and applying the Qur'an during
Ramadan, the month of the Qur'an.
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