'Be thankful to Me, and to your parents'
		    (Luqman 31: 14)

			  to

		       MY MOTHER


    At her knees I learnt to read the Qur'an, upon her
    insistance that I must learn Arabic I was sent to the
    school maulavi saheb who gave me the rudimentary
    knowledge upon which I could build later; seeing her
    devotion to the Qur'an, reading it with understanding,
    for hours and hours, kindled a spark in my heart which
    has continued to illumine my way; and, finally, through
    her example and silent but solid support I found my
    way to a life of struggle in the way of Allah.


      'My Lord! Bestow Thy mercy upon my parents, as they
		raised me up when I was little'
			 (al-Isra' 17: 24)

Contents

Preface 9

Chapter 1: 
       The Journey of Life 15
       The Eternal, Living Reality 15
       The New World that Awaits You 18
       Whatis the Qur'an? 19
       Infinite Mercy and Majesty 20
       Hazards and Perils 21
       Tilawah 22

Chapter 2: Basic Prerequisites 25
       Faith: The Word of Cod 25
       Purity of Intention and Purpose 27
       Bringing Cratitude and Praise 30
       Acceptance and Trust 31
       Obedience and Change 33
       Hazards and Obstacles 34
       Trust and Dependence 35

Chapter 3: 
       Participation of the Inner Self 37
       What is the Heart? 37
       Dynamic of Inner Participation 39

       STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS 39
       The Quranic Giteria of Inner Participation 39
       In Allah's Presence 40
       Hearing from Allah 42
       Allah's DirectAddress 43
       Every Word for You 43
       Conversation with Allah 44
       Trusting and Expecting Allah's Rewards 45

       ACTS OF HEART AND BODY 46
       Response of Your Heart 46
       Response of Your Tongue 48
       Tears in Your Eyes 49
       Postures of Your Body 50
       Reading with Tartil 51
       Self Purif cation 52
       Seeking Allah's Help (Du'a') 53
       Reading with Comprehension 57

Chapter 4: 
       Rules of Reading 59
       How Often to Read? 59
       How Much to Read? 60
       When to Read? 61
       Reading Correctly 62
       Reading Beautifully 63
       Listening Attentively 64
       Completing the Reading (Khatm) 65
       Memorizing 66

Chapter 5: 
       Study and Understanding 69
       Importance and Need 69
       Personal Study 70
       Argument Against Studying 71
       The Quranic Emphasis 73
       The Early Practice 75
       Risks of Personal Study 76
       Categories of Understanding 77
       Tadhakkur 77
       Tadabbur 79
       YourAims 79
       Levels and Forms of Understanding 80
       Basic Requirements 80
       Arabic 80
       Reading the Whole Qur'an 81
       Reading Tafsir Works 82
       Study of Selected Portions 83
       Reading Again and Again 84
       lnquiring Mind 84
       Aids for Study 86
       How to Study 87
       How to Understand Meanings 89
       General Principles 89
       Understand as a Living Reality 89
       Understand asa Messagefor You 90
       Understand asa Partof the Whole 91
       Understand as a Coherent Unified Text .92
       Understand with the Whole of Your Being 92
       Understand What the Qur'an Tells You 93
       Stay Within the Consensus 93
       Understand by the Unique Quranic Criteria
       Alone 93
       Understand the Qur'an by the Qur'an 94
       Understand with the Hadith and Sirah 95
       Language 95
       Methodological Guidelines 96
       Studying Words 96
       Textual Context 96
       Historical Background 96
       'Original' Meaning 97
       Translating to Your Situation 97
       Far-fetched and IrrelevantMeanings 98
       Level of Knowledge and Intelligence 98
       CurrentHuman Knowledge 98
       What You Cannot Understand 99
       Life of the Prophet 99
       
Chapter 6: 

       Collective Study 101
       Importance and Need 101
       Forms of Collective Study 103
       Four Basic Rules 103
       Study Circle 104
       Participants 104
       How to Conduct a Study Circle 104
       Dars 106
       Preparation 106
       How to Deliver 107

Chapter 7: 
    
       Living the Qur'an 111
       Obeying the Qur'an 111
       Fulfilling the Qur'an's Mission 113
       
Appendix 1: 

       What the Prophet Particularly Read or Emphasized 119
       What the Prophet Recited in Various Prayers 119
       What the Prophet Recited at Various Times 123
       What the Prophet Said About the Excellent Merits
       of Various Parts 125
       
Appendix 2: 
      
       Suggested Syllabuses for Quranic Study 130
       The Shorter Syllabus: 12 Selections 132
       The Longer Syllabus: 40 Selections 138
       
Appendix 3: 
    
       Aids to Study 141
       
Index of Quranic Verses 143