Our sister Sumayyah Meehan a new convert wrote: Allah Almighty, in His infinite Mercy, revealed many books to mankind throughout the ages. The Quran names four of them, namely the Bible, the Torah, the Psalms of David as well as the Noble Quran. Yet out of all those books, it is only the Quran that has not been changed in any way for over fourteen centuries.
Unlike the other books of God, which were tainted and some volumes even lost by the hands of man, the Quran is preserved just as God assured it would be.
The Attraction of the Quran
Whether you talk to born Muslims or Muslims who have embraced Islam during their lives, you’ll find one thing in common between both groups of people. Most, if not all, feel the magnetism of the Noble Quran in their lives. This holy book pulls people to read it, inspires their hearts and changes their minds. As it was revealed in the Noble Quran: Those to whom We gave the Book before this, believe in it, and, when it is recited to them, they say, ‘We believe in it; surely it is the Truth from our Lord; even before it we were of those who surrender. (28:52-53)
Converts to Islam, those who have chosen Islam over their birth religion and gone back to a natural state of Islam, have felt this undeniable pull more so than most.
I, personally, felt this pull when I was a young Christian mother grappling with the tragic death of my grandmother. On the same night I heard the heartbreaking news; I grieved in the darkness of my bedroom and had no idea how to cope with the loss.
Suddenly, I felt this intense urge to get up and read an English translation of the Quran that I had been given by a friend. It was sitting atop a high shelf and it was all I could do to stop myself from reading it right then and there. It would be a few more weeks of mourning before I decided to open the Quran and finally see what it was all about.
Answering the Unanswerable
Searching for the answers to life’s great questions can establish a great deal of anguish. People from all faiths, and even non-faith, can often be found in a state of contemplation about this Universe and all that is in it.
Questions that require answers, but are seemingly unanswerable, can tug at the human soul like a thirsty cactus in an arid desert. Such as:
“Why were we created?”
“What is the purpose of life?’
“Why is there so much human suffering?”
These are just a few of the pressing questions that weigh heavily on the human mind and cause immense anguish for the person seeking an answer.
For me, I remember once seeing a close cousin of mine wake up at night screaming because she was so scared of death and did not know what would happen after she died.
I found myself also being afraid and would wake up in cold sweats as an adult in college. It wasn’t until I had begun to read the Quran that I found answers to all the questions, including there being life after death in Jannah, I ever had about religion.
As I continued to read the Quran, and soak the pages with tears of gratitude to the One and Only God for His guidance, I knew that I had to take the Shahadah and be counted amongst the Muslims. And I did just that over 22 years ago.
A Comfort in Difficult Times
Critics of Islam don’t want to know what path led you to the Islamic faith, whether by birth or choice. Rather, all Muslims are lumped together as “others” and placed under a shared ‘guilt by association’ in terms of the actions of a few misguided souls that engage in acts of terror. (Such as Wahhabis or so-called Salafis who are not Muslims at all)
During times where Muslims are misunderstood and maligned, it is the Noble Quran that pulls a believer back to read the pages within and recite this Final Message from God Almighty.
How many times have you felt distress or sheer panic in your life? And without even thinking, the words you’ve learned from the Quran float effortlessly out of your mouth. This is just one way that the Quran comforts believers.
For me, when there is a pressing situation or unexpected disaster in my life, I find that my lips start moving on their own as chapter Al Fatihah comes out of my non-Arabic speaking mouth in fluid Arabic.
The ease that is found within the Quran soothes the soul and brings a sense of calm to any situation. Even just listening to a recording of the Quran has a medicinal effect that both heals and brings relief to the human spirit. It is a true gift and mercy for all of mankind from our Creator.
Guide for Human Existence
In many non-Muslim societies we see countless people struggling with various aspects of life, such as drug addiction or another vice. Yet the Quran serves as a guidebook for living that tells Muslims how best to live, how to differentiate between right and wrong, and even outlines laws that help the weaker members of society.
The Quran has the power to change hearts and minds because it can reach those people who may have been shunned by society, such as the poor, the elderly, women and orphans. The Noble Quran uplifts these people with a captivating text that captures the heart and touches the human soul.
There is no other religious text or any book that could live up to a single chapter of the Quran. This Divine book is a mercy from God and truly a gift to humanity
