The First Requirement: The Heart
The first one, as Allah says, is the one who has a heart. What does this mean, the heart? We know the heart is the essence to everything. That's why we have a science in Islam called at-tasawwuf, to purify our hearts, which is related to tazkiyat al-nafs (purification of the soul) or ihsan (excellence in faith). And we find here that Allah said, "for whoever has a heart."
To really understand how your heart is the main variable conditioning your relationship with the Quran, listen to the following story:
In the sixth year after the Prophethood of Muhammad
started, `Umar ibn al-Khattab radi allahu `anhu (may Allah be pleased with him) was not a Muslim. He became angry and decided, "I'm going to kill Muhammad.
"
So he left his home with this big sword. His sword is huge, if you've been to Turkey maybe you've seen the sword of al-Farouk (i.e. `Umar). And so he went to kill the Prophet . This is deep, what Sheikh Sha`rawy said about this.
`Umar(R.A) went and he ran into Na`eem ibn `Abdullah, and Na`eem said to `Umar(R.A), "Where are you going?"
`Umar said, "I'm going to kill Muhammad.
"
And he, Na`eem ibn `Abdullah, was Muslim. He said, "Why are you going to kill him? You need to go and kill your own family [first], they're Muslim too. Your sister Fatima ibn al-Khattab is Muslim, and Zaid ibn al-Khattab, your cousin, who's the husband of your sister, is Muslim."
`Umar became incensed, and he went to the home of his sister Fatima where he heard the Qur'an being recited. And subhan'Allah (glory be to Allah), the 'ulema (scholars) said that when `Umar heard the Quran he kicked down the door and [the people inside] heard `Umar coming. They used to say about him, "Umar was a door." He was a big person. When he used to ride an animal his feet would hit the ground, he was that big. So they heard him coming. There were three people in the home including one of the sahabi (companions) who was teaching Fatima and Zaid the Qur'an. He hid himself.
`Umar kicked down the door and he said to them, "What is this speech that you're reading that makes no sense?"
They said, "What are you talking about?"
He said, "I heard you in here doing something."
They said, "No."
Then he said, "Are you all Muslim?"
When they said yes, `Umar grabbed Zaid, his cousin, and started to beat him down. Then he slapped his sister so hard that blood was drawn from her face. Fa qad raqqa qalbahu (then his heart softened). `Umar , when he saw the blood coming from her face, said to her, "Show me what you've been reading."
When he saw what they were reading, and he read Surat Taha. As he reached the fourteenth verse, where Allah says,
"Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance" (Qur'an, 20:14)
He became a Muslim.
Why did the Qur'an affect `Umar(R.A) the second time, but not the first time? What changed? It was his heart. The 'ulema said that subhan'Allah when `Umar(R.A) saw the blood coming from his sister's lips he felt softness in his heart. So then he was ready for the Qur'an. That's why when he heard the Qur'an the first time there was very little impact, but when he heard the Qur'an the second time he was impacted, as Imam al Sha`rawy, may Allah have mercy on him, said.
So the heart is the main factor towards understanding the Qur'an. That's why the Prophet
said, "Indeed in the body there is a piece of flesh, if it's good the whole body is good, and if it is corrupted the whole body is corrupted. Verily, it is the heart." (Muslim)
So when we come to the Qur'an, we should make sure our hearts are in check. I should check myself. This is a long series of discussions but, in general, internally we should feel, "I'm reading the speech of Allah. Between my hands is the miracle of the Prophethood of Rasulullah
." When you hold the Quran, it's as if you're holding the same staff that Musa `alayhi assalaam (peace be upon him) threw down that became a snake. When you're holding the Quran, it's as if you're holding in your hands the dead person that Isa brought back to life, by the will of Allah. You are holding the miracle of the Prophethood of Rasul Allah
in your hands. So the first important factor is our hearts.
Contd...