Statements of the Salaf about Pondering on the Quraan

Follow @AhleDhikr

Praise be to Allaah and may the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon His Messenger.

To begin:

It is well known that one of the greatest reasons for revelation is so that we may ponder and reflect on the Aayaat of the Qur’aan. Allaah, the Most High, says:

"(This is) a Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember."

[Saad 38: 29]

Based on this, it was from the way of the scholars of the Salaf to advise people to ponder on the Aayaat of the Qur’aan and warn against being negligent in this regard. So what follows are some of the quotes that have been compiled and collected in order for it to act as a reminder for us all.

‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood [May Allaah be Pleased with him] said, “The person should account himself about the Qur’aan, because if he loves it, then it means he loves Allaah and His Messenger.” [Tafseer Ibn Katheer 1/22]

Ash-Sha’bee [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “If you recite the Qur’aan then recite it in a way that your ears will hear it and that your heart understands it, because your ears are the vice that exists between your tongue and your heart.” [az-Zuhd by Ibn Mubaarak (Pg. 422)]

Hasan al-Basree [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “Verily this Qur’aan is recited by adults and children and they don’t know what it means. So they are not able to act upon its commands. Allaah, the Glorified and the Exalted, says : saad. There is no one who ponders on the Qur’aan except that he will follow it and gain knowledge of it. Allaah Knows about him. As for the one who recites it by the letter but transgresses its meaning, to the extent that one says, ‘I’ve recited the whole Qur’aan without leaving out a letter’ then in reality he is the one who has left the Qur’aan. You will not see the Qur’aan in the behaviour or the actions of this person.” [Fadaa’il al-Qur’aan by Faryaabee (Pg. 247)]

Hasan al-Basree [May Allaah have Mercy on him] also said, “You will gain sweetness via three things: as-Salaah, al-Qur’aan and adh-Dhikr. If you are able to do these things then glad tidings, but if you can’t then know that the door has been closed for you.” [Hilyah al-Awliyaa (4/318)]

Nasr bin Yahya bin Abee Katheer [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “If road you are walking on is crumbling ahead of you and your affairs are turning your hair grey and the sense of freedom in your life is escaping you and your heart is becoming constrained, then return to the Qur’aan. This is the thing that will give you freedom and liberation. Stop and ponder on the pieces of guidance within it that renovates and that which instils fear. Stop at the Ayaat that talk about the promise of reward and the chastisement of punishment. This will cause you to return to Allaah, the believer is the one who obeys and leaves disobedience. You will be taken out of the pit you are in and your ignorance will be banished from you. You will be revived after you were trodden on, you will be given Taqwaa after you were weak.” [al-‘Azlah wa al-Infiraad by Ibn Abee ad-Dunyaa (Pg. 80)]

It was said to ‘Esaa bin Wardaan [May Allaah have Mercy on him], “What causes people to follow their desires in the Dunya?” So he began to cry and then he said, “I wish my heart would be free from it. I looked at my heart and the relationship I have within it with the Qur’aan.” [al-Mutamaneen by Ibn Abee ad-Dunyaa (Pg. 49)]

It was said to Yoosuf bin Asbaat [May Allaah have Mercy on him], “What do you supplicate with once you have completed the Qur’aan?” He replied, “I seek forgiveness in Alaah because I have completed the Qur’aan but I know that my deeds are still blameworthy. So I replace them with Astaghfaar and Tasbeeh.” [Ihyaa ‘Uloom ad-Deen by al-Ghazaalee (2/55)]

Sufyaan bin ‘Uyaynah [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “Verily, the Aayat of the Qur’aan are like cupboards. If you enter it then you won’t leave until you work hard to find out what is inside it and its meanings.” [Zaad al-Maseer fi ‘Uloom at-Tafseer (2/370)]

Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “If a person was to ponder on the Qur’aan, then all those who innovate in the religion and their innovations will be refuted.” [as-Sunnah by al-Khilaal (Narration 912)]

Al-Marwadhee [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said, “I heard Aboo ‘Abdullah (i.e. Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal) tell another person, ‘Sit down and recite.’ So the man brought a Mushaf and he sat down to recite. So as he began to recite he stopped at the end of an Aayah and Aboo ‘Abdullah asked him, ‘What is the Tafseer of it?’ The man replied, ‘I don’t know.’ So the then explained the Aayah to us, to the extent he was fighting the tears from falling in order to explain it to us.” [Bidaa’ al-Fawaa’id (4/167)]

[Prepared by Lajnah al-‘Ilmiyyah Fee Markaz at-Tadabur, ar-Riyaadh]