Praise is due to Allah Who has chosen us to be the nation of the Quraan.

Praise is due to Allah Who has revealed to us a book that we can reflect upon its verses and work according to it

Praise is due to Allah Who chose the heart of the Prophet Muhammad (s) to receive the Quraan and Who has made us the best nation to be sent to people.

And we bear witness that there is no God except Allah:

He commanded His Messenger (s) to recite the Quraan in the best manner; and informed him that none will be able to bear the responsibility and the steadfastness upon this religion except those who take this book, look into it and reflect upon the meaning of its verses.

And we bear witness that Muhammad (s) is the messenger of Allah (swt):

He stood the long nights in prayer and Quraan and so he (s) deserved the highest rank in Paradise (Al-Maqaam Al-Mahmood). Allah (swt) says in Surat Al-Israa “And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station”

So, the Prophet (s) used to recite at night and stop and reflect upon every verse of mercy and he would ask for Allah's mercy. He (s) would stop and reflect upon every verse of punishment and he (s) would ask Allah for refuge and protection from the punishment.

We discussed an introduction regarding the Noble Quraan during the last Khutbah. Today, we will live with this book from the day the first letter was descended in the cave of Hiraa; Where the Prophet Muhammad (s) was worshiping Allah in seclusion for many days. Allah (swt) saw that he (s) had the purest heart on the face of the planet so He chose the best among the Angels to descend down upon this pure heart with the Quraan that is the speech of Allah. Allah (swt) promised the Prophet Muhammad (s) that he would eternally safeguard this Quraan in his heart.

I can almost now see some people preparing to begin a journey with this book and sclude themselves with Allah so He can select them and save the Quraan in their hearts and chests. And I read the following verses for those who have abandoned their Lord; so He, the Most High, took the Quraan away from their hearts: “And that within the breasts is obtained ”. This is because they did not have a plan for themselves or their households, for the recitation and the memorization of the Quraan. As for the believers, Allah (swt) says: “Rather, the Qur'an is distinct verses [preserved] within the breasts of those who have been given knowledge”. This shows the status of the one who memorizes Quraan by heart and behaves according to it.

The Prophet (s) took the verses that came to him in the cave of Hiraa to his wife's cousin, Waraqah bin Nawfal, who was an old man who had studied the scriptures of Christianity. Once he heard those verses from Khadeejah, the wife of the Prophet (s), he said “Glourious and Holy is He... This man is a Prophet of the end of time.” And he said regarding Angel Gabriel; “He is the Angel that cam to all the Prophets including Musa previously.”

The Prophet Muhammad (s) took these verses and began standing in prayer during the night with his wife and his servant Zayd bin Harithah. The Uncle of the Prophet (s) entered upon them one day and he said “By Allah, I know of no one on the face of Earth that is upon this religion except these three.”

Some of the youth of the city began to gather around the Prophet (s) and the house of one of them became a school for them and a place of prayer and learning Quraan. It is indeed the House of AlArqam. So, the beginning of this religion was indeed with the Quraan; so take this lesson from the Messenger of Allah (s) and begin your journey and the journey of your kids in Islam with this book. It was from this house that the light of Islam rose to the skies where the Angels gathered to protect them.

However, the Quraan began to slowly spread in Makkah and the light of Islam was apparent on the faces of those young men and women. Their characters and behaviors were changed by the Quraan for the better. So, people said “these are the friends of Muhammad bin Abdillah (s), but what happened to them?” They began to tell one another “perhaps he is like Waraqah bin Nawfal, or Umayyah, or these religious Haneefiyeen (meaning they are upon the religion of Prophet Ibrahim (as))” so they left them alone.

However, the beauty and sweetness of the Quraan, made these youth spend all night with it and Allah (swt) praised them in the Quraan for that saying “Indeed, your Lord knows, [O Muhammad], that you stand [in prayer] almost two thirds of the night or half of it or a third of it, and [so do] a group of those with you.”. In addition, no five verses become revealed, except that they learn them and apply them in their lives. The companions of the Prophet (s) said “we were given both knowledge and action together.” Allah (swt) becomes angry with people who say what they do not do – we ask Allah (swt) to safeguard us from hypocrisy.

The Quraan has changed them and redirected their lives. It moved the hearts of people and changed people from chaotic bedawins to people of character who raised the early generations of Islam.

The Quraan changed them from followers who used to ask from people to leaders who give generously.

The Quraan transformed them from hard hearts and solid eyes who kill even their own children to people who became soft hearted, quick to cry, and God fearing... even their skin cold-shivered when they linked with the book of Allah (swt).

They used to stand the entire night reciting the verse: “And there will appear to them from Allah that which they had not taken into account.” meaning that on the day of Judgment, what they had not anticipate from Allah will be revealed to them. So, they used to cry all night reciting and reflecting on this verse.

Others used to become ill for a month after hearing the verse “Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will occur.”. Another bedewin man heard the following verse from Soorat Ath-Thaariyat “Then by the Lord of the heaven and earth, indeed, it is truth - just as [sure as] it is that you are speaking.” so he said “who angered the Sublime until He took an oath?”

Women, children and old men of makkah used to gather around the house of someone reciting Quraan. So, one of the disbelievers would come and get him out of that house so that the people don't enter the religion of Muhammad (s). It is the Quraan that has entered the hearts of the old and the young until the Angels came down to listen to the recitation.

Calm and tranquility was apparent over the house of Usaid like illuminated lanterns, so he went and asked the Prophet (s) and he replied “if you continued reading, people would see them in the roads.”

The strange thing is that the houses of the companions of the Prophet (s) used to hum like the humming of bees with the sound of Quraan; with the book that brings happiness and tranquility and safeguards adults, children, men and women. The Prophet (s) would pass by a house at night and listen to some of them and tell them “you have been given a voice [that brings] tranquility, like what Allah gave the Prophet Dawood (as).” Even women, they used to stand in prayer during the night and the Prophet (s) would pass by a woman that was reading “Has there reached you the report of the Overwhelming [event]? ” with fear apparent in her voice; and the Prophet (s) would respond “yes, it has come to me” (meaning the news of the last day).

These are the characteristics of the Muslim community that wants to enter into Paradise. Not a day should go by us where we do not open the book of Allah. Our Masjid has a daily study circle after Fajr prayer for reciting Quraan as well as the Friday evening classes. So, where are those that do not recite the Quraan and a day passes, then a week, and a month and a year? Then they are proud of the house they have... well, the house in which Quraan is not read is like a destroyed house. And the Prophet (s) said “do not make your homes graveyards; establish them with Quraan.”

As we said before, you should read the Quraan with your family and follow the instructions of Quraan. Shaitaan gets hurt by this and flees.

The Prophet (s) would pass and listen [to the recitation of Quraan]... sometimes he (s) misses listening to the Quraan being recited so he would call upon Abdullah bin Mas'ood and sometimes Ubai bin Ka'b and sometimes Mu'aath bin Jabal, and sometimes Mus'ab bin Umair and he (s) would tell them: “recite Quraan for me”. They would say “but it was revealed upon you?” He (s) would reply: “I like to listen to it from others.”

The Companions (raa) used to recite the Quraan for one another and they would listen to each other and memorize its verses in their hearts. As for trees and animals, Mountains and rocks, if the Quraan was revealed upon a mountain, it would be humbled and cracked, and some of them burst with rivers and some split open and water comes out.

It is indeed the Quraan that made Abu Jahl, Utbah bin Rabee'ah, AlWaleed bin AlMugheerah, and AlAswad bin Abd AlAswad (4 from among the leaders of Kufr) go and hide at night and listen to the Prophet (s) as he recites Quraan in his house (s). One day, the Prophet (s) lengthened his prayers at night until the break of dawn. So, they saw each other and they asked one another what they were doing? But... it was an obvious answer that each was trying to hide from the other.

This is what the enemies of Islam are up to today. They know the truth regarding Islam and Muhammad (s). They know the truth about Muslims but they continue to fight. They withhold the truth while knowing it. So, what did these four men of the leaders of Makkah do with Quraan after they caught each other?

This will be our topic during our next gather with the Will of Allah.