#26 RAMADHAN: THE MONTH OF REVELATION

Ramadhan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, is linked closely to revelation. According to Muslim traditions, it was in this month that God revealed the Psalms to David, the Torah to Moses, the Gospel to Jesus and the first verses of the Quraan to Muhammad (God’s peace and blessings be upon them). These messages transformed the world, replacing tyranny, cruelty and ignorance with mercy, justice and wisdom. The Quraan’s revelation commenced on what is referred to as the Night of Power. Every Ramadhan, the anniversary of this revelation is celebrated in nights standing in prayer and recitation of the Book.

Every Ramadhan and twice in the Ramadhan before his death, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would rehearse the Book with the angel Gabriel. Around him were men, women and children who took the revelation to heart and committed it to memory in addition to recording it in written form. They became the first “protectors of the Quraan” as those who have memorized the book are called. They did so, for as the Prophet taught, “the best of you are those who learn the Quraan and teach it.”

To date, the Quraan continues to be memorized by all Muslims, either in part or in full. The minimum amount may be a few short chapters required for the obligatory prayers. Yet across the world there are hundreds of thousands of Muslims, perhaps even a million, who have memorized the entire Book, a scripture than spans over 600 pages in written Arabic. Regarding the ease with which it is memorized, God says in the Quraan: “We have made the Quraan easy to remember, so is there anyone who will take reminder?” Night after night in Ramadhan, Muslims stand in prayer listening to the Imam recite the entire Quraan over the course of the month. When he errs, for to do so is human, there are followers behind him who correct him. Whether in Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Jakarta, Indonesia or Cornwall, Canada, the exact same words as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the original Arabic language are recited. Miraculous it is; yet in the spectrum of Muslim life, it is a natural part of life and learning.

The Quraan continues to guide, and Muslims face our greatest loss when we stray from this guidance. We limp through life when we fail to heed its message; we place it underfoot when we place it on the highest shelf in our homes, then ignore it. Yet, the Quraan, like the Most Merciful whose words it is, is merciful: it welcomes us back and its words embraces our hearts, comforting us all the while that it admonishes us and guides us to be better human beings.

We turn to it in times of trial, for it dispels our anxieties; we recite it at our celebrations as we remember that it is to God that we give thanks for all the bounties in our lives; we try to devote ourselves to it in Ramadhan. Yet if we do not give it its due place in our daily lives and take its message beyond Ramadhan, then we have not understood the role that the Quraan could have in forming our characters and enlightening our hearts.

Umm Zakariya Gardee