Episode 6 - Why Don't We Cry When We Read the Quran?

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, sometimes as we read the Quran, we wonder: (Why aren't we affected like the Companions? Why don't we cry like the Companions cried?) Do you know the answer? Because the Companions listened to the Quran with a mindset different from ours and an intention different from ours. They listened to it with the mindset of a soldier awaiting orders for immediate execution, with love, fear, and hope. They fully understood and implemented Allah's saying: ((And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any choice in their affair)). The choice between obeying Allah and disobeying Him is not an option for them. They awaited the verses as torches guiding them in darkness. Their souls were parched lands awaiting Allah's words like rain to absorb them, yielding the finest fruits from the seeds of faith within them. Their entire effort was focused on (how to carry out Allah's command as Allah loves). A pure mindset like this, when touched by revelation, causes the heart to race, the voice to tremble, and the eyes to shed tears.

What about us? Let's be honest!...Many of us read the Quran with a lazy mindset! We want to evade the commands and prefer fleeting pleasures. If a verse contains a command or prohibition that doesn't align with our desires, we rally an army of excuses to evade implementation: Perhaps the verse's interpretation is different, maybe there's a contradiction, times have changed, I won't carry out this command but Allah is Forgiving and Merciful...and so on! There is a call in the depths of the soul rebuking it, saying: ((Respond to Allah and His Messenger when He invites you to that which gives you life)) So we hesitate, feel guilty, then ignore this call, bury it, and continue reading, waiting afterward for the Quran to affect us as it affected the Companions?

If you want to be affected by the Quran like the Companions, make the brave decision...that you will not choose between obeying Allah and disobeying Him, but obedience is your only choice. This decision is difficult, but it becomes very easy if you trust in Allah's wisdom and mercy, for He does not command you with anything except that it is for your benefit, ease for you, and kindness towards you in this world and the Hereafter.

In the upcoming episodes, with Allah's permission, we will contemplate examples of the Companions' response to Allah's command in the Quran, so we may emulate them, perhaps Allah will revive our hearts as He revived theirs. But oh brother, oh sister...before that, it is necessary to make the decision...there is no choice but obedience, for you are a believer, and you are a believer...((And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have any choice in their affair)). Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.