Life is an Open Secret Secret Ten Reciting The Noble Quran I was managing my Facebook that day, you know, the usually stuff: answering some emails, approving some new friends, accepting invitations to events, getting into new groups, reading interesting status updates, commenting and tagging on photos and of course, my favorite - poking my possibly irritated and annoyed family and friends! Truly, Facebook has made it possible for one of my closest friends who has moved across the world to live in the beautiful city of Amsterdam feel like she is just living next door to me still,Alhamdulillah! But then, I noticed another friend who resides in another continent of the world and had her status set as ‘Time Out’. Huh, time out? I got curious and naturally, I started wondering if she was all right; so, I inboxed her. Life is an Open Secret - Ramadan Special ‘Oh, I am doing great. I just wanted to spend more time reciting the Quran as Ramadan is here. That's all!’ She answered me cheerfully. Subhan Allah, what she said hit me big time. She reminded me of this particular verse from the noble Quran, (The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Quran was sent down as a (pure source of) guidance for mankind. In it are clear teachings showing the right way and the criterion (for judging truth and falsehood.) (Al-Baqarah 2:185) Subhan Allah! Look at the verse above. Allah has actually told us the exact month when He sent down His guidance to us? Isn't that exhilarating? It reminded me of how I love to watch the history channel, and get amazed with wonderful great historical facts and happenings; but then I forgot that this month carries in itself one of the most important and critical history for mankind- the month when the Words of The One and Only Lord was f?rst sent down from its sacred place and where it was kept for the longest time of its descent to guide us, the dwellers of the earth! Just look at this hadith below, “The Scriptures of Ibrahim were sent down on the ?rst of the month of Ramadan. The Tawrah was sent down on the sixth of Ramadan. The Injeel was sent down on the thirteenth of Ramadan. The Zaboor was sent down on the eighteenth of Ramadan, and the Qur’an was sent down on the twenty-fourth of Ramadan.” (Ahmad) Reciting The Noble Quran How great is it that we actually know the exact month of when Allah ?rst revealed His Words to us and to the ones before us, right? Isn’t this what the Qur’an really is about, my brothers and sisters? It contains the words of Allah, our Lord. Every single alphabet in the Quran that makes up the words that we read as a sentence are really the words that came from Allah - our Lord, our Creator, our Maker- literally! Amazing, isn't it? Subhan Allah... I get goose bumps just thinking about it… I asked myself these questions - now that I know the month in which Allah has sent me His Book of Guidance, don't I want to know the things that He, the Most Magni?cent, has said to me in His Book? Don't I want to know what my Lord, the Most Glorious, has told me about life? Don't I want to understand the guidelines He, the Most Loving, has provided me with so that I can live in this world and Hereafter happily, peacefully and full of contentment? In summary, don't I want to know about Life’s Open Secret which He has revealed to me in His Book using His very Own Words? Of course, I do, right? But…. But what, Zabrina? What? You are too lazy? You'd rather read something else? Or watch the square box? Or fool around with friends on Facebook? Life is an Open Secret -Ramadan Special Ouch! Don't say that… Don't you know how much Allah will reward you for reading His Book? It was then I remembered this particularhadith of my beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) "Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah, he will have a reward. And that reward will be multiplied by ten. I am not saying that "Alif, Laam, Meem" is a letter, rather I am saying that "Alif" is a letter, "laam" is a letter and "meem" is a letter." So increase your recitation of the Quran to gain these merits, and to gain the following merit as well" (At-Tirmidhi) Ya Allah, I felt so ashamed after remembering this hadith. To motivate me to read His Words, Allah has prepared an amazing incentive and reward, you agree? Just like a car advertisement I saw recently that says, ‘Buy a Car with No Down Payment and Receive Cash Back too!” I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that advertisement. I was so tempted to actually walk into one of their stores that day. And this is what Allah has promised me - read His Book and get His Guidance, at the same time, He will give me ten rewards for each alphabet I read. Reciting The Noble Quran Each alphabet my friends, each alphabet! And the reward is multiplied by ten. A big full perfect O -TEN! Just like if a mother promised to reward her daughter if she can say, spell the word - MOTHER. For the letter M - her mother will give her not one piece of candy, but ten. For the letter O - her mother will give her not one piece of candy, but ten. Same goes for each one of the letters T-H-E and R. What do you think this little girl would do? Do you think she is going to say, ‘Nay…. Sorry mummy, not interested,’ and yawn away? Or would her eyes shine in delight, and would she jump in excitement, frantically looking for her kindergarten book that has the word MOTHER and start memorising the letters M-O-T-H-E-R? What do you think, my friends? Do I see heads nodding? Yup, I thought so too… So, then, even knowing the greatness of the reward, I wonder, why am I still not eagerly reading His Book every single day? Is reading the noble Book too dif?cult and hard for me to do? Perhaps because my Arabic language is a little bit rusty than I would like it to be and that has deterred me from reading? Maybe the stammering and stumbling once a while has put me off? But I do remember what Lady `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said when she relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) once said: Life is an Open Secret - Ramadan Special 78 "Verily the one who recites the Quran beautifully, smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels. And as for the one who recites with dif?culty, stammering or stumbling through its verses, then he will have TWICE that reward." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) Oh my God! Subhan Allah… It is a no lose situation for me. De?nitely! If I read His Book beautifully, I will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels; and if I stammer and stumble, I get twice the reward! Okay, you know something? I have heard enough of excuses already. I know that I have to make the change. I know that now is the time for the Today-Me to be better than the Yesterday-Me. If I read 10 verses yesterday, can't I be better today by reading 11 verses? Would reading one additional sentence from my Lord be too much for me to do? Astagh?rullah, Astagh?rullah, Astagh?rullah… forgive me my Lord for constantly ignoring Your Words, for choosing to spend time reading gossip columns and news headlines written by your creations about your other creations instead of reading Your Words, The Creator of everything that exists in this entire universe…. Ya Allah... Tell you what, my brothers and sisters. To get us started, let us start now by doing it together, okay? … on three… 1, 2, 3... Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim(In the name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) “Alif, Laam, Meem . “ Alif – one reward multiplied by ten Laam - one reward multiplied by ten Meem - one reward multipled by ten Total reward in three seconds – thirty! Alhamdulillaah. How great was that? Beyond words… Totally! “‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), said: “The fast and the Quran are two intercessors for the servant of Allah on the Day of Resurrection. The fast will say: ‘O Lord, I prevented him from his food and desires during the day. Let me intercede for him.’ The Quran will say: ‘I prevented him from sleeping at night. Let me intercede him.’ And their intercession will be accepted. by Zabrina A. Bakar