One of the biggest complaints i hear from friends and followers is that they don’t feel connected with the Qur’an. In many cases, the Qur’an was introduced as part of an education programme when they were young children. It may have been a tick box exercise for them and their parents, which had the Qur’an placed on a shelf once completed a khatam. For others, it may be that the Qur’an is something that they have only seen the older generation read. and some tell me that their parents were focused only on their secular studies and Qur’anic studies had never been prioritised.

Understandably, all of the above factors can play a part in somebody feeling disconnected with the Qur’an, it plays little or no part in your life because you don’t “get it”. You could be feeling that reading it is a chore and you don’t feel much pleasure when you do it.

I get it, I really do. But, i assure you it doesn’t have to be that way. I haven’t always tasted the sweetness of reading the Qur’an but, now that i have, i want to share the “how” with you…

The first step is to identify where you’re at in your Qur’an journey and what is the reason for your disconnection. Is it confidence in recitation? Is it that you don’t understand it and that bothers you? Or, do you feel that you feel forced into doing it?

Once you’ve identified this, we can move forward…

If you don’t know how to read or are not confident in doing it , you need to find a teacher who can assist you in your learning. Reach out if I can help with this step. Take your time with the journey, listen to other reciters , read the meaning, enjoy the process. Don’t try to rush ahead, or assume that you know it all. There is no exact time span you “have” to finish by, it’s a personal journey.

If you don’t understand the Qur’an, the Tafseer journey doesn’t ever end. However, you can start by finding a speaker that you enjoy listening to. Start with a short synopsis of each surah in the entire Qur’an and then when you’re ready go deeper.

If you’re feeling forced into it, ask yourself what can i do to make this a personal journey instead? It could be that you set up an area of your room, making it cosy and comfortable where you would enjoy reading.

On this note, Islam is a religion of etiquette. There are etiquettes of serving guests. There are etiquettes for eating meals , of sitting, etiquettes of everything! Our deen is the deen of etiquettes, the deen of أدب - good manners. It is essential to get into a good habit of also applying this with the Qur’an. It is a Holy book so should be treated with utmost respect. Come to the Qur’an with spiritual and physical purity and come to the Qur’an and recite the Qur’an for the sake of Allah.

Maybe ask the person who is making you feel “forced” , what their reasoning is to gain some understanding and come up with an agreement to make this your own personal experience instead.

Whatever stage you’re at, remember, every relationship requires commitment and consistency. Remain consistent and this will help develop a deeper connection

ان شاء الله

R x