Length: 4,154 words

Reading time: 16 mins 37 secs

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Imagine your mother abandoned you as a baby.

You were raised by a loving family, lived in a caring neighbourhood, and attended a good school.

You went to university, built a career, and got married. 

You had plenty of kids.

Life appeared to unfold in a beautiful manner.

But then, you reached a certain age where you felt the absence of your biological mother.

Your real mother.

Who was she? What did she look like? What was her personality like?

Your friends all looked like their parents. They had similar features. A shared history.

But you? You didn’t need a genius to figure out that you were adopted.

You started to feel this deep, intense void within you.

You felt resentment.

You felt bitterness towards your mother. 

Did she mean to leave me? 

Did she not love me enough to stay? 

How could she be so heartless?

Was she kidnapped? 

Or was there some deeper reason, something beyond my understanding?

The questions start flooding your head, one after another. They become too much to handle.

So you decide to go on a quest.

A quest in search of one truth:

Why did she leave me?

During your quest, you meet your grandmother.

She must have some answers, you think to yourself.

So you ask her, Why did my mother leave?

What your grandmother says next shatters everything you thought you knew…

Your grandmother takes you to a big wooden box, tucked away in a random cupboard.

She opens the box.

Letters.

Thousands and thousands of letters. All from your mother.

It suddenly became clear to you that your mother had been writing letters to you from the moment you were born.

From the moment she gave birth to you, she was always thinking of you, writing to you, sending you her love.

Even in her absence, she had never forgotten you.

You were always in her heart. You never left her mind. 

Not even for a second.

She had poured her soul into these letters, waiting, hoping, praying that one day you would open them.

But you never did.

Not because you didn’t love her. Not because you didn’t care.

You never even knew they existed.

And now you sit there, shaking.

The realisation hits you like a truck.

She never abandoned you.

It was you who abandoned her.

This is us with the Qur'an.

We go through life enjoying its riches. Enjoying what it has to offer. Getting lost in the delight.

We chase exhilaration, experiences, and fleeting pleasures. 

We pursue dreams, build careers, form relationships, and indulge in the comforts of this world.

For a while, it suffices. Everything seems to be falling into place.

Until it doesn’t.

The excitement dulls. The distractions no longer distract. The successes don’t bring the joy they once did. 

You hit a dead end.

The heart, once so eager for the next thrill, now feels… empty.

The void begins to take shape. A nagging feeling that something is missing.

But you can’t seem to figure out what.

So you try to fill it by chasing more. 

More accomplishments. More entertainment. More distractions.

But no matter how much you add, the emptiness still lingers.

You’re like a dog chasing its tail. You never end up grabbing what you’re running after.

That’s when the questions start to creep in:

Why do I feel this way?
Why am I not content?
Why does nothing truly satisfy me?

Until you realise that the answer was with you all along.

But you abandoned it.

You abandoned your quest.

You abandoned the very thing that was sent to nourish your soul.

The very thing that was meant to guide you, heal you, and give your life meaning.

You have abandoned the Qur’an…

Unlike us, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ were always eager to receive Allah’s guidance.

Al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Verily, those before you viewed the Quran as letters from their Lord, such that they would contemplate it by night and yearn for it by day.” 

[Al-Tibyaan Fi Aadaab Hamalat Al-Quran 1/54]

Allah wrote to you. 

He sent you a message. A personal letter. But not just any letter.

A divine letter. 

He sent you a  companion. [Bukhari 5031]

A guiding light. [42:52]

A manual for your life. [16:89]

A sea of knowledge. [18:109]

A cure for all your illnesses. [10:57]

But have you even bothered to open that letter?

Allah tells us, “We have revealed to you the Book as an explanation of all things, a guide, a mercy, and good news for those who ˹fully˺ submit.”  [16:89]

"Indeed, this Qur’an guides to that which is most upright." [17:9]

The Qur'an was sent as a guide. 

But only for the one searching for Allah’s guidance.

The Qur'an was sent as a mercy.

But only for the one searching for Allah’s mercy.

The Qur'an was sent as good news.

But only for the one searching for the Akhirah.

That peace you search for won’t come knocking on your door. You have to go looking for it. 

Because even the brightest light can’t help the one who chooses to close their eyes.

A lot of us have been fooled into thinking that we do have a relationship with the Qur’an.

We think that because we have a mushaf on our shelves, because we’ve memorised a few surahs, because we listen to recitations in the car, that we know the Qur’an.

But do we?

If I asked you to recite your favorite ayah from memory right now, would you be able to?

If I asked you to name one verse that taught you something valuable, would you have an answer?

If I asked you, when was the last time the Quran made your heart tremble, would you remember?

Most of us would struggle to answer these questions.

And that should terrify us.

This is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all worlds,

which the trustworthy spirit ˹Gabriel˺ brought down

into your heart ˹O Prophet˺—so that you may be one of the warners— [26:192-194]

Allah revealed the Qur’an upon the Prophet’s ﷺ heart. 

The heart is like a vault within us that contains everything of true value to us. 

From our beliefs and emotions to our deepest desires and intentions.

It is the window through which our soul is seen.

It is the very thing that Allah will judge us by.

The Qur’an is meant to be something that penetrates your heart.

It is meant to be something you internalise. 

Something that is deeply personal to you.

Something you develop a relationship with.

Something you cannot fathom living without.

Something you shiver at the thought of abandoning.

The Qur’an is meant to be the breath your heart depends on to stay alive.

A heart that is deprived of the Qur’an is a heart that is starving.

A heart that does not tremble at the words of Allah is a heart that has been hardened.

A hard heart is not some abstract concept. It’s real.

Very real.

But it’s subtle in the way it manifests itself. 

It’s quiet. 

It hides behind routine and distraction.

It shows in the way we mindlessly scroll on our phones for hours without purpose. 

In how we set 10 alarms to make sure we don’t miss work or school, but rely on our parents to wake us up for Fajr.

In the way we can name the pet of our favourite celebrity, but cannot name more than two wives of the Prophet ﷺ.

In how it takes seconds for us to get bored during salah, but can binge-watch entire series without blinking.

The scary part is we get used to it.

We forget what it feels like to be soft. To feel connected.

To read an ayah and have it shake your entire world.

A hardened heart doesn’t only disconnect from the Qur’an.

It slowly forgets why it was created in the first place.

A hard heart is what Allah punished the Children of Israel with. Can you imagine?

The most arrogant, most disobedient, most insolent people. 

Certainly deserving of the wrath of Allah.

The signs they were shown were countless. One of them is that Allah made them witness a dead man come back to life. 

Now, what was their punishment? 

A hard heart. 

But for breaking their covenant We condemned them and hardened their hearts. [5:13]

When they insisted on ignoring the guidance that had come to them – that had come for them, while fully aware that Musa (peace be upon him) was a Prophet of Allah – Allah caused their hearts to deviate.

So when they ˹persistently˺ deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate. For Allah does not guide the rebellious people. [61:5]

You’re probably curious to hear the story of the dead man. Well, here it is.

One night, one of their people had killed an elderly man.

The killer, diseased in the heart, was the victim's nephew. He had killed his own uncle because he was after his inheritance. 

After committing his crime, he threw the body in a house belonging to one of the other villagers.

When the bloody body was found lying on the ground the next morning, the villagers debated amongst themselves to figure out who the killer was.

To get people’s eyes off of him, the killer started wailing in the middle of the streets.

The villagers then carried the body to Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) and requested that he ask Allah to expose who the killer was.

However, upon seeing the body, Prophet Musa proclaimed in front of everyone that if anyone had any information about the killer, they should speak. 

No one said a word.

He repeated the statement.

Dead silence. 

Prophet Musa then called out to Allah to reveal who the killer was.

The people were waiting in anticipation.

When Musa returned to his people, they wanted to know everything. 

What did he ask Allah? 

What did Allah respond? 

Who killed this old man?

Musa came back with a request from Allah. 

They needed to slaughter a cow.

I’m sure you know the rest of this story. For more context, go to [Quran 2:67-74]

They mocked Musa. They reprimanded him. They saw themselves above such a bizarre request. 

Then they questioned… and questioned… and questioned. Questions that brought about zero benefit.

Keep in mind, all they had to do was slaughter a cow, and they would have gotten what they wanted. 

They would’ve found out who the killer was.

All they had to do was submit to Allah’s commands. The matter was more than easy.

But the Children of Israel were a stubborn people. A prideful people. They had to complicate it for themselves.

Musa remained patient with them.

They questioned him until eventually, they were satisfied with the answers they were given and proceeded to slaughter the cow.

But look at how Allah describes the state of their hearts during this event:

Even then your hearts became hardened like a rock or even harder, for some rocks gush rivers; others split, spilling water; while others are humbled in awe of Allah. And Allah is never unaware of what you do. [2:74]

Their hearts became like rocks or even harder. Why?

Because guidance was practically slapping them in the face, but they refused to acknowledge it.

They ignored it, they questioned it, they belittled it. 

They followed through with the request, yes… but without submission.

Their bodies moved, but their hearts remained stiff.

And that’s my point. That’s the real danger.

When the external is present, but the internal is absent.

When the Qur’an is recited, but the heart does not recognise the weight of its words.

The words of its Creator.

The story of the dead man was about more than a murder. 

It was about hearts.

The ones that choose to submit, and the ones that refuse until they harden.

Allah revealed the killer, but more than that, He revealed a greater truth:

When you delay, neglect, and abandon what truly matters, you become a shell of a person.

A robot moving mechanically through life.

You don’t just miss out on divine guidance, you lose your soul in the process.

That wasn’t even the scariest part.

Let me paint a picture. Imagine standing before Allah on the Day of Judgement.

The Prophet ﷺ complains about his people due to their desertion of the Qur'an.

“The Messenger has cried, ‘O my Lord! My people have indeed received this Quran with neglect.’” [25:30]

The Prophet ﷺ, the one whose every step on this earth was a manifestation of pure love for his Ummah. 

The one who sacrificed his sleep, his comfort, and his time for you and me, who stood through the hardest trials, from the death of his loved ones to the rejection of his message, never once thinking twice about his love for us.

He was the one whose beard was soaked, crying for us. The one who longed to meet us. The one who constantly prayed for us, although never knowing us. 

The one who saved his du’a for us. The only one who will intercede for us when our own mother will turn away from us. 

Yet here he is… complaining about us.

To the Lord of the Worlds.

Not because we rejected the Qur’ans divinity. Or we rejected the fact that it was a revelation sent from above.

But because we ignored it.

We let it sit on our shelf.

We let it collect dust.

We let it slip into the background of life’s chaos.

We treated it as a mere formality. 

Something we recite during Ramadan, something we read when we need to check off an obligation.

Something we read to tick off our to-do lists.

Something we pick up when we need to, not when we want to.

But this isn’t the relationship Allah and His Messenger ﷺ intended for us to have with His words. 

The Qur’an was never meant to be a book we turn to when it’s convenient or when we have the time.

It wasn’t sent as a mere ornament on a shelf or as a decoration for our homes.

It was sent as guidance for mankind. 

The Prophet ﷺ knew the power of the Qur’an.

He knew that if we fully embraced it, if we dedicated ourselves to spreading its wisdom and living by its principles every day, if we allowed its teachings to mold our very being, it would unlock a power within us that no force in this world could ever shake.

It would spark that flame within us, illuminating the path to our victory.

We’d finally wake up.

We would be powerful on our own, and unstoppable as a Ummah.

Imagine the honour of such a people. Led by the Prophet ﷺ.

this [Quran] is the speech of an honoured messenger, [69:40]

they strive in the cause of Allāh and do not fear the blame of a critic. [5:54]

On the day We gather the righteous as an honoured company before the Most Merciful [19:85]

They will be in gardens, honored. [70:35]

I don’t know about you, but I want to be honoured by Allah.

If you do too, then take the Prophet’s ﷺ complaint as a reminder.

As a call to take action.

A call to embrace the Qur’an. To let it define who you are. To share it around.

Don’t be part of the reason the Prophet ﷺ complains about his people turning away from the Qur’an.

Reading this, my words may have you feeling shameful. Like it’s too late now. Like there is no longer any hope.

But not to worry. Those feelings are all signs that your heart is still alive.

I now pose a question to you.

The same question that Allah posed to you.

Has the time not yet come for believers’ hearts to be humbled at the remembrance of Allah and what has been revealed of the truth? [57:16]

Has the time not yet come to finally let the Qur’an play a role in our lives?

To let it navigate the way we live?

To engage with it?

To get lost in it?

To speak to Allah through it?

I doubt anyone would say otherwise. 

I’m going to provide you with 5 practical steps you can take that will encourage you to begin your relationship with the Qur’an.

Every act of worship starts with a sincere intention.

If you are truthful in wanting a relationship with the Qur’an, then ask the One who sent it down.

Make plentiful du’a to Allah. Turn to Him in complete submission and humility.

Some very short and concise du’as you can learn are the following:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مِنْ أَهْلِ القُرْآنِ

Allahumma aj‘alnaa min ahlil qur’ani 

O Allah, make us among the people of the Qur’an.

Here’s one for those able to memorise something a little longer. For the full du’a, click here:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَل القُرْآنَ رَبِيـعَ قَلْبِـي وَنورَ صَـدْرِي وجَلَاءَ حُـزْنِي وذَهَابَ هَمِّـي

Allahuma aj‘ala al-qur’ana rabee‘a qalbi wa nura sadri wa jala’a huzni wa dhahaaba hammi.

O Allah, make the Qur'an the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, the banisher of my sadness, and the reliever of my distress.

[Hisn Ul-Muslim 120]

A sincere intention will immediately set your mind and heart in the right place.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. We do have time for the Qur’an.

We just don’t prioritise it.

Just take a look at your screen time. 

The average daily screen time is 6-7 hours a day.

That’s 2500 hours every year. 

Let’s assume Allah wrote for you to live up to 60 years old.

If you started with the average screen time at the age of 10, you would have spent 12-15 years of your life looking down at a screen.

That’s insane.

Imagine the status you could have achieved with Allah in that timeframe.

Prioritse the Qur’an. 

Instead of, “I don’t have time,” think “I am going to make time.”

Start with 5 lines. 5-10 minutes a day. 

Open the mushaf and read, even if it’s just a few verses. 

If you can’t read it, listen to it and read the translation alongside.

Don’t worry about not understanding anything just yet. 

The goal is to build the habit of daily reading.

If Arabic isn’t your first language (or even if it is), reading the translation alongside your recitation can help deepen your connection with the Qur’an.

Go to Quran.com, choose Surah Al-Fatiha or any short surah, and read the English translation.

Don’t skim over it. Read slowly. Let the meanings sink in.

Fall in love with the words.

You can also begin exploring tafsir (exegesis of the Qur’an). 

A simple and accessible starting point is Tafsir Al-Sa’idi or Tafsir Ibn Kathir. 

If you don’t have the money for books, PDFs of these can easily be found online and downloaded.

If you don’t have the time to read, you can listen to short tafsir videos from trusted teachers.

Now, if you don’t even have time for that… then I don’t believe you. You can listen to videos while doing anything. 

While on the way to work/school, on a walk, doing chores, while driving.

It’s all about prioritisation.

Again, take your time with everything. Don’t rush yourself. Take it easy.

One of the main things that slowed down my understanding of the Qur’an was not knowing the stories of the Prophets mentioned within it. 

In almost every surah, at least one Prophet is mentioned. Meaning, I didn’t understand a huge chunk of the Qur’an

I had never heard of Thamud, ‘Aad, the people of the forest, or any of these nations. 

Before us, there were people who existed.

Nations that had guidance sent to them. That had prophets sent to them. 

Allah mentions their stories in the Qur’an as lessons to learn from and to take heed.

But they are mentioned in a general manner, and not in detail. 

This is because the Qur’an was sent as guidance, not to be read like a storybook.

So, to truly grasp its message, you need to understand its historical context.

You need to learn about the stories of the Prophets.

Now there are many resources to learn about the Prophets in Islam. A book that immediately comes to mind is the one by Ibn Kathir titled Stories of the Prophets. 

However, I highly recommend this series by Shaykh Nabeel Al-‘Awadi called قصص الأنبياء. The Stories of the Prophets. You can find it on YouTube.

I was introduced to it by a friend, and within the first video I fell in love with the Shaykhs way of storytelling. 

The depth he goes into and the minor details he mentions about the people and their prophet are things that I had never heard of before.

They added extra layers to the story, and by extension, the lesson you extract from it.

Disclaimer: It is in Arabic. There are English subtitles, however they do end up lagging sometimes. If you don’t understand Arabic, I’d still recommend watching it.

After you gain a decent amount of knowledge about these nations, the prophets that were sent to them, and how they were punished, go back and reread the Qur’an. 

Tell me the verses don’t just stand out to you so much more, and become 10x easier to understand and ponder upon. 

I want you to take a moment to really reflect on what’s filling your space, both online and offline. 

Is it helping you grow closer to Allah? 

Or is it slowly pulling you away from Him, without you even realising it?

Think about the accounts you follow on social media. The things that pop up on your feed every day. 

The posts, the stories, the messages.

Now, what if those things were reminders of the Qur’an? 

What if, every time you opened your phone, you were gently pulled back to Allah’s words?

If after you followed the above steps, you opened your phone to an influencer posting about their vacation plans, wouldn’t that make you forget about the Qur’an?

Shaytan targets the lone wolf. 

The person who is all by himself.

The “slacker”. 

The easily distracted. 

The person with little to no substance going on in their lives. 

You need to fight him back. You need protection.

So set up a fortress. 

A Qur’anic fortress:

→ Remove all distractions from your phone

Follow accounts that post recitations of the Qur’an, and unfollow accounts that lead you further away from it.

Use your phone as a tool to remind you of Allah’s words. 

Set daily notifications with verses from the Qur’an or even reminders to recite a few short surahs. 

Many apps do this. I personally recommend Quranly. 

It helps track your progress, set daily goals, and shows you the amount of hasanaat you’re gaining.

The app is perfect for habit-building (not sponsored).

→ Have a Qur’anic corner in your room or home

Your environment is a reflection of the state of your mind.

Set up a small area in your home with your prayer mat and a Qur’an.

Set a goal to spend a certain amount of time in that corner every day. 

Start with just 5 minutes. Then build. 

Aim to spend more time in that space than on your phone.

→ Listen to the Qur’an more 

Listening to the Qur’an is more effective than you think. 

When you feel the melody, the reciter's emotion, and the weight of the words, it all has an effect on your mood. 

On your heart.

Just like the tafsir, listen to the Qur’an while you’re doing mundane things. 

You’ll be surprised how much of the Qur’an your brain will commit to memory just by listening.

→ Always keep a translation with you

Make it a habit to always have a translation of the Qur’an near you.

Whether in your bag, on your desk, or by your bedside. 

When you have it within reach, you’ll be more likely to open it up and read a few verses whenever you have a spare moment.

→ Create a Qur’anic journal

Get a small journal where you can write down the verses that resonate with you. 

Reflect on them and jot down how they apply to your life.

It doesn’t have to look neat or organised. 

Just raw and real.

Let your heart speak freely.

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You’ve reached the end of the newsletter. 

Thank you for taking the time to read it.

Also, if you’re willing, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this letter. Feel free to reply to this email with any comments you have!

Until next time.

في أمان الله

— a fellow seeker.