How the Qur'ān pierces the believer's heart

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Last night, for some moments I felt my soul, mind, and heart leave this temporal world and into another.

I became lost, absorbed, overwhelmed, I wished I never returned from a realm very seldom we experience.

Why? I could have stood all night in prayer, fascinated, inspired, moved by the glorious words of my Creator being spoken to me directly, delivering a piercing reminder.

Entire year’s worth of tears came gushing out

How beautiful and moving His words felt (subḥānahu wa ta’āla), being recited in the most eloquent of styles.

How I felt overwhelmed, then, that the year’s store of tears — that my eyes had shamefully not shed — could have all been unloaded in those very moments, as the Words of the Almighty pierced right through my heart.

The heavy words reminding me, outlining the truth and real perspective, and humbling me into submission yet again!

Speechless. Awe inspired. Nothing but glory and praise be to you, O Allah, to whom these mighty and glorious words belong.

Glory be to You, O Allah. All praise belongs to You.

Realm of the Messenger ﷺ and Companions

Longing to be in the company of the Word of Allah

This was the the world that absorbed the Messenger ﷺ, the noble Companions (radiy Allahu ‘anhum), and those who followed them.

Imagine if a mere moment of recitation can so heavily infuse me as a single person, how it must have felt to live at the time of Revelation?

The Messenger ﷺ reciting the Qur’ān himself, or the noble Companions, Abu Bakr (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) — who even the Angels and Jinn would stand to listen and cause commotion in the Makkan society due to his recitation?

Imagine the eloquent and beautiful recitation of the Qur’ān by Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd (radiy Allahu ‘anhu), that the Prophet ﷺ praised his recitation and said:

Whoever wants to recite the Qur’ān as fresh as it was revealed, let him recite it like the recitation of Ibn Umm ‘Abd [Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd].” [1]

Additionally, the Prophet ﷺ once asked him to recite, and when he did, the Prophet ﷺ was so moved that he began to weep. [2] [3]

Other companions also known for their beautiful recitation include Ubayy ibn Ka‘b and Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (radiy Allahu ‘anhum). Oh, how they would stand long into the depths of the night, and not even feel the strain of the long hours upon their feet.

They were engaged in enjoying, longing, and yearning for the following night, so they could stand in qiyām once again!

Allow the Qur’ān’s recitation to enter your heart

Immerse yourself with and think over it

Seek out its reciters, particularly those to whom when you listen, it melts our dead hearts, revives our souls and minds and brings them back to life, connecting them back to our Creator.

If just listening to its beauty creates such a mighty transformation within a human soul, just think how humanity would be living under its shade and implementation.

Its justice, mercy, and blessing. Just imagine that for a moment.

This is the Word of Allah, and it is our duty to work to see life under His Guidance (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) once again, to allow humanity to experience His Mercy.

Visit different masājid

Like many of us, every Ramadan I try to seek out the best Qurra’ (reciters of the Qur’ān), frequenting different masājid, looking for those who will personally help me to revive, transform, and revitalise my heart, mind, and soul in this blessed month after a long year of decay and sins.

A few nights ago, I found one example at Cann Hall Masjid — through the voice of Qāri Abdul Kareem. May Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) reward him immensely, āmīn.

I highly recommend this masjid, it possesses an incredible ambience, community feel, and incredible infusing reciters of the Qur’ān. [4]