How to Revive Your Relationship with the Qur’an

Allah (swt) mentions in the Qur’an about his Book: “And We send down of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe …. ” (17:82) 

Are you someone who seldom touches the Qur’an, or are you reading it daily but it has no impact on your life? Do you just sit and feel lifeless or motionless dead on the inside, whatever the situation or problem may be?

Here are a few tips that will help you revive your relationship with the Qur’an.

1. Intentions (niyyah)

So with doing anything we need to establish our intentions and what I mean by that is purifying our hearts. Our heart is a pillar for worship, it will be the first to receive the Qur’an and take it in. The good and bad deeds we do have a great effect on our hearts.

One can leave it blackened with rust spots and the other one can leave it clean and pure. When sins and evil enter the heart there is no place or room left for the words of Allah.  

It has been reported that Uthman bin Affan (ra) has said: 

“If our hearts were pure, they will never have enough from reciting Allah’s speech (the Qur’an).”

Sit down, be honest with yourself, and really reflect on your situation. Ask yourself: What sins are you engaging in now that you were not previously doing before? 

It’s time to change that and take some action! Leave the bad deeds behind and race towards the righteous deeds. The first step to reviving our relationship with the Qur’an is leaving off what is not pleasing to Allah and perform good acts of righteousness even when we do not feel like it.  So we will be able to taste the sweetness of (faith) emaan. 

So when reading the Qur’an we need to ask our self this question: Why are we doing this? Are we doing it for some type of worldly game or desire or are we doing it for the pleasure and sake of Allah? 

We need to always keep our intentions solely for the purpose of pleasing Allah. 

2. Wudu (Ablution)

When doing wudu, it’s a preparation spiritually, mentally, and physically – and it’s a reminder to us that we are just not reading any book, that we are about to interact with Allah, so being clean should be our number one priority. 

3. Read the Qur’an 10 minutes a day

So often we think we ought to read the Qur’an for two hours a day or more, but if you are not in the habit of doing it this way, then it can become overwhelming and be too much.

Start off slowly by reading the Qu’ran a few minutes a day and just watch yourself improve. Those ten minutes will turn into twenty then thirty maybe even an hour or more. 

4. Understanding what you read

Reading the Qur’an (in Arabic) is very good but we need to make sure we understand what we are reading.

When reading the Qur’an make sure you have a good reliable copy of the translation handy. There are many in print available in different languages. Purchase the one in your native language so that you can read along with it.  A nice translation with Tafseer is Sahih International. It is one of the best and very easy to understand. 

5. Remember the Qur’an is better than social media

In this day and age with all the technology we have out there, we can find anything on the computer with just a click of the mouse. Everything will then appear right in front of you.

Most people think books are something ancient and boring. A thing of the past. The Qu’ran is not like that at all – when reading the Qu’ran remember you are connecting with Allah. So pay close attention. 

6. Don’t just read it, listen to it

There are many ways of downloading the Quran, and some of them even have a translation that goes along with it.

This is a great thing to play in your car and listen to on the way to work. This can be also used to go along with your daily reading of the Qu’ran, but never use it as a replacement.

7. Ask Allah

One of the simplest most overlooked ways of reviving your relationship with Allah is through the power of dua. Stand in the last part of the night and ask Allah to put love for the Qur’an in your heart and to make it easy for you to understand and allowing you to act upon it, so that you may receive its benefits and blessing in this life and the hereafter. 

Your aim is to be sincere when reading the Qur’an. Make dua continuously and ask Allah for guidance and help to stay on the right path. 

Here is a supplication that was taught to us by the Prophet Muhammad (blessing be upon him) regarding the Qur’an: 

اللّهُـمَّ إِنِّي عَبْـدُكَ ابْنُ عَبْـدِكَ ابْنُ أَمَتِـكَ نَاصِيَتِي بِيَـدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤكَ أَسْأَلُـكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ سَمَّـيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أِوْ أَنْزَلْتَـهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْـتَهُ أَحَداً مِنْ خَلْقِـكَ أَوِ اسْتَـأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الغَيْـبِ عِنْـدَكَ أَنْ تَجْـعَلَ القُرْآنَ رَبِيـعَ قَلْبِـي، وَنورَ صَـدْرِي وجَلَاءَ حُـزْنِي وذَهَابَ هَمِّـي

“O Allah, I am Your slave and the son of Your male slave and the son of your female slave. My forehead is in Your Hand (i.e. you have control over me). Your Judgment upon me is assured and Your Decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every Name that You have named Yourself with, revealed in Your Book, taught any one of Your creation or kept unto Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You, to 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.”

Are you asking Allah for this? Keep making dua. 

Last but not least, never put off tomorrow what you can do now. Put aside some time every day for reading the Qur’an. Set goals for reciting and understanding and then start taking steps to achieve these goals. It will take some time and patience but you can do it. 

Make the  Qur’an your companion and best friend and jump right into it – you are sure to find its treasures and secrets.