Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatuAllahi wa barahktuhu brothers & sisters in Islam, Our intention for this program is to read the entire Qur'an this Ramadan so that we will grow closer to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala), in sha Allah. Oh Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) please accept our intentions. May Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) reward your intentions in joining us & may Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) help us in completing the entire Qur'an during Ramadan. |
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The revelation of the Qur'an began in the layla tul-qadr of Ramadan (one of the odd nights after the 21st till end Ramadan) after the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) had passed the 40th of his life (around the year 610 AD), during his seclusion in the cave of Hira' on a mountain near Makka.
The account, as reported in the Sahih of Bukhari, is as follows:
The account, as reported in the Sahih of Bukhari, is as follows:
Narrated Aisha (radiAllahu 'anha), the mother of the faithful believers: The commencement of the divine inspiration to Allah's apostle was in the form of good dreams which came like bright daylight (i.e. true) and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him.
He used to go in seclusion in the Cave of Hira', where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija (radiAllahu 'anha), to take his food likewise again, till suddenly the truth descended upon him while he was in the Cave of Hira'.
Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salaam) was in solitude in the cave on Mount Hira. He was startled by the Angel of Revelation, Gabriel, the same who had come to Maryam (radiAllahu 'anha), the mother of Jesus; who then seized him in a close embrace. A single word of command burst upon him: ‘Iqra’ - ‘Read!’ He said: ‘I am not able to read!’ But the command was issued twice more, each with the same response from the Prophet. Finally, he was grasped with overwhelming force by the angel. Gabriel released him, and the first ‘recitation’ of the Qur'an was revealed to him:
“Read in the name of your Lord who created - created man from a clot. Read: for your Lord is Most Bountiful, who teaches by the pen, teaches man that which he knew not.” (Al-Alaq 96:1-5)
Ibn 'Umar reported:
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `When you pass by a garden of paradise, avail yourselves of it.' The Companions asked, `What are the gardens of Paradise, O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, `The assemblies of dhikr. There are some angels of Allah who go about looking for such assemblies of dhikr, and when they find them they surround them.'"
[Quoted from Fiqh us-Sunnah compiled by As-Sayyid Sabiq, vol. 4, ch. 6.]
There is also this important hadith about dhikr in general, and dhikr in an assembly: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
There is also this important hadith about dhikr in general, and dhikr in an assembly: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
Allah the Almighty says: I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me a hand's span, I draw near to him an arm's length; and if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
[Related by al-Bukhari, and also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah. From "Forty Hadith Qudsi," selected and translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies (Dar Al-Koran Al-Kareem, Lebanon, 1980), hadith no. 15.]
*English translations of ahadith are, unless otherwise indicated, from Khan, Muhammad Muhsin: The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari, 9 Vols., Istanbul, 1978 (abbr. as Bukhari) and Siddiqui, Abdul Hamid: Sahih Muslim, 4 vols., Lahore, 1978 (abbr. as Muslim).
*English translations of ahadith are, unless otherwise indicated, from Khan, Muhammad Muhsin: The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari, 9 Vols., Istanbul, 1978 (abbr. as Bukhari) and Siddiqui, Abdul Hamid: Sahih Muslim, 4 vols., Lahore, 1978 (abbr. as Muslim).