My Relationship With The Quran

My relationship with the Quran is a beautiful one.  I fell in love with the Quran at a fairly young age. I was given my own copy of the “Shakir translation” by my grandmother when I was about 9 years old. At the time, I was fascinated that my own grandfather (Mohammed Ali Habib, pen name: Shakir) had done such an awesome service for his children and grandchildren. It made me proud that my grandmother felt that I, along with my cousins, was responsible enough to look after a copy of this message from God for mankind. The fact that this was my grandfather’s ‘swan song’, in that he passed away almost immediately after completing the compilation, added to the significance and solemnity of the verses on the pages.

And so I began reading it from cover to cover (the English translation, that is) at least once a year. A few verses resonated every year and I began to commit them to memory. I found that the profound wisdom held in the seemingly simple words helped guide me in my day to day life, on the playing field as well as in family relationships.

As I grew up and pursued various fields of education from Economics to Literature to Law to Social Work, it became obvious to me that unlike anything else I ever read, the words of the Quran grew more and more relevant. The more my knowledge grew in other fields, the more I appreciated that these timeless verses held the answer to absolutely everything in my life and beyond. From the bazaar to the boardroom, the Quran had valuable wisdom which could guide me in making life decisions, leading to success here and in the hereafter.

And so, I began to study the tafsir of the Quran. Though I began over a decade ago, I know that I have only touched the surface of the great wealth of knowledge in this Holy Book. I am no scholar of the Quran, but I do believe that it speaks to all of us at whatever level we are at. Sinner, scholar and saint alike can partake of its healing, mercy and blessings. As my grandfather wrote, and I paraphrase, this book has wisdom for the one who strolls the shores of wisdom, picking up shells that he finds on the beach, as well as for the one who dons the full gear and goes diving for pearls in the ocean.

This blog contains some brief reflections on the verses of the Quran and other spiritual literature. The focus is on making the message simple, accessible and practical to modern life and to the pursuit of self-growth.