Indeed, Al-Quran is for yourself, not for your shelves. On the brink of the third phase in Ramadan, Muslims are highly encouraged to take a moment and make reflections to evaluate their ibadah. Have we been practicing a quality kind of Ibadah each day and night and how far have we gone through to understand the meaning of Al-Quran in Ramadan? Speaking of ibadah, the act to understand Al-Quran should be performed accordingly by all Muslims.
Allah revealed in Surah Al-Baqarah verse 185:
“….شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ”
(The period you are required to perform the fasting) is “The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people…” Al-Baqarah, 2:185
If we probe into Islamic history, Nuzul Quran is a noble event known for the revelation of the first verses of Al-Quran to Prophet Muhammad SAW, which is surah Al-Alaq verse 1 until 5 that emphasizes reading. The revelation was then continued in stages until the content was completely revealed as the one we read today. This noble event took place on Friday night, Ramadan 17th, the 41st year of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday when he was performing ibadah in Gua Hira’.
As mentioned earlier, the revelation of Al-Quran was executed in three main stages. At the first stage, Al-Quran was kept safely in Luh Mahfuz, also known as ‘protected sheet’. Moving on to the second stage, Al-Quran was revealed completely to Baitul Izzah that is found in the first heaven. Finally, Al-Quran was sent to Prophet Muhammad SAW through Jibreel for a period of 23 years, divided to 13 years in Makkah and 10 years in Madinah.
Rasulullah SAW had once said:
تَرَكْتُ فِيْكُمْ أَمْرَيْنِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوْا مَا تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا : كِتَابَ اللهِ وَ سُنَّةَ رَسُوْلِهِ
“I have left behind two things, you will never go astray as long as you hold fast onto them ie. the Quran and Sunnah” (Sahih Lighairih, by Imam Malik, al-Hakim dan al-Baihaqi)
In fact, Al-quran itself is not just a mere book or a set of compositions that should be uttered with correct tajweed and tarannum, but it explains the roles and function it holds for all human beings. In short, Al-Quran is more of a compass as a guidance for every worshipper.
As a Muslim, the event of Nuzul Quran in the holy month of Ramadan should be our ground for us to understand every verse narrated by Allah SWT so that we will be able to be au fait with the content and message delivered by Him towards human beings. So, when Ramadan comes to an end, we will not just feel happy to celebrate the presence of Eid Fitri, but will also be committed to explore the knowledge inside Al-Quran.
