Thread by @mnizami_uk

My call is VERY simple: The primary reason for reading the Quran ought to be to understand it. I haven’t delegitimised Arabic reading (wouldn’t be sound to do so) bt pointed out those who have (literacy) capability to read a translation alongside it are morally obliged to do so.

To suffice w/ ONLY reading God’s message in a language u don’t understand *when you have the ability to do so* contrary to what God wants of you. I’ve always wanted to stay on THAT point - to speak to a widespread culture that prioritises recital for ceremonial value...

over actually engaging content of the divine message (& not just through a medium of lessons and stories). It’s really that simple. It might not speak to the experience of some ppl which is great, but clearly it does to many which is why I & others addressed it.

I only entertained other Qs bc naturally tangential questions arise. Bt theyre inconsequential to validity of initial & basic proposition that understanding/following is REASON God revealed it & takes priority over JUST reciting for ritual value for ppl w/ educational capability.

For me, *in greater scheme of things* an argument the other way validates that either non-understanding recitation takes priority or that they’re equal. My basic issue w/ these (beyond ilmi contentions) is that they've been used to UNDERMINE understanding Quran for decades in UK.

For some who live for debate & polemics or see themselves as watchmen over their understanding of orthodoxy miss the bigger picture & pursue pedantic inconsequential points - this (Bani Isra’il) culture God disparages is why the sincere laity have suffered in matters of faith.

Seekers of afterlife don’t care abt ‘clubs’. Not everything is an aqidah battle & no one needs see him/herself as the last bastion of truth. The baggage & antagonism of debating secularism & deviancy out there doesn’t need to perpetually be brought in-house to every discussion.

For some this IS faith & it’s pointless talking to ppl committed to misrepresenting/misunderstanding u. NOBODY will become irreligious bc they started paying attn to understanding the Word, nor in the YEARS of advocacy have I heard of ANYONE abandoning Arabic mus’haf as a result.

Look at how a call to engage with meaning has for some become about phonemes, a point that was neither consequential nor accurately understood. It’s unfortunate to have to repeat it: I’m obviously NOT saying the Quran is mere phonemes...

but when s/o has ability to understand message & heedlessly doesn’t (bc of laziness/the culture) that it can be tantamount to them TREATING Quran as phonemes. I’m speaking to implications & attitude of the capable human, not what God’s message is. The misrepresentation is silly.

But I get why we keep coming back to phonemes & other tangential points rather than the actual issue. The actual proposition is hard to digest for some in the face of a culture that’s become SO entrenched & what they’re used to. Changing a mindset is challenging for all.

If painting ppl as bogeymen helps on that journey, that’s cool & I certainly haven’t taken it personally. Engage w/ God & look at how HE characterises His own message, what HE wants you to take from it (as He EXPLICITLY puts it), & think abt it. Your life will positively improve.

"This recital (Quran) does indeed show the straightest way. It gives the faithful who do right the good news that they shall have a great reward." (17:9)

May God bless you all w/ understanding His words.

"This is a message to all people, so that they may be warned by it, and know that He is the only God, and so that those who have minds may take heed." (14:52)