Hey, Ramadhan is still here! :e

Assalamualaykum! 

Oh am looking for my precious spectacle, where on earth I've put it? My world has become blurry and so gloomy without it, I need my spec!! Hope I will not do so much typo here, sigh. Ok, everyone is posting about Lee Chong Wei on facebook, even he did not won but  still we proud of him, seriously his skill is a world class and also there're some people that seemed disappointed because there won't be a holiday or free ice cream (As it was promised if Chong Wei won, and bring us the gold medal). Well, who cares? I still having a holiday for Nuzul Quran, yay! Alhamdulillah. Then I realized how fast time flies, coz it's already 17 days of Ramadhan! and am still didn't improved anything yet, I can't believe it! I guess I have to make a move, I can't waste my Ramadhan. There's too many opportunity specifically given only in this month! I need to be more productive, more energetic and more, more, more...........

Oh awesome, 16 days done :e ! But do we really use it to the fullest? Big question for myself :(

Ok, what about nuzul Quran? What is it? Nuzul Quran is the day marking the first time Quranic Verses are  revealed to our prophet Muhammad SAW before they are revealed bit by bit for around 23 years.

Islamic scholars had listed several “psychological” wisdoms why Qur’an is revealed in a gradual fashion:

1. To psychologically strengthen the the heart of Prophet Muhammad SAW:  Imagine if your parents, family members, or friends, only give you comfort words once in your childhood time and then leave it to you to face the difficulties of life.  If you read the biography of Prophet Muhammad SAW, you cannot imagine the difficulty that he went through in his da`wah.  Therefore, the heart of Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Sahabahs/Companions RAA, being human being, are psychologically strengthen with the revelation of al-Qur’an.  We can still get the same psychologically wisdom if we read Qur’an regulary and ponder on its message regularly too rather than once a year during Ramadan without even pondering on its messages.

2. To psychologically defend Prophet Muhammad SAW when challenged by the Musyrikun/Polytheists:  Imagine if you are allowed to explain your point of view once but your opponents are allowed to argue with you for the rest of your life and you don’t have anybody or any reference to refer to in order to counter argue.  If you read the biography of Prophet Muhammad SAW, you cannot imagine the big challenges (including mockery) that he had to face in his da`wah.  Therefore, Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Sahabahs/Companions RAA were able to psychologically defend themselves whenever their opponents raise an issue.  We can still get the same psychological wisdom too if we always refer to the Qur’an and its meaning whenever other people argue againts Islam rather than neglecting the Qur’an and giving Westernised- or secular-oriented answers.

3. To psychologically facilitate memorisation and understanding of the verses.  Imagine if all your primary and secondary schools’ syllabi are given during Year 1 and you’re asked to memorise and understand the content in 17 years.  If you read the biography of Prophet Muhammad SAW, you cannot imagine the length of time taken by the Sahabah/Companions just to understand a few Qur’anic verses (imagine 6,000+ verses!).  Therefore, this gradual revelation helps Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Sahabahs/Companions not only in memorising the Qur’an but also in understanding it.  We can still get the same psychological wisdom if we memorise a few verses a day and refer to its meaning in book of translation and tafsir/exegesis rather than reading only surah Yasin every week mechanically without even memorising or understanding it.

4. To give psychological relevance to the events that happened at a specific period of time.  Imagine if you were taught about a principles that has no relevant until the real-life events really take place, or the real-life example do not exist in front of you.  If you read the biography of Prophet Muhammad SAW, you cannot imagine the multiple events (happy, sad, frightening, surprising, disgusting, maddening) that happened, that need Godly touch from Allah.  Therefore, the gradual revelation helps Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Sahabahs/Companions RAA to see things in perspective.  We can still get the same psychological wisdom if understanding the Qur’an at its conceptual level by linking the events happened during Prophet’s time with event during our time, rather than perceiving the Qur’an as a book relevant only during the 6th-7th century, or good for ritual activities only.

5. To give psychological confidence that Qur’an is indeed revealed from Allah, not the words of Prophet Muhammad SAW.  Imagine if you’re asked to write a very lengthy essay (think dissertation/thesis) of a given title without stop.  We will find our writings full of unnecessary, unclear, and irrelevant points, not to mention interrupted flows and jumpy arguments.  But, if we divide the tasks of writing into several steps and were given enough time (with breaks) to write it, our writings would have been better.  Of course this is not to say the Qur’an will be incoherent if it revealed all at once.  But the “readers” may not be able to see its hidden beauty if it is revealed all at once.  When it is revealed in a gradual fashion, the Sahabah/Companions RAA will (and so will us) see the connections between various points mentioned in the Qur’an with the previous events that had happened before the revelation of specific verses.  Not only that, the flow of tarbiyah/education to the Sahabah/Companions RAA will be very smooth starting from education on `aqidah/creed, `ibadah/rituals, akhlaq/morality, and finally other worldly matters.  Therefore, people can see the beauty of the Qur’an and believe that it is the word of God.  We can still get the same psychological wisdom by linking all our life events with the general and specific messages of the Qur’an and ensuring that our tarbiyah/education of ourselves and others follow the Qur’anic pattern of `aqidah, `ibadah, akhlaq, and other worldly matters.

The amazing thing is the Qur’an, in its final form, is not arranged chronologically anymore, but it still looks coherent and systematic.  Now, I don’t a think a human being, even if he is a prophet is able to do that considering that human beings are easily influenced psychologically by their environment/surroundings.  Imagine Prophet Muhamamad SAW having to undergo various experiences but the uslub/style of the Qur’an (as a whole) remain relatively the same.

Isn’t al-Qur’an and amazing book/scripture? Let’s read it, undersand it, practice its messages, and promote its messages, inshaallah :e

Note: Purple part is originally from this web: http://blogs.iium.edu.my/alizi/2009/09/04/the-psychology-of-nuzul-al-quran/

Oh have a bless Ramadhan ahead :e :e :e