We are still talking about the relationship between this blessed month and our Qur'an.

The month of Ramadhaan in which was revealed the Qur'an.
(Surat al-Baqarah: 185)

Did you know that this Book that Muslims neglect and abandon today was a Book the non believers of Quraysh feared during the time of the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam? They really feared its affect on their hearts and they really felt it would change them. They warned against it out of spite against the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and his message, but they also feared its affect. They feared it would change them and they feared it would move them just by merely listening to it. The reason is because they were eloquent masters of the Arabic language and when the Qur'an was recited to the non believers of Quraysh, it penetrated their hearts. That is the non believers.

When the verses penetrated the hearts of the believers, we have authentic narrations from our Salaf that some fell unconscious and some of them fell dead. Ath-Tha'labi was a scholar of the fourth Hijri century and he compiled an entire book of stories of those who the meaning of a verse killed them. They read a verse, it hit home and they fell dead. Some of the stories in that book are exaggerated but there are some authentic stories in there. Do not be surprised.

The Qur'an is so strong it kills? What are you saying Ahmad? It is deeper than that, it crumbles mountains down.

Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder by the fear of Allah.
(Surat al-Hashr: 21)

But how come I do not feel anything? Hearts have become harder than rocks and mountains when they do not understand the Qur'an.

Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness.
(Surat al-Baqarah: 74)

It is so powerful that our beloved sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam lived under the most extreme hardships but he did not get any grey hair because of those. Torture from Quraysh, the death of all his children before he died except one, the death of his beloved wife, the death of his uncle, companions dying and disbelievers mocking him and harming him, but he did not get any grey hair. A few Surahs in the Qur'an give him grey hair.
شَيَّبَتْنِي هُودٌ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا
Hud and its sisters gave me grey hair.

Do not be surprised. That is what happens when you understand the meaning of the Qur'an. The Qur'an swept the tyrants of the Qurayshians off their feet when they heard it. In Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Abbaas said the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam prostrated in Surat an-Najm and the Muslims made Sujood behind him, the Jinn made Sujood behind him and the Mushrikeen made Sujood behind him. What? The Mushrikeen? This was after the fifth year from the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam getting revelation, while tensions between our beloved sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and Quraysh were mounting and they were at their peak. It was a time when Abu Jahl threatened the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and he said if I see you prostrating by the Ka'bah I am going to step on your neck.

One day the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam enters by the Ka'bah. The non believers are there meeting and the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam is making Salah. He raises his voice in recitation and just imagine how beautiful the Qur'an flows out of the blessed vocal chords of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Imagine with me how mighty, dignified and humbling the words of Allah were flowing from the lips of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. You go on the internet and you see a clip of a child or a famous reciter reciting Qur'an and your heart trembles. You cannot turn it off and you listen to it a second and a third and a fourth and a fifth time, over and over again. That child reciting or that famous reciter got the Qur'an through a series of men over the course of fourteen centuries, so just imagine with me how beautiful the Qur'an flows from the first man Allah revealed the Qur'an to. Imagine how beautiful it was from the man who listened to the Qur'an from Jibreel 'alayhis-salaam.

By the star when it goes down, (or vanishes). Your companion (Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.
(Surat an-Najm: 1-3)

He recites and he recites and then he gets to the end:

Do you then wonder at this recital (the Qur'an)? And you laugh at it and weep not, wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing, etc). So fall you down in prostration to Allah, and worship Him (Alone).
(Surat an-Najm: 59-62)

He went into Sujood and the powerful Qur'an overwhelmed and swept the Qurayshians off their feet and they went down in Sujood. They could not even control their own limbs when they heard the Qur'an. A few moments of Qur'an demolished the Kufr and arrogance in the hearts of the Pharaohs of this Ummah. What happened? You guys were just saying you are going to step on his neck if he prostrates and now you are prostrating with him? Who could have believed that?

The people who sought refuge in Abyssinia (Habashah) returned to Makkah after they heard this story. The word got to them that the Qurayshians made Sujood. Who makes Sujood but a believer? Or so they thought. The power of the Qur'an swept them off their feet. When they raised their heads out of Sujood, the dominating affect of the Qur'an began to fade because they are not listening to it now. Darkness began to surge and submerge their hearts once again. They said what on earth did we do? We prostrated by Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam to the Lord of Muhammad? It was the strength, power and beauty of the Qur'an. Why were they moved and we are not moved? Because they were pioneers in the Arabic language. They were at the peak of eloquence in the Arabic language and when they heard the Qur'an, all of them knew beyond any doubt that it was a miracle from Allah and only a revelation from Allah.

Turn to the Qur'an and let it wash you inside out. Let it purify you. Let it make you a new person. Recite it and understand it. Try to read it not looking at the next page when you are going to flip over the page. Try to understand it and contemplate it. You have one of the top Tafseers translated in English (Tafseer Ibn Katheer) and I believe that is the biggest accomplishment in the work of translation in our time.

You have some who want to sit and think they can read a verse from the Qur'an (in English sometimes) and give you their interpretation of what it means, or they open Bukhari in English or even in Arabic and they want to toss a Hadith at you. You can bring ten of the most eloquent people of our time and each one of them could draw a different and distinct meaning from a verse. We do not care about what all ten say, we go to the likes of Ibn Katheer and we see what they said in it. We do not care how anyone interprets Hadith, we open the likes of Fath Al-Baari (the elucidation on Sahih Muslim) and Sharh An-Nawawi on Sahih Muslim and we see what they said. Some think they can open Sahih Muslim without reading Sharh An-Nawawi or books like that, and toss a Hadith at you that may have been abrogated.

The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam went out of his way to emphasise the reward for recitation of the Qur'an. We already know the deed is ten folds minimum for each letter, but look at how the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam went out of his way to stress it. He said if you read the Qur'an you get one deed, that deed is ten folds. Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter (meaning all three are not one letter), for each one you get ten deeds and for those three you get thirty. Look at how he went out of his way to explain and show you the reward. I calculated the reward of one who completes the Qur'an from cover to cover, one who starts with al-Faatihah on page one and ends with page six hundred and four in the version with fifteen lines. When you recite the entire Qur'an from al-Faatihah to an-Naas, you get approximately thirty three million and two hundred thousand rewards. Did you hear that? That is on a normal day but take it a step further, it is worth way more than that in the month of Ramadhaan. Thirty three million and two hundred thousand deeds on a normal day when you complete the entire Qur'an demolish and blow away thirty three million and two hundred thousand sins into ashes.

Someone might say I do not know the Qur'an Shaykh. I cannot complete it in Ramadhaan, what can I do? There is no verse and there is no Hadith directly recommending one to read the Qur'an cover to cover. Yes Jibreel went over the entire Qur'an with the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam during the month of Ramadhaan and the Salaf also recommended that you read the entire Qur'an, but read any part of the Qur'an (that is what is important). How do I read? Do the short Surahs count? Are they not part of the Qur'an? Who does not know the short Surahs? Who does not know al-Faatihah? Read them over and over and over.

Who does not know Surat al-Ikhlaas? In an authentic Hadith, Kalthoom Ibn al-Hadm loved Surat al-Ikhlaas so much and read it over and over that Allah told His Messenger sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam to tell him that Allah loves him. In your car, sitting, standing, laying down or in your job, recite it and Allah loves you for loving it. Number one, Allah loves you. Number two, when you recite this Surah you get the reward as if you read one third of the Qur'an. Read it three times and you get the reward as if you read the entire Qur'an. Number three, there are forty seven letters in Surat al-Ikhlaas so if you times that by ten you get four hundred and seventy deeds on a normal day (and on days like this it is multiple folds). Allah loves you, you get the reward of one third of the Qur'an and over four hundred and seventy deeds and more in Ramadhaan.

Do not be surprised. Now you are beginning to understand the quality and attribute of Al-Kareem. It could be one deed that tips your scale over on the Judgment Day.

And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it.
(Surat al-Anbiyaa': 47)

A deed equivalent to a mustard seed is a deed so small that not a scale on this universe could weigh it. The multimillion dollar scales in the high tech labs could not weigh that tiny mustard seed of weight no matter how delicate their scales are, but Allah when He sets up the balances and scales on the Judgment Day will weigh it, will bring it and it will be accounted for.

So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it.
(Surat az-Zalzalah: 7-8)

But it is not only the deed factor, put that aside for a second. Reciting the Qur'an and never abandoning its recitation is means to attain intercession of the Qur'an, on top of the deeds that we are talking about. One reads the Qur'an in this life and his sins may end up outweighing his deeds, but the Qur'an comes to the rescue. The Qur'an speaks? Yes, it is going to come to your rescue. The One who made you speak in this life makes limbs speak in the life after. The One who made people walk on their feet in this life makes others walk on their heads on the Judgment Day.

And We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf.
(Surat al-Israa': 97)

In Sahih Muslim, recite the Qur'an for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for those who recite it. Those who may be in a Judgment Day jam, a jam of all jams. A mother and a father could not get you out of that one but fasting and the Qur'an run to your rescue and aid. This is for sinners like us, sinners who are doing their best in recitation but on the Judgment Day their sins end up outweighing their deeds. In Musnad Ahmad, at-Tabaraani and al-Haakim, in an authentic Hadith the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said fasting on the Judgment Day will say O Rabb (Yaa Rabb), I prevented him from food and desires so accept intercession for him. The Qur'an comes running to you saying I prevented him from sleep during the night so accept intercession for him Yaa Allah. The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam then said at the end of the Hadith, and they will be allowed to intercede.

In Muslim, Abu Umaamah reported that the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said read the two radiant ones (al-Baqarah and Aali Imraan) for they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds. They will come on the Judgment Day like two shades, they will come on the Judgment Day like two flocks of birds and in another narration outside Muslim, like canopies with light pleading for their companions.

How can you abandon the Qur'an after this?

But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur'an nor acts on its orders, etc) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection.
(Surat Taha: 124)

Any type of turning away from the Qur'an falls under this Ayah, whether it is turning away in applying it or turning away in recitation. Do you know what Dhankaa (ضنكا) is? Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, Abdullah Ibn Masood and Abu Hurayrah said the Dhankaa in this verse means the grave will be tightened on him. Some scholars went on to say it is also a stressful life full of problems, anxiety and depression.

Do not miss out on listening to the Qur'an. There is immense reward and benefits in it, maybe not as much as reading it but there is definitely great reward and great benefits in listening to it. May Allah grant my father a long life full of deeds, Wallahi from being a baby until today it is exceptional and rare that he is not listening to the Qur'an. From those huge recorders in the 70s, to the vinyl records, to the eight track tapes, to the regular tape recorders, to the CDs and now on his iPad. When he is not listening to the Qur'an or teaching it, he is like a fish out of water. May Allah shine your hearts, graves and houses with the brightness of the Qur'an and allow it to testify for you and be an intercession for you.

Please share this with your family and friends. :)
Jazak Allah khair.