Way to the Quran By Khurram Murad

Last updated on 01 Feb 2025

Way to the Quran by Khurram Murad – Buy on Amazon to read fully.

Below are key notes & exact words from the book that deeply inspired me. This book changed my life, so I’m taking detailed notes to remember its wisdom.

It’s truly underrated, and I hope you find its insights as spiritually awakening as I did, especially in approaching the holy book.

Preface

The real strength and courage came from Allah’s promise: ‘Those who strive in Our cause for Our sake, surely We shall guide them in Our ways.’ And the Prophet’s words, blessings and peace be on him – ‘Convey on my behalf even if it be one Ayah’ and ‘Best among you is the one who learns the Qur’ān and teaches it’ – seemed to make it almost a duty to be coveted.

This book is born out of certain abiding convictions. And whilst they are all explained in the book, it is useful to recall and summarize some of them here:

First, our lives will remain meaningless and ruined unless they are guided by the Qur’ān, the word of God.
Second, the Qur’ān, being the eternal guidance given by the Everliving God, is as relevant for us, today, as it was fourteen centuries ago, and will remain so forever.
Third, we almost have a right, in some sense and measure, to receive its blessings today as its first believers did; provided, of course, that we come to it and move in it in a manner that may entitle us to share its rich harvest.
Fourth, every Muslim has a duty to devote himself to reading, understanding and memorizing the Qur’ān.
Fifth, one must abandon oneself totally, in thought and deed, to whatever the Qur’ān has to offer. Any pride, arrogance, sense of self-sufficiency, reservation, or ingenuity that can mistakenly be read into it, is fatal to its understanding and would shut the door to its blessings.
Sixth, the path of the Qur’ān is the path of self-surrender, of practising what it tells you, even if one learns only one Ayah. One Ayah learnt and acted upon is better than a thousand which are explained beautifully but which do not impart any beauty to the reader’s life. Obedience, after all, is the real key to understanding.

There are seven chapters.

Each deals with a different aspect of the journey.

The first, dwells on what the journey means to our lives;
the second, on what provisions must be gathered inside our hearts and minds before setting out;
the third, on what postures and actions of heart, mind, and body are necessary for the full involvement of the inner self;
the fourth, on what rules should be followed in reading;
the fifth, on why and how to understand;
the sixth, on how to undertake collective study; and
the seventh, on the essential need of offering our lives to the fulfilment of the Qur’ānic mission.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
what the journey means to our lives	what provisions must be gathered inside our hearts and minds before setting out	what postures and actions of heart, mind, and body are necessary for the full involvement of the inner self	what rules should be followed in reading	why and how to understand	how to undertake collective study	on the essential need of offering our lives to the fulfilment of the Qur’ānic mission

Chapter 1: The Journey of Life

The Eternal, Living Reality

But how do we do this?

To put it very forthrightly, only by entering the world of the Qur’ān as if Allah were speaking to us through it now and today, and by fulfilling the necessary conditions for such an encounter.

Firstly, then, we must realize what the Qur’ān as the word of God is and means to us, and bring all the reverence, love, longing, and will to act that this realization demands.
Secondly, we must read it as it asks to be read, as Allah’s Messenger instructed us, as he and his Companions read it.
Thirdly, we must bring each word of the Qur’ān to bear upon our own realities and concerns by transcending the barriers of time, culture and change.

The New World that Awaits You

What is the Qur’ān?

“A hundred new worlds lie in its versus. Whole centuries are involved in its moments.”

*Muhammad Iqbal, Javid Nama, trans. A. J. Arberry (London, 1967)

The Qur’ān is Allah’s greatest blessing for you.

It is the fulfilment of His promise to Adam and his descendants: ‘There shall come to you guidance from Me, and whosoever follows My guidance no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow’ (al-Baqarah 2: 38).
It is the only weapon to help your frail existence as you struggle against the forces of evil and temptation in this-world. It is the only means to overpower your fear and anxiety.
It is the only ‘light’ (nūr), as you grope in the darkness, with which to find your way to success and salvation.
It is the only healing (shifā’) for your inner sicknesses, as well as the social ills that may surround you.
It is the constant reminder (dhikr) of your true nature and destiny, of your station, your duties, your rewards, your perils.

Infinite Mercy and Majesty

Most important to remember is that what you read in the Qur’ān is the word of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, which He has conveyed to you in a human language, only because of His mercy and care and providence for you. ‘The Most-merciful, He has taught the Qur’ān’ (al-Raḥmān 55: 1-2). ‘A mercy from your Lord’ (al-Dukhān 44: 6).

This act of Divine mercy and majesty is enough to awe and overwhelm you, to inspire you to ever-greater heights of gratitude, yearning and endeavour to enter the world of the Qur’ān. Indeed, no treasure is more valuable and precious for you than the Qur’ān, as Allah says of His generosity:

O men! There has come to you an exhortation from your Lord, healing for what is in the hearts, and a guidance, and a mercy for believers. Say: In [this] bounty of Allah, and in His mercy – in it let them rejoice. It is better than whatever they amass (Yūnus 10: 57-8).

Hazards and Perils

But the Qur’ān opens its doors only to those who knock with a sense of yearning, a sincerity of purpose and an exclusive attention that befit its importance and majesty.

What a tragic misfortune it would be if you came to the Qur’ān and went away empty-handed – soul untouched, heart unmoved, life unchanged; ‘they went out as they came in’.

Tilāwah

Tilāwah is the word that the Qur’ān uses to describe the act of its reading.

Reading the Qur’ān, understanding the Qur’ān, following the Qur’ān – that is how those who have any right to claim faith in it relate themselves to it.

Tilāwah or recitation is an act in which your whole person – soul, heart, mind, tongue and body – participates.

And ‘so he walks in a light from his Lord ... that is God’s guidance, whereby He guides whomsoever He will’ (al-Zumar 39: 22-3).

Chapter 2: Basic Prerequisites

Faith: The Word of God

First: Come to the Qur’ān with a strong and deep faith that it is the word of Allah, your Creator and Lord.

Why should such a faith be a necessary prerequisite?

No doubt such is the power and charm of the Qur’ān that even if a man takes it up and starts reading it as he would an ordinary book, he will still benefit from it, should he read it with an open mind.

But this Book is no ordinary book; it opens with the emphatic statement: ‘This is the Book [of God], there is no doubt in it’ (al-Baqarah 2: 2).

Your purpose in reading and studying it is no ordinary purpose;
you seek from it the guidance that will transform your whole being,
bring you and keep you on the Straight Path: ‘Guide us on the Straight Path’ (al-Fātiḥah 1: 5) is the cry of your heart to which the Qur’ān is the response.

You may admire the Qur’ān, even be informed by it, but you cannot be transformed by it unless its words soak in to awaken you, to grip you, to heal and change you. This cannot happen unless you take them for what they truly are – the words of God.

Without this faith you cannot come to acquire all the other inner resources you will need to reach the heart of the Qur’ān and absorb its message.

Once it comes to reside in your heart, you cannot but be filled with the qualities and attitudes such as sincerity of purpose, awe and reverence, love and gratitude, trust and dependence, willingness to labour hard, conviction of its truth, surrender to its message, obedience to its commands, and vigilance against dangers which stalk to deprive you of its treasures.

Think of His majesty and glory and power, and you will feel awe and reverence and devotion for His words. Reflect on His sustenance and mercy and compassion, and you will be filled with gratitude and love and longing for His message. Know His wisdom and knowledge and kindness, and you will become willing and eager and ready to obey His commandments.

That is why the Qur’ān reminds you of this important truth again and again: in the very beginning, in the opening verses of many Surahs, and frequently in between.

That is why even the Messenger, blessings and peace be on him, is instructed to proclaim his own faith: ‘Say: I believe in whatever God has sent down in this Book’ (al-Shūrā 42: 15). In his faith all believers must join him: ‘The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him by His Lord, and all believers too’ (al-Baqarah 2: 285).

You must, therefore, always remain conscious that each word that you are reading, reciting, hearing, or trying to understand, has been sent for you by Allah.

Do you truly have this faith?

You do not have to look far for an answer.

Just examine your heart and behaviour.
If you have it, then,
- where is the desire and longing for companionship with the Qur’ān?
- where is the labour and hard work to understand it?
- where is the surrender and obedience to its message?

How do we obtain this faith, and how can it be kept alive?

Although there are many ways, I will mention only one here.

The most effective way is reciting the Qur’ān itself.

This may look as if we are moving in a circle, but this is not really the case.

For, as you read the Qur’ān, you will surely recognize it as being the word of God. Your faith will then increase in intensity and depth:

Believers are only those who, whenever God is mentioned, their hearts tremble with awe; and whenever His revelations are recited to them, they increase them in faith ... (al-Anfāl 8: 2).

Purity of Intention and Purpose

Second: Read the Qur’ān with no purpose other than to receive guidance from your Lord, to come nearer to Him, and to seek His good pleasure.

Thereby He causes many to go astray, and thereby He guides many; but thereby He causes none to go astray save the iniquitous (al-Baqarah 2: 26).

The Qur’ān is the word of Allah; it therefore requires as much exclusiveness of intention and purity of purpose as does worshipping and serving Him.

Do not read it merely for intellectual pursuit and pleasure; even though you must apply your intellect to the full to the task of understanding the Qur’ān.

But never forget that on understanding, absorbing and following the Qur’ān you have been promised much larger rewards, in this-world and in the Hereafter. It is these which you must aim for.

Nothing brings you nearer to your Lord than the moments you spend with His words. For it is only in the Qur’ān that you enjoy the unique blessing of hearing His ‘voice’ addressing you. So let an intense desire to come nearer to Allah be your one overwhelming motive while reading the Qur’ān.

Finally, your niyyah should be directed to seeking only your Lord’s pleasure by devoting your heart, mind and time to the guidance that He has sent to you. That is what you barter when you surrender yourself to Allah: ‘There is such as would sell his own self in order to please God’ (al-Baqarah 2: 207).

Purpose and intentions are like the soul of a body, the inner capability of a seed.

So always ask yourself: Why am I reading the Qur’ān?

Tell yourself constantly why you should. This may be the best way to ensure the purity and exclusiveness of purpose and intention.

Bringing Gratitude and Praise

Third: Make yourself constantly alert with intense praise and gratitude to your Lord for having blessed you with His greatest gift – the Qur’ān – and for having guided you to its reading and study.

Once you realize what a priceless treasure you hold in your hands, it is but natural for your heart to beat with joy and murmur, and for your tongue to join in:

‘Thankful praise be to Allah, who has guided us to this; [otherwise] never could we have found guidance had not Allah not guided us’ (al-A‘rāf 7: 43).

Al-A'raf 7:43

وَنَزَعۡنَا مَا فِى صُدُورِهِم مِّنۡ غِلٍّ تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِهِمُ ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُۖ وَقَالُواْ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى هَدَىٰنَا لِهَٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهۡتَدِىَ لَوۡلَآ أَنۡ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُۖ لَقَدۡ جَآءَتۡ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلۡحَقِّۖ وَنُودُوٓاْ أَن تِلۡكُمُ ٱلۡجَنَّةُ أُورِثۡتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُونَ

Alhumdullilahil lazi hadana lihaza wama kunna le-nah-tadiya - lowlaa an-hadal llah.

And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment,[1] [while] flowing beneath them are rivers. And they will say, "Praise to Allāh, who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allāh had not guided us. Certainly the messengers of our Lord had come with the truth." And they will be called, "This is Paradise, which you have been made to inherit for what you used to do."

Why thank Allah for having given us the Qur’ān?

Principally because He has, thus, guided you to meaning and purpose in life and brought you on the Straight Path.
The way to honour and dignity in this-world has been opened for you.
In the Qur’ān, you can converse with Allah.
Only by following the Qur’ān in this-world you can attain forgiveness, Paradise and Allah’s good pleasure in that-world.

Gratitude and joy lead to trust, hope and greater gifts. The One who has given you the Qur’ān will surely help you in reading, understanding and following it. Thankfulness and joy generate an ever-fresh vigour which helps you to read the Qur’ān always with a renewed zeal. The more you are grateful, the more Allah gives you of the riches that the Qur’ān has to offer. Generosity evokes gratitude, gratitude makes you deserve more generosity – an unending cycle. Such is God’s promise:

‘If you are grateful, I will surely give you more and more’ (Ibrāhīm 14: 7).

Thank Allah at every step of your journey:

for having had time for the Qur’ān,
for reading it correctly,
for memorizing it,
for every meaning you discover in it,
for having been enabled to follow it.

Gratitude must also be transformed into deeds.

Acceptance and Trust

Fourth: Accept and trust, without the least doubt or hesitation, every knowledge and guidance that the Qur’ān conveys to you.

I shall turn away from My revelations all those who wax proud in the earth, without any right; though they see every sign, they do not believe in it, and though they see the way of rectitude, they do not take it for a way, and if they see the way of error, they take it for a way (al-A‘rāf 7: 146).

And those who deny Our revelations and wax proud against them – the gates of heaven shall not be opened to them, nor shall they enter Paradise until a camel passes through a needle’s eye (al-A‘rāf 7: 40).

Al-A'raf 7:146

سَأَصۡرِفُ عَنۡ ءَايَٰتِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لَّا يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِهَا وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ سَبِيلَ ٱلرُّشۡدِ لَا يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا وَإِن يَرَوۡاْ سَبِيلَ ٱلۡغَىِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًاۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَكَانُواْ عَنۡهَا غَٰفِلِينَ

I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right; and if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. And if they see the way of consciousness,[1] they will not adopt it as a way; but if they see the way of error, they will adopt it as a way. That is because they have denied Our signs and they were heedless of them.

Al-A'raf 7:40

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ عَنۡهَا لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمۡ أَبۡوَٰبُ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَا يَدۡخُلُونَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ ٱلۡجَمَلُ فِى سَمِّ ٱلۡخِيَاطِۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجۡزِى ٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَ

Indeed, those who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them - the gates of Heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel enters into the eye of a needle [i.e., never]. And thus do We recompense the criminals.

Obedience and Change

Fifth: Bring the will, resolve and readiness to obey whatever the Qur’ān says, and change your life, attitudes and behaviour – inwardly and outwardly – as desired by it.

Hazards and Obstacles

Sixth: Always remain aware that, as you embark upon reading the Qur’ān, Satan will create every possible hazard and obstacle to stalk you on your way to the great riches of the Qur’ān.

The Qur’ān is the only sure guide to the Straight Path to God; to walk that path is man’s destiny. When Adam was created he was made aware of the hurdles and obstacles man would have to surmount in order to fulfil his destiny. All his weaknesses were laid bare, especially his weakness of will and resolve and his forgetfulness (Ṭā Hā 20: 115). It was also made plain how Satan would try to obstruct him at every step of his journey:

I shall surely sit in ambush for them all along Thy Straight Path; I shall, then, come on them from between their hands and from behind them, from their right and their left. Thou wilt not find most of them thankful (al-A‘rāf 7: 16-17).

Al-A'raf 7:16

قَالَ فَبِمَآ أَغۡوَيۡتَنِى لَأَقۡعُدَنَّ لَهُمۡ صِرَٰطَكَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ

[Satan] said, "Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them [i.e., mankind] on Your straight path.

Take just one very simple thing.

Reading the Qur’ān every day, while understanding it, sounds very easy.

But try, and you will find how difficult it becomes: time slips away, other important things come up. Concentrating mind and attention become something you wish to avoid: why not just read quickly for barakah.

It is with the consciousness of these perils and dangers that your tongue should, in obedience to the Qur’ān – ‘When you recite the Qur’ān, seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected’ (al-Naḥl 16: 98) – say:

a‘ūdhu billāhi mina ’sh-Shayṭāni ’r-rajīm

An-Nahl 16:98

فَإِذَا قَرَأۡتَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ فَٱسۡتَعِذۡ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ

So when you recite the Qur’ān, [first] seek refuge in Allāh from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy].

Trust and Dependence

Seventh: Trust, exclusively and totally, in Allah to lead you to the full rewards of reading the Qur’ān.

Just as it has been Allah’s infinite mercy that has brought His words to you in the Qur’ān and brought you to it, so it can be only His mercy that can help in your crucial task.

Your desire and effort are the necessary means; but His enabling grace and support are the only sure guarantees that you will be able to tread your way with success and profit. In Him alone you should trust as true believers. To Him alone you must turn for everything in life.

And what thing is more important than the Qur’ān?

Also, never be proud of what you are doing for the Qur’ān, of what you have achieved.

Always be conscious of your inadequacies and limitations in the face of a task which has no parallel.

So approach the Qur’ān with humility, with a sense of utter dependence upon Allah, seeking His help and support at every step.

It is in this spirit of trust, praise and gratitude, that you should let your tongue and heart, in mutual harmony, begin the recitation:

Bismi ’llāhi ’r-Raḥmāni ’r-Raḥīm

In the name of Allah, the Most-merciful, the Mercy- giving

This is the verse which appears at the head of all but one of the 114 Surahs of the Qur’ān.

And also pray, asking His protection:

[Who say], "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower."

Aal-e-Imran 3:8

رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغۡ قُلُوبَنَا بَعۡدَ إِذۡ هَدَيۡتَنَا وَهَبۡ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحۡمَةًۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡوَهَّابُ

Summary of Chapter 2: Basic Prerequisites