In the Name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful

Introduction

The importance of reciting, studying and contemplating on the verses of the Holy Qur’an cannot be stressed enough. Indeed this great revelation has many depths and mysteries that have yet to be discovered. Those who frequently read the Holy Qur’an can attest to the fact that it is an unending source of information and a bottomless well of fresh knowledge and guidance. Reading it repeatedly does not lead to ennui, but rather causes one to open many more avenues of thought. How unfortunate is the person who forsakes the words of his Creator ? And what excuse would be acceptable for doing so ? If the true value of the Holy Qur’an was understood, the Muslims of the world would not be where they are today. Lifetimes can be spent in research about the meanings of what is contained in this divine book and yet nothing would be exhausted from it. Yet this great living miracle lies abandoned in our libraries, bookshelves, or even in a beautifully created casing; gathering dust from lack of use. All this while we digress in all spheres of our lives. This is why when we will be brought to account for our deeds and misdeeds on the Day of Judgment, we will have no reason to say that we were not adequately guided, because we are the ones who did not take the readily available guidance. At this point it should be mentioned that one cannot interpret the verses of the Holy Qur’an using their own logical deductions or reasoning. If we were to do this then we would easily stray from the correct path and would begin to justify our fallacies with our own interpretations of this divine text. Many traditions have been narrated about this and grave punishments have been promised to those who misuse the Holy Qur’an for personal gain. The tafseer or interpretation of the Holy Qur’an is actually done very carefully by very learned religious scholars who refer to vast amounts of historical