READING: AL-GHAZALI'S ETIQUETTE OF QURAN RECITATION
Abu
Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111) is one of the most important scholars of the
entire history of Sunni Islam. He is perhaps most famous for the
spiritual crisis that he underwent whilst holding one of the most
prestigious posts of learning of his times, in the Nizamiyya Madrasa in
Baghdad. As described in his Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalāl),
Ghazali left this post and spent 10 years endeavoring to develop
himself spiritually, arguing that Sufism and the illuminative knowledge
of 'unveiling' that it brought about were the most certain sources of
religious knowledge and the surest path to felicity.
The Revival of the Religious Sciences, which he wrote after this period, endeavored to teach scholars and Muslims at large of the spiritual message that lies at the heart of the ritual prescriptions, and the ethical qualities that must be cultivated if the outer observances were to be truly efficacious.
The following is a digest of Muhammad Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s list of Etiquettes of Quran Recitation, from Book 8, ‘The Recitation and Interpretation of the Quran’, of his magnum opus, The Revival of the Religious Sciences, translated by M. Abul Quasem. Many of the ‘rules’ are recommendations about the best way to engage with the Quran, rather than being strict obligations.
The External Rules of Quran Recitation
1. The Conditions of the Quran-Reciter: to be in a state of ritual purity; to adopt a state of politeness or quietness; to face the qibla (the direction of the Ka‘ba in Mecca); to sit humbly as if facing one’s teacher.
2-3. Ghazali suggests different amounts to be recited each day, and that for one who reads slowly, contemplating each verse, it is reasonable to read the entire Quran each month. He then discusses divisions of the Quran into sections, based on the amount one intends to recite each day.
4. The Writing of the Quran: “It is praiseworthy to make the writing of the Quran beautiful and to make its letters clear and distinct.”
5. To Recite in a Slow and Measured Manner (tartīlan): because this assists reflection on the meaning and is “nearer to the reverence and respect [which the Quran deserves] and stronger in its impression on the soul than babbling with haste.” Thus, reading a shorter portion slowly is often preferable to reading a longer portion at great speed.
6. Weeping: One should weep, and if one cannot, one should try to enter the state of one weeping. “The method of bringing grief [to the mind] of the Quran-reader is through reflecting on the threats, warnings, covenants and promises which are contained in the Quran.”
7. To Fulfill the Right (haqq) of the Quranic Verses Recited: There are 14 verses in the Quran that require that the reciter or those following in prayer prostrate when the verse is recited.
8. Supplications Recited Before, During and After the Recitation: Before each recitation the reader will say (in Arabic) ‘I seek refuge with God from Satan the accursed,’ and after each recitation the reader will say (in Arabic) ‘God, the Most Great, has spoken truly.’ During the recitation the reader may make a personal prayer to God, for example asking for forgiveness when a particular verse mentions God’s forgiveness.
9. Recitation Out-Loud: In prayer, the recitation should be at least loud enough that the reciter can hear him or herself. However, outside the canonical prayers, silent recitation is also praiseworthy, because a secret good act is in general superior to one done in public. There are also virtues to loud recitation.
10. To Recite in a Beautiful Voice: The Prophet is reported to have said, ‘Adorn the Quran with your voices.’
The Internal Rules (or ‘Mental Tasks’) of Quran Recitation
1. Understanding that the Quran is Divine Speech: Understanding the majesty of the Divine Word, and cultivating gratitude that God has expressed His Word in a way that humans can understand.
2. Glorifying the Speaker: Reflecting on the Divine Attributes and Works.
3. To Pay Attention: and hence to abandon the inner discourse of the soul. “When the Quran-reader enters into the fields of the Quran, plucks different types of fruits from its gardens, enters into its closets, views the brides, wears the brocades, is relieved of cares, and dwells in the khans, then all these absorb him wholly and keep him from things other than these; consequently his mind cannot be inattentive, nor can his thought be separated.”
4. Pondering over the Verse Recited: ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib said, “There is no good in a devotional act which is not understood [by its agent], nor in Quran-reading which is not pondered over.”
5.Understanding the Meaning of the Verses Recited: To seek explanations that befit each verse recited. There are inner meanings that are only disclosed to those whom God favors.
6. Getting Rid of Obstacles to Understanding the Quran: There are four obstacles mentioned – a. Devotion all one’s attention to the exact pronunciation of the letters; b. Being a purely dogmatic follower (muqallid) of a school of thought, without arriving at its teachings by spiritual insight and mystical vision; c. insistence upon sin or being characterized by pride; d. believing that the meaning of the Quran is limited to what is found in works of exegesis of the outward meaning.
7. To Read the Quran as if it were Addressed to Oneself Personally
8. To Feel the Quran: in accordance with the meanings of the verses recited.
9. Gradually Rising to a State in which One Feels as if One is Hearing the Speech of God from God, and not from Oneself.
10. To Rid Oneself of Any Sense of One’s Own Ability and Power: “Whenever a man sees himself with the eye of satisfaction he becomes veiled from God by himself. When, however, he crosses the limit of looking at himself and does not see in his Quran-reading anything except God (exalted is He!), then the secret of the invisible world is revealed to him directly.”
(For your further research you can access the full text of al-Ghazali's 'Etiquettes of the Quran' here.)
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