By Maryam Sakeenah
“Turned away therefrom is he who is turned away” 51:9
This verse struck me for its lyrical, poetic quality and its outward simplicity that evokes deep reflection on its profound meaning.
It is not one of the oft-quoted well-known verses that are often bandied about as favourites, yet it contains a rather jarring yet vital truth that must be deeply pondered over.
The verse says that if we are indifferent towards the Book of Allah, we must know that it is because we are unblessed, cast away, distanced by Him because we never tried to reach out to the one who takes ten steps towards us if we attempt one, and comes to us ‘running’ if we attempt to walk to Him (reference to hadith e qudsi: “…Whoever draws close to Me by the length of a hand, I will draw close to him by the length of an arm. Whoever draws close to Me the by length of an arm, I will draw close to him by the length of a fathom. Whoever comes to Me walking, I will come to him running…” Sahih Muslim, hadith 2687)
Our disconnect with the Quran is a reflection of the fact that the Merciful Lord (Rabb) has turned away from us because of our arrogance and heedlessness. Our losing touch with the Book of Allah may actually be because His Grace has been withdrawn from us because we proved ourselves unworthy. Our turning away from the Quran may in fact be the punishment from Him for being too busy in worldly pursuits to be able reconnect with the Book He revealed to heal, guide and save us.
We need to check, reflect and worry about where we stand in God’s estimation, lest we become among those who are comfortably numb in their ignorance and indifference towards the Quran.
When we no longer miss the connection with the Quran and no longer yearn for its healing words and its clarity, Allah sets a seal on our hearts: “Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them is a great punishment.” (2:7)
However, when we cherish the Quran as a manifestation of His mercy upon us and keep reverting to it whenever in need of guidance and clarity, it is a sign of Allah’s favour and blessing upon us until we reach our graves, where we find the Quran to be our companion in loneliness, our comfort in terror, our savior through trial.
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