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The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says in a hadith:


سيخرج أقوام من أمتي يشربون القرآن كشربهم اللبن

(Groups of people will emerge from my Ummah who will drink the Qur'an as they drink milk)

In commenting on this hadith (which is compiled by al-Tabrani in his al-Mu'jam al-Kabir) al-Munawi says in his Fayd al-Qadir:

أي يسلقونه بألسنتهم من غير تدبر لمعانيه ولا تأمل في أحكامه بل يمر على ألسنتهم كما يمر اللبن المشروب عليها بسرعة

"... that is, they will raise their voices with their tongues without contemplating and reflecting on its meanings and pondering over its rulings; instead it (i.e. the Qur'an) passes over their tongues as milk which they drink passes over them which is quickly"

Here again we are reminded of the importance of contemplation, reflection and pondering over the meanings and rulings of the Qur'an, and not to pass over them or let the Qur'an pass over our tongues without it also passing over our hearts. أفلا يتدبرون القرآن أم على قلوب أقفالها (Do they not ponder over the Qur'an or are there locks over their hearts?) that is, do they not read the Qur'an with pondering minds and reflective hearts or are there locks over their hearts that prevent the Qur'an from reaching and entering into their hearts as if it is in front of a shut door?).

At the same time we realise that we are now in a time that deems the art of reciting the letters of Quran more important than contemplating over its meanings. While it is true that we receive reward for reading the Qur'an even when we do not understand what we are reading, that should not be the be-all and end-all of Qur'anic recitation; rather the way we read the Qur'an should help us with the way we reflect on its meanings, and not just merely reading it for the sake of reading such that the mere reading becomes the end, and has now developed into a highly sought-after art which only those endowed with beautiful voices can pursue. While reading the Qur'an with a beautiful voice is certainly desired by the Shariah, it should not stop there or worse it should not generate in us a behaviour that is totally unbecoming of Qur'anic recitors and conflicts with the meanings and teachings of the Qur'an and Prophetic Sunnah.

As much as some of us strive to beautify our tongues with the Qur'an they should also strive to beautify their hearts with its meanings if not more so. Afterall, the Qur'an is first and foremost a Book of Guidance, and we should strive to bring our conduct to conform with its Guidance, otherwise we are missing the whole point.

May Allah make us of those who read the Qur'an with tadabbur, tafakkur and ta'ammul, and of those whose experience with the Qur'an is not merely verbal and oral but also deeply spiritual. Ameen!