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A new world awaits you: Momentous journey:-
You are about to undertake a momentous journey - a journey that will take you through the endless joys and riches of the words that your Creator and Lord has sent to you and all mankind. As you come to the Qur'an, you will come to a new world - a world of untold treasures of knowledge and wisdom to guide you on the pathways of life, of thought and action; of deep insights to capture your imagination; of radiant light to illumine the deeper reaches of your soul; of profound emotions and glowing warmth to melt your heart and bring tears running down your cheeks. It is the Qur'an, and only the Qur'an, which can lead you on and on to success and glory in this world and the Hereafter.

A new world awaits you: Beyond human comprehension:-
It is beyond the power of man to comprehend or even to describe the greatness and importance of what the Qur'an holds for him. Yet you must have some idea of what it means to you, to inspire you to immerse the whole of your self in the Qur'an, in total commitment and dedication, as it demands. The Qur'an is Allah's greatest blessings for you. It is the fulfillment 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 (Holy Qur'an 2:38)

A new world awaits you: Only way to success and salvation:-
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 light, as you grope in the darkness, with which to find your way to success and salvation. It is your only sanctuary as you are tossed around in the stormy sea of life. It has been brought down by one who is powerful and trustworthy in the heavens - the angel Jibra'il. Its first abode was that pure and sublime heart, the like of which man has never seen - the heart of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). More than anything, it is the only "way" to come nearer and closer to your Creator. It tells you of Him; of His attributes; of how He rules over the cosmos and history; of how He relates Himself to you and how you should relate to Him, to yourself, to your fellow men and to every other existence.

A new world awaits you: Indeed - The word of ALLAH:-
What you read in the Qur'an is the word of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, which He has conveyed to you in a human language, only because of His infinite Mercy and care and providence for you. This act of Divine mercy is enough to awe and overwhelm you and inspire you to ever greater heights of gratitude, yearnings and endeavors to enter the world of the Qur'an. The majesty of the Qur'an is so overpowering that,

IF WE HAD SENT DOWN THIS QUR'AN UPON A MOUNTAIN, YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN IT HUMBLED, SPLIT ASUNDER OUT OF FEAR OF ALLAH. (Holy Qur'an 59:21)

Indeed, no treasure is more valuable and precious for you than the Qur'an, 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. (Holy Qur'an 10:57)

SAY: IN (THIS) BOUNTY OF ALLAH AND IN HIS MERCY IN IT LET THEM REJOICE. IT IS BETTER THAN WHATEVER THEY AMASS. (Holy Qur'an 10:58)

Attitudes of heart and mind: Firm Faith and Conviction:-
Come to the Qur'an with a deep and firm faith and conviction that it is the revealed word of Allah. Such is the charm of the Qur'an that even if a man takes it up and starts reading it as he would an ordinary book, he would still benefit from it, provided he reads it with an open mind. But this is the Book of Allah; and you should always remain conscious that each word you are reading has been sent for you by Allah. This constant awareness is vital to develop the right attitudes and strong determination required to reach the heart of the Qur'an and assimilate its message. Think of His majesty and glory and power, and you will feel the awe and devotion and a longing for His words. That is why the Qur'an reminds you of this important truth at the beginning of most surahs and frequently in between.

Attitudes of heart and mind: Accept Truth, Knowledge and Guidance:-
Accept, without the slightest doubt or skepticism, every piece of truth, knowledge and guidance that the Qur'an conveys to you. You have every right to enquire, reflect and understand what it contains; but what you cannot fully comprehend is not necessarily unreasonable. You have a right to reject that it is the word of Allah; but once you have accepted it as His, you have no basis whatsoever to doubt even a single word of it. There must be a total surrender and abandonment to the Qur'an. Your own opinion, beliefs, notions, whims and caprices should not be allowed to override any part of it.

Hearth with you:-
Before starting to recite the Qur'an, you should ensure that so long as you are with the Qur'an, your "Heart" remains with you; not merely a piece of flesh, but the centre of all your attention, remembrance, emotions, aspirations and activities; or, your whole inner "person" Only then will you have the capability to receive the great gifts of Allah and respond with humble devotion. The seven prerequisites discussed earlier lay the foundations for the communion of the Qur'an with your heart. In addition to these, the observance of a few more rules will greatly increase the intensity and quality of this presence of heart.

Heart with you: In the Presence of Allah:-
Always keep yourself alive to the reality that, while you are reciting the Qur'an, you are in the very presence of Him who has sent these words to you.

HE IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE (Holy Qur'an 57:4)

WE ARE NEARER TO HIM THAN HIS JUGULAR VEIN. (Holy Qur'an 50:16)

WHATEVER PORTION YOU MAY BE RECITING FROM THE QUR'AN, AND WHATEVER DEED YOU MAY BE DOING, WE ARE WITNESSES THEREOF WHEN YOU ARE DEEPLY ENGROSSED THEREIN. (Holy Qur'an 10:61)

REMEMBER ME AND I WILL REMEMBER YOU. (Holy Qur'an 2:152)

You may not see Him, but He is certainly seeing you.

Understanding and reflecting:-
It is vital that you should understand what Allah is saying to you and reflect over it as much as you can. If you read the Qur'an without understanding, you may derive some reward because of your sense of devotion and your desire to read this Book. But this would not, in the least, fulfill the purpose for which it has been revealed. It has come to mould you and lead you to a new life and existence. It is not merely a source of blessing, a sacred ritual, a revered relic or a holy magic. The Qur'an is full of exhortations asking you as to why you "hear not", "see not”, “ think not", "use not reason", "ponder not". It says that,

WHEN THEY ARE REMINDED OF THE VERSES OF THEIR LORD, THEY FALL NOT DEAF AND BLIND THEREAT (Holy Qur'an 25:73)

DO THEY NOT PONDER OVER THE QUR'AN, OR ARE THERE LOCKS ON THE HEARTS. (Holy Qur'an 47:24)

You will find elsewhere better guidance on how to understand and ponder over the Qur'an, but there are certain important principles you should keep in mind.

1) Understand and reflect over the Qur'an as if it was being revealed today, as each word of it is as living and relevant today as it was when it was first revealed. In this light, you should try to relate and apply it to your own life, concerns, experiences and levels of knowledge and technology. Do not consider any verse of the Qur'an as merely a thing of the past.

2) Read the whole of the Qur'an, from beginning to end, with the help of a translation. This will give you an overall idea of the Book, its style and message.

3) Initially, read only short but good commentaries and do not delve in long and detailed tafsirs.

4) Try to learn at least as much Arabic as will enable you to understand the meaning of the Qur'an without the help of a translation. It may seem an arduous task, but I have known semi-illiterate persons accomplish this within a few months, once they took to it seriously and devotedly.

5) Ponder and think deeply over the various parts of what you read. This requires reciting a particular verse or portion thereof slowly (with tarr'teel) or even repeatedly. The more you think and reflect, you will have a greater share of its rich and unlimited meanings. It is in this sense that Ibn 'Umar spent eight years on Surah al-Baqarah alone. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and many others used to spend whole nights repeating just one verse.

Living by the Qur'an:-
The whole purpose of the Qur'an is to guide you and to change you by bringing you into submission to Allah. As you read it, also try to live by what it invites you to. If it does not have any impact upon your actions and if you do not observe what it enjoins and avoid what it prohibits, then you are not getting anywhere nearer the Qur'an. In fact, one who reads the Qur'an and does not try to act upon it may be more likely to be cursed and punished by Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Many of hypocrites in my Ummah will be from among the reciters" (Ahmad); and "He is not a believer in the Qur'an who makes halaal (permissible) what it has made haraam is prohibited)" (Tirmidhi). It is narrated that, companions like 'Uthman and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, once they learnt ten verses from the Prophet (peace be upon him), did not move further unless they had "learnt" it fully -- both in understanding and in action; that is how they sometimes spent years in learning only one surah.

If you sincerely and determinedly start changing your life according to the Qur'an, Allah will certainly help you and make the path easy for you.

Recitation: Daily Reading:-
Read the Qur'an every day; in fact do not consider a day complete without it. It is better to read regularly, even if it be a small portion, than to read large sections, but only occasionally.

Recitation: Read with Concentration and Understanding:-
Do not read hastily without proper concentration and understanding. The Prophet (peace be upon him told Ibn 'Umar not to finish reading the Qur'an in less than a week, and also said that one who finished it in less than three days did not understand any of it. One companion said that he preferred to read a short surah like al-qare'ah with proper understanding than to hastily finish long ones like al-Baqarah and Al-'Imran.

The life of the Prophet (PBUH):-
To absorb the Qur'an, you must move as close as you can to the Prophet (peace be upon him) who received it first from Allah. His whole life is a "living Qur'an". If you want to 'read' the Qur'an in action, observe the Prophet in his deeds, as Saiyyedah 'A'isha said: "his conduct was nothing but the Qur'an." To move closer to the Prophet, you should read his sayings (ahadith) and his life (Sirah) as much as you can.

Let us, in conclusion, pray to Allah to enable us to recite the Qur'an as it ought to be recited and nor to make us like those:

... TO WHOM THE BOOK WAS GIVEN BEFORE, BUT WITH THE LAPSE OF TIME, THEIR HEARTS BECAME HARD. (Holy Qur'an 57:16)

... WHO WERE GIVEN THE BURDEN OF THE TORAH THEN THEY DID NOT CARRY IT, THEY ARE LIKE A DONKEY CARRYING HOOKS. (Holy Qur'an 62:5)

AND TO MAKE US LIKE THOSE WHO: ... WHEN ALLAH IS MENTIONED, THEIR HEARTS QUAKE, AND WHEN HIS VERSES ARE RECITED TO THEM, IT INCREASES THEM IN FAITH. (Holy Qur'an 39:23)

WHEN IT IS RECITED TO THEM, THEY FALL DOWN UPON THEIR FACES, PROSTRATING (Holy Qur'an 17:107)

AND THEY SAY: GLORY BE TO OUR LORD! OUR LORD'S PROMISE IS FULFILLED. (Holy Qur'an 17:108)

AND THEY FALL DOWN UPON THEIR FACES, WEEPING AND IT INCREASES THEM IN HUMILITY. (Holy Qur'an 17:109)

AND DO NOT MAKE US LIKE THOSE: about whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) will, on the Day of Judgment, complain, O MY LORD! THESE MY PEOPLE HAVE ABANDONED THE QUR'AN (Holy Qur'an 25:30)

Our Lord! Enable us to imbibe the meaning of the Qur'an and guide us to and lead us along the straight path.