BY: JEDDAH: ARAB NEWs

The Holy Qur’an, which is full of divine instructions from the Creator, is the greatest of all blessings from God for mankind and is the panacea for all their problems, said Abdul Shukoor Ali, an Islamic researcher, community leader and a patron of cultural organization Thanima Sargavedi, here yesterday.

“The Qur’an brings peace of mind, gives us the right direction and guidance and sets our goal of life. It brought about an incredible revolution among the early followers of Islam during the time of the Prophet. It can still bring change and solve our problems if we follow its wonderful teachings,” he said.

Addressing a ceremony to honor winners of top prizes in a Qur’an learning contest, Ali urged Muslims to find time to learn the Qur’an and practice its teachings in all walks of their lives. “Muslims are not ordinary people. They are leaders of the world,” he said citing a verse from the Qur’an and called on Muslims to rise up to their responsibility.

“When the jinns understood Qur’an’s message, they said it is wonderful. But many Muslims still do not know what Qur’an is. We just read them and we don’t know its content. There is no excuse for us for not learning the Qur’an in this age of Internet and information technology,” Ali told the gathering. He decried that the lives of most Muslims are far away from the teachings of their divine book.

The companions of the Prophet were quick in implementing the Qur’anic teachings. “When the Qur’an asked them ‘is it not time for you to stop drinking alcohol,’ they replied, ‘O God, we have stopped’ and they broke their liquor bottles and cans to win the pleasure of God,” he said citing an example.

At the time of Makkah victory, said Ali, the Prophet called Bilal, who was black and a former slave, to get over the Holy Kaaba to declare the victory. “He did not call dignitaries like Abubacker or Omar. Bilal climbed onto the Holy Kaaba with the support of the Prophet, who was thus trying to elevate and empower the downtrodden.”

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