another article on here that’s moved me to tears, and also inspired me – made me feel that this is something I can actually do. I often feel overwhelmed at the idea of where on earth to start with reading the Qur’an – this (and other advice from Zaufishan Muslimness) makes me feel that it is manageable after all.

Jazakh’Allah – and Ramadan kareem.

Also.. as a side note, after seeing the attached picture I found there were no credits so I went to tag-search on flickr. Alhamdulillah, I found it, but in case anybody else liked it too:
(( http://flickr.com/photos/khedmati/4880496644 ))

Anyway, I’ve translated a portion of this articles into Bahasa Melayu (Malay) to be shared in my blog. Hopefully you don’t mind. May Allah grants you with His rewards.

Jazakallah Khairan for such a beautiful article. Very well written and laid out. Very motivating. I feel like a kid on an assignment now.

Subhan Allah, I know exactly what you’re going through. One of the things which impacted my life THE MOST and helped me realize my immense need for Allah and the sweetness of coming back to Him ‘azza wa jall was reading the Qur’an…IN TRANSLATION.

I’m not Arab, could never speak Arabic, and when I was in high school I realized that I can watch hours of tv but have no time for the Qur’an. So Alhamdulilah Allah blessed me with making the decision to start reading the Qur’an. I could read Arabic but was VERY slow. So I started and it would take me a very long time to finish the fixed amount I wanted to cover [5 pages] in a day.

My mom one day stopped by my room and was like, “Why don’t you read the translation? So that you can understand!”

So Alhamduilah from that day I started reading the Quran which had translation in English on one side and Arabic on the other. Subhan Allah, I have never in my life been effected by something so amazing than the translation of the Quran [until Alhamdulilah finally being able to start understanding the meanings Qur'an itself after learning Arabic], esp its impact on my life on a consistent basis.

In addition to this, my parents, barak Allahu fihima, bought me an mp3 player which I could put Quran on and listen to it while I read the translation, while I walked through my school hallways, while I was in the car….soon, AlhamdulilLahi Rabil`alameen, I couldn’t get enough of it. And I slowly began to understand it, so much so that when I came to Egypt after 7 years of reading the Qur’an with translation, my teacher was shocked at how much vocab I had and how much I could understand, AlhamdulilLah, when I had only studied the very basics previously. It’s not that I’m amazing. By Allah, it’s the Qur’an.

I’d recommend:
1- Picking an amount of Qur’an you will read on a daily basis WITH translation. It could be two pages, five pages, 10 pages, but don’t leave it. Try to do it every single day.
2- Read the translation and also try to ponder on the meaning when you have extra time in your day.
3- Listen to the Qur’an while you’re reading the translation. This will help you get accustomed to recognizing different words and how they come over and over in certain ayaat and you’ll start to recognize them when you hear them in Taraweeh and in other places inshaAllah.
4- There are some Qur’anic recitations that also have English intertwined. Listen to these as well when you’re driving or other places where you can’t read from the translation.
5- Try to memorize whatever you can and know the translation. This greatly helps with understanding.
6- MOST IMPORTANTLY- Make duaa to be the Qur’an’s Best Friend. And Allah will never, ever EVER EVER NEVER EVER not answer the dua of one who is sincerely seeking to come close to Him ‘azza wa jall and His Book.

And when you can, study Arabic inshaAllah.

wa Allahu `alam. May Allah give you MASSIVE SUCCESS in this life and the Next and make the Qur’an a witness for you on the Day of Judgment and your family and for all of us, Allahuma bless us with sincerity with Your Book. Ameen.

Here are two Quran sites I find to be great:

http://www.quranexplorer.com/Quran/Default.aspx

and

http://quran.com/