The Presence of the Qur'an

Talk - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 17th February 2011 - 67 mins 55 secs

"He is dead who does not feel the Qur'an move in his hands"

Contentions 6:20, Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad

In this talk the Sheikh addresses an important aspect of the Qur'an, namely the transformative experience of the Word of God in the breast of the believer. Whilst the Qur'an's power is not contained by mere history the Sheikh demonstrates how the Book stands at the isthmus of the Ancient and Modern world and yet belongs to neither time; it exists rather as the driving force and symbol of Islamic civilisation, itself a unique being. Without experiencing the Presence of the Qur'an, with its ability to reach into the mysterious depths of the soul, the phenomenon of Islamic civilisation is not understandable. The question is thus posed: why has this text, often described as being impenetrable, taken up such a prominent position in the lives of Muslims and indeed non-Muslims from the time of the Prophet - peace be upon him - to this very day?

The Sheikh mentions various approaches to the Qur'an, notably exploring Mevlana Rumi's poetry:

"The Qur'an is like a bride.
Although you pull
the veil away from her face,
she does not show herself to you.
When you investigate the Qur'an,
but receive no joy or mystical unveiling,
it is because your pulling at the veil
has caused you to be rejected.
The Qur'an has deceived you
and shown itself as ugly. It says,
"I am not a beautiful bride."
It is able to show itself
in any form it desires.
But if you stop pulling at its veil
and seek its good pleasure;
if you water its field, serve it from afar
and strive in that which pleases it,
then it will show you its face
without any need for you to draw aside its veil."

-trans. William C. Chittick

The image above is taken inside the Mihrimah Camii, Uskudar, Istanbul by the CKETC team

Download this talk

Listen to this talk (62.2MB, MP3)