11 Nov 2021 By Know Muslim
The Holy Qur'an and the Noble Companions رضي الله عنهم
We are not filly aware of the difficulties, hurdles, distresses and the tortures which the Noble Companions The Holy Qur'an and the Noble Companions رضي الله عنهم endured for the sake of a single verse of the Holy Quran. We have before us the Holy Qur'an in a very beautifully and artistically bound volume. Qur'an schools are open from place to place and teachers are available to teach the Holy Qur'an. All that we have to do is to avail ourselves of these very cheap facilities like gulping a morsel of food, but even this we do not do as it should be done. We take all these things very easy.
Ask the Noble Companions The Holy Qur'an and the Noble Companions رضي الله عنهم about the value of the Holy Qur'an who took floggings, endured tortures from he infidels to get small verses of the Holy Qur'an. Today it seems hardly credible to realize what tyrannies and tortures they endured in the path of acquiring and learning the verses of the Holy Quran. There is a story of a Companion The Holy Qur'an and the Noble Companions رضي الله عنهم, recorded in the Sahih Bukhari. He was a small boy at the time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ who lived in a village situated at a long distance from Madinah Munawwarah. It was not possible for him to travel to Madinah. He had embraced Islam, but it was very difficult for him to go to Madinah Munawwarah to learn religion from the Holy Prophet ﷺ. He himself relates his story:
"I would daily go to the road leading to Madinah and wait for some caravan coming from the Holy City. When some caravan came I would ask if anyone of them remembered a verse of the Holy Qur'an. If so, he may kindly teach me that verse. In this way I was able to collect in
my memory a good many verses of the Holy Qur'an, one by one, two by two or three by three from these caravans.
Ask of them the value of the Holy Qur'an who had to beg these caravan people to teach them one or two verses. As for ourselves, we have in our possession the Holy Qur'an in its complete form, in beautifully bound volumes, we forget the toils and sacrifices of the men of God who so laboriously collected and conveyed the Holy Book to us. All that we have now to do is to learn the Qur'an, try to understand it then act upon its injunctions. It is, as if, the table has been laid before us and we have only to extend our hands to partake of the feast. That is why we do not value the Qur'an as it deserves to be valued.
Every Muslim knows full well the ordeal of Hazrat Umar's sister and her husband رضي الله عنه, Hazrat Umarرضي الله عنه had not embraced Islam by that time, and these two persons knew that if Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه, came to know about their recitation of the Holy Qur'an he would severely punish them. They, therefore, learnt and recited the Holy Qur'an very secretly.
It so happened that one day, instigated by the infidels of Makkah. Hazrat Umar رضي الله عنه, was going to kill the Holy Prophet ﷺ .When a man came to know Hazrat Umar's intention he told him tauntingly: You are going to kill Muhammad ﷺ but you do not care for what is happening in your own house. Being taken aback by this taunt Hazrat 'Umar رضي الله عنه at once turned back towards his house. He رضي الله عنه saw there that his sister and his brother-in-law were learning and reciting the surah Taa-haa. It is not necessary to relate the whole story, as it is lengthy and well known to every Muslim.
It is to say that the Noble Companions ,رضي الله عنه,got the wealth of the Holy Qur'an by putting in great exertions and making tremendous sacrifices, and that is why they recognized and valued the worth and value of the Divine Book. We do not realize the value of the Holy Qur'an because this inestimable wealth has come to us without any effort on our part. As long as these eyes are open, the world's administration is on foot, and we are alive, our eyes and our minds are fixed on its apparent glamour and temptations, enjoyments and pleasures. The time is not very far away when man will leave this world for the Hereafter through the dark grave, the doorway to the next world. Man will realize the value, esteem, and blessings of the Qur'an then and there. He will know what light what blessing and what bounty each single verse of the Qur'an has for those who esteemed and honoured it.