By Romina Afghan

Sometimes I want so badly to just be there already.

That place where the Quraan is embedded in my heart, where it is shrouded in the love of Allaah and nurtured upon the magnificent and unmatchable words of The Creator. Where nothing hurtful from the words or actions of people touch it, at all. Where the longing for anything in this world is only to taste the sweetness of truly Knowing and loving Him. Where disappointment and failures matter only in how much they move me closer to the ideal of being the best Slave I can be. Where material things, people can come and go and I acknowledge them and am grateful for them as the temporary gifts from my Loving Lord and Rabb.

How I long for my heart to be there. Instead of where it is right now. In that murky place where desires lead it one way one minute, and another the next. Where the pleasure of people sometimes seems to matter more than the pleasure of Allaah. Where people hurt through their words and actions, or lack of them. Where I am weak and know I can be better. Where one day I’m praying with my heart and the next I’m worried if I have time for the Sunnah. Where one day the Quran is my day and the next I just want to flop.

How can I get there? How can someone like me be worthy of it? When I’m just me. I’m not as consistent in good as I would like to be. Where I know more than I act upon each day. Where I have to drag these heavy feet away from dunya to the gardens of a meeting with the Divine, even when I know how much it is needed for my own self!

But wait…was the Quran sent for all humanity or was it sent only for the righteous? Can the Quran transform only the likes of Umar ibn al Khattaab( may Allaah be pleased with him and all the companions ameen), or can it transform even me? If it can change the configuration of the whole world at the time it was revealed, surely it can change the configuration of one lowly person like me?

So what is missing? Why am I not there..? Because the Qur’aan is a gift given to any person in proportion to how much of their heart they give it.

You and I, we can all get there, to that place where we are living the Quran, as Aaisha ( may Allaah be pleased with her) said about Muhammad sall Allaahu alayhi wa sallam , that “his character was the Qur’an”. Yes, we can all graft to get there. Little by little. Step by step. One ayah at a time. One reflection at a time. One change at a time. One open heart at a time.

Open the Quran today. Open your heart to it today. It is a message from the One to Whom we are all returning. Get to know what He wants from you while you are here, in this life.

I want to share a simple duaa I make before I approach the Qur’an, that helps me to focus my energy on what I want. I hope it might inspire you to think about what you want, too.

“Yaa Allaah, purify my heart through your Qur’an, remove all the diseases in it to enable me to understand it and live it. Yaa Allaah mould my character upon the Quran and make me of those who love it, who learn it, who act upon it and spread it’s light. Ameen.”