Prof. Dr. Faid Mohammed Said
At times, guidance comes from where we least expect it, and in forms we could never anticipate. In 2020, amid the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, a distinguished intellectual figure in Britain narrated to me an unusual experience from his life. He said:
“My birthday was approaching, and my father wished to give me a gift. Knowing that I am an avid reader, he suggested a book. My mother responded: ‘I think he has already read that one.’ He suggested another, but she replied again: ‘I believe he has read it as well.’ After a long discussion, they concluded that the only book I had never read was the Qur’an. And so, my father gifted me a copy of the Qur’an.”
We laughed at the strangeness of the incident, taking it at first as a light-hearted anecdote. Yet he continued:
“But I did read the Qur’an— not once, but three times, each with a critical and scrutinizing eye.”
Months passed until, in February 2022, this man came to me, burdened with profound questions. Each time I answered one, he posed another that was deeper still. Our meetings thus turned into an open-ended dialogue. I testify that those days were among the most beautiful of my life; they returned me to research, reflection, and consultation with scholars. They reminded me that the Qur’an is never read once and set aside; rather, it is a book whose gifts renew themselves with every reading and contemplation.
Then came the decisive moment in July 2022: he sat in my office and, with full conviction and unwavering certainty, he pronounced the testimony of faith. This was not a fleeting emotion nor an act of social conformity, but the culmination of a long journey of careful, critical reading. Afterwards, we descended together to the mosque, where I shared his story with the congregation. In that moment, I told them:
“Today I understood the meaning of God’s words: ‘And if you turn away, He will replace you with another people; then they will not be like you’ (Qur’an 47:38).”
I could not have grasped the depth of this verse were it not for witnessing a man who was not born Muslim but entered Islam with firm conviction—after having read the Qur’an three times critically—until it led him to the testimony of faith with knowledge, understanding, and certainty.
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The Qur’an as a Book of Guidance
This episode was a living testimony to the truth of God’s words: “Indeed, this Qur’an guides to that which is most upright” (Qur’an 17:9). The Qur’an is not merely a book of history or a collection of moral exhortations; it is a book of guidance, charting for humankind the straightest path in matters of belief, worship, and morality.
Hence, God describes it at the opening of Sūrat al-Baqarah: “This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-conscious” (Qur’an 2:2). It is a book whose wonders never cease, and whose meanings never exhaust themselves.
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Beyond Recitation: The Call to Reflection
Guidance does not come through recitation alone. The Qur’an itself reminds us: “Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon their hearts?” (Qur’an 47:24). Reflection is the key, and contemplation is the bridge that carries us from the surface of the text to the depths of its meaning.
The man whose story I recount did not read the Qur’an with a passing glance, but with a critical and probing eye. We may not have agreed with all of his questions, but their value lay in bringing me back to the Qur’an with a renewed spirit, demonstrating that this divine book remains a source of guidance for all who approach it with sincerity and genuine inquiry.
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The Greatest Gift
When his father gifted him the Qur’an, he did not intend to present him with a religion, but simply a book he had not yet read. Yet, unknowingly, he offered him the greatest gift one could ever bestow upon another human being. For him, the Qur’an was “the only book I had never read,” and it became the very book that transformed his entire life.
This raises a poignant question: how many Muslim households keep the Qur’an resting high upon shelves, unopened? How many Muslims live surrounded by the Qur’an in their homes, phones, and apps, yet have never read it with reflection and understanding?
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A Call to Contemplation
The Qur’an is not a static text; it is a living book that speaks to every generation in the language of its questions and challenges. It guides to what is most upright, connects the human being to God, and grants a clear compass in a world overwhelmed by confusion.
This story confirms that guidance is not exclusive to anyone. Its doors may open unexpectedly—through a simple gift, an honest question, or a deep conversation. The condition, however, is that we unlock our hearts and allow ourselves to reflect.
We, as Muslims, must rediscover the Qur’an anew: not merely as recitation, but as a book of guidance, thought, and contemplation. When we do so, we will grasp the secret of God’s words: “Indeed, this Qur’an guides to that which is most upright” (Qur’an 17:9). And we will realize that the greatest gift in our lives is not a book authored by human beings, but the eternal Book of God that lies within our reach.
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