Creative Exploration

The Quran and Me (Haikus)

On my mother’s lap

I repeat the sounds Bismil

I was five years old

Her warmth was traded

For the cold madrasa, whack

I was nine years old

A deep connection

Formed for the text out of love

For god and his words

I begin to ponder

But others passively read

As adolescence

Be patient and read

With discontent in present

I was now older

With time the meaning

Changes, a timeless book with

A meaning in time

For week 2, I was really attracted to Reading the Qur’an by Ziauddin Sardar because it gave me a personal perspective of what it meant to be a Muslim and read the Quran. Author explains his process of learning the Quran from when he was little to him as an academic, and I try to reflect his thoughts with haikus. Each stanza represents a different time period in his life. From the beginning he has a deep love for the sacred text from the experience with his mother, though he does not completely understand the meaning of the words. This love for the text is still present even though he begins to go to religious schools, where the madrasas are not as personable. He also states that as people get older they read the Quran passively just to perform the act of devotion, but that’s not understanding. He says that a “complex text such as the Quran requires patience, and reveals and unfolds itself with multiple readings, diligent scrutiny and continuous and constant contemplation.” Thus with time, his views and understandings of the passages of the Quran change. Different life experiences that cause discontent with the present will also influence the how someone interprets the verses, and that is why the book has meaning in time.

This was a great read for me as this is the first time I’ve had engagement with religion. I really love that something you’ve been around since you were young can develop with you as you grow and change. Even though the relationship you have to the meaning changes, the deep connection and love that blossomed from childhood can still underlying the study of your religion. I can’t think of anything else that can transcend through time and the life of a person other than religion. From this week, it seems that the construction of Islam and Muslim culture begins from a time when someone is very young and it persist throughout adulthood. The Quran was designed to grow with the person and be more complicated in layers as the person learns more of the verses. It is really interesting that this was built into the structure of the Quran.