In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

"My Lord, increase my knowledge."

[38:87] "This is a reminder for the world.

[81:27] This is a message for all the people.

The above verses teach us that the Final Testament, Quran, was divinely authored to benefit mankind until the end of the world. This implies its suitability for all eras, civilizations and mentalities. From the early primitive generations to the present digital age, Quran has been serving as a beacon and a guiding teacher for whoever is seeking the truth. Aside from being a consistently accurate source of teachings and history, we continue to discover new wisdom and valid lessons, and we decode many scientific facts that have been embedded in its Arabic text for more than fourteen centuries. One could reach for or experience new perspectives and different applications of its verses daily. This amazing dynamic characteristic of Quran is what makes it a reminder that the human race continues to evolve around. We grow in intellect, knowledge, and spirituality and move up from one stage to another (84:16-19) around this dynamic Quran.

This reminder, however, is not about how Quran is a dynamic, miraculous treasure box that never runs out. It is to affirm the necessity of benefiting from that divine characteristic. It is to shed light on some verses in Quran where God invites us to use it, study it, and reflect on its divine meanings so we can learn something NEW and HEALTHY for our souls everyday:

- When we take our faith for granted and never re-evaluate our direction or increase our knowledge, this freezing effect regresses our souls sending them back to a wild ego zone. Satan steps in right away to deceive us into thinking we no longer are in need of any guidance. He manages to render that as a comfort zone and terrify us if we try to get out of it.

When egos are in control, we start to underestimate or ignore the miraculous, precise and dynamic word of God. We try to limit Quran to our own rigid dogmas instead of growing with it. As a result, we are barred from the light and the mercy of Quran. God has identified people who try to force the truth to conform to their own rigid beliefs as "criminals". God also assures us the truth will always prevail:

Examine Yourself [18:103] Say, "Shall I tell you who the worst losers are?
[18:104] "They are the ones whose works in this life are totally astray, but they think that they are doing good."
[18:105] Such are the ones who disbelieved in the revelations of their Lord and in meeting Him. Therefore, their works are in vain; on the Day of Resurrection, they have no weight.

[63:3] This is because they believed, then disbelieved. Hence, their minds are blocked; they do not understand.
[63:4] When you see them, you may be impressed by their looks. And when they speak, you may listen to their eloquence. They are like standing logs. They think that every call is intended against them. These are the real enemies; beware of them. GOD condemns them; they have deviated.

[10:82] GOD establishes the truth with His words, despite the criminals.

- God repeatedly stated in chapter 54 that He made Quran easy to learn, and that it is up to us to make the choice to learn Quran. In chapter 55, He states that He is the teacher of Quran and He assures us that we are fully equipped to think, distinguish and analyze information. He urges us all over Quran to use the blessings of our brains, eyesight and hearing. All of these verses serve as straightforward invitations from God to study, and persevere in upgrading and increasing our knowledge to benefit from this dynamic characteristic:

[54:15] We have set it up as a lesson. Does any of you wish to learn?

[54:17,22, 32, 40] We made the Quran easy to learn. Does any of you wish to learn?

Study the Quran [47:24] Why do they not study the Quran carefully? Do they have locks on their minds?

[55:1] The Most Gracious.
[55:2] Teacher of the Quran.
[55:3] Creator of the human beings.
[55:4] He taught them how to distinguish.

[16:78] God brought you out of your mothers' bellies knowing nothing, and He gave you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains, that you may be appreciative.

- When we sincerely take the initiative and open up our hearts to study Quran and seek God's guidance, God will then teach it for us, increase our knowledge, and augment our belief. On the other hand, He seals our minds and blocks our vision if we choose to be misguided :

[57:16] Is it not time for those who believed to open up their hearts for God's message, and the truth that is revealed herein? They should not be like the followers of previous scriptures whose hearts became hardened with time and, consequently, many of them turned wicked.

[39:22] If God renders one's heart content with Submission, he will be following a light from his Lord. Therefore, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against God's message; they have gone far astray.

[19:75] Say, "Those who choose to go astray, the Most Gracious will lead them on, until they see what is promised for them - either the retribution or the Hour. That is when they find out who really is worse off, and weaker in power."
[19:76] GOD augments the guidance of those who choose to be guided. For the good deeds are eternally rewarded by your Lord, and bring far better returns.

[16:107] This is because they have given priority to this life over the Hereafter, and God does not guide such disbelieving people.
[16:108] Those are the ones whom God has sealed their hearts, and their hearing, and their eyesight. Consequently, they remain unaware.

- Learning is a journey that never ends. God clearly emphasizes this for us by inviting us to read Quran every dawn (17:78), and meditate with it at night (17:79). He could have easily invited us to read it once in lifetime, but such limited and static vision of Quran was never portrayed by Him. We reflect on Quran to take it to the outside world, and apply it to whatever we go through in life. A single verse could be the tool to deal with various matters or situations that we encounter at different times because of this amazing dynamic characteristic, but we cannot get inspired differently by this one verse unless we keep on reading and studying Quran daily.

[17:78] You shall observe the Contact Prayer (Salat) when the sun declines from its highest point at noon, as it moves towards sunset. You shall also observe (the recitation of) the Quran at dawn. (Reciting) the Quran at dawn is witnessed.
[17:79] [And]* During the night, you shall meditate [with it]* for extra credit, that your Lord may raise you to an honorable rank. *17:79 The word [And] occurs in the original Arabic Quran at the beginning of the verse to significantly add to the commands in 17:78. It is not included in the English translation. *[with it] occurs in the original Arabic Quran after "meditate", referring to the word Quran mentioned in 17:78 and it is not included in the English translation.

[73:1] O you cloaked one.
[73:2] Meditate during the night, except rarely.
[73:3] Half of it, or a little less.
[73:4] Or a little more. And read the Quran from cover to cover.
[73:5] We will give you a heavy message.
[73:6] The meditation at night is more effective, and more righteous.
[73:7] You have a lot of time during the day for other matters.
[73:8] You shall commemorate the name of your Lord, to come ever closer and closer to Him.

- The following verse delivers a strong lesson for all of us, informing us that we must persevere in finding our answers WITHIN the light of Quran. This will never be achieved if we do not continue the process of learning and benefiting from its dynamic character:

[5:101] O you who believe, do not ask about matters which, if revealed to you prematurely, would hurt you. If you ask about them in light of the Quran, they will become obvious to you. GOD has deliberately overlooked them. GOD is Forgiver, Clement.

- When God invites us to work our hardest in examining all words and following the best words, not only this implies that we keep an open eye and heart to new information and sincerely verify it in the light of Quran, but also implies that we can expect to struggle and research His words in order to find the ones that best suit our need in a given time. We must go through this procedure constantly with every situation that arises in life. This is when we become inspired with new perspectives of verses which we had not grasped before. God almighty knows that the dynamic character of Quran is what motivates us to continuously search and examine all His words, and He renders them as a convenient source for the answers we are in need of:

[39:17] As for those who discard the worship of all idols, and devote themselves totally to GOD alone, they have deserved happiness. Give good news to My servants.
[39:18] They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the ones whom GOD has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.

- When God commands us to use our brains, the eyesight and the hearing to verify information in 17:36 , this, by itself, is an invitation to grow in knowledge based on facts and proofs. He showers us with all means of verification, but we need to choose His truth to be able to rejoice in using His guiding means and make use of the brains, the eyesight and the hearing.

[17:36] You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.

In conclusion, this is a reminder to implore God day and night so we don’t UNDERESTIMATE, DISCREDIT or LET the miraculous and precise words of God to STAGNATE in us. A reminder to continue to VALUE His words to avoid becoming trapped in the darkness of our wild egos, that we will NEVER have shields that turn us deaf and blind, that we will NEVER be among those who are prevented from the light and guidance, that we will LEARN from Quran something NEW and REACH FOR a better or different application of God's teachings everyday, that we CHOOSE God's words to be worthy of His guidance, that we MAKE GOOD USE of our brains, eyesight and hearing and VERIFY all information in the light of Quran and DISMISS conjecture and innovations, that we will always STAND for our free will, mind, and spirit, that we DESTROY all shackles imposed by wicked jinns and humans to stop us from increasing our knowledge, advancing our souls and evolving around the dynamic words of God.

[20:114] Most Exalted is GOD, the only true King. Do not rush into uttering the Quran before it is revealed to you, and say, "My Lord, increase my knowledge."

Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.