Why Do I Need to Read Quran? Interesting Story Of An Old American Muslim

There is no denying the fact that Muslims all over the world revere and respect Quran in the same way, however, when it comes to utilizing Quran in life there are different people who have different ways of going about it. Some like recitation, while there are others who believe that Quran has to be understood and one should leave recitation aside and focus on translation only.

The recitation of Quran in Arabic has its own importance. Parents teach their children Quran recitation from a Quran tutor for the purpose that they get to know the Arabic text and learn to read Quran in its real words. The importance of Quran recitation can best be explained with the help of an interesting story of an old American Muslim. The story goes as follows.

An old American Muslim lived on a farm in Kentucky, where every morning he would get up and after prayers recite Quran. The old man was not familiar with Arabic language, however, he knew enough to read and recite Quran.

The old man had a grandson who also witnessed the routine of the old man and one day gather the courage and went to him and asked, “Grandfather you don’t know what the words of the Quran mean but you still recite them. Isn’t Quran all about understanding and if it is not understood then the words mean nothing?”

The old man smiled to the inquiry of the boy and after emptying the coal basket in the hall, gave it to the grandson and told him to fetch some water in it from the nearby river. The boy looked at the grandfather with amazement however, for the sake of compliance he agreed and went to the river for water.

After a while the boy came back and told his grandfather that there is no water in the basket as it cannot hold any water. But the grandfather replied by saying that perhaps he was not trying hard enough and told him to go once again and fetch water. The boy did the same and again it was the same result.

For the third time the grandfather told the boy to run hard and go with speed on the way and the way back. The boy was not willing and said, “Grandfather the basket is not made for this purpose and the water would never stay in the basket.” However, the Grandfather insisted and the boy went again.

The third time he came back, the result was the same and told his grandfather that look there is no water in the basket. The grandfather smiled and replied, “Look at the inside of the basket. Isn’t it cleaner than the first time you took it to fetch water?” The boy was amazed to see the basket was clean. The grandfather then said to him:

“You see that the water did not remain in the basket as it was not built for that person, however, water did its job and it changed and cleaned the basket. The same is also true about Quran. Although understanding gives guidance, however, if one recites in Arabic it also comes with benefits and it helps purify the soul.”