In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the importance of studying the Quran collectively. Part 2 provided tips for one strategy to achieve that, namely, Quran study circles.
In this Part, we discuss another method for collective study of the Quran which is Quran Lessons.
Quran Lessons
The following guidelines may help to make a Dars or a Quran lesson effective.
Good Preparation
One: Have a fair idea about the audience: such as their level of knowledge and intelligence, their state of iman, their concerns and worries, and their needs and requirements.
Two: Select the passage in keeping with the state of your audience, rather than what you find yourself eager to expound.
Three: The nature and level of your style, language and exposition should correspond to the nature of your audience.
Four: Pray to Allah to help you in bringing the true message of the Quran to your listeners.
Five: Study the passage and write down your notes: what do you want to say? In what order and how? How do you begin? How do you end?
Six: Give due regard to the time at your disposal. Never exceed your time. You may have a lot of good points and be very eager to pour them all out. But, remember, your listeners have a very limited capacity to retain. They may admire your learning and erudition, but may not learn very much from it.
Long passages can always be dealt with in a short duration and short passages can be dwelt upon for a long duration. It all depends on what you think you have to communicate from the passage under study.
Seven: Give full attention as to what clear message or messages, out of all that you may say, you would like to leave with the listeners for them to retain, reflect and act upon. This must conform with the central idea of the passage, not with your own desires.
How to Deliver a Quran Lesson
One: You must have only two aims:
Firstly, to seek Allah’s pleasure by doing your duty in making others hear His words.
Secondly, to communicate the message of the Quran clearly and effectively.
Two: Remember that it lies in the hands of Allah to make your communication effective in reaching your listeners’ hearts and minds.
But this does not absolve you from your responsibility for doing your best to prepare as best you can, to deliver as effectively as you can, to bring the message of the Quran in a manner as makes it living and dynamic for them, to make it relevant to their concerns, to make it bear upon their situation.
Your delivery may not be of high oratorical or rhetorical standards, it may be very ordinary but it is your niyyah and effort that count.
Three: You may first read the whole text and give its translation, and then take up the exposition, with or without reading each verse and its translation again. Or, you may give a brief introduction and start by taking up one verse after another, or a group of verses. What procedure you adopt will depend on the time at your disposal and the situation.
Remember that it is not essential to read the whole passage and its translation in the beginning, especially if time is short. You may spend the time better in preparing the listeners for what they are going to hear.
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