{O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers} (Quran 10: 57)

Some things uplift us because they touch our hearts. God knows what hurts us or causes us to feel down; for each of our diseases, there is a cure.

The Quran is one such source of healing. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Make use of the two cures, Quran and honey.” (Ibn Majah)

How is the Quran a Cure?

The Quran is comprised of the complete, eternal words of God. If we receive a letter from someone we love, our hearts are soothed by reading their words. Because we love him, and especially if it is someone we respect, we take his words seriously and know he has our best interests in mind. If it is someone we are longing to meet, we read his words over and over again, seeking refuge in him, until we meet him.

Now imagine that the Quran is made up of the words of God, directed to you. Imagine the longing of the heart for the words of its most beloved, of its Master. From personal experience, if ever I woke up shaken from a bad dream and my heart feels scared and uncomfortable, I recite the Quran. It always calms me down. The same is true whenever I have felt sadness; there is something about when the Quran enters your heart that takes away any worldly negativity.

The Quran also takes us back to what is important. We read that God is one, and that He possesses everything, and He is the Lord of the worlds – so how can we ever believe humans work outside of God’s will when we see injustice?

We read about the trials of those before us, how they remained steadfast and God was with them – how then can we give up? We read that whoever trusts in Him, then He will be sufficient for him, that He answers all dua’ (supplication) – how then can we despair? When we are reminded that there is a Day of Judgment, and we can only take with us our good deeds, how small should our worldly desires be to us?

In order for the Quran to heal us, we need to read it with that understanding, and with the intention of receiving guidance. Sheikh Ash-Sha’rawi, the Muslim scholar, in his book of tafsir (commentary on the Quran) quoted a beautiful statement of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, who he said was the most knowledgeable of the secrets of the Quran:

“I am amazed at the one who has been afflicted with fear, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah: {Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs}, for verily Allah has said after it: {So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them} (Al-Imran 3: 173-4)

And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with sadness, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah: {There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers}, for verily Allah has said after it: {So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers} (Al-Anbiya’ 21: 87-8)

And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with betrayal and deception by people, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah: {I entrust my affair to Allah. Indeed, Allah is Seeing of [His] servants}, for verily Allah has said after it: {So Allah protected him from the evils they plotted, and the people of Pharaoh were enveloped by the worst of punishment} (Ghafir 40: 44-5)

And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with sickness, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah: {Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful}, for verily Allah has said after it: {So We responded to him and removed what afflicted him of adversity. And We gave him [back] his family and the like thereof with them as mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers [of Allah]} (Al-Anbiya’ 21: 83-4)”

More Effort

If we read this and feel that we are far from the Quran and that it does not touch our hearts, then we should make the effort to recite it until the words enter our hearts. Plead with God for the Quran to touch your heart. We have to remember that the Quran is truth, if God tells us that it is a healing for what is in the hearts then it certainly is. We have to have certainty in this.

We should also develop our relationship with the Book of God by trying to understand it. We should listen to tafsir (interpretation of the Quran) and read tafsir books if we have access to them. In the age of the internet, there should be no excuse, especially with Imam Suhaib’s amazing series of the tafsir of the short surahs (chapters of Quran).

To end with a supplication of the Prophet who said that if a person suffers anxiety or grief, they should say:

“Oh Allah! Indeed I am Your servant Son of Your male servant and female servant

My forelock is in Your Hand (i.e. You have control over me)

And Your Judgment upon me is assured, and Your Decree upon me is just

I ask you with every name that You have named Yourself with Or revealed in Your Book (Quran), or taught to any of Your creation or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You that You make the Quran the life of my heart, and the light of my chest and the banisher of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.”

And God will take away their sorrow and grief and give them in their stead joy. (Ahmad)