Tricky Teen Girl: A Whisper of Peace [Ramadan Story]

Two resources for early study of the Quran

Leena likes to lecture me about things, and sometimes I listen. The annoying thing is that she is usually right. That should be reserved for parents only. Only parents get to be right about things! Why does my elder sister have to join in too?
Today, Leena came up to me with a book. I love reading, so I immediately paused the audio I was listening to and paid attention to her.
"What book is that? You're reading novels in Ramadan?" I ask her.
Leena smiles at me. "You know there's such a thing as an Islamic novel?"
"Yeah," I reply, "but you don't really get much reward for reading it, do you?"
"Depends on your intention," she answers, "but of course, nothing compares to reading and understanding the Quran, so I got you this." She holds out the book to me.
"I don't have ablution! Why are you holding out a copy of Quran to me?" I am agitated.
"This is translation only, so you can touch it. Remember, I said reading and understanding? Well, this is for you to understand. Begin to understand, rather. It's a very simple translation of the Quran in English."
"Really?" I perk up, interested. "In English?"
"Yes, in English," she repeats, smiling widely. She knows I prefer reading in English.
"It isn't that thee-thy-thou English, is it?" I ask.
She laughs. "No, it isn't archaic English. Now take a look already."
"It looks like a novel," I say, getting the book from her. It's a simple paperback. OK, so it has a pretty white and blue calligraphic cover, but what happened to a hard-bound and gilded traditional-looking translation of Quran? I suppose it's what on the inside that counts. I open the book.
"It's light. You can carry it around with you easily." Leena is really getting enthusiastic about the subject. "The translator is M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, the professor of Islamic Studies at the University of London."
"Huh?" I look confused.
"He's Egyptian," she adds, "but you shouldn't judge by that. Well, at least, he was born there."
I flap my hands impatiently. "That's not what I was huh-ing at. It says on the back, 'The Quran, believed by Muslims to be the word of God'...That's like saying--"
"Well, that's what we believe," Leena says simply. "It's Oxford University Press, after all. They won't go out and say, 'Quran, the word of Allah'. Hey, it could have been worse. It could have been--" Here, she changes her accent and starts speaking in a British manner, "'The Koran, believed by Mozlems to be the word of--" She stops talking abruptly as I break out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"'Mozlems' is what's funny," I say to her, wiping tears from the corner of my eye. "Especially in that British accent."
"You know some people call Islam 'Mozlamic'?" Leena has a twinkle in her eye.
I giggle. "I refuse to believe that."
"'Mozlamic', believed by Inaya not to be a real saying by..." Leena starts speaking in the accent again, and I give her a push.
"Stop, stop. I can't breathe." Leena smiles at me.
"What's the joke? I want to hear." Jasir appears in the doorway of the room.
"There's no joke, go away," I say.
"Ah, don't be harsh," Leena says gently. "Jasir--" she begins to address him, but he emits a "hmph" and marches off.
"You shouldn't have said that," Leena says. "It must have hurt his feelings."
"Boys don't have feelings," I say.
Leena gives me a look. "Anyway," she brushes the topic aside and focuses on what she came to do: "Just reciting the Quran isn't what you're going to do this Ramadan. You're going to read this."
"Oh, thank you for informing me," I say. "I wasn't aware that I had a will of my own."
"Don't go Inaya on me," Leena says impatiently.
"What do you mean by that?" I'm agitated again.
"Inaya! Leena! Stop arguing! I'm trying to sleep!" Mama's voice comes from the other room. "I can hear you through the walls, you're so loud!"
Leena gives me a knowing look. "You have to understand me without getting excited about the wrong thing. This translation, while not word-to-word, is a good start."
"But you're not supposed to just read translation without explanation, right?" I've got her now.
"Exactly." Leena, contrary to my expectations, brightens up. "That's why I'm going to tell you to listen to the audio explanation alongside."
"What?" The word slips out of my mouth automatically. "I already listen to Islamic reminders."
"That's what they are. Reminders. To remind you to be mindful of Allah, and to do that you have to listen to what Allah has said in the Quran, right? What if someone sent you a love letter--"
"Love letter?" I feel uncomfortable. "What do you mean, 'love letter'? I don't have a--"
"OK, OK," Leena says, raising her eyes to the ceiling, as she does when summoning patience. She attempts to explain again. "What if Mama said to you, 'I love you, Inaya! Listen to what I have to say to you', and you go away without listening?"
"I do that every day," I say sheepishly.
"Oh, Inaya, you're impossible! What I mean is that Allah cares about you enough to send you a whole book of messages, and you don't care."
I purse my lips. "I do care. You're saying wrong things about me."
Leena looks like she is about to cry, but she takes a deep breath and forces a smile at me instead.
"You know what," she says. "I was going to tell you about something you can listen to--you like listening to things--but I think I'll keep it to myself." She makes as if to get up and leave. I make a huffing sound and pull her back by the arm.
"Come back here and tell me about it! Sheesh, you're so sensitive." I lean forward and make an attentive face. Leena affectionately bats my cheek with a finger, then she says, "I'm talking about Bayyinah."
"Bayyinah. Ustad Nouman Ali Khan's Islamic organization?" I tilt my head and look at her more carefully.
"Yes. They have Bayyinah TV. It's an Islamic video library, but subscription is paid. You can apply for a gift subscription. I did that. Let's see if I get it. In the meantime, we can listen to their free podcast which has explanation of complete last portion of Quran, as well as some other Surahs."
"Mama's always saying we should know the meaning of the Surahs we recite in prayer. I think I'll start with those." I smile at Leena, who immediately brightens up and suddenly pulls me into a hug.
"Get off, you're squashing me," I gasp.
"I'm so happy!" Leena gushes. "You're actually listening to me!"
"Miracles are known to happen." I release myself from her embrace.
"So, which Surah are we going to start with first?" Leena asks.
I look at her, my eyes wide. "You mean right now?"
"Of course, right now! What do you think, we're going to wait until doomsday?"
I shudder. "Don't make jokes like that."
Leena straightens up. "I was just making a point. Now, don't make those 'I'm fasting' excuses on me. I'm going to go get my notebook, and we're going to start listening together." She leans forward and types www.podcast.bayyinah.com into the browser.
"Hey, you didn't ask my permission to touch my laptop." I bristle.
"Inaya, grow up!" Leena gets up and goes to the doorway. "I'll be back. Choose a Surah." She leaves.
I look at the screen for a few moments, then I slide my finger along the touchpad and click my way through the menu. Which Surah? That was the question.
I thought carefully, then finally tapped with my finger and clicked on my choice.
***

Which Surah do you think is Inaya's choice? Which Surah would be your choice to begin studying the Quran from?
Comments, questions, go ahead and shoot! I mean, comment below, of course.
If you like the chapter, make my day and vote!

References:
www.podcast.bayyinah.com
www.bayyinah.tv
For the translation, search for "M.A.S. Abdel Haleem" on Amazon, Ebay or the bookseller of your choice.