Reading
&
Writing

So anyone who has already taken their recitation through to the end of Juz 12 should be quite at home reading the markings on the page,

to the extent that reading Juz 13-20 should give no technical problem,

leaving you to simply enjoy the sounds as they are made.

And we decorate these sounds with the beauty of our voices.

And one way to acquire an appreciation of just how many ways that precise text can have its beauty expressed by the human voice, is to sample the vast number of different reciters on line,

each with their own distinctive intonation, pace and rhythm and melodic variation.

Of course the Reading can't be truly expressed without meaning, but the sound of the words alone can have a profound effect on those who listen, as well as the one who recites.

So when struck by the sounds and they move you and reverberate in your heart, take note of where you are, so that you can revisit that place and remember how it feels.

If you have been working on your Arabic writing, you should also be able to write fluently by now,

what with all the modern pens and plentiful paper for practice,

so it should be no problem to use it for simple notes, as well as copying favourite verses and phrases.

Such skills are invaluable when studying the Qur'an,

for the Reading is not only a fit cause for awe-inspired reverence, but also a treasure waiting to be explored.

Reading the Qur'an should also be a joyful experience.

That way, as you work your way through from Juz 13 to Juz 20, familiarity with different sections will come with affection.

Obviously familiarity is enhanced by understanding,

but it isn't necessary to understand every word of every page,

as long as you understand the parts that speak to you the most,

the parts that you like best.

These eight Juz offer so much to choose from.

From the Sura of Joseph,

distinct in the fact that it is the only Sura to tell a single story uninterrupted from beginning to end,

making clear that what can seem like a scattergun approach to content in other Suras is not an accident of compilation but intentional.

Then comes Thunder,

full of Signs, like the lightning to show us fear and hope,

and the thunder singing God's praises.

Then Abraham,

in which God gives the example that a good word is like a good tree

giving fruit year after year.

Then Al-Hijr,

named after the place name mentioned in the Sura,

its only appearance in the Qur'an.

The Bee tells of the bounty of God's provision through so many creatures in the animal world,

even down to the tiny bee, from whose belly comes “a drink of many colours, in which is healing for humankind”.

The Night Journey begins with no more than a brief mention of the Messenger's spiritual journey,

while later telling us to follow our own, in prayers after sunset, in the night and before dawn.

The Cave tells of a number of young people hidden from sight, with 300 years passing in what they thought was at most a day.

And people say there were three of them, and their dog was the fourth,

or five or them and their dog was the sixth,

or seven of them and their dog was the eighth,

but in the end God doesn't actually tell us how many.

The Sura of Mary tells a very different story of the birth of Jesus to that of the manger in the stable,

no visiting kings with gold, frankincense and myrrh,

just dates falling from a tree and a spring of fresh water.

Ta Ha is mostly the story of Moses the Messenger,

while in The Newsbringers that relationship between God and humankind tells of the rejection and mockery faced by so many Newsbringers.

The Hajj, of course, tells of those that stand, and bow, and make sajda, and circle around the Ancient House,

while The Believers describes the stages of each human's creation,

and assures us that no soul is weighed down beyond what it can bear.

The Light Sura contains one of the most famous, most beautiful, and most beloved ayats in all of the Qur'an,

with the verse that tells how God is the Light of the heavens and the earth,

Light upon Light, and God knows everything.

In The Measure we are reminded how God stretches out the shadow with the sun to guide it,

then “We pull it into Ourself, pulling it gently”,

while in The Poets we again find stories of previous Messengers who were mocked,

and explains how the Messenger receives the revelation

“brought down by the Faithful Spirit upon his heart”.

In The Ant we find the story of Solomon and Sheba,

while in The Story we are given yet more details of the tale of Moses,

and reminded that there is no other god with God,

and that all things pass away except God's Face,

and to God we will eventually return.

Finally, in the Spider those who turn away from God's help are building houses for themselves that are no stronger than that of a spider

that with the slightest of touches can be brushed away.

And we are told to reflect on how many animals there are “that do not carry what they need with them, but God provides for them and you”.

And God is the All-Hearing the All-Knowing.