Islam is not only a religion, but a complete system of life. It shows us how to spend our lives, in the best possible manner, all according to the wishes and commands of Allah.It teaches us how to be a good Muslim, and a good human being. It teaches us to be a beneficial being; to one's self, and all others. But how can we know exactly what Allah Expects from us? By reading and understanding Quran!

 Quran is the word of Allah. There is no doubt about it, because Allah Himself took the task of protecting Quran. It is essential that we should not take Quran only as a set of rules and regulations, or a set of stories of ancient people. Rather, it is the means through which Allah Talks to each one of us. It is the means through which we can connect to Allah. But for this to happen, we first need to read and understand Quran.

Reading Quran is a deed that is going to make our scales heavy on the Day of Judgement, and help us reach our ultimate goal; Jannah! Quran is going to intercede for all those people, who regularly read Quran.

Narrated:

 Abu Umamah al-Baahili said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say: “Read the Quran, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection interceding for its companions.”  [1]

*Companions of the Quran would be the people who regularly read the Quran, pondered upon it, and acted according to the Quranic teachings.

A good time to read Quran is at night.

Narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Fasting and the Quran will intercede for a person on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say, ‘O Lord, I deprived him of his food and his desires during the day, so let me intercede for him.’ And the Quran will say: ‘I deprived him of his sleep at night so let me intercede for him.’ Then they will intercede.” [2]

May Allah make us all one of the companions of Quran, and help us in reciting Quran during the day, and at night, too. Ameen. But do you know that reading Quran is a means of increasing your good deeds, too?

Abdullah ibn Mas’ood said: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “Whoever reads one letter from the Book of Allah, will earn one good (hasanah/ good deed) thereby. One good deed is equal to ten good deeds the like of it. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter." [3] 

It is obvious that getting connected to Quran, whether it involves learning, reading, or understanding it, is going to bring us blessings of Allah and rewards in form of good deeds. It is a momentous task that we should never neglect, because we live in an age where knowledge is at our finger tips. We are going to be strictly questioned on the Day of Judgement, because we had easy access to all the knowledge of the world. That is why we as Muslims, should try to teach our children how to read Quran from an early age. Learning to read Quran from an early age helps in inculcating the Quranic teachings in the young hearts and mind, so that they grow up to be good Muslims and good human beings.

Learning to read Quran has never been so easy before, irrespective of whether you live in a Muslim or Non Muslim country. In order to learn Quran, no matter what the age, you can first try your local mosque, or Islamic centre. You can look amongst your social circle for help, too. But it is really important to learn to read Quran with proper Tajweed. Tajweed is a set of rules for the correct pronunciation of Quranic text. Reading the Quran with incorrect pronunciation may change the entire meaning of the actual text; which may result in sins, instead of good deeds. So, we need to make sure to learn to read Quran from a Quran teacher who knows proper Tajweed.

We are lucky that we can learn to read Quran easily from the comfort of our homes, too, in these times. Online Quran lessons can be taken at a time that suits you, at a place that is convenient for you. You just need to find a properly qualified online Quran teacher. Once you have found a good teacher, you can learn from him/her; in a class or privately, according to your preference.

An online Quran teacher is a better option in many ways. You can get personalized attention for each lesson. Privacy is another benefit if you opt for private lessons. It is more convenient to study with an online Quran teacher as compared to traditional teacher, because you can take lessons at a time that is suitable for you. You save time, too, if you take into account all the time that you could have spent in commuting, if you had opted to learn with a teacher at your local mosque, or Islamic centre. Another benefit is that you can also find female online Quran teachers for your daughters and sisters.

Consider the cost of online Quran lessons as your long term investment. An investment that is going to increase manifold on the Day of Judgement. It is going to be counted as your good deeds for your good intention to learn to read Quran.

It was narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say:

"The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or to marry a woman, his emigration was for what he emigrated for." [4]

References:

[1] Narrated by Muslim: 804

[2] Narrated by Ahmad: 6626

[3]Narrated by Tirmidhi, 2910

[4] Narrated by Bukhari: 01