some time ago i posted this letter on another list
you may find it relevant
kf
****
But just to respond out of love for xxxx and in appreciation of his many
generous gifts to me...
this servant would say:
1] if we study the Qur'anic antecedents of this usage we come across several
verbs used in the Qur'an in relation to reading the Holy Qur'an.
There is qaraa.at, there us tilaawat, there is tarteel, there is du'aa,
there is munaajat and others.
The Qur'anic lexicographers and lexicologists say qaraa.at=ittibaa ' kutub
illah taaratan bil qaraa'at wa taaratan bil irtisaam lima feehi min amrin wa
nahin wa targheebin aw tarheeb.
Thus qaraa'at, according to them is generally reading but tilaawat is
reflecting and appreciating the implications of the verses in terms of
command or otherwise, counsel or admonition.
They add kulla tilaawat qaraa't wa laa yu'kas. ie every tilaawat includes
qaraa'at but not the other way round.
there is verse in the Qur'an eg blessing those who perform the tilaawat
h.aqqa tilaawatihi [2:121] in other words with all the true conditions of
tilaawat.
the command to tilaawat is given in many verses notably 29:45
Recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book and keep up prayer
Otlu ma oohiya ilayka mina alkitabi waaqimi alssalata
The Divine Command in the Most Holy Book to us in this cynosure of all
dispensations is the same verb but in plural.
**OTLUU AYAAT ILLAH FEE KULLI S.ABAAHIN WA MASAA'IN**
[[God's newborn Faith, the cynosure of all past Dispensations
(Shoghi Effendi: God Passes By, Page: 223)]]
tilaa wat [reciting] the commentators say is the believer reading aloud and
reflecting bil-ilm wa al 'amal reflecting in words and deeds the divine
utterance. whereas of course there was/is and an institutional categories of
qaari's readers. plural qurr'a.
the Guardian refers to this category
its qurra's (intoners)
"The vast system of that hierarchy, with all its elements and
appurtenances - its shaykhu'l-Islams (high priests), its mujtahids (doctors
of the law), its mullas (priests), its fuqahas (jurists), its imams
(prayer-leaders), its mu'adhdhins (criers), its vu'azz (preachers), its
qadis (judges), its mutavallis (custodians), its madrasihs (seminaries), its
mudarrisins (professors), its tullabs (pupils), its qurra's (intoners), its
mu'abbirins (soothsayers), its muhaddithins (narrators), its musakhkhirins
(spirit-subduers), its dhakirins (rememberers), its ummal-i-dhakat
(almsgivers), its muqaddasins (saints), its munzavis (recluses), its sufis,
its dervishes...
(Shoghi Effendi: The Promised Day is Come, Pages: 91-92)
, Page: 91)"
as to evening and morning the Qur'an repeatedly says make mention morn and
eventide
19:11
6:52...
2] as to tarteel
73:4
Yusuf Ali translation
and recite the Qur'an in slow, measured rhythmic tones. ,
and recite the Quran as it ought to be recited.[Shakir]
Pickthall
and chant the Qur'an in measure,
warattili alqur-ana tarteelan
3] In this cynosure of all dispensations the Aqdas reveals
*** Recite [**OTLOO**]ye the verses of God every morn and eventide. Whoso
faileth to recite [*YATLO**] them hath not been faithful to the Covenant of
God and His Testament, and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this
Day is of those who throughout eternity have turned away from God. Fear ye
God, O My servants, one and all. Pride not yourselves on much reading
[**QARAA'AT**]of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and
day; for were a man to read [**YAQRA'**]a single verse with joy and radiance
it would be better for him than to read [**YATLUU**] with lassitude all the
Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Read [**OTLOO**]
ye the sacred verses in such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and
despondency.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Aqdas, Pages: 73-74)
the reason this dust put in brackets the original words is for you to see
the beauty of the rendering...
***68. QUESTION: Concerning the sacred verse: "Recite ye the
verses of God every morn and eventide."
ANSWER: The intention is all that hath been sent
down from the Heaven of Divine Utterance. The
prime requisite is the eagerness and love of
sanctified souls to read [**tilaawat**]the Word of God. To read
[**tilaawat**]
one verse, or even one word, in a spirit of joy and
radiance, is preferable to the perusal [**qaraa'at**] of many
Books.
(Baha'u'llah: Aqdas: Questions and Answers, Pages: 126-127)
***
as to deepening and communing there are many references
In the Iqtidarat Baha'u'llah reveals may we be aided to ask for forgiveness
every morn and evening:
http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/baha/G-L/I/iqtidar/iqtid259.gif
lines 3 and 4.
3] of course the whole point about reading is as the Universal House of
Justice say it should be ***with reverence attention and thought***
2. The regular reading of the Sacred Scriptures, specifically at least each
morning and evening, with reverence, attention and thought.
(The Universal House of Justice, 1983 Sept 01, On Steps to Spiritual
Growth)
In the Surih of Sabr [Patience] revealed with emphasis on the sufferings of
Job, Vahid, and Imam Husayn Baha'u'llah says every morn and even they lament
Husayn's sufferings yet they perpetrate likewise.
http://www.metavergence.com/veiled/patience.htm
***O Thou beauty of the holy One! This is not the first deed the unbelievers
perpetrated for in the past they killed Husayn and His companions and they
enslaved His family and now they cry over him and lament His events every
morning and eve.*** provisional and tentative.
And in the Sacred and peerless Iqan a most amazing and revolutionising
Utterance
*** Twelve hundred and eighty years have passed since the dawn of the
Muhammadan Dispensation, and with every break of day, these blind and
ignoble people have recited their Qur'an, and yet have failed to grasp one
letter of that Book! Again and again they read those verses which clearly
testify to the reality of these holy themes, and bear witness to the truth
of the Manifestations of eternal Glory, and still apprehend not their
purpose. They have even failed to realize, all this time, that, in every
age, the reading of the scriptures and holy books is for no other purpose
except to enable the reader to apprehend their meaning and unravel their
innermost mysteries. Otherwise reading, without understanding, is of no
abiding profit unto man.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Page: 172)
***
Writing about Martha Root the Guardian says she had no companion but to
continue in tilaawat and no joy but to deeply study [mut.aala'a] the ayaat
verses.
khazeh
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