Ozkan Oze - I Wonder About the Quran

I Wonder About the Quran

Published by

THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION, 2017

Distributed by

KUBE PUBLISHING LTD

Tel +44 (01530) 249230, Fax +44 (01530) 249656

E-mail:

Website: www.kubepublishing.com

First published in Turkey by Uurbcei Publications,

a Zafer Publication Group imprint, in 2008.

Text 2008 Ozkan Oze

Translation 2015 Selma Ayduz

Illustrations 2008 Zafer Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner

Author zkan ze

Translator Selma Aydz

Series Editor Dr Salim Aydz

Illustrator Sevgi igen

Book design Zafer Publishing & Nasir Cadir

Cover Design Fatima Jamadar

A Cataloguing-in-Publication Data record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-86037-513-5

eISBN 978-0-86037-553-1

Printed by Imak Ofset, Istanbul, Turkey

Contents

THE STORY OF the I Wonder About Islam series started one day with my son asking me, Why cant I see Allah, dad? The question was so unexpected that I didnt know what to say, although I actually knew the answer.

But when he asked so suddenly, I just said, Umm, well He opened his eyes wide and started staring at me as if to say Come on, give me the answer! I beat around the bush for a while. You know, I was humming and hawing. In the end, I said, Your eyes are so small, yet Allah is so big! This is the answer to the question. Because of this, you cant see Allah!

Oh, really? he said. He turned his Spider-Man toy around in his hands. Then, as if he hadnt said anything, he went to his room. He was only five years old

Perhaps, for a child his age, this answer was enough. I had handled the situation. However, as he got older, he would ask heaps of new questions about Allah. I had to prepare my answers.

So, that is how I started the I Wonder About Islam series.

The best thing about this book is that not only my kids, but kids from around the world can read my answers.

The first and second books in the I Wonder About Islam series consist of answers I have given to questions about Allah.

In the third book, you will find answers to questions about the Prophet, peace be upon him.

The fourth book is about the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

Have I answered all the questions about all these topics? Of course not! Ive only tried to answer the most frequently asked ones. But if you look at how I have answered these questions, it will help you work out the answers to other questions yourself. If you hang on to your questions tail and pull as hard as you can, a huge answer will follow.

And after reading this book, you will see that questions dont frighten you as much as before. You will bravely ask the questions you thought were the hardest to answer, and soon you will see that you cant think of a question that doesnt have an answer. Asking a question is saying, I want to learn!, I want to understand!, I want to know better and love more! You should never be afraid of asking questions, and dont ever give up asking questions! Because a question is a key. Every question opens a door for you. And behind every door is a whole other world.

Furthermore, asking a question is also a prayer. Make sure you pray a lot so that your mind and heart are filled with the light of knowledge; so that your path is always bright.

The I Wonder About Islam series has been written using the works of the great Muslim scholar Said Nursi (18781960). The answers given to the questions and the examples to help you understand the topics have all been taken from his Risale-i Nur books.

zkan ze

stanbul, 2012

Alif Lam Mim Ra.
These are the signs of the Book.
What your Lord has sent down
to you [Prophet] is the truth,
yet most people do not believe.

Surah Al-Rad 13:1

We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran so that you may understand.

Surah Yusuf 12:2

ALIF, BA, TA are the first letters of the Arabic alphabet. This was how my first Quran lesson started. A long time ago.

Every summers day, when all the children played games on the streets, I would put my Arabic book under my arm and go to the Arabic teachers house, sad that I wasnt able to play outside.

The teacher would be waiting for me on the balcony as usual.

Come child, come! Open up your lesson!

The elderly woman would scan the lines of the Arabic book with me, her eyes barely visible under a pair of thick glasses.

Whenever I made a mistake while reading she was always quick to correct me. But it seemed that she never got angry or bored.

In fact, she always looked excited. Even though she had read these words thousands of times before, she happily sat there, listening to me, helping me whenever I needed it.

I didnt share her enthusiasm. Instead of looking at the Arabic letters she pointed at, I would read the bit underneath that explained how to pronounce them.

And the teacher would say: Well done child! Well done child! every time, and stroke my hair.

After each lesson she told my mum how well I read, how fast I learned unaware I was cheating all along.

This went on for a month.

From time to time I would feel guilty. I was lying to that lovely old woman. However, I didnt stop.

Eventually, we finished that book weeks before all the other children in the neighbourhood.

The teacher smiled wide and said: Well done child, well done child! Now it is time to start reading the Quran!

She gave me a copy of the Quran to take home. It didnt tell me, under every line, on every page, how to pronounce the Arabic.

What would I do?

The next morning I left my Arabic book on the table, put my Quran under my arm and started walking to the teachers house.