Post by Bayyinah | Nouman Ali Khan

The Quran does not call itself 'this book.' It calls itself 'that book,' dhalika al-kitab, using a word reserved for something far away. ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ That is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah. (2:2) That choice is strange at first because the Quran is right here. You are holding it. You can touch it, open it, read it on your phone. Every instinct says this should be 'this book.' But Allah chose dhalika, the demonstrative pronoun for distance and that single word reframes everything about what you are holding. In Arabic rhetoric, distance is used to communicate grandeur. When something is described as far, it is being elevated. The Quran is telling you that its origin is not here. It descended from the highest heavens, from a place far beyond anything we can reach or comprehend. The fact that it ended up in your hands, on your shelf, on your screen, is itself extraordinary because it was never supposed to be this accessible. One word. Before the sentence even finishes, the grandeur of the Quran is already established. That is what happens when Allah chooses His words. This is from a Q&A session on the Revealed app with Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan. Have a question about an ayah like this one? Ask it directly in our new Revealed app: https://byna.tv/revealed7