The Impact of The Quran on Our Lives - 2
By Nouman Ali Khan | 2026-01-09T12:05:51.08839+00:00 | Topic: Quran
The Impact of The Quran on Our Lives
By Nouman Ali Khan
Introduction and Three Key Observations
Today, insha'Allah ta'ala, I'll be talking to you about the Quranic verses of Surah Al-Fatihah. I'll be sharing briefly about three problems, three observations that I have noticed in the last 15 years of trying to teach Muslims about the Quran, and what has basically been my motivation for trying to address issues in the Quran the way in which that I do.
First Problem: The Quran Seems Irrelevant
The first attitude that I have noticed among many, many Muslims, and before I noticed it in anyone else, it was actually an attitude that I had myself, is that the Quran is not relevant. That the Quran is not talking about my life. It's talking about something that happened a long time ago. The people that I know that talk about the Quran look like they belong 500 years ago. They don't look like modern people.
These people, when they speak, they speak in a way that nobody else speaks. My friends don't talk like this. My colleagues at work don't talk like this. My professors at school don't talk like this. As a matter of fact, you could be friends with a khateeb. And when you're talking to them, they talk to you perfectly normally. But as soon as they get up on the mimbar, they talk differently. They talk like they belong in a different time.
And it becomes almost disconnected from you. So the first impression I had of religious conversation, Quran, Sunnah, the whole bit, the whole thing, was that this does not belong in this time. This is some old thing. And this is for people that are old-minded. You cannot have this religion and live in modern times. You cannot combine those two things.
Second Problem: The Religion Appears Too Harsh
The second problem I noticed, again, something I noticed in myself, and then I noticed it in now millions of other people, is that this religion and this book is extremely strict. And it's harsh. And it's difficult. And it has rules that are not easy.
The rules of this book, the guidelines of this book, it tells you to do some things that you're not supposed to do, or it forbids you from some things, or it commands you to other things, but its rules are too many, and too heavy, and too difficult, and basically impractical. You can't do it. You just can't do it.
If you have to do it, you have to be a very extreme person. You cannot be a normal, happy person and do these rules. As a matter of fact, the more religious you get, the more depressed you get, and the more angry you get, and the more angry you look.
Third Problem: Questions Are Discouraged
The third attitude was that every time I hear, at least most of the times, when I heard people talk about the deen of Allah, they did not tell me why I should be Muslim. They only told me that I should be Muslim. Here's what you should do.
And if I said, why should I do it? They said, because you're going to burn in hell if you don't do it. Why should I believe I will burn in hell? Don't question why you should believe you'll burn in hell. You're a kafir if you question.
The Journey to Understanding
But by the gift of Allah, I stumbled upon the book of Allah. When I did start to decide to try to understand the book of Allah, and I was fortunate enough to find some incredible teachers, I realized all three of those things were untrue.
The book is incredibly relevant. The book has answers to my questions, and my problems, and my personal problems today. The second issue was it's harsh. The more I studied the book, I realized people are harsh. But the book is not harsh. Allah sent the book as a rahmah. But we don't have rahmah. So when we talk about the book, we talk about the book, but we take out the rahmah.
And then the third problem was that people don't want to answer my questions. I have questions and they say, Astaghfirullah, it's from shaitan. But the Quran says,
The Quran is inviting people to ask questions and bring their criticisms.
The Analogy of Water and the Quran
Now I want to share with you an ayah of the Quran:
- Allah, in fact, He is the one that sent water from the sky. (Quran 16:65)
- Then He gave life to the earth after the earth was dead. (Quran 16:65)
- He produces for you by it crops and olives and palm trees and grapevines and from all the fruits. (Quran 16:11)
Understanding the Metaphor
Allah produces two kinds of things with water. He produces farm crops - things that don't grow by themselves. You have to take care of those trees, and you have to grow a farm. A farm does not happen by itself. You have to put a lot of work into a farm for it to grow properly.
And then there are some plants and some fruits that will grow on their own with no effort from you. That's out in the wild. Two kinds of life on the earth come out from the rain.
But actually, remarkably, the ayah that I shared with you is not actually about the water and the sky. That's its second purpose. Its primary purpose is dictated by the ayah that came before it:
The Book as Life-Giving Water
If you want to understand the effect of the book of Allah on the earth, you have to understand the effect of water on the earth. Water brings life to the earth. Is it essential for the survival of the earth? Yes. So, if the water is essential for the survival of the earth, the book of Allah properly delivered to all the places that are morally dead, that are spiritually dead, it has to be delivered properly because rain has to come properly.
No matter how bad the situation is, no matter how dead the earth is, when water can bring the earth back to life, no matter how bad the political situation of the world is, no matter how bad the moral situation of the world is, this book has the power to bring people back to life.
The Responsibility of Delivery
But there is one very important difference. Water comes from the sky and goes everywhere by itself. But when the book comes from the sky, it goes to one messenger. And then he has to make the effort to deliver it. And then the people he delivers it to, they have to make the effort to deliver it more.
We have some similarity with the rain. The Quran has similarity with the rain. But there is a difference. The rain, we don't go and distribute it. But we are responsible for delivering the word of Allah to the earth. Are we doing a good job? I would argue no.
The Problem of Misrepresentation
We make it seem harsh. The rain is supposed to be Rahma. Not Azaab. But we present it as Azaab. Even ask a 10 year old boy, a 10 year old girl living in Pakistan, living in Bangladesh, living in Kuwait, living in Bahrain, living in America, living in Australia. A 10 year old Muslim boy. What does the Quran say? Quran says lots of things are haram. And Allah gets very angry.
We heard the recitation. Allah introduced the teaching of the Quran with which name?
Where is the mercy in teaching the Quran? This is the problem.
The Importance of Examples in the Quran
Allah gives these analogies.
- Examples are critical in the Quran.
Did you know that human civilization, the first act of human civilization was farming. And farming would never have happened if we did not deliver a means of irrigation, of channeling water. If we don't understand how to deliver Quran, and if we don't understand how to cultivate people, then the Muslim civilization will cease to exist.
The only thing is, if we don't do this job, Allah wants this job to get done. So if you are no good,
- If you turn away, He will just replace you with some other people and they won't be useless like you.
Putting the Quran Above Everything
Nothing is above the book of Allah.
Unfortunately, in our times sometimes you and I have an idea and now we want that idea to be justified by the book of Allah.
So we develop our idea first and then we find the ayah in the book of Allah. What was on top? Quran or your idea? Your idea and you put the ayat underneath it to justify. The ayat of Allah are now being used to justify your philosophy.
The Problem of Sectarianism
When I was in New York, every masjid has its own Islam.
Every group believes they are the right one and they will give you a lot of khutbah and a lot of lectures about how wrong the next door neighbor is.
Every group decides one thing is the most important thing. And their entire picture of Islam is based on that one concept. Not a single group said, you know the curriculum for the Muslim should be what? The book of Allah.
Why would Allah give us this book and say,
This book, if you give it justice, it will cause union. And if you don't give it justice, it will cause division.
The Approach to Different People
I have had Christians come up to me and tell me we've been watching your videos. Christian women studying the book of Allah. May Allah guide them.
We are supposed to be farmers. A farmer puts a seed in the ground. Then he puts water on top. Then he makes dua to Allah. And for months and months and months he sees nothing. Because the seed is where? Under the ground. And he doesn't get angry. You have to let things grow. All you have to do is provide the water. And Allah's responsibility.
- You are not in charge. Stop pretending that you are in charge.
The Need for Balance
We are impatient with each other. We want changes to come quickly. If the best generation took 23 years, first of all, we are not the best generation. But if they took 23 years of exposure to this book, our challenge today is let's re-expose the people to the book of Allah like they've never experienced it before.
Conclusion
We have to show the world how beautiful, how remarkable, how incredible, how loving, how merciful, how addictive this book is. That's what we have to do. May Allah azzawajal help us do our job. And may Allah azzawajal increase our love and affection for the book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Question and Answer Session
Study Recommendations
If you guys think that what I have to offer is beneficial, then I humbly suggest two efforts that I've made. The first effort is a course I taught called Divine Speech. That's about 16 hours long. The only purpose of that course is to appreciate the Book of Allah.
The next step I would suggest is a course I put together called Quran for Young Adults. The purpose of that course is to give you an overview of some of the core concepts in the Quran.
On Pronouns Used for Allah
Question about the use of "He" for Allah:
In Arabic, there are two pronouns: (هُوَ - huwa) and (هِيَ - hiya). The pronoun هُوَ is masculine, and هِيَ is feminine. The default position in Arabic linguistics is masculine. So, when something is neutral, then they use the masculine. هُوَ is not being used as male, it's being used as masculine, which means the masculine is not biological, it is grammatical.
Question about the use of "We" for Allah:
When Allah uses different pronouns: third person (he), second person (you), and first person (I and we). When Allah is being formal, or Allah is distancing himself from a group of people, you will find the word "he" (هُوَ). When the slave of Allah talks to Allah, Allah gives us the opportunity to address him using أنت (you).
Then what's left? (أَنَا - ana) (I) and (نَحْنُ - nahnu) (we). أَنَا gets used when there's extreme case of love or extreme case of anger. نَحْنُ is used when Allah speaks in the role of a king, in the role of majesty.
But how does Allah protect the concept of Tawheed even though the word نَحْنُ is there? Study نَحْنُ for Allah in the entire Quran, you will find something. Right before or right after, He will make sure that you learn that He is just One. Every time.
- We gave you Kawthar. Who gave you Kawthar? We. The next ayah:
- pray to your Lord. So that you never forget that "we" is about One.
On the Role of Da'wah
Question about the role of a da'ee:
Our job is not to be a da'ee. Our job is to be a Muslim.
This is the title that we are proud of. Everything else is a piece of this one tree.
As a Muslim, you have lots of responsibilities. You have to give time to your family, your parents, Allah's house, your job, your health, your learning, your friends, your rest. You need to balance all of those things. And by the way, in the middle of all of that, you should make time to represent the Deen of Allah as best you can.
When you find that balance between all of those things, that is the greatest dawah you will ever do because the world is out of balance. Nobody knows how to balance their life. When you have balance, people will say, hey, where you get this balance from? Well, it's from Islam.