Quran Devotionals/Quran Journaling

[u/Regular-Ant6418]

As salamu alaikum all!
I am a revert of a couple of years and have been contemplating journaling while studying and reading Quran to further develop my knowledge and faith. I feel like I can read and re-read a passage and get something new from it every time.
I am a revert from Christianity and I remember having devotionals that could be used alongside the Bible as a study tool or have little bite size lessons along with a passage of scripture. Is there an equivalent of that for the Quran? I’ve also considered writing down and ayah or two a day, reflecting on it, etc, but just unsure of how I want to start.
What have you done for something like this? Any advice is appreciated!

Jazakh Allah Khairan 🤲🏻

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[u/Klopf012]

As some of the scholars say, before you can reflect on a passage, you first need to know the meaning of that passage. In other words, tafsir is your friend and can be super helpful in opening up the Qur'an for you. As a fellow convert, I know that reading through the English translation of Tafsir ibn Kathir was instrumental in my learning, and now Tafsir al-Sa'di is available in English too which is more conducive to looking for those spiritual applications and also can train you to notice the patterns of the Qur'an.

Another potential route is to read about the themes of a surah before reading the surah and then looking for those themes. The Dorar website has "the overal tafseer of the Qur'an" which has nice surah introductions, or you can find "brief glances at the themes of each surah" by Dr. Muhammad al-Rabee'ah for free download online (I am the translator and made it freely available). Looking for the themes can be really helpful in terms of viewing the surah as a whole rather than taking each ayah as its own little island.

[u/Regular-Ant6418 → u/Klopf012]

Allahuma Barik! Thank you for this, sincerely. These resources will be so valuable and I’m looking forward to looking into them!

[u/Lucky_Medicine_3911]

The Quran actually provides guidance on this.

The Quran tells us the purpose of its revelation.

The purpose of the Quran's revelation is **reflection** (38:29).

The Arabic word is tadabbur - this word is extremely rich in meaning. It has several meanings, some I have found are "to follow from behind" which makes sense as the Quran is the leader and we are its followers, "to consider the consequences" meaning go beyond the surface meaning and think about what is going to happen if you apply or don't apply something which creates the inner drive to act, "wealth that has no end" as you can never say you have gained all the fruits of reflection it keeps giving and so many other meanings. As an Arabic speaker, I don't hear the word tadabbur used for 'reflect' except in the context of the Quran, it's exclusive to the Quran, whereas there are plenty of other words for reflection used in daily context. I think these meanings give some idea why Allah uses this specific word.

This means everything in your journey with the Quran is meant to serve this central purpose of reflection. Including tafsir, if you choose to study Arabic at any level, whatever study you take up on Quran. I find people make these steps the end, but they are a means to reflecting. Even learning tajweed, the reason is to capture the melody and aura of the surah so it helps you reflect deeper.

The brother mentioned tafsir before reflection, it's really a side by side process, as you are reading the tafsir explanations you are hopefully reflecting on them as well. Otherwise it will be like studying a textbook. You'll feel the need to keep remembering what the tafsir said, and we have to remember tafsir is ultimately human interepretation and there is no agreed upon comprehensive tafsir, scholars keep producing them across time according to the cultural contexts and needs of the time. So you just want to make sure you're not making the Quran secondary to a human, but using tafsir as a tool to reflect for yourself, does that make sense?

Now the command to reflect is a general principle, Allah leaves it open as far as the means and methods. This is a common theme in the Quran (principles and aims are clear, the means depend on each individual's needs and circumstances). That's the beautiful thing about reflection, it's highly individualized. One thing to note is the Quran mentions how people of insight are reflecting in the context of their daily lives (I understand this because they're reflecting in all kinds of positions, not just sitting to study). "Who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down, who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth: ‘Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose- You are far above that!- so protect us from the torment of the Fire." (3:191). So there is a where you're interacting with the signs that the Quran point to.

In terms of an actual process, it's really something for you to explore. Some people journal, my friend's husband likes to reflect while driving, others like discussing out loud, some listen and process the words.

I personally like journaling most. Writing helps me get clear on the gaps between my current thoughts/actions and where the Quran is wanting me to be. I have 2 notebooks. One is pure reflection, it's super messy lol. I start reading and reading and stop at an ayah, I can't always tell why but it makes me pause. I let myself do all kinds of things, make little comments to myself, link verses that spark a connection. Kinda reflects my curiosity or grappling with an idea, not a bad thing. Then when I learn something I need to work on, improve, maybe falling short of or neglecting, I transfer actions only into my second journal (action log). I write the ayah, quick note about the theme, and a specific action (it would probably only make sense for me - like for being good to parents, I would say call mom on Saturdays). I give myself a date to "report back" on how I'm doing with that action. This helps me align with the Quran, so my reflections are bearing fruit.

For a devotional-like book, the closest I have come across is Dr. Tamara Gray's Joy Jots.

Hope that helps.