THE CREATIVE STUDY OF THE QURAN

This quality should be nurtured within you. This is what I mean when I say that the Quran encourages creative thinking. The test to know if you have embraced the Quran is whether it has sparked creative thinking in you. If it has, be grateful, for you have truly received sustenance from the Quran. The Quran was revealed to foster creative thinking in people. It is my habit, whenever I meet someone, to ask, “Tell me something of value.” Most respond with talks of elections or similar topics, which only indicates that the Quran has not yet become their guidebook. Why not marvel at the sunrise, the vast sky, the ocean filling up with water? There are countless wonders in nature to contemplate, yet discussions always revolve around elections. Politics is a temporary phase; it will come and go without fostering new thinking. One of the verses I was reflecting on is: On the Day when the earth shall be changed into another earth (…). (14: 48) In a Hadith (Sunan Al-Tirmidhi), it is said: “The grave can be either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of Hell.” Here, the term “grave” is symbolic, representing a transition from one stage of life to another. We often hear leaders speak about change, like the American President once said, “Change has come to America.” But change must also come within us. The Quran should inspire this internal transformation, so that as we read it and move into the life Hereafter, we are filled with new thoughts. This is creative thinking. Once, while I was in Azamgarh, I slept in a room without electricity. A thought struck me: someone had entrusted me with a 100-rupee note, and if I died, no one would know where I had kept it. I got up, wrote a note detailing the location of the money so it could reach its rightful owner if I were no longer there. This is what creative thinking looks like. Immersing yourself in politics does not lead to personal development or spark creative thinking. People who read the Quran yet remain absorbed in politics have accepted the Quran as part of their belief, not as a book of guidance. True believers in the Quran continuously introspect and question their growth. Every day, they reevaluate and replan. For instance, I was unwell recently and wondered if illness is bad. Then I pondered over a verse: Soon you will be gratified with what your Lord will give you. (93: 5) This means something beyond material things; it means new experiences and insights. Each encounter in life should give you a takeaway, a lesson. Whenever