Allaah has revealed the Qur’aan, which is a Light by which He guides whomever He wills of His slaves. There is no doubt that it contains a powerful and effective cure. Allaah says:

“And We send down from the Qur’aan that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe…” [al-Isra’ 17:82].

The method of treatment is to think and ponder its meanings.

The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to ponder the meanings of the Book of Allaah and recite it when he stood in prayer at night (qiyaam al-layl). On one occasion, he stood in prayer at night and recited one single aayah from the Book of Allaah whilst he was praying, and he did not go any further than that (one aayah) until morning. The aayah in question was (interpretation of the meaning):

“If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.” [al-Maa’idah 5:118].

(Reported by Ahmad, 4/149; see also Sifat al-Salaah by al-Albaani, p.102).

He  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to ponder the meaning of the Qur’aan, to the greatest extent. Ibn Hibbaan reported in his Saheeh with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Ataarah, who said: “‘Ubayd-Allaah ibn ‘Umayr and I entered upon ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) and ‘Ubayd-Allaah ibn ‘Umayr said: ‘Tell us of the most wonderful thing you saw on the part of the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ She wept and said, ‘He got up one night (to pray) and said, “O ‘Aa’ishah, leave me to worship my Lord.” I said, “By Allaah, I love to be near you, and I love what makes you happy.” He got up, purified himself and stood up to pray, and he kept weeping until his lap got wet, then he wept and kept weeping until the ground got wet. Bilaal came to call the adhaan for him, and when he saw him weeping, he said, “O Messenger of Allaah, are you weeping when Allaah has forgiven all of your sins, past and future?” He said, “Should I not be a thankful slave? This night some aayaat have been revealed to me, woe to the one who reads them and does not think (about their meaning). Among them is (interpretation of the meaning):
 
“Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding, those who remember Allaah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth…” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:190-191].”’”  (Al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1/106).

This indicates that it is obligatory to ponder the meaning of these aayaat.

The Qur’aan speaks of Tawheed, and contains promises of reward, threats of punishment, rules and regulations, reports, stories, etiquette and good morals, and its effects on the heart are various. Some soorahs fill the heart with fear more than others, as is indicated by the hadeeth of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “(Soorat) Hood and its sisters made me grey before my time.” (al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 2/679). According to another report: “ Surah Hood and al-Waaqi’ah and al-Mursalaat and an-Naba and at-Takwir” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3297; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 955). The Prophet’s hair turned grey because of what these soorahs contain of the realities of faith and great responsibilities, which filled his heart and had a visible effect on his hair and body. “So stand (ask Allaah to make) you firm and straight (on the religion of Islamic Monotheism) as you are commanded and those (your companions) who turn in repentance (unto Allaah) with you…” [Hood 11:112 – interpretation of the meaning].

The Companions of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recited the Qur’aan and pondered its meaning and were moved by it. Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) was a gentle, soft-hearted man, and when he led the people in prayer and recited the words of Allaah, he could not stop himself from weeping. ‘Umar became ill after reciting the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, the Torment of your Lord will surely come to pass, - there is none that can avert it” [al-Toor 52:7-8].  (This report and its isnaad are in Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 7/406).

His sobs could be heard from the back of the congregation when he recited Allaah’s words about Ya’qoob (peace be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

“He said, ‘I only complain of my grief and my sorrow to Allaah…’” [Yoosuf 12:86].(Manaaqib ‘Umar by Ibn al-Jawzi, 167).

‘Uthmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “If our hearts were pure and clean, we would never have enough of the Word of Allaah.” He was killed unjustly as a martyr and his blood fell on his mus-haf – the reports from the Sahaabah concerning this are many. Ayyoob said:

“I heard Sa’eed (ibn Jubayr) reciting this aayah twenty-odd times: “And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allaah…” [al-Baqarah 2:281 – interpretation of the meaning]. (Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 4/324).

This was the last aayah to be revealed of the Qur’aan, and the ending of it is (interpretation of the meaning):

“… Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” [al-Baqarah 2:281]. Ibraaheem ibn Bashshaar said: “The aayah which ‘Ali ibn Fudayl was reading when he died was (interpretation of the meaning):

‘If you could but see when they will be held over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: “Would that we were but sent back (to the world)!…”’ [al-An’aam 6:27].

When he reached that point, he died, and I was one of those who prayed for him [at his funeral], may Allaah have mercy on him.” (Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 4/446).

Even when they prostrated as required when reading Qur’aan (sajadaat al-tilaawah – prostrations required when reciting certain aayaat of
the Qur’aan), they reacted in different ways. One of them was the man – may Allaah have mercy on him – who, when he read the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), “And they fall down on their faces weeping and it adds to their humility” [al-Isra’ 17:109], prostrated as
required, then he rebuked himself by saying: “This is the prostration, but where is the weeping?”

Among the features of the Qur’aan which are most deserving of contemplation are the examples and parables which Allaah sets forth and urges us to ponder and think about. He tells us (interpretation of the meanings):

“ … Allaah sets forth parables for mankind in order that they may remember” [Ibraaheem 14:25] and “… Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect.” [al-Hashr 59:21].

One of the salaf once read one of these parables of Allaah and could not grasp the meaning, so he began to weep. He was asked, “What makes you weep?” He said:

“Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And these similitudes We put forward for mankind, but none will understand them except those who have knowledge (of Allaah and His Signs, etc.)’ [al-‘Ankaboot 29:43],

and I do not understand the parable. I am not one who has knowledge, and I am weeping for all the time I have wasted and not gained knowledge.”

Allaah sets forth many parables for us in the Qur’aan, such as the following (interpretation of the meanings): the one who kindled a fire [al-Baqarah 2:17], the one who shouts to the (flock of sheep) that hears nothing [al-Baqarah 2:171], the likeness of a grain (of corn) that grows seven ears [al-Baqarah 2:261], the dog who lolls his tongue out [al-A’raaf 7:176], the donkey who carries huge burdens of books (but learns nothing from them) [al-Jumu’ah 62:5], the fly (which none but Allaah can create, even if they join together for that purpose) [al-Hajj 22:73], the spider (which builds a house for itself, but it is the frailest of houses) [al-‘Ankaboot 29:41],  the blind and the deaf and the seer and the hearer [Hood 11:24], the ashes on which the wind blows furiously on a stormy day [Ibraaheem 14:18], the goodly tree [Ibraaheem 14:24], the evil tree [Ibraaheem 14:26], the water which is sent down from the sky [al-An’aam 6:99], the niche within which is a lamp [al-Noor 24:35], the slave under the possession of another who has no power of any sort [al-Nahl 16:75], the (slave) man belonging to many partners [al-Zumar 39:29], and others. The point here is that we should refer to these aayat and pay special attention to them, pondering their meanings.