My elder sister called yesterday to ask how close I was to finishing the holy Quran the whole thing. I felt a bit guilty answering, since I've been so busy with work that I barely finished the first couple of chapters.I've been blessed doing this Ramadan section for the paper, but bringing you fresh and spicy material every day doesn't help me answer my sister. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of my sister (OK, a tiny bit), but I respect her, and in our culture respecting our elders means fear of disappointing them, which I think is a healthy fear.
Besides, reading the holy Quran has a magical influence on Muslims, and even though some don't realise it, it does feed the heart and mind. So I promised my sister that I would finish it twice. With only half of Ramadan left. What was I thinking?My sister reassured me as only a big sister could: "Ali, I know you suck at math, but all you have to do is read just over four pages after every prayer each day."
Think about it: Four pages times five prayers a day times 30 days equals 600 pages. How many pages in the Quran? 604. I didn't know how easy it was to read the entire Quran by reading four pages after every prayer. "Double that and you can read it twice," she said. Easy with the numbers, sis. Let's just get through it once.