Shaping a life with the Qur’an | Shaykh Abbas Jaffer | Living The Quran podcast | Ep 1

We've moved away from London to go to a village 6 months in a year where we work exclusively on the Quran. And the aim of this work is to make people reflect. And

so we began with suras that people can immediately relate to. Was there any one verse that stopped you your tracks and thought, "Oh, wow. What a verse." So the adya opens up with you know a a vivid

painting and a portrait that is unrolling in front of you at full speed of horses galloping, war horses galloping with out of determination,

sparks flying off from their hooves and dust rising behind them and then entering into the enemy fray and suddenly coming right into the middle.

But when you look at it carefully and see that Allah is using this as a metaphor for Welcome to Living the Quran podcast where we reflect, connect, and live with

the Quran. And with our first ever

the Quran. And with our first ever series, I'm really, really, really excited to uh have this conversation with Sheikh Abbas Jaffur, also my father-in-law. and um we'll be talking

father-in-law. and um we'll be talking about his journey with the Quran but also he's embarked on this beautiful uh

journey on writing double Quran with a group of scholars and it's a it's a game changer of a book because it's not your regular taps. We'll get to know behind

regular taps. We'll get to know behind the scenes on what uh caused him to start writing this book, his journey with the Quran and how uh he's got here

and watch till the end because there's a bit of a surprise waiting for you at the end. So without further ado,

end. So without further ado, >> thank you so much for taking your time out for this uh podcast.

>> My pleasure. My pleasure.

>> In really looking forward to this conversation here. I think uh the first

conversation here. I think uh the first place uh to start is obviously your uh you don't need any introduction in the community. We just want to know your

community. We just want to know your inspiration. What got you into uh

inspiration. What got you into uh researching the Quran and uh what was that starting point for you with the Quran?

I don't think there was an exact moment per se but uh from the earliest days I was interested in the Quran and the

journey began like everybody else in reading the meanings behind the Arabic at a time when I didn't know much Arabic. So all I was doing was relying

Arabic. So all I was doing was relying on the translations.

Then every so often there would be an ayah that would spark a bit of curiosity.

uh some PMIC verses were to do with Shia Akrida some other issues to do with historical text historical data and so

you would try to read more and uh over the years uh the love for the Quran grew in that way. Yes,

>> that's beautiful. Is there was there like a particular moment that caused you to think no uh there's something about this Quran that really uh I really should dedicate my life to or my time

to? Was there a certain conversation or

to? Was there a certain conversation or a certain experience?

>> There was. Um, so what happened was when I was younger, I always felt that the Shia authorship in terms of taps of the Quran

was lacking whereas our brothers in the Sunni world had so much material. Uh,

and uh, and I always wondered why Shia scholars did not produce more work in English. I mean when we were growing up

English. I mean when we were growing up all we had was Ahmed may Allah bless him work in collaboration with Aapuya and that was little more than a translation

and that's what everybody had there was nothing more than that and then a time came when I was able to read in Persian

and in Arabic and I kind of forgot what I was feeling about when you know I couldn't do and I realized why maybe people didn't write in English because

once could read in the original languages the urgency wasn't there then a set of circumstances in the life of myself and my wife happened where we

were reaching I was reaching the end of my career we had more time you wondering what to do with whatever time Allah subhananaa tala has kept for us

and the idea came to me that look let us produce something in English a little bit more than a translation but not in such a complicated language or style uh

that would be difficult for the average person to to appreciate and understand.

So it be it became a labor of love. We

started it just after co with a simple production of surah fata and the fours and then after that the idea grew on us

that is it possible to actually do the whole of the And then we began and embarked on that around 2122.

And then we produced the 30th volume first and then the 29th, 28th, 27th. We just

finished the 26th and now we're uh begun on the 25th. It's taken about four years to get this far, but now we have begun to accelerate it a little bit, devoting almost all our spare time to it.

>> Yeah. So beautiful. That's so beautiful.

I remember when you when you first released the the first book of surah fat focals there was a huge buzz around it uh not only within the community but within uh within my friend circle as

well because all of a sudden now we're able to uh read more about it and understand those suras that we recite on a regular basis >> inah so I remember there was a lot of

aha moments uh when when we're reading this uh the taps and there's so many conversations within our baras and our chwala uh meetups. So, no, thank you so

much for that. Um, I think, um, there's a lot of people ask me, uh, your father must be enjoying his retired life now. I

say actually, he's working a lot harder than he used to work when in optics, a lot longer hours. But the beautiful thing is it's like you said, it's a labor of love and it's a passion that

you've had and no beautiful way than than producing something that helps uh so many other people around the world.

>> Alhamdulillah. Thank you. So thank you so much and inshallah may Allah give you more barak and more to uh to be able to finish this uh this beautiful project.

Uh but obviously given the fact that I know myself if I start a project um it's a short-term project I can do it but long-term project you need that motivation that constant drive

>> um I don't know if you've had this but has there been any uh any like circumstance or any particular place or moment where you felt ah man this is a

lifelong project what have I put myself into or has there been those moments of uh lack of motivation or um if so how have you overcome come that.

>> Yeah. I mean like you're right about the fact that the series is a long project and uh uh when we first began uh my wife and I did think about this that it's

taking us one year to do one Jew and there are 30 Jews of the of the Quran and that's 30 years which is rather a tall order to us from Allah subhanahu wa

ta'ala. Um so there was always a sense

ta'ala. Um so there was always a sense of urgency. uh we really couldn't be

of urgency. uh we really couldn't be slack for very long. Um and then laterally in the last year or so we have

doubled the speed of it uh by literally devoting more time to it. As

you know we've moved away from London for part of the year to go to a a village. We lived there 6 months in a

village. We lived there 6 months in a year where we work exclusively on the Quran. The second is that both my wife

Quran. The second is that both my wife and I realized that this is an opportunity from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Uh because of our backgrounds in

ta'ala. Uh because of our backgrounds in Islamic sciences uh when we were doing our masters we wrote together a book on Quranic

sciences and it showed at that time the scarcity of material. So we realized it's an

of material. So we realized it's an opportunity to do something. So whenever

the drive is a little bit low working together, you know, when I'm feeling a little bit uh lethargic, she's there to

g me up. And when she's not uh exactly inclined to spend a lot of time, I say, "Well, look, we need to finish this.

These are our deadlines." And we've kept deadlines so that we actually um have something that keeps us disciplined, if you like.

Um but uh and the other thing that we've done is that I remember back in the day when we were studying in Iran and our

teachers said isn't it interesting how our mufasin uh write two volumes on surah bakar and then by the time they reach jama

they finish each surah in two three pages whereas the juma suras are the ones that people know more, recite more and are

the more complicated ones. There are

words in the 30th Jews that are not used elsewhere in the Quran at all because these are mostly makan suras and the Quran is extremely poetic and uh has

this powerful style uh in Makkah. So,

and he made a comment that stuck with me although it was 25 years ago. So he

said, I wish somebody would begin the taps from the bat so they could put all their energy and enthusiasm so that Josh as we say in the 30th Jews and then let

it peter out as they get older. Um and

so we began with suras that people can immediately relate to. They know them uh and they have even memorized some of them and they are as I said complicated

and we have opened up uh what the Lama have said about this. So

>> that's beautiful. I um that that explains a lot because I was always wondering why you started from the 30th shoes because surely there's uh uh it's counterintuitive starting from the back

but that makes a lot of sense >> and there are a lot of works that have um uh been unfinished.

>> Yeah. So only dealing with maybe four, five, six Jews of the Quran from the beginning because there's a very real chance that for if Allah decides you

know to take a person away that the work comes to an end >> and there are lots of unfinished or but doing the beginning part this at least has started with the end part and

although we've only reached we are working on 25th Jews we have covered more than half the suras of the Quran already. So nice. That's beautiful.

already. So nice. That's beautiful.

That's beautiful. Um and you mentioned a very interesting point about um how you and your wife help each other be disciplined and set deadlines. I think

that's that's really important. Uh

especially in this day and age where I hear a lot of conversations or we try and do our own work. We're different

people. Uh we we can't stand each other.

If we work on a project together, then uh all hell will break loose. So we we'd rather do our own stuff. But it goes to show that how much you can harness that power together uh togetherness to be

able to really come up with an amazing project.

>> Yeah. I mean like you know after you've been married a long time one of the things that is a dilemma is what to choose as a birthday gift or an anniversary gift especially when you've

pretty much bought or taken the person somewhere. And what we decided was that

somewhere. And what we decided was that the gift we would give each other is a completion of another Jews. Wow. So and

now with this with the increased pace it means another two Jews you know um and and that has been something very satisfying for both of us that you know on our anniversary we look at a finished

work and say alhamdulillah we managed to do one more juice of the Quran uh and uh and we did it with the support of each other the strength of each other

actually that's really beautiful that's really really nice and uh no no better way uh no better gift uh for your university than a tier completed for >> a bit of an unusual gift but it works

for us.

>> Yeah. Uh very valuable. Some people

would look at the expensive holidays as a valuable thing. This is a very valuable uh anniversary gift. So no

thank you uh for that. Let's go to the the book itself.

>> Mhm.

>> Like you said you've done the 30th 29th 28th 27th 26 >> the 26th. Yeah. We are now in September 20. We're in August 2025. 26th Jews has

20. We're in August 2025. 26th Jews has just been launched.

>> Okay.

>> And we are working on 25th now. Um and

inshallah by the end of the year that would be done and we begin the >> inshallah. So what should one uh expect

>> inshallah. So what should one uh expect when they when they buy this book? By

the way, you'll be able to I'll put the link in the description where you can buy the books. uh when they get the book and when they open it, what should they expect from this book?

>> Right? So

what this is is um it is a taps of the Quran but my wife and I don't claim to be mufas because that is a specialist science. So

you will find three or four things in this book. Number one is we have chosen

this book. Number one is we have chosen a selection of mufasim from whose works we compile this taps.

So nothing really of the taps element is from us.

>> Okay. Um and what happens is that we have chosen about 15 11 Shia scholars four scholars scholars from Sunnah and

we have taken their views on the verses that we are looking at and then compiled condensed them into a narrative in English language.

Um so where you will find that the book is full of references that for example Abatabai has written this in this volume on that page or for example the Sunni

scholar Ashur has written this on this so we have kept that for further references and so on um so it's a compilation

what its aim is and the aim of this work is that to make people reflect that's why we chose the name Tadabu Because the Quran doesn't say that taps

is compulsory. Taps is a specialist

is compulsory. Taps is a specialist science. What the Quran says is

science. What the Quran says is reflection and pondering about on its verses is compulsory on every single human being. It doesn't require uh a

human being. It doesn't require uh a prerequisite in Islamic knowledge of the Quran.

So the way it would be used or let me let me go back to how we have written it. So

we've kind of written it in the way we would have liked to read it uh a work like this. So there would be a set of

like this. So there would be a set of verses.

There would be uh the meanings in English.

Then there would be an explanation of some of the terminologies which are a bit unusual and why they have been used, how they have been used. And then what we have done is five things. The first

is we have linked these verses to similar verses elsewhere in the Quran.

So Allah subhana t would speak about something but then would give further details somewhere else which adds to the picture. So wherever that happens, we

picture. So wherever that happens, we include it. The second thing is where

include it. The second thing is where the imams of Bahal B have directly spoken about the verse we make we bring in the relevant hadith or for example

very interestingly which we began to find out more and more is the imams used to use the Qurani verses uh indirectly in hadith and in duas.

>> Okay. So when a dua is actually referring to a particular verse we show it that imam sad here is actually talking about this verse and when you look at it you did as he is without making it so obvious that he was doing

it or the beauty of that is it adds further taps to that particular verse in the way he was doing. The fourth thing is or third thing is that we include summaries

of every section to say what is this particular thing talking about and then the thing that makes this work unique is that at the end of every section we have a suggestion for reflection uh it's just

a suggestion from my from us to say that look this is how this could be relevant today and whether I am actually applying this in this way myself and so on and

then lastly we have discussions So when a particular topic is discussed in that surah which is a bit unique to that surah although it may come in other suras we have uh three or four

paragraphs discussion about it specifically um and this is how it is so so coming back to the question how it should be used I don't think it's one of those works that you basically say okay

I'm now reading this work so let me start from page one and move on to the last page I mean you could try to do that but it gets very heavy a bit like it would be a bit like saying let me

start from the beginning of the Quran and end it like it has a place but the real uh usage of the book in our

understanding would be that you're reciting the Quran and you come across something that puzzles you or makes you curious intrigues you about something

and you think I wonder really what the background to this is you would reach for the taps >> and you would open up the relevant section and get a little bit of

background on it. Um, so this is how we see it being used. In addition to you, it can be used for formal study as well where groups of people

or families actually, you know, we encourage families to set aside maybe an hour a week or whatever for the Quran and then formally study it or they could do it uh with a study class led by a teacher.

>> No, that's really beautiful. I think the way you the you've laid out the the book is quite unique and sometimes what I do is before I go in uh into reading a

particular verse or particular surah I'll read the reflective part first and the discussion part and then go into just to give a different kind of nuance almost back to front

>> um take a leaf from your doing the tir from the back um but also one thing that uh I've I've realized is that a lot there a lot of uh small pockets of

friends that are sitting together, coming together and almost using this book as a lead for them in their research and in their uh in their conversations. And it's so nice because

conversations. And it's so nice because normally where a group of friends would all they talk about is football and and their social life. Now all of a sudden they're bringing the Quran into that.

And the fact that it's a tadled book, it's allowing them to reflect on their uh on their day-to-day life and allowing them to have those conversations as well.

>> Yeah.

>> Um >> certainly in London.

>> Yeah.

>> Um I find that there are I know of at least three circles who are doing something and alhamdulillah they're using Quran because um there are there are translations of taps around in

English now, alhamdulillah, and Shia taps as well. But again they are very monolithic. They of one particular

monolithic. They of one particular scholar here you're getting a wide variety of views and so it it adds a little bit to the picture and yeah I know of three groups who who are doing

that and this is the way it's meant to be used >> because at the end of the day the Quran is the sort of link we have with Allah and we cannot >> exactly

>> ignore it at all. And more importantly as well even in in our travels uh when we're talking about the Quran in the Quran camps we're all about getting families together to be able to come

together create a Quranic family and but a lot of the a lot of the challenge the parents faces and it's not their fault as well is their lack of uh relationship

or lack of understanding of the Quran and a lot of times uh it's because they don't have those reference points of contact and this book creates that as

well. Um so alhamdulillah it's uh it's

well. Um so alhamdulillah it's uh it's really really important for for families to come together get this book and and just as you said weekly you know just you the way you'll have your family

weekly family dinners make this part of uh your weekly family dinner where each part of the family is coming together having read a few pages even one page and then you come and uh spend 10

minutes 15 minutes discussing that together I think we just want to delve down in terms of the the background and and your feelings

uh when while writing this book and while re uh researching was there any one verse that stopped you in your tracks and thought oh wow what a verse

either I've uh not come across this verse before or I've always come across this verse but I've never thought about it in this particular way what I know there must be many but one verse

>> yeah there are many there are many of course but so once you begin on actually doing this kind of work, you have to explain verses much more. So there's a

there's a lot more uh thinking to be done because when you're reading and then look even reading translation, it's a personal reading. Now you're trying to explain it.

>> Um and then you have to delve in deeper and you realize that Quran is so it's like an ocean, you know. Um so there are many verses and my wife and I were

talking about you know some of those moments that for example we were talking about the fact that surah adiat is opens up with you know a a vivid

painting in a portrait that is unrolling in front of you at full speed of horses galloping war horses galloping with a lot of determination sparks flying off

from their hooves and dust rising behind behind them and then entering into the enemy fray and suddenly coming right into the middle and then those after

those oaths Allah subhana ta speaks about insan um and when you read them those kind of verses

without taps you either look through them and and kind of part of you wonders what's going on here really what has that got to do with me and uh what is Allah trying to show here why is it such

a uh uh a metaphor that I can't relate to immediately, horses, war horses. I

don't think I've ever ridden on a horse, things like this. But when you look at it carefully and see that Allah is using this as a metaphor for

these are horses who are being used for jihad, that means they are they are being employed in that in that instance.

Look at the determination they have, the single-minded focus they have that Allah talks about. How they're they're being

talks about. How they're they're being ridden and they are moving, you know, determinally towards the goal. Look at

how they obey instantly the writers who are taking them, the noble objective they have got and they want to achieve something holy.

um because it's a metaphor it can sit on anything else that we do and that we're doing something for Allah subhana tala we have to do it with that kind of you know enthusiasm and energy uh to do it

as best as we can rather than to just finish it so that we are absorbed of responsibility there here it is being done with enthusiasm with single-mindedness focus determination

for Allahh and when you start to look at that you reflect on how you can use that metaphor in your own life.

>> Um >> that's beautiful. Um the way you uh Allah subhana ta really graphically describes everything and like you said

it's like a painting. Um, so it just uh appeals to everyone I feel. Those people

that are more uh imagin imaginative, those people that like uh the poetic part of it, uh the people that like the sound, how it sounds. Um, and that's all

encapsulated in the Quran, which is so beautiful uh to see. Um, and I think it leads on to the final kind of uh bit of advice that I'd like uh you to share

with all of us. And that is um uh with with any any Muslim that picking up this Quran uh or this book as well. um how

would you want them to feel a uh when going through the the Quran and b is there any particular verse that you you're probably want them

to look into uh or reflect into uh when going through the Quran >> see when you're interactive with interaction of the Quran

um can be in various forms it depends a lot on what's going on in your life at that time how much spare time you have at certain times when you are out of

your normal day-to-day routine you have potentially more time you spend with the Quran u my message would be that it doesn't

matter how but you should keep a constant connection even if it is as Immadi Alisam would say that I want my Shia to recite 50 vers of the Quran a day now that means that you should be

spending part of your day devoted to the Quran Um a suggestion would be that as a family we would say okay look this month we are

doing this particular surah like we took or any other surah as a family and what we will start off with is just by constantly reciting that surah together uh listening to its character recitation

and so on becoming familiar with it over a period of a week we all are very familiar with it then perhaps the next week we're all familiar with the meaning of it and then in the third take we

start to think about the deeper meanings of it so that we actually can start to internalize it and like Quran would be useful because that surah has been dealt

with. We look at it in detail as a

with. We look at it in detail as a family >> and then in the fourth we start saying things like okay now we know this whole surah are we applying some of its teachings in our life on a day-to-day

basis and what tangible action points as a family can we do from surah adiyat to make it part of our day part of our life

um this is one way a suggested way um it doesn't have to be a lot of time spent if you think about it even if people spend

deliberately say two half hour uh slots in a week and those are or or one one and a half hour slot in a week over a

period of a year their knowledge their uh understanding of the Quran familiarity of the Quran will grow tremendous tremendously and the Quran is very blessed that way we ourselves see

this as a blessed opportunity for us you know that Allah subhanaa tala made circumstances in such a way that we could work on something like this. Um,

as for verses that they can think about, there's so many.

Um, and that's the whole idea of the reflective summary is to try to bring some in. But I remember that, you know,

some in. But I remember that, you know, one of the verses that really made us re-evaluate our priorities. Something

you read all the time is where Allah subhanah in halfway through 15:16 Allah subh says shall I tell you about

man I've made him haven't I shall I tell you about let's talk about when he is Lord puts him into and tries him for

he honors him and gives him blessings And what does he say? God loves me. God

is honoring me.

And then he says, and then when we try him and we straighten his means, make things difficult, he says God doesn't like. But

you know there's so many beautiful things in this verse. First of all, Allah says this is the trait of Insan.

Every insan is like this. You know

because Insan instinctively understands or tries to relate to God the way he relates to each other. So I'm good with you. So whenever you are good with me, I

you. So whenever you are good with me, I know you're happy. When you start to act badly with me, I think you're not happy.

Right? So they think Allah is like this.

Number one. Number two, notice how when Allah subhanaha says I am kind to him and I give him lots of things before that he says this is aah

when I when I do send bala on him so this and this from Allah is aah second as well as he use the same balah for when

he constricts this so everything is aah So the one who says that when good things come

and when bad things he comes Allah says in the next versal you've made a mistake. Your reckoning is absolutely

mistake. Your reckoning is absolutely wrong. It's not like this. When I grant

wrong. It's not like this. When I grant or withhold you have no idea whether I'm angry or upset with you. That's not the

way to tell. Right? So this was a real you know because we used to think that yeah Allah tries with bala but we realize that Allah tries with ease actually

>> and possibly one can say that the greater trial is in ease because that is when you forget God you forget you know uh everybody remembers God when things

are tough but in ease we forget so these kind of verses made us re-evaluate even the way we think of things in life the way We encounter the experiences and

try to understand what is happening to us in our lives as not Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala being hateful or necessarily

assuming he likes us. Instead there are different criter that was really really beautiful. In

fact, you've uh given a very uh interesting insight on on your mindset and your conversations uh that go into uh writing this book and uh I personally

can't uh recommend it highly enough. has

just uh given such a different understanding of the Holy Quran uh and allowed us to reflect and given us those questions u not spoon feeding us as much

but also just allowing us to really um ask ask those pertinent questions so that we can think about the Quran as individuals as friends as families and

and as a community as well. So um thank you so much for uh for listening in to our first podcast. If you've if you've reached this far with us, remember I told you there's a surprise at the end.

Uh we really really appreciate if you can like, subscribe, and share. Um for

all those that subscribe with this to our channel with this podcast, we're going to give five copies of uh of this Quran. So any five of you could uh would

Quran. So any five of you could uh would be sent uh a copy of this Quran if you subscribe to our channel.

Uh and there's a lot more coming uh a whole series coming with Abbas Jaffur where we'll be talking about all those unanswered questions that we have uh in our minds. All those questions that may

our minds. All those questions that may be answered but not through the Quran and obviously the Quran is a book of guidance for us. So it'll be really really uh interesting to see what Allah

subhanaa t has to tell us about all those unanswered questions that we have.