Introduction
Allah says, conveying the words of His Messenger ﷺ:
“And the Messenger will say, ‘O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur’an as something abandoned.’” (25:30)
This verse raises a profound question in our contemporary reality:
How can the Qur’an be abandoned when it is more widely read, memorized, and circulated today than ever before?
Thousands of memorizers graduate every year. Millions recite it, especially during Ramadan. It is present in mosques, ceremonies, and daily rituals.
So, can it still be “forsaken”?
This paper proposes that our simple understanding of “abandonment” may be incomplete, and that connecting it with the concept of levels of cognition (marātib al-idrāk) reveals a deeper dimension of the issue.
1. What Does It Mean to Forsake the Qur’an?
Scholars have long clarified that “forsaking” the Qur’an does not simply mean neglecting its recitation. It encompasses broader forms, including:
- Abandoning listening to it
- Abandoning reflection (tadabbur)
- Abandoning acting upon it
- Abandoning judging by it
This means that abandonment can occur even when the text is present and actively recited, if its true function in human life is absent.
2. The Qur’an Is Not Just a Text—It Is a System of Cognition
A careful reading of the Qur’an shows that it does not merely present information. Rather, it seeks to shape human awareness and perception.
It repeatedly addresses the human mind with expressions such as:
- “Will they not reflect (yatadabbarūn)?”
- “Will they not reason (yaʿqilūn)?”
- “So that they may think (yatafakkarūn)”
This indicates that the Qur’an’s purpose is not simply recitation but elevating the human being through successive levels of cognition.
3. Levels of Cognition: From Ignorance to Certainty
Islamic scholars describe human cognition as progressing through different levels, including:
- Certainty (ʿilm / yaqīn)
- Probability (ẓann)
- Doubt (shakk)
- Illusion (wahm)
- Ignorance (jahl) [islamqa.info]
These levels are not just intellectual states; they represent different relationships with truth itself.
Through its verses, the Qur’an seeks to move the human being from:
Ignorance → Doubt → Probability → Certainty
This progression lies at the heart of Qur’anic guidance.
4. Where Does the Breakdown Occur?
Here is where the connection between forsaking the Qur’an and levels of cognition becomes clear.
In today’s Muslim world, the Qur’an is rarely abandoned in terms of recitation, but it is often abandoned in the cognitive journey it was meant to produce.
We:
- Recite, but do not deeply reflect
- Understand partially, but do not reach certainty
- Reach conviction at times, but do not translate it into action
As a result, engagement with the Qur’an often remains confined to the earliest stages of cognition, without reaching its intended completion.
5. Recitation Without Transformation
This perspective sheds light on the meaning behind the Prophetic warning:
“There may be a reciter of the Qur’an whom the Qur’an curses.”
That is, recitation alone is not sufficient. It may even become an empty form if it does not lead to transformation in:
- Behavior
- Values
- Decision-making
The Qur’an was not revealed merely to be recited, but:
“A blessed Book We have revealed to you so that they may reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding may be reminded.”
Reflection is the bridge between text and life. Without it, cognition remains incomplete.
6. From Text to Life: The Missing Link
The message of the Qur’an can be understood as a connected chain:
- Recitation (reading the text)
- Reflection (understanding meaning)
- Cognition (formation of awareness)
- Certainty (internal conviction)
- Action (embodiment in life)
When this chain is broken at any stage, what results is what we may call:
Functional abandonment of the Qur’an
In this case, the Qur’an exists, but does not fulfill its role.
7. Redefining “Forsaking the Qur’an”
Based on this analysis, we can offer a deeper definition:
Forsaking the Qur’an is not its absence from our tongues, but its absence from the cognitive process that leads to action.
Or more precisely:
To forsake the Qur’an is to interrupt the cognitive journey it was meant to produce within the human being.
8. A Qur’anic Model of Cognitive Elevation: The Meaning of “Wa Mā Adrāka”
An important illustration of the Qur’an’s engagement with human cognition appears in the recurring expression:
“Wa mā adrāka…” (And what will make you know?)
This phrase appears in several verses, such as:
“Wa mā adrāka mā al-ḥāqqah” (69:3)
“Wa mā adrāka mā al-ṭāriq” (86:3)
Linguistically, “adrāka” means to bring someone to realization or deeper understanding. In these contexts, it signals that what follows lies beyond the listener’s current level of knowledge.
This expression is not merely rhetorical, it reflects a deliberate cognitive method.
At the moment this phrase is invoked:
- The listener’s assumed understanding is interrupted
- Human limitations are exposed
- A deeper reality is revealed
In this way, the Qur’an does not simply inform, it elevates cognition.
9. From Concept to Demonstration
This pattern provides a concrete demonstration of the theoretical framework discussed earlier.
If levels of cognition describe the stages of human perception, then “wa mā adrāka” marks a moment of transition within that process.
It is as if the Qur’an is saying:
Your current understanding is insufficient, let Me raise you to a higher level of realization.
These verses therefore function as live demonstrations of the Qur’an’s transformative method:
- From superficial awareness → to profound realization
- From assumption → to clarified truth
- From limited perception → to deeper certainty
10. Implications for Understanding “Forsaking the Qur’an”
If the Qur’an is designed to elevate human cognition, then stopping at surface engagement, without allowing this elevation, means disrupting its purpose.
In this light:
To forsake the Qur’an is to halt the very transformation it seeks to initiate.
11. Restoring the Qur’an’s True Role
Reviving our relationship with the Qur’an requires more than increasing recitation. It requires rebuilding engagement through:
- Deep understanding
- Reflection and contemplation
- Intellectual openness
- Translating awareness into action
In essence, we must move from:
Reading the Qur’an → to → Living the Qur’an
Conclusion
Today, the Qur’an is preserved in hearts, recited in sacred spaces, and present in public life.
But the real challenge is not its presence, it is its effectiveness.
The Prophet’s complaint may not be about the absence of the Qur’an, but about the absence of its transformative impact.
Through the lens of levels of cognition, we discover that the problem is not the text, but the incomplete journey.
The Qur’an is not forsaken when it is not read, it is forsaken when it does not transform.