In prison, I discovered how so few Muslims, especially non-Arabic speakers, actually understood the Qur’an.
The Kuffaar seem to have realized that it was impossible to make Muslims abandon the Book of Allah, so they convinced them to abandon Arabic, and thereby deprived them of the Qur’an.
Afghanis, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and even some Arabs (amazingly) read, recite, and memorize Qur’an, without having the slightest idea what Allah is saying. They do not even read translations of the meaning.
This is a catastrophe.
Of course, the prison had a Qur’an memorization program, with shaykhs coming from outside to teach tajweed; but there was no emphasis on comprehension.
I arranged to give lectures in my cellblock musalla explaining Ibn Kathir’s tafsir with the help of a Bangladeshi inmate who provided translation in Urdu I supplemented the tafsir with additional information from the Seerah. Following each set of classes on a particular Surah, we would have an exam, giving a phone card to whoever won.
Later, I started another program to get brothers reading translations of the meaning of the Qur’an. We would cover one Juz per week, and I would give participants 10-15 questions the answers to which could be found in the assigned Juz. Questions like,
List 10 commands Allah ordered in this Juz and 10 prohibitions He forbade.
List 10 characteristics of the Believers mentioned in this Juz
What are the types of Munafiqeen?
And so on.
Al-Hamdulillah, it was a beneficial project. Brothers who never actually read the Qur’an properly finally knew what their Rabb was telling them, and they developed the skills of careful reading and study.