I remember it was the
first book I ever read. The first language I was ever taught in written form was
Arabic, even though I spoke
Urdu, I didn't start reading Urdu until much later, at least until I'd learnt a few chapters of the Quran by heart first. The Quran is so important in
Muslims households that this is frequently the case, while it didn't really matter in my case very much as Urdu and Arabic are almost
identical in written
script, I know of countless
Malay,
African,
English and
American Muslims for whom learning their own language was secondary in their ability to read the
Quran.
It's beautiful, is all I can say. It lights up your mind even without knowledge of what the sounds mean, it is after all a recitation, and of superb poetry to boot.
You can listen to some of it here:
http://www.kuran.gen.tr/html/english2/#kapat
I guess it's difficult for most people to realize just what a profoundly
complete experience contact with the Quran is. It
opens places inside you that you didn't know existed, it brings
life back to those places you thought were dead, and it
softens the hard
barriers of resentment and fear that stop us from
growing.
No body ever converts to Islam by reading the Quran, I think the process is more one of realizing that you are a Muslim, have been since birth, and have only now come to see it. It is not a burden to be added to your back, a set of new duties, rules, or restrictions, to be adhered to dogmatically. The Quran doesn't liberate you, but it does give you the tools and strength to liberate yourself. It forces you into independence of mind, making you consider the truth of things in open light of day. It encourages critical thought and the gaining of knowledge, directed everywhere, even at itself.
I personally went through a heavily critical period against the Quran and Islam in my early teenagerhood, and I could be said to never have left it. The surprising thing is that 11 years later, I find myself in more awe of the book than when I began, and I would regard myself as being infinitely more capable at pragmatic and cynical analysis than when I began. The Quran is responsible for my entire existence as human being, it dragged me kicking and screaming into being an idealist while others around me chose nihilism and relativism.
The knowledge it gave me of Allah, my life, and what it is to be good, human, and alive are the cornerstones of my foray into the world of sense and thought.