Arabiq Online - Arabic of the Qur'an

Sūra Muḥammad 47:24

تَدَبُّرٌ - is translated as ؛pondering’ or ‘contemplating’, and features exclusively in reference to the Qur’an, when Allah asks rhetorically why people don’t ponder over the Qur’an, or whether there are locks on their hearts.

The word تَدَبُّرٌ is an interesting one. Its root د ب ر means ‘the end, behind or last of something’. Linguistically to do تَدَبُّرٌ means to read the Qur’an with an end or goal in mind. And Allah asks every single one of us to do tadabbur - not just scholars! And according to Him - it’s not optional. That’s why in Sūra Muḥammad, ayah 24, He asks admonishingly:

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا

Do they not contemplate the Quran, or are there locks on the hearts?

It’s an either-or statement. Either you contemplate and ponder over the Qur’an, or there are locks on your hearts. And when a door is locked, nothing can get inside. We can recite the Qur’an until our voice is hoarse, and we’ll get thawāb and baraka for it, but the guidance cannot enter inside unless we do tadabbur.

That’s precisely HOW we’re supposed to read the Qur’an: 

be present with it and ponder, 

approach it with curiosity and wonder, 

look behind the surface and under, 

seek to uncover and discover, 

go deeper and deeper, 

then ask: how can I be better?