Sixth: Say to yourself: I am conversing with Allah when I am reading the Qur'an.

The Qur'an contains God's words, addressed to you and meant for you. Though those words are on your lips and inscribed on your heart, they are yet a dialogue between God and man, between Him and you. This dialogue takes many forms. It may be explicit or it may be implicit in the sense that a response is implied from you or Him.

How does this implicit conversation take place? A beautiful example has been given by the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, in a Hadith qudsi:

I have divided the Prayer [salat] between Me and My servant, half is for Me and half for him, and My servant shall have what he asks for. For when the servant says 'All praise belongs to God, the Lord of all the worlds', God says, 'My servant has praised Me'. When the servant says, 'The Most-merciful, the Mercy-giving', God says, 'My servant has extolled Me'. When the servant says 'Master of the Day of Judgement', God says 'My servant has glorified Me' ... this is My portion. When he says, 'Thee alone we worship and from Thee alone we seek help', He says, 'This is shared by Me and My servant. He will be given what he will ask.' When he says, 'Guide us on the Straight Path . . .', He says 'This belongs to My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for' (Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad) .

You will see later how the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, used to respond with words to the message and content of various verses. Remaining conscious of thus conversing with your Creator and Master will impart an extraordinary quality of intensity and depth to your Qur'an reading.