Seventh: Ask Allah for His help, mercy, guidance and protection while you read the Qur'an.

And seek it with your heart, with your words, with your deeds. In traversing your path through the Qur'an you must depend utterly and exclusively upon Him. Not only should you be overwhelmed with this sense of dependence, you must express it. You must call upon Him at every step of your journey. You should ask Him to help you in keeping your heart present in understanding the Qur'an and in following it. Also ask for His forgiveness for your shortcomings and inadequacies.

Beware of any trace of indifference to God and self-sufficiency (istighna') in approaching God's words. These are great sins. Humility, not pride (kibr), dependence (tawakkul), not a sense of autonomy, is what you require.

What you ask will be given: this hope, trust and assurance must always remain with you. Without it your Du'a' will not be of much benefit to you. This is one of the most basic teachings of the Qur'an. Look then at the following verses:

My Lord, surely in dire need am I of whatever good Thou shalt have sent down upon me (al-Qasas 28: 24).

And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except those who have gone astray (al-Hijr 15: 56).

And your Lord has said: Call upon Me and I will answer you. Surely those who wax too proud to worship Me shall enter Hell-fire, utterly abject (al-Mu'min 40: 60).

I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls Me; so let them respond to Me and have faith in Me, so that they go right (al-Baqarah 2: 186).

Let us look at some of the words through which you should seek Allah's help.