An old  American Muslim lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern    Kentucky  with his young  grandson. Each morning  Grandpa  was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading  his Quran.  His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate  him in every way he could. 

One day the grandson asked, 'Grandpa! I  try to read the Quran just like you but I don't understand it, and what I  do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading  the  Qur'an  do?' 

The Grandfather  quietly turned from putting coal in the  stove and replied, 'Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a  basket of water.' 

The boy did as he was told, but all the water  leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and  said, 'You'll have to move a little faster next time,' and sent him back to  the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but  again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told  his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and  he went to get a bucket instead. 

The old man said, 'I don't want a  bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard  enough,' and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. 

At  this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his  grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak  out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into  river and ran hard, but when   he reached his grandfather the basket was  again empty. Out of breath, he said, 'See Grandpa, it's useless!'    

'So you think it is useless?' The old man said, 'Look at the  basket.' 

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time  realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a  dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. 

'Son,  that's what happens when you read the Qur'an. You might not understand or  remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out.  That is the work of  Allah  in our lives.'