The Recitation of the Holy Qur'an and its Excellence

I. Hadrat ‘Uthman reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “The best among you is he who learns and teaches the Qur’an.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page752] 

II. Hadrat Mu’adh al-Juhani reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “Whoever recited the Qur’an and acts according to its contents, on the Day of Resurrection his parents will be given to wear a crown whose light is better than the light of the sun in the dwellings of this world if it were among you. So what do you think of him who acts according to this?!” [Musnad aHmad, Vol 4, Page 446] 

III. Hadrat ibn Mas’ud reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “Whoever recites a letter of the Book of Allah (the Qur’an) he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a tenfold reward. I do not say that Alif-Laam-Meem are one letter; but Alif is a letter, Laam is a letter and Meem is a letter.” [Sunan Tirmidhi, Vol 2, Page 119 - Sunan Daarimi, Vol 2, Page 320]

There are 361, 267 letters in total in the Holy Qur’an. Thus, upon the recitation of the whole Qur’an one shall receive 3,212,670 rewards (good deeds).

IV. Hadrat Bara’ reported that when a man was reciting Surah al-Kahf, with a horse tied up with two ropes at his side, a cloud overshadowed him, and as it began to come nearer and nearer his horse began to jump. He went and mentioned that to the Holy Prophet in the morning who said, “That was the sakinah which came down because of the recitation of the Holy Qur’an.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 749 - Sahih Muslim, Vol 1, Page 268]

V. Hadrat Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that Hadrat Usaid ibn Huzair said that one night, when he was reciting Surah al-Baqarah with his horse tied beside him, it started jumping. But when he stopped reciting it also kept quiet. When he again resumed recitation it again started jumping. So he again stopped reciting and it also kept quiet. Then he again recited and the horse again started jumping. So he finished reciting, for his son Yahya was near it and he was afraid it might injure him. When he had moved him back, he raised his head to the sky and saw something like a canopy with what seemed to be lamps in it; and when he told the Holy Prophet of it in the morning he said, “you should have kept on reciting, O Ibn-e-Huzair, you should have kept on reciting.” He said, “I was afraid, O Messenger of Allah that it might trample on Yahya who was near it, so I went to him, and when I raised my head to the sky and saw something like a canopy with what seemed to be lamps in it, I went out but could not see them.” He asked, “Do you know what it was?” He said, “I do not.” He said, “Those were the angels who had drawn near to listen to your voice. If you had continued reciting, the people would have looked at them in the morning and the angles would not have concealed themselves from the people.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 750 - Sahih Muslim, Vol 1, Page 269]

VI. Hadrat Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah asked Hadrat Ubayy ibn Ka’b, “What do you recite (from the Qur’an) in the prayer?” He recited Ummul Qur’an (Surah al-Fatiha). The Messenger of Allah said, “by Him in Whose power my soul is, nothing like it has been sent down in the Torah, the Injil (Bible), the Zabur, or the Qur’an. It is the Seven oft-repeated verses and the Mighty Qur’an which I have been given.” [Sunan Tirmidhi, Vol 2, Page 115]

VII. Hadrat Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Qur’an is Yasin. Allah records anyone who recites Yasin as having recited the Qur’an ten times.” [Sunan Tirmidhi, Vol 2, Page 116 - Sunan Daarimi, Vol 2, Page 336]

VIII. Hadrat ‘Ata Ibn Rabah reported, “I heard that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Whoever recites Yasin at the beginning of the day, his desires will be fulfilled.’” [Sunan Daarimi, Vol 2, Page 336] 

IX. Hadrat Ma’qal ibn Yasar al-Muzani reported that the Holy Prophet has said, “Whoever recites Yasin seeking the pleasure of Allah, his past sins are forgiven. So, recite it over those of you who are dying.” [Mishkat Sharif, Page 189] 

X. Hadrat ‘Ali Hadrat reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “everything has an adornment, and the adornment of the Qur’an is (Surah) al-Rehman” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 750 - Sahih Muslim, Vol 1, Page 271]

XI. Hadrat Abu al-Darda’ reported that the Messenger of Allah asked, “Are any of you incapable of reciting a third of the Qur’an in a night?” They said, “How could we recite a third of the Qur’an?” He said, ARABIC TEXT “Say, He is Allah, One” is equivalent to a third of Qur’an.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 753 - Sahih Muslim, Vol 1, Page 268]

XII. Hadrat Abu Musa al-Ash’ari reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “keep revising (the learning by heart of) the Qur’an, because I swear by Him in Whose control my soul is, it is more slipping away than a camel which is tied with a rope.” [Sunan Daarimi, Vol 2, Page 325]

XIII. Hadrat Sai’d ibn ‘Ubadah reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “Anyone who recites (i.e. learns off by heart) the Qur’an and then forgets it will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection in a maimed condition.” [Sunan Abi Dawood, Vol 2, Page 207]

From: Amer Aleem