Virtues of the Qur'an

Al-Layth said: Yazid ibn al-Had related to me, from Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, from Usayd ibn Hudayr, who said: One night he was reciting Surat al-Baqara, and his horse was tethered beside him. The horse began moving about, so he stopped reciting and it became still. He recited again, and it moved about. He stopped, and the horse became still. Then he recited again, and the horse moved about once more. He stopped and went away, for his son Yahya was near the horse and he feared it might strike him. When he pulled him away, he raised his head toward the sky until he could no longer see it. In the morning he told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said, ‘Recite, Ibn Hudayr; recite, Ibn Hudayr!’ He said, ‘I feared, Messenger of Allah, that it would trample Yahya, who was near it. I raised my head, went to him, and then looked up at the sky. There was something like a canopy containing shapes like lamps, which went away until I could no longer see them.’ The Prophet said, ‘Do you know what that was?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Those were angels who drew near to your voice. Had you continued reciting, people would have seen them in the morning, and they would not have hidden from them.’ Ibn al-Had said: Abdullah ibn Khabbab also related this report to me, from Abu Said al-Khudri, from Usayd ibn Hudayr.

Qutayba ibn Said related to us; Sufyan related to us, from Abd al-Aziz ibn Rufay, who said: Shaddad ibn Maqil and I entered upon Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). Shaddad ibn Maqil asked him, ‘Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) leave anything?’ He replied, ‘He left nothing except what is between the two covers.’ He said: We then entered upon Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya and asked him. He said, ‘He left nothing except what is between the two covers.’

Hudba ibn Khalid Abu Khalid related to us; Hammam related to us; Qatada related to us; Anas related to us, from Abu Musa, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘The example of one who recites the Quran is like that of a citron: its taste is good and its fragrance is good. The example of one who does not recite the Quran is like that of a date: its taste is good but it has no fragrance. The example of a wicked person who recites the Quran is like that of basil: its fragrance is good but its taste is bitter. The example of a wicked person who does not recite the Quran is like that of colocynth: its taste is bitter and it has no fragrance.’

Musaddad related to us, from Yahya, from Sufyan, who said: Abdullah ibn Dinar related to me, saying: I heard Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) relate from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘Your term, compared with the terms of the nations that came before, is like the time between the afternoon prayer and sunset. Your example and that of the Jews and Christians is like a man who hired workers and said, “Who will work for me until midday for one qirat?” The Jews worked. Then he said, “Who will work for me from midday until the afternoon prayer for one qirat?” The Christians worked. Then you work from the afternoon prayer until sunset for two qirats each.’ They said, ‘We did more work and received less pay.’ He said, ‘Have I deprived you of any of your due?’ They said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘That is My bounty; I give it to whomever I will.’

Muhammad ibn Yusuf related to us; Malik ibn Mighwal related to us; Talha related to us, saying: I asked Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa, ‘Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) make a bequest?’ He said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘How was bequest prescribed for the people, and they were commanded to do it, when he did not make a bequest?’ He said, ‘He made a bequest concerning the Book of Allah.’

Yahya ibn Bukayr related to us; he said: al-Layth related to me, from Uqayl, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Rahman informed me, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who used to say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Allah has not given an ear to anything as He has given an ear to a Prophet reciting the Quran melodiously.’ A companion of his said: This means that he recites it aloud.

Ali ibn Abdullah related to us; Sufyan related to us, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘Allah has not given an ear to anything as He has given an ear to a Prophet who recites the Quran.’ Sufyan said: Its explanation is, ‘He finds sufficiency in it.’

Abu al-Yaman informed us; Shuaib informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Salim ibn Abdullah informed me that Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, ‘There is no envy except in two cases: a man whom Allah has given the Book, and who stands reciting it during the hours of the night; and a man whom Allah has given wealth, and who gives it in charity during the night and day.’

Ali ibn Ibrahim related to us; Rawh related to us; Shuba related to us, from Sulayman, who said: I heard Dhakwan relate from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘There is no envy except in two cases: a man whom Allah has taught the Quran, and he recites it during the hours of the night and day. A neighbor hears him and says, “If only I had been given what so-and-so was given, so that I could do what he does”; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and who spends it in the right cause. Another man says, “If only I had been given what so-and-so was given, so that I could do what he does.”’

Hajjaj ibn Minhal related to us; Shuba related to us, saying: Alqama ibn Marthad informed me: I heard Sad ibn Ubayda, from Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, from Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said, ‘The best of you is the one who learns the Quran and teaches it.’ He said: Abu Abd al-Rahman taught Quranic recitation during Uthman’s rule, until the time of al-Hajjaj. He said: That is what seated me in this place of mine.

Abu Nuaym related to us; Sufyan related to us, from Alqama ibn Marthad, from Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, from Uthman ibn Affan, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn narrated to us: Ḥammād narrated to us, from Abū Ḥāzim, from Sahl ibn Saʿd, who said: A woman came to the Prophet and said, ‘She has offered herself to Allah and His Messenger.’ He said, ‘I have no need of women.’ A man said, ‘Marry her to me.’ He said, ‘Give her a garment.’ The man replied, ‘I cannot find one.’ He said, ‘Give her something, even an iron ring.’ The man made an excuse. He then asked, ‘What do you have of the Qur’an?’ He replied, ‘Such-and-such.’ He said, ‘I have married her to you for what you have of the Qur’an.’

Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd narrated to us: Yaʿqūb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān narrated to us, from Abū Ḥāzim, from Sahl ibn Saʿd: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have come to offer myself to you.’ The Messenger of Allah looked at her, raising his gaze and then lowering it, then bowed his head. When the woman saw that he had made no decision concerning her, she sat down. A man from his Companions stood and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, if you have no need of her, then marry her to me.’ He asked, ‘Do you have anything?’ The man replied, ‘No, by Allah, Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Go to your family and see whether you can find anything.’ The man went, then returned and said, ‘No, by Allah, Messenger of Allah, I found nothing.’ He said, ‘Look for something, even an iron ring.’ The man went and returned, saying, ‘No, by Allah, Messenger of Allah, not even an iron ring. But I have this waist-wrapper’—Sahl said, ‘He had no upper garment’—‘so she may have half of it.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘What would you do with your waist-wrapper? If you wear it, she will have none of it; and if she wears it, you will have none of it.’ The man sat for a long while, then stood up. The Messenger of Allah saw him turning away and ordered that he be called. When he came, he asked, ‘What do you have of the Qur’an?’ He said, ‘I have such-and-such sūrah, such-and-such sūrah, and such-and-such sūrah,’ naming them. He asked, ‘Can you recite them from memory?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Go; I have given her to you in marriage for what you have of the Qur’an.’

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf narrated to us: Mālik informed us, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The likeness of one who keeps company with the Qur’an is that of the owner of tethered camels: if he keeps watch over them, he retains them, but if he lets them loose, they go away.’

Muḥammad ibn ʿArʿarah narrated to us: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from Manṣūr, from Abū Wāʾil, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The Prophet said, ‘How bad it is for one of them to say, “I have forgotten such-and-such verse.” Rather, he has been made to forget it. Keep reviewing the Qur’an, for it slips away from men’s hearts faster than livestock.’

ʿUthmān narrated to us: Jarīr narrated to us, from Manṣūr, the same report. Bishr also related it from Ibn al-Mubārak, from Shuʿbah. Ibn Jurayj also related it from ʿAbdah, from Shaqīq, who said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh say, ‘I heard the Prophet.’

Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAlāʾ narrated to us: Abū Usāmah narrated to us, from Burayd, from Abū Burdah, from Abū Mūsā, from the Prophet, who said: ‘Keep reviewing the Qur’an. By Him in whose hand is my soul, it slips away more readily than camels from their tethers.’

Ḥajjāj ibn Minhāl narrated to us: Shuʿbah narrated to us, saying: Abū Iyās informed me: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal say: I saw the Messenger of Allah on the day of the conquest of Mecca, reciting Sūrat al-Fatḥ while riding his mount.

Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to me: Abū ʿAwānah narrated to us, from Abū Bishr, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: The sūrahs that you call al-Mufaṣṣal are the muḥkam ones. He said: Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘The Messenger of Allah died when I was ten years old, and I had already recited the muḥkam ones.’

Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us: Hushaym narrated to us: Abū Bishr informed us, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I learned the muḥkam sūrahs during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah. I asked him, ‘What are the muḥkam ones?’ He replied, ‘Al-Mufaṣṣal.’