Virtues of the Qur'an

Rabīʿ ibn Yaḥyā narrated to us: Zāʾidah narrated to us: Hishām narrated to us, from ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Prophet heard a man reciting in the mosque and said, ‘May Allah have mercy on him; he has reminded me of such-and-such verse from such-and-such sūrah.’

Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd ibn Maymūn narrated to us: ʿĪsā narrated to us, from Hishām. He said, ‘I omitted them from such-and-such sūrah.’ ʿAlī ibn Mushir and ʿAbdah also related it from Hishām.

Aḥmad ibn Abī Rajāʾ narrated to us: Abū Usāmah narrated to us, from Hishām ibn ʿUrwah, from his father, from ʿĀʾishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah heard a man reciting a sūrah at night and said, ‘May Allah have mercy on him; he has reminded me of such-and-such verses that I had been made to forget from such-and-such sūrah.’

Abū Nuʿaym narrated to us: Sufyān narrated to us, from Manṣūr, from Abū Wāʾil, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The Prophet said, ‘Why does one of them say, “I have forgotten such-and-such verse”? Rather, he has been made to forget it.’

ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ narrated to us: My father narrated to us: al-Aʿmash narrated to us: Ibrāhīm narrated to me, from ʿAlqamah and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd, from Abū Masʿūd al-Anṣārī, who said: The Prophet said, ‘Whoever recites the last two verses of Sūrat al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him.’

Abū al-Yamān narrated to us: Shuʿayb informed us, from al-Zuhrī, who said: ʿUrwah informed me, from the account of al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd al-Qārī, that they heard ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb say: I heard Hishām ibn Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām reciting Sūrat al-Furqān during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah. I listened to his recitation and found that he was reciting it in several forms that the Messenger of Allah had not taught me. I nearly attacked him while he was praying, but waited until he finished the prayer. Then I seized him by the collar and asked, ‘Who taught you this sūrah that I heard you reciting?’ He said, ‘The Messenger of Allah taught it to me.’ I said to him, ‘You have lied. By Allah, the Messenger of Allah taught me this sūrah that I heard you reciting.’ I took him to the Messenger of Allah, leading him along, and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Sūrat al-Furqān in forms you did not teach me, while you taught me Sūrat al-Furqān.’ He said, ‘Hishām, recite it.’ He recited it in the manner I had heard him recite, and the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Thus it was revealed.’ Then he said, ‘Recite, ʿUmar.’ I recited it as he had taught me, and the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Thus it was revealed.’ Then the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The Qur’an was revealed in seven aḥruf, so recite whatever of it is easy for you.’

Bishr ibn Ādam narrated to us: ʿAlī ibn Mushir informed us: Hishām informed us, from his father, from ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Prophet heard a reciter reciting at night in the mosque and said, ‘May Allah have mercy on him; he has reminded me of such-and-such verses that I had left out of such-and-such sūrah.’

Abū al-Nuʿmān narrated to us: Mahdī ibn Maymūn narrated to us: Wāṣil narrated to us, from Abū Wāʾil, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said: We went to ʿAbd Allāh in the morning. A man said, ‘I recited al-Mufaṣṣal last night.’ He replied, ‘That was hurried, like the hurried recitation of poetry. We heard the recitation, and I remember well the sūrahs that the Prophet used to recite: eighteen sūrahs from al-Mufaṣṣal and two sūrahs from those beginning with Ḥā Mīm.’

Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd narrated to us: Jarīr narrated to us, from Mūsā ibn Abī ʿĀʾishah, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), regarding His words, ‘Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it.’ He said: When Gabriel came down to the Messenger of Allah with revelation, he would move his tongue and lips along with it, and that was difficult for him; this could be seen in him. Then Allah revealed the verses in ‘I swear by the Day of Resurrection’: ‘Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it. It is for Us to gather it and recite it. When We recite it, follow its recitation. Then its clarification is incumbent upon Us.’ He said: ‘It is for Us to make it clear through your tongue.’ He said: Whenever Gabriel came to him, he would bow his head and listen. When Gabriel had departed, he recited it just as Allah had promised him.

Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us: Jarīr ibn Ḥāzim al-Azdī narrated to us: Qatādah narrated to us, saying: I asked Anas ibn Mālik about the Prophet’s recitation, and he said, ‘He would prolong it.’

ʿAmr ibn ʿĀṣim narrated to us: Hammām narrated to us, from Qatādah, who said: Anas was asked, ‘How was the Prophet’s recitation?’ He replied, ‘It was with prolongation.’ Then he recited: ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,’ prolonging ‘In the name of Allah,’ ‘the Most Compassionate,’ and ‘the Most Merciful.’

Ādam ibn Abī Iyās narrated to us: Shuʿbah narrated to us: Abū Iyās narrated to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mughaffal say: I saw the Prophet reciting while riding his she-camel—or his camel—as it carried him along. He was reciting Sūrat al-Fatḥ, or part of Sūrat al-Fatḥ, in a gentle manner, with a wavering cadence.

Muḥammad ibn Khalaf Abū Bakr narrated to us: Abū Yaḥyā al-Ḥimānī narrated to us: Burayd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Burdah narrated to us, from his grandfather Abū Burdah, from Abū Mūsā (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet, who said to him: ‘Abū Mūsā, you have been given one of the flutes of the family of David.’

ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, who said: Ibrāhīm narrated to me, from ʿAbīdah, from ʿAbd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet said to me, ‘Recite the Qur’an to me.’ I said, ‘Should I recite it to you when it was revealed to you?’ He said, ‘I love to hear it from someone other than myself.’

Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf narrated to us: Sufyān narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Ibrāhīm, from ʿAbīdah, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, who said: The Prophet said to me, ‘Recite to me.’ I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, should I recite to you when it was revealed to you?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ So I recited Sūrat al-Nisāʾ until I reached the verse, ‘How will it be when We bring a witness from every community, and bring you as a witness against these people?’ He said, ‘That is enough for now.’ I turned toward him, and his eyes were shedding tears.

ʿAlī narrated to us: Sufyān said to me: Ibn Shubruma said, ‘I considered how much of the Qur’an is sufficient for a man, and I found no sūrah shorter than three verses. So I said: No one should recite fewer than three verses.’

ʿAlī said: Sufyān informed us: Manṣūr, from Ibrāhīm, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd, was informed by ʿAlqamah, from Abū Masʿūd—I met him while he was circumambulating the House, and he mentioned the Prophet’s saying: ‘Whoever recites the last two verses of Sūrat al-Baqarah in a night, they will suffice him.’

Mūsā narrated to us: Abū ʿAwānah narrated to us, from Mughīrah, from Mujāhid, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, who said: My father married me to a woman of noble lineage. He would regularly visit his daughter-in-law and ask her about her husband. She would say, ‘What an excellent man! He has not shared our bed nor entered our private quarters since we came to him.’ When this went on for a long time, my father mentioned it to the Prophet, who said, ‘Let me meet him.’ Later I met him, and he asked, ‘How do you fast?’ I said, ‘Every day.’ He asked, ‘And how often do you complete the Qur’an?’ I said, ‘Every night.’ He said, ‘Fast three days each month and recite the Qur’an once each month.’ I said, ‘I can do more than that.’ He said, ‘Then fast three days each week.’ I said, ‘I can do more than that.’ He said, ‘Fast the best fast: the fast of David—fast one day and break the fast the next—and recite it once every seven nights.’ I wish I had accepted the Messenger of Allah’s concession, for I have grown old and weak. He would have one of his family recite a seventh of the Qur’an to him during the day; the portion he would recite and review in the daytime made it easier for him at night. When he wished to gain strength, he would break his fast for some days, then count them and fast an equal number, because he disliked abandoning anything he had kept up in the company of the Prophet. Abū ʿAbd Allāh said: Some transmitters said three [nights], others five, but most said seven.

Saʿd ibn Ḥafṣ narrated to us: Shaybān narrated to us, from Yaḥyā, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from Abū Salamah, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, who said: The Prophet asked me, ‘In how long do you recite the Qur’an?’

Isḥāq narrated to me: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā informed us, from Shaybān, from Yaḥyā, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, the client of Banū Zuhrah, from Abū Salamah—he said, ‘I think I heard it directly from Abū Salamah’—from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, who said: The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Recite the Qur’an in a month.’ I said, ‘I have the strength to do more,’ until he said, ‘Then recite it in seven days, and do not do it in less than that.’