The Excellent Qualities of the Qur'an

I heard a man who recited, and as I had heard the Prophet reciting differently I took him to the Prophet and told him and noticed that he gave a disapproving look. He then said, “Both of you are doing it well, so do not disagree, for your predecessors disagreed and perished.” Bukhārī transmitted it.

When I was in the mosque a man entered and prayed and recited in a manner to which I objected. Afterwards a man entered and recited in a manner different from the other. When we had finished the prayer we all went to visit God’s messenger, and I said, “This man recited in a manner to which I objected and the other entered and recited in a manner different from his.” The Prophet then commanded them to recite, and when they had done so he expressed approval of both of them. This made me inclined to tell him he was wrong, even to an extent I had never reached in the pre-Islamic period; and when God’s messenger noticed how I was affected he gave me a pat on the chest, whereupon I broke into a sweat and was filled with fear as though I were looking at God. He then said to me, “A message was sent to me, Ubayy, to recite the Qur’ān in one mode, but when I replied that I wished matters to be made easy for my people, a second message instructed me to recite it in two modes. Again I replied that I wished matters to be made easy for my people, and a third message instructed me to recite it in seven modes, I being told at the same time that I might ask something for each reply I had received. I therefore said, ‘O God, forgive my people. O God, forgive my people;’ and I have delayed the third request till the day when all creatures, even including Abraham, seek my intercession." Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbās reported God’s messenger as saying, “Gabriel taught me to recite in one mode, and when I replied to him and kept asking him to give me more he did so till he reached seven modes." Ibn Shihāb said he had heard that those seven modes are essentially one, not differing about what is permitted and what is prohibited. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Ubayy b. Ka‘b told of God’s messenger meeting Gabriel and saying, “I have been sent, Gabriel, to a people who are unlettered, among whom are old women and old men, boys and girls, and men who have never read a book.” He replied, “The Qur’ān, Muhammad, has been sent down in seven modes." In a version by Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd he said, “They include only what is sufficiently health-giving.” In a version by Nasā’i the Prophet is quoted as saying that Gabriel and Michael came to him, and when Gabriel had sat down at his right and Michael at his left, Gabriel told him to recite the Qur’ān in one mode, and Michael told him to ask more, till he reached seven modes, each mode being sufficiently health-giving.Tirmidhī transmitted it.

‘Imran b. Husain said that when he came upon a story-teller who was reciting the Qur’ān and then asking for payment he first uttered the words, “We belong to God and to Him do we return” and then told that he had heard God’s messenger say, “When anyone recites the Qur’ān, let him ask a reward for it from God, for people will arise who will recite the Qur’ān and ask a reward for it from men.” Ahmad and Tirmidhī transmitted it.

Buraida reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone recites the Qur’ān seeking thereby to get a living from people, he will come on the day of resurrection with his face as a fleshless bone.” Baihaqi trans­mitted it in Shu’ab al-īmān.

Ibn ‘Abbās said that God's messenger did not know where sūras were to be separated till “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” was sent down. Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

When we were in Hims Ibn Mas’ūd recited sūra Yūsuf (Quran, 12) and a man declared that it was not sent down like that. To this ‘Abdallāh replied, “I swear by God that I recited it in the time of God’s messenger and he told me I had done it well.” While speaking to him he noticed the smell of wine on him, so he said, “Do you drink wine and declare the Book false?” and then gave him the prescribed beating. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Abū Bakr sent for me after the slaughter of those who fought at al-Yamāma and ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb was with him. Abū Bakr told me that ‘Umar had come to him and drawn attention to the extensive slaughter among Qur’ān readers at the battle of al- Yamāma, saying he was afraid that if readers continued to be killed in large numbers at other battles a large amount of the Qur’ān would be lost, and that he therefore thought he should give command that the Qur’ān be collected. He had asked. ‘Umar how he could do a thing which God’s messenger had not done, and ‘Umar, swearing by God that this was best, had kept at him till God made him inclined to do that, and he came to hold ‘Umar’s opinion about the matter. Zaid told how Abū Bakr said to him, “You are an intelligent young man whom we do not suspect and you have been writing down the revelation which came to God’s messenger, so search for the Qur’ān and collect it,” adding: I swear by God that if they had imposed on me the transportation of a mountain it would not have been a heavier load for me than the collecting of the Qur’ān which he ordered me to undertake. I asked how they could do a thing which God’s messenger had not done and Abū Bakr, swearing by God that this was best, kept at me till God made me in­clined to do what He had made Abū Bakr and ‘Umar inclined to do. I therefore searched for the Qur’ān and collected it from leafless palm branches, white stones and the breasts of men till I found the end of sūra at-Tauba (Qur’ān, 9) with Abū Khuzaima al-Ansārī, not having found it with anyone else: "A messenger from among yourselves has come to you . . .” to the end of Barā'a* (Qur’ān, 9 128-129). The sheets were deposited with Abū Bakr till God took him, then with ‘Umar during his lifetime, then with Hafsa, ‘Umar’s daughter. *Tauba and Barā’a are alternative titles of sūra 9.Bukhārī transmitted it.

Being alarmed at their difference in reading the Qur’ān he said to ‘Uthmān, “Commander of the faithful, set this people right before they disagree about the Book in the manner of the Jews and the Christians.” ‘Uthmān therefore sent a message to Hafsa asking her to send the sheets to him so that they might make copies of them, after which he would return them to her. Hafsa sent them to ‘Uthmān and he commanded Zaid b. Thābit, ‘Abdallāh b. az-Zubair, Sa'īd b. al-‘Ās and ‘Abdallāh b. al-Hārith b. Hishām who made copies of them. ‘Uthmān gave instructions to the three members of Quraish that when they and Zaid b. Thābit disagreed about anything in the Qur’ān they were to write in the dialect of Quraish, for it came down only in their dialect. They did so, and when they had made several copies of the sheets ‘Uthmān returned the sheets to Hafsa. He then sent a copy of those which they had transcribed to every region, giving orders that every sheet or volume which contained a part of the Qur’ān in different form should be burned. Ibn Shihāb said he was told by Khārija b. Zaid b. Thābit that he heard Zaid b. Thābit say that when they transcribed the Qur’ān he failed to find a verse in al-Ahzāb which he had heard God’s messenger reciting. He therefore sought it and found it with Khuzaima b. Thābit al-Ansārī, “Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with God” (Qur’ān, 33:23). They then added it to its sūra in the copy of the Qur’ān. Bukhārī transmit­ted it.

Ibn 'Abbas said he asked ‘Uthmān what had induced them to deal with al-Anfāl (Qur’ān, 8) which is one of the Mathānī* and with Barā'a which is one with a hundred verses, joining them without writing the line contain­ing "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” and putting it among the seven long ones. When he asked again what had induced them to do that, ‘Uthmān replied, "Over a period sūras with numerous verses would come down to God’s messenger, and when some­thing came down to him he would call one of those who wrote and tell him to put these verses in the sūra in which such and such is mentioned, and when a verse came down he would tell them to put it in the sūra in which such and such is mentioned. Now al-Anfāl was one of the first to come down in Medina and Barā’a was among the last of the Qur’ān to come down, and the subject-matter of the one resembled that of the other, so because God’s messenger was taken without having explained to us whether it belonged to it, for that reason I joined them without writing the line containing ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and put it among the long sūras.'’ *Sūras with less than a hundred verses, but more than those in al mufassal.Ahmad, Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

Abū Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Expound the Qur’ān and take as guide its unusual expressions, they being the things made obligatory in it and the limits set in it.”Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

‘Ā’isha reported the Prophet as saying, “Reciting the Qur’ān during prayer is more excellent than reciting it at other times, and reciting the Qur’ān at a time other than during prayer is more excellent than extolling God and declaring His greatness. Extolling God is more excellent than sadaqa, sadaqa is more excellent than fasting, and fasting is a protection from hell.”Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

‘Uthmān b. ‘ Abdallāh b. Aus ath-Thaqafī, on his grandfather’s authority, reported God’s messenger as saying, “A man’s recitation of the Qur’ān without using a copy of it produces a thousand degrees of reward, but his recitation while using a copy is double that, reaching two thousand degrees.”Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “These hearts be­come rusty just as iron does when water gets to it.” On being asked what could clear them he replied, “A great amount of remembrance of death and recitation of the Qur’ān.” Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

Aifa‘ b. ‘Abd al-Kilā‘ī told of a man who asked God’s messenger which sūra of the Qur’ān was greatest and was told that it is “Say, He is God, One.” He asked which verse of the Qur’ān was greatest and was told that it is the Throne Verse, “God, there is no god but He, the Living, he Eternal.” He asked God’s prophet which verse he would like to bring good to him and his people and was told, ‘‘The end of sūra al-Baqara, for it is one of the treasures of God’s mercy from under His Throne which He gave to this people, and there is no good in this world and the next which it does not include.” Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Abd al-Mālik b. ‘Umair reported in mursal form that God's mes­senger said, “Fātihat al-Kitāb contains healing for every disease.” Dārimī and Baihaqi, in Shu'ab al-īmān, transmitted it.

‘Uthmān b. ‘Affān said, “If anyone recites the end of Āl ‘Imrān (Qur’ān, 3) on a night, the reward for a night spent in prayer will be recorded for him.”Transmitted by Dārimī.

Makhūl said, “If anyone recites Āl ‘Imrān on a Friday, the angels will invoke blessings on him till night comes.” Transmitted by Dārimī.

Jubair b. Nufair reported God’s messenger as saying, “God finished sūra al Baqara with two verses which I have been given from His treasure which is under the Throne ; so learn them and teach them to your womenfolk, for they are a blessing, a means of approach [to God] and a supplication.” Dārimī transmitted it in mursal form.