Virtues of the Quran's Chapters and Verses
Virtues of the Quran's Chapters and Verses
فضائل سور القرآن وآياته
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad said: My father told me: Jābir related that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) went out to al-Ṣafā and said, ‘We begin with that with which Allah began.’ Then he recited: ‘Indeed, al-Ṣafā and al-Marwah are among the rites of Allah.’
Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr said: During the night, while he was reciting Sūrat al-Baqarah and his horse was tethered beside him, the horse began to move about. He fell silent, and it became still. He recited, and the horse began to move about. He fell silent, and the horse became still. Then he recited, and the horse began to move about. He turned away; his son Yaḥyā was near it, and he feared that it might strike him. When he pulled him close, he raised his head toward the sky until he could no longer see it. In the morning he told the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, ‘Recite, Ibn Ḥuḍayr; recite, Ibn Ḥuḍayr.’ He said: I feared, Messenger of Allah, that it would trample Yaḥyā, who was near it. So I raised my head and turned toward him; I raised my head to the sky, and there was something like a canopy containing shapes like lamps. It went away until I could no longer see it. He said, ‘Do you know what that was?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Those were angels who came near because of your voice. Had you continued reciting, by morning people would have been looking at them; they would not have been hidden from them.’ Ibn al-Hād said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Khabbāb related this report to me from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, from Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr.
Translation notes
فَانْصَرَفَ وَكَانَ ابْنُهُ يَحْيَى قَرِيبًا مِنْهَا فَأَشْفَقَ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُ فَلَمَّا اجْتَرَّهُ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ حَتَّى مَا يَرَاهَا فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ حَدَّثَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " اقْرَأْ يَا ابْنَ حُضَيْرٍ اقْرَأْ يَا ابْنَ حُضَيْرٍ ".
In فَلَمَّا اجْتَرَّهُ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ حَتَّى مَا يَرَاهَا, the pronouns’ referents and the antecedent of “it” are not explicit in the surrounding wording. The English witness supplies a particular sequence and interpretation.
Who pulled whom close, and what is no longer seen in this clause?
قَالَ فَأَشْفَقْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَنْ تَطَأَ يَحْيَى وَكَانَ مِنْهَا قَرِيبًا فَرَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي فَانْصَرَفْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَرَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَإِذَا مِثْلُ الظُّلَّةِ فِيهَا أَمْثَالُ الْمَصَابِيحِ فَخَرَجَتْ حَتَّى لاَ أَرَاهَا.
The Arabic says فَخَرَجَتْ حَتَّى لاَ أَرَاهَا (“it went out/departed until I could no longer see it”); the English witness instead says that he went out in order not to see it.
Is the Arabic subject the canopy-like apparition departing, as provisionally translated, or does the witness reflect a different wording?
قَالَ ابْنُ الْهَادِ وَحَدَّثَنِي هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ خَبَّابٍ عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ عَنْ أُسَيْدِ بْنِ حُضَيْرٍ.
The Arabic ends with an additional transmission from Ibn al-Hād through ʿAbdullāh ibn Khabbāb, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī and Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr; this chain is absent from the English witness.
Does the witness represent a shortened version of the same occurrence?
Zayd reported that he heard Abū Salām say: Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī told me: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say, ‘Recite the Qur’an, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection as an intercessor for its companions. Recite the two radiant ones, al-Baqarah and Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, for they will come on the Day of Resurrection like two clouds, or two canopies, or two flocks of birds in formation, pleading on behalf of their companions. Recite Sūrat al-Baqarah, for taking it up is a blessing and abandoning it is a regret, and the magicians cannot withstand it.’
Translation notes
عَنْ زَيْدٍ،
The English witness gives only the immediate attribution to Abū Umāmah, while the Arabic also includes Zayd and Abū Salām in the chain.
Is the witness an abbreviated rendering of this occurrence?
" اقْرَءُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ شَفِيعًا لأَصْحَابِهِ اقْرَءُوا الزَّهْرَاوَيْنِ الْبَقَرَةَ وَسُورَةَ آلِ عِمْرَانَ فَإِنَّهُمَا تَأْتِيَانِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كَأَنَّهُمَا غَمَامَتَانِ أَوْ كَأَنَّهُمَا غَيَايَتَانِ أَوْ كَأَنَّهُمَا فِرْقَانِ مِنْ طَيْرٍ صَوَافَّ تُحَاجَّانِ عَنْ أَصْحَابِهِمَا اقْرَءُوا سُورَةَ الْبَقَرَةِ فَإِنَّ أَخْذَهَا بَرَكَةٌ وَتَرْكَهَا حَسْرَةٌ وَلاَ تَسْتَطِيعُهَا الْبَطَلَةُ ".
The Arabic says they plead for “their companions” (أَصْحَابِهِمَا); the witness narrows this to those who recite them.
Should the less specific wording “their companions” be retained pending review?
Jubayr ibn Nufayr said: I heard al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān al-Kilābī say: I heard the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say, ‘The Qur’an and its people who used to act upon it will be brought on the Day of Resurrection, with Sūrat al-Baqarah and Āl ʿImrān at their head.’ The Messenger of Allah gave them three comparisons which I have not forgotten since. He said, ‘They are like two clouds, or two black canopies with an opening between them, or two flocks of birds in formation, pleading on behalf of their companion.’
Translation notes
وَضَرَبَ لَهُمَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثَلاَثَةَ أَمْثَالٍ مَا نَسِيتُهُنَّ بَعْدُ قَالَ " كَأَنَّهُمَا غَمَامَتَانِ أَوْ ظُلَّتَانِ سَوْدَاوَانِ بَيْنَهُمَا شَرْقٌ أَوْ كَأَنَّهُمَا حِزْقَانِ مِنْ طَيْرٍ صَوَافَّ تُحَاجَّانِ عَنْ صَاحِبِهِمَا.
The phrase بَيْنَهُمَا شَرْقٌ is unclear here; the English witness renders it as light between them, while the source wording does not make that interpretation certain.
What sense of شَرْقٌ is intended in this comparison, and should the witness rendering be followed?
وَضَرَبَ لَهُمَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثَلاَثَةَ أَمْثَالٍ مَا نَسِيتُهُنَّ بَعْدُ قَالَ " كَأَنَّهُمَا غَمَامَتَانِ أَوْ ظُلَّتَانِ سَوْدَاوَانِ بَيْنَهُمَا شَرْقٌ أَوْ كَأَنَّهُمَا حِزْقَانِ مِنْ طَيْرٍ صَوَافَّ تُحَاجَّانِ عَنْ صَاحِبِهِمَا.
The Arabic says “their companion” (صَاحِبِهِمَا); the witness renders this as one who recited them, which specifies the person more narrowly.
Should the translation retain the less specific “their companion” pending review?
Allah’s Greatest Name, by which, when He is invoked, He responds, is in three sūrahs of the Qur’an: al-Baqarah, Āl ʿImrān, and Ṭā Hā.
Translation notes
اسْمُ اللهِ الأعْظَمُ الذي إذا دُعِيَ بهِ أجابَ ؛
The Arabic source block is an unattributed statement and contains neither Abū Umāmah nor an explicit attribution to the Prophet. The witness adds both, as well as an explanatory identification of the name not present in the Arabic.
Does the witness match a longer or differently scoped occurrence, and should the narrator attribution and appended explanation be kept separate from this Arabic block?
Ibrāhīm ibn Suwayd al-Nakhaʿī related to us: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān related to us, from ʿAṭāʾ, who said: ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr and I entered upon ʿĀʾishah. She said to ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, ‘It is time you visited us.’ He said, ‘Mother, I say as the earlier one said: “Visit now and then, and you will grow in affection.”’ She said, ‘Spare us this fancy talk of yours.’ Ibn ʿUmayr said, ‘Tell us the most remarkable thing you have seen from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace).’ She fell silent, then said: One night he said, ‘ʿĀʾishah, let me devote this night to worshipping my Lord.’ I said, ‘By Allah, I love being close to you, and I love what pleases you.’ He got up, purified himself, and stood to pray. He kept weeping until his lap was wet; then he wept and kept weeping until his beard was wet; then he wept and kept weeping until the ground was wet. Bilāl came to call him to prayer. When he saw him weeping, he said, ‘Messenger of Allah, why are you weeping when Allah has forgiven your earlier and later sins?’ He said, ‘Should I not be a grateful servant? A verse was revealed to me tonight. Woe to whoever recites it but does not reflect on it: “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth …” [Āl ʿImrān 3:190]—the entire verse.’
Translation notes
قال: دخَلْتُ أنا وعُبيدُ بنُ عُميرٍ على عائشةَ فقالت لِعُبيدِ بنِ عُميرٍ : قد آن لك أنْ تزورَنا فقال : أقولُ يا أمَّهْ كما قال الأوَّلُ : زُرْ غِبًّا تزدَدْ حُبًّا قال : فقالت : دعُونا مِن رَطانتِكم هذه قال ابنُ عُميرٍ : أخبِرينا بأعجَبِ شيءٍ رأَيْتِه مِن رسولِ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّم قال : فسكَتَتْ ثمَّ قالت : لَمَّا كان ليلةٌ مِن اللَّيالي قال : ( يا عائشةُ ذَرِيني أتعبَّدِ اللَّيلةَ لربِّي ) قُلْتُ : واللهِ إنِّي لَأُحِبُّ قُرْبَك وأُحِبُّ ما سرَّك قالت : فقام فتطهَّر ثمَّ قام يُصَلِّي قالت : فلم يزَلْ يبكي حتَّى بَلَّ حجرَه قالت : ثمَّ بكى فلم يزَلْ يبكي حتَّى بَلَّ لِحيتَه قالت : ثمَّ بكى فلم يزَلْ يبكي حتَّى بَلَّ الأرضَ فجاء بلالٌ يُؤذِنُه بالصَّلاةِ فلمَّا رآه يبكي قال : يا رسولَ اللهِ لِمَ تَبكي وقد غفَر اللهُ لك ما تقدَّم وما تأخَّر ؟
The Arabic reads بَلَّ حِجْرَهُ (his lap became wet); the English witness instead gives his cheeks. The source wording is preserved in this translation.
Is حِجْرَهُ (“his lap”) the intended reading in this occurrence, or does the witness reflect a different recension?
ويلٌ لِمَن قرَأها ولم يتفكَّرْ فيها {إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ) [آل عمران: 190] ) الآيةَ كلَّها.
The source quotes only the beginning of the verse, gives its reference, and says “the entire verse”; the English witness supplies the rest of the verse’s wording. The missing wording has not been filled from the witness.
Is the source quotation intentionally abbreviated, or is text missing from this Arabic unit?
عن إبراهيم بن سويد النخعي حدثنا عبد الملك بن أبي سليمان عن عطاء،
The witness begins with Ibn ʿUmayr’s question and omits the Arabic opening chain and the preceding exchange with ʿĀʾishah.
Does the witness represent an abridged scope of this Arabic occurrence?
ʿAwn ibn Abī Juḥayfah, from al-Mundhir ibn Jarīr, from his father, said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the early part of the day when a people came to him, barefoot and naked, wearing striped woollen cloaks or outer garments and carrying their swords slung at their sides. Most of them were from Muḍar—indeed, all of them were from Muḍar. The Messenger of Allah’s face changed when he saw their poverty. He went inside, then came out and instructed Bilāl to give the call to prayer and the call to begin the prayer. He prayed, then delivered a sermon, saying: ‘O people, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul’ to the end of the verse, ‘Indeed, Allah is ever watchful over you’; and the verse in al-Ḥashr: ‘Fear Allah, and let every soul consider what it has sent ahead for tomorrow; and fear Allah.’ A man should give charity from his dinar, his dirham, his garment, a ṣāʿ of his wheat, a ṣāʿ of his dates—until he said—even half a date. Then a man from the Anṣār came with a bundle that his hand could scarcely manage—in fact, could not. Then people came in succession, until I saw two heaps of food and clothing. I saw the Messenger of Allah’s face shining as though gilded. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Whoever establishes a good practice in Islam will have its reward and the reward of those who act upon it after him, without anything being diminished from their rewards. Whoever establishes a bad practice in Islam will bear its burden and the burden of those who act upon it after him, without anything being diminished from their burdens.’
Translation notes
عَنْ عَوْنِ،
The Arabic chain begins with ʿAwn ibn Abī Juḥayfah, before al-Mundhir ibn Jarīr and his father; the English witness begins at al-Mundhir and omits this link.
Is the witness an abridged rendering of this occurrence’s chain?
Ibn ʿAbbās said: Sūrat al-Anʿām was revealed all at once in Mecca at night, surrounded by seventy thousand angels who raised their voices in glorification around it.
Translation notes
حولَها سبعونَ ألفَ ملَكٍ يجأرونَ حولَها بالتَّسبيحِ.
The English witness appends remarks about other versions and their chains, including an evaluation of their weakness; this material is not part of the Arabic block.
Are these remarks separately sourced editorial notes rather than part of the hadith text?
When Sūrat al-Anʿām was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) glorified Allah and said: ‘This sūrah was accompanied by angels in such a number that they filled the horizon.’
Translation notes
لَمَّا نزلَتْ سورةُ الأنعامِ سبَّحَ رسولُ اللَّهِ صلَّى اللَّهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ وقالَ : لقَد شيَّعَ هذِه السُّورةَ منَ الملائِكةِ ما سدَّ الأُفُقَ.
The Arabic block contains no narrator attribution; the English witness supplies Jābir and appends a separate assessment of the report’s grading and references.
Does the witness belong to a longer or differently scoped occurrence, and should its attribution and grading notes be linked separately from this Arabic block?
Abū Lubābah reported that ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would not sleep until he recited Sūrat al-Zumar and Banī Isrāʾīl.
Translation notes
عَنْ أَبِي لُبَابَةَ،
The Arabic begins with a chain through Abū Lubābah before attributing the report to ʿĀʾishah; the English witness omits Abū Lubābah.
Is the witness an abridged rendering of this occurrence’s chain?
ʿAmr ibn Khālid related to us: Zuhayr related to us: Abū Isḥāq related to us, from al-Barāʾ, who said: A man was reciting Sūrat al-Kahf, with a horse beside him tethered by two ropes. A cloud enveloped him and kept drawing nearer and nearer, and his horse began to shy. When morning came, he went to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and told him about it. He said, ‘That was the tranquility that descended with the Qur’an.’
Translation notes
حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ خَالِدٍ،
The Arabic chain begins with ʿAmr ibn Khālid, Zuhayr and Abū Isḥāq before al-Barāʾ; the English witness gives al-Barāʾ alone.
Is the witness an abridged rendering of this occurrence’s chain?
Abū al-Dardāʾ reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Sūrat al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjāl.’
Abū Dāwūd said: Hishām al-Dastawāʾī said the same from Qatādah, except that he said, ‘Whoever memorizes from the concluding verses of Sūrat al-Kahf.’ Shuʿbah said, from Qatādah: ‘From the end of al-Kahf.’
Translation notes
قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَكَذَا قَالَ هِشَامٌ الدَّسْتَوَائِيُّ عَنْ قَتَادَةَ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ " مَنْ حَفِظَ مِنْ خَوَاتِيمِ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ " .
The Arabic explicitly attributes one wording to Hishām al-Dastawāʾī from Qatādah, then a second wording to Shuʿbah from Qatādah; the English witness summarizes the first attribution and does not name Hishām.
Is the English wording an abridged paraphrase of the compiler’s two attributions?
Abū al-Mughīrah related to us: ʿAbdah related to us, from Khālid ibn Maʿdān, who said: ‘Whoever recites ten verses from al-Kahf will not fear the Dajjāl.’
Translation notes
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْمُغِيرَةِ ،
The Arabic preserves Abū al-Mughīrah and ʿAbdah in the transmission chain before Khālid ibn Maʿdān; the English witness gives Khālid alone.
Is the witness an abridged rendering of this occurrence’s chain?
Al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān al-Kilābī said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) mentioned the Dajjāl and said, ‘If he appears while I am among you, I will contend with him on your behalf. If he appears when I am not among you, each man must contend on his own behalf, and Allah will be my successor for every Muslim. Whoever among you encounters him should recite to him the opening verses of Sūrat al-Kahf, for they are your protection from his trial.’ We said, ‘How long will he remain on earth?’ He said, ‘Forty days: one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a Friday, and the rest of his days like your days.’ We said, ‘Messenger of Allah, will the prayer of a day and a night suffice us during this day that is like a year?’ He said, ‘No. Estimate its measure.’ Then ʿĪsā ibn Maryam will descend near the white minaret east of Damascus, catch up with him at the gate of Ludd, and kill him.’
Translation notes
قُلْنَا وَمَا لُبْثُهُ فِي الأَرْضِ قَالَ " أَرْبَعُونَ يَوْمًا يَوْمٌ كَسَنَةٍ وَيَوْمٌ كَشَهْرٍ وَيَوْمٌ كَجُمُعَةٍ وَسَائِرُ أَيَّامِهِ كَأَيَّامِكُمْ " .
The Arabic says يَوْمٌ كَجُمُعَةٍ (“a day like a Jumuʿah/Friday”); the English witness interprets the duration as a week.
Does جُمُعَةٌ here denote the weekly span (as the witness reads it), rather than Friday itself?
قَالَ ذَكَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الدَّجَّالَ فَقَالَ " إِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَأَنَا فِيكُمْ فَأَنَا حَجِيجُهُ دُونَكُمْ وَإِنْ يَخْرُجْ وَلَسْتُ فِيكُمْ فَامْرُؤٌ حَجِيجُ نَفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ خَلِيفَتِي عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ فَمَنْ أَدْرَكَهُ مِنْكُمْ فَلْيَقْرَأْ عَلَيْهِ فَوَاتِحَ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ فَإِنَّهَا جِوَارُكُمْ مِنْ فِتْنَتِهِ " .
The Arabic says وَاللَّهُ خَلِيفَتِي عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ; the witness paraphrases this as Allah taking the Prophet’s place in looking after every Muslim.
Is “successor” the appropriate close rendering here, or does the phrase idiomatically mean that Allah will look after each Muslim in his absence?
Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Kahf on Friday, a light will shine for him from one Friday to the next.’
Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Kahf on the night of Jumuʿah, a light will shine for him from where he is to the Ancient House.’
Translation notes
عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ ،
The Arabic says that Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī said the words, without explicitly attributing them to the Prophet; the witness supplies that prophetic attribution. The witness also adds an editorial note explaining the time span of Jumuʿah, absent from the Arabic block.
Does the witness reflect a fuller attribution for this occurrence, and should its separate note be linked outside the translation?
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Kahf as it was revealed will have a light on the Day of Resurrection from his place to Mecca. Whoever recites ten verses from its end, then the Dajjāl emerges, he will not be given power over him. Whoever performs ablution and then says, “Glory and praise be to You, O Allah; there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance,” it will be written on parchment and then sealed with a seal that will not be broken until the Day of Resurrection.’
Translation notes
وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم : مَنْ قرَأ سورةَ الكهفِ كما أُنزلتْ كانتْ له نُورًا يومَ القيامةِ مِنْ مَقامِه إلى مكَّةَ ،
The Arabic attributes the statement to the Prophet but does not name Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī in this block; the witness supplies that narrator attribution. The witness also adds explanatory wording for the invocation beyond the Arabic text.
Does the witness’s narrator attribution belong to this same occurrence, and should its expanded invocation gloss be kept separate?
Allah’s Greatest Name, by which, when He is invoked, He responds, is in three sūrahs of the Qur’an: al-Baqarah, Āl ʿImrān, and Ṭā Hā.
Translation notes
اسْمُ اللهِ الأعْظَمُ الذي إذا دُعِيَ بهِ أجابَ ؛
The Arabic source block is an unattributed statement and contains neither Abū Umāmah nor an explicit attribution to the Prophet. The witness adds both, as well as an explanatory identification of the name not present in the Arabic.
Does the witness match a longer or differently scoped occurrence, and should the narrator attribution and appended explanation be kept separate from this Arabic block?
Abū Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would recite in the dawn prayer on Friday: ‘Alif Lām Mīm. The Sending Down’ in the first rakʿah, and in the second: ‘Has there come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing mentioned?’