Merit of Taking Care of the Qur'an

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out in this Hadīth that envy is of different types. There is a type that is blameworthy and unlawful under Shariah; that is when a person wishes for the removal of some blessing from his brother. The permissible type of envy is when one sees someone enjoying a worldly blessing and he hopes to have the same for himself. There is also a praiseworthy type of envy which is recommended under Shariah. It is when one sees someone enjoying a religious blessing and wishes to have the same thing for oneself. This is what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) intended by his statement: "There should be no envy except in two (cases)". This means that envy has different types, and its ruling differs according to its type. It is not praiseworthy and recommended by Shariah except in two cases: 1. When there is a wealthy righteous man whom Allah has given lawful wealth, which he spends in the cause of Allah, the Almighty. So one hopes to be like him, and envies him, the kind of envy that is free from malice, for that blessing. 2. When there is a knowledgeable man whom Allah has given beneficial knowledge which he acts upon, teaches to others, and judges between the people according to. So, he wishes to be like him.

كنوز رياض الصالحين، تأليف: حمد بن ناصر بن العمار ، الناشر: دار كنوز أشبيليا، الطبعة الأولى: 1430 هـ بهجة الناظرين، تأليف: سليم بن عيد الهلالي، نسخة الكترونية، لا يوجد بها بيانات نشر. نزهة المتقين، تأليف: جمعٌ من المشايخ، الناشر: مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة الأولى: 1397 هـ، الطبعة الرابعة عشر 1407 هـ رياض الصالحين، تأليف : محيي الدين يحيى بن شرف النووي ، تحقيق: د. ماهر بن ياسين الفحل ، الطبعة: الأولى، 1428 هـ صحيح مسلم، تأليف: مسلم بن الحجاج النيسابوري، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي الناشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت صحيح البخاري، نشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422ه شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف: محمد بن صالح العثيمين، الناشر: دار الوطن للنشر، الطبعة: 1426 هـ منار القاري، تأليف: حمزة محمد قاسم، الناشر: مكتبة دار البيان ، عام النشر: 1410 هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged his Ummah to read the Qur’an, and said that if they do so, on the Day of Resurrection Allah, the Almighty, will make the reward of their Qur'an recitation come in the form of an independent entity who will intercede for those who had read the Qur'an, those who were preoccupied with it, and those who abided by its commands and prohibitions.

1-بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي. 2-دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين؛ لمحمد بن علان الشافعي، دار الكتاب العربي-بيروت. 3-رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين؛ للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428هـ. 4-شرح رياض الصالحين؛ للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. 5-صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبدالباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. 6-نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the Companions to recite the Qur'an regularly and not to forget it after they had learned it by heart. He emphasized this fact by swearing that the Qur'an slips away from one's memory faster than camels tied with ropes in the middle of their foreleg. If their shepherd pays attention to them, they remain with him, and if he releases them, they go away and will be lost.

1. If a memorizer of the Qur’an regularly recites it time and again, it remains in his heart; otherwise, it goes away from him and will be forgotten.
2. Among the benefits of regular recitation of the Qur’an is obtaining reward and elevation of ranks on the Day of Judgment.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 545) (791). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف سليم الهلالي (2/ 231). رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين (ص299) (1002). شرح رياض الصالحين، للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين (4/ 657). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (13/ 5).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that the best and higher-standing among Muslims in the sight of Allah are those who learn the Qur’an - in terms of recitation, memorization, tartīl (measured recitation), understanding, and interpretation - and teach others the knowledge of the Qur’an that they possess, along with acting upon it.

1. The Hadīth highlights the excellence of the Qur’an and that it is the best speech, for it is the word of Allah.
2. The best learners are those who teach others and do not keep the knowledge to themselves only.
3. Learning the Qur’an and teaching it comprises its recitation, meanings, and rulings.

صحيح البخاري (6/ 192) (5027). فتح الباري شرح صحيح البخاري، لابن حجر العسقلاني (1/ 374). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 226). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمصطفى الخن وغيره (1/ 740). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (4/ 638).

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) after having listened to his beautiful, measured recitation of the Qur’an, said to him: “You have been endowed with one of the melodious voices of the family of Dawūd.” “One of the melodious voices of the family of Dawūd” means the voice of Dawūd himself. Prophet Dawūd (peace be upon him) had such a beautiful and melodious voice that Allah, the Almighty, says about him: {"O mountains, repeat [Our] praises with him, and the birds [as well].” And We made iron pliable for him} [Sūrah Saba': 10]. The phrase “the family of so-and-so” may sometimes be used to refer to the person himself. Indeed, none of them was given a voice as melodious as that of Prophet Dawūd (peace be upon him).

1/ بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي. 2/ تطريز رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف فيصل آل مبارك، تحقيق د. عبدالعزيز آل حمد، دار العاصمة-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1423هـ. 3/ دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين؛ لمحمد بن علان الشافعي، دار الكتاب العربي-بيروت. 4/ رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين؛ للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428هـ. 5/ شرح رياض الصالحين؛ للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. 6/ شرح صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام محي الدين النووي، دار الريان للتراث-القاهرة، الطبعة الأولى، 1407هـ. 7/ صحيح البخاري؛ عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. 8/ صحيح مسلم؛ حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبدالباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. 9/ كنوز رياض الصالحين؛ فريق علمي برئاسة أ.د. حمد العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1430هـ. 10/ نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified the types of people in terms of reciting the Qur’an and benefiting therefrom: First category: The believer who recites the Qur’an and benefits from it is like the citron fruit, good in taste, smell, and color, and has many benefits since he acts upon what he recites and is useful to people. Second category: The believer who does not recite the Qur’an is like a date that tastes good but has no smell. His heart contains faith just like the date contains sweetness in its taste and its inside. It has no smell that could be smelt by people since no recitation could be heard from him to give people comfort. Third category: The hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is like a basil that smells good but tastes bitter, as he did not reform his heart with faith or act upon the Qur’an but he shows up as a believer before people. So, its good smell resembles his recitation and its bitter taste resembles his disbelief. Fourth category: The hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an is like a colocynth that has no smell and has a bitter taste. Not having a scent is like him not having a smell for not reciting the Qur’an, and its bitter taste is like the bitterness of his disbelief. His inside is void of faith, and his outside is useless; rather, it is harmful.

1. Clarifying the merit of the Qur’an bearer who acts upon it.
2. Giving examples is one of the teaching methods that makes things easier to understand.
3. A Muslim should constantly recite a regular portion of the Book of Allah Almighty.

صحيح البخاري (7/ 77) (5427). صحيح مسلم (1/ 549) (797). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 227). نزهة المتقين، لجمعٌ من المشايخ (1/ 741). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (12/ 568). شرح رياض الصالحين، للعثيمين (4/ 642).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that any Muslim who recites one letter from the Book of Allah will be credited with a good deed for it, and the reward gets multiplied for him up to tenfold. To illustrate this, he said: "I am not saying that 'Alif-Lām-Mīm' is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lām is a letter, and Mīm is a letter." Thus, they are three and equal thirty good deeds.

1. The Hadīth urges us to recite the Qur’an a lot.
2. For every single letter of every word, the reciter receives a good deed multiplied tenfold.
3. It shows the vastness of Allah’s mercy and generosity as He multiplies the rewards for His servants, as a favor and bounty from Him.
4. It demonstrates the superiority of the Qur’an over other speech and that it is recited as a form of worship because it is the speech of Allah Almighty.

سنن الترمذي (5/ 33) (2910). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 229). سلسلة الأحاديث الصحيحة، للألباني (7/ 970). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (4/ 655). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمصطفى الخِن وغيره (1/ 742).

In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) urged us to recite the Qur’an with a melodious voice. The Arabic word "yataghanna", as mentioned in the Hadīth, has two possible meanings: 1. The one who does not make his voice melodious when reciting the Qur’an is not someone following our path and guidance. 2. The one who does not suffice with the Qur’an, seeking guidance elsewhere, is not one of us. Without a doubt, whoever seeks guidance in anything other than the Qur’an, Allah will lead him astray; we seek refuge with Allah. Hence, the Hadīth shows that a Muslim should recite the Qur’an with a melodious voice and find sufficiency in it from anything else.

1- بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي.-الطبعة الأولى 1418ه. 2- رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين؛ للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428هـ. 3- سنن أبي داود؛ للإمام أبي داود سليمان بن الأشعث السجستاني، تعليق عزت الدعاس وغيره، دار ابن حزم-بيروت، الطبعة الأولى، 1418هـ. 4- شرح رياض الصالحين؛ للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. 5- صحيح سنن أبي داود؛ تأليف الشيخ محمد ناصر الدين الألباني، غراس-الكويت، الطبعة الأولى، 1423هـ. 6- نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ. 7- دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين -المؤلف: محمد علي بن محمد بن علان الصديقي-اعتنى بها: خليل مأمون شيحا-دار المعرفة للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع، بيروت – لبنان-الطبعة: الرابعة، 1425 هـ - 2004 م.