Further reports on the virtue of the Quran and of one who recites it

Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I was sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Learn Surah al-Baqarah, for learning it is a blessing and abandoning it is a source of regret, and the people of falsehood (or the sorcerers) are not able to (withstand) it." The narrator says: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Learn Surah al-Baqarah and Surah Al Imran, for these two are the two radiant ones that will shade their companion on the Day of Resurrection as though they were two clouds (here the narrator is unsure of one word), or two flocks of birds lined up in rows. On the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will meet its companion when he is raised from his grave; the Qur'an will meet him in the form of a man pale and worn in appearance and will say: 'Do you recognise me?' The man will say: 'I do not recognise you.' The Qur'an will say: 'I am your companion, the Qur'an, who kept you thirsty in the midday heat and kept you awake at night. Every merchant was occupied with his trade, and today you are beyond every kind of trade.' Then sovereignty will be given in his right hand and eternity in his left hand, the crown of dignity will be placed on his head, and his parents will be clothed in two garments whose worth even the whole world cannot equal. They will say: 'For what reason have we been clothed in these?' They will be told: 'Because your child learned the Qur'an.' Then it will be said (to that man): 'Begin reciting and begin climbing the levels and lofty chambers of Paradise.' So as long as he keeps reciting he will keep climbing, whether he recites quickly or slowly and measuredly." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Ibn Majah has recorded a part of this report.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Everything has a peak, and the peak of the Qur'an is Surah al-Baqarah. Everything has a core, and the core of the Qur'an is the Mufassal (surahs). The devils leave the house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited, and the smallest of houses is the one in which there is nothing of the Book of Allah.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Asim bin Bahdalah, who is thiqah (trustworthy) but has some weakness; the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to learn the Qur'an, urged us to it, and said: "On the Day of Resurrection this Qur'an will come to the one who recited it at the time when he needs it most. It will say to the Muslim: 'Do you recognise me?' The Muslim will say: 'Who are you?' It will say: 'I am the one whom you loved, and whom you disliked to be separated from you; this is the one who used to carry you and stay with you.' The Muslim will say: 'Perhaps you are the Qur'an.' Then the Qur'an will bring him before his Lord, and that man will be given sovereignty in his right hand and eternity in his left hand, a crown of tranquillity will be placed on his head, and his parents will be clothed in two garments whose worth the whole world cannot equal, even if it were multiplied many times. They will both say: 'Why have these been put on us, when our deeds do not reach this station?' The Lord will say: 'These are because your child learned the Qur'an.'"
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Suwayd bin Abd al-Aziz, who is matruk (abandoned), though Hushaym spoke well of him; the remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will come in the form of a man pale and worn in appearance and will say to the one who recited it: 'Do you recognise me? I am the one who used to keep you awake at night and keep you thirsty in the daytime. Every merchant has been left far from his trade, and today I will be of use to you.' Then that man will be given sovereignty in his right hand and eternity in his left hand, the crown of dignity will be placed on his head, and his parents will be clothed in two garments whose worth the world and everything in it cannot equal. They will both say: 'O our Lord, why have these been given to us?' It will be said to them: 'Because you taught your child the Qur'an.'" (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Al-Tirmidhi has recorded part of it.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Yahya bin Abd al-Aziz al-Himmani, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever learns the Qur'an, acts upon the rulings it contains, and dies while remaining with the community of the Muslims, Allah Almighty will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with the envoys and the rulers. Whoever recites the Qur'an while it slips away from him (he finds it hard to recite) and he does not abandon it will have a double reward. And whoever is eager to learn it but is unable to learn it, yet does not abandon it, Allah Almighty will raise him on the Day of Resurrection among His honoured servants, who will have the same excellence over all other creation that vultures have over all other birds, and that a spring in a pasture has over the ground around it. Then a caller will call out: 'Where are those whom tending livestock did not distract from reciting My Book?' Those people will stand up, and on the head of each of them the crown of honour will be placed, success will be given in his right hand and eternity in his left hand. If his parents were Muslims, they will be clothed in a garment better than the world and everything in it. They will say: 'Why is this being given to us?' It will be said to them: 'Because your child was a scholar of the Qur'an.'"
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Suwayd bin Abd al-Aziz, who is matruk (abandoned), though Hushaym spoke well of him; the remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection a man will be brought, and the Qur'an will be brought before him in human form. This will be a man who neglected the Qur'an, violated its limits, opposed (its commands of) obedience, and committed the sins it describes. It will say: 'O my Lord, You gave knowledge of my verses to a man who transgressed my limits, neglected my obligations, abandoned obedience to me and committed disobedience to me.' Then the Qur'an will continue presenting arguments against that man until it is said: 'Take charge of him!' So the Qur'an will take that man by the hand and will not leave him until it throws him on his nostrils into Hell. Then a man will be brought who guarded the limits of the Qur'an, acted upon its obligations, acted upon its limits and avoided disobedience to it. The Qur'an will become one who argues on his behalf and will say: 'O my Lord, You gave knowledge of my verses to the best of men, who observed piety regarding my limits, acted upon my obligations, followed obedience to me and avoided disobedience to me.' Then the Qur'an will continue presenting arguments in his favour until it is said: 'Take charge of him!' So the Qur'an will take that man by the hand and will remain with him until it clothes him in a garment made of brocade (istabraq), has the crown of sovereignty placed on him, and gives him to drink from the cup of sovereignty."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Ishaq, who is thiqah (trustworthy) but a mudallis; the remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever acquires knowledge of a single verse of the Book of Allah, that verse will meet him on the Day of Resurrection smiling."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The most honoured people of my Ummah are the scholars of the Qur'an."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Sa'd bin Sa'id al-Jurjani, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Imam Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection the scholars of the Qur'an will be the notables of the people of Paradise."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ishaq bin Ibrahim bin Sa'id al-Madani, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a delegation to Yemen and appointed as their leader one of them who was younger than the others. Some days passed, but they did not set out. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met one of them and said: "O so-and-so, what is the reason you have not gone?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, our leader has been complaining of pain in his leg." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to that leader, blew over him with a ruqyah and recited this: "In the name of Allah, seeking blessing, and with the help of Allah, I seek refuge in the might of Allah and His power from the evil of what is in it." He recited these words seven times, and the man was cured. That elderly man said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah, are you appointing him as our leader, when he is the youngest of us all?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned his being a scholar of the Qur'an. That elderly man said: "O Messenger of Allah, if I did not have this fear of Allah Almighty that, despite learning it, I would keep sleeping and would not be able to recite it while standing in prayer, I too would learn it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to that man: "Learn it! For the example of the Qur'an is like a leather bag which you fill with musk and tie up its mouth: if you open it, the fragrance of the musk will spread, and if you leave it, the musk is still kept there. Such is the example of the Qur'an: whether you recite it or it is in your breast (both cases are good)."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Yahya bin Salamah bin Kuhayl, whom the majority declared da'if (weak), while Ibn Hibban called him thiqah (trustworthy) and said: The hadiths his son transmitted from him are munkar (objectionable). (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: This is not one of the reports that his son transmitted from him.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever says 'Subhan Allah al-Azim' (Glory be to Allah, the Magnificent), a plant is planted for him in Paradise. Whoever recites the Qur'an, completes it and acts upon the rulings it contains, his parents will be made to wear a crown that will be brighter than the sunlight in any house of this world, if that light were inside that house. So what do you think of the one who himself acts upon the Qur'an?"
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Abu Dawud has recorded part of it.
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Zabban bin Fa'id, who is da'if (weak).

Kulayb bin Shihab narrates: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was in the mosque. The narrator says: I think he transmitted these words: he was in the mosque of Kufah. He heard a loud echoing noise and asked: "Who are these people?" The people said: "These are people who are reciting the Qur'an, or learning the Qur'an." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "These are the people who were the most beloved of people to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ishaq bin Ibrahim al-Thaqafi, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: A man was mentioned favourably in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have you not seen him learning the Qur'an?"
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, who is hasan al-hadith (fair in hadith) and has some weakness; the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever learns the Qur'an in the path of Allah, his name will be recorded along with the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous, and excellent are they as companions."
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Zabban bin Fa'id, who is da'if (weak).

It is reported from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), or perhaps from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him),
the narrator al-A'mash being unsure of this, that he narrates: On the Day of Resurrection it will be said to the scholar of the Qur'an: "Recite and begin climbing! Your station will be at the last verse you recite."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) transmits this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever memorises the seven long surahs, that is good."
Ahmad and al-Bazzar recorded it; the narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih except Habib bin Hind al-Aslami, whose case is different, and he is thiqah (trustworthy).
He also recorded it with another chain whose narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

He transmitted it with another chain from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), similarly, but one narrator has dropped out of its chain.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever listens attentively to a single verse of the Book of Allah, a good deed will be recorded for him that will keep multiplying; and whoever recites that verse, it will be a light for him on the Day of Resurrection."
Imam Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abbad bin Maysarah. Imam Ahmad and others declared him da'if (weak). According to one report Yahya bin Ma'in also declared him da'if, and according to another he called him da'if (this is how it appears in the text, but it is perhaps a printing or copyist's error). Ibn Hibban called him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the reciter of the Qur'an (or its scholar) treats as lawful what it makes lawful and treats as unlawful what it makes unlawful, he will be granted that he may intercede for ten people of his household for whom Hell had become due."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Ja'far bin al-Harith, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever reads the Qur'an (the narrator is unsure; perhaps the words are) whoever gathers the Qur'an (that is, memorises it), he will be granted from Allah Almighty that his supplication will be answered: if He wills, the effect of his supplication will appear in this world, and if He wills, (Allah Almighty) will store his supplication away for him for the Hereafter."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Muqatil bin Dawak Duz. If he is Muqatil bin Hayyan, as has been said, then he is one of the narrators of the Sahih; and if he is Muqatil bin Sulayman, then he is da'if (weak). The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has a thousand thousand and twenty-seven thousand letters. Whoever recites it with patience, hoping for its reward, will receive in return for every single letter a wife from among the Hur al-'Ayn (the wide-eyed maidens of Paradise)."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat from his teacher Muhammad bin Ubayd bin Adam bin Abi Iyas. Imam al-Dhahabi mentioned him in Mizan al-I'tidal on account of this hadith, and I have not found anyone other than him who spoke about him in this regard. The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik al-Ashja'i (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever recites even a single letter of the Noble Qur'an, a good deed is written for him. And I do not say that "Alif Lam Mim, that is the Book" is one whole letter; rather "Alif" is a letter, "Lam" is a letter, "Mim" is a letter, "Dhal" is a letter and "Kaf" is a letter.
(Imam al-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and Imam al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it; its chain contains a narrator, Musa bin Ubaydah al-Rabadhi, who is da'if (weak).)

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Recite the Qur'an correctly! For whoever recites the Qur'an and recites it correctly will receive ten good deeds for every letter, it will become an expiation for ten of his sins, and ten of his ranks will be raised."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Nahshal, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) states: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever recites the Qur'an according to any harf (mode of recitation) at all, Allah Almighty will record ten good deeds for him, erase ten of his sins and raise him ten ranks. Whoever, while reciting the Qur'an, reads some words correctly and reads some word wrongly will receive twenty good deeds, twenty of his sins will be forgiven and he will be raised twenty ranks. And whoever recites the whole of the Qur'an correctly will receive forty good deeds, forty of his sins will be forgiven and he will be raised forty ranks."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Abd al-Rahim bin Zayd al-Ammi, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Recite the Qur'an correctly, and seek out the meanings of its difficult words."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Sa'id bin Abi Sa'id al-Maqburi, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Recite the Qur'an in correct Arabic, for it is Arabic. Soon people will come who will recite it ornately and embellished (like musical modes), and they will not be the best of you.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it through various routes; its chain contains a narrator, Layth bin Abi Sulaym, in whom there is weakness. The remaining narrators of one of its routes are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) state: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was passing by while a man was reciting Surah al-Hijr or perhaps Surah al-Kahf. The man fell silent, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is the gathering concerning which I have been commanded to keep myself with them."
Imam al-Bazzar recorded it as both "muttasil" (connected) and "mursal" (with the Companion omitted); its chain contains a narrator, Amr bin Thabit Abu al-Miqdam, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This Qur'an is the banquet of Allah Almighty, so acquire knowledge from His banquet as much as you can. This Qur'an is the rope of Allah Almighty which He has commanded, it is the clear light and the beneficial cure. It is a protection for whoever seeks protection through it and salvation for whoever holds fast to it. It does not become crooked so that it needs to be straightened, it does not go astray so that it needs to be set right, its wonders will never come to an end, and it does not wear out from being read over and over. Recite it, for Allah Almighty will give you ten good deeds for every single letter of it. I do not say to you that "Alif Lam Mim" is one letter; rather "Alif" is a letter, "Lam" is a letter and "Mim" is a letter.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Muslim bin Ibrahim al-Hajari, who is matruk (abandoned).

Abu al-Ahwas states: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This Qur'an is the banquet of Allah Almighty, so whoever among you is able to acquire knowledge from it should do so. For the house emptiest of good is the house in which there is nothing of the Book of Allah; and the house in which there is nothing of the Book of Allah is like a ruined house with no one to inhabit it. And Satan leaves the house in which he hears Surah al-Baqarah being recited."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it with various chains, and the narrators of this route are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) states: A woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: My husband is a poor man; he is not able to do anything. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her husband: Can you recite any part of the Qur'an (or, have you learned any part of the Qur'an)? He replied: I can recite such-and-such a surah and such-and-such a surah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Excellent, excellent! Your husband is well-off. Then that woman worked alongside her husband, and later she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Prophet of Allah! Allah Almighty has granted us abundance in our provision.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Huyayy, whom a group declared thiqah (trustworthy); some criticism has been made of him which is not harmful. The remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an is an intercessor whose intercession will be accepted, and an advocate whose word will be affirmed. Whoever makes it his leader, it will lead him to Paradise; and whoever throws it behind his back, it will drive him to Hell."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, al-Rabi' bin Badr, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) states: One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about the trials (fitan) and described how great and severe they would be. Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! What is the way out of them? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Book of Allah. In it are the accounts of those before you, news about those who will come after you, and the decisive word on your affairs. Whoever abandons it out of arrogance, Allah Almighty will destroy him, and whoever seeks guidance in anything other than it, Allah Almighty will lead him astray. It is the firm rope of Allah Almighty, the wise remembrance and the straight path. It is the one which, when the jinn heard it, they said: 'We have heard a Qur'an; it is a wondrous thing.' It is that about which tongues do not falter, and it does not grow old from being read abundantly."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Amr bin Waqid, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! I bought the place of distribution of Banu so-and-so and made such-and-such a profit on it. The Prophet said: Shall I not tell you of something whose profit is greater? He asked: Is there such a thing to be found? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A person who learns ten verses." Then the man went and learned ten verses, and then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told him about it.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever would like to know whether he loves Allah Almighty and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) should examine whether he loves the Qur'an; if so, then he loves Allah Almighty and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever wants knowledge should reflect deeply on the meanings of the Qur'an, for in it is the knowledge of the earlier and the later generations.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it with various chains, the narrators of one of which are the narrators of the Sahih.