The virtue of the reciters

It is narrated from Kulayb bin Shihab that he said: I was with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he heard the clamour of people's voices reciting the Qur'an in the mosque. At this he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Glad tidings and blessedness be for these people; these are the ones who were the most beloved of all people to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' recorded it in his Musnad; its chain contains the narrator Hafs bin Umar Abu Umar al-Qari', and this saying of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) describes the virtue of those wholly devoted to reciting the Qur'an and their lofty rank in the eyes of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever recited the Qur'an and acted upon the commands in it, and died while adhering to the community (jama'ah) of the Muslims, will be raised on the Day of Resurrection with the noble and righteous angels. Whoever recites the Qur'an while it keeps slipping from his mind (that is, he finds it hard to retain), Allah Almighty will give him double reward. And whoever is very eager to learn the Qur'an but does not have full ability (owing to weak memory), yet still does not abandon it, Allah Almighty will raise him with the honoured people of his family; and they will be given superiority over all creatures just as eagles have superiority over other birds, and just as a flowing spring in a lush meadow has superiority over the land around it. Then a caller will call out: 'Where are those whom tending livestock did not distract from reciting My Book?' So they will stand up, and each one of them will be adorned with the crown of honour and nobility, and will be given goodness and blessing in his right hand and the warrant of eternity in his left. Then his parents, provided they are Muslims, will be clothed in fine garments better than the world and all its splendours. They will both say (in wonder): 'On what basis have we been given this honour, when our deeds were not such as to reach this station?' And they will be answered: 'Because your child used to recite the Qur'an.'"
This chain is muttasil (connected), but the narrator Suwayd bin Abd al-Aziz is da'if (weak) in narrating hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no envy (that is, emulation) except in two cases" (then the narrator mentioned the complete hadith).
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it in his Musnad, and its basis is in Sahih al-Bukhari (7529) and Sahih Muslim (816).

It is narrated from Amr bin Shu'ayb (may Allah have mercy on him), from his father, from his grandfather (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "On the Day of Resurrection the Noble Qur'an will take on an (embodied) form. Then the man who had carried it (memorised and recited it) will be brought, and the Qur'an will come forward as an adversary against him and will say: 'O my Lord, You made him my bearer, but what an evil bearer he proved to be: he transgressed my limits, neglected my obligations, committed acts of disobedience to me and abandoned obedience to me.' So the Qur'an will keep presenting proofs and arguments against him until it is said (by Allah): 'Now he is yours to deal with (that is, he is handed over to you).' Then the Qur'an will take hold of his hand and will not let go of him until it throws him face down upon a rock in Hell. Then the righteous servant who had carried the Qur'an (that is, memorised it and acted upon it) and preserved its commands will be brought, and the Qur'an will come forward as an intercessor on his behalf and will say: 'O my Lord, You made him my bearer, and he proved to be the best of bearers: he kept my limits, acted upon my obligations, avoided disobedience to me and carried out obedience to me.' It will keep presenting arguments in his favour until it is said: 'Now he is yours to deal with (that is, do with him as you wish).' Then the Qur'an will take his hand and will not let go of him until it clothes him in a garment of fine and thick silk (istabraq), places a royal crown upon his head, and gives him a cup of (Paradise's) delicious wine to drink."
This chain is hasan (good).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, among people there are some who are the special people of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted." The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) asked: O Messenger of Allah, who are they? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are the people of the Qur'an (those devoted to reciting it, understanding it and acting upon it)."
There is scholarly criticism of the narrators of this report, Khalil bin Zakariyya and Mujalid bin Sa'id; however, there are supporting narrations (shawahid) for this hadith from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sunan Ibn Majah (215) and Musnad Ahmad (12279), on account of which this hadith is at the grade of sahih li-ghayrihi (authentic due to supporting evidence).

It is narrated from Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the majesty and greatness of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, require that the white-haired (elderly) Muslim be honoured and respected, that the bearer of the Noble Qur'an (that is, one who has memorised it and has knowledge of it) be honoured, and that the just ruler be respected and honoured."
[Takhrij: Sunan Abi Dawud: 4843; al-Adab al-Mufrad of al-Bukhari: 357; al-Albani graded it hasan (good).]

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man obtained twenty-five uqiyah of gold from the spoils of war. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would supplicate (for blessing) for him, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from him. The man came before him again, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away again. Then he came a third time, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) again turned his blessed face away from him and said: "No one has obtained any spoil better than what you can obtain, (and that is that) you learn five verses of the Noble Qur'an."
Imam Abu Ya'la also narrated this report in the same way, with its text, through the chain of Abu Khaythamah, Ya'qub bin Ibrahim, his father and Ibn Ishaq.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Shurayh al-Khuza'i (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us and said: "Rejoice! Do you not bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah?" They said: "Yes, (we bear witness)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, this Qur'an is a rope and a means: one end of it is in the Hand of Allah Almighty and the other end is in your hands. So hold fast to it, for after it you will never go astray and never perish."
Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah (may Allah have mercy on him) also narrated this same report with his chain.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) while they were sitting waiting for him (peace and blessings be upon him). When he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out, he stood by them, then sat down and asked: "Do you not bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone, without partner; and do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah; and do you bear witness that this Qur'an has been sent down from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic?" They said: Of course! We bear witness to all of this. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Rejoice! Indeed, this Qur'an is a means and a firm bond (a rope) from Allah Almighty, one end of which is in the Hand of the power of Allah Almighty and the other end in your hands. So keep holding fast to it, and after it you will never stray from the path of truth, nor perish."
The chain of this hadith is jayyid (good); Imam Ahmad bin Mani' recorded it in his Musnad, Imam al-Bazzar and Imam al-Tabarani also recorded it, and Allamah al-Albani graded it sahih (authentic) in 'Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah' (hadith no. 713).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and submitted: "O Messenger of Allah, what do you say about a man who recited (the Qur'an) in the early part of the night, then committed theft in the last part of that same night?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "If he recited (sincerely) in the early part of the night, that very recitation will restrain him from stealing in the last part of the night."
The chain of this hadith contains the narrator Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla, who is da'if (weak) because of his poor memory; however, its meaning accords exactly with this verse of the Noble Qur'an: "Indeed, prayer restrains from indecency and wrongdoing" [Surah al-Ankabut: 45], that is, prayer (and the remembrance of Allah) restrains from indecent and evil deeds.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an is that magnificent wealth and sufficiency after which, once attained, no poverty or need remains, and nothing other than it can be called true sufficiency and freedom from need."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this hadith in his Musnad; its chain contains the narrator Yazid bin Aban al-Raqashi, who is da'if (weak), so this narration is weak in its chain.

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Abi Sa'id (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection the Noble Qur'an will come in the most beautiful state and the finest appearance, and will say: 'O my Lord! You have given every doer the reward of his deed, so where is the reward for my deed?' So the companion of the Qur'an will be clothed in a garment (of honour) and crowned with the crown of sovereignty. Then the Qur'an will say: 'O my Lord! I desired for him something even greater than this.' So eternity will be given to him in his right hand and blessings in his left. Then he will be asked: 'Are you pleased?' He will say: 'Yes, O my Lord! (I am pleased.)'"
This hadith is mursal sahih (an authentic mursal).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When one of you stands (for prayer) at night, let him recite aloud, for because of his reciting aloud Satan and the rebellious jinn flee, and the angels in the air and the dwellers of the house (the believing jinn) listen to his recitation and pray along with his prayer (that is, supplicate). Then when this night passes and the newly arriving angels come (for the morning duty), (the previous angels) say to them: Wake him at his (special worship) hour and be gentle with him. Then when the time of his death draws near, the Noble Qur'an comes (in embodied form) and stands at his head while the people are washing him, and when the washing is finished, the Qur'an enters (his body) and comes between his chest and his shroud. Then when he is placed in his pit (the grave) and Munkar and Nakir come to him, the Qur'an comes out and stands as a barrier between him and those two angels. The two angels say to the Qur'an: Move out of our way, for we wish to question this man. The Qur'an replies: By Allah, I will never leave him.
Abu Abd al-Rahman said that in the book of Mu'awiyah bin Hammad, up to this phrase, these words are narrated: Until I admit him into Paradise; so if you have been given any command (from Allah) concerning him, then do your work. Then the Qur'an turns to him (the occupant of the grave) and asks: Do you recognise me? He replies: By Allah, no. The Qur'an says: I am the Qur'an for whose sake you used to stay awake through your nights and remain thirsty (by fasting) in your days, and I kept you back from your carnal desires and from (the misuse of) your ears and eyes. So today you will find me the truest friend among all friends and the truest brother among all brothers. Now rejoice, for after the questioning of Munkar and Nakir there is no grief or sorrow upon you. Then the two angels depart from there, and the Qur'an rises to the presence of its Lord and asks for a bed and a covering for him (the servant). He said: Then a command is given for him to be provided with a bed, a sheet and a lamp from Paradise, and jasmine (yasmin) of Paradise, which a thousand of the angels brought near to Allah from the lowest heaven carry down. He said: The Qur'an reaches the man before those angels and says: Did you feel lonely after I left? I came back from the presence of my Lord, whose Speech I am, only when I had arranged for you a bed, a sheet and light from the light of Paradise. Then those angels come in to him, lift him (gently), spread that bed beneath him, place the sheet beneath his heart and put the jasmine near his chest. Then they lift him and lay him on his right side, after which those angels go up from there and he (the servant) lies down at ease, and he keeps watching those angels (with love) until they vanish into the heaven. Then the Qur'an rises in a corner of the grave, and his grave is made as wide as Allah wills.
Abu Abd al-Rahman said that in the writing of Mu'awiyah bin Hammad this reached me: Then his grave is widened to the distance of a journey of four hundred years. Then the jasmine is lifted from near his chest and placed near his nose, and he will keep smelling its freshness and fragrance until the Day the Trumpet is blown. Then the Qur'an goes to his family once or twice every two days and brings him news of them, and it also supplicates for goodness and blessing for them. If any of his children learns the Qur'an, it gives him glad tidings of that; and if his offspring turn out to be bad, the Qur'an comes to his house morning and evening and weeps over him (his state) until the Day the Trumpet is blown, or as he (the narrator) said."