Holding fast to the Quran

Sayyiduna Abu Shurayh al-Khuza'i (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us and said: "Receive glad tidings, receive glad tidings! Do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah?" The Companions said: "Yes indeed!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This Qur'an is a rope, one end of which is in the hand of Allah and the other end in your hands. So hold fast to it, for after it you will never go astray and you will never perish."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "In the Book of Allah are the accounts of the people before you, the news of those who will come after you, and rulings for those among you. It is the judgement between truth and falsehood, not a matter of jest. Because of it the soul does not go crooked. The scholars can never have their fill of it, it does not grow old through being read again and again, and the secrets and wonders of its meanings never come to an end. Whoever among the tyrants abandons it, Allah will break him to pieces, and whoever seeks guidance in anything other than it, Allah will lead him astray. It is the firm rope of Allah, it is the Wise Reminder, and it is the Straight Path. Whoever acts upon it receives reward, whoever judges by it judges justly, and whoever calls to it calls to the Straight Path. O A'war, hold fast to this."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This Qur'an is the banquet of Allah, so learn from the banquet of Allah as much as you are able. This Qur'an is the rope of Allah. It is the clear and radiant light, it gives healing and brings benefit. It is a means of protection for the one who holds fast to it and a means of salvation for the one who follows its teachings. It is not crooked that it should need straightening, it is not faulty that its fault should need removing, and the wonders of its meanings never come to an end. And it does not grow old through being read again and again."

A man from the tribe of Bajilah said: Sayyiduna Jundab al-Bajali (may Allah be pleased with him) set out on a journey. The narrator said: Some people of his tribe were also with him, until they reached a place where they began bidding one another farewell. He said: "O people, hold firmly to the fear of Allah. It is obligatory upon you to hold firmly to this Qur'an, whatever hardship and poverty there may be, for this Qur'an is a means of light in the dark night and a means of guidance by day."

Zayd bin Jubayr said: Abu al-Bakhtari al-Ta'i said to me: "Follow this Qur'an, for it will guide you."

Al-Aswad said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "These hearts are empty vessels, so keep them occupied with the Qur'an and do not occupy them with anything else."

Abu al-Ahwas said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This Qur'an is the banquet of Allah; whoever enters this feast is safe and secure."

Shihab said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Learn the Book of Allah and you will be known by it, and act upon it and you will become one of its people."

Abu Kinanah said: Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This Qur'an is a reminder for you, or a source of reward for you, or a burden upon you. So follow the Qur'an, and let not the Qur'an pursue you, for whoever follows the Qur'an, it brings him into the gardens of Paradise, and whomever the Qur'an pursues, it pushes him from the back of his neck and throws him into Hell."

Zubayd al-Muradi said: I came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was standing and delivering a sermon. He said: "O people, hold firmly to the Qur'an and grasp it tightly," until he clenched his hands as though he were holding on to a rope.

Khaythamah said: A woman passed by Isa and said: "Glad tidings to the womb that carried you, and glad tidings to the breast that nursed you." The narrator said: Isa said: "Glad tidings to the one who recited the Qur'an and followed its teachings."

Wasil said: Ibrahim said: A woman passed by Isa bin Maryam; then the narrator mentioned a report like the preceding one.

Mughirah bint Hassan said: I heard Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) recite: "He has indeed grasped a firm handhold" [Surah al-Baqarah: 256]. He said: "The firm handhold means the Qur'an."

Murrah said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever wants to attain knowledge should recite the Qur'an, for in it is the knowledge of the earlier and the later peoples."

Al-Aswad said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Hold firmly to the two things that give healing: the Qur'an and honey."

Abu al-Ahwas said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "In honey there is healing for every illness, and in the Qur'an there is healing for the whisperings found in the breasts."

Layth said: Mujahid said concerning the verse whose translation is: "A healing for people" [Surah al-Nahl: 69]: "There is healing in the Qur'an."