Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: On the Day of Resurrection, the Qur'an will be given the form of a man, then the bearer of the Qur'an will be brought, who opposed its commands. Then the Qur'an will take the form of an adversary against him and will say: O my Lord! You placed the responsibility of me upon him, so what a bad guardian he was! He violated my limits, neglected my obligations, continued to disobey me, and abandoned my obedience. Then it will continue to present arguments against him until it will be said: You have spoken the truth. Then it will seize his hand and will not let go until it throws him face down upon a rock in Hell.

And a righteous man will be brought who fulfilled its responsibility and safeguarded its commands. Then the Qur'an will take the form of an advocate in his favor and will say: O my Lord! You placed the responsibility of me upon him, so what a good guardian he was! He protected my limits, acted upon my obligations, refrained from my disobedience, and followed my commands. Then it will continue to present arguments in his favor until it will be said: You have spoken the truth. Then it will seize his hand and will not let go until it clothes him in a fine garment, places a king's crown upon his head, and gives him a cup of drink.

Hazrat Buraidah narrates that I was with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I heard him say: On the Day of Resurrection, the Qur’an will meet its companion in the form of a lean man when his grave is opened. It will say to him: Do you recognize me? That person will reply: I do not recognize you. Then it will say to that person: I am your companion, the Qur’an, who kept you thirsty in the intense heat and kept you awake during your nights. And indeed, every trader receives the profit of his trade. Therefore, today you will receive the profit of your trade. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sovereignty will be given in his right hand, and everlasting life in his left hand. And a crown of honor will be placed on his head. And his parents will be dressed in two beautiful garments, the like of which cannot be matched by all the people of the world. They will both say: For what reason have we been dressed in these garments? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It will be said to them: Because your child memorized the Qur’an. Then it will be said to the memorizer of the Qur’an: Recite and ascend through the ranks and lofty chambers of Paradise. Thus, as long as he continues to recite, whether slowly or quickly, he will continue to rise.

Hazrat Usman bin Hakam narrates that Hazrat Ka’b said: Whoever acted upon the commands of the Qur’an in this world, on the Day of Judgment, his recitation of the Qur’an will be given the form of a person with a beautiful face, whom he will be able to see. He will be the most beautiful in appearance and the purest in fragrance. Then that Qur’an will stand beside its companion. And whenever anything frightening comes to him, it will remove his fear and bring him comfort. And it will expand his hope for him. That person will say to it: May Allah reward this companion with the best reward. How beautiful is your appearance and how pure is your fragrance! Then the Qur’an will say to him: Do you not recognize me? Come, ride upon me. For in the world, I was riding upon you and I was your deed. Surely your deed was good, so today you have seen my good form. And your deed was pure, so today you have smelled my pure fragrance. Then it will make him ride and take him to his Lord and say: O my Lord! This is so-and-so. Although Allah knows him better than anyone. Indeed, I kept him occupied in the life of the world. I kept him thirsty during the day. And I kept him awake at night. So please accept my intercession for him. Then a crown of a king will be placed on that person’s head. And he will be dressed in the robe of a king. Then it will say: O my Lord! I was more beloved to him than anything else. And I hope from You for even more grace for this person. Then in his right hand, he will be granted everlasting life. Then the Qur’an will say: O my Lord! Surely every trader gives the profit of his trade to his family as well. Then his intercession will be accepted for his relatives. And when a person is a disbeliever, then in that case, his deeds will be given the form of a person with the worst appearance whom he will be able to see, and whose smell will be extremely foul. So whenever anything frightening comes to him, it will only increase his fear. Then the disbeliever will say: May Allah make a companion like you even worse! How ugly is your appearance and how foul is your smell! Then he will say: Who are you? He will say: Do you not recognize me? Surely I am your deed. Indeed, your deed was evil, so you are seeing me in an ugly form, and your deed was foul, so you are seeing me in an extremely foul form. Then he will say: Come, so that I may ride upon you, for in the world you were riding upon me. Then it will ride upon that person and take him before Allah, and he will not be given any importance.

Hazrat Abu Salih narrates that Hazrat Abu Hurairah said: The Qur'an will be the best intercessor on the Day of Judgment. The narrator says: The Qur'an will say: O my Lord! I kept him away from worldly desires, so honor and respect him. Then that person will be dressed in garments of honor and nobility. Then the Qur'an will say: O my Lord! Increase it further. Then that person will be adorned with the ornaments of honor and nobility. Then the Qur'an will say: O my Lord! Increase it further. Then that person will be crowned with the crown of honor and nobility. Then the Qur'an will say: O my Lord! Increase it further. Then Allah will be pleased with him. And after Allah's pleasure, nothing remains.

Hazrat Musayyib bin Rafi’ narrates that Hazrat Abu Salih said: The Qur’an will intercede on behalf of its reciter, then that person will be dressed in garments of honor and dignity. Then the Qur’an will say: My Lord! Increase (the reward) for him. Then it will repeatedly mention the virtues of that reciter. The narrator says: Then that person will be crowned with a crown of honor and dignity. Then the Qur’an will say: O my Lord! Increase (the reward) for him: Surely this person was such and such. Then Allah will say: He has become deserving of My pleasure.

Hazrat Amr bin Murrah narrates that Hazrat Mujahid said: The Qur'an will intercede for its reciter on the Day of Judgment. It will say: O my Lord! You placed me in his chest, so I kept him awake at night, and I kept him away from many desires. And every laborer receives the reward for his work. Then it will be said to that person: Stretch out your hand. The narrator says: Then his hand will be filled with Allah's pleasure and approval, after which He will never be displeased with him. Then it will be said to that memorizer of the Qur'an: Keep reciting and keep ascending. Then for every verse, his rank will be elevated, and for every verse, an additional good deed will be granted.

Hazrat Mansoor narrates that Hazrat Mujahid said: On the Day of Resurrection, the Qur'an will come before its reciter in the form of a young man until both reach their Lord. The Qur'an will say: O Lord! Surely every laborer receives a wage in return for his labor, and indeed You placed me in his chest, so I kept him away from desires. The narrator says: Then it will be said to that person: Stretch out your right hand, and it will be filled with the pleasure of Allah. Then it will be said to that person: Stretch out your left hand, and it will be filled with the pleasure and approval of Allah. After that, Allah will never express displeasure with him.

Hazrat Mansur says that Hazrat Mujahid, regarding Allah’s saying (And the one who brought the truth and confirmed it), said: They are the people who will bring the Qur’an on the Day of Resurrection and will say: This is what You granted us. Indeed, we followed the teachings mentioned in it.

Hazrat Abu Ja'far narrates that Hazrat Zadhan said: It is said: The Qur'an is such an intercessor whose intercession is accepted, and it is a defender of its reciter whose word is affirmed.

Hazrat Sha'bi narrates that Hazrat Ibn Mas'ud said: On the Day of Resurrection, the Qur'an will come and intercede on behalf of its companion, so it will become his guide towards Paradise. Or the Qur'an will testify against him, so it will drive him towards Hell.

Hazrat Zubaid narrates that Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Qur'an is such an intercessor whose intercession is accepted, and it is a defender for its reciter whose word is confirmed. So whoever makes it his guide, it leads him towards Paradise, and whoever puts it behind his back, it leads him towards Hell.