Those who said: the Quran will intercede for its companion on the Day of Resurrection

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 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 a bearer of the Qur'an who opposed its command will be brought, and it will take the form of an adversary against him and will say: 'O my Lord, You placed the charge of me upon him, and what an evil bearer he is! He transgressed my limits, neglected my obligations, persisted in disobeying me, and abandoned obedience to me.' It will continue to present proofs against him until it is said: 'He is yours to deal with.' Then it will take him by the hand and will not let him go until it throws him face down upon a rock in Hell. And a righteous man who bore it and guarded its command will be brought, and the Qur'an will take the form of an adversary on his behalf and will say: 'O my Lord, You placed the charge of me upon him, and what an excellent bearer he is! He guarded my limits, acted upon my obligations, avoided disobeying me, and followed my command.' It will continue to present proofs in his favour until it is said: 'He is yours to deal with.' Then it will take him by the hand and will not let him go until it clothes him in a fine robe, places the crown of a king upon his head, and gives him a cup of wine to drink."

Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "On the Day of Resurrection, when his grave splits open, the Qur'an will meet its companion in the form of a lean man. It will say to him: 'Do you recognize me?' He will say: 'I do not recognize you.' It will then say to him: 'I am your companion, the Qur'an, who kept you thirsty in the intense heat and kept you awake through your nights. Every merchant receives the profit of his trade, so today you will receive the profit of every trade.'" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Kingship will be given in his right hand and everlasting life in his left hand, a crown of honour will be placed upon his head, and his parents will be clothed in two beautiful robes with which all the people of the world cannot compare. They will say: 'For what reason have we been clothed in these garments?'" He (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 this memorizer of the Qur'an: 'Recite, and keep ascending the levels of Paradise and its upper chambers.' So he will keep rising for as long as he recites, whether slowly or quickly."

Uthman bin al-Hakam said: Ka'b said: "For the one who used to act upon the commands of the Qur'an in this world, on the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will be given the most beautiful form he has ever seen, the most handsome of face and the purest of fragrance. The Qur'an will then stand beside its companion. Whenever anything frightening comes to him, it will remove his fear, comfort him and widen his hope. The man will say to it: 'May Allah give you the best reward as a companion! How beautiful your form is, and how pure your fragrance!' The Qur'an will say to him: 'Do you not recognize me? Come, ride upon me, for in this world I rode upon you, and I was your deed. Your deed was good, so today you have seen my good form, and your deed was pure, so today you have perceived my pure fragrance.' Then it will carry the man and take him to his Lord and will say: 'O my Lord, this is so-and-so,' although Allah knows him better than it does. 'I kept him occupied in the life of this world. I kept him thirsty by day and kept him awake at night. So accept my intercession for him.' Then the crown of a king will be placed upon the man's head and he will be clothed in the robe of a king. It will then say: 'O my Lord, I used to wish for him better than this, and I hope from You for him for a favour greater than this.' Then everlasting life will be given in his right hand and bliss in his left. The Qur'an will then say: 'O my Lord, every merchant shares the profit of his trade with his family.' Then its intercession for his relatives will be accepted. And when a person is a disbeliever, his deed is given the ugliest form he has ever seen, with an extremely foul smell. Whenever anything frightening comes to him, it adds to his fear. The disbeliever will say: 'May Allah make a companion like you still worse! How ugly your form is, and how foul your smell!' Then he will say: 'Who are you?' It will say: 'Do you not recognize me? I am your deed. Your deed was evil, so you see me as ugly, and your deed was foul, so you see me in an extremely foul-smelling form.' Then it will say: 'Come, so that I may ride upon you, for in this world you rode upon me.' Then it will ride upon the man and bring him before Allah, and He will give him no importance."

Abu Salih said: Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Qur'an will be the best of intercessors on the Day of Resurrection." The narrator said: "The Qur'an will say: 'O my Lord, I restrained him from carnal desires in the world, so honour him.' Then the man will be clothed in the garment of honour and nobility. The Qur'an will then say: 'O my Lord, give him more.' Then the man will be adorned with the ornaments of honour and nobility. The Qur'an will then say: 'O my Lord, give him more.' Then the man will be given the crown of honour and nobility to wear. The Qur'an will then say: 'O my Lord, give him more.' Then Allah will be pleased with him, and after the pleasure of Allah nothing remains."

Al-Musayyib bin Rafi' said: Abu Salih said: "The Qur'an will intercede for the one who recites it. Then the man will be clothed in the garment of honour and nobility. The Qur'an will then say: 'My Lord, give him more.' Then it will mention the virtues of this reciter again and again." The narrator said: "Then the man will be given the crown of honour and nobility to wear. The Qur'an will then say: 'O my Lord, give him more, for this man was such and such.' Then Allah will say: 'He has become deserving of My pleasure.'"

Amr bin Murrah said: Mujahid said: "On the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will intercede for the one who recites it. It will say: 'O my Lord, You placed me in his breast, and I kept him awake at night and restrained him from many desires. And every labourer has a wage for his work.' Then it will be said to the man: 'Spread out your hand.'" The narrator said: "Then his hand will be filled with the pleasure and approval of Allah, after which there will be no displeasure upon him. Then it will be said to this memorizer of the Qur'an: 'Keep reciting and keep ascending.' Then for every verse he will be raised one level, and with every verse one good deed will be added."

Mansur said: Mujahid said: "On the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will come before the one who recites it, until the two of them reach their Lord. The Qur'an will say: 'O Lord, every labourer receives a wage for his labour, and You placed me in his breast, and I restrained him from desires.'" The narrator said: "Then it will be said to the man: 'Open your right hand,' and it will be filled with the pleasure of Allah. Then it will be said to the man: 'Open your left hand,' and it will be filled with the pleasure and approval of Allah. After that, Allah will never show displeasure with him."

Mansur said: Mujahid said concerning the saying of Allah, "And he who brought the truth and confirmed it" [Surah al-Zumar: 33]: "These are the people who will bring the Qur'an on the Day of Resurrection and will say: 'This is what You gave us. We have followed the teachings set out in it.'"

Abu Ja'far said: Zadhan said: "It is said: The Qur'an is an intercessor whose intercession is accepted, and an adversary whose word is believed."

Al-Sha'bi said: Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection the Qur'an will come and intercede for its companion, and it will become his guide to Paradise; or else the Qur'an will testify against him and it will become the one who drives him to Hell."

Zubayd said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Qur'an is an intercessor whose intercession is accepted, and an adversary whose word is believed. So whoever makes it his guide, it will lead him to Paradise, and whoever casts it behind his back, it will lead him to Hell."