Etiquettes of the Quran: Beautifying the Word of Allah (SWT) | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

Etiquettes of the Qur'an: Beautifying the Word of Allah

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ. Alhamdulillah, wa nusalli 'ala Rasoolil Kareem. Amma ba'ad.

In last week's session of this series, we spoke about the etiquettes of the Qur'an while listening to the Qur'an, which is essential for us because we are often listening to the Qur'an and benefiting from the Qur'an being recited around us. In this week's session, we will flip the script. And by that I mean, what are the etiquettes of reciting the Qur'an? How should we recite the Qur'an? What etiquettes are connected to reciting the Qur'an? Things that are tangible and relatable for all of us.

The Immense Reward of Reciting the Qur'an

Firstly, we should understand that reciting the Qur'an is by far one of the greatest sources of reward for us in this world. It gives us not only a reward in the hereafter, but it has a very positive effect for us in this life — where it becomes a source of light for us that differentiates what is right from what is wrong, what is halal from what is haram. And it also becomes a source of light for us in the akhira.

It becomes a source of us elevating our ranks in the levels of Jannah, where the Prophet ﷺ narrates a beautiful hadith where he says that on the Day of Judgment, it will be said to the reciter of the Qur'an, the holder of the Qur'an:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1464; Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2914)

It will be said: your rank in Jannah is based upon you reciting the Qur'an. So read the Qur'an and continue ascending in the levels of Jannah. Continue climbing in the levels of Jannah, because your end destination and your final destination will be where you stop reciting.

One of the students of Aisha رضي الله عنها came to her and asked about the difference between a person who recites the Qur'an and one who does not, in regards to the levels of Jannah, referencing this hadith. And she recited:

Whosoever does not recite the Qur'an can never surpass a person who recited the Qur'an in the levels of Jannah, because they are simply at a different status. And whoever didn't recite it — regardless that perhaps they gave charity, or there are other things through which they will attain Jannah — the level of Jannah that can be reached through reciting the Qur'an cannot be reached by anything else, because these are the words of Allah.

So it is essential for us to recite. Allah says:

Those who recite the Qur'an, who pray Salat — they will be given the greatest reward in the hereafter. So we start with that: reciting the Qur'an is something which we should have as part of our schedule on a daily basis. Maybe just five minutes a day, ten minutes a day, whatever it may be — but it must be a part of our schedule, because no other act can give us the effect of reciting the Qur'an in our life. Maybe Salat, maybe giving charity, maybe feeding the poor or the needy — everything has its own effect. Reciting the Qur'an has its own effect.

First Etiquette: Recite the Qur'an Slowly

Now, coming to the second point — well, I want to recite it, but am I doing it right? Am I getting the full reward? Am I doing it at a level where I'm receiving the utmost reward that I can possibly receive from this recitation? There are two things that I will speak about here, and they're very tangible and hopefully they can benefit you and your family members while you recite the Qur'an.

Number one, the Qur'an has to be recited slowly. It should be recited in a manner where the words are not being eaten up, where the words are not being jumbled upon each other, but rather everything is being recited clearly. You know, if you're in a conversation with somebody and you start talking with them and the person who's responding to you is giving you a response that you can't understand — it's too low, or you're speaking too fast, or you're eating up your words, or you're just mumbling things. The person listening will say, dear brother, dear sister, I like you, but this is not right. I can't speak to you unless you take your time and speak to me. Don't speak to me in a rush — give me your attention and speak to me the way you like to be spoken to.

Similarly, while reciting the Qur'an, this is us speaking to Allah. And it should be done in a manner that we are clear in the way that we are reciting. We're not speaking about the tajweed and the makhaarij — that is a different discussion. However we know how to recite the Qur'an, it should be done in a slow manner.

Even the Prophet ﷺ was told by Allah that when you wake up in the middle of the night, recite the Qur'an slowly. Sometimes even repeat the ayat. It is narrated in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet ﷺ continued to repeat the ayah:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1711)

The conversation that Isa ﷺ will have with Allah — the Prophet ﷺ continued to repeat it to take the full benefit from it.

In Surah al-Qiyamah, there are two verses which discuss how the Prophet ﷺ was reciting the Qur'an when it was initially revealed upon him. Where Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ:

Oh Prophet of Allah, لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ — do not hasten in reciting the Qur'an. Don't rush. Relax. Take it easy. You should be at peace and at ease — تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ. Recite the Qur'an slowly. And the responsibility of making sure you don't miss out and you don't forget any ayah is My responsibility. I will take care of that.

Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها would say about the Prophet ﷺ that when he would recite the Qur'an, he would recite in a manner — قِرَاءَةً مُفَصَّلَةً حَرْفًا حَرْفًا — that you are able to pull out and identify every single word that he was saying. The Prophet is saying this word, and now he is saying this word.

And Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman رضي الله عنه says — which is also another etiquette of the Qur'an — that one day he entered into the Prophet's ﷺ Salat. He was praying. He decided to join him at night time, in tahajjud and qiyam al-layl, and the Prophet ﷺ was reciting Surah al-Baqarah. In a lengthy narration he says that the Prophet ended up reciting Surah al-Baqarah, Surah Aal Imran, and Surah an-Nisa' in one rak'ah. Imagine a rak'ah like that!

And the point that I wanted to highlight is: he said that whenever the Prophet ﷺ would pass by an ayah about the glorification of Allah, he would glorify Allah. When an ayah would come saying:

He would say سُبْحَانَ اللهِ. You can only do this when you're not in a rush. And when he would recite an ayah from which we should seek refuge, the Prophet ﷺ would seek refuge from it:

It doesn't have to be in Arabic. And whenever he would recite an ayah of the mercy of Allah, he would ask Allah for mercy. Doing this in Salat has a different fiqhi discussion, but at least doing it while we're reciting the Qur'an outside of Salat — this happens when we recite slowly.

The Reward for Those Who Struggle

The second etiquette of reciting the Qur'an — and understanding that while we're reciting slowly, we're reciting loud and clear. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1333; Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2919)

A person that recites the Qur'an out loud is like a person who gives charity out loud. And a person that recites the Qur'an in a low tone is like a person who gives charity in a low tone. So if we are afraid of showing off and ostentation, then we recite in a lower tone. But if we're not afraid of that and we're trying to teach people and encourage people, it is better to recite in a louder tone — of course not overpowering or overwhelming anyone around us, but in a manner that people can feel encouraged.

And don't feel like you can't recite loudly because you have mistakes, or you struggle in reciting. One of the hadith that give us the most hope in regards to the reward of reciting the Qur'an is where the Prophet ﷺ explains to us that a person who is الْمَاهِرُ بِالْقُرْآنِ — a person who is an expert, a master in reciting the Qur'an, like a sheikh, an imam, or a qari — their reward is that they will be مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ — with the noble angels on the Day of Judgment. A great reward. Well, how about people like you and I who perhaps struggle with reciting it? The Prophet ﷺ doesn't forget about us. He continues:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4937; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 798)

Whoever recites it and they struggle with it — they have challenges in reciting the Qur'an, they didn't study when they were younger, they are a new revert, they never had the chance to open the Qur'an because they just came back into their deen — the Prophet ﷺ says for those individuals: they will have double the reward. Can you believe that? They will have two rewards because they struggled.

So the etiquette of reciting the Qur'an is: recite it slowly, recite it while being at ease, recite it loudly and clearly.

Second Etiquette: Beautify Your Recitation

Number two — recite the Qur'an in a beautiful manner. Don't recite it like you're reading a novel. Don't passively read the Qur'an, just getting through chapters. That is not the objective. The objective is not to just complete the entire Qur'an and finish it in two weeks or one month. Yes, there is a different reward for that which we will speak about in one of these episodes. But recite it with a beautiful tone.

Someone came to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه and said: what if I don't have a beautiful voice? He said that the goal is not that you recite it in the same tone as somebody else. The goal is that you recite it in a way that you are enjoying it yourself — because if you're enjoying it, that means the angels are enjoying it. If the angels are enjoying it, that means Allah is enjoying it. And you're getting a special reward for that.

There is a beautiful hadith of the Prophet ﷺ where he actually tells us:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1468; Sunan ad-Darimi, Hadith 3499)

Beautify the Qur'an with your voice. Think of this — the Qur'an becomes more beautiful because of how we recite it. It doesn't matter if I have a naturally gifted voice or not; it's because I put some time and effort into it. You know, if you play sports and you're not that good at a jump shot in basketball, you will work on it. You will try to make it better. If you're not that good at coding and you're in the IT field, well, you'll figure out a way to get better at it. If I'm not that good at teaching and I'm a teacher, well, I have to figure out different ways of getting better at it because I know it will benefit my students more. Similarly, if I know that beautifying my voice makes Allah happier and makes the angels happy, then it should be something that I actually try to work towards.

حُسْنُ الْقُرْآنِ — beautify the Qur'an. Because a beautiful voice, not in comparison with anyone else — if I try to compare my voice with Shaykh as-Sudais or Qari Ahmed Mabrook or somebody else, then my voice isn't good at all by that measure — but that's not the point. The point is that at whatever level I can create a tone or a voice, don't just read it like a book.

And the Prophet ﷺ explains that there is nothing that Allah enjoys more than hearing a Prophet recite the Qur'an with a beautiful tone. And after the Prophets have passed away, that description and that objective will also fall upon our shoulders — that we too will be part of that crowd that Allah enjoys listening to.

The Prophet ﷺ enjoyed listening to the Qur'an being recited in a beautiful tone. When he heard Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reciting the Qur'an, he told him: you have been given the voice of Dawud ﷺ. So for us to learn to put some effort behind reciting the Qur'an slowly — in a manner where each word is being recited correctly, not just a quick conversation while we're walking out of the house or while we're busy on our phone — no, this is something that requires dedicated time and space.

Setting a Time and Space for the Qur'an

Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله says that you should have your own space, your own time, and — he would say — a pillow or a wisadah, something that you sit on, on the floor of course. You should have your own area to recite the Qur'an, because it is something very special. You know, people that you love — like your mother or your father, if you're not living with them — they'll tell you that every single day they have a set time that they call their parents. While going out to work, they pick up the phone and call their mother. When coming back from work, they call their father. Similarly, there has to be a set time for reciting the Qur'an.

And then we do it in a slow manner — not in a rush as if we're just trying to get it done. And number two, we work on reciting the Qur'an with a beautiful tone so that the angels around us can enjoy it and Allah can enjoy it. Imagine: when I recite the Qur'an, not only are my children enjoying it or my siblings enjoying it — the angels are enjoying my recitation. This happens when we (A) recite it slowly, and (B) make an effort to recite it with a beautiful tone to the best of our ability.

Bring the Qur'an Back into Your Home

May Allah give us the ability to (A) understand the importance of reciting the Qur'an, (B) recite it in a slow manner in which we're not in a rush, and (C) aim to get better in reciting the Qur'an within the rules of tajweed and also with our own voice to the best of our own ability, without comparing it to anyone else — so that our children can benefit, our home can benefit.

The Prophet ﷺ said that a house in which the Qur'an is not recited is a dead house. Let our homes not be dead. Let our hearts not be dead. And the way to bring life to our home is not by turning on light bulbs and opening the windows — rather, the way to bring light back into the house is by bringing the Qur'an back into our home. Sometimes we're getting into arguments and fights with our family members — the way to bring light back into the house is bringing the Qur'an back.

And post-Ramadan, let it not be that the Qur'an found a spot back on the shelf and goes nowhere else. Rather, create a sunnah that on a daily basis, your house will have light and your heart will have light — because you are reciting the Qur'an.

May Allah bless you all. InshaAllah you benefit from this episode and make an effort to create these two qualities and bring them into your life while reciting the Qur'an. JazakAllah khair.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ