Etiquettes of The Quran: Best Time For Reciting The Quran | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

Etiquettes of the Qur'an: The Best Times for Recitation

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته — Alhamdulillah, and salutations upon the noble Messenger. Dear brothers and sisters, welcome back to another session of ours where we are discussing the etiquettes of the Qur'an.

And for those of you that are watching from home, JazakAllah khair for being consistent in watching these sessions. Hopefully it is of some benefit for you and the family.

Dear brothers and sisters, as humans, it is within our nature to always look for a good deal, for a discount, if we can say, where we get a bang for our buck. We can buy that same car at this time and it will cost us less. We will wait for that date. If we are in stocks, we know the best time to sell is at this time of the day, or the best time to buy is at this specific time of the day.

We always look for the best time so we can maximize our profit, or maximize our time or energy. Similarly, there are specific times during the day that if we recite the Qur'an, it will maximize our reward. It will amplify the effect of the Qur'an that we have been discussing over the past few sessions. All of those effects will be amplified in our life and they will have a much larger effect.

We can run anytime in the day, but as the majority of surveys say, the Americans or the people living in the West that run — they want to run before 7 AM because it has a different effect. It keeps them fresh. We can eat at any time of the day but we learn that eating late at night is unhealthy, so we avoid eating late at night and making it the last thing that we do.

So there are times in the day, or within the 24-hour cycle, that reciting the Qur'an is special and it brings more virtue into our life. And insha'Allah in this session, I will discuss those times — those special times in which reciting the Qur'an allows the rewards to blossom in our life more than it would at any other time of the day.

The First Time: Tahajjud — The Last Third of the Night

Number one, the first time that we will discuss is the time of tahajjud at night. When we are alone and the world is sleeping around us. Allah speaks about the companions and those that were beloved to Him, saying:

They were people who would sleep little at night, and they would seek Allah's forgiveness in the early morning hours. And:

They would allow their backs and their sides to separate from their beds and their mattresses, so they could pray to Allah, so they could connect to Allah.

This time — the last third of the night — is a precious time. The Prophet ﷺ tells in a beautiful narration that Allah descends to the lowest sky in the last third of the night. The mercy of Allah descends and Allah calls out: "Is there anyone that is seeking to be forgiven? Seek your forgiveness so I can forgive you. Is there anyone that is in need of help? Ask for help."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1145; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 758)

"So I can answer you, and I can accept your du'a and your plea." It's a very precious time. Imagine in this time, while Allah's mercy is concentrating on us, that we are found in a state of reading the words of Allah. Imagine how proud Allah will be of us —

How much He would boast about us within the gatherings of angels.

The first time that allows our reward to maximize and amplify that I am discussing today is the time of the night — when Allah ordered the Prophet ﷺ to recite the Qur'an during these moments:

When Allah talks to the Prophet ﷺ in Surah Al-Muzzammil, saying:

When Allah is telling the Prophet ﷺ — "O you who covers himself" — if you want to find ease and comfort in your life:

قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا — Wake up at night and worship Me. And what do I want you to do at night? Yes, pray nawafil. But also — وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا — recite My Book. Recite My words.

And how would this help you? Number one, it would give you comfort. Number two:

You have a long day coming your way. And this Qur'an will be your battery charge. You know, I can't relate per se exactly, but I know maybe some of us can. For those of us who drive Teslas, you've got to charge your car at night so it can last the whole day. I know everyone can relate to the example of a phone — if the phone doesn't charge at night, the entire day goes in misery and difficulty because the phone wasn't charged at night.

The charge that allows us to truly benefit ourselves and those around us during the day — that allows us to worship Allah the way He ought to be worshipped to the best of our capability — that charge is required. And that charge comes from reciting Qur'an at night. That charge comes from praying at night. That charge comes from opening the Qur'an at night.

It's a very special time where Allah has amplified all of His blessings with it. So if we have to choose a time to recite the Qur'an, it should be that moment. Most people in this world who are successful in whichever fields they are successful in, wake up very early in the morning. That's when they go on their jogs, that's when they choose to prepare for their day. That should also be the time where we prepare for our day. But we add something else to that equation — not just physically being fit, we also add the concept of spiritually being fit. And that happens through us reciting the Qur'an and being alone.

When the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet was alone. And Jibreel AS descended upon him. And he spoke to him and ordered him: اقْرَأْ — "Recite." And the Prophet responded by saying: مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ — "I cannot recite." And it was said again three times, and finally the Prophet recited the first five verses of Surah Al-'Alaq through Jibreel AS's help and Allah's support.

When Musa AS was traveling with his wife back to Misr from Madyan, and as he sees a fire, he says to his wife: إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَارًا — "I see this fire, I feel that there's a fire over there. And maybe if I go there and bring that fire, I'll get some good news or some form of help will come from that fire." And when he goes there, Allah calls towards him — when he's all alone:

"O Musa, I have chosen you — listen up closely." In the middle of the night. It allows us to gain some intimacy with Allah. People that want to build emotional relationships — it's known that they do things at night. They go on dates, they want to do things at night, because it gives them more emotional fulfillment. Reciting Qur'an at night will also give us emotional and spiritual fulfillment.

That is the first time we should focus on.

The Second Time: The Time of Fajr

The second time that we should focus on reciting the Qur'an — that gives a special reward — is at the time of Fajr. When Allah says:

Establish salat at the decline of the sun and through the darkness of the night, but specifically recite Qur'an at the time of Fajr. Because the Qur'an of Fajr will be a witness for you — it will stand on your behalf, it will be there for you, it will present itself for you.

So the time of Fajr is very sacred, because this is the time where the shifts of the angels are changing — where one shift is going up and the other shift is coming down. Imagine the angels — imagine our boss comes in once a day. And at that time, whenever he comes in, we're always being active and efficient, doing work. And every time he or she comes in, they think: "Wow, this person is doing good work. Because they're always active." That's the time of Fajr — when the angels are coming down and the angels are going up. The angels that are going up are taking good things back, and the angels that are coming down are finding us in the best of forms. And that is in reciting the Qur'an.

So the second time of the day that we should focus on in reciting the Qur'an is the time of Fajr. So: one is at night time, the last third of the night. And the second is at the time of Fajr — before Fajr, and after Fajr salat. This is also a special time. We can recite the Qur'an after Fajr salat till the time of Shuruq, where we can pray our raka'at of Ishraq.

The norm in the Prophet's ﷺ masjid was that after Fajr salat, the Prophet would turn around and engage with his Sahaba and his companions. And after engaging, they would all separate into their own groups and recite Qur'an, talk about the greatness of Allah, learn new surahs, or learn the new wahi or revelation that came at night. And thereafter, they would pray their Shuruq — two or four raka'at — and go on with their day.

So the time from Fajr till Ishraq is also a very special time.

The Third Time: The Day of Jumu'ah

The last specific time I would discuss is the day of Jumu'ah, where every single deed is blessed. The day of Jumu'ah is a unique day that Allah has given us. So reciting Qur'an from Thursday after Maghrib through Friday — the entire day of Friday — is especially virtuous.

This is the day where our deeds are presented — in some narrations — to the Prophet ﷺ. This is the day where our weekly recap is done. Think of it as a weekly review from our boss — where our boss does a weekly review, or a quarterly review, or for those that file taxes, a yearly review. Allah is taking this weekly review from us: "What has this person done this week?" And if on that day we are engaged in reciting the words of Allah, it will give us a better chance in pleasing Allah.

What should we recite? Yes, Surah Al-Kahf is the recommended surah to recite on the day of Jumu'ah. But also beyond that, make Friday a special day. If every other day of the week we recite the Qur'an for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes — increase that time on the day of Jumu'ah, because it's a discounted day. Reciting Qur'an at this time, even if it may be less, will give us more reward and will give us more of an effect.

Summary and Closing

So these three times, we should focus on reciting the Qur'an:

1. The last third of the night (Tahajjud). If we can't do it on a daily or nightly basis, at least once a week, focus on reciting the Qur'an at night.

2. The time of Fajr. At least once a week, focus on reciting the Qur'an at the time of Fajr.

3. The day of Jumu'ah. Weekly, the day of Jumu'ah should already have some portion dedicated to reciting Surah Al-Kahf — to protect us from the hardships and calamities of this world.

May Allah grant us the ability, the efficiency of honing in on these times, and allowing ourselves to fit them into our schedule — so the reward can reach us in this world, can affect us in the best of ways, and can also be a source of help for us in the Akhirah.

JazakAllah Khair. وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ