Isa bin Muhammad (Alaihir Rahmah) says that I once saw Abu Bakr bin Mujahid (Alaihir Rahmah) after his death in a dream reading the Holy Quran. I asked, "You have died, how are you reciting," upon which he said, "After every Salah and finishing of the Quran, I would pray "O Allah, give me the Taufiq to recite the Quran in my grave" and that is why I am praying." (Faizan-e-Sunnat)
Ahadith
The Holy Prophet said:
1) The
best of you is he who learnt the Holy Quran and taught it to others.
(Bukhari)
2) Undoubtedly, the heart gets rusted like metal gets rusted when
water goes over it. The People asked, "How can they [hearts]
be cleaned." The Prophet replied, "To remember death
in abundance and to recite the Holy Quran." (Mishkat)
3) That chest which does not have any Quran in it is like an abandoned
house. (Tirmizi, Darmi)
4) Whoever read the Quran and memorized it and belived its' Halal
to be Halal and its Haram to be Haram [i.e., accepted it commandments
of Halal and Haraam], Allah will accept the intercession for such
10 people on from him whom Hell had already become Wajib. (Tirmizi,
Ibn-e-Majah)
5) Whoever is an expert in reciting the Holy Quran is with the
Kiraman Katebeen and whoever reads the Quran with pauses and it
is difficult for him, that is, his tounge does not move easily
and he recites with difficutly for him there are two rewards.
(Bahar-e-Shariat)
6) The one who has memorized Quran will be told to read and climb
and recite with Tarteel (clear and distinct recitation) like you
used to read with Tarteel in the Dunya; your place will be where
you read your last Ayat. (Bahar-e-Shariat)
7) Allah says, "Whoever was kept busy with the [recitation]
of Quran from my Zikr and asking me, I will give him better than
those who I give to those who ask" and the excellence of
the Word of Allah over all the other words is like the excellence
of Allah over all his creation.
8) Learn the Quran and read it because whoever learned the Quran
and read it and did Qayam with it is like a bag filled with Musk
whose fragrance is spread everywhere and whoever learned the Quran
and slept that is he did not do Qiyamul Layl is like a bag which
is filled with Musk and its mouth has been closed. (Tirmizi, Ibn-e-Majah,
Nisaee)
9) Read the Quran when you heart feels affection and attachment
and when your heart becomes bored stand up that is stop reciting
the Quran. (Saheeh Bukhari and Muslim)
10) Decorate the Quran with your (good) voices. (Mishkat)
11) O People of the Quran, do not make the Quran a pillow, that
is do not be lazy and be careless, and read the Quran in the day
and night like it is the Haq of Recitation, and spread it, that
is, read with good voices or do not take compensation for it,
and whatever is in it, reflect upon itso that you may attain success,
and do not hurry in its reward because the reward for it is great
(which will be given in the Akhirah). (Bahiqi)
Rewards for certain Surahs and Ayahs
The Holy Prophet
said:
1) Surah
Fatiha is a cure from every illness. (Darmi, Bahiqi)
2) Do not make your home a graveyard, the Shaitan runs from the
home in which Surah Baqrah
is recited. (Sahih Muslim)
3) Whoever memorized the first ten ayahs of Surah
Kahf will be saved the Dajjal. (Sahih Muslim)
4) Whoever recites Surah Kahf
on the day of Jummah, there will be a Nur brightened for him between
two Jummahs.
5) Everything has a heart and the heart of the Quran is Surah
Yaseen, whoever read Yaseen, Allah will write
the reward of reading the Quran ten times from him. (Tirmizi and
Darmi)
6) Whoever reads Surah Yaseen
for the pleasure of Allah, his past sins will be forgiven so read
this near your deceased. (Bahiqi)
7) (Reading) Qul hu WAllahu Ahad (Surah
Ikhlas) is equal to [reading] one third of the
Quran.
8) Whoever read Ayatul Kursi
after every Fard Salah, he will be under the protection and security
of Allah. (Dailmi on the Authority of Sayeduna Ali)
9) (On the Day of Judgement) a caller will say O Recitor of Surah
Inaam, come to Jannat for loving Surah Inaam and
its recitation.
10) Surah Tabarak
(Surah Mulk) saves one from Hell.
11) Whatever task is not begun with Bismillahir
Rahamnir Raheem remains incomplete and unfinished.
Ettiquteets
and Rules of Tilawat:
1)
To memorize one Ayah of the Quran is Fard-e-Aeen on every Mukallaf
Muslim; to memorize the entire Holy Quran is Fard-e-Kafyah; to
memorize Surah Fatiha and a small Surah or something similar like
three small Ayahs or one long Ayah is Wajib-e-Aeen. (Durre Mukhtar)
2) To read the Holy Quran while looking at it is better then reading
without looking at it because in this case one touches the Holy
Quran, sees the Holy Quran, and reads the Holy Quran and all this
is Ibadat. (Bahar-e-Shariat)
3) To read the Holy Quran in the restroom and such places of impurity
is not allowed (Na-Jaiz)
4) It is Haraam that everybody read the Holy Quran in a gathering
loudly at once, however, it is necessary to read loudly enough
so that one can hear what he/she is reading, that is, if there
is no other distraction like noise. (Bhare-e-Shariat) Also, many
children read together at once in a Madrsa loudly for learning
purposes and this is okay.
5) It is better to read the Quran loudly that is if somebody praying,
sleeping, or somebody ill will not be distracted. (Gunyah)
6) If somebody is reciting the Quran incorrectly then it is Wajib
to tell him/her unless if one fears jealousy and hate. (Gunyah)
7) To memorize the Holy Quran and then to forget it is a sin.
8) It is from the ettiqutes of respecting the Holy Quran that
one does not put their back towards the Quran or spread their
legs towards the Quran or sit in a high place when the Quran is
beneath. (Bahare Shariat)
9) During recitation reflect on what you are reading. For example,
when reading about punishment, one should repent; when reading
about paradise, one should rejoice and pray for Jannah.
10) The way to do Sajdah of Tilwat is as follows: If one hears
or reads the Ayat of Sajdah then he should stand with the intention
of performing the Sajdah of Tilawat and saying Allahu Akbar should
go into Sajdah and should recite the Tasbeeh of Sajdah atleast
three times. Then, saying Allahu Akbar, one should stand up. To
say Allahu Akbar both times is Sunnah. Similarly, to stand before
and after the Sajdah is Mustahab. (Durre Mukhtar)
Lastly, learn how to read the Quran in the company of a Qualified Sunni Alim [and mature sisters must go to a Qualified Sister] who can teach them how to read as this is necessary. At times, while reciting many brothers and sisters unknowingly make mistakes in recitation which change the meaning which breaks their Salah. Likewise, send your children to Madrsas where they may learn how to recite the Quran with correct pronunciation and Qirat. If there is not a Madrsa in your town, then establish one. Knowledge of Islam leads one to Love Allah and helps to build a good moral character within the Muslim community. By learning the Quran, a Muslim saves his Salah, his Iman, and his Akhirah. Learning the Quran is not limited to just learning how to recite the Holy Book, rather, it is a life long process of learning how to recite it and understand what the Quran says. The noble Ulama have worked hard and written volumes of Tafseer which consists of Ahadith, Stories, and important points. After learning the Quran, we must practice it and spread the word into our family and community.