The Noble Qur'an and Qur'anic Sciences

Abu Mūsa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of a believer who recites the Qur'an is like that of a citron; it smells and tastes good. And the example of a believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like that of a date; it has no smell and tastes good. And the example of a hypocrite who recites the Qur'an is like that of a basil; it smells good but tastes bitter. And the example of a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an is like that of a colocynth; it has no smell and tastes bitter."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is a Sūrah in the Qur’an consisting of thirty verses. It interceded for a man until he was forgiven. It is: {Blessed is He in Whose hand is the dominion.} [Sūrat al-Mulk].” In another narration by Abu Dawūd: “It intercedes.”

Abu Ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever memorizes the first ten verses of Surat al-Kahf will be protected from the Antichrist." Another version reads: "the last ten verses of Surat al-Kahf."

Abu Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever recites the last two verses of Sūrat al-Baqarah at a night, they will suffice him."

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah will be credited with a good deed for it, and a good deed is multiplied tenfold. I am not saying that 'Alif-Lām-Mīm' is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lām is a letter, and Mīm is a letter."

Abu Lubābah Bashīr ibn ‘Abd al-Mundhir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever does not recite the Qur’an with a melodious voice is not one of us."

‘Ali ibn Abi Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I will be the first to kneel before the Most-Merciful on the Day of Resurrection for the dispute. Qays ibn ‘Abbād said that this verse: {These two opponents (believers and disbelievers) dispute with each other about their Lord} [Sūrat al-Hajj: 19] was revealed in connection with those who dueled on the day of Badr, meaning: Hamzah, ‘Ali, ‘Ubaydah or Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Hārith, Shaybah ibn Rabī‘ah, ‘Utbah ibn Rabī‘ah, and Al-Walīd ibn ‘Utbah.

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Āmir reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say on the pulpit: {And prepare against them whatever you are able of power} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 60]ز Indeed, power is in shooting. Indeed, power is in shooting. Indeed, power is in shooting."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the west, and when it rises and people see it, they will all believe. But that will be the time when {belief will be of no benefit to those who did not believe before, or those who did not do some good through their faith} [Surat al-An‘ām: 158]. The Hour will surely come (so suddenly) that two people spreading a garment between them will not be able to finish their bargain, nor will they be able to fold it up. The Hour will surely come when a man is carrying the milk of his she-camel, but he will not be able to drink it. The Hour will surely come when someone will not be able to prepare the tank to water his livestock from it. And the Hour will come when one of you has raised his food to his mouth but cannot eat it."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Death will be brought forward in the shape of a black and white ram. Then, a caller will call out: 'O people of Paradise!' Thereupon, they will stretch their necks and look. The caller will say: 'Do you know this?' They will say: 'Yes, this is death.' By then, all of them will have seen it. Then, it will be announced again: 'O people of Hellfire!' They will stretch their necks and look. The caller will say: 'Do you know this?' They will say: 'Yes, this is death.' And by then, all of them will have seen it. Then, it will be slaughtered, and the caller will say: 'O people of Paradise, eternity and no death; O people of Hellfire, eternity and no death.'" Then, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) recited: {Warn them of the Day of Remorse when all matters will be decided, but they are heedless} [Surat Mariyam: 39]. And the people of this worldly life are heedless {and they do not believe.} [Surat Mariyam: 39]

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and expound on it in Arabic to the Muslims. So, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Neither believe nor disbelieve the People of the Book but say: {We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 136]."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) did not know where Surahs were to be separated until "In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful" was revealed to him.

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It will be said to the one devoted to the Qur’an: Read, ascend, and recite with deliberation as you used to recite in the world. Your rank will be at the last verse you recite."

‘Abdur-Rahmān as-Sulami (may Allah have mercy upon him) reported: Those who used to recite the Qur’an to us from among the Prophet's Companions related to us that they would listen to ten verses from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and not move to the next ten verses until they learned the knowledge and application contained therein. They said: So, we learned knowledge and application.

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu al-Mundhir, do you know which verse of Allah's Book that you have is the greatest?" I replied: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "O Abu al-Mundhir, do you know which verse of Allah's Book that you have is the greatest?" I said: "{Allah: none has the right to be worshiped except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining...} [Surat al-Baqarah: 255]." Thereupon, he struck me on the chest and said: "May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abu al-Mundhir!"

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) went to bed every night, he would join his palms together and blow into them and recite the Surahs al-Ikhlās, al-Falaq, and an-Nās, and then he would wipe with his hands over as many parts of his body as he could, starting with his head, face, and the front of his body. He used to do that three times.

‘Adiyy ibn Hātim reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Jews incurred Allah's wrath, and the Christians went astray."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {It is He Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are definite verses, which are the foundation of the Book, while others are ambiguous. Those with deviant hearts follow the ambiguous verses, seeking discord and seeking their [false] interpretation. But no one knows their [true] interpretation except Allah. And those who are well-grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it. It is all from our Lord." None will take heed except people of understanding} [Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 7]. Then, he said: "If you see those who follow the ambiguous verses, they are those whom Allah has named; so, beware of them."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: A man came and sat in front of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have two slaves who lie to me, deceive me, and disobey me, and I scold them and hit them. So what is my case concerning them?" He said: "The extent to which they betrayed you, disobeyed you, and lied to you will be measured against how much you punish them. If your punishing them is equal to their sins, the two will be the same, nothing for you and nothing against you. If your punishing them is above their sins, some of your rewards will be taken from you and given to them." The man left, and began weeping and crying aloud. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You should read what Allah says in His Book: {We will place the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection, and no soul will be wronged in the least. Even if a deed is the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. Sufficient are We as Reckoners.} [Surat al-Anbiyā': 47]" Thereupon, the man said: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I see nothing better for myself and them than parting with them. Bear witness that they are all free."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A group of polytheists, who went to excess in killing and committing illegal sexual intercourse, came to Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "What you say and invite people to is indeed good. If only you could tell us whether there is an expiation for what we did. Thereupon, it was revealed: {and those who do not invoke besides Allah, another god, and who do not kill a soul whom Allah has forbidden, except in the course of justice, and who do not commit adultery} [Surat al-Furqān: 68]. And the following verse was revealed: {Say [Allah says]: "O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of Allah's mercy."} [Surat az-Zumar: 53]