Forty Hadiths about the excellence of the Glorious Qur'an: (Second part)

(21) `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "It is a bad thing that some of you say: I have forgotten such-and-such Ayah of the Qur'an, for indeed, he has been caused (by Allah) to forget it. So, you must keep on reciting the Qur'an because it escapes from the hearts of men faster than camel do."[1]

(22) `Uqbah ibn `Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Learn the book of Allah, recite it regularly, possess a copy of it, and recite it nicely. By the One in Whose Hands Muhammad's soul is, it escapes from memory faster than a camel does from its tying ropes."[2]

(23) ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The example of the person who knows the Qur'an by heart is like the owner of tied camels. If he keeps them tied, he will control them, but if he releases them, they will run away."[3]

(24) Al Bara' ibn `Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: "Beautify the Qur'an with your voices, for sweet voice increases the beauty of the Qur'an."[4]

(25) Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "A sweet voice is the adornment of the Qur'an."[5]

(26) Usayd ibn Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he was reciting the Qur'an at the roof of his house , and he had a nice voice. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came and said: "While I was reciting the Qur'an, something covered me like a cloud. My wife was at home and the horse too. So, I feared that my wife would fall and the horse is released, so I stopped. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: O Usayd, recite, for it is only an angle who listened to the Qur'an[you were reciting]."[6]

(27) Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:"Not to wish to be the like of except two men: A man whom Allah has taught the Qur'an and he recites it during the hours of the night and during the hours of the day, and his neighbor listens to him and says: I wish I had been given what has been given to so-and-so, so that I might do what he does; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it on what is just and right, whereupon another man may say: I wish I had been given what so-and-so has been given, for then I would do what he does."[7]

(28) `Abdur-Rahman ibn Shibl(may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "Learn the Qur'an, and when you learn it, do not be harsh [upon applying it],do not abandon it, do not use it to eat [recite it to people to give you money], and do not use it to gain worldly benefits."[8]

(29) An-Nawwas ibn Sam`an (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "The Qur'an and its people who applied it will be brought on the Day of Resurrection preceded with Surat Al Baqarah and Surat Al `Imran arguing on behalf of those who applied them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned that they will precede by three miles which I have never forgotten as two clouds or two black shades and in between there is a light, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them."[9]

(30) `Abdullah ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Gabriel recited the Qur'an to me in one way. Then I requested him (to read it in another way) , and continued asking him to recite it in other ways, and he recited it in several ways till he ultimately recited it in seven different ways."[10]

(31) `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Such a person as recites the Qur'an and masters it by heart, will be with the noble righteous scribes (in Heaven) . And such a person exerts himself to learn the Qur'an by heart, and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward."[11]

(32) `Umar ibn Al Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone falls asleep and therefore fails to observe his Hizb (share) or part of it, if he observes it between the Fajr and the Zhuhr Salah, it will be recorded for him as though he had observed it during the night."[12]

(33) `Abdullah ibn `Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Recite the whole Qur'an in one month's time. I said: But I have power (to do more than that) . Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Then finish the recitation of the Qur'an in seven days, and do not finish it in less than this period."[13]

(34) `Abdullah ibn `Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "He has not understood it who recites the Qur'an in less than three (days)."[14]

(35) Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur'an. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was the most generous person, even more generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (in readiness and haste to do charitable deeds).[15]

(36) Um Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to cut his recital into pauses. Thus, he recited 'Al Hamdulillahi Rabbil `Alamin' (Ayah No. 1 of Surat Al Fatahah) and paused. Then "Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim" (Ayah No. 2) and paused. Ibn Abu Mulaykah said: Um Salamah used to recite it "Maliki Yawmiddin" (Ayah 3…and so on)."[16]

(37) Abu Musa Al Ash`ary (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Glorifying Allah involves showing honor to a grey-haired Muslim and to one who can expound the Qur'an, but not to one who acts extravagantly regarding it, or turns away from it, and showing honor to a just ruler."[17]

(38) `Uqbah ibn `Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "There will emerge from my nation people who drink the Qur'an as one of them would drink milk."[18]

(39) Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Argumentation about the Qur'an is an apostasy."[19]

(40) Jabir ibn `Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) collected every two martyrs of Uhud in one piece of cloth, then he would ask: "Which of them had more of the Quran?" When one of them was pointed out for him, he would put that one first in the grave and say: "I will be a witness on these on the Day of Resurrection." He ordered them to be buried with their blood on their bodies and they were neither washed nor was a funeral prayer offered for them."[20]