Reading the Holy Qur'an for Worldly Benefits

Buraidah (Radhiyallaho anho) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "He who reads the Qur'an so that he might thereby get something to eat from the people, shall so appear on the Day of Judgement that his face will only be a bone, on which there will be no flesh.”

This means that those who read the Glorious Qur'an in order to fulfill the need of this world will get no share in the Hereafter. Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) has said,

"We read the Holy Qur'an. There are amongst us Arabs as well as non-Arabs. Go on reading the Qur'an as you do it now. Shortly, there will rise people who will set right the pronunciation of letters of the Qur'an as an arrow, i.e., they will work hard to adorn it and spend hours in improving the pronunciation of each and every letter. They will take great pains over phonetics. But all this will be with a worldly motive. They will be the least concerned with the Hereafter."

This hadith further signifies that mere recitation in a pleasing voice is of no avail if there be no sincerity and if the purpose is only to earn worldly benefit, "……….there will be no flesh" means that when a man makes the noblest of all things (i.e. the Qur'an) the means for earning the inferior things of this world, the noblest of all parts of the body, i.e. his face, will be deprived of its beauty.

Once 'Imam ibn-e-Haseen (Radhi Allaho anho) happened to pass by a preacher who recited the Glorious Qur'anand then begged of the people. He was grieved to see this painful sight and recited 'inna li-Llahe wa inna ilaihe raj'un' (verily we are from Allah and will return to Him). He said that he had heard from Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) that whoever recites the Glorious Qur'an should beg whatever he needs only  from Almighty Allah.

Shortly, there will come into existence a people who will recite and then beg of the people. It is reported from some scholars that the 'example of one who earns the gains of this world through the knowledge of 'Din' is like that of one who cleans his shoes with his cheeks; the shoes will no doubt be cleaned, but the act is most stupid. It is such people who are referred to in the following 'ayat' of the Glorious Qur'an:

"These are they who buy error at the price of guidance. So their commerce doth not prosper, neither are they guided."

Ubai ibn-e-Ka'b (Radhi Allaho anho) has narrated, "I taught a 'surah' of the Glorious Qur'an to a man who gave me a bow as a gift. I mentioned this to Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), who said that I had accepted a bow from Hell." A similar incident has been mentioned about himself by 'Ubadah ibn-e-Saamit (Radhi Allaho anho) in whose case Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had said, "You have hung between your shoulders a spark from Hell." According to another 'riwayat' Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had said, "If you are prepared to put a yoke of Hell round your neck, you may accept it."

Now a word for such 'huffaz' who are working in Qur'anic schools, only for the sake of money. It is humbly requested that they should give a thoughtful consideration to their status and responsibility. This unbecoming conduct on their part is being attacked and made an excuse by some people for stopping the reading or memorizing of the Glorious Qur'an. They alone are not responsible for the evil consequences, but such 'huffaz' also share the responsibility for stopping the teaching of the Glorious Qur'an. These 'huffaz' think that they are engaged in the propagation of the Qur'an, but in reality they are obstructing it, through their misconduct and bad intentions. The 'ulama' have not permitted the acceptance of salary for teaching the Glorious Qur'an so that it becomes the primary motive. In fact, the real motive of the teachers should only be to promote the education and propagation of knowledge of the Qur'an. No salary can be a return for the sublime act of teaching the Qur'an.

Such remuneration is only for meeting personal needs and has been permitted when forced by circumstances, in cases of dire necessity.