Chapter Two: Virtues of the Bearers of the Qur’an
7 – Abu l-‘Abbas Hamid b. Muhammad b. Shu’ayb al-Balkhi narrated to us, he said: Ya’qub al-Dawraqi narrated to us, he said: ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Mahdi narrated to us, from ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Budayl, from his father, from Anas b. Malik, who said: the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “To Allah belong groups of people from amongst mankind.” It was said, “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “The People of the Qur’an are the People of Allah, and His Elite.”
8 – Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah b. Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Hamid al-Wasiti narrated to us, he said: Ziyad b. Ayyub narrated to us, he said: Abu ‘Ubaydah al-Haddad narrated to us, he said: ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Budayl narrated to us, from his father, from Anas b. Malik, who said: the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Truly, to Allah belong groups of people.” It was said, “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “The People of the Qur’an are the People of Allah, and His Elite.”
9 – Abu Ja’far Ahmad b. Yahya al-Hulwani narrated to us, he said: Yahya b. ‘Abd al- Hamid al-Hammami narrated to us, he said: Hammad b. Shu’ayb narrated to us, from ‘Asim, from Zirr, from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’an on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Recite, and climb up the grades: recite rhythmically as you used to recite rhythmically in the world, for truly, your station will be at the last ayat you used to recite’.”
10 – Abu ‘Abdullah Ahmad b. al-Hasan b. ‘Abd al-Jabbar al-Sufi narrated to us, he said: Shuja’ b. Makhlad narrated to us, he said: al-Fadl b. Dukayn narrated to us, he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from ‘Asim, from Zirr, from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, “It will be said, ‘Recite and climb: recite rhythmically as you used to recite rhythmically in the world, for truly, your station will be at the last ayat you recite’.”
11 – Muhammad b. al-Husayn said: it is also narrated from Umm al-Darda’ that she said: I asked ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, about the one who enters the Garden from amongst those who recited the Qur’an, “What is his virtue over the one who did not recite it?” ‘Aishah replied, may Allah be pleased with her, “Truly, the number of grades of the Garden is as the number of ayat of the Qur’an. So he who enters the Garden from amongst those who recited the Qur’an, there will be no-one above him.”
12 – Abu l-Fadl Ja’far b. Muhammad al-Sandali [the Sandalwood-Trader] narrated to us, he said: al-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Za’farani narrated to us, he said: ‘Ali b. ‘Asim narrated to us, from Ibrahim al-Hajari, from Abu l-Ahwas, from ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud, who said: the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Learn this Qur’an, and recite it, for you are truly rewarded for its recitation, for every unit ten good deeds. Lo! I do not say Alif-Lam-Mim [is a unit], but Alif is a unit, Lam is a unit, and Mim is a unit. Truly, this Qur’an is the banquet of Allah, so learn from the banquet of Allah as much as you are able. Truly, this Qur’an is the Rope of Allah. It is the Clear Light, the Beneficial Cure, the Salvation of he who follows it, and the Protection of he who adheres to it: he does not go crooked that he should be corrected. Its wonders do not cease, and it does not decay from much repetition.”
13 – Abu ‘Abdullah Ahmad b. al-Hasan b. ‘Abd al-Jabbar al-Sufi informed us; he said: Shuja’ b. Makhlad narrated to us, he said: Hajjaj b. Minhal narrated to us: Hammad b. Salamah narrated to us, from ‘Ata’ b. al-Sa’ib, from Abu l-Ahwas and Abu l-Bakhtari, that Ibn Mas’ud said, “Learn the Qur’an, and recite it, for you are truly rewarded for it, for every word ten good deeds. Lo! I do not say for Alif-Lam-Mim is ten, but for the Alif is ten, for the Lam is ten, and for the Mim is ten.”
14 – Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah b. Abi Dawud narrated to us, he said: Abu l-Tahir Ahmad b. ‘Amr narrated to us, he said: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, he said: Yahya b. Ayyub informed us, from Khalid b. Yazid, from Tha’labah b. Abi l-Kunud, from Abu l-Kunud, from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As, who said, “He who collects the Qur’an has borne a great matter. Prophethood has been inserted between his shoulder-blades, except that he does not receive revelation. Thus, it does not befit the bearer of the Qur’an to show harshness with the one who shows harshness, or to show ignorance with the one who shows ignorance, for truly the Qur’an is in his interior.”
15 – Abu Bakr b. Abi Dawud also narrated to us, he said: Abu l-Tahir narrated to us, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Maslamah b. ‘Ali informed me, from Zayd b. Waqid, from Makhul, from Abu Umamah al-Bahili, who raised it [to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace] and said, “He who recites a quarter of the Qur’an has been given a quarter of Prophethood; he who recites a third of the Qur’an has been given a third of Prophethood; he who recites two thirds of the Qur’an has been given two thirds of Prophethood; he who recites [all of] the Qur’an has been given [all of] Prophethood, except that he does not receive revelation.”
Chapter Three: Virtues of the One Who Learns the Qur’an and Teaches It
16 – Abu Shu’ayb ‘Abdullah b. al-Hasan al-Harrani narrated to us, he said: ‘Ali b. al-Ja’d narrated to us, he said: Shu’bah informed us, from ‘Alqamah b. Marthad; he said: I heard Sa’d b. ‘Ubaydah narrate from Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, from ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan, may Allah be pleased with him. Shu’bah said: I asked him, “From the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?” He replied, “Yes.” He said, “The best of you is he who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman said, “So this is what has made me sit in this seat of mine” – he taught from the caliphate of ‘Uthman [23-35 H] until the amirate of al-Hajjaj [75-95 H].
17 – Abu Ja’far Ahmad b. Yahya al-Hulwani narrated to us, he said: Fayd b. Wathiq narrated to us, he said: ‘Abd al-Wahid b. Ziyad narrated to us, from ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Ishaq, from al-Nu’man b. Sa’d, from ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him; he said: the Messenger of Allah, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, “The best of you is he who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.”
18 – Abu Khubayb al-‘Abbas b. Ahmad al-Birti narrated to us, he said: ‘Abdullah b. Mu’awiyah al-Jumhi narrated to us, he said: al-Harith b. Nabhan narrated to us, he said: ‘Asim b. Bahdalah narrated to us, from Mus’ab b. Sa’d, from his father [Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas]; he said: the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “The best of you is he who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” He took my hand and made me sit in a gathering, teaching the Qur’an.
19 – Abu l-Fadl Ja’far b. Muhammad al-Sandali [the Sandalwood-Trader] narrated to us, he said: Zuhayr b. Muhammad narrated to us, he said: ‘Abdullah b. Yazid al-Muqri’ [the Recitation-Teacher] informed us; he said: Musa b. ‘Ali b. Rabah narrated to us, he said: I heard my father say: I heard ‘Uqbah b. ‘Amir say: the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) came out to us whilst we were in the mosque and said, “Which of you would love to go in the morning to Buthan or al-‘Aqiq28 and bring two high-humped, dazzling she-camels every day, gaining them without sin or cutting family ties?” He said: We said, “Every one of us would love that, O Messenger of Allah!” He said, “One of you going to the mosque in the morning and learning two ayat from the Book of Allah Exalted is better for him than two she-camels; three are better than three; four are better than four; any number is better than the same number of camels.”
Chapter Four: Virtues of Gathering in the Mosque to Study the Qur’an
20 – Al-Firyabi narrated to us, he said: Ishaq b. Rahwayh narrated to us, he said: Jarir, i.e. Ibn ‘Abd al-Hamid narrated to us, from al-A’mash [the Blear-Eyed], from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said, “No people sit together in one of the houses of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it together amongst themselves, except that the Angels surround them, Mercy envelops them, and Allah mentions them to those in His Presence. The one whose deeds slow him down, his lineage does not speed him up.”
21 – Al-Firyabi narrated to us, he said: Abu Bakr b. Abi Shaybah narrated to us, he said: Abu Mu’awiyah narrated to us, from from al-A’mash [the Blear-Eyed], from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “No people gather in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it together amongst themselves, except that Tranquillity descends upon them, Mercy envelops them, the Angels surround them, and Allah mentions them to those in His Presence.”
22 – Al-Firyabi also narrated to us, he said: Minjab b. al-Harith narrated to us, he said: Abu l-Ahwas narrated to us, from Harun b. ‘Antarah, from his father, who said: I said to Ibn ‘Abbas, “Which deed is most virtuous?” He said, “The Remembrance of Allah is the Greatest. No people sit in one of the houses of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, studying the Book of Allah together and conveying it amongst themselves, except that the Angels shade them with their wings and they remain the Guests of Allah as long as they continue in this, until they delve into other conversation.”
Chapter Five (1): Mention of the Etiquettes of the People of the Qur’an
Muhammad b. al-Husayn said: It befits the one whom Allah has taught the Qur’an and honoured him over others whom He did not make bearers of His Book; who wishes to be from the People of the Qur’an, the People of Allah and His elite; and to be amongst those whom Allah has promised Magnificent Bounty as we have mentioned previously; and to be amongst those about whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said, “They recite it as it should truly be recited”; it is said in explanation [of this ayat], “They practise it as it should truly be practised”;
23 – And [wishes to be] amongst those about whom the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “The one who recites the Qur’an and is expert in it, will be with the Pure, Noble Recording Angels. The one who recites it, finding it difficult, will have two rewards”;
24 – Bishr b. al-Harith said: I heard ‘Isa b. Yunus say, “When the slave completes reciting the Qur’an, the Angel kisses him between his eyes”;
… thus, it befits him to make the Qur’an a spring for his heart, by which he rebuilds that which has become derelict in his heart. He must display the etiquettes of the Qur’an, and personify Noble Character by which he is distinguished from the rest of the people, who do not recite the Qur’an.
The first matter that it befits him to employ is taqwa of Allah secretly and openly, by exercising caution (wara’) with regards to the sources of his food, drink, dress and earnings. He is perceptive about his time and the corruptions of its people, that he may beware of them regarding his religion. He concentrates on his own situation, having the aspiration to reform whatever is corrupt in his affairs, guarding his tongue and choosing his words. If he speaks, he speaks with knowledge when he sees speech to be correct. If he remains silent, he remains silent with knowledge when he sees silence to be correct. He rarely delves into that which does not concern him. He fears from his tongue things more severe than he fears from his enemy. He imprisons his tongue the way he imprisons his enemy, so that he may be safe from its evil and bad consequences.
Chapter Five (2): Mention of the Etiquettes of the People of the Qur’an
He rarely laughs at the matters at which people laugh, due to the bad consequences of laughter. If he is pleased by something in accordance with the Truth, he smiles. He dislikes joking, fearing frivolity: if he jokes, he speaks truth. He is accommodating in countenance, pure in speech. He does not allow himself to be praised for qualities he has, how then for qualities he does not have? He is wary of his self, that it should overcome him for what it desires, of the things that will anger his Master. He does not backbite anyone. He does not look down upon anyone. He does not abuse anyone. He is not happy at the affliction of others. He neither transgress upon anyone, nor envies him. He does not think the worst about anyone, except for one who deserves it. He loves with knowledge, and hates with knowledge. He speaks about a person’s faults only with knowledge, and remains silent about a person’s real nature with knowledge.
He has made the Qur’an, Sunnah and Fiqh his guide to every good and beautiful character, guarding all his limbs from what has been forbidden. If he walks, he walks with knowledge. If he sits, he sits with knowledge. He strives hard so that people may be safe from his tongue and hand. He does not behave ignorantly: if someone behaves ignorantly towards him, he is forbearing. He does not oppress: if he is oppressed, he forgives. He does not transgress: if he is transgressed upon, he has patience. He restrains his fury to please his Lord and enrage his enemy. He is humble in himself: when the truth is presented to him, he accepts it, whether from one younger or older. He seeks status from Allah, not from the creatures. He despises arrogance, fearing for his self from it.