FORTY HADITHS ON THE VIRTUES AND IMPACTS OF THE HOLY QUR'AN AND THE ETIQUETTES OF THE RECITATION OF' IT

In the presentation of the following forty Hadiths, I will rather stop at citing the texts of the Hadith than mention the series and ways of narrators. I will also use suitable titles according to their contents. The explanations of these Hadiths will be put off to another occasion. Finally, I will not bind myself with exactly forty Hadiths since traditions that urge on retaining forty Hadiths have not specified this number as stipulation; rather any addition to the number will be good.

Part 1

(1) Necessity of Learning the Holy Qur'an

Imam Ja'far al-sadiq is reported to have said, "It is desirable for a believer to learn or work on learning the Qur'an before death comes to him." ^[1]

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "Almighty Allah shall not torture a heart that has comprehended the Qur'an." ^[2]

"The best of you all are these who learn and teach the Qur'an." [3]

"The bearers of the Qur'an in this world shall be the chiefs of the inhabitants of Paradise on the Resurrection Day." ^[4]

"The Qur'an is such a prosperous book that no wealth can ever reach it and no poverty will ever follow it." ^[5]

"When a teacher (of the Holy Qur'an) teaches a boy the phrase 'bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the Name of Allah; the All-beneficent, the All-merciful)' and the boy repeats it after him, Almighty Allah shall decide delivery from Hellfire for the boy, his parents and the teacher." ^[6]

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is reported to have said, "He who retains the Qur'an and acts upon its instruction shall be with the noble, virtuous scribes." [7]

(2)          Learning the Holy Qur'an; the Greatest Grace

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "He who recites the Qur'an and thinks that any other grace may be greater than this has in fact belittled what Almighty Allah decides as great and has esteemed what Almighty Allah decides as worthless." [8]

(3)               The Holy Qur'an; an Interceder Whose Intercession will be Accepted and a Speaker that is Testified

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "When seditious matters become as ambiguous as gloomy nights, you must then abide by the Qur'an, for it is an intercessor whose intercession will be accepted and a witness that is admitted. If one betakes it as his guide, it will certainly lead him to Paradise; and if one leaves it behind him, it will certainly drive him to Hellfire. It is the leader to the best of ways. It is the Book that holds the details and the complete explanations. Its marvels are uncountable and its niceties are progressive. It is the lantern of guidance and the light of wisdom." ^[9]

(4)               Qualities of the Reciters of the Holy Qur'an

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is reported to have said, "When a reciter of the Qur'an passes by a verse holding a text of imploration from Almighty Allah or warning against disobeying Him, he should ask Him to grant him what he pleases and ask Him to save him from Hell and the chastisement therein." ^[10]

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "It is very strange that when I recite the Qur'an, my hair does not turn grey." [11]

In his famous sermon on the qualities of the pious people, Imam 'Ali says, "During a night, they are upstanding on their feet reading portions of the Qur'an and reciting it in a well-measured way, creating through it grief for themselves, bearing good tidings for themselves, stirring their sorrows for their sins and seeking by it the cure for their ailments.

When they come across a verse, which contains fear of Hell, they bend the ears of their hearts towards it and feel as though the sound of Hell and its cries are reaching their ears. When they come across a verse creating eagerness for Paradise, they pursue it avidly and their spirits turn towards it eagerly and they feel as if it is in front of them. They bend themselves from their backs, glorify Allah the Sublime the Omnipotent, and prostrate themselves on their foreheads, their palms, their toes and their knees. Their tears are flowing on their cheeks. They pray ardently to Allah for releasing them from Hell." [12]

(5)               The Obligation of Honoring the Bearers of the Holy Qur'an and the Forbiddance of Disparaging them

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "Verily, the people of the Qur'an are at the highest rank of all the human beings save the Prophets and Messengers. You must thus not belittle them for indeed they enjoy a considerable position with Allah, the Mighty and the Omnipotent." ^[13]

(6)               The Reward of Those Who Find Difficulty in Learning and Retaining the Holy Qur'an

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is reported to have said, "The reward of those who find difficulty in learning the Qur'an will be doubled while those who can easily learn it will be among the foremost ones." [14]

"Verily, he who exerts all possible efforts in learning and memorizing the Qur'an will have his reward doubled." ^[15]

(7)               The Obligation of Reciting the Basmalah before Each Surah

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is reported to have said, "When a man leads a congregational prayer, a devil comes to the devil that is the associate of that man and asks whether the man has mentioned Almighty Allah or not. Mention of Almighty Allah means to say `Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the Name of Allah; the All-beneficent, the All-merciful)'. If the answer is yes, the devil will run away, but if the answer is no, that devil will ride on that man's neck and hang down the legs on the man's chest. Hence, the devil will be the leader of that congregational prayer up to its end." ^[16]

(8)               The Recommendation of Reciting the Holy Qur'an on Visiting the Graves

Shaykh al-Saduq, in Man la Yahduruhul-Faqih, has recorded the following Hadith on the authority of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida: "Verily, Almighty Allah will forgive the believer who visits the grave of a believer and recites thereon the Surah of

al-Qadr (Night of Predestination; No. 97) seven times and He will also forgive the other believer in that grave." ^[17]

In another form of the same narration, the following statement has been added: "Both the believers will be saved from the grand terror of the Resurrection Day."

In addition, many other narrations have referred to the same issue.

According to other traditions, it is recommended to recite, in addition to the Surah of al-Qadr, the Surahs of al-Fatihah (the Opening; No. 1), al-Falaq (the Daybreak; No. 113), al-Nas (the People; No. 114) and the Verse of al-Kursiy (2:155) each three times. According to traditions too, the reward of such recitation will be that Almighty Allah will send an angel to do acts of worship to Him and will record the rewards of such acts for the dead on whose grave these Surahs have been recited. When that dead person is resurrected on the Judgment Day, Almighty Allah will save him from all the terrors of that day through that angel until he will be led to Paradise. [18]

(9)               Merits and results of Learning the Holy Qur'an in Early Life

Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is reported to have said, "For him whoever learns the Qur'an in early age, the Qur'an will be mixed with his flesh and blood; and Almighty Allah will include him with the noble, virtuous scribes; and the Qur'an will be his intercessor and attorney on the Resurrection Day. It will say, 'O Lord: Each doer (of a good thing) has attained the reward of his act except the bearer of me. I therefore pray to You to confer upon my bearer with the most generous bestowal of You.' On account of this, Allah—the Almighty the All-omnipotence—shall dress the bearers of the Qur'an two garments from Paradise and put on their heads the crown of honor. Then the Qur'an will be asked whether it has been pleased or not. It will answer, 'O Lord, I have expected a better thing than these two.' Hence, the bearers of the Holy Qur'an will be given the eternal tranquility in their right hands and the eternity in their left hands and allowed to enter Paradise. They will be then asked to recite a verse (Ayah) and to climb a scale. Then the Qur'an will be asked whether it has been satisfied, and it will answer affirmatively." ^[19]

(10)           The Necessity of Teaching the Children the Holy Qur'an

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "... and the parents of the bearer of the Holy Qur'an will be, on the Resurrection Day, dressed two garments provided that they are believers and they will addressed that these garments are for their having taught their child the Holy Qur'an." ^[20]

Imam 'Ali is reported to have said, "It happens that Almighty Allah decides to punish all the inhabitants of this earth without exception because of deeds of disobedience to Him that they do and sins that they commit; but when. He looks at the old men pulling their legs to the prayers and the children learning the Qur'an, He has mercy upon them and thus postpones the punishment." ^[21]