Abu Qatada said God’s Messenger went out one night and found Abu Bakr praying in a low voice, and he passed ‘Umar who was raising his voice while praying. When they both were with the Prophet he said, “I passed you, Abu Bakr, when you were praying in a low voice.” He replied, “I made Him hear with whom I was holding intimate converse, Messenger of God.” He said to ‘Umar, “I passed you when you were raising your voice while praying.” He replied, “Messenger of God, I was wakening the drowsy and driving away the devil.” The Prophet said, “Raise your voice a little, Abu Bakr;” and he said to ‘Umar, “Lower your voice a little.” Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted something similar.

Abu Dharr said that God’s Messenger kept awake during the night till morning reciting one verse, which was, “If Thou punishest them they are Thy servants; and if Thou forgivest them Thou art the Mighty, the Wise”(Al-Qur’an; 5:118). Nasa’i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When one of you prays the two rak'as of the dawn prayer, he should lie down on his right side.”* * Cf. the third tradition in section 1 of this chapter. Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Masruq said he asked ‘A’isha what action was most pleasing to God’s Messenger and she replied that it was what one keeps on doing. He asked at what time he got up at night and she said it was at cockcrow. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Anas said, “We never wanted to see God’s Messenger praying at night without doing so, and we never wanted to see him sleeping without doing so.”* *The tradition most probably means that he Prophet did not go to extremes in religious observances. Nasa'i transmitted it.

Humaid b. ‘Abd ar-Rahman b. ‘Auf said that one of the companions of the Prophet told how he decided when he was on a journey along with God’s Messenger that he must watch his prayer to see how he conducted it. When he had prayed the evening prayer, which is the 'atama, he lay down for a long period during the night, then awoke, looked at the horizon and said, “Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain…verily Thou dost not break Thy promise” (Al-Qur’an; 3:191,194). Then God's Messenger went to his couch from which he took out a toothstick, then poured out some water into a bowl from a skin vessel beside him, cleaned his teeth, and stood up and prayed, till it appeared to me that he prayed as long as he had slept. Then he lay down till it appeared to me that he slept as long as he had prayed. Then awakening and doing as he did the first time, he said the same as he had said. He did that three times before the dawn. Nasa’i transmitted it.

Ya'la b. Mamlak said he asked Umm Salama, the Prophet’s wife, about his recitation and prayer. She Said, “What have you to do with his prayer? He would pray, then sleep as long as he had prayed, then pray as long as he had slept, then sleep as long as he had prayed, till morning.” She then described his recitation and did so with an exposition word by word. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa’i transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbas told how the Prophet said when he got up during the night to pray, “O God, to Thee be the praise; Thou art supreme over the heavens and the earth and their inhabitants. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the Light of the heavens and the earth and their inhabitants. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the King of the heavens and the earth and their inhabitants. To Thee be the praise; Thou art the Truth, Thy promise is truth, the meeting with Thee is true, Thy word is true, paradise is true, hell is true, the prophets are true, Muhammad is true, the last hour is true. O God, to Thee I submit, in Thee I believe upon Thee I trust, to Thee I repent, by Thy help I have disputed, and to Thee I have come for decision, so forgive me my former and my latter sins, my secret and my open sins, and what Thou knowest better than I. Thou art He who brings forward, and Thou art He who defers. There is no god but Thee, and there is no other god than Thee.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘A’isha said that when the Prophet got up at night he began his prayer by saying, “O God, the Lord of Gabriel, Michael and Israfil, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who knowest the unseen and the seen, Thou decidest among Thy servants concerning their differences. Guide me on account of different opinions regarding the truth by Thy permission; verily Thou guidest whom Thou wilt to a straight path.” Muslim transmitted it.

God is most great; there is no might and no power but in God,’ then says, ‘My Lord, forgive me’ (or he said, Then makes supplication), he will receive an answer; and if he performs ablution and prays, his prayer will be accepted.” Bukhari transmitted it.

‘A’isha told how God’s Messenger said when he awoke during the night, “There is no god but Thee. Glory be to Thee, O God, and praise be to Thee. I ask for Thy forgiveness of my sin, and I ask for Thy mercy. O God, increase me in knowledge, and do not let my heart swerve after Thou hast guided me. Grant me mercy from Thyself. Thou art indeed the munificent One.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Mu'ādh al-Juhani reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone recites the Qur’ān and acts according to its contents, on the day of resurrection his parents will be given to wear a crown whose light is better than the light of the sun in the dwellings of this world if it were among you. So what do you think of him who acts according to this?” Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

‘Uqba b. ‘Amir said he heard God's messenger say, “If the Qur’ān were put in a skin and thrown into the fire it would not burn.” Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Alī reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone recites the Qur’ān, learns it by heart, declares what is lawful in it to be lawful and what is unlawful in it to be unlawful, God will bring him into paradise and make him intercessor for ten of his family all of whom have deserved hell.” Ahmad, Tirmidhī, Ibn Majah and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying that this is a gharīb tradition, and that Hafs b. Sulaīmān the transmitter is not strong, but is declared to be a weak traditionist.

When God’s Messenger once asked Ubayy b. Ka'b how he recited in the course of the prayer and he recited Umm al- Qur’ān (Al-Qur’ān 1) , he said, “By Him in whose hand my soul is, nothing like it has been sent down in the Torah, the Injīl, the Zabūr, or the Qur’ān, and it is seven of the oft-repeated verses and the mighty Qur’ān (Qur’ān, 15:87) which I have been given.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, and Dārimī transmitted from “nothing like it has been sent down,” but he did not mention Ubayy b. Ka‘b. Tirmidhī said this is a hasan sahīh tradition.

He reported God's messenger as saying, “Learn and recite the Qur’ān, for to one who learns, recites and uses it in prayer at night it is like a bag filled with musk whose fragrance diffuses itself everywhere; and he who learns it and goes to sleep having it within him is like a bag with musk tied up in it.” Tirmidhī, Nasā’ī and Ibn Mājah transmitted it.

“If anyone recites in the morning Hā Mīm al-Mu’min (Al-Qur’ān, 40:1-3) to ‘to Him is the final goal’ and the Throne Verse (Al-Qur’ān, 2:255) he will be guarded by them till the evening, and if anyone recites them in the evening he will be guarded by them till the morning.” Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a gharīb tradition.

“Two thousand years before creating the heavens and the earth God inscribed a book of which He sent down two verses with which He concluded Sūrat al-Baqara. The devil will not come near a house in which they are recited three nights.” Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a gharīb tradition.

Abūd Dardā’ reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who recites three verses at the beginning of al-Kahf will be protected from the trial of the dajjāl.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahīh tradition.

Anas reported God’s messenger as saying, “Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Qur’ān is Yā Sīn (Qur’ān, 36). God will record anyone who recites Yā Sīn as having recited the Qur’ān ten times.” Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a gharīb tradition.

Abū Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “A thousand years before creating the heavens and the earth God recited Tā’ Hā’ (Qur’ān, 20) and Yā’ Sīn, and when the angels heard the recitation they said, ‘Happy are a people to whom this comes down, happy are the minds which carry this, and happy are the tongues which utter this’.” Dārimī transmitted it.

He reported God’s messenger as saying, “If someone recites Hā’ Mīm ad-Dukhān (Qur’ān, 44) any night, seventy thousand angels will ask forgiveness for him in the morning.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, saying that this is a gharīb tradition and that ‘Umar b. Abū Khath'am the transmitter is declared to be weak. Muhammad, i.e. Bukhārī, said his traditions were rejected.

He reported God's messenger as saying, “If anyone recites Hā’ Mīm ad-Dukhān on a Thursday night his sins will be forgiven.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, saying that this is a gharīb da’īf tradition and that Hishām Abūl Miqdām its transmitter is declared to be weak.

Al-Irbād b. Sāriya said the Prophet used to recite al-Musabbihāt* before going to sleep, and say they contained a verse which is better than a thousand verses. *These are said to be sūras 57, 59, 61, 62, 64, 87 which begin with the perfect, imperfect, or imperative of the verb sabbaha ('to glorify'). Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it, and Dārimī transmitted it in mursal form on the authority of Khalid b. Ma'dān. Tirmidhī said this is a hasan gharīb tradition.

Abū Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “A sūra in the Qur’ān containing thirty verses interceded for a man till his sins were forgiven. It was ‘Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom.'” (Qur’ān, 67) Ahmad, Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, Nasā’i and Ibn Mājah transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbās said that one of the Prophet's companions set up his tent over a grave without realising that it was a grave, and it contained a man who was reciting the sūra, “Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom,” up to the end. He went and told the Prophet, who said, “It is the defender; it is the protector which is protecting him from God's punishment.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, .saying this is a gharīb tradition.

Jabir said it was the Prophet’s custom not to go to sleep till he had recited “A. L. M The sending down,” (Qur’ān, 32) and “Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom.” Ahmad, Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a sahīh tradition. The same is said in Sharh as-sunna, but in al-Masābīh it is called gharīb.

Ibn ‘Abbās and Anas b. Mālik reported God’s messenger as saying that “When is shaken” (Qur’ān, 99) is equivalent to half the Qur’ān, “Say, He is God, One” (Qur’ān, 112) is equivalent to a third of the Qur’ān, and “Say, O infidels” (Qur’ān, 109) is equivalent to a quarter of the Qur’ān. Tirmidhī transmitted it.

Ma‘qil b Yasār reported the Prophet as saying, “If anyone says three times in the morning, ‘I seek refuge in God, the Hearer and Knower, from the accursed devil’, and recites three verses at the end of sūra al-Hashr (Qur’ān, 59), God will put in charge of him seventy thousand angels who will invoke blessings on him till the evening, and if he dies that day he will die as a martyr. If anyone says them in the evening he will be in that rank.” Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a gharīb tradition.

Anas reported the Prophet as saying, 'If anyone recites two hundred times daily, ‘Say, He is God, One’, the sins of fifty years will be wiped out, unless he is in debt.” Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it. The latter’s version has “fifty times”, and he did not mention “unless he is in debt.”

While I was travelling with God's messenger between *al-Juhfa and al-Abwa’ a wind and intense darkness enveloped us, whereupon God’s messenger began to seek refuge in God, reciting “I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn” and “I seek refuge in the Lord of men.”(Qur’ān, 113 &114) He then said, “Use them, ‘Uqba, when seeking refuge in God, for no one can use anything to compare with them for the purpose.” *Al Juhfa- a village about 82 miles from Mecca. Al Abwa’- a village between twenty and thirty miles nearer Medina than al-Juhfa. Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

We went out one rainy and intensely dark night to look for God’s messenger, and when we caught up on him he said to me, “Say.” I asked him what I was to say, and he replied, “If you recite ‘Say, He is God, One’ and al-Mu'awidhatān (The last 3 sūras of the Qur’ān) three times morning and evening, they will serve you for every purpose.” Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Nasā’i transmitted it.

‘Uqba b. ‘Āmir said that when he asked God’s messenger whether he should recite sūra Hūd (Qur’ān, 11) or sūra Yūsuf (Qur’ān, 12), he told him he could recite nothing more effective with God than “Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn.” Ahmad, Nasā’i and Dārimī transmitted it.

Aifa‘ b. ‘Abd al-Kilā‘ī told of a man who asked God’s messenger which sūra of the Qur’ān was greatest and was told that it is “Say, He is God, One.” He asked which verse of the Qur’ān was greatest and was told that it is the Throne Verse, “God, there is no god but He, the Living, he Eternal.” He asked God’s prophet which verse he would like to bring good to him and his people and was told, ‘‘The end of sūra al-Baqara, for it is one of the treasures of God’s mercy from under His Throne which He gave to this people, and there is no good in this world and the next which it does not include.” Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Abd al-Mālik b. ‘Umair reported in mursal form that God's mes­senger said, “Fātihat al-Kitāb contains healing for every disease.” Dārimī and Baihaqi, in Shu'ab al-īmān, transmitted it.

Jubair b. Nufair reported God’s messenger as saying, “God finished sūra al Baqara with two verses which I have been given from His treasure which is under the Throne ; so learn them and teach them to your womenfolk, for they are a blessing, a means of approach [to God] and a supplication.” Dārimī transmitted it in mursal form.

Ka‘b reported God's messenger as saying, “Recite sūra Hūd (Qur’ān, 9) on Fridays.” Dārimī transmitted it in mursal form.

Abū Sa'id reported the Prophet as saying, “If anyone recites sūra al-Kahf (Qur’ān, 18) on Friday, light will shine brightly for him till the next Friday.” Baihaqī transmitted it in [Kitāb] al-Da‘awāt al-kabir.

Recite the rescuer, which is A.L.M. The sending down (Qur’ān, 32) for I have heard that a man who had committed many sins used to recite it and nothing else. It spread its wing over him and said, “My Lord, forgive him, for he often used to recite me so the Lord most high made it an intercessor for him and said, “Record for him a good deed and raise him a degree in place of every sin.” Khālid said also: It will dispute on behalf of the one who recites it when he is in his grave saying, “O God, if I am a part of Thy Book, make me an intercessor for him; but if I am not a part of Thy Book, blot me out of it.” It will be like a bird putting its wing on him, it will intercede for him and will protect him from the punishment in the grave. He said the same about “Blessed is He.” (Qur’ān, 67) Khālid did not go to sleep at night till he had recited them. Tā’ūs said they were given sixty virtues more than any other sūra in the Qur’ān. Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Atā b. Abū Rabāh told of hearing that God’s messenger said, “If anyone recites Yā’ Sīn at the beginning of the day, his wants will be supplied.” Dārimī transmitted it in mursal form.

Ma'qil b. Yasār al-Muzanī reported the Prophet as saying, “If anyone recites Yā’ Sīn (Qur’ān, 36) out of a desire for God's favour, his past sins will be forgiven him; so recite it over those of you who are dying.” Baihaqī transmitted it in Shu'ab al-īmān.

37, 45, 47, 48, 50, 61, 67, and 93. The name is most appropriately explained as meaning that this is the section of the Qur’ān which contains many shorter sūras. Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Alī said that God's messenger used to like this sūra, “Glorify the name of thy most high Lord.”(Qur’ān, 87) Ahmad transmitted it.

‘Abdallāh b. ‘Amr told of a man coming to the Prophet and asking him to teach him to recite. On being told to recite three of the sūras with A. L. R (Qur’ān, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15) he replied, “I am old, my heart has difficulty in remem­bering, and my tongue is sluggish.” When told that in that case he should recite three with Hā’ Mīm (Qur’ān, 40 to 46) he gave the same reply and then asked God’s messenger to teach him to recite a comprehensive sūra. He taught him to recite “When is shaken” (Qur’ān, 99) up to the end, and the man said, “I swear by Him who has sent you with the truth that I shall never recite more than that.” Then when the man turned away God's messenger said twice, “The little man has come into a state of felicity.” Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “Can one of you not recite a thousand verses daily?” Then when he was asked who could recite a thousand verses daily he replied, “Can one of you not recite ‘Rivalry has distracted you’?”(Qur’ān, 102) Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-īmān.

Sa'īd b. al-Musayyib reported in mursal form that the Prophet said, “If anyone recites ten times ‘Say, He is God, One’, a palace will be built for him in paradise because of it; if anyone recites twenty times two palaces will be built for him in paradise because of it; and if anyone recites it thirty times three palaces will be built for him in paradise be­cause of it.” ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb said, “I swear by God, messenger of God, that we shall then produce many palaces for ourselves;” to which he replied, “God's abundant grace is even more comprehensive than that.” Dārimī transmitted it.

Al-Hasan reported in mursal form that the Prophet said, “If anyone recites a hundred verses in a night the Qur’ān will not argue against him that night; if anyone recites two hundred verses in a night he will be recorded as having spent a night standing in prayer; and if anyone recites five hundred to a thousand verses in a night, in the morning he will have a reward equivalent to a qintār*. He was asked what a qintar was and replied that it was twelve thousand [dīnārs]. *This is the measure to which many different values have been ascribed. Dārimī transmitted it.

Abū Mūsā al-Ash’arī reported God’s messenger as saying, “Keep refreshing your knowledge of the Qur’ān, for I swear by Him in whose hand my soul is that it is more liable to escape than camels which are tethered.” (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Ibn Mas’ūd reported God’s messenger as saying, “It is wrong for one to say that he has forgotten such and such a verse, for he has been made to forget. Study the Qur’ān, for it is more apt to escape from men’s minds than animals.” (Bukhārī and Muslim, Muslim adding "which are tethered”.)

Ibn ‘Umar reported the Prophet as saying, “He who studies the Qur’ān is like the owner of tethered camels. If he pays attention to them he keeps hold of them, but if he lets them loose they go away." (Bukhārī and Muslim.)