Jundub b. ‘Abdallāh reported God’s messenger as saying, “Recite the Qur’ān as long as you can concentrate on it, but when your concentra­tion flags give it up.” (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Qatādā said that when Anas was asked how the Prophet recited the Qur’ān he replied that he did so prolonging the words. Then he recited “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” prolonging each phrase. Bukhārī transmitted it.

Abū Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “God has not listened to anything as He does to a prophet chanting* the Qur’ān.” *There are different opinions about the meaning of yataghannā which is here used. While some explain it as in the translation, others prefer to understand it in the sense of yastaghnī which means being content with. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

He reported God’s messenger as saying, “God has not listened to anything as He does to a prophet with a good voice reciting the Qur’ān aloud.” (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

He reported God’s messenger as saying, “He does not belong to us who does not chant the Qur’ān.” Bukhārī transmitted it.

When God’s Messenger was on the pulpit he asked him to recite to him and he replied, “Shall I recite to you when it was sent down to you?” He said that he liked to hear it from someone else, so ‘Abdallāh recited Sūrat an-Nisa’ up to this verse, “How then shall it be when We bring from every people a witness and bring you against them as witness?”(Al-Qur’ān, 4:1-41) Then on being told that that was enough for the present, he turned round to him and saw the tears falling from his eyes. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Anas reported God’s messenger as saying to Ubayy b. Kā'b, “God has commanded me to recite the Qur’ān to you.” He asked, “Did God mention me to you by name?” and when he was told that He had, he said, “Have I been mentioned in the presence of the Lord of the uni­verse?” On being told that he had, tears fell from his eyes. In a version he said God had commanded him to recite to him “Those who disbelieve were not …” (Qur’ān, 98). He asked if He had mentioned him by name, and when he was told that He had, he wept. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Ibn ‘Umar said that God’s-messenger forbade taking the Qur’ān into enemy territory. A version by Muslim has, “Do not take the Qur’ān with you when travelling, for I cannot guarantee that the enemy will not get it.” (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

I sat with a company of the poor*members of the Emigrants who were sitting close together because of lack of clothing while a reader was reciting to us. God’s messenger came along and stood beside us, and when he did so the reader stopped and gave him a salutation. He asked what we were doing, and when we told him we were listening to God’s Book he said, “Praise be to God who has put among my people those with whom I have been ordered to keep myself.”(Qur’ān,18:28) He then sat down among us so as to be like one of us, and when he had made a sign with his hand they sat in a circle with their faces turned towards him, and he said, “Rejoice, you group of poor Emigrants, in the announcement that you will have perfect light on the day of resurrection. You will enter paradise half a day before the rich, and that is five hundred years.” *Lit. 'Weak'. This is said to refer to the people who lived in the Suffa Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

Al-Barā’ b. Āzib reported God’s messenger as saying, “Beautify the Qur’ān with your voices.” Ahmad, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah and Dārimī transmitted it.

Sā‘d b. Ubāda reported God’s messenger as saying, “Every man who recites the' Qur’ān and then forgets it* will meet God on the day of resurrection in a maimed condition.” *This has been explained as referring to one who has learned the Qur’ān by heart and later forgets it, or neglects to recite it. Abū Dāwūd and Dārimī trans­mitted it.

Abdallāh b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “The one who recites the Qur’ān in less than three nights does not understand it.” Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Uqba b. ‘Āmir reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who recites the Qur’ān loudly is like him who gives sadaqa openly, and he who recites the Qur’ān quietly is like him who gives sadaqa secretly.” Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Nasā’i transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a hasan gharīb tradition.

Suhaib reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who treats what the Qur’ān prohibits as permissible does not believe in it.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, but said this is a tradition whose isnād is not strong.

Al-Laith b. Sa‘d quoted Ibn Abū Mulaika who quoted Yā'lā b. Mamlak as saying that he asked Umm Salama about the manner in which the Prophet recited, and she described it in a manner by which it was explained word by word.* *This is explained as meaning that she showed how he pronounced each syllable distinctly, or simply that she gave an illustration of the fine quality of the Prophet’s recitation. Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Nasā’i trans­mitted it.

Ibn Juraij quoted Ibn Abū Mulaika who reported Umm Salama as saying, ‘God’s messenger used to make pauses in his recitation. He would say, ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of the universe’, then stop. He would next say, ‘The Compassionate, the Merciful’, then stop.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, but he said that its isnād is not fully connected, because al-Laith transmitted this tradition from Ibn Abū Mulaika from Yā'lā b. Mamlak from Umm Salama, and al-Laith's tradition is sounder.

God's messenger came out to us when we were reciting the Qur’ān, our number including nomad Arabs and non-Arabs, and said, "Recite, for it is all good; but after you people will come who will straighten it as an arrow is straightened, seeking a reward for it in this world and not waiting for their reward in the next.” Abū Dāwūd and Baihaqī, in Shu'ab al-īmān, transmitted it.

Hudhaifa reported God’s messenger as saying, "Recite the Qur’ān with the modulations and tones of the Arabs, but avoid the modulations of those who recite love poetry and the modulations of the people of the two Books. After my death people will come who will trill when they recite the Qur’ān as is done in singing and wailing, but it will go no farther than their throats, and they and those who are charmed by their performance will be led into error.” Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān and Razīn in his book transmitted it.

Al-Barā’ b. ‘Āzib told that he heard God's messenger say, "Beautify the Qur’ān with your voices, for the beautiful voice increases the beauty of the Qur’ān.” Dārimī transmitted it.

Tāwūs told in mursal form that when the Prophet was asked who had the most beautiful voice for the Qur’ān and whose recitation was most beautiful he replied, "The one of whom you think when you hear him recite that he fears God.” Tāwūs added that Talq* was like that. * A companion of the Prophet who belonged to al-Yamāma. Dārimī transmitted it.

‘Abīda al-Mulaikī who was a Companion reported God’s messenger as saying, "Do not make the Qur’ān a pillow,* but recite it as it deserves to be recited during the night and the day. Recite it aloud, chant it and consider its contents, perhaps you may prosper; but do not seek to get reward for it in this world, for it provides rewards.”(i.e., in the next world) *A figure of speech warning against laziness or neglect. Baihaqi trans­mitted it in Shu'ab' al-īmān.

I heard Hishām b. Hakīm b. Hizām reciting sūra al-Furqān (Qur’ān, 25) in a different manner from my way of reciting it, and God’s messenger had taught me to recite it. I nearly spoke sharply to him, but I delayed till he had finished, and then catching his cloak at the neck I brought him to God’s messenger and said, “Messen­ger of God, I heard this man reciting sūra al-Furqān in a manner different from that in which you taught me to recite it.” He told me to let him go and told him to recite. When he recited it in the manner in which I had heard him recite it God's messenger said, “Thus was it sent down.” He then told me to recite it and when I had done so he said, “Thus was it sent down. The Qur’ān was sent down in seven modes of reading, so recite according to what comes most easily.” (Bukhārī and Muslim, the wording being Muslim’s.)

I heard a man who recited, and as I had heard the Prophet reciting differently I took him to the Prophet and told him and noticed that he gave a disapproving look. He then said, “Both of you are doing it well, so do not disagree, for your predecessors disagreed and perished.” Bukhārī transmitted it.

When I was in the mosque a man entered and prayed and recited in a manner to which I objected. Afterwards a man entered and recited in a manner different from the other. When we had finished the prayer we all went to visit God’s messenger, and I said, “This man recited in a manner to which I objected and the other entered and recited in a manner different from his.” The Prophet then commanded them to recite, and when they had done so he expressed approval of both of them. This made me inclined to tell him he was wrong, even to an extent I had never reached in the pre-Islamic period; and when God’s messenger noticed how I was affected he gave me a pat on the chest, whereupon I broke into a sweat and was filled with fear as though I were looking at God. He then said to me, “A message was sent to me, Ubayy, to recite the Qur’ān in one mode, but when I replied that I wished matters to be made easy for my people, a second message instructed me to recite it in two modes. Again I replied that I wished matters to be made easy for my people, and a third message instructed me to recite it in seven modes, I being told at the same time that I might ask something for each reply I had received. I therefore said, ‘O God, forgive my people. O God, forgive my people;’ and I have delayed the third request till the day when all creatures, even including Abraham, seek my intercession." Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Abbās reported God’s messenger as saying, “Gabriel taught me to recite in one mode, and when I replied to him and kept asking him to give me more he did so till he reached seven modes." Ibn Shihāb said he had heard that those seven modes are essentially one, not differing about what is permitted and what is prohibited. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Ubayy b. Ka‘b told of God’s messenger meeting Gabriel and saying, “I have been sent, Gabriel, to a people who are unlettered, among whom are old women and old men, boys and girls, and men who have never read a book.” He replied, “The Qur’ān, Muhammad, has been sent down in seven modes." In a version by Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd he said, “They include only what is sufficiently health-giving.” In a version by Nasā’i the Prophet is quoted as saying that Gabriel and Michael came to him, and when Gabriel had sat down at his right and Michael at his left, Gabriel told him to recite the Qur’ān in one mode, and Michael told him to ask more, till he reached seven modes, each mode being sufficiently health-giving. Tirmidhī transmitted it.

‘Imran b. Husain said that when he came upon a story-teller who was reciting the Qur’ān and then asking for payment he first uttered the words, “We belong to God and to Him do we return” and then told that he had heard God’s messenger say, “When anyone recites the Qur’ān, let him ask a reward for it from God, for people will arise who will recite the Qur’ān and ask a reward for it from men.” Ahmad and Tirmidhī transmitted it.

Buraida reported God’s messenger as saying, “If anyone recites the Qur’ān seeking thereby to get a living from people, he will come on the day of resurrection with his face as a fleshless bone.” Baihaqi trans­mitted it in Shu’ab al-īmān.

Ibn ‘Abbās said that God's messenger did not know where sūras were to be separated till “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” was sent down. Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

When we were in Hims Ibn Mas’ūd recited sūra Yūsuf (Quran, 12) and a man declared that it was not sent down like that. To this ‘Abdallāh replied, “I swear by God that I recited it in the time of God’s messenger and he told me I had done it well.” While speaking to him he noticed the smell of wine on him, so he said, “Do you drink wine and declare the Book false?” and then gave him the prescribed beating. (Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Abū Bakr sent for me after the slaughter of those who fought at al-Yamāma and ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb was with him. Abū Bakr told me that ‘Umar had come to him and drawn attention to the extensive slaughter among Qur’ān readers at the battle of al- Yamāma, saying he was afraid that if readers continued to be killed in large numbers at other battles a large amount of the Qur’ān would be lost, and that he therefore thought he should give command that the Qur’ān be collected. He had asked. ‘Umar how he could do a thing which God’s messenger had not done, and ‘Umar, swearing by God that this was best, had kept at him till God made him inclined to do that, and he came to hold ‘Umar’s opinion about the matter. Zaid told how Abū Bakr said to him, “You are an intelligent young man whom we do not suspect and you have been writing down the revelation which came to God’s messenger, so search for the Qur’ān and collect it,” adding: I swear by God that if they had imposed on me the transportation of a mountain it would not have been a heavier load for me than the collecting of the Qur’ān which he ordered me to undertake. I asked how they could do a thing which God’s messenger had not done and Abū Bakr, swearing by God that this was best, kept at me till God made me in­clined to do what He had made Abū Bakr and ‘Umar inclined to do. I therefore searched for the Qur’ān and collected it from leafless palm branches, white stones and the breasts of men till I found the end of sūra at-Tauba (Qur’ān, 9) with Abū Khuzaima al-Ansārī, not having found it with anyone else: "A messenger from among yourselves has come to you . . .” to the end of Barā'a* (Qur’ān, 9 128-129). The sheets were deposited with Abū Bakr till God took him, then with ‘Umar during his lifetime, then with Hafsa, ‘Umar’s daughter. *Tauba and Barā’a are alternative titles of sūra 9. Bukhārī transmitted it.

Being alarmed at their difference in reading the Qur’ān he said to ‘Uthmān, “Commander of the faithful, set this people right before they disagree about the Book in the manner of the Jews and the Christians.” ‘Uthmān therefore sent a message to Hafsa asking her to send the sheets to him so that they might make copies of them, after which he would return them to her. Hafsa sent them to ‘Uthmān and he commanded Zaid b. Thābit, ‘Abdallāh b. az-Zubair, Sa'īd b. al-‘Ās and ‘Abdallāh b. al-Hārith b. Hishām who made copies of them. ‘Uthmān gave instructions to the three members of Quraish that when they and Zaid b. Thābit disagreed about anything in the Qur’ān they were to write in the dialect of Quraish, for it came down only in their dialect. They did so, and when they had made several copies of the sheets ‘Uthmān returned the sheets to Hafsa. He then sent a copy of those which they had transcribed to every region, giving orders that every sheet or volume which contained a part of the Qur’ān in different form should be burned. Ibn Shihāb said he was told by Khārija b. Zaid b. Thābit that he heard Zaid b. Thābit say that when they transcribed the Qur’ān he failed to find a verse in al-Ahzāb which he had heard God’s messenger reciting. He therefore sought it and found it with Khuzaima b. Thābit al-Ansārī, “Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with God” (Qur’ān, 33:23). They then added it to its sūra in the copy of the Qur’ān. Bukhārī transmit­ted it.

Ibn 'Abbas said he asked ‘Uthmān what had induced them to deal with al-Anfāl (Qur’ān, 8) which is one of the Mathānī* and with Barā'a which is one with a hundred verses, joining them without writing the line contain­ing "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” and putting it among the seven long ones. When he asked again what had induced them to do that, ‘Uthmān replied, "Over a period sūras with numerous verses would come down to God’s messenger, and when some­thing came down to him he would call one of those who wrote and tell him to put these verses in the sūra in which such and such is mentioned, and when a verse came down he would tell them to put it in the sūra in which such and such is mentioned. Now al-Anfāl was one of the first to come down in Medina and Barā’a was among the last of the Qur’ān to come down, and the subject-matter of the one resembled that of the other, so because God’s messenger was taken without having explained to us whether it belonged to it, for that reason I joined them without writing the line containing ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and put it among the long sūras.'’ *Sūras with less than a hundred verses, but more than those in al mufassal. Ahmad, Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.

He reported the Prophet as saying, “If anyone who is about to sleep on his bed lies on his right side, then recites ‘Say, He is God, One’ a hundred times, the Lord will say to him on the day of resurrection, ‘My servant, enter paradise to your right’.” Tirmidhī transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharīb tradition.

The Prophet, on hearing a man reciting “Say, He is God, One” remarked, “It is certain.” I asked him what was certain, and he replied that it was paradise. Mālik, Tirmidhī and Nasā’i transmitted it.

Farwa b. Naufal quoted his father as saying that he had asked God's messenger to teach him something to say when he went to bed, and was told to recite, “Say, O infidels”, for it is a declaration of freedom from polytheism. Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Dārimī transmitted it.

Abū Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Expound the Qur’ān and take as guide its unusual expressions, they being the things made obligatory in it and the limits set in it.” Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

‘Ā’isha reported the Prophet as saying, “Reciting the Qur’ān during prayer is more excellent than reciting it at other times, and reciting the Qur’ān at a time other than during prayer is more excellent than extolling God and declaring His greatness. Extolling God is more excellent than sadaqa, sadaqa is more excellent than fasting, and fasting is a protection from hell.” Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

‘Uthmān b. ‘ Abdallāh b. Aus ath-Thaqafī, on his grandfather’s authority, reported God’s messenger as saying, “A man’s recitation of the Qur’ān without using a copy of it produces a thousand degrees of reward, but his recitation while using a copy is double that, reaching two thousand degrees.” Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “These hearts be­come rusty just as iron does when water gets to it.” On being asked what could clear them he replied, “A great amount of remembrance of death and recitation of the Qur’ān.” Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

‘Uthmān b. ‘Affān said, “If anyone recites the end of Āl ‘Imrān (Qur’ān, 3) on a night, the reward for a night spent in prayer will be recorded for him.” Transmitted by Dārimī.

Makhūl said, “If anyone recites Āl ‘Imrān on a Friday, the angels will invoke blessings on him till night comes.” Transmitted by Dārimī.

‘Alī told that he heard God’s messenger say, “Everything has an adornment, and the adornment of the Qur’ān is ar-Rahmān” (Qur’ān, 57) Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

Ibn Mas’ūd reported God’s messenger as saying, “He who recites sūra al-Waqi'a (Qur’ān, 56) every night will never be afflicted by want.” Ibn Mas’ūd used to order his daughters to recite it every night. Transmitted by Baihaqī in Shu'ab al-īmān.

Al-Miqdam b. Ma'dikarib reported God's Messenger as saying, “No one has ever eaten better food than what he eats as a result of the labour of his hands. God’s prophet David used to eat from what he had worked for with his hands.” Bukhari transmitted it.

God is good and accepts only what is good, and He has given the same command to the believers as He has given to the Messengers, saying, “0 Messengers, eat of what is good and act righteously” (Al-Qur’an 23:51) and also, “You who believe, eat of the good things which We have provided for you” (Al-Qur’an 2:172). Then he mentioned a man who makes a long journey in a dishevelled and dusty state, who stretches out his hands to heaven saying, “My Lord, my Lord,” when his food, drink and clothing are of an unlawful nature, and he is nourished by what is unlawful, and asked how such a one could be given an answer. Muslim transmitted it.

He reported God's Messenger as saying, “A time will come to mankind when a man will not care whether what he gets comes from a lawful or an unlawful source.” Bukhari transmitted it.

An-Nu'man b. Bashir reported God's Messenger as saying, “What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not recognize. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and his honour blameless, but he who falls into doubtful things falls into what is unlawful, just as a shepherd who pastures his animals round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Every king has a preserve, and God’s preserve is the things He has declared unlawful. In the body there is a piece of flesh, and the whole body is sound if it is sound, but the whole body is corrupt if it is corrupt. It is the heart.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Rafi' b. Khadij reported God’s Messenger as saying, "The price paid for a dog is impure, the hire paid to a prostitute is impure, and the earnings of a cupper are impure.” Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari said that God’s Messenger forbade the price paid for a dog, the hire paid to a prostitute, and the gift given to a soothsayer. (Bukhari and Muslim.)