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.)

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.)

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.