Part 2

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Chapter -1 The Manners Of Reciting The Qur’an,..

“Until we came upon a man who was lying down on his back, and upon another man who was standing over him with a rock or a stone. [The man who was standing] would break the other man’s head, and when he would strike him, the rock would roll away. Whenever he went to retrieve the rock, he would no sooner return than the other man's head would heal and return to its previous state. Then the man [who was standing] would strike him [over and over again]. I asked, ‘Who is this?’”’ The Prophet 3 then explained the meaning of what he saw: ‘‘As for the one whose head would be [constantly] broken, he is a man whom Allah 3€ taught the Quran, but who would then sleep from it at night, and not apply it during the day. That will be done to him (his head being struck with the rock, over and over again) until the Day of Resurrection.’"")

3) Consistently Recite And Study The Qur’an

To be sure, if one who memorizes the Qur’an does not revise it frequently and consistently, he will forget the portions he

memorized, for the Qur’an escapes quickly from the breasts men. And for this very reason, we must study and recite it

frequently as possible. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger

of Allah 2 said, Gile Sae yal BNI Cote Js oT soko Ji Sp 02s YET by yea

“The example of the companion of the Quran is that of an owner of a tied camel: if he is vigilant over it, he will hold onto his camel; if he releases it, it will go away.”"!

And from the hadith of Abu Moosa 4, the Prophet #8 said,

(vats “Maintain the Quran (by revising it frequently), for by the One

Who has my soul in His Hand, it goes away more intensely than do camels from their hobbles.’")

Here, the Prophet #% likened the study and constant recitation of the Qur’an to tying a camel, which, it is feared, might break loose and flee. As long as one keeps a camel tied with its hobble, it is preserved; and as long as one studies and revises the Qur’an, it will not escape from his memory. Camels are singled out in this example because they are notorious for fleeing and because they are difficult to retrieve once they have fled.

4) You Should Not Say, “I Forgot”; Instead, Say, “I Was Made To Forget.”

One night, when he heard a man reciting a Chapter of the Qur’an, the Messenger of Allah # said,

“May Allah have mercy on him, for he has indeed reminded me of such and such verse, which I was made to forget, from such and such surah (( ‘Chapter).”"?1

And in another hadith, the Messenger of Allah #% said,

teh A EG 8 TE SE eV Go “Wretched is it for one of them to say, ‘I forgot such and such verse’; rather, he was made to forget it (some scholars have said that one says this - “I was made to forget” ~ to recognize the fact that he is being punished for not revising and maintaining the verse (or verses) as well as he should have done).’"*!

1) Bukhaaree (5033) 2] Bukhaaree (5038) and Muslim (788) 5] Bukhaaree (5039) and Muslim (790)

‘Chapter -1 The Manners Of Reciting The Qur’an,.. 21

An-Nawawee said, “It is forbidden for one to say, ‘I forgot it/ because that suggests negligence regarding the Qur’an’s verses, and Allah 3é has indeed said:

“Our verses came unto you, but you disregarded them.”

And in explaining the above-mentioned hadith, Al-Qaadee ‘Iyaadh said, ‘The best explanation of this hadith is that the saying itself - ‘I forgot it” - is not being blamed, but rather what is reprehensible is the condition of the person saying it. It is as if he is saying, ‘I forgot...[and my situation is] the situation of one who memorized the Qur’an but was then negligent regarding it, until he forgot it.”

Question: What is the ruling regarding one who memorizes the Quran or parts of it, but then forgets what he memorized?

Answer: the Permanent Council Of Scholarly Research in Saudi Arabia gave this answer: It is certainly not appropriate for one who memorized the Qur’an to be derelict in reciting and maintaining it; instead, he should revise a set amount daily, to help him maintain the Qur’an and to prevent him from forgetting it; furthermore, he should do so, hoping for reward and seeking to benefit from its commands and rulings, both in belief and in action. But if one memorizes a portion of the Qur’an and then forgets it because he was careless or because he became busy, he is not sinning. All ahaadeeth that mention any kind of punishment for someone who forgets what he memorized from the Quran are not authentically related from the Prophet 2. And success lies with Allah 3¢

5) It Is Compulsory To Contemplate The Quran

There are a number of revealed texts in which we are called upon to contemplate the verses of the Quran. We have hitherto mentioned some of those texts; one example is this verse:

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“Do they not then consider the Quran carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradictions” (Quran 4:82)

Ibn As-Sa’ dee explained that contemplating the Quran means to contemplate its meanings, to reflect on its teachings, aims, and wisdoms. Contemplating the Qur’an is the key to and fountainhead of all knowledge. It is through contemplation of the Qur’an that one’s Eemaan (faith) increases in his heart. In contemplating the Qur’an, one becomes acquainted with his Lord, His perfect qualities, and those qualities of imperfection that He 3 is far above from having; furthermore, one learns the way to worship Allah 8 and becomes able to distinguish between the people of righteousness and the people of evil. And the more one reflects on the Quran, the more will his knowledge, foresight, and practical application of the religion increase. So important is it to contemplate the Qur’an that Allah 3€ did not only encourage us to do so, but informed us that it is the purpose behind the Qur’an being revealed:

“(This is) a Book (the Quran) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember” (Quran 38:29)

This was the way of the Companions #; they would, as Imam related, take ten verses from the Messenger of Allah #%. Then, they would not move on to the next ten until they learned the knowledge and the application of the ten they had with them. They said, “And so we learned knowledge and action."

Yahyaa Ibn Sa’eed related that when he was sitting down with Muhammad Ibn Yahyaa on one occasion, Muhammad called out to a man and said, “Relate to me what you heard from your father.” The man said, “My father informed me that he once went to Zaid Ibn Thaabit # and said, ‘What is your view on

Chapter -1 The Manners Of Reciting The Qur’an,.. 23

reading the [entire] Qur’an in seven [nights]?’ Zaid 4 answered, ‘That is good, but for me to read the [entire] Qur’an in half a month or in ten [nights] is more beloved to me - but ask me why?’ My father said, ‘Then I ask you, why?’ Zaid 2 said, ‘So that I may contemplate it, and stop at [different verses, to reflect on them and the profound wisdoms and teachings contained in them].

6) The Permissibility Of Reciting The Quran While One Is Standing, Walking, Riding, Sitting, Or Lying Down The source of this ruling is found in the saying of Allah 3¢: “Those who remember Allah (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and down on their sides’ (Quran 3:191)

And in the saying of Allah ¥¢:

could never have it (by our efforts). And verily, to our Lord we indeed are to return!’’ (Quran 43:13)

From the Sunnah, we learn that the Prophet #8 would recite the Qur’an in various positions - even when riding or resting on something. ‘Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal said, “On the day of the Makkah Conquest, I saw the Messenger of Allah #€ reciting Sooratul-Fath (The Victory Chapter) while he was on his riding camel.) ‘Aaisha 4 said, ‘While I would be menstruating, the Prophet #% would recline in my lap and recite the Qur’an.” From the fact that the Prophet # recited the Quran while he was

riding on his mount, we infer that it is similarly permissible to recite the Qur’an when we are walking, for there is no significant difference between the two states as would make one deserving of a certain ruling and the other deserving of a different ruling.

7) Only The Purified May Touch The Quran This ruling is based on the saying of Allah 38:

“Which (that book with Allah) none can touch but the purified (i.e., the Angels)” (Qur’an 56:79)

The Prophet #% sent an important letter to ‘Amr Ibn Hazm_ 2%; it contained, in addition to other matters, legal rulings pertaining to inheritance law and punishments for crimes. In that letter is written,

tb Vy oth 5 ¥ Sb “And that none touch the Quran except for the purified.’"")

Question: Is it permissible for one who is in a state of impurity to hold the Qur’an via a barrier, such as a piece of cloth or the cloth of one’s garment?

Answer: Yes, one may hold the Qur’an via a barrier, because in doing so, one is not physically touching the Qur’an. Shaikh AlIslam issued this ruling and said that it applies regardless of whether the cloth used is that of a man, woman, or child, and regardless of whether one holds it from above or below. And Allah 8% knows best.

Although it is permissible to carry the Qur’an in one’s pocket, it

{1 Related by Maalik in his Muwatta (468). This letter, which the Prophet 2% sent to ‘Amr #, was for the people of Yemen. Ibn ‘Abdul Barr said, “This letter is well-known to the people of knowledge, so well-known that it does not need a chain (At-Tamheed (17/396, Daar-At-Tayyibah).” In AlIrwaa (122), Al-Albaanee ruled that it is authentic and mentioned that Imam Ahmad ruled by it and that Ishaaq Ibn Raahawayyah ruled that it is authentic (1/158, Al-Maktab Al-Islaamee).