Imam an-Nawawi (d. 676 AH)
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Read the Qur'an, for it will come as an intercessor for its reciters on the Day of Resurrection." [Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
An-Nawwas bin Sam'an (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "The Qur'an and its people who applied it, will be brought on the Day of Resurrection preceded with Surat Al-Baqarah and Surat Al-'Imran arguing on behalf of those who applied them." [Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
'Uthman bin 'Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it." [Al-Bukhari].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The one who is proficient in the recitation of the Qur'an will be with the honourable and obedient scribes (angels) and he who recites the Qur'an and finds it difficult to recite, doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have two rewards." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The believer who recites the Qur'an is like a citron whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is delicious. A believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date-fruit which has no fragrance but has a sweet taste. The hypocrite who recites the Qur'an is like basil whose fragrance is so sweet, but its taste is bitter. The hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an is like a colocynth which has no fragrance and its taste is bitter." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
'Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Verily, Allah elevates some people with this Qur'an and abases others." [Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Envy is justified in regard to two types of persons only: a man whom Allah has given knowledge of the Qur'an, and so he recites it during the night and during the day; and a man whom Allah has given wealth and so he spends from it during the night and during the day." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
Al-Bara' bin 'Azib (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: A man was reciting Surat Al-Kahf, and a horse was tied with two ropes beside him. As he was reciting, a cloud overshadowed him, and as it began to come nearer and nearer, the horse began to trample voilently. The man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the morning and mentioned the incident to him. He (ﷺ) said, "That was tranquillity which descended as a result of the recitation of the Qur'an." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter." [At- Tirmidhi].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who does not memorize any part from the Qur'an he is like the ruined house.'' [At-Tirmidhi].
The Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an
'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The one who was devoted to the Qur'an will be told on the Day of Resurrection: 'Recite and ascend (in ranks) as you used to recite when you were in the world. Your rank will be at the last Ayah you recite."' [Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
Warning against forgetting the Qur'an
Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Read the Qur'an regularly. By the One in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, it escapes from memory faster than a camel does from its tying ropes." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Warning against forgetting the Qur'an
Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The parable of one who knows the Qur'an by heart is as the parable of an owner of hobbled camel. If he remains vigilant, he will retain it; and if he neglects it, it will go away." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Merit of Recitation of the Noble Qur'an in a Pleasant Voice
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Allah does not listen so attentively to anything as He listens to the recitation of the Qur'an by a Prophet (ﷺ) who recites well with a melodious and audible voice." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Merit of Recitation of the Noble Qur'an in a Pleasant Voice
Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him, "You have been given a Mizmar (sweet melodious voice) out of the Mazamir of Prophet (ﷺ) Dawud (David)." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. And in a version narrated by Muslim "If you would have seen me, as I was listening to your recitation last night."
The Merit of Recitation of the Noble Qur'an in a Pleasant Voice
Al-Bara' bin 'Azib (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) reciting Surat Wat-Teen Waz-Zaitun (Chapter 95) during the 'Isha' prayer. I have never heard anyone reciting it in a more beautiful voice than his. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Merit of Recitation of the Noble Qur'an in a Pleasant Voice
Abu Lubabah Bashir bin 'Abdul-Mundhir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who does not recite the Qur'an in a pleasant tone is not of us." [Abu Dawud].
The Merit of Recitation of the Noble Qur'an in a Pleasant Voice
Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said to me, "Recite the Qur'an to me." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I recite it to you when it was revealed to you?" He (ﷺ) said, "I like to hear it from others." Then I began to recite Surat An-Nisa'. When I reached the Ayah: 'How will it be when We shall bring a witness from every people and bring you as a witness against them?' (Having heard it) he said, "Enough! Enough!" When I looked at him, I found his eyes were overflowing with tears. [Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
Abu Sa'id Ar-Rafi' bin Al-Mu'alla (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Shall I teach you the greatest Surah in the Qur'an before you leave the mosque?" Then he (ﷺ), took me by the hand, and when we were about to step out, I reminded him of his promise to teach me the greatest Surah in the Qur'an. He (ﷺ) said, "It is 'Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil 'Alamin (i.e., Surat Al-Fatihah) which is As-Sab' Al-Mathani (i.e., the seven oft- repeated Ayat) and the Great Qur'an which is given to me." [Al-Bukhari].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported about Surat Al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, it is equivalent to one-third of the Qur'an." According to another version, he (ﷺ) said to his Companions, "Is anyone of you incapable of reciting one-third of the Qur'an in one night?" They considered it burdensome and said: "O Messenger of Allah, which of us can afford to do that?" He (ﷺ) said, "Surat Al-Ikhlas [Say: He is Allah (the) One] is equivalent to one-third of the Qur'an." [Al- Bukhari].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man heard another reciting Surat Al-Ikhlas repeatedly. The next morning he came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and informed him about it as if he considered it to be of little reward. On that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, this Surah is equal to one-third of the Qur'an." [Al- Bukhari].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Surat Ikhlas is equivalent to one-third of the Qur'an." [Muslim].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man said: "O Messenger of Allah! I love Surat-Al-Ikhlas [Say: He is Allah, (the) One]." He (ﷺ) said, "Your love for it will admit you to Jannah." [At-Tirmidhi].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
'Uqbah bin 'Amir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Do you not know that last night certain Ayat were revealed the like of which there is no precedence. They are: 'Say: I seek refuge with (Allah) the Rubb of the daybreak' (Surah 113), and 'Say: I seek refuge with (Allah) the Rubb of mankind' (Surah 114)." [Muslim].
Inducement towards the Recitation of some Special verses and Surah of the Noble Qur'an
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to seek protection against the evil of jinn and the evil eyes till Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas were revealed. After they were revealed, he took to them for seeking Allah's protection and left everything besides them. [At- Tirmidhi].