The 365 · Sunnah · Day 53 · Quran
Listening Attentively to the Recitation of the Quran by Another
The hadith
إِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَسْمَعَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِي
The Prophet ﷺ said to ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd: 'Recite to me the Quran.' Ibn Masʿūd said: 'Should I recite it to you when it was revealed to you?' The Prophet ﷺ said: 'I love to hear it from someone else.' So Ibn Masʿūd recited Sūrat an-Nisāʾ until he reached the verse: 'How then if We brought from each nation a witness, and We brought you (O Muḥammad ﷺ) as a witness against these people?' (Q 4:41) The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Enough.' Ibn Masʿūd said: 'I looked at him, and his eyes were shedding tears.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5050, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 800.)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade till Ibn Mas'ud: 'Recitera Koranen för mig.' Ibn Mas'ud sade: 'Ska jag recitera den för dig när den uppenbarades för dig?' Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Jag älskar att höra den från någon annan.'
The story
The hadith of Ibn Masʿūd reciting Sūrat an-Nisāʾ to the Prophet ﷺ is one of the most beloved hadiths in the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ wept when Ibn Masʿūd reached 4:41, the verse on the prophets being witnesses against their nations on the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet's ﷺ tears at this verse model the receiving-mode of the Quran: even the Messenger of Allah benefited from listening to it from another. The Companions extended the practice: they would gather in the masjid to hear recitation, would listen to each other's tahajjud, would seek out reciters whose voices opened the heart.
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ established the structural Sunnah of listening to Quran recitation by another. He himself, the recipient of revelation, loved to hear the Quran from Ibn Masʿūd. The Quran itself commands attentive listening: 'And when the Quran is recited, then listen to it and pay attention, that you may receive mercy.' (Q 7:204.) The Sunnah is therefore not just to recite, but to listen. The believer's day should include both modes: speaking the Quran (qirāʾah) and receiving it (samāʿ).
Try it today
1. Listen attentively when the Quran is recited in your presence. The Quran's command (7:204) is direct. 2. Seek out one daily session of listening: a Tarāwīḥ recording, a tafsīr lecture with recitation, a recording of a famous reciter (Mishary Rashid al-Afasy, Saud al-Shuraim, Sudais, Maher al-Muaiqly). 3. Listen with the muṣḥaf open (the modern equivalent of the Companions' practice of listening with attention). 4. When listening passively (in the car, at work), still observe the Quran's command: do not let it become background noise. Pause and pay attention to the verses that strike you.
In your day
Modern Muslim practice often inverts the Sunnah: Quran is played as background while we work, drive, cook. The Quran 7:204 says: when it is recited, listen and pay attention. Build the discipline of attentive listening. At least once daily, listen actively, without distraction.
A reflection to carry
Listening to Quran recitation: the Sunnah of receiving. Q 7:204: 'When the Quran is recited, listen to it and pay attention, that you may receive mercy.' The Prophet ﷺ would ask Companions to recite to him; he would listen attentively, sometimes weeping.
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ to Ibn Masʿūd: 'Recite to me.' Ibn Masʿūd: 'How can I recite to you when it has been revealed to you?' The Prophet ﷺ: 'I love to hear it from someone other than myself.' Ibn Masʿūd recited until Sūrat an-Nisāʾ 4:41; the Prophet ﷺ wept. (Bukhārī 5050.) Cure: pair listening with reciting in your daily Quran-time; choose recitations of skilled qāriʾs; listen with attention, not as background; recite along when possible. Modern Quran-audio is operationally easy; the discipline is the structural attentive-listening, not casual playback.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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