The 365 · Sunnah · Day 326 · Quran
Adab of Reciting the Qur'an
The hadith
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ﴾ (النحل 98). وَقَالَ ﷺ: «مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ حَسَنَةٌ، وَالحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا، لَا أَقُولُ الم حَرْفٌ، وَلَكِنْ: أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ، وَلَامٌ حَرْفٌ، وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ».
Allah said: 'When you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge in Allah from the cursed Shayṭān.' (al-Naḥl 16:98). The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he has a good deed, and a good deed is multiplied by ten. I do not say alif-lam-mim is one letter; rather, alif is a letter, lam is a letter, mim is a letter.' (Tirmidhi 2910)
Svenska: Allah sade: 'När du reciterar Koranen, sök tillflykt hos Allah från den förbannade Shayṭān.' (al-Naḥl 16:98). Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Den som reciterar en bokstav från Allahs Bok har en god gärning, och en god gärning multipliceras med tio.' (Tirmidhi 2910)
al-Naḥl 16:98; Tirmidhi 2910
The story
When ʿAbdullāh ibn Masūd was asked which Qur'an action carried the most reward, he said: 'Reciting it.' He had been with the Prophet ﷺ during long nights of recitation; he had seen the Prophet ﷺ weep over verses; he had memorized whole surahs by listening. The simple act of recitation was his daily ibadah.
Why it's here
The Qur'an cluster opens with the etiquette of approaching Allah's Speech. Begin with istiʿādhah (seeking refuge), then basmalah, then recite with attention, with wudu, facing the qiblah if possible. Each letter is rewarded tenfold. The Prophet ﷺ was specific: alif is a letter, lam is a letter, mim is a letter. The reward is granular.
Try it today
Before opening the muṣḥaf: wudu, qiblah, istiʿādhah, basmalah. Recite at a moderate pace with attention to meaning. Aim for a daily portion, however small. The Companions completed the Qur'an in 30 days; many in 7. Whatever your level, daily contact is the key.
In your day
The phone has a Qur'an app at every fingertip. Use it. Set a reminder. Make recitation a daily structure, even if just one page. Five pages a day completes the Qur'an in four months.
A reflection to carry
Reciting the Qur'an is the most generous trade in the believer's life. He gives time; Allah multiplies by ten.
Read the longer reflection
The Qur'an's etiquette begins with awareness of who is being read. We are not reading a book; we are listening to Allah's Speech preserved for us. Wudu honors it. Istiʿādhah protects it. Attention honors the Speaker. The Prophet ﷺ multiplied the reward: every letter is ten hasanat. A single short sūrah has hundreds of letters. A daily recitation, even a single page, deposits a small mountain of ḥasanāt. The Sunnah opens the Qur'an cluster here: with adab. Without adab, the recitation is a script; with adab, it is conversation. May Allah make our recitation His conversation with us, and may we never approach His Book without remembering Whose words we are about to enter.
Sources: Tirmidhi. 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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