In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Prayers and salutations be upon the Master of the Messengers ﷺ, and upon his family and Companions. There is no power nor strength except through Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.
Allah Almighty says:
“Say: Allah has spoken the truth; so follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, a man of pure natural belief—he was not of the idolaters”.
[Qurʾān 3:95]
On the authority of our master ʿAbd-Allāh b. Burayda (may Allah be pleased with him), whosaid: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon to us when al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn(may Allah be pleased with them both) approached, wearing two red garments, stumbling and rising. He descended, took them, and ascended the minbar with them. Then he ﷺ said: ‘Allah has spoken the truth: ‘Indeed, your wealth and your children are but a trial’ [Qurʾān64:15]. I saw these two and could not remain patient.’ He then resumed his sermon.”Reported by Abū Dāwūd (§1109).
Imām al-Qurṭubī (may Allah have mercy on him) related from al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī (may Allah have mercy on him): “Out of reverence for the Qurʾān is that, when one completes its recitation, he affirms the truthfulness of his Lord and bears witness to the conveyance (of the message).” A similar statement was also reported from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (may Allah have mercy on him).
The leading shaykh of Qurʾān reciters, Imām Ibn al-Jazarī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “We have observed some shaykhs beginning their duʿāʾ after completing the recitation of the Qurʾān with the words:
صَدَقَ اللهُ الْعَظِيمُ، وَبَلَّغَ رَسُولُهُ الْكَرِيمُ، وَهَذَا تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينِ،رَبَّنَا؛ آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ.
‘Allah Almighty has spoken the truth, and His Noble Messenger ﷺ has conveyed (the message). This is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down and we follow the Messenger, so record us among the witnesses.’”
Some fuqahāʾ even permitted this during ṣalāh when contextually appropriate.
ʿAllāma al-Shabrāmallisī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “If one says, ‘Allah Almighty has spoken the truth’ [ṣadaqa Allāh al-ʿAẓīm], upon reciting something from the Qurʾān; then, as Shams al-Dīn al-Ramlī stated, it would appear that it does not invalidate (the ṣalāh). In like manner, if he were to say, ‘I believe in Allah’ [āman-tu bi-Allāh] upon reciting something that calls for such a statement.”
Etiquette:
Among the etiquettes pertaining to the Noble Qurʾān are the following:
- That none should touch it except in a state of purity. Allah, Exalted is He, states: “None touch it except the purified” [Qurʾān 56:79].
- That the reciter perfume himself and use the miswāk toothbrush to freshen his mouth. Yazīd b. Abī Mālik, one of the fuqahāʾ of the Salaf, said: “Indeed your mouths are among the pathways of the Qurʾān, so purify and cleanse them as much as you are able.”
- That he sit upright and not recline while reciting.
- That he wear presentable garments, just as one dresses well when entering upon kings, for he is conversing with his Lord.
- That he face the qibla, for it is the most honourable of directions.
- That if he yawns, he should pause his recitation until the yawn passes, since yawning is from Shayṭān.
- That he seek refuge in Allah from Shayṭān the accursed when beginning the recitation—even if it is not at the beginning of a sūra—and that he say the Basmala at the beginning of a sūra.
- That once he has begun reciting, he should not interrupt the recitation to converse with anyone except out of necessity.
- That he recite with deliberation, measured recitation, and reflection, so that he understands what his Lord addresses him with—being in a state of hope when encountering promises of reward and a state of fear when encountering threats of punishment.
- That when he finishes his recitation he say: “Allah the Almighty has spoken the truth, His noble Messenger ﷺ has conveyed it, and I am among those who bear witness to that” (as explained previously).
- That he recite the Qurʾān in its proper order and not reverse its sequence.
- That he place the muṣḥaf in a clean and elevated place, or hold it in his lap.
- That he must not erase Qurʾānic writing from a tablet nor turn its pages using saliva.
- That when a written sheet containing Qurʾānic text becomes worn, it should not be discarded; rather its writing should be washed away with water. The water used for washing may be drunk with the intention of seeking healing, or poured out in a pure place away from where people walk.
- That he give his eyes their due by looking at the muṣḥaf while reciting.
- That he must not apply āyāt to incidental worldly situations—for example, saying to someone who arrives, “You have come at the appointed time, O Mūsā” [Qurʾān20:40], or telling guests, “Eat and drink with relish for what you did before in days gone by” [Qurʾān 69:24]. These āyāt are specific.
- That he must not recite the Qurʾān with melodic patterns resembling songs.
- That when writing the Qurʾān he write it with excellent calligraphy.
- That he must not recite it in marketplaces, places of noise, or gatherings of the negligence, nor use its recitation as a means of soliciting from people.
- That he must not produce an excessively small muṣḥaf, for there are reports prohibiting the diminishment of the mosque and the muṣḥaf.
- That he must not write Qurʾānic verses on the ground or on walls, as sometimes occurs in mosques, for this too has been prohibited.
- That whenever he completes the Qurʾān, he begins it again, so that it does not become something abandoned or neglected in one’s life. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he completed the Qurʾān, would recite from its beginning approximately five verses. It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās that a man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “Which deed is most beloved to Allah?” He replied: “Al-ḥāl al-murtaḥil.” The man asked: “What is al-ḥāl al-murtaḥil? He ﷺ said: “The one who travels from the beginning of the Qurʾān to its end—whenever he completes it, he begins again.” This was reported by al-Tirmidhī (§2498).
- That when one completes the Qurʾān, he gathers his family and supplicates for the good of this Dunyā and the Ākhira, as the Salaf used to do, since duʿāʾ at the completion of the Qurʾān is reported to be answered in authentic narrations. T
- That if one writes Qurʾānic verses and drinks the water in which they are dissolved, he should intend by it healing from every illness and the attainment of all good, for Allah grants according to one’s intention. And if it is written as a protective amulet, it should be placed in a protective covering—such as leather or the like—to safeguard it from harm.
And Allah knows best.
