Sittings in the Month of Ramadan

Part 1: The Virtues of Reciting Qur'an

Abu Muhammad al-Maghribee

Aishah Muhammad
05/10/2016

We are reading from the Sittings in the Month of Ramadan bu Shaykh Uthaymeen.
Majaalis is the plural of majlis. Majlis is a sitting. It can a sitting as in the duroos or it can be a sitting
for business or for eating or even for the haram. But sittings in the House of Allah are the best sitting.
And Shaykh Uthaymeen is going to mention the hadeeth regarding the sitting in the House of Allah,
reciting and understanding, etc. Sitting in the circles of knowledge are the best of sittings. Of course,
we mean sitting with the ulema, but we don't have the ulema here in the West, but we have their books
and their materials that the ulema have left for us.
During Ramadan, the Ulema of Ahlus Sunnah will stop their regular classes because many of the
students go home. So they open the sittings during Ramadan and talk about other matters, especially
the Book of Allah.
Shaykh Uthaymeen speaks in this sitting about the virtues of reciting Qur'an. He mentions ayat 29-30
in Suratul Fatir:
Verily, those who recite the Book of Allah, establish the prayer and spend out of what We have
provided them, secretly and openly, hoping for a trade gain that will never perish that Allah (azza wa
jal) will complete their reward for them and increase them of His bounty. Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving
and Thankful. [Surah Fatir 35:29-30]
Allah appreciates the deeds of his slaves. We, the believers, should have the Hereafter most on our
mind. Trying to do the things that will give us Jannah. We cannot just focus on the dunya and forget
what Allah created us for. Yes, we take from the dunya what we can, through halal means, but our focus
should be on the purpose Allah created us for.
One of the Companions (Muhajr ?) wanted to make hijrah when the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam) made hijrah from Makkah to Madinah. So some of the Companions wanted to join the Prophet
in Madinah and they started to leave. And the Quraysh heard about it and blocked the roads and
stopped the people from leaving. But this Companion tried to leave and when they caught him, they
said, 'When you came to us, you had nothing. We helped you. You have money now. You've established
yourself. Now you want to leave? They told him he couldn't leave. He offered to give them all of his
money and his wealth for them to let him go. And the accepted. When he came to the Prophet, he didn't
say anything of it. But the Prophet told him that the transaction he conducted in Makkah was the best
transaction he could have conducted for himself. He gave up his dunya so that he could be with the
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).
Shaykh Uthaymeen says there are two types of recitation of the Qur'an.
1. Practical Recitation (Recitation of Hukoomiyah) accepting that anything you hear in the Book
of Allah is true. And to comply and to act upon all of the rulings and commands that are found
in the Qur'an and to stay away from the prohibitions as well. (We will deal with this in another
sitting)
2. Verbal Recitation when you read the Qur'an with contemplation and .reflection. Your heart
and mind must be present. You have to prepare to recite. There are etiquettes of recitation

(which will be covered in another sitting).

As for reciting the Book of Allah and the virtues of reciting, there are many texts. The Shaykh will
bring texts from the Sunnah. We hear the texts from the Qur'an when we read the Qur'an. There are
texts that talk about reciting the entire Qur'an and there are other texts that are specific to certain ayah
or surah from the Qur'an.
He began by mentioning the hadeeth from Sahih al-Bukhari on the authority of Uthman ibn Affan
(radiallahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, The best of you are those who
learn the Qur'an and teach it to others.
Another hadith from Sahihayn (agreed upon from Sahih Bukhari & Sahih Muslim), on the authority
of Aishah (radiallahu anha) that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said. The who is proficient in
the recitation of the Qur'an will be with the honorable and obedient scribes (the angels) and the one
who recites Qur'an and finds it difficult, and doing his best to recite it in the best possible way, will
have a double reward.
Shaykh Uthaymeen explains the double reward. One is for the recitation and the other one is for the
difficulty, for not giving up. There are many similar hadith in Sahih Muslim, but the Shaykh only
quotes this one.
Another narration from the Sahihayn, on the authority of Abi Musa Al-Sh'ari (radiallahu anhu) that the
Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, A believer who recites the Qur'an is like a citron whose
fragrance is sweet and whose taste is sweet. A believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like a date
which has no smell but whose taste is sweet....
In Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Umamah (radiallahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam) said, Recite the Qur'an for it will come as an intercessor for its reciters on the Day of
Resurrection.
In Sahih Muslim on the authority of 'Uqba ibn 'Amr (radiallahu anhu) said, When we were in the
Suffa (place in the masjid in the time of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and the Companions
who made hijra and were poor would come to this area and stay there and others would take care of
them until they were able to take care of themselves.) the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam) came out and said, Which of you would like to go out every morning to Buthan or Al-'Aqiq
(two places close to Madina) and bring two large she-camels without being guilty of sin or without
severing the ties of kinship? We said, Messenger of Allah, we would like to do it. Upon this, the
Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, Does not one of you go out in the morning to the masjid
and teach or recite two ayat from the Book of Allah, the Majestic and Glorious? That is better for him
than two she-camels and there ayat are better (than three she-camels) and four ayat are better for him
than four (she-camels) and on to their number in camels.
And the Shaykh mentioned a hadith from Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiallahu
anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, Whenever a people gather in a House from
the Houses of Allah to recite the Book of Allah, learning and teaching it, tranquility will descend upon
them, mercy will engulf them, angels will surround them, and Allah will make mention of them to
those angels within His proximity.
Admonition: One should not say, I forgot such and such ayat. Rather one should say, I was made to

forget such and such ayat. Because saying I forgot indicates negligence and the one who constantly
reviews and revises and read and recites, the information will stick with him.
The ulema give advice that if you memorize any ayah or two or a page, or a juz, etc., then you should
recite it in your sunnah prayers, in your tahajjud, while you are walking or riding in the car. You should
constantly recite it so that it will stick to your mind and so that you are constantly remembering Allah.
In Jami' at-Tirmidhi, narrated by Muhammad bin Ka'b Al-Qurazi, who said, I heard Abdullah bin
Mas'ud saying, The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, [Whoever recites a letter]
from Allah's Book, then he receives the reward from it, and the reward of ten the like of it. I do not say
that Alif Lam Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.
Imagine how many letters you recite just when you recite the Fatihah during each of the fard prayers.
The Shaykh said these are some of the virtues of the Qur'an. This is the reward for the one who wants
to get the reward from Allah. A great reward for something that is easy to do. We have to do this and be
mindful of these things and we should be around those who deprive themselves of these rewards. These
virtues are for all of the Qur'an, but there are some virtues that are for specific surat and ayat and those
will be covered in the next sitting.