Elevated stage in Paradise by virtue of the Holy Quran - Part 1

From Abdullah ibni Amar r.a. reports that Rasullullah s.a.w said; “On the Day of Judgment, it will be said to the MAN devoted to QURAN, go on reciting the Quran and continue ascending the storeys of Jannah (Paradise) and recite in the slow manner you had reading in worldly life; your final abode will be when you reach at the time of the last ayat of your recitation.”

“The Man of Quran” apparently means a “Hafiz”. Mulla Ali Qari has explained it fully that this honour is reserved for a “Hafiz”, and that this hadith does not apply to one who regards by looking into Holy Quran. First, because the words “Man of Quran” points towards a hafiz and secondly there is a traditional in Musnad Ahmad:-

“Till he reads of whatever Quran in with him”

This word more clearly refers to a Hafiz, although a reader who remains very often engaged in reciting the Quran may also be implied.

It is written in Miqrat that this hadith does not apply to a reader who is accursed by the Quran. This is with reference to the hadith that there are many readers of the Quran, who read the Quran but the Quran invokes curses upon them. Therefore, the reading of Quran by a person who does not adhere to the correct tenets does not constitute an argument that he is acceptable to Allah. Many hadith of this type relate to the “Khawarij” (a sect who were opposed to Ali r.a).

In this commentary, Shah Abdul Aziz (Rahmatullalaih) has written that “tartil” literally means read and with good and clear pronunciation, while according to Islamic principle it means reading in accordance with certain rules as follows :

1. The letters of alphabets should be correctly uttered to ensure their correct pronunciation so that ‘tha’ is not reads as ‘ta’ and ‘tho’ is not reads as ‘da’ and so on.

2. Stop correctly at the pauses, so that the joining or finishing of the verses may not take place at in appropriate places.

3. The correct pronunciation of ‘iqlab’.

4. Raising the voice slightly so that the words of Quran uttered by the mouth may reach the ears and thus influence the heart.

5. Setting the sound in a way that it may become full of pathos and may affect the heart quickly, because the pathetic voice influences the heart at once, moves and strengthens the soul more effectively.

The physicians are of the opinion that if a medicine is required to affect the heart quickly, it should be given a sweet smell by means of a perfume, for the heart sensitive to sweet and smell and if the medicine is required to affect the liver, it should be sweetened with sugar because the liver likes sweet things. Therefore, if a perfume is used at the time of recitation, it will have a better influence on the heart.

6. Tashdid (doubling of alphabets) and madd (prolongation of alphabets) should be fully pronounced because this reveals the grandeur of the Quran and adds to its effectiveness.

7. As stated earlier, the reader’s should respond to the ayat indicating mercy of Allah or chastisement by Him.

The above-mentioned seven rules constitute the correct way of reciting the Quran, which is called ‘tartil’ and the sole object of all this is to reach the correct understanding and grasp of deeper meaning of the Holy Quran.


Quran, Paradise, reader, pronunciation, medicine, mercy of Allah, influence the heart