Sunan Abi Dawud

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Abu al-Mundhir, which verse of Allah's Book that you have is creates ? I replied: Allah and His Apostle know best. He said: Abu al-Mundhir, which verse of Allah's that you have is greatest ? I said: Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal. Thereupon he struck me on the beast and said: May knowledge be pleasant for you, Abu al-Mundhir.

A man heard another man reciting "Say, He is Allah, One" He was repeating it. When the next morning came, he went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and mentioned to him. The man tool it (this surah) as a small one. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, it is equivalent to a third of the Qur'an.

I was driving the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during a journey. He said to me: Uqbah, should I not teach you two best surahs ever recited? He then taught me: "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn," and "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of men." He did not see me much pleased (by these two surahs). When he alighted for prayer, he led the people in the morning prayer and recited them in prayer. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he turned to me and said: O Uqbah, how did you see.

White I was travelling with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) between al-Juhfah and al-Abwa', a wind and intense darkness enveloped us, whereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) began to seek refuge in Allah, reciting: "I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn," and "I seek refuge in the Lord of men." He then said: Uqbah, use them when seeking refuge in Allah, for no one can use anything to compare with them for the purpose. Uqbah added: I heard him reciting them when he led the people in prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: One who was devoted to the Qur'an will be told to recite, ascend and recite carefully as he recited carefully when he was in the world, for he will reach his abode when he comes to the last verse he recites.

I asked Anas about the recitation of the Qur'an by the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: He used to express all the long accents clearly.

Ya'la ibn Mumallak said that he asked Umm Salamah about the recitation and prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). She said: What have you to do with his prayer? He would pray, then sleep as long as he had prayed, till morning. She then described his recitation and did so with an exposition word by word.

On the day of the Conquest of Mecca I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) riding his she-camel reciting Surah al-Fath repeating each verse several times.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.

(The narrator Qutaibah said: This tradition has been narrated by Sa'id b. Abu Sa'id in my collection): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He who does not chant the Qur'an is not one of us.

This tradition has also been transmitted by Sa'd (b. Abi Waqqas) from the Prophet (ﷺ) in a similar manner through a different chain of narrators.

Ubaydullah ibn Yazid said: AbuLubabah passed by us and we followed him till he entered his house, and we also entered it. There was a man in a rusty house and in shabby condition. I heard him say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He is not one of us who does not chant the Qur'an. I (the narrator AbdulJabbar) said to Ibn AbuMulaykah: AbuMuhammad, what do you think if a person does not have pleasant voice? He said: He should recite with pleasant voice as much as possible.

This means that the Qur'an makes a man neglect all other things, and be content with it.

Allah has not listened to anything as He does to a Prophet chanting the Qur'an with a loud voice.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: No man recites the Qur'an, then forgets it, but will meet Allah on the Day of Judgment in a maimed condition (or empty-handed, or with no excuse).

I heard Hisham b. Hakim (b. Hizam) reciting Surah al-Furqan in a different manner from my way of reciting, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had taught me to recite it. I nearly spoke sharply to him, but I delayed till he had finished. Then I caught his cloak at the neck, and I brought him to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said: Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Surah al-Furqan in a manner different from that in which you taught me to recite it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) the told him to recite it. He then recited in the manner I heard him recite. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Thus was it sent down. He then said to me: Recite, I recited (it). He then said: Thus was it sent down. He said: The Qur'an was sent down in seven modes of reading, so recite according to what comes most easily.

These modes of reading aimed at the same point, not different in respect of lawful and unlawful.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Ubayy, I was asked to recite the Qur'an and I was asked: 'In one mode or two modes?' The angel that accompanied me said: 'Say, in two modes', I said: 'In two modes', I was asked again: 'In two or three modes'. The matter reached up to seven modes. He then said: 'Each mode is sufficiently health-giving, whether you utter 'all-hearing and all-knowing' or instead 'all-powerful and all-wise'. This is valid until you finish the verse indicating punishment on mercy and finish the verse indicating mercy on punishment."

The Prophet (ﷺ) was present at the pool of Banu Ghifar, Gabriel came to him and said: "Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Qur'an) in one harf. He (the Prophet) said: 'I beg Allah His pardon and forgiveness; my community has not strength to do so'. He then came for the second time and told him the same thing till he reached up to seven harfs. Finally, he said: 'Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Qur'an) in seven harfs; in whichever mode they read, that will be correct.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Supplication (du'a') is itself the worship. (He then recited:) "And your Lord said: Call on Me, I will answer you" (xI.60).