The Quran, as we all know, is the greatest book ever created. It needs no introduction and we know it to be the eloquent words of our lord, Allah himself.
A common question that is asked today by many is that why should we learn to read the Quran?
In this post, we will give you 7 amazing reasons why our children (and us) should learn to read the Quran.
1. To Please Allah
The number one reason we do anything in our religion, Islam, is to gain the pleasure of Allah.
He is our creator, our sustainer and the one who has complete control of our lives. It only makes sense that we do whatever we can for him to be pleased with us.
Reading the Quran is an easy and convenient way of gaining Allah’s pleasure. After all, the Qur’an is his words, the words of Allah ﷻ himself.
The more we read the Quran; the closer we get to Allah. The closer we get to Allah, the more Allah will be pleased with us.
Indeed, gaining the pleasure of Allah is the ultimate reward every person who enters Jannah will receive from Allah.
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ tells us:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ لأَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَا أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ. يَقُولُونَ لَبَّيْكَ رَبَّنَا وَسَعْدَيْكَ. فَيَقُولُ هَلْ رَضِيتُمْ فَيَقُولُونَ وَمَا لَنَا لاَ نَرْضَى وَقَدْ أَعْطَيْتَنَا مَا لَمْ تُعْطِ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ. فَيَقُولُ أَنَا أُعْطِيكُمْ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ. قَالُوا يَا رَبِّ وَأَىُّ شَىْءٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَيَقُولُ أُحِلُّ عَلَيْكُمْ رِضْوَانِي فَلاَ أَسْخَطُ عَلَيْكُمْ بَعْدَهُ أَبَدًا
Allah will say to the people of Paradise, ‘O people of Paradise!’ They will say, ‘Labbaik, O our Lord, and Sa’daik!’ Allah will say, ‘Are you pleased?’ They will say, ‘Why should we not be pleased since You have given us what You have not given to anyone of Your creation?’ Allah will say, ‘I will give you something better than that.’ They will reply, ‘O our Lord! And what is better than that?’ Allah will say, ‘I will bestow My pleasure and contentment upon you so that I will never be angry with you after for-ever.’ [Bukhari]
2. Out of Respect and Love for Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ went through a lot for us, the people of his ummah.
He stood in prayer late hours of the night just so that Allah can forgive our sins; the sins of his followers.
He endured the revelation of the Quran, with regards to which Allah tells us in the Quran:
لَوۡ أَنزَلۡنَا هَـٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ۬ لَّرَأَيۡتَهُ ۥ خَـٰشِعً۬ا مُّتَصَدِّعً۬ا مِّنۡ خَشۡيَةِ ٱللَّهِ
Had We sent down this Quran to a mountain, you would have seen it humbled, burst apart out of awe for Allah. [Quran 59:21]
He mentioned the hardship just a few surahs of the Quran caused him when they were revealed:
قَدْ شَيَّبَتْنِي هُودٌ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا
Surah Hud and its sisters have caused my hair to turn grey. [Tirmidhi]
After seeing all he did for the Quran to reach us, his ummah, we ought to be grateful and thankful at the very least by reading the Quran he received from Allah.
3. Rewards, Rewards and More Rewards
Understanding the Quran, reading the meaning of the Quran and learning what the Quran is trying to tell us all has their merits, and there is no doubt about the great rewards for these actions.
However, simply reading the Quran is extremely rewarding and beneficial for us in this life as well as in the hereafter.
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ tells us:
مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا لاَ أَقُولُ الم حَرْفٌ وَلَكِنْ أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ وَلاَمٌ حَرْفٌ وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ
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. [Tirmidhi]
This hadith tells us that we need to recite the Quran as much as possible to be constantly blessed by Allah ﷻ.
4. Leads to Memorization and Learning More Knowledge of the Quran
Just as reading the Quran gives us lots and lots of rewards, memorizing the Holy Quran is a means of a whole lot more of rewards; in this life and in the hereafter.
How does a person get to the level where he can easily and confidently memorize the Quran?
The answer to this question is simple. When you are able to read the Quran confidently, fluently and easily without mistakes, then you can begin your journey of memorizing the Holy Quran.
Another benefit we get by learning to read the Quran is that we open the doors for us and our children to advance in the study of the Quran.
5. Read & Rise
The concept of rising while reading comes from a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ in which he says:
يُقَالُ لِصَاحِبِ الْقُرْآنِ اقْرَأْ وَارْتَقِ وَرَتِّلْ كَمَا كُنْتَ تُرَتِّلُ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّ مَنْزِلَتَكَ عِنْدَ آخِرِ آيَةٍ تَقْرَأُ بِهَا
The one who was devoted to the Qur’an will be told on the Day of Resurrection: ‘Recite and ascend (in ranks) as you used to recite when you were in the world. Your rank will be at the last Ayah you recite.’ [Tirmidhi]
Every person will be given the opportunity to go to higher levels of Jannah by means of their recitation of the Quran. The more you read, the higher you will go.
In Jannah, the higher you go, the better your Jannah will be. Of course, the highest levels of Jannah will be reserved for the prophets and those closest to Allah. But the Quran gives us the opportunity to get as close to them as possible simply by reading the Quran.
Just imagine yourself going higher and higher as you read the Quran. Imagine the excitement in yourself or your child as you get up to the highest levels of Jannah through your recitation of the Quran.
6. Be Able to Read Long Salats
There is no doubt that lengthening your prayer, especially your Nafl (non-obligatory) prayers with the recitation of the Quran is a rewarding act and is loved by Allah.
We know that it was a common practice of our Prophet ﷺ to pray through the nights.
Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ tells us:
قِرَاءَةُ الْقُرْآنِ فِي الصَّلَاةِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ فِي غَيْرِ الصَّلَاةِ وَقِرَاءَةُ الْقُرْآنِ فِي غَيْرِ الصَّلَاةِ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ التَّسْبِيحِ وَالتَّكْبِيرِ وَالتَّسْبِيحُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّدَقَةِ وَالصَّدَقَةُ أَفْضَلُ مِنَ الصَّوْمِ وَالصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ مِنَ النَّارِ
Reciting the Quran during Salah is more excellent than reciting it out of Salah, and reciting the Quran at a time other than during Salah is more excellent than praising Allah and declaring His greatness. Praising Allah is more excellent than Sadaqah, Sadaqah is more excellent than fasting, and fasting is a protection from hell. [Baihaqi]
Unfortunately, it has become common practice today where we shorten our prayers more often than we lengthen them. We would rather read Surah Kawthar and Ikhlaas in our prayers because it’s convenient.
For many of us, these may be the only Surahs of the Quran that we actually know.
To remedy this, we should learn to read the Quran so that we can easily memorize more Surahs of the Quran.
7. Be Able to Just Sit and Read the Quran
Sometimes, in our lives, we come to a point where we are going through a difficult time or we may be living in a depressing moment.
In moments like these, we really need someone or something to turn to. For instance, some people turn to Duaa (supplications), some people turn to Salah and some people prefer to talk to their friends or doctors.
How wonderful would it be, if in moments like these, we turned to the Quran instead of turning to others. How wonderful would it be if we found the solution to our problems in the beautiful words of the one who created us.
The truth is, we can find the solution and the answer to all our problems and difficulties in the Quran.
This amazing poster should always give us great solace knowing that we can turn to the Quran at any time for any of our needs.
Conclusion
Learning to read the Quran is an integral and fundamental aspect of every Muslim’s life. Reading the Quran gets us amazing benefits and rewards in this life and the hereafter. Above all, the Quran keeps us connected to Allah ﷻ.
