VIRTUES
OF THE HOLY QUR’AN
lladhrat Uthman (Radhiyallaho"anha) narr.ates that Ra sulullah (Sallallaho "alaihe wasallam) said: "The best amongst you is he who learns the Qur'an and teaches it.t, In mast of the. books, this hadith is quoted with the word 'and' between 'learns' and 'teaches' as above. Thus the greatest reward would be for him who le,arns the Holy Qur'an and thereafter teaches it to others. But in some Qf the books this 'hadith's is narrated' with the word 'or', in which case the meaning would be: "The best amongst you is he wholearnstheQui"an orteaches it." . According to this version, the reward is general, Le., equally great whether one learns himself or teaches to others. Thus there would be equal virtuefor both. . The Qur'an is the basis of'the religion of Islam, and on the preservation and propagation ·of the Qur'an depends the very existence of this faith. Hence the virtue of learning and teaching the Qur'an is self-evident and does not need further elucidation. There are, however, various degrees of excellence. The highest is to learn the Qur'an along with its meanings and purport, and theleast is to learn its words only. The hadith mentioned above is supported also by an other saying of Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) as reported by Hadhrat Sa'eed ibn Saleem (Radhiyallaho anho): "If a person who has acquired knowledge of the Holy Qur'an considers anotherperson who has been gifted with something else to be more fortunate than himself, he h~s shown disrespect to the blessings of Allah bestowed on 18 Virtues ofthe Holy Qur'an, him on account of his learning the Qur'an." It is evident . that since theQur'an, being the Word of Allah, is superior .to all other discourses as mentioned in some of the ahadith quotea later, i~s reading and feaching must be superior to "everythingelse.. ' . Mulla Ali Qari quotes from another ha.dith that who ever acquires the knowledge of Holy Qur'an stores the knowledgeof prophethood inhisforehead. Sijt} Tastari (Rahmatullah'81aih) s~ys_ that the p~f of love for Allah is the existence of love for the Word-of Allah inone's heart. In'Sharhul Ihya', the list ofpeople who will be given shelter in the shade of the Arsh (Throne of Allah) on the fearfulDay of Judgement includes those persons who·teach the Qur'an to·the chjldren ofMuslims·and also those who learn the Holy Qur'an in their childhood and are devoted to itsrecitBtioiI:wh.e~grownup.