Allah the Almighty has commanded us in many verses of
The Holy Qur’an to the necessity of Tadabbur of the
Qur’an.
Allah the Almighty said:
“Will they not ponder the Quran? Or are there locks upon
their hearts?”1.
Allah the Almighty also said:
“A blessed Book that We sent down to you, that they may
ponder its Verses, and for those with intelligence to take
heed”2.
Tadabbur of the Qur’an means: contemplation and
contemplation of its meanings, purposes, and rulings, not
just recitation despite its great reward.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said
while explaining the importance of Tadabbur:
1 Sura Muhammad. Aya 24.
2 Sura Saad. Aya 29.
“Nothing is more beneficial to the servant in his life and
his hereafter than Tadabbur of the Qur’an and focus on
thinking about the meanings of its verses, for It informs
the servant of the signs of good and evil in their entirety,
and gives him a distinction and a light by which he
differentiates between guidance and error, and gives him
strength in his heart and a wide life”3.
Because of the importance and greatness of Tadabbur,
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade the
completion of the Qur’an in less than three nights, as in
the hadith on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al
Aas (may Allah be pleased with them both) he said: The
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The
person who reads the whole Qur'an in less than three days
does not grasp its meaning”4.
Among the wisdom of this prohibition: the completion of
the Qur’an in less than three nights may be a reason for
weakness and lack of Tadabbur.
3Madarij al-Salikin (1/451).
4This hadith was narrated by Al-Tirmizi (2949), Abu Dawood (1390), and Ibn
Majah (1347), and it was authenticated by Al-Albani in “Sahih Ibn Majah”.
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The hadith indicates that understanding of the Qur’an and
Tadabbur of its meanings and aims are better and more
beneficial than recitation without it.
Among the matters that help in Tadabbur Al-Qur’an:
1- Improving the recitation:
Allah, the Almighty, commanded the (Tarteel) which
means the recitation of the Qur’an Correctly.
Allah the Almighty said:
" Or add to it; and chant the Quran rhythmically”5.
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) urged
to improve the recitation, in his saying:
“Narrated Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him)
said, "Allah's Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, 'Whoever does not recite Qur'an in a nice voice is
not from us,' and others said extra," (that means) to recite
it aloud"6.
5Sura Al-Muzzammil. Aya 4.
6Narrated by Al-Bukhari. Number: 5727.
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Imam Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“What is legally required is to improve one’s voice, which
motivates the Tadabbur and understanding of the Qur’an,
reverence and submission, and submission to obedience
of Allah”7.
2- Recitation of the Qur’an in The night prayer:
The night prayer and meditation on the verses,
admonitions and passages of the Qur’an helps in
understanding It. and in that, Allah Almighty says:
“The vigil of night is more effective, and better suited for
recitation”8 .
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)
commented on this verse by saying:
)The words “speech more certain” (aqwamu qilan) means
that this time is more suitable for the understanding of the
Qur’an)9.
7Fadhail Al Quran, Ibnu kathir (114).
8Sura Al-Muzzammil. Aya 6.
9Sunan Abi Dawud (1304). Al-Albani said: Hasan.
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3- Listening carefully when hearing the voice of the
Qur’an:
Allah Almighty commanded His faithful servants to listen
and be attentive when reciting the Qur’an; So that they
can benefit from it, and reflect on the wisdom and
interests in it.
AllahThe Almighty said:
"When the Quran is recited, listen to it, and pay attention,
so that you may experience mercy"10 .
The meaning as Imam al-Tabari )may Allah have mercy
on him( said: “Listen your hearing to the Qur’an that you
may understand its verses, consider Its sermons, and listen
to It to make sense of It, and ponder It”.11
4- Understand the meanings:
Actually not knowing the meanings of the Qur’anic verses
distracts from Tadabbur and the heart’s pleasure in
reading it. In that, Imam al-Tabari (may Allah have mercy
on him) says: “I am astonished by the one who reads the
10 Sura Al-A’raaf. Aya 204.
11 Tafsir al-Tabari (Jami’ al-bayan ‘an ta’wil ay al-Qur’an) (9/161).
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Qur’an and does not know its interpretation. How does he
enjoy reading It?”.12
Rather, learning the meanings of the Qur’an is more
important than learning its letters, and in this regard,
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
says: “Based on the meaning understood from the hadith
of the Prophet (peace be upon him): “The best of you are
those who learn the Qur’an and teach it” 13. Teaching all
its letters and meanings; Rather, learning its meanings is
the first intended purpose by teaching its letters, and that
is what increases faith, as Jundub bin Abdullah (May
Allah be pleased with him) said: “We were with the
Prophet (peace be upon him) and we were strong youths,
so we learned faith before we learned Qur’an. Then we
learned Qur’an and our faith increased thereby” 14_15.
5- Standing at the intended meaning of the Verse:
It means that the reader stops at the meaning and does not
go beyond it to others, meditating on it, and reflecting on
it.
12 Mu’jam al-Udaba’ (6/453).
13 Narrated by Al-Bukhari. Hadith number: (5027). (6/ 192).
14 Narrated by Ibn Majah (61). Al-Albani said: Sahih. (Sahih sunnan Ibn Majah (1/
37-38).
15 Majmoo’ al-Fatwa, (13/403).
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And among the most eloquent and clearest evidence about
that is what Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him)
reported: “One night, I prayed with the Prophet (may
Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He started
(reciting) Sūrat al-Baqarah, so I said: "Perhaps he will
bow at the hundredth verse." But he continued. I said:
"Perhaps he will recite it all in one Rak‘ah." However, he
continued. I said: "Perhaps he will bow when he
completes it." Then he started Sūrat An-Nisā' and recited
it (all); then he started Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān and recited it (all),
and he was reciting leisurely. When he recited a verse
containing glorification of Allah, he would glorify Him;
when he recited a verse containing supplication, he would
supplicate; when he recited a verse containing seeking
refuge with Allah, he would seek refuge with Him. Then
he bowed” 16.
Repetition of the verse that touches the heart is one of the
most prominent forms of standing at the meanings, and
we have a good example in the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him.
It was narrated that Jasrah bint Dajaja said: “I heard Abu
Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) says: ‘The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon) him stood reciting
16 Narrated by Muslim. (772).
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a Verse and repeating it until morning came. That Verse
was:
“If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You
forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty,
the All-Wise. ” 17_18.
Imam al-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on him) said:
“There was a group of the ancestors (Assalaf) one of
whom used to spend the whole night reciting one verse
for the whole or most of the night, contemplating it while
reciting” 19 .
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17 Sura Al-Maaida, Aya 118.
18 Narrated by al-Nasa’i, Ahmad and Ibn Majah. al-Albani said: Sahih (Mishkat al
Masabeeh 1205), (Sahih sunan al-Nasa’I 1010), (Sahih sunan Ibn Majah 1350).
19 Al-Majmoo’ (2/187), At-Tibyan Fi Adab Hmalat Al-Quran (108).
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Dr. MOHAMED ABDELMONEM ELSAYED KHALIL
mkhalil9@yahoo.com
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