It was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri  that he said: In the year of Tabook, the Messenger of Allah  addressed the people, while supporting his back against a date-palm, saying: 

Should I not tell you about the best of people and the worst of people? The best of people is a man who strives in the cause of Allah on the back of his horse, on the back of his camel, or on his feet till death comes to him. Among the worst of people is a wicked man who reads the Book of Allah (the Quran) and is inattentive to it. [Ahmad, An-Nasa’i and Al-Hakim who renders it authentic]

The best of people are those who fight in the cause of Allah and who continue to do so till death approaches them; whereas the worst of people is the wicked man who reads the Quran and acts upon nothing thereof. The wicked person is he who commits sins, be he a Muslim or a non-Muslim. It includes, in our time, the orientalists and their disciples who follow their method from among the Muslims and evil scholars, as will be shown later in the three hadiths to come. According to a scholar, one may recite the Quran and curse himself unknowingly.

He may read (what means): {Unquestionably, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.} [Quran 11:18] and he is one of the wrongdoers. He also may recite (what means): {Let us … supplicate earnestly [together] and invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars [among us].} [Quran 3:61] and he is one of those liars.

According to Abu Sulayman Ad-Darani  the angels of Hell come to the holders of the Quran who disobey Allah Almighty before they come to the idolaters.

One of the predecessors said: “One may start reciting a Quranic soorah (chapter), thereupon the angels keep invoking Allah’s blessing upon him till he ends it; and one may start reciting a Quranic soorah, thereupon the angels keep invoking Allah’s curse upon him till he ends it.” When asked how this takes place he said: “If he makes lawful what is lawful in it and makes unlawful what is unlawful in it, they will invoke Allah’s blessing upon him, otherwise they will invoke Allah’s curse upon him.”

It is narrated on the authority of Jundub, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: “We, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah  were given faith before the Quran; and after us, there will be a people who will be given the Quran before faith: they will establish it in letter and neglect its limits and rights, saying: ‘We recite the Quran: who could recite better than us? We know (the Quran): Who has knowledge better than us?’” That will be their share. According to another narration, “Those will be the worst of people.” [Ibn Majah]

According to Qatadah  no one sits with this Quran (i.e. recites it) but that he will leave it either with increase or decrease (in success or loss). In confirmation, Allah Almighty says (what means): {And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.} [Quran 17:82]

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri  that he said:

The Messenger of Allah  said: There will appear among you a people (who will be engaged in religious service, so much that) you will look down upon your prayer, fasting and deeds, compared with theirs. They will recite the Quran, though it will not go beyond their collar-bones (because they will have practically no belief). They will deviate from the religion as an arrow goes out through the game, whereupon the archer would examine the arrowhead but see nothing, look at the bow but see nothing, and look at the feathers but see nothing. Finally he would look at the arrow shaft and doubt whether he could find anything. [At-Tirmithi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah and An-Nasa’i]

To deviate from the religion is to take only what agrees with one’s inclination and abandon everything else. That is, they will abandon the religion as fast as the arrow goes out of the game.

According to the narration of Muslim, Abu Dawood and An-Nasa’i:

Towards the end of time there will appear some young, foolish people who will use (in their claim) the best speech of all people (the Quran). They will recite the Quran, though it will not go beyond their collar-bones. They will abandon Islam as an arrow goes out through the game. So, wherever you meet them, kill them, for he who kills them shall receive a reward on the Day of Resurrection.

This applies to him who is endowed with extensive knowledge of sharia sciences but has no faith, like the Orientalists and their disciples: they speak pleasant words characterized by scientific accuracy, objectivity and the desire to reach the fact. But they hide in its folds feelings of resentment towards Islam and the inexorable attempt to slander and ruin it with malicious ways.

It also applies to the religious innovators who follow their inclinations. They have corrupt ideas they like to prove by taking from the religion what agrees with their opinions and leaving the rest of it. In order to do so, they gather the information which supports their inclinations and religious innovations ; thereby, they appear, in the eyes of the simple and naive people, as investigating, accurate scholars, whose speech is convincing and conclusions valid.

Mu‘ath ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "There will be, after you, fitnahs, in which wealth will become abundant, and the Quran will be opened (i.e. become in circulation among people), so much so, that it will be recited by the faithful believer and the hypocrite, the man and woman, the old and the young, and the slave and the free one; and one will be about to say: 'What is the matter with the people that they do not follow me, even though I recite the Quran: they seem not to follow me until I innovate for them something other than it.

So, beware of innovations, for they are falsehood; and I warn you of the deviation of the wise, for the devil may say the word of falsehood on the tongue of the wise; and a hypocrite may say a word of truth.'" They asked: "What makes us know, may Allah have mercy upon you, that the wise person is saying the word of falsehood and the hypocrite is saying the word of truth?" He said: "Nay! Avoid the wise man’s words which you disapprove of and which are questioned by people, but let not this dissuade you from him, for perchance he may retract and follow the truth once he hears it, for there is light on the truth." [Abu Dawood]

It was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr  that he said: The Messenger of Allah  said: 

No envy is (acceptable) but in two cases: a man whom Allah has endowed with the (memorization and knowledge of the) Quran with which he stands (and acts upon) at the approaches of night and day; and a man on whom Allah has bestowed wealth which he spends (in His cause) at the approaches of night and day. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The hateful envy is to hope that the favor given to another should vanish, whereas the praiseworthy envy is to aspire to have the like of what is given to the envied person as regards knowledge and wealth.

To stand with the Quran at the approaches of the night is to recite and learn it and worship Allah with it; and this is likely to happen in secret, far from the people’s eyes. To do so at the approaches of the day is to act upon it publicly in front of the people in compliance with the command of Allah, and in the hope of being an example for others to follow and receiving the reward of anyone following him.

The Hadeeth gives preference, in mention, to the superiority of him who is given the Quran and acts upon it over him who is given wealth and spends it (in Allah’s cause), which points out the superiority of knowledge over charity. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib  said to Kumayl ibn Ziyad ibn Nuhayl (one of the Taabi‘is d. 82 A.H.), “O Kumayl! knowledge is better than wealth. Knowledge guards you whereas you guard wealth. Knowledge is a ruler whereas wealth is ruled. Wealth decreases by charity whereas knowledge increases by spending (i.e. by teaching it).” The decrease of wealth here refers to the apparent reduction which seems to the people, but with Allah it increases and multiplies.

The Prophet  clarified this meaning when he said, as narrated on the authority of Abu Kabshah al-Anmari, may Allah be pleased with him:

The world is for four kinds of people: One upon whom Allah Almighty has bestowed wealth and knowledge, so he fears his Lord in respect to them, maintains kinship ties and acknowledges the rights of Allah on him [and fulfills them]; this type is in the best of ranks. One upon whom Allah Almighty has conferred knowledge but not wealth, and he is sincere in his intention and says: "Had I possessed wealth, I would have done like so-and-so." If that is his intention, their rewards are the same. (He aspires to have the like of this good person in order to do like him; and he does not hope that what the other has of blessing should vanish) One whom Allah Almighty has given wealth but no knowledge, and he ignorantly flounders with it, does not fear Allah in respect to it, does not maintain kinship ties and does not acknowledge the rights of Allah. Such a person is in the worst rank. One upon whom Allah Almighty has bestowed neither wealth nor knowledge, and he says: "Had I possessed wealth, I would have done like so-and-so." For his intention, both will be equally sinful. [Ibn Majah and At-Tirmithi, who renders it as good-authentic]

Here, the Messenger of Allah  dispraises him because of his desire for sin rather than for a favor like the other. There is no difficulty on him who aspires to have the like of the favor given to another, so long as he does not like that it vanishes from him nor dislikes that it should remain with him. If this favor pertains to the obligatory religious service like faith, prayer and zakah, the competition over it is due: that is to aspire to be like him because if he does not like this, he then will be content with the sin, and that is unlawful. If the favor pertains to such good merits as spending wealth in charity and good things, competition over it is recommended. If it pertains to a permissible form of enjoyment, competition over it is permissible. [Ihya’ ‘Uloom Ad-Deen, grand Imam Al-Ghazali]

It is narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr  that the Messenger of Allah  said:

He who recites the Quran, it seems as if prophethood has been drawn to him except that he receives no divine revelation; and whoever recites the Quran and thinks that somebody has been given better than what he has been given, he will have exalted what Allah has regarded with slightness and regarded with slightness what Allah has exalted. It is not fit for the Quran holder to be among those who behave foolishly or be angry or enraged: but he should rather forgive and pardon because of the superiority of the Quran. [At-Tabari]

The Messenger of Allah  was given revelation through a particular text, i.e. the Noble Quran, and the Sunnah through the words of the Messenger of Allah . So, whoever is given the Noble Quran has the same which Allah Almighty revealed to His Messenger  in the same text, with difference that he receives no divine revelation. No doubt, the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets: they inherit neither dirham nor dinar, but inherit the knowledge which they act upon and spread among the people.

An aspect of exalting Allah Almighty is to exalt His Book (the Quran), and whoever is given much good should thank Allah Almighty for this great favor and feel the magnificence and grandeur of the bounty granted to him by Allah Almighty.

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood  said:

It is due on the holder of the Quran to be recognized for his (standing at) night when the people are asleep, for his (fasting during the) day when the people are not fasting, for his sadness when the people are rejoicing, for his weeping when the people are laughing, for his silence when the people are engaging in discourse, and for his humble submissiveness when the people are arrogant.